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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 61
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61. Trash That Even Fire Can't Consume
***
Thwack!
Gerard's body, struck directly by the spear shaft, shot straight up.
The wind that enveloped Gerard failed to significantly reduce the spear's force.
"Gah!"
The moment he gasped, choking from the intense pain, his vision was already rapidly receding from the ground.
Even so, Gerard frantically moved his hands through the pain.
Whoosh!
As wind rapidly generated at his command, it barely managed to support his body as it plummeted towards the ground.
But even that couldn't completely cushion the fall.
Thud!
Gerard tumbled wretchedly across the ground, just as David had in their previous spar.
"Cough! Gah… Haa…"
Afterward, Gerard dry-heaved from the immense pain, unable to even properly steady himself.
Still, Gerard forced himself up, raising his head blankly.
In his line of sight stood Cheonseong, firmly holding his ground.
'…Why?'
Even as he looked at the hateful bastard's face, he couldn't understand it at all.
Why couldn't his wind block a mere spear?
He knew the principle behind wielding a spear. It was a weapon that concentrated force into a single point. Having received various lessons from his family, he naturally understood the basics.
That's why. He'd thought it would be even easier to deflect the spear's attacks.
He'd believed that if he just twisted the spear's trajectory slightly with a strong gust of wind, the spearhead would be thrown off balance.
Swish.
But seeing the bastard casually retract the spear he'd thrust, his heart continued to seethe with rage.
Back when he'd toyed with David in front of everyone, his heart had been filled with immense joy.
And that guy, too… he should have been rolling on the ground in front of him, contorting his face in pathetic defeat.
But… why?
"Damn it… damn it!"
He spat out the overflowing emotions in his heart, clenching his hands tightly. He couldn't just keep taking this.
No matter what, he couldn't lose to that bastard.
Straightening his body, he forced himself to concentrate on gathering wind energy.
Whoosh!
He focused on the two strong winds swirling around his hands, forcing down the intense pain that coursed through his entire body.
'There's no way I'd lose to a guy like him.'
He, of all people, couldn't lose to a commoner, a mere plebeian.
Whoosh!
The increasingly fierce wind constantly whipped his hair around, blurring his vision.
Even as he saw the guy through his blurry vision, his heart continued to swell with rage.
'How dare a commoner act so arrogant and composed in front of me…?'
A mere commoner, how dare he…
—!!
As if reacting to his emotions, the wind surged even more violently. At that moment, a brilliant idea struck me.
A way to completely rattle that bastard's emotions.
***
Whoosh!
As Gerard painstakingly rose, powerful winds suddenly began to rage around both of his arms.
The wind intensified as if endlessly amplifying, ceaselessly whipping up gales. Cheonseong, who had been intently watching the scene, suddenly narrowed his eyes.
'Is that his full power?'
As Kali had mentioned before the spar, it felt as though Gerard had been holding back against David.
But now, after I'd landed successive blows on him since the spar began.
It seemed Gerard's true abilities were finally emerging. Even as I thought this, I carefully steadied myself.
'Crush him completely.'
Revenge for David was one thing, but I believed I needed to crush that guy so thoroughly that he would never dare to meet my eyes again.
If you only half-crush bastards like him, they'll always get back up and bare their filthy fangs at you.
And it wasn't just my problem. David would surely suffer further harm.
'Therefore.'
I needed to utterly crush him now, to prevent him from even conceiving such thoughts.
"Han Cheonseong."
Gerard suddenly spoke, his peculiar gaze meeting mine through his golden hair, wildly whipping in the strong wind.
"Honestly, it's impressive. Your spearmanship is truly… I can't help but admit it."
"What are you talking about?"
"No, it's just… I'm just saying what I truly feel. Fighting you directly, it made me realize that a Level 4 Trait really is Level 4."
The guy who had been glaring at me with hatred just moments ago suddenly changed his demeanor.
He spoke with a sneer, meeting my gaze with a strange look, but I couldn't grasp his intention.
"So, Han Cheonseong. What exactly is that David guy?"
"…What?"
"No, it's fine that you're a Level 4 Trait user, even if you're a commoner. But what's so great about that David guy that he's hanging around with you? Someone of your caliber, Han Cheonseong, I wouldn't mind acknowledging."
…Listening to him, I unconsciously let out a hollow laugh.
To think that the words coming out of his mouth were an attempt at such a pathetic provocation.
It was truly absurd.
"Heh. Han Cheonseong, you're kind of funny too, aren't you? I'm saying this because David isn't here, but honestly, I can acknowledge you. But having such a worthless kid by your side… it makes your own level seem lower, like you're being undervalued, and I just feel bad for you. If you're thinking of associating with me, I wouldn't mind considering it, you know."
The bastard, interpreting my laugh as he pleased, spouted increasingly ridiculous nonsense, and I wondered how far he would go.
"So, what do you think? It might be nice to get a bit closer this time. As for David… who else does he hang out with besides you? His Trait seems pretty worthless. I reckon you must've had a tough time…"
"Trash."
Cutting him off, I instantly felt he wasn't even worth calling by name.
That bastard in front of me right now… he was just trash.
Trash that wouldn't even burn in fire. Just looking at him made me feel like gagging.
"Han Cheonseong… what did you just call me?"
"I called you trash. Go on, spout off again. What about David?"
As I snapped back fiercely, I knew, rationally, that this trash was trying to provoke me.
A cheap trick, spouting utterly baseless nonsense to rattle my mind. But no matter how nonsensical it was, there was a limit to how much I could listen.
If that bastard was trying to provoke me right now, then fine. It didn't matter.
No, it was even fine if I fell for the provocation.
Just the mere mention of David from that trash's mouth was enough to stain my heart with disgust.
…
As I gradually channeled the mana enveloping my body into the spear, I didn't suppress the rising fury.
A powerful urge to immediately smash that trash's face into the ground and grind it to dust.
Swish. I gripped the spear even tighter, my eyes locked on him.
"Haa. Honestly… this is why uncultured bastards are just hopeless. To think that those of indistinguishable lineage have made it into the Academy…"
As he muttered, as if dumbfounded by his own words, I leaped without a word.
Just listening to that trash's words felt like my ears were rotting.
—!
Because I had transferred the mana from my entire body to the spear, my speed was noticeably slower than my previous leaps, yet it was still fast enough.
Gerard, who had stopped speaking at my appearance, slowly extended both arms forward, and I instinctively understood.
'…Is he planning to blast wind straight at me?'
As I'd realized while watching Glesia in the training ground before, the essence of wind, as I perceived it, was close to freedom.
The Wind Trait allowed for infinite applications depending on the student wielding it. Normally, it would feel difficult even to predict an opponent's attack.
Whoosh!
However, seeing Gerard continually point both hands in the direction I was leaping, I could plainly read his move.
The intense wind currently swirling around his arms.
It was clear he would blast it straight at me if I got just a little closer.
—! —!!
I naturally added variations to my ground-leaping steps. As I moved in a zigzag pattern, the anger that had swelled in my heart slowly cooled.
Two ideas for a countermeasure came to mind.
I could test 'that,' which had become more clearly conceptualized during my spar with Luna, right here.
Or, I could feint with the spear, guiding Gerard's gale to an innocuous spot.
A conflict arose between the two options.
With a gale of that intensity, it was impossible for me to endure it and push forward as before, or to deflect the wind with my spear. Even if I feinted, there was no guarantee it would work properly.
"Heh. You run like a little rat, don't you?"
A triumphant smile spread across the trash's lips, and I found myself smiling involuntarily.
'What the hell, let's try it.'
I chose the first option.
Although 'that,' whose concept had solidified, was still incomplete, seeing that trash filled me with an inexplicable confidence.
Even if I feinted, I couldn't advance. So it was right to choose the option that allowed me to move forward.
Even if I failed, I was confident I wouldn't lose, so there was no hesitation.
—!
The moment I leaped, I focused all my concentration on the spear tip.
As the distance between us rapidly closed, I also saw his irritatingly smiling face and his arms pointed towards me.
At that instant.
A massive gust of wind erupted from his arms as if exploding.
—!!!!
Even though the wind was formless, its outline as it shot towards me was clearly discernible.
Thwack!
At that moment, I powerfully stepped, using the ground as a pivot, and twisted my waist.
Thrusting my right hand, which held the spearhead, with all my might, I shot the spear forward as if confronting that bizarre wind head-on.
—[Pierce and Twist a Single Point]
The moment the colossal gale surged forward, I met the wind head-on.
—!!
The moment I intensely pierced a single point of the gale.
BOOM!
With a sound akin to a bursting drum, a colossal gale, like a veritable storm, erupted directly in front of me.
Skid!
My foot, planted on the ground, naturally scraped and slid backward, yet I didn't even blink.
And as the wind that had surged towards me completely vanished, a sense of satisfaction welled up in my chest.
'I can do it.'
Though it hadn't reached the level of a skill, to me, this was already a type of skill.
A bizarre power that defied reason.
With a clearer understanding of that concept, I could see him.
…
The trash, his mouth agape, staring blankly as if unable to believe the reality unfolding before him.
In that moment, I leaped again, rapidly closing in.
"Aaaargh!"
The trash, greatly startled, belatedly tried to conjure wind, but the spear had already moved past him.
Whoosh!
The spear, shot like a beam of light, pierced the air right beside his cheek, missing by a hair's breadth.
…
Watching the guy, who was too startled to react, my seething anger slowly subsided.
Thud!
I twisted the spearhead and pressed it firmly against his shoulder. Seeing him collapse weakly to the ground, a powerful urge arose within me.
I wanted to lift my foot and just stomp him into oblivion.
But…
His trashy remarks earlier seemed to have brought my mind back to reason.
'If I just stomp this trash into the ground right here.'
My mind would be at ease. Without even thinking long, I'd feel incredibly refreshed.
Because I'd be crushing the trash who had continuously toyed with David.
But there were countless students watching this spar right now.
I instinctively sensed how I would appear to Kali as well.
It would probably be…
'…the same as how this trash flaunted himself to David.'
Though I had the justification of avenging David, that was purely my perspective.
Gerard, now kneeling and fallen beneath my spear, had completely lost his will to fight.
"Ughh…"
Seeing the guy utterly terrified by my gaze, I shook my head.
Gerard couldn't even make a move.
After a few strikes with the spear shaft, and now, with me having neutralized even the wind that bastard had conjured and pressing his body down with the spearhead.
There was no will to fight left in my opponent.
At this point, the outcome of the spar could be considered decided.
If I were to unleash merciless violence… even if I had a reason, would it truly be justified?
Suddenly.
It felt like if I truly indulged in violence, I would become just like this trash.
That… was not good.
I slowly turned my head and looked at Kali.
Just then, my eyes met Kali's, who was looking at me, and with a truly startled expression, she finally spoke.
"…The spar is over."
At her words, which marked the end of the spar, I withdrew the spearhead that had been pressing down on his shoulder.
Then I leaned close to the dazed guy's ear and quietly left him with some words.
"If you want to fight again, feel free to challenge me to a spar. But… be prepared then. Because I'll crush you so thoroughly, it won't even compare to now."
Meaning, if he ever spouted nonsense about me or David again, I would make his state even worse than this.
This fear, at least, had to be properly etched into his mind.
…
I briefly took in the silent trash, then turned my body away.