24
The magic training ground was bustling with students preparing for the inter-grade competition.
I met Eun-gaye in a park not far from the student dormitories to avoid the commotion.
“I’ll tell you in advance, there’s nothing special I can teach you.”
“It’s okay. Just teach me how to control the flow without controlling the magic, like you mentioned yesterday. That’s all I need.”
Eun-gaye spoke with a confident voice.
Although he had only dealt with it once in the dungeon, the ‘gravity magic’ he had unleashed was enough to instill in Eun-gaye the belief that it was sufficient to defeat the sophomore from the main line.
Indeed, the gravity magic I had witnessed back then was impressive. However…
“Just having that won’t be enough.”
I had to disappoint Eun-gaye’s confidence. Teaching him how to control magic might not immediately bring back the power he had then, and it wasn’t a fundamental solution either. Eun-gaye furrowed his eyebrows at my negative response.
“Do you know what I’m trying to do?”
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“You’re trying to defeat Eun Soback.”
“H-How did you know?”
Eun-gaye’s eyes widened in surprise at the thought that I might have known. Then he quickly composed himself.
“…Wait, did Eun Soback send you here?”
I inwardly chuckled at his feeble deduction.
“If Eun Soback had sent me, would I help you? I wouldn’t even mention such a thing.”
“T-That’s true?”
“Anyway, if you want to win, do it my way. In return, you help me too.”
“Got it.”
Eun-gaye nodded resolutely.
“Alright, then let’s start by blocking this.”
As four blades of Gram’s light appeared, Eun-gaye raised an eyebrow.
“You want me to block that?”
“Stay still without moving or avoiding.”
Eun-ga-ye, puzzled by the meaning of blocking the rain.
“If you can block all of this, can’t you win against Eun-sobaek as well?”
“······!”
That statement struck a chord. Eun-ga-ye’s expression suddenly turned serious. I unfurled the rain.
“Well then, let’s start with one.”
Before the words could finish, the rain that was floating at the very front dashed towards Eun-ga-ye.
Eun-ga-ye, who was watching the incoming rain, wielded her sword.
Tang!
A metallic sound rang out as the rain was deflected. However, Eun-ga-ye, who had managed to repel the rain, looked bewildered.
“···What, what is this?”
It was inevitable. The moment she repelled the rain, the difficult magic on Eun-ga-ye’s sword evaporated.
It was the Anti-Demon Rain. And not just any, but on a level incomparable to before.
Obtaining the ＜High-Level Floating Engraving＞ had significantly increased the Anti-Demon Magic I could wield.
“Good, isn’t it?”
A smile crept over my face at the satisfying result. Of course, continuously wielding such strong Anti-Demon Magic that could instantly evaporate Eun-ga-ye’s magic was beyond my capabilities.
Even with mental fortitude, it was impossible to sustain it for long due to the Icarus Ring heating up. Yet, with this interval, it was somewhat achievable.
“Two now.”
“Hey, wait! Time! Timeout!”
Whish!
Two rain blades were shot towards the bewildered Eun-ga-ye. Two metallic sounds echoed successively as Eun-ga-ye staggered.
“······Ouch!”
Eun-ga-ye grimaced and rubbed her wrist.
She had directed her magic towards the first rain, leaving the second one to be blocked without magic. It must have been quite painful.
“With that said, can you block three until the final battle?”
“Ugh······”
Frowning, Eun-ga-ye swiftly rose from her seat. Then, she sheathed her sword.
Wondering what she was up to, I watched as she extended her right foot to accelerate with a footwork technique and adjusted her stance. With a chuckle, I launched the rain again.
Indeed, the footwork technique was not in vain as the first rain was deflected by it, and the second rain was blocked with magic. However, when it came to blocking the third rain, she stumbled without a chance.
After that, Eun-ga-ye tried various methods, but she could only block up to the second rain. She couldn’t fend off the third rain. Eventually, I couldn’t help but speak up.
“Why do you keep storing magic in the sword beforehand? That’s why it keeps flying away.”
“···Then what should I do?”
“Release it in bursts, one at a time, each time it collides with the rain.”
Releasing the magic in one go upon impact significantly amplified its power.
By releasing it upon impact, the magic wouldn’t evaporate, making it more effective.
“Ah! So that’s a method.”
Though not a particularly difficult idea, Eun-ga-ye widened her eyes as if it hadn’t occurred to her.
It made sense; Eun-ga-ye’s swordsmanship was based on the flow of magic following a steady pattern.
Therefore, it wasn’t unreasonable for her not to think of a method contrary to that flow.
“Hey, why are you telling me this now?”
“You can’t just tell someone about things like this.”
If you can handle it effortlessly after being told once, that’s a monster, not a human.
“If you can’t believe it, try it yourself.”
“Alright.”
Once again, Eun-ga wielded the sword. Seeing that sight, I chuckled.
It may sound easy to hear, but it’s actually quite difficult when you try it. Especially if you’re using a completely opposite method like Eun-ga.
“It might take a few days just to get the basics down.”
Maybe I didn’t even realize it would be touch-and-go until the grade-level competition. Eun-ga was a natural genius, but even geniuses were human. And the next moment, Eun-ga deflected the sword strikes one after another. It was not just the basics; it was an almost perfect execution.
“What, that’s nothing.”
“······.”
That’s why the game failed. Faced with an unbelievable result, I quietly retrieved the sword.
“So, is this the end?”
“Yeah, let’s continue tomorrow.”
Although there was still magic control left, pushing further would only risk overheating Icarus’s ring, so even if I wanted to, I couldn’t.
And so, thanks to Eun-ga’s insane talent, the first day of training ended much sooner than expected.
***
“···Huh, a dog is training?”
“Yeah, I saw him practicing swordsmanship in the park. Wonder if there’s even a second-year student aiming for that?”
Upon hearing a fellow student’s comment that Eun-ga was training for the grade-level competition, Eun-so-baek let out a laugh.
He knew all too well that the second-year student being mentioned was none other than himself.
“To be so defiant even after being pushed down, it’s quite audacious.”
From a young age, Eun-so-baek had harbored ill feelings towards Eun-ga.
Being the child of a family outside of the aristocratic society and only wielding half-baked sword skills due to incompetence in magic, it was no small matter for Eun-so-baek to be in the spotlight of the family.
So, he resorted to all sorts of tricks to isolate Eun-ga from the family.
But now, where did this boldness come from, daring to aim for himself and train so boldly?
It was enough to freeze his laughter.
By the way.
“Swordsmanship?”
“Yeah, why? There’s a first-year top student who uses swordsmanship.”
“Ah, that top student.”
Eun-so-baek chuckled.
“Then, is he practicing sparring with that top student?”
“Yeah, it seems like that. Considering they practice together every day. Probably happening today as well?”
As Eun-so-baek stood up, his fellow student asked.
“Going to watch?”
“My cousin is training, so it’s awkward just sitting still. I’ll go and cheer him on.”
Despite his words, Eun-so-baek’s eyes were chillingly cold as he left the dormitory.
***
Lately, after school, I trained with Eun-ga to prepare for the grade-level competition.
On the surface, it might seem like I was helping Eungaye by throwing the beads and blocking them, but in reality, it was me who was undergoing tremendous training.
It wasn’t as easy as it sounded to maximize the power in each bead.
“By the way, she’s a real monster.”
Watching Eungaye lightly swing the beads, I clicked my tongue.
I had to just release the magic in one breath, but digesting it right away was truly a talent.
“Well, it’s just about dressing up, so it’s natural to be easy.”
This was an application of magic that Eungaye, now a third-year, would mainly use later.
It was called the Explosive Sword. This Explosive Sword was the key card that could defeat Eun Soback.
The calm yet fierce application of magic by Eun Soback, when combined with explosive magic, would tear apart like a piece of paper.
“How’s that, feeling it?”
“To some extent? But it’s difficult.”
Eungaye furrowed her brow.
What she found challenging wasn’t the Explosive Sword but the new magic control method I proposed.
It was naturally difficult. To grasp only the direction of the unleashed magic required sensibility and know-how.
But despite the difficulty, it had to be done. To properly draw out the power of gravity magic, a change in the control method was essential.
Thus, as I dealt with anti-magic and Eungaye with the Explosive Sword and control method, someone approached from the other side. A second-year student symbolized by a purple tie, with a face resembling Eungaye’s but exuding arrogance.
“Eun Soback.”
“Why?”
Eungaye looked puzzled as I put away the beads. The answer came from behind.
“You seem to be doing well.”
Eungaye’s expression turned unpleasant as she turned around.
“Eun Soback? What kind of trouble are you starting now?”
“Trouble? I came to cheer on my little sister who’s training.”
“You’ve got some nerve.”
At the colorful curse, Eun Soback’s eyebrows initially furrowed, but soon her expression softened, and she smiled. However, the words that came out of her mouth were as sharp as Eungaye’s.
“You should at least cheer on so that you can do a bit more than your useless nonsense.”
Wow, she’s really going at it.
Unintentionally, I clicked my tongue at the typical conversation of a top-tier family. At that moment, Eun Soback turned to me.
“You’re Haesol, right? Seems like you know everything.”
“Is that so?”
“Why are you helping Eungaye?”
“Because it’s obvious she’ll win, so I’m helping.”
“What? hahahaha, ridiculous!”
With a bewildered expression, Eun Soback burst into laughter like a maniac. Soon, wiping her eyes, she tilted her head.
“Ah, hahahaha. I had some expectations as you were the top student, but you’re a lost cause.”
“Well, who’s really lost might become clear if you look closely.”
“…”
Eun Soback’s expression stiffened like a rock. Her piercing eyes glared fiercely at me.
I felt a little nervous inside, but I calmly met her gaze. Eun Soback soon chuckled.
“At least you’ve got a mouth on you. Well, you’ll see during the Grand Match how messed up your eyes are.”
The silver-haired Eun Sobek, after glancing at Eun Gae-ye, turned his back and disappeared beyond the park. As Eun Sobek completely vanished from sight, Eun Gae-ye turned to me.
“Why are you acting like that?”
“What do you mean?”
“Why did you say that?”
“Did I say something wrong?”
“No, it’s not that…”
Eun Gae-ye, her voice filled with confusion, shook her head vigorously.
“Ah! I don’t know.”
“If you don’t know, just finish what you were doing.”
“Fine then.”
With Eun Sobek gone from the empty lot, we resumed our training.
***
A week passed in the blink of an eye. And then came the third Monday of March.
The vast arena of Eternity, reminiscent of a colosseum, was filled with a multitude of people.
The stands were packed with Eternity’s students, while officials of Eternity like Ha Jin-woo and external figures took their places as spectators. Following this, a robed announcer ascended the platform and raised a staff. Colorful, dazzling fireworks of magical energy burst into the sky.
Boom!
The magical fireworks sparkled brightly.
…It was the beginning of the inter-grade competition.