Chapter 44 – Incomplete Awakening
The names of those who will be our first opponents in the preliminary round are the Knights of Roswell.
Among the knights located in the institutional sphere, it is said that they are treated as a strong force with a tradition in their own way.
Apparently, he had fought against the Knights of the Black Lion several times in the past.
Well, over the past few years, I’ve only lost every time, but I’m not particularly obsessed with that fact.
‘The past is just the past.’
Because I believe in our victory because I trust my men.
However, there was something more important now.
At sunset. A spacious vacant lot located inside the garrison.
For the preliminaries to be held the next day, all of his subordinates had already left work after finishing their morning routine.
From my point of view, I don’t really need rest or maintenance, and I’m staying in the unit and training with the thought of what to do if I get off work early.
—Sueuuu…
Couldn’t you feel the familiar chill at the nearby training ground?
Seeing the vice-captain scattering energy in all directions with her eyes closed and cross-legged, I thought that an important moment had come and stood by her side.
After waking up a long time later, the vice-captain looked around with a puzzled expression, probably noticing the passage of time only belatedly. When he found me, he immediately requested a fight.
As a result.
“It was a sudden request, but thank you for being so willing to teach me.”
“Don’t worry too much about that. Enlightenment comes at any time.”
The hot, muggy air left by the heat of the afternoon freezes coldly.
The surrounding mana resonates according to her will, constantly radiating chilly cold. An icy cold, reminiscent of the northern frontline, began to dominate the entire space.
Yes.
At the request of the vice-captain, I stood here to evaluate her image.
Thanks to replacing the weapon with old man Eitri’s masterpiece, the problem of lack of maintenance power, which is a chronic disease, has been solved to some extent, and it seems that he has realized something after undergoing sparring with me several times recently.
It is an image that was immature in many ways in the past, but what about now?
It is the superior’s duty to help his subordinates grow.
“Now, let’s hit it with all our might.”
“Yes. Then…”
I met her momentum head on.
— Jjaeong!
A huge wall of ice rising from the ground.
After reading the flow of mana and avoiding it in advance, an ice wall rose again from the place where it was dodged.
After similar actions were repeated several times, the movement line was obstructed to the point of being annoying because of the ice masses that filled the surroundings.
— Wedges!
And, a sharp blow from the blind spot created by the gap in the ice wall.
“It’s quite good.”
I swung my sword away from her stab.
It was a pretty good link.
“Whoa… Thank you.”
A technique that makes excellent use of the characteristics of the manifestation system imagery that can change the surrounding environment. The advantage of being able to create structures with mass was also properly utilized.
Besides, if it was in the past, I would have been gasping for lack of output, but now I don’t show any signs of getting tired.
It was a look that could be evaluated as pretty good. She has definitely grown up.
But it was still far from enough.
— Awesome… !
“That’s not all. If you’re trying to show off your achievements at this level, I don’t think I’ll give you a very good answer, to be honest.”
— Kwajik!
I released mana violently and shattered all the surrounding ice walls.
At best, it didn’t even need to embody a particular image to break a rather thick and large block of ice.
Contrary to his thoughts, he spat harsh criticism, but the vice-captain shook his head calmly, not caring about it.
At the same time, her momentum is sharpened even more.
Also, it can’t end here. A smile forms on your lips.
“Of course, there are still things I want to show you. I’ll keep going.”
“Yes. Please do not disappoint me.”
In order to stimulate the fighting spirit as a soldier, he continued to spit bitter words on purpose.
Then, the appearance of the vice-captain swinging the rapier in his right hand in a circle like a conductor.
“Tighten up.”
—It’s cheap…
The cold air, which had been scattered quite widely, began to focus on a single point at her command.
“Rise, fall.”
At the same time, sharp pieces of ice rose up to cover all sides. Icicles like blades began to fall from above.
Each of them was like a weapon.
In addition, as the radius of the image decreased, the coldness penetrated more intensely, and suddenly even the ground was covered with ice, making it impossible to move one’s feet properly.
This area is already the vice-captain’s domain.
The entire space, tinged with cold, reacted to her will and tried to exclude intruders.
—Shhh!
In the worst battlefield that is forcibly narrowed down, only one person wields the sword freely.
Is this the path of the sword that the current vice-captain is pursuing?
“Excellent.”
Certainly, it was a sharp blow that was incomparable to the previous one.
If he takes just one or two more steps in the future, wouldn’t he be reborn as a great talent who won’t be beaten by anyone?
Her future is truly promising.
However, it would be difficult if I relaxed too much, so I should stop at this point.
—Koo-goo-goo…
Releases suppressed momentum to drive away the cold air that encroaches on the surroundings.
“This… Is this?!”
“I’ll admit your skills. I can’t say I’m clumsy anymore.”
I slowly overwrite her will to rule the space with my will.
Then, with one hard stomp toward the center of the cold, the gripping ice prison shattered.
—Quaang!
“Ouch!”
The image of the vice-captain visibly reeling from the fact that the image he painstakingly expressed was destroyed head-on.
Quite a shock, she finally knelt down on one knee on the ground and began to breathe heavily.
“Haa… Uhh…”
I slowly approached her sub-captain and helped her without a word from her.
Even if her shock was a little big, she wouldn’t have suffered internal injuries.
Eventually, recovering her momentum, she leaned against me and whispered softly with her face blushing.
“Compared to Captain, I’m still a long way off. Boo, I’m ashamed…”
“No. It’s good enough. It’s okay to have confidence. It will come as a threat to those who are halfway there.”
“But you’ll never be able to stand up to the real strong. Just looking at it now…”
She patted the shoulder of her downcast vice-captain, contemplating what advice to give her.
Her biggest problem with her right now is her ambiguity.
It was vaguely felt what the path of the sword that a single knight named Agnes was pursuing, but it felt like he was wandering without a certain direction.
Also, because I tried to do too many things at once, I lacked the decision-making power to decide the outcome.
Above all, rather than using the imagery I embody naturally like a limb…
“Vice-captain. Hey, are you afraid of the cold?”
“Four? Me?”
Originally, imagery was a truly subtle realm.
While there may be no change in training that is close to torture, even with a very small opportunity, you can grow explosively.
Besides, how you forge the sword you have in your heart depends solely on your own will.
The only advice I could give her vice-captain was to reflect on what I vaguely felt while sharing her sword with her.
“I’m afraid, I’m afraid of the cold…”
“Think about it slowly. First of all, let’s go back today for tomorrow’s game. No, since the time has come, we’ll have to find a lodging near the meeting place.”
“Yes…”
I rode the wagon with the vice-captain and headed for the plains belonging to Viscount Bergson, my destination.
After two or three hours of horseback riding, we arrived before it was too late.
I’m going to find her inn located in her nearby village, take two rooms for her, and put her to rest.
— Bumping!
“Um, captain… That, that…”
Disarmed and dressed comfortably, the vice-captain held me by the arm and stopped me in front of my room.
A flushed face and twisted legs. It’s a look that doesn’t make any sense.
“What’s going on?”
“It looks like you’re running out of energy because you used too much power. Perhaps, please come in for a moment and inject some mana…”
I stared at the vice-captain’s face, who was avoiding my eyes for no reason, and lost myself in thought for a moment.
It wasn’t difficult to do a favor. All you have to do is share a little of the overflowing mana.
But today, I had a strong hunch that things would never end there.
‘How will we do it… ‘
If I cross the line with the vice-captain tonight in a strange atmosphere like this, it will definitely interfere with tomorrow’s game.
Besides, it was clear that many of our men and Roswell Knights were also staying at this inn.
There was a concern that the social status of the two people would be severely damaged if they did something wrong.
After much thought, I decided to use her feelings in a more progressive way.
“Vice-captain Agnes.”
“Yeah, yeah… Huh…?!”
Standing in the hallway, I leaned against the wall with one arm, completely covered the sub-captain’s petite body with my body, and stretched out my hand toward his sleek lower belly.
—Ugh…
“Ah… Captain… Bar, in the room…”
And she injected as much mana as she wanted.
Her lower body trembled without rest. The messy appearance stimulates men’s hearts more than ever.
I whispered softly into her ear.
“Not now.”
“Huh… Uh, then?”
“If you win this knights match, I will grant you one wish in addition to the request I promised you last time.”
“Anything… You mean?”
“Yeah, whatever.”
With that ending the short conversation, I removed my hand from the vice-captain’s belly.
I felt like I had done something very bad, but this was my best.
“Congratulations on your big realization today. I look forward to seeing you in tomorrow’s match.”
“Anything, anything…”
I escaped from the vice-captain who was reliving the conversation with a blank face and returned to my room.
It seemed that there was no need to worry about lack of fighting power in the preliminaries.
