Academy’s Genius Swordmaster - Chapter 118
[ 118. Blood wets the sand (9) ]
#118
Took. Yuria’s head fell. The body that had collapsed one beat later convulsed. Red blood spurted out from the cut surface.
“What… the fuck…”
Ronan murmured incredulously. Yuria’s eyes were still wide open. A leopard, sensing the death of its master, pounced on Schlieffen.
“Kuhhh!”
Schlieffen swung his sword again. The wind that blew along the sword path brushed the nape of the leopard’s neck. Kang! A white line formed on the metal-covered neck, and the head fell.
“Kreuk?”
thud. The rigid body of the leopard fell to the side. Confirming that the surroundings had become quiet, Schlieffen lowered his sword. He stared blankly into space before falling to one knee.
“…… Ugh.”
“Yumma, are you okay?”
Ronan staggered towards Schlieffen. It was difficult to keep myself in check, like the day after a heavy drinking session. Copying Terranil’s aura took a lot more mana than expected.
“Whoa…”
Schlieffen didn’t answer. Unsteady breathing escaped from between slightly parted lips. The pale complexion seemed to be in poor spirits. Suddenly, Ronan’s eyes met his sword, and his eyebrows raised.
“This…!”
The sword was not visible. Only the bloodstained hilt was held in Schlieffen’s hand. Then, with the sound of the wind, the sword body that had disappeared appeared.
-Saaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
… The swirling air currents were transformed into bluish blades. The mana rising from the blade gave a completely different impression than before.
‘Calm down. But it has become sharper.’
If mana used to be a random strong wind, now it was reminiscent of a fair wind running over a calm sea. The kind that has room to develop into a typhoon sweeping the ocean at any time. Ronan let out a laugh as if he was staggering.
“her.”
It was a growth rate far beyond expectations. I didn’t know that even the morning star of the empire would reach this stage already. Oh, it was an awakening.
“Monster-like bastard….”
Aura is an individual’s unique mana and the ability derived from it. Those who steadily practiced their aura achieve a rapid growth in their ability at some point, which is called Aura Awakening.
Most of them stop at increasing the range or power of the existing aura, but there were some who went through absurd changes to the level of a chrysalis turning into a butterfly. A guy who used to cause static electricity shoots lightning from his eyes, or a guy who was good at hardening his skin grows diamonds in his body…
Schlieffen was a representative example. Dismantling and swinging a sword in the form of wind. This was the true form of the storm sword that Ronan knew and the symbol of Schlieffen, the number one sword in the continent.
It was also a skill that Ronan in his previous life, who had no interest in others at all, truly envied. With that alone, I would have been able to tear apart all the flying giants.
‘Damn it, it hurts my stomach to see it again.’
The storm sword was literally infinitely usable. If the wind is compressed in one place, it becomes a one-hit deadly weapon like the one just before, and if spread widely, it becomes a strategic weapon that can compete with the army. Ronan still remembers Schlieffen’s madness when he stormed the entire Romira Mountains to catch one of the Winter Witches.
Compared to the power of the previous life, it still seemed weak, but once it entered the realm of awakening, development was only a matter of time. Ronan handed out the potion to Schlieffen who was lying down.
“Take it. You unlucky bastard.”
“……Ronan.”
“It was great. What happened?”
“What does that mean?”
“You woke up, man.”
Schlieffen’s eyes widened. It was as if he didn’t even know that he had awakened. Taking the potion without a word, he shook his head.
“is it. It’s such a feeling.”
“Eight, some of them can’t even bloom. Please tell me the secret.”
Ronan grumbled. Schlieffen, who was applying the potion to the wound on his shoulder, opened his mouth.
“…I heard the sound of the wind.”
“Wind noise?”
“okay. Violent yet very gentle…it’s the first I’ve heard since I was 11. The moment I heard that, I was convinced that I could cut that woman.”
Eleven was the age at which Schlieffen’s auror began to bloom. He added that he was concentrating all his energy on cutting Yuria the moment the protection of the stars disappeared. Ronan tilted his head.
“so?”
“That is all. It really worked.”
“This is not crazy.”
Ronan frowned. I didn’t expect a normal explanation in the first place, but I didn’t expect it to be this much. This is why I hate geniuses. Having said that, Ronan smiled.
“I wish I had caught something.”
Ronan held out his hand. Anyway, that was a good thing. Schlieffen smiled lightly and stood up with his help. Maybe it’s because she drank the potion, but her complexion had clearly improved.
“Ronan. I have a question.”
“ok?”
“How did you break through that barrier?”
Despite all his efforts, he was unable to break the protection of the stars. Just like in his previous life when he reached the level of a swordsman. After thinking for a moment, Ronan shook his head.
“I don’t know either. It just happened.”
“…is it.”
Schlieffen nodded slowly. It looked disapproving, but I couldn’t answer that I knew something I didn’t know.
‘I’ll be angry.’
There was resentment in Schlieffen’s voice, which trembled slightly. Even in the midst of staggering as if he would collapse at any moment, his dark blue eyes were burning with fighting spirit. said Ronan.
“Still, wouldn’t it be okay if we continued?”
It was another task to be solved along with Haeju. It would be perfect if others could break the protection of the stars, but if it didn’t work out, I had no choice but to become strong enough to beat them all alone. After stretching, Ronan turned around.
“…It’s over.”
Anyway, the battle is over. It was the fiercest and most dangerous fight since reincarnation. It was only after the tension was relieved that the surroundings came into view.
It was not a very tasteful landscape. Bloodstains and broken metal were scattered like mold. The ruins, which were as smooth as if they were made of marble, had turned into ruins that looked like they had been through three wars.
“Fucking bastards.”
Bang! Ronan, who suddenly lost his temper, kicked Yuria in the head. The head, which flew in a long parabola, curled up in front of the Dainhar magic stone. Ronan looked at the magic stone and opened his mouth.
“Why am I suddenly so fucking crazy?”
“…I don’t know.”
Schlieffen shook his head. The magic stone, which was bigger than any farmhouse, was still shining brightly in all directions. The excessive flow of mana made my head dizzy.
At that time, a person’s face passed through Ronan’s mind. He stopped in place and let out a curse.
“Shit.”
“Ronan?”
No angry gusts were seen. I completely forgot about it because of the fierce battle. After shaking off Schlieffen, Ronan ran to the spot where the gust had fallen. His face contorted as he accidentally looked down the stairs.
The space at the bottom of the stairs was still filled with the blood and corpses of natives. A rectangular parallelepiped, said to hold the secret of the ruins, stood tall among the corpses. The raging gust lay face down on the very cuboid.
“Damn blast!”
cried Ronan. He jumped down the stairs that seemed to go over three hundred steps only three times. bang! bang! bang! Ronan, who reached the gust in an instant, shook his shoulder.
“Damn it. Wake.”
No answer came back. Red handprints remained on the ten buttons. From the circumstances, it seemed clear that the gusts were manipulated.
“Kuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu…”
Fortunately, he was still breathing. Ronan poured all the potions he brought into the body of the storm. Chi profit…! The trauma healed quickly, but I couldn’t come to my senses. It must have been too much blood.
“do not die.”
In an instant, Sarante’s face passed before his eyes. The old elf who guarded the ruins couldn’t heal his wounds and turned into a stupid stone.
I couldn’t go through something like that twice. Ronan looked up at the top of the stairs and shouted with all his might.
“Sita!!!”
Voices echoed and rang out. Exactly three minutes had passed. A black shadow appeared on the stairs. Sheeta, who found Ronan, folded her wings and descended.
“Knack!”
“This way, quickly!”
Ronan shouted as he supported the dying gust. Sheeta landed on Ronan’s shoulder and immediately cast healing magic.
Faaaa… A red glow wrapped around the body of the storm. The blood that flowed from him was flowing back into his body. As Ronan straightened the twisted limbs and pulled out the metal that was stuck in it, the storm’s complexion quickly began to improve. Then he opened his eyes, twitching his fingers.
“…Ronan?”
“Are you out of your mind?”
“Monsters…those strange ones…?”
“He and I killed them all. That too for sure.”
said Ronan, patting Schlieffen on the shoulder. The storm’s eyes widened. Ronan explained what had just happened. The purpose and strength of Terranil and Yuria coming here, until their miserable end. Hearing the story, the angry gust shed a big laugh.
“Haha… that’s great. You are true warriors.”
“Don’t laugh because your wounds will open. did you do that?”
Ronan pointed at the top of the stairs with the tip of his chin. Rays of light shot from the magic stone were crossing the air. The angry gust nodded heavily.
“Yes. i broke the rules You guys look dangerous, so I wanted to be of some help.”
“Rules?”
“Every tribesman knows how to handle this. but no one cares You can touch it only on the promised day.”
It was also a blast. He touched the cuboid and continued. The raging gusts are from grandpa’s grandpa’s grandpa. Anyway, he said that he had been handed down how to operate this device from a very long time ago.
Always risk your life to protect it, but never touch it arbitrarily, and manipulation is allowed only on the promised day.” Ronan shrugged his eyebrows.
“What is the Promised Day?”
“I do not know either. But he said that when that day comes, he will know for himself.”
“It’s amazing.”
Ronan laughed. It was hard to believe that so many people died because of just such a vague promise. The angry gust nodded calmly.
“Since I broke the rules, if I die, I will have to swim in red water forever. But I have no regrets.”
“You are innocent, man. The ones who should be thrown into the lava are the ones who cursed them like that.”
“Thank you for saying that. I feel better now.”
“It’s okay to get better. lie down quietly The only possible survivors are me and this bastard…”
Ronan was about to say something. Koo Goo Goo! Suddenly, the entire space started to shake violently, as if an earthquake had occurred. The artificial voice heard a moment ago rang out.
[You have 3 minutes to activate the security system. When activating the system, all targets without an identification code are expelled before entering this task.]
“Huh?”
Ronan frowned at the incomprehensible nonsense. Again, there were too many unfamiliar words.
“An identification code in the security system…what the hell does that mean?”
“I don’t feel good.”
“I think they kick it out after about 3 minutes… Damn it.”
I don’t know how to expel it, but I got a feeling. The vibration was getting stronger.
The concentration of mana spewing out from the magic stone was gradually increasing to the point where it was difficult to handle. It seemed clear that something was about to happen. Standing up, Ronan said, looking back at Schlieffen and Sheeta.
“Let’s hurry up, guys. It’s because I feel like I’m screwed.”
3 minutes. It was enough time to collect at least one magic stone, but I couldn’t help but feel very sad.
First, I had to do what I could. Ronan, who drew a knife, was about to run. Suddenly, a furious gust of wind seized his wrist.
“wait. I can’t let my benefactor go like this.”
“what?”
“It is certain that I will die and go into red water anyway. I will try to increase the time.”