〈 Chapter 253 〉 I Am Your Future (3）
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『Stop it and you’ll get a break. If you can’t stop it, you’ll have to make up for it.』
The professor’s whisper echoes in my ears. The whisper is soft, but the content is anything but gentle. Lac felt the cold sweat dripping down his spine.
‘Stop it and you’ll get a break.’
A word so sweet just by hearing it.
‘If you can’t stop it, you’ll have to make up for it.’
A curse that sends chills down your spine just by listening.
“······.”
Lac silently turned his head to the side.
The face of Belnoa, who met his gaze, was painted with fear, and Lac felt his own expression probably didn’t look much different from that.
A single exchanged glance.
Eventually, both nodded and slowly began to rise. They had to regain their balance on the shaking ground.
‘We have to stop it.’
Their thoughts aligned.
To achieve a common goal, humans sometimes learn to cooperate.
‘We must, absolutely stop it···!’
For the sake of sweet rest.
To avoid hellish training.
Resolved to resist, the two rushed headlong into the oncoming spell.
‘···What the hell, why are they doing that all of a sudden?’
From Roks’s perspective, it was nothing short of bewildering.
2.
Roks was currently quite flustered.
The ground trembled under his boots, and spells exploded one after another, upturning the soil. This was the extreme of the shock series spells he developed… and a spell that symbolized him.
The uproar he had exclusively created.
That chain reaction of upheaval had power surpassing even the superior spell “Cataclysm.”
However, even before this spell, Belnoa and Lac showed no signs of retreat. Rather, they were regaining their balance on the shaking ground as if they had resolved what was at stake.
‘···Though I toned it down, it shouldn’t be a spell they could handle?’
In short, it was a spell meant to induce surrender.
Even sorcerers who focus on spells would find it difficult to cope. There was no way those two, who had to take off running, could counter it.
Roks had his pride.
He was well aware they were talented students, who would soar to heights far beyond him in the not-so-distant future. But right now, he didn’t want to lose.
So, he thought they should just give up.
He had exaggerated the precursory phenomena of the spell to ensure his intent was clearly conveyed…
Thump.
With both tightly gripping their weapons, the two stared him down without a hint of surrender in their eyes. In fact, they looked even more filled with fighting spirit than before.
A resolve to resist till the end.
A fierce will to block it even if it meant death.
Facing the determined gaze of the two seemed to draw cold sweat on Roks’s forehead.
‘No, what the hell is going on??’
He couldn’t understand.
‘Isn’t this just training···?’
A mock battle, a duel for training.
Seeing the two exerting their full power even in such a light fight gave Roks an inkling of astonishment.
Of course, it was an impressive display.
An impressive display, but… there was an unsettling feeling creeping in. Roks swallowed hard, turning his boots slightly to the side.
‘Let’s see how this goes.’
However, if he thought they would give up easily, he was mistaken. As soon as Roks twisted his boot, the spell was completed. The quaking earth cracked and began to break apart.
Crash!
The ground split and pushed upwards, making the surface bulge. The elevated ground transformed into a giant wave that surged towards Belnoa and Lac.
And, as if waiting for that moment.
Thud.
Lac kicked off the ground and leaped.
He jumped directly into the oncoming wave. At that moment, Roks felt his mind going blank.
‘No, that crazy young master···!’
Even though he had weakened the spell, charging headlong like that would definitely leave him severely injured. Roks contemplated stopping the spell immediately, but…
“Uh…?”
He would soon realize that this was a futile worry. A direction he never fathomed.
Lac drew his arms back behind him.
The silver-gray axe glimmered as it reflected the sunlight, and the bloodshot glare in Lac’s eyes intensified.
Rip, rip.
The sleeves of his uniform ripped apart, revealing his muscular arms. The veins bulged for a moment, and the axe’s handle warped.
The power accumulated to its limit.
An ability refined by felling trees in the back mountains of Apuria. It was a technique Lac had imitated from a superhuman he had seen once.
Frenzy?
With his arm pushed back, the axe swung. The blade traced a silver-gray arc. Two swift strikes slashed down the incoming wave rushing towards them.
Whoooosh!
The wave froze momentarily. With a simple swing of an axe, he halted a spell more powerful than a superior spell.
‘What the···?’
Roks’s eyes widened.
But it was too early to be surprised as the halted wave began to twist slowly.
The points where the strikes landed caused the wave to ripple. The flow started to reverse. Within that flowing wave, shocks began to erupt one after another.
‘The flow is twisting.’
He disrupted the flow of mana that formed the basis of the spell with his strikes.
Ugh!
Just as Roks was about to stomp and regain control of the flow, Belnoa dashed towards the twisting wave, lowering his stance.
…Though Roks had no way of knowing this, it was a tactic Lac and Belnoa had learned while facing Raniel.
Raniel’s spells are on a fundamentally different level compared to those of ordinary sorcerers. Even her basic spells produce powers equivalent to the superior spells that even decent sorcerers utilize.
Her main spell, Smash, outputs far beyond even superior spells.
Just once.
Just once, those two had managed to block the Smash that Raniel had used. The strategy they learned from that encounter was now being executed here by Lac and Belnoa.
What cannot be blocked head-on.
A spell that cannot be defeated by sheer power.
The two had figured out a way to confront that.
Crackle, crackle!
Lac twisted the flow of mana. But it wouldn’t last long. A skilled sorcerer would quickly seize the flow. In Raniel’s case, she could catch the flow with just a flick of her fingers.
However, clear gaps would emerge.
Even if they patched the split and twisted flow, the remnants of those patches would remain.
Belnoa took advantage of that gap and charged in. He thrust his hand into the center of the flow that Roks was trying to seize. Grasping the disrupted mana flow, he tore it apart.
Burst!
As Belnoa’s hand emerged from the wave, the trembling earth stilled. The raging wave began to collapse into a mound of dirt.
“Whoa, ha ha···.”
Watching that scene, Roks couldn’t help but chuckle.
‘What did I just see?’
They had dismantled a spell.
Those two, who had seen such a perplexing spell for the first time, had charged directly at it… and dismantled it.
Dismantling a spell.
It was considered the best way to counter, but not everyone could do such a thing. One had to have precise visual acuity to read the flow of the spell… and the courage to charge head-on at it.
Even frontline sorcerers would only attempt that on familiar spells they had seen numerous times.
‘To do that against a spell they’ve never seen…’
And they succeeded. So cleanly.
Roks burst into laughter, stunned.
He wiped his eyes and let out a sigh.
“This is something else.”
They could fight more if they wanted to.
Having poured all their energy into dismantling that spell, Lac and Belnoa were half-exhausted. Compared to them, Roks still had spells left.
If he continued the fight, he might gain the upper hand. But Roks found no desire to do so.
When he saw something truly impressive, when he noticed the glimmer of potential in kids who could stand at the pinnacle… there were those who would feel jealousy and those who would purely admire.
Roks belonged to the latter.
“I have much to learn from you.”
With a resigned smile, Roks raised both his arms.
“I concede.”
3.
The duel was over.
Amid the audience’s applause, Lac and Belnoa exited the arena, and the students who had gathered in the coliseum began to leave one by one.
『I will take questions after a short break. I need to clean up a bit right now.』
While several students crowded around Roks, he chatted with them for a bit before sending them off to the plaza. As the coliseum became quiet, only the two remained.
“Professor Rania?”
“Yeah.”
Roks glanced sideways at Rania, who had made her way down to the arena. As he tilted his head in confusion, Rania replied.
“Aren’t you supposed to be cleaning up?”
“They’re facilities for the students, after all. Since they’ve made such a mess, we should at least level the ground before we leave.”
“I can’t make guests do that.”
Rania shrugged and stepped toward the center of the arena.
“I’ll do it. It’ll be done quickly anyway.”
She lifted her foot and lightly tapped the ground. The moment the polished shoe of hers hit the uneven ground, the earth trembled.
Rebuild.
The ground shook. When the cloud of dust settled, the terrain returned to its flat state as it was before the duel.
“Ugh, so dusty.”
As Rania waved her hand to brush off the dust, Roks’s gaze wavered.
“Y-You can use Rebuild? That’s something people rarely use…”
“Why wouldn’t I? There are plenty of occasions.”
Rania blinked innocently.
Roks added a word.
“Of course, there are plenty on the battlefield. But you’re a professor. For a professor to know such a spell…”
“I actually know quite a lot.”
Rania chuckled softly.
What a charming smile.
“So, how do you feel about facing them?”
“I guess while I wasn’t looking, Apuria has become a monster breeding ground. Their level is exceptional.”
When Roks attended Apuria, there were many talented kids, but compared to those two, they were merely average. Roks himself, too.
“If they were thrown onto the battlefield, they could easily handle most of the Demon Lord’s army. Unless it’s someone at the brigade leader level or higher.”
“What about against the Disaster?”
“That would be difficult. Not yet.”
However, Roks added,
“Just give them three more years, or even just two… I feel like they could reach it. They’re already kids who seem to have seen the wall.”
“Really?”
“Getting me to say this, you’re quite the cruel one, Professor Rania.”
Roks chuckled wryly.
He had yet to truly face the wall. The realm of superhumans isn’t granted to just anyone, and Roks knew well that for those like him, even just seeing the wall was a challenge.
‘In the end, those who can see it, will see it.’
Roks couldn’t accept that ambiguous concept.
Thus, he felt deeply that he was racing toward a limit.
“I’m sorry if it upset you.”
“No, it’s all self-consciousness. Frankly, I don’t feel too bad. You see so many talented kids on the battlefield, so many born with talent.”
Roks thought he was exceptional, yet on the battlefield, there were countless monsters far greater than him.
“I have quite a distance to go to be jealous of each one. Rather, it’s a joyful thing. It’s nice to see such talented and remarkable kids emerging.”
Though he said this, Roks didn’t always think this way from the start. He had definitely had moments of jealousy, feeling defeated while comparing himself against the talented ones.
“Roks, how do I appear in your eyes?”
But.
“I can’t output like Kyle or come up with crazy strategies like Destel.”
“When I first became a hero, the First Prince laughed at me.”
Roks knew.
“Out of pity.”
“You will never reach even the shadow of Kyle, and you will be destined to be trampled by the Disaster.”
“That’s not wrong. That’s the truth.”
Though he was less talented than himself.
“Yet, what can you do?”
“No matter who moves ahead of me, ultimately, my duty doesn’t change.”
Still, one continued walking their path.
At the end of that path, lies someone who receives acclaim from everyone.
“If we continue walking like this, wouldn’t there be something one day?”
“Something only I can do.”
“I hope you find such a thing, Roks.”
Roks understood.
Just when he was lost in thought, picturing the back of the hero wielding the Holy Lance, Rania softly spoke.
“Cool.”
“Excuse me?”
Roks looked at Rania.
She was replying with a gentle smile.
“Cool. Few people think that way.”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah. Thanks for training with the kids. Enjoy your time in Apuria, and be sure to stop by the café.”
Rania turned to leave.
Her ashen hair billowed in the breeze.
As Roks gazed at her retreating figure with a blank stare, Rania casually turned her head and looked at him.
“Tell Galahal.”
Her blue eyes sparkled.
“Tell him I’m looking forward to the visit.”
Roks absentmindedly nodded.
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