At this point, there was only one way left.
The most primitive thod, passed down since ancient tis.
A barbaric thod, but all the more effective because of it.
Sching.
“I wonder if you're as skilled in a fight as you are with your mouth,” Barter said as he drew his sword.
I also began to draw up my true ki. I'd saved it during the fights with the demons, but...
It would be hard to hold back against this one.
Though I’d been dismissive of him, Barter Goodspring was no slouch.
Even among skilled individuals, Barter stood out. Hector, Charon, Evan, and Sellen would all lose to him.
Even now, despite how much I had gotten under his skin, he remained calm.
Anyway...
I figured this was my chance to put Barter in his place.
Having two commanders in this crisis was the last thing we needed.
Confusion in the chain of command is a recipe for defeat.
The good news was that Barter knew that.
Now that he recognized as soone he needed to crush, he wouldn't shy away from combat.
But at this mont, Headmaster Alderson broke his silence and made his presence known.
“I will not permit a duel here.”
Sssss.
Perhaps Alderson’s inner turmoil had finally cald, because the mana radiating from his body spread out like ripples and took control of the space.
It wasn't particularly threatening, but...
Its serene, gentle flow naturally drained the tension from the air. It felt like my burning fighting spirit was doused with ice-cold water.
I shook myself off and withdrew my true ki, and Barter lowered the sword he had drawn.
Of course, we both knew this was only a temporary truce.
We were probably thinking the sa thing: We would settle this sowhere Alderson wasn’t.
Perhaps the headmaster realized this as well, because the next mont, he looked at us and slowly said, “However... I do understand that there are irreconcilable differences of opinion between the two of you. Let us do this: In twelve hours, you’ll duel, and we will proceed with the victor’s plan.”
In a cold voice, Barter said, “My opinion was that we should head to Building 13 as soon as possible.”
“You must understand that Lord Luan’s opinion has so validity, don’t you? Twenty-four hours is not a long ti, but it’s not short either. We should rest first and then discuss the correct course of action.”
“...”
“I know it wasn’t easy to return here. You need to rest too,” Alderson continued. “I will officiate the duel. No mana will be allowed. This will be a contest of pure, brute strength. Understood?”
“...Huuu.” Barter let out a rather long sigh, then sheathed his sword. He glanced at briefly before turning away without another word.
Marco and his subordinates, likely mbers of the special forces, followed behind him.
I clicked my tongue openly.
“Just look at that asshole. Walking away before the elder has finished speaking... Tsk, tsk. I’ll never grow up to be like that.”
“You should stop provoking him too.”
I nodded at the headmaster’s words. “Should I?”
Alderson suddenly began laughing like a madman.
“Watching you makes the despairing atmosphere feel faint. What kind of nerves do you have? Is it because you’re a Bednicker?”
“Who knows...”
“No, looking at Hector Bednicker, that is not it. Perhaps it’s just your nature...
“There's no reason to despair if there’s still a chance. If I’ve tried everything and nothing worked, then I’ll curse and complain.”
“What will you say?”
“Sothing like, ‘God, you bastard.’ ”
Alderson laughed heartily. “Be thankful that I am not a religious man.”
“If you were, I wouldn’t have said it.”
“Indeed.” Alder chuckled. “ ‘Never give up until the end.’ It’s sothing everyone knows in their heads, but the human heart is a peculiar thing. The more dire the situation, the harder it is to control.”
“...”
“One thing is clear: Your optimism will one day be a beacon for everyone.”
I wondered how peculiar I must be. It felt more burdenso than outright insulting when he praised or placed his unsolicited expectations on like that.
“...A beacon, huh?”
“You have not noticed how the young heroes look at you, have you? Regardless of what you think, you are already their leader.” Alderson chuckled lightly. “Take a walk with .”
Did he still have more to say?
I followed behind Alderson, who had started walking imdiately, without waiting for my response.
His steps were rather slow.
It wasn’t just because of his age. He was not quite fully recovered.
I reached out my hand to offer support, but he simply shook his head and continued struggling.
When the sounds of cadets’ sobbing and voices filled with despair faded into the distance...
Alderson said, “I feel responsible for this situation.”
“...”
“The academy... is a place of learning. We spared no effort to create the best possible environnt for education. We deliberately encouraged ideological and philosophical clashes among the cadets in the hope that productive debates would arise, hoping they would beco better people as a result.”
I had only seen the eccentric side of Headmaster Alderson.
He had built a ridiculous structure called the Tower of Training within the academy, seemingly enjoying the pain and suffering of the cadets climbing it...
He had also produced 250 combat golems out of admiration for the Platinum Knight Order.
Above all, Alderson was a mage.
People who would stop at nothing to achieve their goals.
And at the pinnacle of such individuals stood the archmages.
I had never been in awe of mages.
The more I’d learned of them throughout the years, the more I’d sensed the madness that only ca from those who bet everything on their single chosen field.
“To teach without restrictions. To allow thoughts and ideologies to change freely. To let them explore their paths to their hearts' content. These are the privileges of youth. And we, the faculty... It was our responsibility to protect them until they went out into the world.”
That was why I found this side of Alderson a bit unexpected.
For the first ti, I saw not the Archmage of Violet but the headmaster of Kartell Academy.
I felt like I finally understood why he was the headmaster.
I scratched the back of my head for a mont, trying to think of sothing to say... but nothing ca to mind that would comfort an old man who had lived several tis longer than .
In the end, the words that ca out were words anyone could have said: “I'm sorry to hear that.”
“The children are all still alive. As the princess said, their souls may be held hostage, suffering.”
“...”
“I will save every last one of them. Even if it costs my life... I swear it here and now,” Headmaster Alderson said, his voice clear and resolute. “This bloody world will be swept away by my violet.”
The Archmage of Violet, Alderson Maveur.
Though it was only seen in the ranks of the dormitories, his words carried the weight of one who placed violet above even the imperial family’s crimson.
“You must like violet.”
Alderson smiled faintly. “Is it not the most mysterious color? That is why I like Bednicker too.”
For a mont, I wondered what he ant, but he had to be referring to the color of my eyes.
I chuckled softly and said, “Headmaster, you’re the most sane mage I’ve ever t.”
Alderson paused at my comnt, then smiled in return. “Not all mages are like Sir Asad. He’s an eccentric, even among archmages.”
“Oh, is that so?”
“Indeed.”
After a mont of silence, I looked to the headmaster and said, “Rest assured, Headmaster, I’ve co here to bring dawn to this world.”
Recalling the Martial God’s words, I looked at the dark, blood-red sky.
“The harder tis are, the more certain it is that the sun must rise.”
* * * * *
* * * * *
After that brief conversation with Alderson...
I found a suitable room and shut the door. Then I began cultivating my energy.
The yang ki from the forcibly shattered mystic bead was still raging inside .
“Huuu...”
I slowed my breathing, stabilized the energy, and absorbed it as smoothly as I could. A pleasant heat coursed through my body, relaxing my muscles.
As I did, my mind naturally drifted back to my conversation with the headmaster.
My optimism?
Was I really optimistic?
Honestly, I wasn’t sure I’d call myself that.
The way I approached life right now boiled down to one rule: I would do everything I could from wherever I stood.
I did not think it was a perfect answer because even if one did their best, there were bound to be regrets—I'd experienced that firsthand.
Like during that training camp, in the past that no longer existed.
So, to be honest... I didn’t want the Blessing of the Spirit Mountain to activate.
It was a great boon. Getting a second chance at life was undeniably incredible. But...
Sohow, it left with a deep sense of emptiness.
It felt as though all my struggles, my efforts as a person, were reduced to scraps of paper to be thrown away.
Am I being too arrogant?
Suddenly, I rembered a conversation I’d had with the Lord of Blood and Iron.
—What must soone do to defeat a God while retaining their humanity?
—To achieve such a feat... one would need multiple opportunities.
—Spare lives, or a thod to challenge your foe countless tis. Or perhaps even—and this is the most absurd yet—the ability to rewind ti.
It was true.
If I was going to face the absurd existence that was a demon lord, I too would need such absurd ans.
I chuckled and rose from my seated position.
I was done cultivating.
I was done sooner than I’d expected, and I still had so ti before my duel with Barter...
Intending to loosen up my stiff body, I opened the door and stepped out...
Thud.
The top of soone's head bumped right into the pit of my stomach.
Wondering who it was, I looked down and saw a blue head. “Hmm?”
“There you are!” said Mir Giant.
“Do you need sothing from ?” I asked.
“Yeah!”
“And that is?”
“Take off the attack team!”
“Why?” I asked, staring at her without a change in expression.
Mir flinched slightly, but raised her voice even louder and said, “Th-there are many who are much stronger than !”
I crossed my arms and asked, “Like who?”
“L-like, that blond knight... or your brother... or...”
“Wrong.”
“What, what?”
“You are stronger than them both.”
Mir's eyes widened, as if to ask, Really?
What’s this?
I thought she had completely gotten over the trauma from the training camp, but apparently not.
She’d stopped shrinking back at the sight of strong, overwhelming opponents, but it seed her self-esteem had yet to fully recover.
If anything, I was the one caught off guard.
This kid had no clue about her potential.
“Perfect timing. Follow .”
“Huh? Ack.”
I grabbed Mir by the nape of her neck and dragged her along while I looked for a suitable spot.
* * *
My search for an open area led naturally to the dining hall on the first floor...
Which, of course, was still a ss.
I understood why nobody had cleaned it, but still...
Bang!
I kicked over and tossed aside a few fallen tables, pushing them into the corners to clear so space.
Then I looked at Mir, still standing there dumbfounded, and asked, “Want to warm up first, or should we just get started?”
“St-start what?”
“Fighting, of course.”
“So suddenly?”
“Most fights start unannounced,” I said, and promptly threw a chair at her.
She got startled and reflexively threw a punch straight at it.
Crack!
Wow.
The wooden chair shattered into a million splinters, leaving no trace of its original form.
“What are you doing?!” Mir shouted.
I ignored her words and lunged forward, throwing a punch.
Infused with a moderate amount of inner energy, my fist emitted a faint fla.
Mir gritted her teeth and thrust her hand forward to et it.
Boooom!
All five of my punches were blocked, and my fist ached from the impacts.
It felt like I was slamming my fist against reinforced steel, not flesh and blood.
Which was only natural, really.
The giants were the strongest and toughest of the seven races when it ca to pure physical prowess.
In a contest without mana, the strongest would surely be a giant.
Moreover, Mir wasn’t just any giant. She carried the blood of the legendary giant Ymir.
In terms of status, that put her on par with House Bednicker, the descendants of Dark Fairy Kuset.
“Ugh...”
But as I continued my attacks, Mir's responses beca increasingly reluctant, and at one point, she hesitated and stumbled backward.
Thanks to her resilient body, she was unscathed...
However, the frustration was palpable.
“Why in the world are you so scared?”
“What...?”
“You were born with the strongest spear and shield. Don't you know how much of a blessing that is?”
She didn’t need to dodge or defend.
That alone allowed her to focus almost entirely on offense, which was a huge advantage...
If Mir were to charge at right now and use her body to its full potential, even I would have to get serious.
Mir backed away, looking troubled.
Had I pushed her too hard?
“I... I...”
Her response was even weaker now.
The Martial God offered his advice.
[Turn up the heat.]
Will that be okay?
[It should be. Breaking the shell is up to the child, but anyone can lend a bit of help.]
...Pecking together to hatch, huh?
It was as the Martial God said. It was up to the hatchling to break its egg, but the mother could peck a little too.
Fwoosh!
My flas flared up.
After my battle with Kajita, my flas had grown stronger and were now divided into three distinct stages.
Red fla, blue fla, and purple fla.
Naturally, with each change in color, the temperature would rise.
“Ughh, urghh...”
The mont my fla turned from red to blue...
Mir's expression changed. A rough grinding sound ca from her small teeth, and her eyes glead with a chilling blue aura.
“AAAHHHHHHHH!”
It was an ear-splitting roar.
The kind you’d expect not from a kid-sized body but from a mountain-sized monster.
With that deafening noise, the windows shattered with a loud crash, and a burst of freezing energy erupted from Mir.
WHOOOSH!
I braced myself against the sudden blizzard, wrapping my body with blue flas.
It wasn't protective bodily ki, but it was enough to keep the cold from invading my flesh.
Just beyond my skin, the cold and heat clashed, producing a mist that rose like steam.
Boom!
From within the chaos, a small projectile flew out and struck .
It was Mir's fist.
I crossed my arms to absorb the impact, but my body was flung across the room in a flash to slam into the far wall.
...?
I felt a sharp, freezing pain in my arm, and when I looked, I saw that icy frost had seeped into my arm...
Suddenly, sothing startling happened. For a mont, I felt both fire and ice surrounding .
It was a strange sensation.
Fire and ice. The two most incompatible elents in the world.
[Rember this feeling.]
What?
His voice faded as quickly as it had co. Once again, he loved giving cryptic advice.
It was becoming his signature, to drop so aweso-sounding remark and poof, disappear.
anwhile, Mir was gasping for breath and staring down at her arm. “Hah... Heuk... Wh-what is this...?”
“That must be the power of the Frost Giant. You’ve awakened the strength of your ancestors. Congratulations.”
“Ah...”
“In terms of raw physical power, you’re already the strongest. And now you’ve got a special power. That’s reassuring.”
I bent my knees and crouched down slightly to et the little giant’s eyes.
“In Building 13, the demon lord’s realm, anything can happen. Your blessings or mana may be sealed at any mont. When that happens, the only thing you will be able to rely on is your trained body.”
“...”
“Got it? I added you to the group because we need you.”
“But, I'm so small...”
“Small doesn't an weak. Let ask you a question, then: Why did you join the Bednicker training camp?”
“I...” Mir murmured hesitantly. “...Because I felt so pathetic. I wanted to change... I wanted to beco a hero.”
“Good. Look at the situation now. The headmaster is injured, the special forces are up to who-knows-what, and the cadets—well, as you can see, they are all incapable. This unprecedented crisis... it’s the perfect mont for a hero to rise, don’t you think?”
“...”
“Lend us your strength. We need you.”
Mir hesitated for a mont, then slowly looked up at . “...All right.” Mir nodded, clenching her fists tightly.
Sothing similar to my blue fla seed to be burning in her blue eyes.
“I... I think... I can do it!”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah! It's a strange feeling! I feel like I can do anything...” Mir whipped her head to look at . “You... you awakened , Luan Bednicker! You taught a lesson!”
“It’s not like I taught you anything. I just gave you a little nudge.”
“Do you mind if I call you ‘Master’?”
“No.”
“Master.”
“I said no,” I replied, shivering with a scrunched-up face.
Mir being Mir, however, stared up at with sparkling eyes like she hadn’t heard a word I’d said. “Master!” she shouted.
I said no...
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