Chapter 152: Final Exams (4)

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“……”

Laysis rolled her eyes.

Considering how boldly she had ambushed this party, the situation wasn’t looking good.

‘I should’ve gathered a little more information before attacking.’

She had thought this was the perfect opportunity while Nerian—the eye of this storming battle—was away.

Her plan had been to strike at the enemy party’s rear and launch a surprise attack, but the moment she saw Carl’s face, all of her plans fell apart.

“Miss Laysis?”

The other cadets hesitated and stopped, sending puzzled looks toward Laysis.

They couldn’t understand why she wasn’t attacking as originally planned.

‘Ah, whatever!’

Tap!

Before Carl could move, Laysis chose to dash forward first, kicking off the ground.

She was betting on the fact that Carl was still hiding his true ability from the other cadets.

Clang!

Carl matched her momentum willingly and retreated behind the bushes.

Laysis’ judgment was that tying down the strongest member, Carl, would allow her cadets to defeat the rest of his party—however…

“…Miss Laysis?”

The remaining cadets lifted their heads uncertainly.

It was only natural—after all, the other party still had Yuria, who ranked among the very top just like Laysis.

“Well, Laysis’ decision wasn’t wrong. I just think you’re all unlucky.”

Rumble—!

Thunder roared in all directions.

In most battles, the presence or absence of a mage was a decisive factor that could determine the outcome.

Of course, Laysis’ party had a mage as well, but none could compare to the one leading the first-years—Yuria herself.

“Gahk!”

Each time a flash of yellow lightning struck the ground, the cadets were swept away and incapacitated.

“Block her! Don’t let anyone reach Miss Yuria!”

“Hold out until Carl keeps Miss Laysis occupied!”

Yuria’s party shifted their formation—no longer an attacking force, but a formation solely meant to protect Yuria.

After all, the only one with enough firepower to decisively finish the fight was Yuria herself.

“Damn it…”

About five minutes later.

Every cadet had retired, and Yuria’s party achieved an overwhelming victory.

“Haa…”

Having consumed a fair amount of mana, Yuria wiped the sweat running down her forehead and lowered her arms.

‘This is pretty tiring too.’

Even though it was only an illusionary field, that didn’t mean there was no damage at all.

Being cut or stabbed was simulated, but magic caused definite mental shock.

If one inflicted excessive mental damage, it could cause problems, so mages were forbidden from using high-level spells beyond a certain threshold.

In fact, for someone of Yuria’s caliber, it was more exhausting to intentionally suppress her power.

“There’s no symbol here.”

“Laysis must have it.”

“I’m worried about Carl.”

The cadets turned their heads toward the forest where Laysis and Carl had disappeared.

To think he had lured away the enemy leader to buy time for them.

Considering the difference in strength between the two, it wouldn’t have been strange if he’d already been defeated—yet he was still holding out stubbornly.

“…Shouldn’t we go help?”

“Forget it. If Laysis comes back, things will get annoying. It’s easier to retire her quickly and regroup fast.”

“Doesn’t Carl have the symbol?”

“Ah.”

Yuria suddenly remembered that she had handed the symbol over to Carl before the fight began.

“Quickly—find Carl, now!!”

Clang! Clang!

At that moment, Carl was deep within the forest, locked in a fierce duel with Laysis.

He blocked the falling blades without rest, striking the ground with force and thrusting his sword into any opening he found, maintaining an even match.

If Instructor Frahan had witnessed the scene, he would have praised it as far beyond the level of an ordinary cadet.

“Hup!”

Aura, resembling Laysis’ hair, flared up as she sliced through the forest trees, blocking his path.

Meeting her aura head-on, Carl lifted his head slowly and spoke.

“What did I teach you about aura projection?”

“…Only for short battles. It’s powerful, but the mana consumption is too high to use recklessly.”

“I’m questioning whether you really needed to use it right now.”

Carl sharpened his stance.

Fighting in a place like this, rather than the training hall, was far better for honing real combat sense.

Besides, this was near the edge of the examination field—far from the prying eyes outside.

That meant Carl could finally use a portion of his true ability.

“…Looks like Laysis’ party has been wiped out.”

“It doesn’t matter. I have the symbol.”

“Hm.”

Carl nodded.

Then, as if suddenly recalling something, he pulled out a pink symbol from his chest and showed it to her.

“If you pass my evaluation, I’ll give you this symbol.”

“Is that alright?”

“I feel bad for my teammates, but if the world hears that Laysis and I faced off, everyone would assume the result. No one will complain even if you take it.”

Besides, hadn’t Laysis come specifically targeting him?

Normally, one would expect the strongest—Yuria—to hold the symbol, but Laysis had seen through that.

That insight alone would earn her high marks.

“Alright.”

Clack.

Laysis gripped her sword tighter, her expression turning more serious.

For the top score—and for her fallen teammates—she was determined to pass this evaluation.

Swoosh!

She stepped forward sharply, her sword tracing a half-circle as the Boundless Azure Sword Technique began to unfold in earnest.

‘The Boundless Azure Sword Technique is one that dominates space itself.’

Carl nodded as he watched Laysis’ sword strikes split through the air, gradually closing the distance around him.

Every martial art of the various sects and families of the Central Plains had its own distinct characteristic.

The Mount Hua Sect pursued transformation, the Wudang Sect sought balance, and the Namgung Family focused on mastering space.

Besides the Boundless Azure Sword Technique, the famous Flashing Thunder Sword Technique and the Imperial Sword Form were also similar in nature.

As its name implied, Flashing Thunder was a sword technique that cleaved through space like lightning, while the Imperial Sword Form—passed down only through the direct line of the family head—allowed one to reign over space itself.

The Boundless Azure Sword Technique could be said to lie somewhere between those two.

While maintaining sharpness and speed, it moved with smooth, graceful trajectories that made it especially suitable for women—hence why many female instructors of the Namgung Family favored it.

Clang! Clang!

When facing the Boundless Azure Sword Technique, one often felt as though the very space around them was shrinking.

The area Laysis’ sword controlled expanded wider and wider, leaving Carl with less room to maneuver, forcing him to retreat again and again.

‘The method to break it is simple.’

A domain was nothing more than an imagined boundary.

If that line was disrupted, the opponent’s perception would falter.

Tap.

Carl stepped toward the Gate of Death.

Laysis’ eyes gleamed as she seized that opening, rushing forward like a storm and thrusting her sword toward Carl.

Thud!

But instead of striking flesh, Carl’s figure dispersed like an illusion.

She didn’t realize it was Ghost Step of the Silent Shadow Kill Technique, but she did recognize it as the deceptive movement Carl had once taught her—the False Opening.

‘Then his real target is…!’

Swoosh!

Laysis immediately spun around, swinging her sword to sweep behind her.

Distracting from the front and striking from the rear was Carl’s favorite ambush method.

But strangely, her sword met no resistance at all.

‘Below?’

Sensing nothing nearby, Laysis felt a surge of danger and, at the same time, activated Instructor Frahan’s secret art—Arachne—alongside the Boundless Azure Sword Technique.

Under the vast sky, a web spread wide.

Not one meant to catch prey, but to protect the one standing at its center.

Behind her? Nothing.

Below? Nothing.

Then the only remaining direction was…

“Above!!”

Laysis raised her sword toward the sky with certainty.

Unleashing the ultimate form of the Boundless Azure Sword Technique, she scattered her aura in a fierce surge—and from the air, where he had been hiding, Carl appeared with a faint smile.

“Correct. However…”

That alone was not enough to bring him down.

As if to say those very words, bluish sword energy surged along Carl’s blade.

His aura shattered Laysis’ ascending energy completely and then rushed down toward the ground.

“Ugh!”

Laysis hastily kicked off the ground, dodging the descending waves of sword energy.

But if she could avoid them all, she wouldn’t have lost track of his presence in the first place.

Caught in the explosion that erupted nearby, she was flung through the air.

Thud.

With no chance to land properly, Laysis braced herself for the impact, curling up to endure it.

But just before she hit the ground, someone caught her in their arms, stopping her fall.

“…Carl.”

“You pass. Your mastery of the Boundless Azure Sword Technique is exceptional.”

Carl spoke with genuine admiration.

Perhaps talent truly transcended all boundaries.

Even though she hadn’t learned the Namgung Family’s core techniques, and though it had been less than a month since he’d begun teaching her, Laysis’ growth was astonishing.

He hadn’t expected her to break through from Two Stars to Three at the very last moment.

“Did you use Arachne while performing the Boundless Azure Sword Technique?”

“Yes. Otherwise, I couldn’t have tracked your presence. It was an instinctive decision, but it worked well, didn’t it?”

“It did.”

Carl acknowledged it without hesitation.

Arachne was Instructor Frahan’s secret art.

It required immense focus to use even on its own—he hadn’t expected her to use it together with the Boundless Azure Sword Technique.

“Ah, sorry. I’ll get up…”

Realizing she was still held in Carl’s arms, Laysis flusteredly tried to pull away.

But Carl pressed gently on her shoulder, stopping her movement.

“It would be better to rest before moving. Because of my poor control, you’re nearly at the point of retirement.”

“…Ah.”

Laysis lifted her head.

Indeed, just as he said, her vision flickered—she had taken quite a blow.

Had she moved recklessly, the system would have immediately judged her as retired.

“And one more thing.”

Carl took something from his chest and carefully placed it in Laysis’ hand.

“Please, don’t let another party take this. I’ll come back to retrieve it.”

“Yes, understood. …Wait, you’ll come back to retrieve it?”

“……”

Carl smiled faintly.

If he remained unscathed after losing the symbol, both the cadets and the examiners would grow suspicious.

‘If she hadn’t passed the evaluation, I would have taken her symbol as punishment.’

The world of competition was a cold one.

Carl reversed his grip on his sword and thrust it into himself, inflicting damage.

Beep.

His health dropped, and a heavy mental fatigue weighed on him.

“I’ll be cheering for you, top scorer.”

[Carlos Cadet Retired]

With the message glowing in the Archive, darkness swallowed his vision.

“Wake up. This is the Central Examination Chamber.”

Just as expected, he regained consciousness inside the Central Examination Chamber.

“……”

Carl lowered his head slightly.

How long had it been since he last lost consciousness?

No—the sensation of his body growing heavy and slipping into sleep felt almost identical to the death he had once experienced.

‘Whoever created this system…’

Perhaps that person, too, had once experienced death.

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