Chapter 114: Never Before Such a Challenge (2)

The one who popped out was a lanky peer.

His name was Gelman.

But because of his appearance, everyone just called him Horseface.

“Hm?”

Horseface looked my way, rubbing his eyes.

“What’s that? Did I see something? Must’ve imagined it.”

Then he walked past me, disappearing down the central staircase.

‘…Wow.’

I let out the breath I’d been holding.

I’d nearly lost Stealth.

No, for a split second—just a fleeting moment—it did break.

I hurriedly regained my composure and reactivated Stealth, which was the only thing that saved

me.

If I hadn’t—

‘No, stop imagining. Bad thoughts only make things worse.’

Today, I was going to circle the campus and return to my dorm without incident.

With that mindset locked in, I descended the central staircase and stepped outside the dorm.

Whoooosh-

The wind blew.

My first impression was this:

‘It’s cool.’

My bare lower half felt ridiculously breezy.

Plenty of students passed by me.

Without so much as a glance.

Right.

What was composure?

An unshaken mindset was part of it, but so was calmness and naturalness.

‘It feels a lot closer to giving up, though…’

Anyway.

I ignored my surroundings and moved as naturally as usual.

One lap, two laps, three laps around the dorm, and before I knew it, I’d gotten pretty used to this state.

‘What’s this? It’s more comfortable than I thought.’

Humans really were creatures of adaptation.

Or maybe I had a knack for this sort of thing.

Either way, I figured it was about time to start the preliminary test.

Who would be a good first subject?

Just then, I spotted the perfect target passing by.

‘Ivan?’

He was holding a sword in one hand, probably heading to training.

Perfect.

When training, he’d use an aura.

Using aura would naturally heighten his senses, making it an ideal opportunity to test Stealth’s power.

‘Alright. Let’s see how close I can get.’

I followed Ivan.

And there, I encountered an unexpected figure.

“You’re here.”

“Master.”

Department Head Pirion.

I froze the moment I saw him.

‘That guy’s with him?’

I already knew from the original story that Ivan was training under Pirion, so that wasn’t surprising.

But this meant the test was off.

Pirion’s senses were far sharper than Ivan’s and the risk of getting caught was too high.

Without a moment’s hesitation, I turned to leave.

‘I’ll find another subject besides Ivan.’

That’s when it happened.

A conversation pierced my ears, and I froze mid-step.

“I heard there was an incident during the extracurricular activity.”

“Yes. But we resolved it well. I learned a lot, too. Thanks to you, Master.”

“Then I suppose it’s fine to ask now. Why did you insist on being on the same team as Gerard?”

As expected, my hunch was right.

Ivan and I being on the same team wasn’t a coincidence.

‘But to think he’d use Pirion’s influence for that?’

Like Pirion, I was curious about the reason.

“I wanted to be sure. Sure that I could surpass him.”

“Why do you want to surpass him?”

“I don’t know exactly. It’s just… watching him ignites something in me. I respect and like him as a senior, but there’s this strange urge in my heart. I want to cross swords with him, just once. And…”

“You want to win?”

“…Yes.”

A deep smile curled on Pirion’s lips.

“So, what’s the answer?”

A brief silence.

Completely engrossed in their conversation, I stared intently at Ivan’s mouth.

Finally, he spoke.

“Not right now, but I think I can surpass him in half a year.”

I nearly let out a hollow laugh.

Half a year?

‘That’s too short.’

Well, it wasn’t unthinkable.

Ivan’s growth was absurd by anyone’s standards.

In the original story, Ivan was like a runaway locomotive, but this Ivan was beyond even that.

I’d thought about this before.

‘Why is this Ivan so damn strong?’

He took down enemies that should’ve overwhelmed him, always exceeding expectations.

The experience points from training or combat, and the benefits from artifacts, were the same in the original story and here.

I’d asked Yuria about it sometimes.

She said Ivan trained hard, but that was true in the original story too.

In other words, the difference wasn’t external but internal.

The key factor I focused on was his traits.

Unlike other characters, Ivan had three growth traits, and frankly, they were all protagonist-level buffs.

The first was [Versatile], same as mine.

A cheat-like trait that granted exceptional comprehension in learning visions, techniques, strategies, and academics.

The second was [Soul Sword], the pinnacle of swordsmanship talent, alongside Gwyn Gaiard’s [Sword Demon].

And the third was,[Competitive Spirit].

Competitive Spirit could be summed up in one line:‘The stronger he gets, the stronger I get.’

In other words, the stronger Ivan’s chosen rival became, the stronger Ivan himself grew through a ripple effect.

A sneaky, overpowered trait that let him hitch a ride on someone else’s strength.

And I suspected the reason for Ivan’s rapid growth was the identity of this ‘target.’

‘The rest of the conditions are the same as the original.’

He trained just as hard, fought magical beasts just as fiercely.

(The number of beasts might differ, but not significantly.)

He’d been receiving private lessons from Department Head Pirion recently, just like in the original.

No matter how I thought about it, the only variable was the target.

‘In the original, it was Gwyn.’

But here, it likely wasn’t Gwyn.

…Who was it?

‘It’s me.’

Unless you were an idiot, you’d figure it out.

Their conversation just now made it crystal clear.

The person Ivan saw as his rival.

The one who ignited his competitive spirit and fighting drive.

That was me.

‘But even with [Competitive Spirit], getting that strong is crossing a line, isn’t it?’

It seemed Ivan’s rivalry toward me far exceeded my expectations.

Even so, claiming he’d surpass me in half a year felt a bit insulting.

‘I’m not just sitting still either.’

Honestly, it hurt my pride, but it was also amusing, and I let out a small chuckle.

Sorry to Ivan, but I had no intention of ever being weaker than him, a potentially dangerous rival.

No matter how broken his growth traits were, it didn’t matter.

I knew this world’s information, could preempt and exploit it, and always aimed higher.

Besides, I probably knew more about ‘Ivan’ than Ivan himself did.

‘And yet, what? You’ll surpass me in half a year?’

That’s funny.

That’s what I was thinking when I looked up.

My eyes locked with a pair staring straight at me, sending chills down my spine and a gulp down my throat.

…It was Department Head Pirion.

He’d stopped talking with Ivan and was staring directly at where I was hiding.

“….”

I slowly lowered my head.

My bare lower half filled my vision.

Yeah, Stealth had worn off.

“Whoever’s hiding there, show yourself now.”

Oh.

I was screwed.

* * *

I quickly racked my brain.

Should I open my subspace and put on clothes now, or not?

I could.

But that would reveal I’d been spying on Ivan’s training and eavesdropping on their conversation.

They’d definitely find it suspicious.

“If you don’t come out, I’ll come to you.”

Department Head Pirion started walking toward me.

No time to think.

I quickly reactivated Stealth.

At the same time, Pirion’s face hardened, and he rushed forward at incredible speed, slashing through the bushes in front of me.

Whooosh…

The grass didn’t just get cut—it disintegrated.

My legs trembled, but I fought to maintain composure.

Thankfully, Stealth held.

Pirion, standing right in front of me, didn’t spot me.

This all but proved the power of [Stealth].

The test was over.

The result was a resounding success, but that wasn’t the priority now.

A sudden gust of sword wind tore through, slicing up the surrounding trees and grass.

Slash-slash-slash!

It was like dozens of lawnmowers had been unleashed at once.

My heart sank.

I didn’t need to check to know Stealth had broken.

With a forest being shredded right in front of me, there was no way I could stay composed.

So I hurriedly used [Flame Surge].

Aimed straight ahead.

Boom!

A pillar of fire shot up from the ground, blocking Pirion’s view.

At the same time, I used Stealth and sprinted at full speed.

Tap-tap-tap!

Glancing back, I saw Pirion, unscathed by the flames, chasing me with his sword raised.

It was a terrifying sight.

‘By the way, how the hell is he tracking me so precisely?’

Stealth was still active.

‘Oh.’

I got it.

Stealth hid my form and presence.

But not my tracks.

Pirion wasn’t chasing me—he was following the footprints left in the dirt.

I had to get off this soil fast.

Where was the closest place in this forest?

What was up ahead?

My face darkened as I spotted the approaching building.

‘Of all places…’

But I wasn’t in a position to be picky.

I leapt over the high wall in a single bound and entered the building right in front of me.

No time to hesitate.

“Hm? Did something just pass by?”

“It’s just the wind.”

“We’re inside a building.”

“…True.”

A girl tilted her head, resting her chin on her hand.

Right.

The place I’d ducked into in a panic was the one and only male-forbidden zone in the Academy:

The women’s dormitory.

I confirmed Stealth was still active and glanced back briefly.

Pirion wasn’t in sight yet.

Of course.

Even someone like Department Head Pirion would need a lot of thought and resolve to enter here—

Tap.

…Or not.

Pirion casually leapt over the wall, landed in the dormitory grounds, and walked straight toward my building, completely ignoring the bewildered stares of the female cadets.

‘Damn it. How’d he pinpoint me this time? There are no footprints.’

Now I saw—the central entrance door was wide open, and it was the only building with an open door.

My luck was just awful.

The building’s interior was a dead end with nowhere to escape.

I had no choice but to head upstairs.

The situation grew worse by the second.

Maintaining composure was mentally draining.

I didn’t know when Stealth might break, and the pressure was intense.

That’s when I saw it.

A slightly ajar door at the end of the hallway as I climbed.

No time to think.

Going higher would lead to the dead-end rooftop, so I slipped into the unknown room and closed the door.

Gently.

As if the wind had nudged it shut.

Click.

But the room was empty.

The owner must’ve gone out and forgotten to lock the door properly.

The room was silent, and after confirming it was safe, I finally released Stealth.

“Hoo…”

All the pent-up emotions spilled out in a single breath.

God, I almost died.

“Do I really have to go this far?”

Absolutely not, but thinking positively, I probably didn’t need to worry about Stealth breaking in most situations.

Its power and performance were more than satisfactory.

I wanted to rush to Lunatic and tell Luis and Dayle about this triumph.

But first, I had to get out of here.

Leaving was easy.

I could just use [Phase Shift].

“But first, clothes.”

As I opened my subspace to grab some clothes, my eyes caught the scene on the desk.

Colorful wrapping paper and a wooden box.

True to my thief nature, curiosity about what was inside surged, and I felt the urge to open it.

‘Should I check?’

My hand was already moving before I finished the thought.

“Nothing.”

The box was empty.

Either the contents had been taken out, or nothing had been put in yet.

The clean wrapping paper suggested the latter.

And then—

“Huh, a letter?”

Inside the wrapping paper was a neatly folded pink letter.

I let out a small chuckle.

“Whoever this is for must be thrilled.”

Probably some ultimate alpha male.

It wasn’t easy for a girl to prepare a gift and letter first, whether in the modern world or here.

Out of courtesy, I decided not to open the letter.

‘Not like I’m that curious.’

Looking out the window, I saw the campus guards flooding in.

Probably on Pirion’s orders.

Before things got messier, I used [Phase Shift] to get out.

.

.

.

.

.

.

…Exactly thirty minutes after Gerard left the room.

Click!

The door opened, and the room’s owner, who’d been out, returned.

The outside was still chaotic.

Something about spotting a suspicious figure.

Normally, she would’ve rushed out to check, but not now.

Her focus was entirely on the ‘gift.’

She opened the wooden box on the desk and placed the item she’d brought inside.

“He’ll like it, right?”

Thinking of his joy at receiving the gift, a smile bloomed on her face.

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