Preparing One’s Self to be Thrown into the Spider’s Web (1)

The exams to determine the top student at the Sword Dragon Hall were held twice each year.

The rare rewards given to the top student were also awarded twice every year.

If one possessed enough skill to utterly overwhelm the other students of their cohort, then legendary treasures—such as Heavenly Blood Pill, crafted from the Heavenly Sword Lord’s blood, or the famed sword Flostilla—could be monopolized, twice each year.

‘Honestly, becoming the top student itself isn’t a problem at all.’

Currently, Ian’s level was at the entry-stage of Swordmaster.

Meanwhile, the new students who entered the hall this term alongside Ian averaged only at the lower tier among users.

Of course, there were outliers such as Hector, Kargon, and Kuga whose abilities far surpassed the average, but evezn they were only at the intermediate or high-rank among users.

Even Charlotte, who transferred down from the cohort above, was merely at the highest user level, and even Yuria, hailed as a genius, was only at the entry-stage of Expert.

‘Moreover, it’s not just a difference in aura level.’

There was an immense gap in the depth and prowess of swordsmanship as well.

They were all fledglings who had probably never even faced a real opponent before, while Ian was a veteran who had survived by shaving off bone and flesh in the hells of the Hisperion civil war and the Human-Demon War in his previous life.

The comparison simply didn’t add up from the start.

‘Even if all the new students of this batch attacked me at once, it wouldn’t be difficult.’

What’s more, this gap would only widen over time.

Ian possessed a growth rate so remarkable that, within just two months of his regression, he pulled his body—which had been unable to use mana—up to the level of Swordmaster.

Of course, this staggering speed of growth was the result of a convergence of supreme luck, so it would be difficult to maintain such a supernatural rate indefinitely.

‘Even so, it won’t take too long to regain my past level.’

He’d never achieved Grandmaster even in his previous life, so he honestly didn’t know how long that might take, but reaching the peak of Swordmaster should be no problem before graduating from the Sword Dragon Hall, no matter how slowly.

‘One of the reasons I entered the Sword Dragon Hall in the first place was for swift and safe growth.’

The main reason for entering the Sword Dragon Hall was, of course, to protect Yuria up close.

But there was also no place that could ensure growth as rapidly and as safely as this one.

‘And first and foremost, the rewards given to the top student twice every year are, frankly, absurdly excellent.’

And with the Authority of Projection, Ian could replicate and multiply those top student rewards.

Even if Ian only received a single elixir on par with Heavenly Blood Pill, he could clone it into a hundred, gaining a hundredfold the effect.

‘The only problem is, projection consumes an enormous amount of magic power. I’ll need people who can guard me when my mana is depleted and I’m defenseless.’

That role was fulfilled by the instructors of the Sword Dragon Hall and the knights of the Heavenly Sword Palace.

On top of that, he would be provided with nutritious meals as good as any elixir, and given all the time and space he needed for training.

In effect, there was no better cradle for Ian’s rise to Grandmaster than this.

‘…… If only Aris weren’t here……’

In this life, Aris had become the head of the Sword Dragon Hall, turning it into a place that could no longer guarantee safety.

‘And not only is Aris targeting me in particular, she isn’t just anyone else, either……’

She had said she wanted to know everything Ian was hiding, every last secret, one by one.

‘What a headache.’

The big problem was not knowing what tricks Aris might pull next.

And the biggest issue was that Aris, driven by mere curiosity, was a madwoman who would easily pry open Ian’s secrets, even his very belly.

‘Protecting Sophia is as important as protecting Yuria, and so is protecting myself.’

It wouldn’t be easy to maintain the same growth speed as before, but Ian had to keep moving forward at his very best pace.

So that, whenever Aris hatched some scheme, he could shake it off with greater strength.

‘I have to regain my past level as quickly as possible.’

Before graduation from the Sword Dragon Hall? No.

Graduation from the Sword Dragon Hall was in four years.

That was far too late.

Aris could do who-knew-what as soon as tomorrow. Four years of defenselessness was unthinkable.

‘I need to regain my past level much faster than that.’

At the latest, within a year.

He had to make it happen.

‘Fortunately, there is a way.’

Though it involved taking on considerable risk, there wasn’t no way to regain his previous level within a year.

‘Regaining my former abilities ultimately comes down to acquiring a massive absolute quantity of mana.’

The understandings needed to reach the highest level of Swordmaster were already in his head.

In other words, as long as he had elixirs, it was possible.

‘And the reward for the first final exam this time is……’

Millennium Golden Essence (千年金精).

It was a naturally-formed elixir created by the accumulation of iron energy in nature over a thousand years.

As befitted an elixir formed over a full millennium in the wild, pure magic power was massively condensed within the Millennium Golden Essence, and with proper assimilation, one could gain not only tremendous aura but also the added bonus of metal attribute.

‘There could be no reward more perfect for me right now.’

Not to mention the immense importance of the vast aura held within the Millennium Golden Essence, the bonus of obtaining the metal attribute was just what Ian needed.

‘Gaining the metal attribute will make handling thunder energy (雷氣) much easier.’

The Heavenly Palace’s advanced cultivation method for controlling thunder energy he received from the Heavenly Sword Lord, thundercloud Heart, was top tier, but the thunder energy it accumulated in his dantian was extremely difficult to manage.

Thunder energy boasted extremely powerful force and speed, but was hard to control, leading to magic power being wasted, and its overuse put a severe strain on the body.

‘But if used alongside metal-attributed aura, all those weaknesses are greatly mitigated.’

Thunder energy naturally followed metal energy, so if one possessed metal-attributed aura, the irregular flows of thunder energy could be much more easily reined in.

And reinforcing his body like steel with metal aura would greatly reduce the damage caused by wielding thunder energy.

‘The fact that Millennium Golden Essence was chosen as this reward…… it must have been Aris’s doing.’

It was Aris who announced the top student reward this time, and the Millennium Golden Essence was different from what was offered in his previous life.

‘I heard that in my previous life, the first final exam’s reward was not Millennium Golden Essence, but an Orichalcum Cuirass.’

Aris had publicly introduced both the exam details and the top student reward at the end of the induction ceremony.

‘That woman… What on earth is she up to?’

Aris knew Ian was training in Sky Thunder, Deep as the Clouds.

After all, the Heavenly Sword Lord wrote in a letter that Aris had personally chosen that technique as a gift.

‘She’s blatantly offering the exact elixir I need as a reward.’

Even just one Millennium Golden Essence would grant Ian’s aura explosive growth and make handling thunder energy much easier.

If he duplicated it multiple times using the Authority of Projection, he could reach the highest level of Swordmaster, and wield thunder energy with almost perfect mastery using metal aura.

Of course, there was no chance Aris knew about the Authority of Projection.

‘Does she want to see how much of my full power I’ll reveal to get my hands on the Millennium Golden Essence?’

Is she shaking the bait I need most, hoping to make me display my full might?

‘Any other hidden intentions? None come to mind right away.’

But Ian would hardly reveal his full power against mere new students.

Besides, Aris personally witnessed Ian defeating Dellen, who was already a Swordmaster, so she must be aware of this.

‘In that case…’

She was probably secretly preparing opponents strong enough that even Ian would find them difficult to handle.

To force Ian to reveal his hidden strength, no matter what.

‘The Millennium Golden Essence is just the beginning, meant to drag me into this exam.’

Once he actually entered the test, there was a high chance even more varied bait items and traps would be awaiting him.

‘Participating in this exam is basically walking into the spider’s web Aris has laid out.’

Honestly, if possible, he would have liked to avoid it.

‘But avoiding it would only provoke Aris even more in the end.’

If Ian dodged this test, it would only convince Aris he was hiding even more important secrets than the Millennium Golden Essence.

Then Aris would drive him even harder, using increasingly extreme means to forcibly draw out what he was keeping hidden.

‘It’s a real no-win situation. I have to walk into the trap, knowing full well it’s there.’

There was one bit of relief.

Even though Aris had become head of the Sword Dragon Hall, her faction was not the only one within the hall.

Though the Heavenly Sword Lord was away on an expedition, the most influential faction in the Heavenly Sword Palace remained the lord’s own.

No matter how reckless Aris might be, she couldn’t openly cause a major incident under the eyes of the lord’s supporters.

At the very least, Yuria or Sophia would not be in danger of anything too serious.

‘Moreover…’

Aris did not yet know all of Ian’s abilities.

Because of that, there was a chance she would more thoroughly prepare traps from all directions. But unless she discovered Ian’s Authority of Projection, it was impossible for her to design a trap that could fully ensnare him.

‘The exam was described as an uninhabited island survival.’

But it wasn’t simply about surviving on a deserted island.

‘There were a lot of restrictions.’

Use of aura was forbidden in this exam, and bringing the sword received at the sword spirit ritual was also disallowed.

‘Not being able to use Vladiark……’

Did Aris think she could easily toy with me if she just separated me from Vladiark?

‘If that’s what she thinks…’

Whatever traps Aris had prepared this time, that idea would prove her downfall.

‘It’s true that my combat power drops a lot without Vladiark.’

If Ian had Vladiark, he’d have a fighting chance even against a Grand Duke, but without it, he’d struggle even to handle a high-ranked Swordmaster opponent.

‘So it makes no sense for me to leave behind Vladiark and take this exam.’

I had to bring Vladiark as a secret trump card, no matter what.

‘Luckily, I have a good method.’

Ian recalled the spatial storage artifact stored at the Lunabreeze mansion.

Artifact use was forbidden in Sword Dragon Hall exams, so he couldn’t use the artifact itself.

‘But if I use projection to duplicate just the storage magic within the artifact…’

He could use that magic to secretly bring Vladiark to the exam.

‘So it doesn’t matter what kind of trap Aris sets.’

As long as Ian had a way to secretly bring Vladiark, Aris’s plan was already as good as failed.

After all, Aris’s entire plan would be based on the assumption that Ian could not use Vladiark.

If she did lay traps involving absurdly powerful foes, Ian could simply answer them with the equally absurd power of Vladiark.

‘There are approximately two months left until the deserted island exam.’

It would take just over a month to project the storage magic from the spatial artifact.

‘Plenty of time left.’

Now, all that remained was—

‘Resolve.’

The resolve to bite onto the bait Aris dangled before him.

The resolve to dive into the web of the black widow spider.

‘All right then… Let’s do this. Aris Hisperion.’

A calm determination flickered quietly in Ian’s eyes.

————-= Clacky’s Corner ————-=

This just shows that regression really isn’t a fix all…

One wrong move and you’d catch the eye of a monster that could bring you danger…

【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep