Chapter 185

BOOM! The ground shook with a thunderous sound.

Students, startled by the sudden vibrations, looked around in confusion.

“What was that sound?”

“Did something fall?”

“Huh? No.”

“Nothing fell…?”

Or maybe it was just a trick of the ears?

Just as they were pondering that,

KABOOM! KABOOM!

The thunderous sounds continued to reverberate.

As if insisting it wasn’t an illusion.

“The ground is shaking!”

“Could it be magic?”

“No! The device isn’t responding.”

“Wait! Look over there!”

Someone pointed straight ahead.

All eyes turned, revealing a figure performing kick after kick, hair swaying. It was Ulan.

“What in the world…?”

Just as a bewildered utterance slipped out.

Ulan, noticing the gazes from Class 2, grinned mischievously and slammed the ground harder.

BOOM! The vibrations grew even more intense than before.

Everyone went pale.

“N-no way.”

“Is that the source of the vibrations?”

Could that crazy barbarian be the cause?

The students’ eyes widened in horror.

It made sense. It was far from normal to shake the ground with a foot—

But given what was happening right before their eyes, they had no choice but to believe it.

THUD! KABOOM! KABOOM!

As the ground tremors intensified even now, they found themselves immobilized right before their goal.

A girl who had been silent in the back suddenly squatted down, gently stroking the quaking earth while her small lips murmured.

“…Please.”

After Fertisha’s whisper, the rumbling subsided shortly thereafter.

Thanks to her request to the nearby earth spirit to stop the vibrations. Ulan seemed to notice this too, his eyes lighting up.

“The vibrations have stopped!”

“Looks like he’s finally out of steam.”

“Good, the time is now!”

But to Class 2, who were unaware of the spirit’s existence, it simply looked like Ulan had exhausted all his energy.

So they made their decision quickly.

Before that crazy barbarian could recover, they had to break through the defensive line as fast as possible.

“Charge!”

On Pelion’s shout, Class 2 students stomped on the ground all at once.

The gap narrowed rapidly. Along with it, the final destination came into view behind Ulan.

“Just a bit further!”

“Then victory is ours!”

Could it be hope from the thought they could defeat Ulan?

Students hurriedly picked up their pace.

However, they were jumping to conclusions.

Unlike Class 2, Ulan had a second countermeasure ready because he knew about the spirits.

“Huff!”

Ulan took a deep breath, his muscular chest inflating rapidly. Moments later, he opened his mouth toward the approaching Class 2 students.

And in that moment, the nightmare from the entrance ceremony replayed itself.

Meanwhile, right after the defensive line was broken,

a shadow fell across the faces of Class 3 watching the match. The first and second lines had fallen much too quickly.

‘Sure, Ivella fought valiantly, but…’

She was simply outmatched.

Even with Ivella’s counterattacks, Class 2 responded excellently. With a sigh, Noa gazed at Fertisha, heading toward the final defense line.

‘What a troublesome opponent.’

Especially under conditions like this, where aura and domains had limitations. Her skill with spirits was no ordinary feat.

‘And she’s the only spirit master.’

In the original story, Fertisha had a blind love from all spirits, allowing her to command spirits freely, a significant advantage indeed.

‘Then it should be tough even for Ulan…’

to fight her, right?

That thought crossed her mind.

It was a reasonable concern. Their use of power was restricted, and the fighting range was merely a small circle.

But after a short while,

Noa realized it was just misplaced worry.

BOOM! KABOOM! KABOOM!

The ground shook with a deafening roar and tremors.

It wasn’t only Class 2 students who were alarmed by this unexpected turn of events. Noa, the spectators, and even the commentators stared wide-eyed.

“The ground is shaking!”

“Is it an earthquake?”

“No! It’s Ulan!”

“…Huh?”

Million, who usually wore a calm expression, blinked in disbelief. Meanwhile, Edeline excitedly continued her commentary.

“Ulan is stomping the ground to create powerful vibrations!”

“Is that even possible?”

“I don’t know! But it’s Ulan!”

That was explanation enough. The audience nodded in silent agreement, as if to say everyone was on board with that logic.

“Ha, haha.”

Noa couldn’t help but laugh wholeheartedly.

Indeed, no matter how dire the situation, if the opponent was Ulan, it changed everything.

Ulan was a man who defied common sense.

As he continued to stifle Class 2 with his kicking, the vibrations suddenly diminished.

“Ah! The vibrations are decreasing!”

“Looks like he’s running out of power.”

The commentators judged that Ulan was out of steam, but the reality was different. Fertisha had used earth spirit art to put an end to the vibrations.

“Now’s the time for Class 2 to regroup!”

“They seem eager not to miss this chance. Yes, as I speak, they’re moving in.”

“Ah! Ulan! You’re in danger!”

Edeline shouted with a worried expression.

But even that concern was unwarranted.

Ulan remained calm, as if expecting the charge, and soon took a deep breath.

“…!”

Right after witnessing that scene, Noa instinctively covered her ears.

It was accurate to say her body moved automatically based on past experiences.

“You punks—!”

His massive chest muscles swelled as he opened his mouth, and a voice scraping against metal spilled out. Even Ivella, who was still in the arena, urgently covered her ears.

And in that moment,

Ulan roared at full strength.

“You shall NOT pass THIS place!”

The deafening roar reverberated through the hall.

A fierce shockwave soon struck the surroundings.

Though there was no aura or mana, the sheer volume was staggering. Hearing it up close could damage eardrums.

“Aaaaah!”

“My ears…!”

Students who had approached right to the defensive line all tumbled to the ground. And it wasn’t only the leading students who suffered.

Those who were following behind also got affected, not by rolling on the ground, but they faced their own troubles.

“What’s going on? I can’t hear anything!”

“Could it be silence magic?”

“S-senpai!?”

“I’m bleeding from my ears!”

Students shouted in shock.

It was just that monstrous roar’s incredible might. Just then, as the scene from the entrance ceremony began to replay,

“… ”

The commentators, and the students and professors rooting for Ulan in the spectator seats, all clamped their mouths shut at that very moment.

Even their faces turned pale.

As if recalling a long-forgotten nightmare.

Meanwhile, at that time,

only one person remained unscathed.

The white-haired girl, Fertisha.

Thanks to the wind spirits who sensed danger just before the roar spread, her ears had been protected.

“Oh my.”

Her eyes widened like a startled rabbit.

And soon, Fertisha realized.

“This is…!”

The roar that caused the entrance ceremony disaster.

Indeed, it was an incredible force. Who would’ve thought it could have such an effect just from a voice?

As she purely admired this,

the match was temporarily halted.

It was to evacuate the sudden casualties from the arena. Once the students with ear issues were cleared out,

“We will resume the match!”

The temporarily halted defense was back on.

But it held little significance now.

Only two remained in the arena.

Ulan and Fertisha.

‘The time remaining is…’

At most, just a little over five minutes.

Thanks to the match’s brief suspension, they managed to get extra time amounting to this much, otherwise, they would’ve been disqualified for overtime.

‘In other words, we have to get past within these five minutes.’

Fertisha’s brows furrowed.

For the first time, she felt anxious. While silently crafting a strategy, Ulan suddenly spoke up.

“You want to pass here?”

“Ah, are you going to let me pass?”

“No.”

“…Then why did you ask?”

Fertisha shot back with a pout.

Ulan replied with a nonchalant tone.

“I hope you don’t get hurt.”

“Huh? What do you mean by that…?”

“If you want to pass, brace yourself and come at me.”

After his dry words, his crimson eyes gleamed ominously.

“I have no intention of letting you through.”

…

His words felt genuine.

Unconsciously, Fertisha gulped. The Ulan before her felt solid and tall, as if he were an unyielding fortress.

‘But…’

She didn’t want to give up.

If she quit now, all the hard work of the Class 2 students would be in vain.

Woooooosh!

At that moment, a gust of wind swept through.

According to Fertisha’s resolute will, the wind spirits began to lend their strength one by one.

“Please, guys.”

A staggering hundred spirits.

The wind spirits suddenly began to gather into one point. This was also influenced by Fertisha’s will.

‘This way…’

They would definitely create an opening.

Her plan was simple. Gather as many wind spirits as possible, produce a strong air pressure, and push Ulan outside the circle.

After some time, as the wind spirits turned into a dot, she sent it toward Ulan. The dot soon exploded onto its target.

WHOOSH!

A significantly powerful blast of wind.

Thanks to this, Ulan’s body was pushed back momentarily. Just a few steps. Fortunately, he hadn’t stepped outside the circle.

‘If just one more step had been taken…’

He would have been disqualified for stepping out of the circle.

Fertisha licked her lips with regret.

However, there was no lengthy lamentation. This meant she had found a way to take Ulan down.

“Sorry, one more time.”

The spirits responded eagerly to her plea.

In fact, even more spirits gathered.

Three times more than before.

This much could even send a bull flying. As they gradually prepared for an unseen assault,

‘Ah, it’s the wind spirits.’

Ulan quickly assessed the situation.

It made sense. He had spent over a decade with Fertisha in his past life.

‘This will be tricky.’

Spirits were invisible.

They could not be perceived by spirit or aura.

In other words, it meant he couldn’t predict when and where the attack would come from. That alone was troublesome, and the power was considerable.

‘But…’

There was a resolution to address it.

Her aim was to use the spirits to create air pressure to push Ulan out of the circle.

If he didn’t get pushed out of the circle, he secured his victory. After concluding his thoughts, Ulan immediately lifted his foot. And he slammed it down hard.

BOOM!

Instantly, the ground caved in as Ulan’s foot dug down into the earth.

Like a tree taking root.

‘But this alone isn’t enough.’

Fertisha commanded nine types of spirits.

Among them, there was also the earth spirit that Ulan had previously used to create tremors to stop.

If, right before making the air pressure, Ulan’s foot got pushed down by the earth spirit, his countermeasure becomes useless.

‘So…’

To execute a flawless solution, he had to remove the source of the issue. With that in mind, Ulan narrowed his eyes as he observed her.

A prolonged standoff continued.

Then came the voice of the commentators.

“Now there is only one minute left!”

“If time continues to tick down like this, Class 2 will lose due to exceeding the time limit.”

An intense tension suffused the arena.

In contrast, Fertisha’s expression showed no signs of change.

Ultimately, the goal was right in front of her, and she had completely prepared for the surprise attack as well.

“Phew.”

Just after exhaling a short sigh, the nearly three hundred wind spirits morphed into one dot. They surged toward Ulan following Fertisha’s will.

Not long after, a massive explosion created a blast of wind that would knock Ulan right out of the circle.

‘But first, I have to do something.’

Namely, pushing Ulan’s buried foot up. Only then could he be swept away into the circle.

Complying with Fertisha’s intent, the earth spirit quickly latched onto Ulan’s foot. Just before the wind dot exploded,

‘Now!’

The earth spirit pushed Ulan’s foot upward.

At the same moment, the wind spirits unleashed the awaited air pressure.

WHOOSH!

With a loud explosion and a cloud of dirt rising,

The view was obscured momentarily, but there was no cause for concern. A wind blowing through cleared the dust away neatly.

And in that moment,

Fertisha’s eyes widened.

“…?!”

There was only one reason for this.

Ulan was still within the circle.

He was utterly unharmed, appearing just as he had been before. Fertisha muttered in shock.

“H-how…?”

The answer was surprisingly simple.

After unleashing an air pressure blast in the direction she predicted, Ulan had simply neutralized the spirit’s attack through that.

However, to use this solution meant meeting two conditions.

‘Direction and timing.’

Knowing where the wind spirits were and when to create the air pressure was crucial. Thus, Ulan carefully studied Fertisha.

‘To gather information.’

Determining directions was a breeze.

As soon as Fertisha’s eyes shifted, he could deduce a rough idea of direction.

Grasping the timing wasn’t tough either.

To hinder Ulan’s reaction to an attack, he needed to remove his foot from the ground first.

‘In other words, the moment the earth spirit pushes my foot up.’

It signaled the start of the wind attack.

Acting upon the information he had gathered, Ulan moved his body, and soon he was able to neutralize the spirit’s assault using the air pressure he had created.

Meanwhile, unaware of all this, Fertisha can only stare blankly at Ulan. During this time, the announcer’s voice rang out signaling the end.

“Time limit exceeded!”

“All of Class 2 is disqualified, thus the victory of the first defensive battle goes to Class 3.”

The voice that determined winners and losers.

Thanks to Ulan’s performance, Class 3 secured the victory in the first defensive battle. Subsequently, the teams switched sides and were given preparation time.

For the second defensive battle.

Chapter 43: Different Dreams