Chapter 35

The duel ended as Kara fell backward. The moment she collapsed, the dueling arena reverted to its original state.

Immediately, the medical team rushed in to check on Kara’s condition. Aside from a swollen face and a broken arm, she seemed alright.

‘It’s only because it’s Kara that she managed to endure this.’

If it were Luna, she would have been knocked out cold with just one hit. Right now, she wouldn’t be able to use her body-hardening technique.

The body-hardening technique is one of the skills worth learning and is essential to acquiring the ‘Diamond Body’ title.

Upon obtaining the ‘Diamond Body’ condition and then acquiring ‘Regeneration’, one evolves into the ‘Steel King.’ I gained it just from fighting so much in the forest.

Therefore, I didn’t need to learn body-hardening separately. While it’s hard to master, it can be used easily as long as you have magic power.

“What’s her condition?”

“Severe bruising on her face and a broken arm.”

“First, spray the potion for the fracture and put on a splint. It’ll be a hassle if her bone is misaligned.”

The medical team exchanged opinions and sprinkled potions all over Kara’s body. They even put a splint on her broken arm at the end.

Soon, as Kara was carried out on a stretcher, I was left alone in the dueling arena. I looked around.

The atmosphere was eerily quiet, likely because of the overwhelming performance. There must be a lot of thoughts running through their minds.

‘Will Granada take an interest in me?’

It’s simple, but my ‘power’ might draw some attention. I looked over at the Granada Empire representatives, who were fervently discussing something.

This was not just the case for Granada. I could see the Matra Empire officials also debating among themselves.

‘I’ll find out later.’

Regardless of which faction I choose, I just need to snag skills. That way, the Granada Empire will be more convenient than the Matra Empire.

However, since I defeated Kara, the likelihood of another ‘event’ happening has increased.

“I’ve only heard about it, but you really are a beast of a guy.”

Just like right now. I turned at the voice coming from behind me.

Standing there was Kara’s father, Hector, with an imposing presence.

I sensed he was approaching. Surely, he came to talk about something.

‘He’s bigger than I remembered.’

I didn’t realize how big he was when I was sitting down, but facing him now, he towered over me.

I’m quite tall, but I’m at least a head shorter than him. I had to tilt my head slightly to see his face.

“I have no idea what kind of beast you’ve brought along. Are you really human?”

“Yep.”

“Is that so? Well, I guess I’ll let that slide. What matters isn’t that anyway.”

As he said that, Hector smiled widely. No matter what, his smile resembled Kara’s.

“Let’s meet again sometime, and I’ll have a chat with you and your old man too. Until then, take care.”

Hector waved cheerfully as he left the dueling arena, heading to where Kara had just been taken.

Since I didn’t need to stick around any longer, I turned my back. Just then, Rod came out to greet me.

He wore a satisfied smile, and I had no idea what was causing that grin.

“Sivar.”

“Yes?”

“Just keep doing what you did today.”

“?”

I tilted my head in confusion. What on earth did that mean?

Rod chuckled at my reaction and explained in detail.

“In this kind of duel, that’s how you should handle things. Unless it’s a life-or-death fight.”

“Ah.”

“It seems all the training paid off. Things should get easier from now on.”

Looks like he thought I was some kind of beast.

I guess it makes sense. Considering my past behavior, anyone could think that.

Moreover, since I’ll continue to act up after this event, it’s premature for him to be pleased. I’ll definitely be sighing heavily.

“Ro. d.”

“Huh?”

I called Rod, as that thought popped into my head. He turned to look at me.

I observed Rod’s puzzled expression and spoke sincerely.

“Cheer. up.”

“You’re telling me to cheer up?”

“Yes.”

I was trying to say that he would face even more hardships ahead.

If it were Porori, they would’ve picked up on that right away.

“I don’t quite understand your intentions, but thanks.”

Of course, Rod had no way of knowing that. He just laughed and expressed his gratitude.

If anything, he looked composed. He held the title of Sword Saint, so he would likely handle any event that unfolds well.

However, the upcoming events are closely tied to Hector, the one known as the ‘Destruction King.’

‘I wonder what his reaction will be then?’

That piqued my curiosity. Would he get angry, or would he just be taken aback and watch?

Events related to Hector tend to be quite random, so they could occur anywhere at any time. Though most do happen in the dormitory.

‘Since I’m living with Rod…’

It’s likely to happen there. Particularly since I mentioned chatting with Rod as well.

Afterward, I trailed behind Rod as we made our way back to the waiting area. This would mark the end of the formal duel event.

Well, to be precise, there would be a few more days, but that didn’t mean it was worth my while. I knew time flew by even in the Soul World.

Aside from Hector, the next to happen would naturally be the Instructor. Following that, various situations would unfold.

“I’ll give you a candy for your hard work.”

“Thanks.”

“It seems you’re getting the hang of polite speech, how wonderful.”

Though it sounded like a peculiar kind of politeness, he seemed to let it slide. I popped a rice cake-flavored candy into my mouth and mumbled.

I also planned to visit Kara later. I controlled my strength, but I felt like I hit her a bit too hard.

‘She isn’t sulking because I provoked her, is she?’

That was a concern.

******

Kara regained consciousness exactly one hour after the duel ended.

If she were an ordinary person, she would have fainted for much longer, but she was different.

She was tougher than Sivar, at least when it came to her body. Having fainted often, she had built up some resilience.

“Ugh…”

Yet she wasn’t accustomed to pain. The moment Kara regained her senses, she let out a groan from the overwhelming ache flooding in.

Her face and arms hurt like hell. Her arm, which had broken from repeated blows from Sivar.

Thankfully, she only got hit once right after her body-hardening technique had ended; otherwise, she would’ve been pulverized.

Still, it hurt just the same. A fracture ranks among the highest in terms of pain a person can feel, so if it didn’t hurt, that would be weird.

‘Am I not going to get anesthesia?’

This was her first time getting this seriously injured at the academy, so she had no idea how they treated such cases.

From what she had heard, they healed with a combination of science, magic, and finally, faith.

However, it appeared they did not provide anesthesia. Or perhaps they treated her without it.

“Are you awake?”

“··· ···”

As Kara grimaced in pain, a heavy voice rang in her ear.

It was a voice all too familiar to her, to the point of being tiresome. Kara turned her head with a frown.

A mountain of a man with red hair and green eyes, along with tanned skin.

Her father, Hector, was sitting in a chair and looking after her.

“You fell for that brat’s provocation. I’ve emphasized this repeatedly.”

As soon as Kara regained consciousness, instead of concern, Hector launched into a lecture.

His tone was strict and serious, unlike how he had spoken with Rod or Sivar. There was no warmth emanating from him.

“······ I know.”

“So then why…”

“You know it too, right? No matter what, I can’t win against that kid.”

Kara responded clearly, though with a blunt tone. Just from the ambiance, it was clear things were tense.

“That’s precisely why you should fight calmly. If you had kept your composure, you might have landed a few more effective hits.”

“··· ···”

That much was true. Hearing Hector’s counterargument made Kara scoff. It was utterly ridiculous.

She then raised her arms to show Hector. Both wrapped in bandages.

“Don’t you think that’s meaningless? I went all out, and that kid didn’t even use any magic. He just broke my arm with punches.”

“Hmm.”

“Since I used the body-hardening technique, my magic got drained heavily. If he had been just a bit stronger, both my defense and everything else would’ve crumbled.”

The body-hardening technique consumes magic instead of stamina. But each time it’s used defensively, it has a significant magic cost.

Kara had mastered the technique to use it efficiently, but even that was futile.

Each time she blocked Sivar’s punches, her internal magic diminished drastically.

If Sivar had been any stronger, her arm would have broken long ago.

“The more I see, the more you don’t seem human. Does living wild really make you that strong?”

“If there was an opponent similar to him, it wouldn’t be impossible.”

“You mean there are monsters or beasts similar to him? Now that’s a bit scary.”

That beast also existed at the academy. In fact, it spoke more fluently than Sivar.

Unbeknownst to Kara, she chuckled. Though soon after, her facial expression scrunched up from the pain.

“··· ···”

Hector observed her in silence, then glanced around. There was no one in the hospital room.

During duels, many end up injured, which means a lot of patients in the hospital. Typically, there would be quite a few people around.

But in the room assigned to Kara, no one else was present. It could be because she was a princess, or perhaps due to being from Tartar.

A tribe looked down upon as savages. It’s likely the hospital considered that when assigning her to a remote room.

“Kara.”

“What?”

“Do you have no friends?”

Hector’s unexpected question made Kara blink. For a moment, she didn’t quite grasp what he meant.

Realizing his wording was rather brief, he hurriedly added an explanation.

“I was asking if you have made acquaintances since entering the academy.”

“And why does it matter?”

“Because you are destined to lead Tartar in the future.”

Kara furrowed her beautiful brows. She recalled the insistence that had pushed her into the academy against her will.

Tartar was no longer a society of pillaging, but, in fact, a proper nation. Therefore, great expectations rested on her shoulders.

To Kara, that was immensely irresponsible. She let out a hollow laugh.

“I don’t know about that. All I see are people calling me a savage. What friends are you talking about? The only thing I’ve realized since coming here is that there are a lot of folks who deserve to have their tongues cut out.”

“Even so…”

“Even so, what? Dad used to smash everything to pieces and now he wants me to clean it all up? Do you know how annoying the stares are here?”

Hector’s title is the ‘Destruction King.’ True to that title, he has wrecked countless cities and towns in his rise.

Alongside that, he committed acts of pillaging. It can be said those were the roots of Tartar.

However, the situation changed once Kara was born. He reduced his raids and even went so far as to establish a nation.

Though looked down upon as savages, Tartar is indeed a nation.

“If you’re going to do it, you should do it yourself. Why put that burden on me? Do you think I want to live a normal life?”

“I’m trying to deal with neighboring countries…”

“Yeah, I saw that. I noticed how you were chatting away nicely with the Granada Empire in the stands. But do you know what I’m good at? It’s smashing and breaking, just like you. Not with my words.”

“··· ···”

“The order is reversed. If you were going to teach me properly, you should have done it later. So, if someone insults me, I’ll knock them down immediately. Then no one will bother me. It’s the only way I know how.”

Kara’s words depicted just how deep her stress ran. Like a hedgehog, she raised her quills for protection.

Hector listened to her and seemed to have something to say, but his mouth was open yet no words came out. Deep contemplation shone in his green eyes.

But soon, he composed himself and returned to his serious demeanor.

Just then, a sudden clatter—

The door to the hospital room, which shouldn’t have been entered by anyone, swung open. Both Kara and Hector turned their gazes.

To their surprise, an unexpected figure stood at the entrance.

“······ Sivar?”

“··· ···”

Surprisingly, it was Sivar. He looked up, then down, before locking eyes with Kara.

“Yo. Kara.”

With his signature two-syllable greeting, Sivar confidently stepped inside.

He was still in the same outfit he wore during the duel. It seemed he came looking for her right after it ended.

“······ What are you doing here?”

Kara questioned, taken aback by his unexpected visit. It was a sentiment of disbelief.

After all, she didn’t really have what one would call a friend. At least, that was how she thought of it.

Luna had just been discharged after being hospitalized, and there was no way she could come with the duel schedule.

Eli had only met her through Luna; they had no personal connections.

‘What on earth is he here for?’

Yet Sivar seemed surprising. They had always been together but never to the extent of visiting a hospital.

Plus, hadn’t they just been throwing punches at each other? Sure, he had lost horribly, but still.

It was unclear when he thought she would wake up, warranting his visit.

“Kara.”

“······ Yes?”

“Are. you?”

“··· ···”

So what? Just come and worry about me.

Kara blinked at Sivar’s concern-laden question, letting out a chuckle.

Here he was apologizing after she threw a punch at him. Behind that ferocious skill lay a surprisingly kind heart.

How could one harbor any ill feelings towards someone like that? Thus, Kara responded with an energized smile.

“It hurts a bit. You really hit like a water balloon, you know?”

“What about that broken arm?”

“Shut it.”

As Hector was about to point that out awkwardly, she quickly interrupted him.

Next, she checked if there was a chair available for Sivar. It was inconvenient for him just standing there.

“So why did you come to visit me?”

“Your. dad!”

In the ensuing moment, Hector intervened with an oblivious question. It was pointless to scream at him to stop; the words had already left his mouth.

Sivar, having witnessed this, answered with his characteristic blank expression.

“Friend.”

“Friend?”

“Yeah.”

Hector’s eyes widened somewhat. Though his response was curt, it seemed he grasped the implication.

He then turned to Kara, who was also left dumbstruck by Sivar’s declaration.

“You said you have no friends?”

“··· ···”

“It seems he considers you a friend.”

Those poignant words left Kara stiffened. Simultaneously, her face began to redden slightly.

Thanks to her skin tone, the change was hard to notice, but the blush became increasingly vivid.

“Do. not?”

“Uh, umm?”

“Friend.”

For a brief moment, her mind had gone blank, but upon hearing Sivar’s words, she hastily got a grip on herself.

Kara then looked at Sivar, her face still slightly flushed, and he quietly opened his mouth.

“Ah. Nya?”

“··· ···”

In a voice tinged with sadness, Sivar spoke.

“Situ. ation.”

He wore a look of a drenched puppy, forlorn and miserable.

He appeared expressionless outwardly, but to Kara, it was as clear as day.

Given he usually maintained a blank face, she couldn’t help but be sensitive to every slight change.

“Ah, no. It’s not that… Just hear me out. So this is what happened…!”

Thinking Sivar got hurt, Kara frantically blurted out, nearly stammering. She was genuinely worried about the misunderstanding.

She hadn’t shown such vulnerability during the duel. It seemed her competitive spirit was roused back then.

“Oh, come on! Why’d you have to say something so unnecessary…!”

In the meantime, she grumbled at Hector for his tactlessness. As this went on, Sivar’s remarks continued.

“Ah. Pa.”

“Really sorry! What can I do to make it up to you? Candies? Should I give you candy?”

“··· ···”

Hector simply watched Kara and Sivar with a bemused expression.

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