〈 Chapter 116 〉 Graduation Tournament (1)

*

The sensation of consciousness rising to the surface of sleep.

At the same time, my eyes opened.

‘Where is this…’

Outside the lake.

I was standing there with other students.

It seemed that I finally escaped from the real trial this time.

‘It must be true, right?’

The trial space created by those guys was so similar to reality that it was practically indistinguishable.

Thanks to that, there was virtually no way to verify it.

However…

‘There’s really no reason for them to deceive me anymore.’

The trial was over, and I had also received the reward for the third trial from the God of Connection.

That meant there was also no reason for them to play such mischievous tricks on me anymore.

‘Then all that’s left is to move forward.’

Just like the previous two trials.

No matter how much there was a time of identity before the trial, once it was over, I gained the strength to move forward.

But this time, there was one last thing I had to do before moving on.

‘The Graduation Tournament.’

It was the punctuation that would solidify my disguise as ‘Sung Yoo-rang’ and an event that would allow my comrades, including myself, to acquire relics, thereby enhancing our overall power.

After all, I had actively participated in the mock battles throughout the first semester to raise my individual ranking for that very graduation tournament.

In the first place, participation in the graduation tournament was limited to only a portion of the top rankings, and the higher the ranking, the stronger the opponents one could face.

‘In that sense, the current rankings of Yusera and Elsie are just right.’

If they maintained their rankings like this, they could face fairly strong opponents while avoiding a few of the excessively strong top-tier competitors.

But that didn’t mean Yusera and Elsie wouldn’t be able to defeat those top-tier guys.

Their performance during the third trial had proven that.

They had subdued the 31st Demon King, who was said to be the strongest enemy in human history during the third trial.

Of course, it was true that the 31st Demon King had only recovered about halfway and had the help of the overloading Awakening Pill, a cheat item.

Moreover, that guy had been defeated before, and I had a precise understanding of his weaknesses, which was also effective.

‘Still, that’s enough.’

I had already known about their potential through the knowledge of Sung Yoo-rang before bringing them on as comrades, but this trial allowed me to confirm it with my own eyes.

The Awakening Pill used during that trial remained unused in reality.

And above all, there were still limitless ways to draw out their potential without needing the Awakening Pill.

‘Especially the Royal Sword.’

One reason why the upcoming operation in the Leim Kingdom following graduation was so important.

The specifications of ‘Princess Ershiarah’ could be considered divided into before and after obtaining the Royal Sword.

Even considering the plans for the Leim Kingdom afterward, the Royal Sword was absolutely necessary.

No matter how much Elsie and Yusera had the potential to beat top-tier ranked students, that wouldn’t be the case for that time.

Right now, I chose to create a disguise in order to minimize the Demon Kings’ scrutiny.

That meant I needed to be careful about how much power I displayed.

‘Without overperforming, while still obtaining optimal relics.’

I would have to plan meticulously.

Especially since, in Elsie’s case, if the operation in the Leim Kingdom succeeded, she would be able to obtain the Royal Sword, so there was no need to be greedy. However, for Yusera, the relic to be obtained this time was crucial.

And for that relic, I had already pinpointed it in my mind.

‘To do that, I must lead Yusera into a battle pattern sufficient to be assigned that relic.’

As I thought about it, I looked at Yusera.

Having already escaped from the vicinity of the trial, we arrived at the school’s cafeteria.

Yusera, feeling my gaze while eating, tilted her head.

“It’s nothing.”

“Ah, okay.”

What do you mean, okay?

I had noticed it for a while, but for some reason, this girl seemed to totally trust my words without a hint of suspicion.

In the end, the position of co-representative of the Crow Association that she herself had claimed to use me for was also a sign of how much she trusted me.

‘Speaking of which…’

Did she truly forget about the memories from the trials as if they were just dreams? Even though she participated in my trial, she didn’t mention anything about it.

But saying it was like a dream probably didn’t mean a complete erasure of memories. Similarly, while most of my memories from the 100th round of the second trial had vanished, the swordsmanship I learned from Libero was still faintly retained.

So, it didn’t seem bad to check how much of that was still there.

“Co-representative of the Crow Association.”

At that moment, Yusera flinched and shuddered.

With a slightly pale face, she asked me, “Did I ever tell you that…?”

I nodded.

Then, Yusera, who was deep in thought, murmured, “I feel like I definitely said it, but… wasn’t it just a dream? It definitely felt like a dream…”

It seemed that she was genuinely mistaking her experiences in the trials for just dreams.

“Understood, with the Sky Cleaving, my body felt fine, and I have tons of relics…”

“Um, Yusera.”

It was fine to mistake it for a dream.

After all, I had shown them something embarrassing for a moment there.

But there was one thing I needed to clarify.

“Are you really going to shout that out in reality?”

“Huh? What’s that supposed to mean?”

“That… Sky…”

“Sky Cleaving?”

Of course, I was the one who informed her of that phrase.

But it was just a joke; I never expected she would actually shout it.

So please…

“Are you truly going to shout that?”

“Shouldn’t I?”

Yes.

“If you shout it, you’ll inadvertently attract attention…”

“Isn’t it already certain that I’ll attract attention once I start using Sky Cleaving?”

“That’s true, but…”

“And the most important thing in swordsmanship is confidence. If I shout this, it’ll give me that confidence.”

It seemed like it was already useless trying to persuade her.

Well, since there was no one familiar with the terms in this world, it would be fine.

As long as I could hold it together.

Just then.

“That’s strange.”

This time Elsie interrupted her meal and spoke.

Today, her plate also contained a slightly smaller portion of food.

That probably wasn’t the reason for her finding it strange.

“Sky Cleaving… I feel like I’ve heard that before. But I definitely thought that was a dream…”

It seemed Elsie was also mistaking her experiences in the trials for dreams.

I decided to confirm it with her.

“Yeah, it was probably a dream. The co-representative of the Crow Association talk was from when Yusera mumbled it during the afterparty.”

“Ugh…”

Yusera’s complexion turned even paler.

To comfort her, I said, “It’s okay. I’m putting up with that much. Just as you can use me, I can use you too.”

At that moment, the two of them tilted their heads simultaneously.

“Why are you both doing that?”

“No, we were just wondering if you were unwell.”

“You’re really okay, right?”

I was perfectly fine.

In fact, mentally, I felt a lot clearer compared to before the third trial.

Anyway, I continued without worrying.

“It could be strange to say ‘use’ like that. After all, we’re comrades in a way. Let’s help each other in turn, because nothing can be solved alone.”

That was one of the realizations I had through the third trial.

However, she must have forgotten that I had come to that realization since they had lost their memories of the trial.

The reason I could come to that realization was all thanks to them.

“Thank you. Thanks to you, I could finally realize that. I won’t make the same mistakes as I did during that mock battle from now on.”

The sudden change in my attitude before and after the mock battle must have startled them.

“What do you mean thanks… No, I really didn’t do anything?”

Yusera appeared quite flustered.

On the other hand, Elsie quickly recovered from her surprise.

“You didn’t do anything? We’ve had so much trouble because of this blockhead. I didn’t think you’d only just realize that.”

“Indeed…”

“I don’t know what exactly happened. Was it some kind of dream? Regardless, I’m just glad you realized it now.”

I also thought that was a relief.

If it had continued like that, there would have been nothing we could do.

“Yeah, it’s a relief.”

I smiled.

Then, Elsie also smiled as if satisfied and said, “It seems like you can now be honest in reality too.”

*

‘Hmm?’

My head felt slightly dizzy.

The temporary instructor of the archery class, Professor Ludmilla, opened her eyes.

The mock battle she was watching had completely ended.

In the waiting space, separate from the trials yet within them, stood her, Freira, and a few other professors.

It wasn’t such an important class, so not many professors were observing.

‘By the way…’

I felt as if I had just had some kind of dream a moment ago.

‘What was it?’

Fragments of a memory that seemed like a fleeting dream.

She began to gather those memories that were trying to scatter.

Invasions by the Demon Kings.

The resurrection of the 31st Demon King.

The cleaving of the sky and the beam of light that rose into it.

And the unknown giant Demon King and the destruction of Hailen.

‘What’s going on?’

If this was a dream, it was a complete nonsense dream.

The content was all over the place.

However, she could distinctly remember the starting point of that dream.

“Freira.”

“What is it?”

“Didn’t you ask me if I felt something just now?”

Freira answered with an expression of confusion, “No, I never asked. Did you have a dream or something?”

Having replied, Freira immediately left the trial’s waiting space.

Left alone, Ludmilla gazed at Sung Yoo-rang exiting the trial.

‘Why?’

She didn’t know the reason.

But in that dream-like memory, she was certain she had seen a blonde young man.

It must have been… Allen Pleuk.

‘But why do they seem to overlap?’

For some reason, Allen Pleuk seemed to overlap with the figure of Sung Yoo-rang.

Perhaps that was why she had been so concerned about Sung Yoo-rang all along.

The reason was completely unclear.

‘Calm down.’

The selection of a successor needed to be made carefully.

If Wilhelm had entered last year, he would have been an obvious choice for the successor due to his solid skills.

So it was best to avoid making a choice based on uncertain instincts.

‘The Graduation Tournament.’

In any case, everything would become clear during the graduation tournament.

Currently, the rankings in the archery class had the two of them ranked first and second.

If they maintained that, they would undoubtedly face off against each other in the graduation tournament.

‘I’ll decide after watching that.’

If Wilhelm wins, I’ll choose him without any doubt.

But what if Sung Yoo-rang wins?

To be honest, it seemed almost impossible.

‘But still, if…’

She shook her head.

That was something to think about later.

*