〈 Chapter 125 〉 Graduation Tournament (10)

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“Allen Pleuk, is that him?”

“He looks a lot younger than I expected!”

“Why has he been hiding until now?”

The commotion inside the tournament arena began to grow.

The buzz was unlike anything compared to the other heroes who had appeared before.

[Yes, ranked 100 among the heroes. Is this Allen Pleuk?］

I nodded.

“But why is he here? It’s not retirement time, so he must be a graduate of the Hero Academy?”

“No, I heard he’s just a country bumpkin from Basilium. Guess he got bored and came to watch.”

“Is that so? I mean, he became a high-ranking hero at such a young age. He has every right to take it easy. I’m so jealous.”

Suddenly, my image was being distorted.

But I had no need to correct it.

It was a hassle, and if I was going to be overestimated, I’d prefer it to be a façade than the truth.

[Now, the heroes who just raised their hands, please raise them again.］

As the names were called, the heroes who had briefly lowered their hands started raising them again.

However, their eyes were already fixed on me.

Some who had raised their hands earlier didn’t raise them this time.

‘Well, that makes sense.’

Now that I raised my hand, the candidates had gotten more limited.

Even Hugo, who was ranked higher than me, had raised his hand, reducing the chances for the heroes below him.

Regardless of winning or losing, opportunities to face a high-ranking hero were rare.

“Is it Hugo or Allen Pleuk?”

“Based on rankings, it certainly seems more likely to be Hugo, but personally, I’m more curious about Allen. Apart from the fact that he caught three demon kings, not much is known about him.”

“True. Just how exceptional must he be to catch three demon kings? He doesn’t look that impressive at first glance.”

They were narrowing the candidates down to Hugo and me.

[Now it’s the turn of candidate Yusera to choose her opponent.］

At that, Yusera pretended to scan the audience with a turn of her head.

By the way, she wasn’t very good at acting, so I had to work on her over the past few weeks.

Thankfully, she was somewhat better now, but there were still awkward parts.

‘Or maybe not.’

The way she looked at Hugo seemed quite sincere.

I was thinking about pairing her up with Elsie for acting direction next time, but maybe my instruction was enough after all.

However…

‘Is that enough?’

No, it would be more accurate to say it’s not acting at all.

That was clearly evidenced by the way her lips moved.

Sky Cleaving.

In that moment, I realized.

Right now, she was in an overly confident state.

Thanks to that, Hugo was probably swept up in some useless inner conflict, wondering if he could actually win.

‘Oh no.’

Of course, Yusera was definitely aware of the strategy.

The outcome of that conflict was already determined.

But I wanted it to be a bit more certain.

That meant there was only one method left.

I turned my gaze from Yusera to Hugo.

Then, as if he was aware of me, Hugo turned his eyes towards me.

‘Please.’

I politely bowed my head.

Of course, I couldn’t guarantee that he would agree to this.

But knowing Hugo, the probability of him agreeing was higher.

‘He’d want to check my skills too.’

It wasn’t often to face a candidate directly.

But was it worth checking out the skills of the shrouded Allen Pleuk? Probably not.

Especially from his point of view that values martial prowess.

‘As expected.’

He lowered his hand.

At that, Yusera’s gaze naturally returned to me.

“Did Hugo just concede?”

“Whatever it is, if we can see Allen Pleuk’s skills, it’s a win for us.”

“Maybe Hugo was looking forward to seeing Allen Pleuk too?”

Thanks to Hugo’s concession, there became a likelihood for Yusera to choose me instead of Hugo, who was ranked higher.

‘But that was acting, right?’

I smiled at Yusera.

At that moment, her expression oddly soured.

It seems there would be a need to clarify this matter later.

‘But first, let’s finish what comes next.’

Now begins the main event.

What’s about to start is the duel between Yusera and Allen Pleuk.

In other words, a scripted role-play we had choreographed.

‘We practiced for weeks for this.’

The heroes we had to deceive were none other than the former and current heroes.

Among them, we had to fool the high-ranking hero, Headmaster Heinz Armanus.

For that, a mediocre act wouldn’t cut it.

‘Of course, most of it will be Yusera going all out while I adapt to her moves.’

Still, we needed to synchronize as much as possible.

Yusera’s attacks were formidable enough for me to handle.

And so, at least, we practiced hundreds of times within trials.

‘Now it’s time to show the results.’

What I was about to do was something that would have been impossible without all that preparation.

I jumped down from the audience seats to the tournament arena, glancing around.

For some reason, I felt more nervous than when I was participating as a Relic Gravitas Replicant.

‘Well, the stakes are different.’

Back then, losing was acceptable, but this time, I must not lose.

Why, you ask?

This is not just Yusera’s debut; it’s also Allen Pleuk’s debut.

‘Since I’ve already boastfully come to the Central Sea System, I should make sure they’re aware of me.’

I can’t let them underestimate me.

I mustn’t show all my abilities but should clearly demonstrate that I have something impressive.

And the show for that starts now.

‘First, the weapon…’

I pulled out a sword from my inventory.

It was a bit light but sturdy enough, without any special effects other than being a standard 1-star relic with divine power.

Most heroes in this place would likely recognize it.

‘This is the kind of sword a candidate can borrow from the Church branch if they made it to hero candidate status.’

At Pathfinder rank, I could only borrow a bracelet, but as a hero candidate, this sword was mine to use. Of course, there’s a rental fee.

Anyway, bringing such a common sword was to prevent them from thinking my skills were just due to lucky gear.

As I intended, the audience was already rustling in concern.

“Isn’t that sword a bit disrespectful towards the candidates?”

“He seems confident. Just let it be.”

Of course, I am confident.

I’ve practiced this countless times.

Ignoring their murmurs, I stood before Yusera.

Thinking back, it was my first meeting with Yusera entirely in the identity of Allen Pleuk, not as a Relic Gravitas Replicant.

Naturally, greetings were in order.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Hero Allen Pleuk.”

I caught a glimpse of a slight twitch at the corners of Yusera’s lips.

I knew this must be tough for her, but I wished she could hang in there.

Thankfully, that soon transformed into a natural smile.

“Pleasure to meet you. I’m hero candidate Yusera.”

Her smile appeared to be incredibly genuine.

Considering that Yusera wasn’t one to smile often compared to Elsie, it seemed almost awkward.

Yet, it looked so much better.

“Then, I look forward to our match.”

Somehow, it felt as if we were genuinely meeting for the first time.

Given that Yusera was likely more accustomed to my identity as Relic Gravitas Replicant, this version must indeed feel unfamiliar.

However, locking eyes with her, I felt no reluctance or repulsion.

“I too, look forward to it.”

The Yusera now was simply the same Yusera I knew.

Perhaps I was the one making a fuss for no reason.

Thus, all that remained was the tournament.

[Now, we will commence the challenge governed by the contestant rules.］

With that, the countdown began.

Yusera instantly took a stance to attack as soon as the match started.

The overflow energy began to gather around her sword again.

‘Truly terrifying.’

It was horrifying to witness it in the Trial Space, but feeling it in reality was completely different.

At this level, it was indeed worth declaring forfeit in fright.

And that judgment proved to be correct.

‘The actual power is palpable.’

It might even exceed expectations.

Thus, I too steeled my resolve and raised my sword.

Blocking Yusera’s attack with a 1-star relic was no small feat for me.

‘Moreover, Yusera’s swordsmanship had also improved compared to before.’

Thanks to my guidance, she had been able to channel more power into her sword.

Above all, I had grown confident.

Unless I was here to reclaim the Relic Gravitas Replicant, it would be hard to hold up now.

If not for the weeks spent synchronizing in trials.

[Three, two…］

The Wind’s Power had already enveloped my sword.

It was invisible to the naked eye.

That was one of the advantages of Wind’s Power.

‘Then next is…’

Time for the overload.

But this was personally a technique I wanted to keep hidden.

Even if exposed, it should be as a Relic Gravitas Replicant.

‘I didn’t use it against Wilhelm since it was just a matter of matching my hits…’

But to block Yusera’s strike with a 1-star relic, this was absolutely essential.

For that, I needed one more device.

‘Optical Modulation.’

After all, since I’m currently in the form of Allen Pleuk, I have the leeway to use Optical Modulation on my face.

And if it doesn’t completely make it transparent like Elsie, it should be sufficient to conceal the sword’s overload.

Once I applied Optical Modulation to my sword, all preparations were complete.

[One… start!］

In that moment, the signal indicating the start of the tournament went off.

Simultaneously, the space around Yusera warped slightly.

‘So that’s what raw power looks like.’

Reaching the realms of space through swordsmanship.

I had been able to forcibly expand my attack range using Wind’s Power, and Elsie could extend the Optical Modulation by amplifying her magic.

I still had no clue how Libero managed it.

‘But merely using brute strength to warp space…’

That sight was overwhelmingly impressive.

It’s easy to see why it’s called the ultimate reinforcement technique.

However, I wasn’t just standing idly by.

‘One beat faster.’

If I were to face that attack simultaneously with my 1-star relic, I would not be able to block it.

That was a fact learned from many trial-and-error experiences in the challenges.

Before even observing Yusera’s sword start to warp the space, I was already on the move.

‘Overload.’

I overloaded the 1-star relic I was holding.

With this, the relic would break with a single hit, but for that one instance, it would become considerably sturdier.

Now, I just had to block Yusera’s attack.

However, one unexpected element still remains.

“Sky Cleaving!”

A line I hadn’t anticipated flew from across.

Well, to be honest, I had thought of it to some degree, but I hoped it wouldn’t happen.

That’s because my concentration momentarily shattered.

‘If I mess up, I might die.’

That thought was the first to come to my mind.

But aside from that thought, my body instinctively moved to survive.

Thanks to the weeks of practiced efforts.

Zwoosh.

An attack sliced through the space between Yusera and me.

Fortunately, I managed to bring my sword to meet that attack.

However, it felt like my sword could barely withstand that split second.

‘Not enough acceleration yet.’

The shards unleashed by Yusera’s strike made it painful to breathe.

But it was all within the calculated range.

Even in that intense moment, I maintained my acceleration aided by Wind’s Power.

‘A bit more…!’

After all, I had meticulously calculated and aligned everything perfectly.

But in a life-or-death situation, prayers were only natural.

And in that moment at last…

‘Got it.’

Yusera’s strike halted.

In truth, although the power was strong, the speed wasn’t anything special, so entering the realm of time wasn’t particularly challenging.

However, there was a high risk in needing to use a 1-star relic for it.

‘What remains…’

I focused all my senses on beginning to absorb Yusera’s strike.

The 1-star relic was still quickly tearing apart, and I had to carefully shift the edge of the sword, withdrawing the attack.

Slap, smack.

Of course, I had practiced this many times before.

Yet it remained difficult every single time.

In those brief moments, sweat began pouring down like rain, and the breath I had taken before entering the realm of time was spent within moments.

‘Still, I’m almost there.’

At last, the tip of Yusera’s strike brushed against the guard of my blade.

A small spark ignited from that contact.

That was the end.

‘No matter how many times I practiced, it’s never easy.’

I gasped for breath, standing at the massive scar etched into the ground by Yusera’s attack.

And that scar ended precisely at where I stood.

The ground was a chaotic mess with only my footprints remaining, leaving no mark of impact behind me.

‘In any case, I won’t fail now.’

I dropped the remaining hilt of the sword, feeling a tingle.

*