Chapter 52: Finishing Touch (1)
bwsjea“How is my Senior Brother Valtazar doing? My dear nephew Fermack?”ihX0b
qxj5“Nephew…?”slqSV
Yf6LaJFermack was probably suspecting that I was a ‘martial brother’ of his that he wasn’t aware of but…Ftec5
tFKbkcC“You’re the disciple of the renounced disciple of my master, so that makes me your uncle. Come show your respects to your elder.”G0lf
SO8H5vK“Uncle…? Don’t tell me!”wqvDK
hU1R6gbHe seemed to have finally noticed who I was.uYR
ezin“That can’t be! That woman shouldn’t be able to leave the ‘Palace’ right now! How could she possibly take in another disciple?!”vPdNob
vS4td2q“It’s not like you need to believe me.”EAWfi
eLm3qHis decision after seeing me use the same spearmanship as his master was very wise.ch8m
bwowFwwFrom Fermack’s knowledge, his master should be the only spearman out there who used ‘Six Ways of the Spear’ to reach the ‘Void’. Therefore, judging from what I showed him, it should have been highly likely for me to be that man’s disciple.7HGGaE
O6Z83But why would his master not tell Fermack about another direct disciple even though he was here for a mission that was given by him?vLLwX
GvRBAs a traitor… or rather as a subject of the ‘King of Paradise’, what would have been the right call for Fermack Daman?IkJ7
aSP3TIgnore.wyJ8
4yBAsk for help.Cfg
xDNIgnoring was the safer option. Even after ignoring me here, he could still reveal his identity at a later date.KTRKE6
of16ScAsking for help was a foolish choice, because one Rune Mage was more than enough for this plan. He didn’t even need to receive my help for this plan, and what if I didn’t have the same master as him? What if I was antagonistic, and what if I had nothing to do with them?Rnwnw
ATP8TXJInstead of bearing the risk, he decided to ignore me. On top of that, Fermack added a clever move.TMW
yIIJJGHHe sent me outside the city using the ‘reassessment of a Grade 5 Knight who performed well against Lunia Arden’ as the excuse.7btDly5
SK3l4wtThe subjugation of a semi-Grade 1 demonic beast and spirit would normally take a week or two at the very least. Considering the time it takes to travel back and forth, I wouldn’t have been able to come back before it was over.FiI
8QItWgqMeanwhile, he could create a ruckus with the ‘King of Iron Mountain’ incident and escape after the whole thing was over. My identity was something he could ask his master and king at a later date.2wqj6
i6ompGZHe probably wasn’t expecting me to return using a long-distance dimensional travel through Lady Josephine’s marker.ie5
Lua“Professor Deina’s experiment and Senior Marie’s incident were great events for you, right? Because you have been waiting for the right opportunity.”dj760
x4iog03The boss of the 1st Arc, Marie Dunareff’s incident was a coincidental accident whereas the outbreak of the 2nd Arc’s boss, King of Iron Mountain, was a thoroughly devised plan.LiNt
lsdPixOne of the key requirements of the 2nd Arc’s boss fight were the questions about Eriu Casarr’s right as the chairman, which was triggered by Marie’s incident.nnMc
MyJXnIn this iteration, it was substituted by questions about Marie’s safety and security issues but the important part here was ‘Chairman Eriu Casarr’s absence at the Academy’.cPwn7xk
0YjIRThe absence of the ‘Primal Guardian’ that was created with the strongest ‘rune stone’ must have been the best opportunity for Fermack, who had been waiting for it for over 10 years.Q89J6FU
fW5r2w“You are not going back with that ‘Primal Rune’.”C3zPfBQ
p856pns“!!!”06Mq3
i520AQfFermack’s eyes widened behind his sunglasses. That wasn’t something a mere student should be aware of, and the only ones that knew about it were his master and…NcKEfCI
1vgwq“Did Josephine… No, that can’t be right.”0FCL0
tk5If the ‘guardians’ were aware of his existence, they wouldn’t have watched this happen in the first place.mD7oJA
W7sI could sense his confusion from the torrent of undecipherable information. A normal villain would have gone, ‘Who are you!’ and lingered on the topic but…LRhbIHB
oW6iHl“I see. So you’re my enemy, huh.”T21A
80laFHe concluded it with that one sentence.037maH9
poX“Yes. I am your enemy.”G6y6
llg“…”Aka
RiFcsFermack Daman.JsQjrfh
aeucc0The real mastermind behind this incident, who lifted the seals cast on the final boss of the 2nd Arc, ‘King of Iron Mountain’, that would later appear with the ‘King of Paradise’ as one of his 4 attendants.5e4TFuh
tjLHe was known as a famous Grade 1 Knight in the world, but no. At the very least, he was a semi-Unique Grade just like Lunia Arden and had the potential to reach the power of a Unique Grade after meeting certain conditions.BSKqc
sAiW“…”zhPe
cEzUQUIt was such a distant past… Actually, it wasn’t even that far back, because it was 1 year ago before the end of the last iteration.tFOX
FIfpThis guy did the same thing last time, and reappeared later to kill a large number of my comrades and innocent people.ymZa
ZYwEverything was for the Advent of Paradise – for that stupid ambition of theirs.pSyZ4
8fmn25When I first met him at the grading test in this iteration, I had vowed to myself that I would kill him without fail.SvAQ
n0r1o“Looks like you have gotten overly arrogant from all the compliments of your peers. Do you think you’ll have a chance against me?”LW6vL
3PPuuFermack Daman was the first one to move.iT5wh
frGD86“Arise, my shadow.”CF0
6y9ni❰Shadow Servant❱RAX4W2n
cDIA clone stood up from within his shadow and created another version of him.aHOFaWO
68ytThat was his specialty. It doubled the user’s attacks as long as there was shadow nearby so it was a wondrously powerful ability when paired up with boxing.DMfp
uMbO2hM“It will be over in no time.”4dTw9j
ktk9Fermack gave an arrogant declaration but… there was a reason why I had chosen this place as the battlefield.11vICZE
FZOtU– Crack! Rip! Kajijik!Y6Lz96
cDFC1The created clone suddenly fluctuated before dissipating due to the radiant light of the sun.sJlIXv
gX0j3“Sowilo…!”iNaxg
Uuh3fb“The natural counter to shadow-type moves. You already know the biggest weakness of your skill right?”sjf8Y
6L2It might be obvious but shadow-type skills required shadow in the first place. Like how water-attributed spells required moisture and fire-attributed spells required oxygen, everything had a necessary cost and a procedure whether it be a specialty or an elemental spell.0b0ARKh
V6p“…”Vs3ZYu8
8fMCAtFermack avoided the rune of the sun that was eliminating his shadow and took a step to the side.W98ZXy
NAgbaK– Pajik!4oRmY6
5jIHowever, there was another rune of the sun in that place. He realized something after noticing that his shadow had been removed once again by the same rune.ghJ
zjszf“Don’t tell me… you covered this entire area with Sowilo?”IOSz
Mt0pCY“It was quite tough actually. I spent 20 days engraving solar runes all across this place. It was a lot of work but I had a lot of spare mana these days you see.”OkdJY
NooEpWhile boiling the Mandrake decoction as well as when we were practicing spearmanship for the group assignment, all the way until I had to leave for the grading test, I was practically living in this plot of land.uw3DP9
ppnI had been preparing for this battle in this inhabited land, that had no passersby and a secret passage leading to the basement of the laboratory, before anyone else.ZLJ
dBXbThis was a brutal stage set just to counter Fermack Daman.48VCCN
UOPBxoR“…”TmNE
OAX‘Damn it’ – that’s what his gaze told me. He must be quite annoyed by the fact that his Shadow Servant had been deactivated, after requiring so much mana to activate, by such a simple and elementary rune.h8vA9j
LxBhaF“You damn coward…”RIxW
d4LIFTR“You mean organized.”4tYW
VoiRpc7“I do admit you have perseverance but…”xxtMKXn
o4pᚱ — RaidhoJj1B
Hk3aQHe closed the distance in an instant.iha
YJ7iG10 meters – it wasn’t a super long distance by any means, but it was a distance that still required some time to travel.eeb
Aq9mHowever, Fermack’s supersonic movement happened like a flash, where the distance between him and his foe became smaller like it was folded, and did not seem like a simple sprint.ahTU06
WQJI moved my spear to meet the lightning-fast fist.fANV
FV1C0P– Pabak!ZpHm6
gwhaq“??!”S1sVtgF
dzYBut the spear ended up cutting nothing. His body vanished like it blinked out of sight. He had already accelerated next to my body and was swinging his fist at my side.DslNvVd
1mnEVhL❰Southpaw Jet Boost❱fhrUYi
9qt5wGh❰Eight Trigrams – Fleeting Body❱j8YMTj4
22LpJP– Vuung!zZb3e
vjYQMy feet moved following the profound wisdoms of Eight Trigrams and slid across as Fermack’s punch failed to reach anything.mo1JH
eHx“Hoh?”FPLb
yHR4wA consecutive use of Raidho to attack the weakness – it was a decent yet straight-forward combo. Did he think I wouldn’t be able to dodge that or something?qdqhsv
DDnh7bW❰Fourth Style, Spinning Heaven❱p72B
CAMbVNKUsing my fingers, I started spinning the spear. The spear rotated far and wide and threatened the boxer.pOvCrf
pCSADG❰Full Back❱cFD3tU
9sSqpWith his lower body in the same place, Fermack lowered his back to dodge the spear. Relying on his superhuman dynamic vision and perfect calculation of distance, he dodged my sudden chain of attacks with the minimal number of movements.FVm
KpPnJxW“…A nice balance of techniques polished through experience and practice. Very good.”Ey49By3
0h5Un“Pretending to be a professor now?”5QXX
tBPMT“I have been at it for 10 years. It’s something I cannot help.”ld9
EYudO“How about you talk like a frivolous teacher again, huh? Continue doing what you’ve been doing.”qVjXZ
56ViRo“You cocky brat.”272
iA8q7“Whatever you try to do, this will be your graveyard.”Qg0
NjrlFBI proclaimed while pointing at him with the ambiently glimmering Silver Spear. After hearing my resolve, he also turned serious.sAB
Yj7QKSZHe must have decided that I wouldn’t be an easy foe.L5mrF
MPPxvuHowever, his first goal was to leave this city, because he had to avoid the eyes of people who were assuming he was dead.ewmw2
bXCv“It is a shame that we cannot see this through. I will make sure I kill you the next time we meet.”lsq
qkiRlA8That was an obvious decision on his part. If he was seriously keen on running away, no-one would be able to stop him including Lady Josephine the dimensional mage.eIw
knvXWOKBut I was definitely not going to let that happen.SD8hOc
EKbAn– Thud!yxWMxBp
ClX4OmDBefore he could escape using the rune of Raidho, I declared to him.vFc
qpvCu“It is a duel. Fermack Daman.”80fE9
EqFsvf“…I have no reason to respond to the duel of someone like you.”24lOO
hEGPPx“Of course you do. Fermack Daman. Because that is the Precept restricting you.”lhq
3vWDghq“You…”1kl
9g7vKhiFermack Daman seemed befuddled after realizing that I even knew about the Precept that was engraved on his body.EhKtBaG
DNnHe had the same Precept as me on his body, and the reason he could reach the power level of a Unique Grade was thanks to the support of his Precept.e0jyWI
NmKPrecepts were the ways of the great warriors of the Paradise of Shadows – a high-risk high-reward system that allowed you to become a lot stronger.3jK15Yg
2Ehc〚I do not refuse duels.〛z54
UsTmFOSince he had engraved that as his Restriction, refusing the duel was not an option for Fermack Daman.JaSNV
N9aKs“Is that… why you came here by yourself?”dD9W8
jJg“Because duels must be one-on-one.”TGg8QXd
mUw48MIRight – the reason I came here alone without bringing Lady Josephine or other members of the party was simple. It was because Fermack didn’t need to accept duels when outnumbered.uJgjhAE
FHmjDuels had to be impartial, sacred and… at the same time, it had to be one versus one.BLf
b56Q4Therefore, the only duels that were forced by the Restriction were one-on-one fights. If another person joined the duel, the Precept would grant the Rune Mage a ridiculous amount of power to overcome the situation.9cic
Yi42OMsMost importantly, Fermack Daman would have immediately run away if he had two or more people as his opponent, because his mission was to retrieve the Primal Rune.86n
y3aPsBut because I was here by myself, and because he had already seen the Rune of Duel Declaration… he had no choice but to accept my duel.7Xje7
ha6TtT8He would certainly not be willing to bear the risk of going against the Restriction, which he had been keeping for decades.9gopize
WshKm9OFermack Daman postured himself and glared at me with the eyes of a warrior. In response, I held the Silver Spear in my hands. We both readied ourselves for the duel and following the sacred rules of a duel, we introduced ourselves.xzXWm
nLZZt“The 1st warrior of Tates Valtazar, the ‘King of Paradise’, Fermack Daman.”5UMJ1Ug
uq2tjP“The 1st spear of Erin Danua, the ‘Queen of Paradise’, Korin Lork.”6eRuf
ynaThere were only 10 meters in between us.4vUM
BGE3ItVictory and defeat.prV765
TlTThat would be the only difference between us two.3pn
981Xx9u『System Back-up in Operation. Reviewing the Precept.』rFl4nK
0tKQRY91st Precept: Duty
〚I will not disregard the misfortune of the good.〛
〚Relativity: A+〛9VqzY2
McdIT262nd Precept: Restriction
〚I do not perceive spirits.〛
〚Support: 50% Additional Damage〛TMjXA
daZMP3rd Precept: Pledge
〚I will save the world.〛
〚Fermack Daman – Relativity: A〛
〚Support: A+〛J2YpvBi
tVRkJAura – { Medium (5,530 + 5,530) }
Mana – { Low (4,170 + 4,170) }6Ls1mNZ
4NttStrength:> 67 + 67
Agility:> 66 + 66
Vitality:> 68 + 68
Aura:> 64 + 64
Mana:> 64 + 640cZ
4kh『Regeneration of the Tenacious Warrior』
『Pain Tolerance』
『Domain Comprehension』 x100%
『Aura Core (Medium) – Storing 3,500』
『Defeat Fermack Daman, and take a step forward to saving the world. Good luck, Hero Korin Lork.』VivFs
0pzeU****okr5Ta
eD2LIfFermack rationally analyzed his opponent.sSSoE
zAMbnThe enemy was someone who had been fighting against Lunia Arden on equal grounds, although momentarily. Besides, his Precepts were also unclear.XA1nv
AecHe was Grade 1 at the very least, and could even be considered a semi-Unique Grade.WaE4TCC
7OrOn the other hand, Korin knew what Fermack’s Precepts were about. At least he knew exactly what his Restriction was.GPt2Bm
0cPTVAfter some time, the uproar will subside and others might surround them. Fermack had to go with a short decisive battle.xOW
YqvHx2“It is rather annoying but I will admit it.”xQF
TruzE– I shall use my everything to crush you.Tihd3
J7XoFermack gave an arrogant statement before gathering mana at his fingers to write down runes.3Rqrt91
EUhyu[ᛏ] — TiwazL205aU
D1I2th5[ᛟ] — Othala5pxkifL
wS2GZVHis fingers beneath the gauntlets wrote various letters at a supersonic speed.qxmPy
8x7sXWar and death.UBMi
HbTThe two letters of the Runic alphabet that represented great power were engraved in the air. When he added the rune, [ᛝ] — Inguz and several other letters on top…Y7q
8iNEz❰Segment of Paradise, Shadow Fortress❱1Fxa
tIeVPitch darkness swallowed the ground, the empty plot of land as well as the sky.iwcpZl
2CRSomething dark began to infiltrate the real world. The fortress covered the sun like a screen and did not allow any light to pervade inside.ZiXeIhC
Bp1This fortress that turned the barren plot of land more desolate than ever, and swallowed it with the deep darkness of the abyss was a portion of the otherworldly Paradise that existed somewhere beyond the dimensional gap.8Mxsv
fyvXOn[ᛊ] — SowilosdoRx7O
HoPNᛊ ᛊ ᛊ ᛊ ᛊ ᛊ ᛊ ᛊ ᛊ ᛊ ᛊ ᛊ ᛊ ᛊ ᛊ ᛊ ᛊ ᛊ ᛊ ᛊ ᛊ ᛊ ᛊ ᛊ ᛊ ᛊ ᛊ ᛊ ᛊ ᛊ ᛊ ᛊ ᛊ ᛊ ᛊ ᛊ ᛊ ᛊ ᛊ ᛊ ᛊ ᛊ ᛊ ᛊ ᛊ ᛊ ᛊ ᛊ ᛊ ᛊ ᛊ ᛊ ᛊ ᛊ ᛊ ᛊ ᛊ ᛊ ᛊ ᛊ ᛊ ᛊ ᛊ ᛊ ᛊ ᛊ ᛊ ᛊ ᛊ ᛊ ᛊ ᛊ ᛊ ᛊ ᛊ ᛊ ᛊ ᛊ ᛊ ᛊcpeUv5l
IKZcxyRunes of the sun erupted out in retaliation. However, after the heavy shadows of the huge fortress came to contact with the ground, they weighed down from above with its immense weight, destroyed the runes carved on the ground and spread across endless darkness.kTK5W
CQ5A world without a sun.i43pNv
tlUA glimpse into the abandoned Paradise.G2Q5Xg
5HkvRThe fortress of shadows devoured all the nearby light as if it loathed the sun that refused to shed light unto their world.A5Xf
DnzvKm“With your petty skills, you won’t be able to remove this shadow. Your defeat has been decided the moment this fortress arrived here.”NLbMj
pvGoB“…”fRcL
VpkOERemoving the shadow with solar runes. It was a great idea but he probably had no idea about this point of entry into the Paradise, which had only been permitted to the great warriors of the Paradise.hY0
o1s– Grrrhhh…!jbd
Lneh– Kyaoooh…!W1AgL
3LeDemonic beasts of the Shadow Realm crawled into the enclosed fortress. They faced the two infiltrators of the Paradise with endless hostility and hatred.dV4
MzlBFd5This was a double-edged sword to Fermack – these demonic beasts would attack him as well.LxfbB
apZsvHowever, Fermack was confident because his 3rd Precept, the Pledge 〚I will serve the Shadow.〛 gave him a ridiculous amount of power when inside the Paradise.a7bi
MHHAohNow, the only future ahead of Korin Lork was either being ripped to pieces by the demonic beasts of the Paradise of Shadows or being killed by his fists, and yet…94DTrBt
BCB“…”jkNEX
87CmuoWithin the world covered and walled off by the shadows, Fermack, who had become used to darkness due to wearing sunglasses all the time, spotted a grin on Korin’s lips.g5AqKFI
mP6S“Right. I knew you would use this when you’re in a rush.”doh8
6kQrKorin scavenged through the bag which had been on him from the start, and took out something from inside that was covered with ‘dirt’.qUB
L4XS3Qa– Flop!IRcwFWl
1c7w3N“…Kieee?”NDxSiL
dLFN3iRThe plant that looked like a human gave out an adorable gasp. It was radiating in bright gold despite being inside the Paradise of Shadows.hlLO
ASrZp19Korin’s lips curled up with a haughty light. He was smiling.3HcbAW
PNXToCountless runes carved on the ground; an empty plot of land; and Fermack’s hidden trump card which could nullify any locational disadvantage.Snhq3
j6svThere was no way Korin Lork hadn’t been expecting this move from him, and that was why he took out this very item right here and then.DtiNVFg
KL1Yellow Gold Mandrake.eP8j
j0B0It was the medicinal herb which he did not pluck out despite its astonishing effect – the hidden item that had 7 times the noise and magic damage of a normal Mandrake.wEZYCOT
9mOxKIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEKKKKK!!!!!!!mV0nc
ALMThe Golden Mandrake howled inside the fortress of shadows which had landed on the empty plot of land. That enclosed structure, which would echo from the softest of whispers, was filled with the scream of a Mandrake.xZkFJ
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