Vol. 1 - Ch. 326 - School Festival (8)

The Royal Academy – First Arena.

The First Arena of the Royal Academy was its biggest arena, serving as the venue for events like the Inception ceremonies and so on with stadium-style tiered seating.

Right in the heart of the stadium sat a twenty-meter square raised platform—built to the exact same specifications as those used in the Rising Star Cup.

One of the central events of the School Festival was to host the Rising Star Cup preliminaries for each grade here.

However, the second-year students like Parry and Alice, initially tasked with filtering out the challengers, paid no heed to the festive vibe and wiped the floor with the competition mercilessly. 

At first, there were so many hotshots lining up that organizers worried they wouldn't finish in time. But seeing the academy students run rampant with the bloodlust of battle-hardened veterans took the wind right out of their sails. By the end, the crowd of challengers had completely disappeared.

To begin with, the students of 2nd year had already been hailed as the golden generation never seen before. Add the Allen's influence, and each of them set off on the path to further attain a new height. There were no more equal to them among the rest of their peers.

As such, not a single challenger managed to turn out from the crowd. 

To fill the void, they pivoted to an exhibition match, featuring Parry fresh off his "thousand-man slaughter" in the mock qualifiers, squaring off against Leo, the academy's unofficial representative.

The main preliminaries for the first and third years had already concluded without a hitch, with the Royal Academy's own taking their rightful spots in the Rising Star Cup.

All that remained was this single exhibition match... yet the crowd wasn't budging an inch.

If anything, it was the exact opposite. The foreign delegates from various nations who had witnessed Parry's spearwork flocked to the arena to measure his true worth. Word traveled fast, and rumor fed upon rumor. Now, the First Arena was bursting at the seams, buzzing with such a chaotic frenzy that crowd control had to cap the admissions.

◆

"Interesting... the question is how this will play out, eh?"

The woman resembling an artificer—an invited delegate from the Kukora City Federation—asked her chaperone-like companion from the VIP arena seats, her eyes gleaming with curiosity.

The other woman tilted her head, her face lined with doubt.

"...Leo Zaitsinger. As early as last year, he already had the strength to tackle the 2nd year group, and even emerge victorious. Truly, the reputation of prodigal scion, the once-in-a-century talent, isn't in vain. Meanwhile, Parry Abenil is a complete nobody in terms of reputation, and he just finished fighting a one-against-many marathon as well. ...Typically speaking, the outcome is obvious to anyone's eyes, but."

Tasked with chaperoning her homeland's brightest prospects to the Rising Star Cup, this woman was no slouch herself. Naturally, her eye for evaluating martial prowess and tapping into a fighter's true potential was second to none.

Yet even someone of her caliber, even after closely observing Parry's spearwork earlier, couldn't quite fathom the boy's true depths. 

No, even beyond that, she just couldn't imagine Parry losing to someone among his peers. The earlier demonstration of a raw edge surpassed any just technical skill.

"But...?"

"......Interesting."

The chaperone finally murmured.

Just as her words trailed off, Godorfun stepped onto the stage as the judge.

"Both fighters to the center!"

Prompted by the Godorfun, Leo and Parry stepped into the ring.

The stadium was thick with morbid curiosity and an electrifying tension, but neither combatant showed an ounce of stage fright.

"...Do you even have enough mana, Parry? You should've barely taken a respite, don't you?"

Leo put the querry. Parry shrugged his shoulder and cracked his neck with a sharp plop.

"Hmph. Save your breath. An enemy won't wait for you to catch yours, no matter how dead on your feet you are. …No matter how dire the straits—"

Parry squeezed his eyes shut, as if flashing back to a bitter memory.

"—No matter how hopeless the odds, you run your spear through the enemy in front of you and carve your own path. This is the only way."

When he opened them again, his quiet gaze burned with a terrifying resolve. Leo narrowed his eyes at that.

"…Tell you what. If you beat me in this little exhibition, my spot in the Rising Star Cup is yours, Parry."

Parry’s eyes went wide.

"…Are you sure about that? The academy already locked in its representative before summer break. I certainly don't care about glory or prestige, but if it means getting stronger, I won't let a golden opportunity slip through my fingers."

Hearing this, Leo’s smirk grew wider. He shot a glance over at Godorfun.

"It shouldn't be an issue. After all, the whole point of today was to fight for a ticket to the tournament. Isn't that right, Sir?"

Stroking his beard, Godorfun let out a hearty, booming laugh.

"Fuhahaha! Indeed, there's no restriction. The audience, too, has gathered in expectation of a  clash fueled by an ambitious flame of youth, not some childish squabble. I'll gladly stake my reputation and oversee it."

With Godorfun's acknowledgement, the stadium erupted into an absolute frenzy.

With a sharp swish, Parry spun the spear and lowered his waist in a stance. Leo, too, shook off the casualness from his limbs and hoisted his blade into a high, right-handed guard—its tip aimed dead at the space between Parry's eyes.

"Hehehe. But, you know, Parry..."

Leo spilled a grin, completely ready to pounce at his prey.

"Are both fighters ready? Then—"

"I never said I am going to lose, either!"

"—Begin!"

◆◆◆

The split second Godolfen gave the cue, Leo lunged forward, unleashing a lightning-fast thrust.

One could even make out the roar of the blade cutting through the air echo across the entire stadium. The stadium might be packed, but I could probably count on one hand the number of people who could evade his strike.

But Parry deftly side-stepped, letting the attack sail harmlessly past. The opening exchange alone had anyone with strength in the stands to double-take. 

Leo's thrust was deadly, without a doubt. But the sheer finesse Parry displayed to casually step out of its path was just as exceptional.

Unless the opponent knew how to act, when staring down a pinpoint thrust, typical response would usually be to twist the body or bend backward in a desperate sway to avoid getting skewered. However, that came at the expense of losing the balance, giving the opponent an opening to pursue with even a deadlier strike.

But, Parry read the trajectory perfectly, and slipped to the side by a hair's breadth. Meanwhile, his spear remained firmly gripped in his hand, just like he had during the beginning. And now, with his momentum carrying him forward, Leo was inside the range of Parry.

Parry's spear roared as he launched his counter.

A collective scream escaped out of the audience unwittingly. Driven with perfect leverage, the wooden spear looked as though it had punched clean through Leo’s torso.

Of course, Leo was no less. He twisted his body at the nick of time, and narrowly evaded the blow. He did end up destroying his stance, but his hand shot out and clamped down hard on the shaft of Parry's spear.

One of the Rising Dragon Cup's rules stated 'If either fighter loses their weapon, it would be an immediate victory to the opponent.'

Leo was clearly leagues above with Body Strengthening, and he only needed to give a tug with force and that would spell the end of the match. Aware of that, Parry kept his one-handed grip, and stepped straight into the defense zone of Leo, delivering a front kick squarely to Leo's torso.

"Gwah!"

Caught completely off guard, Leo was forced to relinquish his grip, tumbling backward to absorb the impact.

Parry instantly closed the gap to press his advantage, but slammed on the brakes the moment he saw Leo execute a flawless breakfall and reset his guard.

A split second of stunned silence hung in the air, followed immediately by an explosive uproar from the crowd—

◆

The talents of two razor-sharp youths clashed tooth and nail.

Unlike the calm expression he had at surface, Godorfun's however was absolutely reeling in his mind as he watched the clash unfold from point-blank range. 

Parry's abnormal growth spike had him completely off-guard.

He certainly had noticed the obvious growth sign from Parry Abenil as he stepped into his second year, but the leap he had taken over the brief, one-month span of summer break, dwarfed everything else.

Coming this far, Parry's talent with spear was well known, so his improvements were not unexpected, however the warrior's heart he displayed was unlike before. 

Take, for instance, the counter-thrust he delivered right after slipping Leo’s opening attack. It had all the earmarks of a do-or-die—a move that encapsulated the zenith of Parry's might.

Yet, when that strike failed to land and his weapon was seized—a critical situation—he didn't bat an eye. He simply stepped into the opponent's range and threw a kick.

It was the tactically perfect response, but pulling it off in the heat of the moment was easier said than done. 

A strike that carried the entire weight was a double-edged sword. While you would've assumed it was the finishing move, it was a game over if the opponent dodged that, risking leaving a fatal opening.

In retrospect, you held back out of fear, and it would be forfeiting a chance to settle the battle. 

Parry displayed a definitive strike that displayed his belief in his victory, though it failed, he still followed with a split-second recovery.

One must have to have the courage as hot as raging flame, but a mind as cool as glacier, to clash with a stronger opponent like Leo and snatch the victory. 

As long as they'd yet to find their answer, even seasoned veterans would find themselves unable to escape from the search for that balance.

The only way to forge that determined heart were the actual battles. 

In other words, Parry's sharpness was the product of his close brush with dangers, one such that even a single misstep could lead to death; Godorfun sensed that as clear as day.

...To think that a child barely fourteen years of age had stood at that precipice, made those agonizing choices over and over, and lived to tell the tale—

Picturing the kind of hellish summer Parry must have endured to reach this point, Godorfun narrowed his eyes and thoughtfully stroked his beard.

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