Chapter 110. Who Are You to Act So Friendly? (1)

“Begin!”

With the referee’s shout signaling the start of the match, Isabella moved.

Bounce, bounce…

She began to take strange steps, bouncing lightly in place.

‘Hmm… what is this?’

Fake Patrick was on guard.

Isabella, in front of him, was moving in a way completely different from what he knew from common sense.

It was light-footed.

At a glance, it was as cheerful as if she were dancing a waltz, yet there was also an emptiness like seeing a ghost.

She was clearly at a visible distance, yet it felt both far and near.

Isabella continued to take her strange steps, circling around her opponent.

‘It’s distracting. What is this?’

He couldn't grasp her movements, and it was difficult to aim his spear.

‘First, I’ll probe with one… hmm?’

For a moment, Isabella blurred in Fake Patrick’s eyes, and then she disappeared.

He didn't know what others would say if they heard it, but that's how he felt.

And the moment he felt something chilling fly in from the left, he hurriedly raised his spear shaft to defend.

Kaaang!

“Ugh!?”

Fake Patrick was shocked.

When? No, how?

When had she approached his side and attacked?

He hadn't been able to track her movements at all.

Blocking the attack was just the result of his body reacting reflexively.

He hadn't blocked it knowingly.

But he too was a next-generation talent representing his nation.

Even though his mind was full of questions, his body faithfully launched a counterattack.

His spear flew in a wide semicircle towards the direction where he presumed Isabella was.

Whooosh!

But his attack futilely cut through the air.

Considering the overwhelming attack range of a spear, Fake Patrick, who thought it would surely connect, was greatly flustered.

And a voice from the opposite side…

Whooosh!

But his attack only cut through the air.

And Isabella, who had already changed her position to the opposite side, spoke.

“Grit your teeth.”

“What… Keok!”

Thwaaaack!

It wasn't a sword strike.

Isabella had struck Fake Patrick's head with the pommel of the kite shield on her arm.

“Kuk…”

His head went blank, and he staggered greatly.

It was impressive that he managed to keep his balance and not fall, but a powerful kick flew into his thigh.

Craaack!

“Kaaargh!”

With a shock as if his thigh were bursting, his knee was about to buckle.

Fake Patrick gritted his teeth and did not fall.

And using his good leg as a pivot, he thrust his spear with all his might.

At the tip of his spear, an aura containing intense destructive power was formed.

“Haaaaaap!”

Whooosh!

But no matter how powerful an attack is, it’s meaningless if it doesn't hit.

This time too, his spear only cut through the air.

Isabella had already moved far away and was taking light-footed steps.

At that sight, goosebumps rose all over Fake Patrick’s body.

‘No way. How can this be…’

This wasn't just a matter of being fast or slow.

There was no presence in her movements.

It felt like he was fighting a ghost with a sword.

Fake Patrick, with an expression of disbelief, said.

“What on earth did you do?”

“Who knows.”

Isabella thought.

‘You must be curious. Yes. Of course you would be…’

The memory of learning this mysterious step from Patrick came flooding back.

[Why is a weakling like you trying to have a power contest? You should be moving diligently, hitting and running.]

[No, not like that. Don’t spread your legs wide, narrow your stance. Right. Move lightly like a butterfly in that state.]

[Hey, who told you to flap your arms? Are you a real butterfly?]

[Aaargh, you’re so bad at this. I’ll just teach you one useful thing, so practice it to death. Got it?]

She couldn't help but pout while learning this amidst all the nagging.

But now that she was using it in a real battle, she understood.

This was a truly, truly amazing technique.

No matter how much she trained and strengthened her body with aura, the fundamental difference in physical strength between women and men was unavoidable.

But this step could completely nullify that difference in strength.

It could disrupt the opponent's timing, strike the gaps in their perception, and allow her to control the distance at will.

As a result, as long as she didn't make a mistake, she could completely take the initiative in offense and defense.

Her opponent's level didn't seem much different from her own. But with this one step alone, she could clearly gain the upper hand.

Confident in her advantage, Isabella smiled faintly.

And taking light-footed steps, she said.

“I have no personal grudge against you.”

“Huh?”

“This is just a personal way of blowing off steam.”

“…Huh??”

What kind of novel nonsense was this?

He didn't understand a word.

But there was no need to understand.

Isabella bent her body slightly forward and said.

“Here I come!”

The time for a beating had arrived.

Thwack! Wham! Bam!

Waist, knee, head.

Isabella’s attacks were unilaterally and cruelly devastating Fake Patrick.

She struck the enemy’s knee with her shield, hit the enemy’s head with the pommel of her sword, and jabbed the opponent’s body with her elbows and knees.

It was completely one-sided.

“Uwaaaaaaaah!”

Her opponent also counterattacked with all his might.

The splendid spearmanship of the Kaisar Kingdom unfolded towards Isabella.

But his spear only cut through the innocent air.

It never reached Isabella’s body.

“What’s with that guy?”

“Did he enter Arcana with that kind of skill?”

“He’s terrible, isn’t he? How did he even awaken his aura?”

The spectators, watching Fake Patrick continuously swing at the air, showed reactions of not understanding how he had entered Arcana with such skill.

And it was the same for the representatives of other countries.

Even to their eyes, Fake Patrick’s spear against Isabella was too much of a mess.

There was only one person who was correctly grasping what was happening in the match.

“Tsk, tsk, I taught her something as great as the Illusory Evanescent Bewildering Steps, why is she taking so long?”

Patrick clicked his tongue at Isabella.

After thinking that her lower body was somewhat developed, what he taught her was that very footwork.

The swordsmanship of this world was similar for both women and men.

It was swordsmanship created on the assumption of fighting while wearing a sword, shield, and armor, basically assuming a contest of strength against strength.

No, it should be called gladiatorial swordsmanship.

Isabella, who lacked physical strength because she was a woman, also adhered to a similar fighting style.

That’s why Patrick had to teach her footwork as the top priority.

He couldn't teach her the footwork of the Twin Dragon Sect, so the one he chose instead was the Illusory Evanescent Bewildering Steps.

It was the specialty of his dear friend, the Ugly Dragon Scholar Jaegal Hyeon.

It was a footwork developed from the Jaegal Clan's Heavenly Secret Bewildering Steps, and it was the only martial art from the Jaegal Clan that the Radiant Dragon Great Master Jin Cheon, who had been a martial arts collector in his past life, acknowledged.

[He’s damn good at one thing, dodging.]

For the Radiant Dragon Great Master, this was a top-class compliment.

It was true.

The Illusory Evanescent Bewildering Steps, which freely moves by leaving and retracting afterimages of qi, looks like a simple movement of varying speed from a distance.

Its true value could only be known by facing it directly.

The representative of the Kaisar Kingdom facing Isabella now probably felt like he was bewitched by a ghost.

The contradiction that arises between the distance seen by the eyes and the distance felt by the senses.

That clouds judgment, and as a result, dulls the body's reaction.

The higher the level, the greater this confusion effect becomes.

After all, it was a specialty that had endured against the great Radiant Dragon Great Master for 30 seconds.

“But why is she taking so long? So timid…”

As Patrick was grumbling, Alex approached and said.

“It seems like she’s deliberately not finishing it quickly.”

“What? Why would she do that?”

“You don’t know?”

“I don’t. Why would she do that? Is a duel, no, a match a joke? Why would she do such a meaningless thing?”

“Right. You don’t know.”

But I do.

Alex and the other three all had similar expressions as they looked at the arena with envious eyes.

Isabella, who had dug into her opponent's space, swung her kite shield upwards from below with all her might.

And the top of the shield accurately connected with Fake Patrick’s chin.

Thwaaaack!

“Keok!”

Fake Patrick, whose feet slightly lifted as he looked up at the sky, collapsed backward.

And then he couldn't get up again, only twitching.

The referee, who had confirmed Fake Patrick's condition, shouted loudly.

“Isabella Black Atronia wins!”

The moment the referee confirmed Isabella’s victory.

“Uwoooooooh!”

“We won!”

“We did it!”

Patrick was startled by the cheers that erupted right behind him.

“Hey, why are you suddenly shouting!?”

“We won, you idiot. We finally won.”

“I know. I have eyes too. Ah? Why are you hugging me? Get off!”

Kicking away Alex who was clinging to him, Patrick sighed.

‘These poor bastards… how much must they have suffered.’

Among the participating nations of Arcana, they were the only ones who had suffered a complete defeat without a single win for three consecutive times.

Patrick had just been indifferent about it, but those with common sense knew very well how humiliating this was.

Because of this, the Atronia Kingdom bore the disgrace of being the weakest nation on the continent.

One might wonder what the big deal was about a single tournament, but there was a reason for this analysis.

After all, the weak nations of the continent were one of the four kingdoms in the East.

In a situation where the actual national power of all four countries was a matter of splitting hairs, the practical comparison was the strength of their knights, and Arcana was the measure by which the level of those knights could be known.

So it was natural for the Atronia Kingdom, which had suffered a complete defeat in Arcana, to be given the disgrace of being the weakest nation on the continent.

In short, they were treated as the weakest among the weak.

How sorrowful must that have been?

Even Professor Leyte was clenching his fists and rejoicing.

They had finally broken the losing streak.

And the fact that the person who broke that losing streak was the kingdom's princess also gave it meaning.

So how could they not be happy?

‘Sigh… right. Rejoice all you want.’

Patrick, whose goals were in a completely different place, could not join in that cheer.

Instead, seeing the descending Isabella, he said bluntly.

“Senior, you dragged it out too long. You could have finished it quickly, couldn't you?”

“It was to be cautious.”

“…Really?”

“…Carelessness is forbidden.”

What is this? What she said is right.

It’s definitely right, but…

‘Something feels fishy.’

Isabella averted her gaze, avoiding Patrick’s eyes.

Patrick was about to question her further, but the name of the next person was already called.

“Alex Rowensky!”

“Hmm, it’s my turn.”

Alex, who had been cheering, picked up his sword and stepped forward.

Patrick glanced at the opponent who was already on the platform before Alex and nodded his head.

And looking at Alex, he said…

“Senior.”

“What is it?”

Is this guy going to give me some advice?

One way or another, to feel grateful for the thought of taking care of his own teammate…

“If you lose to that guy, you’re dead.”

“……”

‘What did I expect?’

Alex walked forward with slumped shoulders and a sigh.

And Professor Leyte, who was left behind, approached Patrick and said.

“Don’t you think you put too much pressure on him?”

“It’s fine. Pressure or not, he has to win against that level.”

“Is the opponent weak? He looks quite formidable.”

Professor Leyte frowned as he looked at the person who had come out as Alex’s opponent.

He too was a knight who had reached the 7-star level.

He could roughly see the opponent’s level.

In his eyes, Alex’s opponent seemed to be at the level of a seasoned 4-star.

In other words, in terms of level alone, he was a notch above Alex, who had only recently reached 4-star.

But to say that Alex must naturally win?

‘How can that be?’

To the questioning Professor Leyte, Patrick said.

“Why do you think I put the kids through such harsh real combat experience on the way here?”

“So you were aware that it was harsh?”

“Of course. If someone told me to do it, I wouldn't. I'd just beat up the guy who told me to.”

“……”

And yet you made them do it?

Knowingly?

‘New every day.’

At Patrick’s unfathomable personality, Professor Leyte was now at a point of feeling awe.

Regardless, Patrick said to Professor Leyte.

“Don’t get too hung up on levels. It’s just divided too finely, but from my perspective, anything below 7-star is just measuring the height of slimes.”

“No, but still, to that extent…”

It was a statement that would make all the knights on the continent freak out if they heard it.

But Patrick was relentless.

“Look at them struggling to get more when they can’t even handle what they have… That’s why their basics are weak.”

“No, isn’t it natural to work hard and raise your level?”

“Even a gallon of pearls is only a treasure when it’s strung. But a damn level is a level. Anyway, kids these days, tsk tsk tsk.”

“……”

Here was a professor being lectured like an old man by a student who hadn’t even had his coming-of-age ceremony.

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