Book 1 Chapter 679
"Haaat!"
*Swish-!*
Kinea’s kick aimed for the sword.
"Hup!"
Kal broke a potion bottle on the floor from his embrace.
*Ting!*
*Whoosh-!*
Purple smoke spread thickly.
Seeing this, Kinea quickly retreated.
Kal took out a small doll from his embrace, cut his fingertip, and dripped blood onto the doll.
*Whoosh-!*
The doll inflated and took on the shape of Kal.
'Substitute deployed!'
It was an alchemy doll in his likeness.
It was meant for deception and misdirection, but it was quite elaborate.
'Well, it won't work on our top students.'
The top students all possessed quick and sharp senses.
As such, they would quickly discern it was fake the moment such a trick was played.
'But not you.'
Strong.
However, their mana sensing ability wasn't sharp.
That was what Kal discerned in the brief exchange.
'It's enough to be used for deception!'
Before the purple smoke dissipated, he placed his hand on his palm.
'Earth Digging Magic!'
Kal dug into the ground, put on his magic glasses, and with a straw in his mouth, burrowed underground.
Then he broke the potion bottle.
As he did, the earth covered the hole he had dug, returning it to its pre-digging state.
'Strong.'
Kal narrowed his eyes, observing the outside through his glasses.
He had used poison, but it didn't work.
'Well, I expected that much.'
Clearly, Kinea was weaker than the members of her party.
'Of course, excluding me.'
No matter what anyone said, he was the weakest in the third year.
But that didn't mean Kinea was weak.
'Considering there's no Hero Academy or Hero Record in this era… she's quite a monster.'
She had become that strong at that age without the help of any hero-nurturing educational institution.
It was astonishing.
'Growth focused entirely on practical combat.'
Their combat experience was overwhelmingly superior.
'More familiar with combat than anyone in our group.'
Excluding Leo, of course.
He was in a league of his own.
*Whoosh-!*
As the purple smoke cleared, Kinea’s fingernails aimed for the magic doll’s neck.
Kal narrowly dodged the attack by leaning back and swallowed dryly.
'Phew! Thank you! Prince!'
If it weren't for the training with Duran during the winter break, the magic doll would have been destroyed.
He narrowly manipulated the magic doll to dodge by gauging the attack's trajectory.
'Now then.'
Kal gripped the trigger of the stone bow in his hand.
'Full of openings, right?'
Since the duel began, Kal had only been pushed around by Kinea.
As a result, the magic doll had become full of openings.
Kal had fought, having lost the initiative since the start of the duel.
'Well, it would be difficult to regain the initiative with my magic skills anyway.'
Kal's deliberate yielding was an improvisation for this very moment.
Just as Kal was about to aim for Kinea.
*Whoosh-!*
'Huh?'
Kinea abruptly retreated.
Then, she looked at the substitute doll suspiciously and rolled her feet, swinging them towards where Kal was buried.
“Is that you there!”
“Waaah!”
Kal urgently broke through the ground and threw himself out.
*Thwack-!*
“You’re serious, but still like a rat!”
Kinea taunted.
“When did you even dig underground?”
“You’re like a mole.”
Dryana and Arga exclaimed.
“Kal really finds ways to catch people off guard and set traps.”
“He specializes in that.”
“Hmph. That's his fighting style.”
Chelsea smiled at Iliana’s words, and Duran snorted.
Seeing Eliza, who was nonchalantly grooming her nails, Leo spoke.
“What do you think?”
“Hmph. He does quite a lot of cute tricks.”
“Ooh! Eliza thinks Kal is cute!”
As Iliana teased, Eliza swung her whip.
‘Wow. She saw through that?’
Kal clicked his tongue.
‘Was my move read?’
Thinking so, Kal shook his head.
‘No, she figured it out by instinct.’
A sense honed by overwhelming experience.
‘It’s strangely similar to Leo.’
Such tricks wouldn't work on the upper echelons of Lumen.
But Leo and the other students were fundamentally different.
While other students would see through Kal's traps with their innate abilities.
Leo would thoroughly detect danger through experience.
‘Indeed, the experience of kids in this era is overwhelming compared to ours. I need to set traps more carefully.’
As Kal narrowed his eyes.
Kinea was also clicking her tongue.
‘At this point, it’s terrifying.’
She had called him a rat, but Kal kept catching her off guard.
‘I need to push her slowly.’
Thinking that attacking rashly would lead her into a trap, Kinea was about to withdraw her foot when.
“Huh?”
She felt a heaviness in her foot.
Looking down, the dirt on the ground was holding her foot.
‘Was this a trap too?’
Kinea was flustered by the chained traps.
“Checkmate!”
Kal grinned and aimed his stone bow at Kinea.
*Crackle-!*
“Huh?”
At that moment, Kinea lifted her foot.
The ground cracked, and the ground itself lifted.
“What is this… Wouldn’t using Aura make it even heavier?”
Of course, if it were Duran, he could maximize his aura output and destroy the alchemy magic itself, but Kinea didn’t have that much aura output.
“Pure brute force?”
Beastmen are strong, but it’s a well-balanced strength overall, not this kind of raw power.
“I’m a hybrid of beastman and dwarf!”
“No wonder! You were a bit short!”
“What are you talking about!”
Kinea, bristling, swung her foot at Kal.
“Waaah!”
Kal, horrified by the terrifying mass attack, retreated.
*Crackle-!*
As if the alchemy's effect had worn off, the clump of earth binding Kinea’s foot scattered into dirt.
Freed, Kinea sharpened her nails.
“An interesting prey.”
Licking her upper lip with her tongue, Kinea narrowed her eyes.
Her appearance was like a wild animal.
‘She seems rough, yet cautious. Troublesome.’
Kal clicked his tongue.
He was setting traps, but she wasn't easily caught.
Even if she did get caught, she destroyed them with her abilities.
Kal took out a potion bottle from his embrace.
“You think you can get hit by something like that?”
Kinea grinned and closed the distance to Kal.
Like a cat cornering a mouse.
She blocked Kal's escape route and drove him back.
Aura emanating from Kinea’s fingertips inflicted wounds all over Kal’s body.
“Kuh!”
Spitting blood, Kal fell to his knees.
He was dizzy from bleeding so much.
Seeing this, Kinea closed the distance to Kal.
“It’s over.”
As Kinea muttered softly, Kal tried to throw the potion bottle he was still holding.
“Hmph! You can’t throw it.”
*Snap-!*
Kinea grabbed Kal’s wrist.
‘It’s over.’
She had closed the distance.
One more blow and it would be over.
Thinking so, Kinea suddenly saw Kal’s lips.
'What?'
Kal smiled and squeezed the potion bottle in his hand.
*Fwooosh-!*
“Gasp!”
An intense flash covered his vision.
Despite instinctively closing his eyes, the bright light momentarily blinded him.
With his eyes closed, he instinctively tried to pull Kinea’s wrist.
But Kal’s move to trip Kinea’s feet and steal her balance was faster.
Kal pushed the off-balance Kinea.
Kinea fell backward.
“Eek!”
Kinea frantically swung her remaining hand.
But Kal dodged it, as if he could see.
‘Can this guy see? How?’
If Kal had closed his eyes, Kinea would have closed hers too.
*Click-!*
“Phew, got you.”
Kal, in a position on top of Kinea, aimed his stone bow at her chest.
“If you shot, it’s over. You admit it, right?”
***
“She’s definitely different from us.”
Arga muttered, looking at Kinea.
Duran agreed with his words.
Every movement Kinea made, pressuring Kal, was chilling to the onlookers.
'It’s not like she’s radiating killing intent.'
It was the movement of someone who had lived on the brink of death.
“She’s like Chen Xia.”
Leo nodded at Duran’s mumbling.
“She is.”
'Until now, I thought Chen Xia’s movements were her unique characteristic.'
But it wasn't.
It was a trait possessed by those who had fought in despair.
That’s what he realized watching this battle.
'Yes, the sense to detect danger.'
Duran narrowed his eyes.
If he had fought, he wouldn't have noticed the sense Kinea possessed.
It wasn't a skill that shone in the face of overwhelming power difference.
Because Kal had made it a close match, they, as third parties, could see it.
'If I were her equal, could I defeat Kal Thomas?'
Thinking so, Duran clenched and unclenched his fists.
“Black Rabbit.”
“Why?”
“Assuming me and this girl named Kinea were evenly matched, who would win in a fight?”
“You already know the answer, don’t you?”
Arga looked resentful at Leo’s reply.
And that answer was also the answer to Duran’s question.
“It’s not something you can achieve just by having a lot of combat experience. It’s a sense that only those who have fought near-death battles can possess.”
Do those who have experienced near-death situations become accustomed to death?
No.
Rather, they become more fearful of death.
Yet, they prepare to fight with the resolve to die.
Their experience is different.
Therefore, the weight of their resolve must also be different.
The saying that they were born in different eras felt palpable.
As the hero candidates fell into their own thoughts.
Kinea dazedly asked Kal.
“How could you see?”
“Thanks to these glasses. They have a flash-blocking function too.”
“……You’re telling me you read that far and planned the strategy?”
“That’s right.”
Kal shrugged.
“Wouldn’t you need to think of many stratagems to catch a ferocious beast?”
His vision returned.
He saw Kal’s face, grinning.
“……I lost.”
“Oops. Sorry for crushing you. It wasn’t heavy, was it?”
Kal moved off Kinea.
Then, he gently pulled Kinea’s hand, which was still holding his wrist, and helped her up.
“You… are an amazing hunter. Complete defeat.”
“Thanks for the compliment. But can you let go now?”
Kal shook his wrist, which Kinea was holding.
But Kinea didn’t let go.
‘Is she upset?’
Kal scratched his cheek and turned towards Leo, casually pulling his arm.
Kinea followed, still holding Kal’s wrist.
“Good work.”
Leo said with a smile, and Kal grinned.
“How was it?”
“I had to do at least that much.”
“Wow. After all that trouble, that’s it?”
“You’re no longer a hero candidate, so I have to be strict.”
Leo said with a smile.
“That was amazing.”
Dwenno burst into laughter.
“Reading the flow of battle and formulating strategies is exceptional.”
“Thank you.”
Kal puffed out his chest proudly.
“By the way, how long are you going to keep holding on?”
At that moment, Eliza pointed at Kinea holding Kal’s wrist and spoke.
Hearing that, Kal scratched his head and said to Kinea.
“Can you let go now?”
At those words, Kinea tightened her grip on Kal’s hand even more.
“Hey. I think I’m falling for you.”
“Huh?”
Kal made a dumb sound for a moment.
“Marry me.”
*Thump-!*
Upon hearing those words, Eliza lost her balance on her summoned beast and fell.
“What the!”
Iliana covered her mouth and laughed as she saw Eliza, her face flushed red, getting up.
“My Eliza-sama has a rival……”
“Bip bip.”
*Whoosh-!*
At Eliza’s call, a Wind Wyvern was summoned.
Eliza, with a flushed face, grabbed Iliana by the collar and said.
“Eat!”
*Chomp-!*
The Wind Wyvern, with its mouth wide open, swallowed Iliana’s head.
“Aaaargh!”
Amidst Iliana’s screams, Leo muttered.
“This has become troublesome.”
“Why?”
Chelsea, with a look of interest, asked with a puzzled face. Leo clicked his tongue.
“Beastmen in this era don’t let go once they bite.”