I Was the Strongest Sword God in My Past Life

part 13

“Eh, you’re leaving?”

“Broadcasting isn’t just about picking the strong ones. I’ve decided on that guy. Now I’ll head to Celia Academy, so finish watching and come.”

G Channel, a popular game broadcasting station.

The document with the PD’s love call was placed into a square box.

Selfis, who prioritizes the school’s honor and publicity, would probably dance with joy if he knew this.

* * *

The Evergreen Lake cleared in a previous life belonged to the lowest grade gate. Even Uruk, who appears as a hidden event, is weak for a boss.

Of course, this is by the standards of a past life, but the danger level of Uruk, as seen through the artifact glasses, was significant.

——

Name – Uruk

Title – Lord of the Lake

Danger Level – Rank 3 [Boss]

Category – Monster

Form – A broad face with two strands of beard. A grotesquely long body is supported by short legs.

Information – Hunts on land relying solely on its beard. The mucus flowing from its body is slippery, negating physical attacks.

Strategy – Luring it out of water weakens its specialty hydro-pressure attacks and mucus defense. The massive tail swing, using its bulk, can shatter even rocks. ——

Rank 3 Boss Mob.

With his body’s mana depleted, and his magic tool being a sword, Gian lacks the power to defeat Uruk. But Isabelle is different.

Just before, Gian had checked Isabelle’s stats.

‘Such a character focused on one attribute…’

Isabelle’s physical ability score ranges from 2 to 3. This is similar to an average person and is considered the weakest at the academy.

However, her ‘Mana Potential,’ which encompasses various mana-related talents like maximum mana capacity and mana sensitivity, was shocking.

On a scale of ten, it was 9.7 points.

Gian, even in his past life, had never seen a Saber with a mana potential over 9.

Though still an incomplete glass cannon, if Gian’s calculations are correct, Isabelle can easily defeat Uruk.

“Yob! Gian!”

Eria runs towards him with a joyful face.

Surprisingly, she calls Gian by his name. Considering she used to call him ‘hey’ or ‘last place’ at the start of the exam, this is a significant improvement.

“Did you hear the broadcast earlier? Isabelle’s the only one left, right?”

The gloomy aura she initially showed was gone, replaced by a bright demeanor. Eria poked Gian as if meeting a close friend.

“I didn’t expect much, but I’ve seen it again. What happened? I like this twist, like it.”

With a beaming smile, Eria’s warm reaction briefly flustered Gian, but he nodded.

“Did you install the device I asked for?”

“Yeah. I installed it as densely as possible… It’s my first time drawing such a thing, so I’m not sure about the effect.”

“As long as it works, that’s enough.”

“That won’t be a problem.”

Gian asked Eria about the whereabouts of the vanished Chris. He had heard about the elimination on the broadcast, but it was unexpected that Rita was eliminated too.

“It had to be Sagittarius who came looking. If it weren’t for that kid, I would’ve been caught.”

Eria sighed, feeling uneasy about Chris’s elimination.

“Chris…”

“But would even a number one come to fight two? Oh… he’s coming to fight?”

Eria stepped back as she watched a bird soaring in the sky. A fire-made arrow roasted the bird in flames.

“I’m terrible at fighting…”

“Just trigger the device when I give the signal.”

Eria formed an OK with her hand and then quickly fled.

The standoff between Gian and Isabelle.

Whooosh.

Like in a western, a tumbleweed rolled in front of the two.

Isabelle, covered in all sorts of dirt and dust, had clearly been through some ordeal.

The ferocious mana she had been emitting was now noticeably weaker. It was the aftermath of forcibly using a higher-tier magic device with the help of an artifact.

“Did you enjoy the gift?”

Gian’s clear provocation.

He was scratching at her fiery temper, trying to induce a flaw, but Isabelle responded indifferently.

“Yeah, the fish was tasty. You wouldn’t notice if one died while eating it.”

Though one had indeed died.

Isabelle remembered the pulverized Lake as she bent down.

From where Isabelle’s glove, Blaze, touched, flames began to spread. Soon, the fire had created a circular arena, trapping Gian and Isabelle within.

“You’re not planning to run, are you?”

“Of course not.”

Gian threw the pouch of beads he had received from Eria onto the ground. Isabelle also removed her cumbersome pouch and placed it on top.

The beads earned from hunting and the rewards for dealing with Uruk.

High risk, high return.

The stakes from both teams were all in on the table. A strange tension flowed between them amidst the silence.

Isabelle, capable of long-range bombardment.

Gian, who needed to engage in close combat due to his sword.

The tension was palpable from the distance between them.

One step.

Just one step would plunge them into battle. Both knew the weight of it, so they didn’t move rashly.

‘One moment of inattention and it’s over.’

Gian felt a pleasant tension. All the efforts he had made since regaining his memory were for this fleeting moment.

“Now!”

Yes, now is the time.

When all means are exhausted, it signals the onset for Gian.

Click, click. Chikchik.

It began with the sound of an empty spray can. But then…

Swooosh.

A deafening roar as streams of water burst forth, drenching the surroundings.

“Rain?”

Isabel looked up, puzzled, at the clear, sunny sky. No rain was falling from above, and the nearby lake was perfectly still.

Like a localized downpour, the rain poured down only on Isabel and Gian.

“It’s not rain.”

Gian smirked and pointed to the side.

There stood a strange machine, jutting out from the ground.

Swooosh!

The rain wasn’t descending from the sky; it was shooting up from the ground.

“…A sprinkler?”

“Something like that.”

A trap conjured by Eria. This trap, unlike a sprinkler, required no piping. It simply used the mana of its master, Eria, to spout water from the lake.

Mana, the power to turn the extraordinary into the ordinary.

An impossible amount of water, unlike any sprinkler could produce, was fired from the ground to the sky. Water imbued with mana soaked the land, Gian, and Isabel.

And thus, the blazing red flames (紅焰) were transformed into the cooling evening embers (晩炎).

“Ha…”

A short sigh from Isabel. Perhaps because she dealt with fire, she particularly disliked getting wet.

“You got me with one shot. But you don’t think this mere stream of water can defeat me, do you?”

Water and fire, natural enemies.

Yet, there still existed a gap between Gian and Isabel.

Even if memories were recovered, the chasm built over 17 years between a genius and a dullard remained unfilled.

‘Here’s another chance.’

On Gian’s finger was a ring, named ‘Ring of Endurance.’ Its original purpose was simple: a curse to increase bodily strain, enhancing the effects of training.

But the ring held a hidden power… Once removed, it unnaturally restored the stamina it had sapped.

Though it was only a fraction of the stamina lost to the curse, even a speck of energy, accumulated over nearly a week, made a difference.

Gian gazed quietly at the ring.

It was a ring used in a past life.

‘Past life.’

In an instant, my mind clears. This wasn’t the ring’s effect. The strange palpitations in my heart had been there since earlier, which I thought were the exhilaration of battle.

But it wasn’t.

‘How fun.’

Yes. Fun.

This emotion is joy.

My body is drenched in rain, and my muscles scream. One mistake and I could be sent flying. Yet… it was enjoyable.

Evan.

Would it be strange to call this the first round?

In my past life, I only ran forward. My mind was filled only with clearing gates. There was certainly a sense of mission, but more than that, it was a promise made with a friend. A grand promise to save the world in her stead.

The promise was kept. Evan saved the world and, as a pilgrim, closed his eyes at the young age of 27 in the lightless demon king’s castle.

There are no regrets about that. However…

In the final moment. The emotion I felt was regret, and what I desperately wanted was life itself.

Jien could now realize it.

The current me is satisfying all the desires that both lives desperately yearned for.

The life that my past life desperately wanted.

The power that my current life desperately wants.

That’s why an exhilarating feeling better than ever before swept through my body.

Jien’s gaze turned to the ring.

“Isabel. Do you remember what Lake said?”

With a smile, Jien slipped the ring off his finger.

In an instant, fatigue lifted, and my body felt lighter.

“What to do~ I don’t remember?”

“You were told not to let your guard down.”

Jien had finally realized what this emotion he had been feeling since regaining his memory was. He was truly enjoying this second chance at life.

“The conditions and my condition are the best for me. For you, they’re the worst.”

At Jien’s words, Isabel ignited flames in both hands.

“A sick tiger and a well-fed rabbit, huh. Pfft, how terrifying. Any last words?”

Stepping on the soggy, rain-drenched ground, Jien leaped forward.

“I will win.”

* * *

‘Is this really a battle between first-years?’

Eria, clad in a yellow raincoat conjured by magic, lay prone in a crevice between rocks, observing the duel. Even flattened against the ground, the yellow of her raincoat shone brightly, betraying her presence from afar.

Surely, if she had thought about camouflage, grey would have been the right choice. But a drab grey raincoat for a teenage girl? Tsk. That’s out of the question. Yellow, on the other hand, is always right.

‘But then again…’

She had heard enough about how strong Isabelle was to be sick of it. But to see Zien fighting on a similar level to Isabelle…

“He looks so innocent, yet he’s so sly.”

‘To think he’s the bottom of the class with that skill.’

Eria didn’t believe in such improbable stories as someone suddenly becoming strong.

It seemed more plausible that Zien had been hiding his true abilities all along.

And there was a perfectly fitting theory to go with it.

The SP (School Point).

‘Lower-ranked students get SP points as encouragement when their grades improve.’

Rank 1 gets 3 points.

So, rank 162. If one were to hide their skills and drop to the very bottom, then overturn the rankings in the most crucial Virtual Gate exam?