ALL NOVEL Chapter 16 - The Tournament 6
“Aaaarrgghh!!”
Everyone gazed dumbfounded at the sight before them.
Torn, clutching his shoulder and wailing. Doyun nonchalantly wiping the blood off his sword. And a severed thick arm lying before them.
“Woah…”
“In, insane…”
Doyun had sliced off the arm Torn had swung at him.
An instructor who regained his senses shouted at Doyun:
“Han Doyun! You, what do you think you’re doing…”
“Self-defense.”
A low, heavy voice laced with a hint of mana. The instructor unconsciously closed his mouth, taken aback by his calm, assured demeanor.
‘Wh, what kind of student has that gaze…’
He felt a slight constriction in his chest from Doyun’s utterly emotionless eyes.
While the instructor was certainly superior in strength, he couldn’t muster the audacity to confront that overwhelming presence.
Instead, another instructor beside him spoke up.
“B, but even if he wasn’t a student, the instructors would have restrained him…”
His voice was also somewhat deflated, as if he too had sensed something from Doyun.
“I apologize. I was too scared, so I acted on instinct.”
His tone carried not a hint of fear, bordering on sounding slightly inconvenienced. No one present believed his words were sincere.
“Ah… I, I see…”
Everyone understood Doyun’s claim of self-defense was just an excuse. But they had no grounds to refute it – his actions were clearly justifiable self-defense.
‘Composed. And his instantaneous judgement is remarkable – the seasoned calmness of someone who has endured countless covert battles.’
‘Maturity and strategizing unbecoming of his age… No matter how you look at it, he doesn’t seem like an Earthling, but rather a young master who survived the succession battles of a prestigious martial arts clan.’
From the recent commotion, the instructors who had doubted their own eyes despite witnessing Doyun’s match were now convinced – he had indeed overcome his mana deficiency, using mana just now.
The situation was swiftly resolved under the Headmaster’s direction. Torn was taken to the infirmary, and the remaining matches proceeded.
Afterwards, Doyun only had one final match remaining – two had been forfeited by his opponents, coincidentally those who had witnessed his previous match.
Fortunately, Doyun didn’t face Sophie, as the tournament selected 4 winners from separate groups.
Instead, he faced Dewshy in the finals.
“My luck is utterly rotten.”
Doyun chuckled at Dewshy’s grumbling.
The students clicked their tongues at the sight.
The vampire race was known for their cool aloofness, yet Dewshy showed such casual friendliness towards Doyun alone.
“I hope you don’t cut off my arm painfully. That cow’s shrieking looked really agonizing.”
“I’ll make it look pretty.”
Though he said that, Doyun naturally didn’t act as ruthlessly as he had with Torn, instead indulging in the feeling of wielding a sword after so long while playing along amicably with Dewshy – a likable talent with both personality and ability.
Despite the countless spectators, Doyun even provided some guidance while deflecting Dewshy’s javelins. As Dewshy was an admirable talent worthy of nurturing, he hoped to impart something.
He couldn’t directly teach javelin arts, and it wouldn’t look right to nitpick details publicly, so this was a suitable compromise.
Although Dewshy’s specialty was javelin arts, Grandmaster Buske’s swordsmanship transcended fields, possessing a sublime profundity that resonated with one’s soul.
While Hecleus’ Fist Style was superior in sheer might, it couldn’t match Buske’s in elegance and depth.
Hecleus pursued ‘strength’, while Buske chased ‘the sword’ itself – the depth of technique beyond mere force. Martial artistry.
Buske’s Swordsmanship was the quintessence of the sword, the culmination of a lifetime’s devotion by history’s greatest sword genius.
‘Buske’s style would make for a better textbook than my own swordsmanship.’
Enoch’s swordsmanship was also based on Buske’s, but rigorously modified solely for the purpose of assassinating the Demon Lord, sacrificing depth for efficiency.
His swordsmanship, predicated on using Localized Acceleration Control, was unmatched by anyone else.
So for now, imparting simple lessons in Buske’s style would be better for them. While Enoch’s could be called the strongest, even his swordsmanship still fell short of Buske’s in terms of depth.
Dewshy’s eyes gradually grew misty as he received Grandmaster Buske’s swordsmanship. Doyun smiled faintly in satisfaction.
He was experiencing the sublime pinnacle of martial artistry through his body, becoming intoxicated by the sword.
The watching students also gazed at Doyun’s swordsmanship with an entranced look, even if not receiving it as directly as Dewshy. Despite being fledglings ignorant of the martial ‘bu’ aspect, Grandmaster Buske’s swordsmanship possessed an elegance that resonated with even them.
Particularly amusing were the instructors’ expressions, their pupils and mouths slowly widening at the profound subtleties revealed with each stroke of Doyun’s sword through empty air.
‘I should moderate it somewhat, lest someone recognizes it again like last time.’
Even the supposedly unpassable Hecleus’ Fist Style had been recognized. Let alone Buske’s style, formally passed down through his disciples.
Thus, Doyun only demonstrated portions of Buske’s style that didn’t exist in this regression.
The 18th regression where Enoch had defeated the Demon Lord – in other words, the present timeline. The Buske’s Swordsmanship Doyun was displaying now didn’t exist in the 18th regression, but rather stemmed from the previous regressions’ Grandmaster Buske.
By Enoch’s own assessment, up until the 17th regression, his level was at best equal to or slightly below the Fist Saint and Sword Saint.
But through his realization from battling the Demon Lord in the 17th regression, even though he had died, he became an entirely transcendent being in the very next 18th regression, succeeding in slaying the Demon Lord.
Enoch’s realization greatly influenced the two of them, especially the Sword Saint, whose 18th regression swordsmanship diverged significantly from his previous regressions due to Enoch’s impact.
What Doyun was currently demonstrating was a swordsmanship that didn’t exist in this world, one that, like Hecleus’ Fist Style, no one would be able to recognize.
And by the time he finished the match.
[The skill ‘Swordsmanship’ has been created.]
[The skill ‘Buske’s Swordsmanship’ has been created.]
[‘Buske’s Swordsmanship’ has been integrated into the superior skill ‘Swordsmanship’.]
He even gained the due benefit of skill creation.
‘Unlike Javelin Throwing, the techniques from my previous life seem to readily manifest as skills.’
The tournament ended. The 4 winners were mostly within expectations.
One was a hard-working talent on par with Dewshy. The remaining three were Doyun, Sophie, and another genius in unarmed combat hailed as a top candidate alongside them.
“Congratulations on your victory…!”
Sophie celebrated Doyun’s win as if it were her own achievement.
Though he had displayed abilities far exceeding everyone’s expectations in the preliminaries, Doyun had originally been considered out of reach for the tournament victory due to his mana deficiency.
It seemed Sophie was truly delighted that he had claimed the win.
“Congratulations to you as well, Student Sophie. I had expected a student like you would definitely win.”
“Th, thank you.”
Sophie blushed slightly and smiled dimpledly at Doyun’s praise. Within her shoes, her toes curled tightly, her thighs unconsciously clenching together.
While happy about Doyun’s victory itself, she was even more pleased that they had won side-by-side.
Suppressing the urge to dimple widely, Sophie conversed with Doyun.
Then, the Headmaster approached them.
“Student Han Doyun. Student Sophie.”
The two turned at the Headmaster’s call. In his hands were two small wooden cases – the elixir prizes for the tournament winners.
There was no grandiose award ceremony. While a major event, the tournament was merely a formality, its essence being an evaluation.
The other winners had already received their prizes and left. Doyun and Sophie’s match had ended last, leaving only them.
The instructors’ burning gazes could be felt from the surroundings. The Headmaster already had a headache.
‘So it truly begins now…’
Doyun had publicly displayed his immense mana talent and swordsmanship mastery before everyone.
By tomorrow, there would likely be no one at the Cradle unaware that Doyun was the boss monster killer.
As soon as today’s activities concluded, this fact would be reported to the various guild masters. And with their target identified, the pressure would only become more overt.
The Headmaster felt utterly overwhelmed by what lay ahead.
‘Still… it’s fortunate.’
Doyun had paved his own path, casting off the shackle of mana deficiency, proving his qualities before everyone.
A result achieved solely through his own efforts, without anyone’s aid.
The Headmaster felt immense satisfaction watching this talent grow.
The purpose behind establishing the Cradle and creating the System, the allied forces’ long-standing mission – the subjugation of the Demon Lord.
This proud talent would undoubtedly make great contributions towards achieving that grand ambition in time.
“These are the prizes awarded to the winners. Please accept them.”
The wooden cases were presented to Doyun and Sophie.
They opened the lids, a crisp yet refreshing herbal fragrance wafting into their noses. Inside was a single condensed pill.
‘This is…’
Doyun felt a sense of familiarity from the scent and appearance.
“This elixir is called the ‘Vitality Pill’, with exceptional effects in enhancing the body’s regenerative abilities…”
Doyun tuned out the Headmaster’s explanation. No matter how well he claimed to know this elixir, Doyun would know it better.
‘It has been a while.’
He had consumed quite a lot of these as well.
Doyun inhaled deeply, savoring the nostalgic aroma evoking old memories.
The Vitality Pill. This elixir was…
“Created and popularized about 100 years ago by the lead alchemist of the great hero Enoch’s guild…”
By the alchemist who had been Enoch’s comrade. An elixir she had created for him.