Chapter 67 - The Second Event [3]
"Jodan and Vael, please climb to the arena."
Professor Ulfar called for us after Zion’s fight ended and the arena got repaired instantly using the school artifact.
The damaged concrete floor from Zion’s match knitted back together smoothly as magical light washed over the ring, restoring the surface within seconds.
I stepped up onto the stone platform, keeping my expression neutral while my mind raced through every possible scenario. I have this small, hidden frown on my face as I stand in the arena.
On the other side, Jodan was stretching his arms and looking at me. He was preparing for the match. He rotated his shoulders, rolling his neck from side to side with a relaxed expression on his face.
He looks completely fine and normal.
There was no visible dark aura leaking from his body, no sudden surge of corrupted energy, and no sign of mental instability.
Seeing that made me wonder if there’s a possibility that he wouldn’t turn into a corrupted one.
Maybe my previous actions had altered the storyline so much that his corruption event was completely delayed or erased somehow.
But still, I didn’t let my guard down and assumed for the worst.
I kept my distance, mentally preparing myself to react the exact second any dangerous black mana erupted from his body.
"Are you two ready?"
Professor Ulfar asked as we both took out our weapons and took our stance. Jodan was using a sword as his weapon, by the way.
He drew a high-quality steel sword from his waist sheath, holding it in a standard two-handed front stance.
I have [Frost] in my right hand in the form of a rapier and the silver dagger in my left. I held my rapier low, keeping the silver dagger poised near my chest to maintain my dual-wielding defense.
Jodan and I nodded our heads at the professor, and after the barriers were up—
The translucent magical layers flared to life around the perimeter of Ring 12, sealing us inside the stage.
"Then, begin the fight!"
Professor Ulfar declared that. He dropped his hand, signaling the official start of the twelfth match.
Of course I didn’t move first, I was wary of Jodan, after all.
I stayed completely still in my stance, watching his feet and his mana flow to see if he was hiding any secret dark abilities.
But Jodan, on the other hand—BAM!
He immediately kicked off, starting aggressively!
He didn’t hesitate for a single second, channeling his physical strength into his legs to close the gap at full speed.
He rushed at me, leaving the concrete floor where he was before cracked from the force of his first step. And in a matter of a couple of seconds, he arrived in front of me!
Cracks spiderwebbed across the restored stone where he pushed off, his sudden acceleration throwing up a cloud of dust behind him.
"HAAAAA!!!"
SWOOSH!
His first attack was an overhead strike. A vertical swing of his sword from above, trying to split up my head. He gripped his hilt tightly with both hands, bringing the heavy steel blade down with full force toward my face.
"..."
He was too slow for me though.
Compared to Zion’s explosive momentum or the fast counter-attacks I practiced against, his trajectory was completely predictable.
I raised my silver dagger above my head and caught his blade easily, then after turning the tip of my dagger to the side a bit—
THUNK—BOOM!
I successfully deflected his slash beside me, making his sword hit the ground instead of me.
My silver dagger caught his blade near the handguard, guiding the heavy downward momentum straight into the concrete floor.
"...!"
Jodan’s eyes widened.
He gasped as his sword slammed into the ground, his arms jarred by the sudden loss of resistance.
And by the time he pulled back his sword, the tip of my rapier was already howling toward his head.
I thrust [Frost] forward with rapid speed, the point slicing through the air straight toward his face.
"GURGH...!"
FWOOSH!
He gave up blocking and just dropped down, crouching. He collapsed his knees instantly, letting my rapier point glide harmlessly through the empty air above his head.
And seeing him in that vulnerable state right in front of me—THUD!
I sent a kick straight to his face with my right foot. I snapped my right leg upward, driving the bottom of my boot directly into his nose before he could recover his balance!
"GAH!"
Jodan groaned in pain after receiving my attack, he was flung back and even rolled onto the ground a few times because of the force behind my kick. The impact lifted him off his feet, sending him skidding across the concrete ring until he crashed near the barrier edge.
But when he stopped, he immediately got up and went into a fighting stance. He stared at me vigilantly, ignoring the dripping blood from both of his nostrils.
He wiped his face with the back of his hand, resetting his grip on his sword despite his unsteady footing.
"..."
I was surprised to see this. Knowing that he’s a corrupted one, I figured he would look angry or crazed after having his attack deflected easily and his face kicked in.
I expected him to snap, release his dark mana, and scream like a mindless beast losing control.
But the look in his eyes—it was those of someone who hadn’t given up yet.
His gaze was sharp, focused, and determined to keep fighting through the physical pain.
It’s not someone who’s on the verge of losing their mind.
There was no chaotic red tint in his pupils and no unhinged laughter bursting from his throat.
’What the hell? What’s happening here?’
I was confused because of that.
I wondered if the game’s corruption narrative was completely wrong, or if Jodan was simply a normal student fighting for his rank.
Though before I could even think about it more—BAM!
"HUP...!"
Jodan rushed again at me and got near me as I was distracted, then without wasting any second; he started unleashing a barrage of heavy attacks!
He pushed off his back foot, swinging his sword in a wide horizontal arc toward my waist.
SWOOSH! CLANG!
I snapped my silver dagger down to block the horizontal swing, feeling the heavy force behind his grip rattle against my wrist.
He didn’t stop there. He immediately pulled his blade back and threw a heavy diagonal slash aimed for my left shoulder.
CLANG! TINK!
I leaned my upper body to the right, letting the blade graze past my coat while parrying the follow-up jab with [Frost].
Jodan’s swings were really strong that it would be trouble for me if I was hit by it even once... though, as I said before.
’He’s too slow for me.’
I thought to myself, watching the telegraphed motion of his shoulders before his sword even began to move.
He was relying entirely on broad physical power, putting his entire weight behind every strike without proper recovery speed.
TINK! TANG! CLANG!
I blocked the attacks, dodged most of them by a hair’s breadth, deflected a lot of them, and even countered back, leaving a few scratches on Jodan’s body.
I couldn’t land a fight-ending blow because of his troublesome, wide swings, so instead, I decided to switch up my strategy.
CRACKLE—WHOOSH~
I channeled my cold mana into my left hand, instantly covering my silver dagger with a sharp, freezing frost. Cold, faint mist radiated from both my rapier and dagger as I adjusted my grip.
A dense layer of blue frost mana coated the edges of both my weapons, lowering the temperature around my hands instantly.
Then I stopped dodging Jodan’s attack, I just blocked and deflected all of them, not letting myself be hit by anything.
TINK! CLANG! TUNK!
I stood my ground in the center of the ring, using small wrist movements to catch his swings and divert them away.
Then I waited... and waited... then waited.
I kept my defensive rhythm steady, letting him expend his stamina.
The whole area went silent for me, only the clashing of our weapons entered my ears.
The surrounding noise of the spectating students faded out as I completely focused on the timing of his strikes.
And then finally, after a while—the moment I’ve been waiting for appeared.
"HAAAAAH!!!"
SWOOOSH!
Jodan pulled his weapon back with both hands, channeling his remaining mana into a single desperate thrust.
And without hesitation—FWOOSH!
I answered back with a thrust as well using [Frost]!
I stepped forward into his line of attack, driving the tip of my rapier straight toward the point of his incoming blade.
TINK!
The tip of our weapons collided.
The sharp point of [Frost] struck the exact center of his steel sword tip.
And then, after that—
CRASH!
The blade of Jodan’s sword shattered like glass.
Using the ice mana of my weapons, I slowly froze his blade every time I parry of block his attack. I waited until his blade started chirping little by little, and once its durability was gone—I destroyed it like this.
Every time his steel sword made contact with my silver dagger or [Frost], a thin layer of white frost transferred onto his weapon.
Because he kept swinging wildly with continuous heavy blows, he didn’t even notice the cold aura creeping up his blade.
"...!"
Jodan’s eyes widened when he realized this, but it was already too late.
His hands remained frozen in his thrusting pose, holding onto nothing but a broken sword hilt.
FWIP—
The tip of my rapier stopped in front of his neck after shattering his sword. The match was done.
The cold tip of [Frost] hovered a millimeter away from his skin, completely freezing his movement.
I win.