Chapter 139: Back to reality
"It sure feels nice seeing the night sky after five years," Vlad chuckled, lying atop the roof of his dormitory. The night sky stretched endlessly above him, a boundless ocean of stars woven around the luminous band of the galaxy. Countless celestial lights shimmered like scattered diamonds, painting a scene so breathtaking that Vlad had been unable to tear his eyes away ever since he returned to the real world half an hour ago.
After a few more minutes of drinking in the scenery, he decided to head back to his room. It was bone-chilling outside, and him being completely bare was not helping at all. Although he had survived the training, the same could not be said about his clothes, which had been mercilessly torn apart by the Puppet Knight after countless duels. The cold wasn’t bothering him but again, Vlad wasn’t an exhibitionist.
He jumped straight from the roof. Upon reaching the window of a room on the second floor, he grabbed the frame and vaulted inside, landing on one knee.
"I really need a bath—"
He instantly bent backward as a sword swept past above him. In the next breath, the blade descended toward his head. He clapped his hands together, catching the blade just inches from his face.
A kick followed next. Just as it was about to hit him, Vlad tightened his grip on the blade and shoved it backward. Along with the sword, the figure holding it was sent flying out through the window behind him.
The figure flipped mid-air, his silver hair swaying with the motion as he landed on his feet on the ground below.
"So my dear brother really couldn’t hold back anymore," Noah muttered, glaring at Vlad from the ground. "He finally sent someone to get rid of me."
"Hey, that was really dangerous," Vlad shouted from the window, his face hidden behind his long hair, his voice deep. "Are you out of your mind—"
His words were cut short again as Noah launched himself from the ground, his sword swinging in a horizontal arc aimed at Vlad’s neck.
"You are really asking for it now," Vlad muttered, drawing his sword.
Tang!
The sound of their blades clashing echoed through the night, sparks erupting from the collision. Vlad easily pushed Noah back with a single swing of his blade, sending him crashing to the ground.
Noah landed on his feet, skidding several feet backward.
Vlad also jumped down, landing before him. He couldn’t have his room damaged by Noah’s rampage.
"Hey, why do you keep attacking me?" Vlad demanded, his brows furrowing in annoyance.
"That’s a new one coming from someone who sneaked in to assassinate me," Noah retorted, already preparing for his next strike. "Since you’re on academy grounds, you can’t be an outsider. And you certainly don’t look like a student. So tell me, which professor sold his loyalty to my brother?"
"What professor? I’m Vlad, you moron!" Vlad snapped, annoyance clear in his voice.
"Of all the identities you could have chosen..." Noah muttered, a thick layer of icy mana surrounding his silhouette, his jaw tightening. It was as if Vlad had spoken the name of his archenemy.
In a sudden burst, he launched himself at Vlad, his sword, laced with Mana Blade, swinging in a wide horizontal arc.
"Guess talking won’t get me anywhere," Vlad sighed, blocking the incoming attack with his sword without using any mana.
Noah unleashed multiple strikes from every direction, the mana flowing through his blade increasing with each attack. Yet Vlad dodged most of them while blocking the rest by merely redirecting the incoming strikes with his blade.
He had not even taken a single step from his position, nor had he used any mana. After fighting the puppet for five long years, Noah’s swordsmanship seemed like that of a child throwing a tantrum with a stick.
"So many openings... so many unnecessary moves," Vlad said as he struck Noah’s hand with the flat of his blade. The sword slipped from Noah’s grasp and was instantly caught by Vlad, who swung it back at him.
"Had enough?" Vlad asked as Noah’s own blade stopped just before his throat.
Now that Vlad was standing close to him, his unique crimson eyes were visible through the strands of his hair. There was no mistaking them. Noah had only ever seen one person with such an unusual eye colour.
"Y-you really are Vlad?" Noah gasped, his eyes widening in shock, his lips parting.
"In the flesh," Vlad said, lowering the blade from Noah’s neck.
Now Noah looked even more shocked than he had been when a strange naked man had sneaked through the window of his room.
"N-no, I still can’t believe it," Noah shook his head. "We were the same height, and now I barely reach your shoulder."
"Duh? I’m in my growing phase," Vlad shrugged, running a hand through his hair and brushing the strands back from his face.
Now that his face was fully revealed, although he looked a little different from before, he was definitely Vlad.
"What happened to you?" Noah asked, his eyebrows raised in confusion. "Did you eat something wrong?"
"Nah, puberty just hit me," Vlad said, sheathing his sword as he turned around, his broad back and flawless muscles visible to Noah.
"Yeah, puberty hit you in just twelve days," Noah scoffed, clearly not believing him. "What next? Crocodiles started flying and elephants became aquatic animals?"
Vlad immediately pivoted on his feet, his eyes widening. "What do you mean by twelve days?"
"The time since you suddenly vanished," Noah replied.
"What you’re saying is that it’s been only twelve days since I participated in the arena tournament?" Vlad demanded, grabbing Noah by the shoulders. He needed to confirm it before jumping to a conclusion.
"Yes, weirdo," Noah answered, rolling his shoulders to shrug off Vlad’s heavy hands.
Vlad couldn’t understand why only twelve days had passed in the real world instead of two months. Nonetheless, he was relieved that it had. The weight pressing on his heart had finally been lifted. His lips curled into an excited smile.
Nothing could stop him from entering the S-Ranked quest now.
Or so he thought, at least.