novelraw Chapter 81: Wait, What?
Chapter 81: Wait, What?
“Hmph. Don’t you underestimate me!” I snapped, activating Fast Equip and switching to my spear.
The shaft of the spear materialized in my hand, and I spun it once before adjusting my grip, my buckler raised protectively in front of me. While I was slightly more proficient with the sword, the spear offered a better advantage in this situation. Given that the dueling cube was only ten meters wide, the weapon’s superior reach allowed me to control the space and keep Erika at bay with pressure.
Technically, I could have cast Windstorm using Howling Edge, but that would’ve taken precious seconds I didn’t have. In a tight space like this, where every movement counted, Erika wouldn’t give me the breathing room to complete the casting. She’d close the gap and disrupt the spell before I could finish.
Across from me, Erika’s expression changed slightly as the corner of her lips tugged upward into a smirk as she observed my new stance.
“Are you getting serious now?” Erika asked, crossing her twin katanas and settling into a firm defensive posture. “This won’t change the end result.”
“We’ll see about that,” I replied coolly.
Wasting no time, I lunged forward with a precise spear thrust aimed at her midsection. My footwork was tight and deliberate, closing the distance just enough to bait a reaction. At the same time, I cast {Spinning Mana Arrow} twice—twin projectiles swirling with condensed mana materializing behind me and launching toward her flanks.
“Magic?” She harrumphed, narrowing her eyes.
She twisted her body and batted one of the spinning arrows aside with her off-hand blade while narrowly dodging the other. But that minor distraction gave me the opening I needed; I swept the spear low swiftly, aiming for her legs. The tip scraped against her shin, drawing a shallow line of red. It was the first real hit I’d landed so far.
She leapt back instinctively, but the moment she landed, I followed up with another jab, forcing her back again. I kept pressing in, focusing all movements of the spear to corner her, to push her back, to leave her no room to breathe. With every exchange, I reclaimed some ground, keeping her blades at a distance and using the spear’s reach to deny her the close quarters she preferred. Where earlier I’d been struggling to parry her precise cuts, now I was dictating the pace.
Her twin-blade technique excelled when she could weave between tight gaps and for helming opponents with a storm of slashes. But in this ten-meter-wide cube, that rhythm was harder to maintain. A long weapon combined with mid-range spells like {Spinning Mana Arrow} made it difficult for her to fully engage.
Every time she tried to shift into offense or activate a sword skill, I interrupted her with a well-timed arrow or forced her into defense with a thrust of Heavy Stab. Even if I wasn’t winning the fight, I wouldn’t let her win as well.
Erika took a few steps back until her back nearly touched the dueling cube’s barrier. Her smirk faded, replaced by a look of calm focus. “So, you’re not just some brawler who fluked a win over Graham. I must admit—you do have some skill.”
Despite being cornered, she wasn’t out of breath, nor was she faltering. But the moment she closed her eyes, the air around her changed. All of a sudden, an intangible energy began to gather around her blades, condensing into a thin, almost translucent red layer that shimmered like liquid steel.
“Is that… Sword Aura?” I muttered under my breath.
Only top-level swordsmen possessed that skill—a manifestation of one’s will and mastery, fused directly into the blade. It wasn’t something granted by stats or class; it was the result of countless battles and a deep, intuitive understanding of the sword itself.
It was slightly different from Sword Intent, the skill that I’d temporarily obtained through Alric’s possession. But in terms of influence on a fight, it was no less dangerous. Sword Aura and Sword Intent—when combined—were said to create a transcendental state that rendered conventional swordsmanship obsolete. Even so, just one was enough to tip the scales entirely.
Her control over the aura was still rudimentary, though. I could tell by the way it flickered at the edges, lacking the refined sharpness of a true sword master. But even in this imperfect state, it elevated her beyond the realm of ordinary swordfighters; if she was a sheathed blade before, then she just unsheathed her true skill now. Compared to me, she had stepped onto a higher plane entirely. The difference between us now was like heaven and earth.
“If she learned this skill all by herself after getting into Divine Will, she’s truly a monstrous genius,” I whispered to myself.
At this point, I could conclude that in a drawn-out fight, Graham would win against her ten out of ten. But if she had the initiative and the terrain advantage, she might be able to defeat Graham despite still being a Gimmel-rank divine warrior. Her raw power might be lower than his, but her proficiency with the sword bridged that gap.
But I wasn’t about to let her finish channeling it. Without hesitation, I dashed forward, channeling all my strength and focus into one decisive strike. My grip tightened around the spear as I lunged at her.
“Heavy Stab!” I roared. The effect of my improved spear hastened my attack speed by quite a margin, hastening the thrust with blistering speed.
My aim was true, the tip of the weapon hurtling toward her chest with barely ten centimeters left to impact. But then, her eyes snapped open, and in that instant, her presence sharpened along with her blades. It was like the air itself cut into me. The weight of her killing intent slammed into me like a wall, paralyzing my instincts for half a heartbeat.
Her body quickly moved with terrifying grace. Both her katanas rose in a flawless X-shaped block, and with a burst of strength, she deflected my spear mid-thrust. The jarring impact ran up my arm like lightning, nearly forcing me to drop the weapon. Before I could recover, she was already inside my guard. One blade twisted down low, aiming to slice at my ankle, while the other came in wide toward my neck.
Crap!
In that critical moment—maybe it was panic, maybe just bad luck—my foot caught on a patch of uneven flooring caused by our fight, and I stumbled forward, tripping awkwardly. I lost my balance, shoulder leaning into the momentum. Her low strike missed by a hair, and the high one sliced harmlessly above my head as I collapsed directly into her space.
“What—?!”
Caught off guard, Erika’s footing faltered. My shield slammed into her torso, knocking her backward, and we both tumbled in a chaotic heap. Despite the mess, I instinctively kept hold of my spear. Twisting mid-fall, I managed to reorient myself and guided the weapon into a defensive posture.
We hit the floor hard, and I landed on one knee above her. A sharp gasp escaped her lips as my knee pinned her sword arm to the ground. My spear hovered just inches from her throat, right over the soft hollow below her chin.
For a brief second, time froze.
Erika’s wide eyes stared up at me with sheer disbelief.
“You… defeated me?” she said quietly, her voice caught between confusion and surprise.
“Uh…” I blinked, trying to piece together what had just happened. From her perspective, it probably looked like I’d perfectly slipped past her final attack, turned the tables, and pinned her in a decisive finishing blow.
But the truth was far messier. I had stumbled, crashed into her by accident, and ended up in a dominant position entirely by chance. Was it the Luck stat at play? Still, as I kept the spear steady and met her eyes, I realized there was no point explaining.
A win… was a win.
Intermediate Swordsmanship has leveled up.
Intermediate Spearmanship has leveled up.
Your Strength has increased by 1.
It seemed Erika was still processing what had happened inside her head, gazing distantly, as if replaying the duel in her mind, trying to make sense of how she ended up beneath my spear. She looked a bit reluctant to acknowledge the fact that she had just lost. For a few long seconds, neither of us moved.
Then, a soft chuckle escaped her lips.
“I can’t believe it,” she muttered, shaking her head faintly. “I actually lost… You hid your trump card so well that I couldn’t even read your movements. So that was your plan all along—to bait me and catch me off guard.”
Yeah, except it was all just dumb luck, I thought wryly, but kept my mouth shut. No reason to correct her when the misunderstanding worked in my favor.
I stood slowly, pulling back my spear and giving her some space. She didn’t move right away, still caught in her thoughts.
After a moment, she sat up and tucked a few loose strands of hair behind her ear. “I admit it. This is my loss. But I’m not the type to accept defeat easily. I’ll keep training, and next time, I’ll defeat you and win.”
You want to have a duel with me again? Please don’t…
I forced a smile, trying to look polite. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves just yet.”
Erika raised an eyebrow at my response, but she didn’t press further. She rose to her feet with a quiet grace, dusting herself off. Her eyes had regained their usual sharpness, though a touch of respect now flickered within them. Guess that’s just how people like her are—driven by the need to grow stronger, always chasing the next obstacle.
Still, I couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. All I wanted was to observe Boris’s match and maybe squeeze in a light training session—not get dragged into a high-level duel with a sword prodigy. And yet, through a combination of sheer luck and awkward timing, I’d ended up beating her… in the most ridiculous way possible. And now she saw me as her rival.
Great. Just what I needed.
I was going to have to get a lot stronger before she challenged me again. Because the next time, I doubted she'd hold back her second blade for half the match.
Outside the barrier, some of the nearby divine warriors had noticed the result and whispered among themselves. A few even clapped or nodded in appreciation, clearly impressed. They probably thought that awkward tumble and miraculous reversal were all part of some calculated trap. Of course, I didn’t bother to correct them.
“That was a good match,” Erika said, sheathing both her blades. “I meant what I said earlier. You’re not just some lucky fluke.”
“Thanks,” I replied, still catching my breath. “You’re pretty terrifying with those swords, you know.”
She gave a short nod, her expression resolute. “I train every day, even before I got dragged into this world. It’s the only way I know how to survive here. Strength is the only currency that matters.”
There was no arrogance in her tone, only a quiet truth forged through experience. As the creator of Divine Will, I knew more than her just how important strength was in this place.
“Actually,” she suddenly added, “I’m not here just to challenge you to a duel.”