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***
Carly stood across from him. She was more still than a statue, yet power radiated out from her. Han Seong felt like he was standing on the edge of her sword. He thought he would fall into a bottomless abyss if he took one false step. A sense of danger tightly enveloped his heart.
"...!"
Then he moved nimbly around Carly.
It would be very foolish to attack directly someone who shows an overwhelming disparity of power.
So he wanted to create variables. He couldn't consider it a good scenario to ram his spear into that sword. Of course, that didn't mean that he could stop it. It was really almost impossible.
He came to the conclusion that he should reduce direct confrontation as much as possible.
"..."
Carly did nothing as he moved around her. She looked at him with honest pride, knowing that she was far beyond his abilities.
He could feel it in her gaze.
Carly had real confidence. And it was clearly reflected from her appearance to her stance. She could convey her confidence to her opponent just by looking at him.
Any opponent would feel his heart crack a little.
"Cadet Han Seong, I feel I should warn you. You won't be able to do anything at that speed," she said with a smile. He couldn't help but chuckle softly. She didn't do it to belittle him, but to encourage him to move with more agility.
He accepted her recommendation. He immediately dispersed some of the mana that was on the tip of the spear to focus it on his legs.
His attack power wouldn't matter if he couldn't even reach her. His footsteps on the floor became faster.
Now she would have to pay a little more attention. But how would this help him with executing his attacks? He couldn't even dream of making consecutive attacks like yesterday. How could he face that vibrating sword?
It only just then occurred to him to make a fluid cutting attack.
Then he made his first attack.
Swoosh!
His spear sliced through the air as if it could split the atmosphere without any resistance. His spear, surrounded by mana, drew a huge crescent as it headed for Carly's head.
Then she turned her hands.
"...!"
He watched the trajectory of the vibrating sword move to cover.
But he couldn't force his spear to redirect.
Clanggg!
The moment their weapons collided. A strange sound, as if their weapons had collided dozens of times, echoed in his ears. Posted only on NovelUtopia
He quickly moved away from her. His hands holding the spear trembled incessantly. He moved again as he willed his hands to regain their firmness.
This time, he turned his body downward to cut Carly's ankle with his spear.
Carly remained motionless. She subtly lowered her sword.
CLAAANNNGGGG!
It was a more severe sound than before. A great pressure moved to his hands that held the spear. He had made a big turn to increase the variables, so his balance was a bit shaky. And the result of that was disastrous.
The spear that flew from his hands rolled to the floor. His hands continued to shake from the aftermath.
"..."
But now he could not hesitate. He quickly went to grab the spear. Every strategy he had had disappeared from his mind.
Had I been too arrogant? He wondered if he had chosen the right strategy for this fight like he initially thought.
No, that wasn't it. The answer was more simple than that. There was a limit to his capabilities.
He had thought he was a fool when he willingly increased his disadvantage with Elimian's Compassion. It was only after two attacks were exchanged that he became fully aware of what that meant for this fight.
He bit his lower lip as he raised the spear again.
What… should I do now? He had already made up his mind in yesterday's fight. He hadn't cared if he lost, as long as he did his best. Even with the fight coming to a draw, he knew he had to be realistic while choosing to fight as hard as possible. Of course, realism won here. He couldn't beat Carly now. He knew that better than anyone else.
Now he had to face reality. There was a huge difference between the two of them. There would always be a huge difference between the two of them. He could even sense now that he had little power in this world.
"Haaaggghhh," he sighed as he gripped the spear tighter.
This… is me now. But it was not as easy to accept reality as he would have liked. His heart gnawed at the thought of the limits of his common attribute, Spearman. The spear in his hands was nothing more than a cold, average weapon.
He was powerless against an opponent with an overwhelming attribute. Yesterday's dramatic result against Leonhard could only be considered a miracle. It was just the lucky combination of all the circumstances of the moment.
"Cadet Han Seong." He turned his eyes to her when he heard her voice. Carly faded the vibrating energy of her sword. Her gaze was calm, yet warm. She didn't even scoff because he had dropped the spear earlier, and now was hesitating to attack her.
"Don't reproach yourself."
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