Strongest Among the Heavens
Chapter 118: Battle of the Extraordinary I

Chapter 118: Battle of the Extraordinary I

In front of the academy was an area reserved for students to chill. However, its purpose had flipped to the whims of the Marshal. A circle of people was formed with two individuals standing as the centres of attention.

One in a Templar uniform, one in a cerulean blue tunic with flaps and chainmail on top.

’Open status,’ Sun-young said to herself.

[ Status: Yoon Sun-young

Class: Intermediate Swordsman

Level: 26

HP: 240

HP/Minute: 24

MP: 384

MP/Minute: 48

Attack: 167

Defence: 86

Attributes

Strength: 51

Resilience: 48

Agility: 71

Deftness: 53

Vitality: 48

Magical Might: 48

Magical Mending: 48

Distributive Points: 37 ]

Her stats and level were fine. Even the strongest player of the Templars couldn’t be significantly above her. There was the matter of skills, however.

Majin-ken’s anti-magic properties disabled her fire-based skills. A huge waste in her opinion. By equipping the Intermediate Swordsman Class, she gained Stamina Surge Lv. 2. One extra skill wasn’t good enough. She needed more.

When it came to swordsmanship with Majin-ken, she had two skills: Intermediate Sword Proficiency and 10th Geup Kumdo. The latter was a semi-useless skill that increased her agility by ten points during usage of Kumdo. While inclined to it as it was the third skill she had ever unlocked, often leaning on it in order to gain an explosive edge in combat, it wasn’t enough. It just wasn’t.

Against Jack, 10th Geup Kumdo was useless. Against anyone with a modicum of power and experience, it was useless. Ten measly points would not help her win. She needed to diversify her skillset.

’I have thirty seven points to spend on the Intermediate Swordsman Class.’

She went ahead and acquired all the fire-based sword skills. The essence of magic—that was what Sun-young thought she was missing. She wasn’t able to capture the same creativity that others did. Marta and Kazi were excellent examples of those immersing themselves in magic, but it was Jack that opened her eyes. Her sword skills could only carry her so far. She needed to be better. She needed to evolve.

[ New skill learned : Super Ember Strike ]

[ New skill learned : Super Speed Lv. 3 ]

[ New skill learned : Ignition Blade ]

[ New skill learned : Cinder Haze ]

[ New skill learned : Blaze Whip ]

[ New skill learned : Fire Up ]

Each skill cost six points, totalling up to thirty-six points. One point remained. ’Might as well put it into deftness.’

[ Status: Yoon Sun-Young

Class: Intermediate Swordsman

Level: 26

HP: 240

HP/Minute: 24

MP: 384

MP/Minute: 48

Attack: 91

Defence: 86

Attributes

Strength: 51

Resilience: 48

Agility: 101

Deftness: 84

Vitality: 48

Magical Might: 48

Magical Mending: 48

Distributive Points: 0 ]

Sun-young speed had reached another level. The skill Super Speed Lv. 3 was a Passive Skill that increased agility by thirty points. Already, she felt a spring in her step. Sometimes, she wondered how numerical values could alter a person’s body to the level it did. It was fascinating as it was scary.

A high attack value, absurd agility, and minimal endurance, Yoon Sun-young was a specialized swordswoman with an affinity to ending battles in one ultimate attack. On paper, she was a player every guild would want to recruit. That was the issue. She had high-specs in just the right stats and the Marshal seemed to want to expose it in broad daylight. Sun-young didn’t want to give her that satisfaction and decided to hide her trump card.

She opened up her inventory and switched Majin-ken for Drop of Volcano, letting her raw attack value drop in exchange for her old fire-based skills. She didn’t think it would be a huge downgrade. Her new Fire Up skill increased the effectiveness of all fire-based attacks by 30%. If she played her cards right, her damage output could rival the natural universal effectiveness of anti-magic.

’I’ll be fine,’ Sun-young said to herself, casually swinging the cracked longsword. The damages it earned from the battle against the Ronin had grown bit-by-bit. ’This might be Drop of Volcano’s final battle. I should give it everything I have.’

At last, she peered over at her opponent. As his weapon suggested, Cillian was a shieldsman who readied his defensive weapon; a white kite-shaped shield with the Templar cross on it. His weight leaned back.

’Must be anticipating a strike.’

In other words, the first thing he would do was counter.

"Alright, people, yes, this is a duel. No, there will be no killing. No low blows either." Marshal Margaret gestured to Sun-young, then Cillian. "Are the two of you ready?"

"Yes, ma’am."

To contrast the quiet young man’s agreement was Sun-young’s nod.

"On the count of three." The Marshal’s voice echoed. Sun-young went into a Kumdo stance, her skill flaring up. Her black boots crushed the dirt and grass underneath. Cillian raised his shield up. "One, two...three!"

Sun-young blasted from her spot. She crossed ten feet in what seemed to be in the blink of an eye and smashed the shield with a downward Super Ember Strike. The action was so fast and sudden that Cillian’s eyes went wide and he failed to properly keep his shield in place.

The bottom of the shield struck the ground and Sun-young lifted her longsword upwards and stopped at the touch of his chin.

Her sword was still hot and hissed against his flesh. Cillian gulped.

"Oh." The Marshal was astounded. "The winner is Sun-young."

’That was easy. The sword didn’t even break like I thought it would.’ She removed the sword from Cillian’s throat, who let out a gasp of air.

The crowd of Templars were equally as gobsmacked as the loser was.

"What the hell—"

"She’s crazy fast!"

"There’s no way she’s a new player!"

"He didn’t get to activate a skill!"

Echoes and claims of that sort persisted for a couple minutes. Sun-young figured that Cillian would be stronger. Guess not.

’Aside from how he telegraphed his initial move, with Kumdo, my agility is over a hundred points. It must have been too much.’

Sun-young didn’t want to offend the Marshal by asking if Cillian really was their strongest Templar. That seemed rude, so she kept to herself.

"Even I didn’t think that would end that fast," Marshal Margaret muttered. She turned to the audience. "Okay, is there someone from the Return Program that would like to participate? I would really appreciate it."

The players of the Return Program were instantly eager. A few students came up to the Marshal, convincing her to put them in. But a male with the voice and appearance of a gravelly homeless person pushed through, wooden spear coolly behind him.

"I will."

"Oh!" The Marshal looked him up and down, noting the wear and tear of the Templar uniform. "Uhh, what’s your name?"

"August," he replied, to the horror of the two Knights failing to convince the Marshal.

"August!" Marshal Margaret approved of him on the spot. "Go ahead. But remember—"

"Do it in the name of the Lord, yeah, yeah, I know."

"I meant to say be careful but that works too."

"Don’t worry, I won’t be."

’Did I hear him right?’ Sun-young swung her sword left and right, fully warmed up. ’Not that it matters. My opponent is using a spear. Distance is my biggest danger.’

"On the count of three." Glance, glance. August lazily brought his spear down while Sun-young went into a basic Kumdo stance. Everything about the spear was made of a light-brown wood, save for the tip which shined silver. The Marshal smiled, almost giggling, and started the countdown. "One, two...three!"