CH 167

The duel commenced under the effect of the Aura of Balance, so the use of skills and mana was restricted for both parties. This meant that the duel was going to depend solely on each participant’s physical ability and combat sense.

Mana and skills were important in a battle, but the most important thing for any martial artist was their foundation.

Therefore, the duel between Luna and Siegfried was quite intense and realistic.

S-Shwikk!

Luna’s spear aimed for Siegfried’s vital points.

‘Ah, where did I see those movements? It looks so familiar…’ 

Siegfried wondered while evading the attacks.

Luna’s attacks that flashy, but they carried a commanding weight behind every movement. Her attacks stayed true to the basics of a spear, and it was probably difficult to find a better role model for the spear than her.

And it made all her attacks even scarier…

‘Wow… She’s attacking like that? That’s quite sharp…’ Siegfried was impressed by her spear technique.

Luna was only Level 200, but her understanding and mastery of the spear were pretty advanced for her level. She was certainly going to be someone that not even powerful individuals could look down on once she reached the realm of a Master with the spear.

However, Siegfried wasn’t the only one thinking this way.

Luna tried her best to suppress her astonishment.

In fact, she was three times more surprised than Siegfried.

‘Who is this man?! This is my first time seeing someone so good with their blunt weapon! He seems to be better than Maxim oppa!’ Luna exclaimed inwardly.

Maxim was the Blunt Weapon Maestro of the Weapon Academy, and he was a master of blunt weapons. However, this mysterious young man who appeared out of nowhere seemed to be better than Maxim when it came to handling blunt weapons.

This was epic!

Only three challengers had managed to beat her so far, and that was only because she couldn’t use her mana and skill. She only lost after running out of stamina.

However, this mysterious young man was different.

‘H-he’s fierce! I might actually lose for real at this rate!’ Luna gritted her teeth upon sensing her looming defeat. The mysterious young man possessed a remarkable foundation, and it seemed that he would defeat her soon enough with just basic attacks.

‘Where did this guy even come from…?’ she wondered.

Whoosh!

Siegfried suddenly closed the gap between them and swung his hammer diagonally toward her hips.

‘Heok!’ Luna felt a sense of impending doom. She was sure that Siegfried’s attack would shatter her hipbone.

It was an unexpectedly fiercer attack than Siegfried’s attacks so far.

Luna was forced to use her ultimate skill, which was also her hidden skill. Her ultimate skill enhanced her basic capabilities to the fullest and allowed her to be empowered despite being under the effects of Aura of Balance.

Shwiik!

Luna’s spear swung her spear, aiming for Siegfried’s lower body.

‘This is…!’ Siegfried exclaimed.

He finally recognized why her spear technique felt so familiar to him.

***

A spear was a ranged weapon, and it was designed to strike at an enemy from a distance. Therefore, the fundamentals of the spear involved widening one’s distance from one’s target.

However, a fight wouldn’t always go according to the whims of anyone.

A spear could end up useless if a melee opponent suddenly rushed in and successfully closed in on the spearman. The spearman would definitely lose once that happened, and it could even lead to their death.

However, Luna had an ultimate technique that would allow her to fight in close quarters.

Whoosh!

Luna decided to do just that as she flipped her spear with her left hand and—

Kwak!

—gripped the spear shaft with her right hand.

Then, she turned her spear into something like a tonfa, which was shorter than a sword.

This was a skill that allowed a spearman to fight in close-quarters combat by simply changing their grip. They wouldn’t have to change their weapon at all.

However, that was not the end of it…

Luna changed her grip and twisted to swing her spear in a split second after Siegfried swung his hammer toward her hips. She performed the same motions that one would perform when trying to stab someone with a dagger.

The skill that looked simple but was highly complex wasn’t something that someone could perform unless they had shed sweat and blood to practice it repeatedly, and it deserved to be called an ultimate technique.

The name of the ultimate technique was…

Zero Form of Lightning.

***

Shwiiik!

Luna’s spear targeted Siegfried’s abdomen, and her spear traveled much faster than Siegfried’s hammer. She had identified the weakness behind Siegfried’s attack and counterattacked with her ultimate skill.

Flash!

However, there was a flash of light.

Sukeok!

Luna heard a sound that sent a shiver down his spine.

Thud…!

The dull sound of something falling to the ground could be heard.

[Alert: You have progressed 33.3% of the Quest – ‘Challenge’!]

However, the quest wasn’t important right now.

“Whew, you surprised me. I almost killed you just now. Hey, I thought this was just a duel? Why did you use such a scary technique out of nowhere? You scared me,” said Siegfried with a grimace.

His protest was justified because Luna ended up using a dangerous technique, and Siegfried had no choice but to respond in kind by performing an ultimate skill without actually performing it[1].

Elder Blockhead—no—Sword Emperor Betelgeuse’s Quick Draw.

It was one of his ultimate skills, and Siegfried was forced to use it.

“I-I apologize! I just got surprised, so I—” Luna apologized, but her curiosity got the better of her, so she asked, “W-what was that skill just now? I couldn’t see what happened, and how did you use a skill when mana was being suppressed? Is that even possible in the first place? And that was my first time seeing such a skill…”

“What I did was the same as yours, don’t you think?” Siegfried responded. There was no need for him to reveal that the skill he had used just now belonged to Sword Emperor Betelgeuse.

Siegfried continued. “And I should be the one asking questions here, so can I ask you something?”

“What is it?”

“What’s your relationship with Shakiro-nim? Do you know him by any chance?”

“Of course I do. He is my master, after all. I am Master Shakiro-nim’s disciple.”

“Your master?”

Siegfried suspected it, but he had never imagined that Luna was actually one of Shakiro’s disciples. However, Siegfried’s surprise disappeared when he recalled his conversation with the Weapon Master Shakiro.

“I apologize, but I cannot be your disciple.”

“I’m sure you already have a master. A talented young man like you is bound to have one, but it’s alright.”

“What is alright…?”

“I already have a multitude of disciples.”

“What are you talking about…?”

“I had a disciple for each weapon I master, but ironically, none of them could reach my level of mastery.”

Shakiro had mentioned that he couldn’t find anyone with the same level of talent as him, so he decided to take a disciple for each weapon he had mastered. It was the reason he had many disciples.

In short, Luna was indeed one of Shakiro’s disciples. Needless to say, she was immensely talented.

“Yes, it is embarrassing, but… he is indeed my master. Unfortunately, I’m still not at a level that won’t tarnish his reputation,” Luna said and bit her lips.

“What do you mean, tarnish?” Siegfried shook his head and continued. “There’s no way that you are tarnishing his reputation. You’re already pretty good with the spear.”

“You’re praising me too much. I am nothing compared to my master.”

“Anyway, this is the Weapon Academy, right?” Siegfried asked.

“Yes, it is…”

“Then, the other Maestros are…?”

“Yes, they are Master’s disciples. Look,” Luna said and pointed at a wall.

‘Huh?’ Siegfried looked at where she was pointing and was surprised.

There was an image of the sun and a cherry blossom flower surrounded by many different weapons. The sun was in the middle, and the weapons around it were letting out flames from the sun.

‘Why does that look like the Torrential Flower Rain?’ Siegfried wondered.

“This Weapon Academy was established by Weapon Master Shakiro, and we teach his teachings here,” Luna explained before continuing. “He has always been fond of sharing his knowledge with others, and that is the reason that we—his disciples—had gathered and established this academy. It is to introduce his teachings to those who are just starting on the martial path. Of course, we don’t charge exorbitant prices.”

It was often said that the disciple was bound to take after the master, but Shakiro’s disciples were excellent individuals who had taken after his character.

Unlike someone else…

“However, we cannot call ourselves Weapon Masters. The knowledge we possess is only a fragment of our master’s knowledge…”

“…”

“But it is more than enough for us to carry out his will and use martial arts to bring peace to this world. That is the reason that we had gathered around our master’s first disciple, Brother Hakken, and set up this academy.”

“I see…”

“Okay, it is now my turn to ask you a question… What was that skill a while ago?”

“Dunno,” Siegfried responded with a strange look before adding, “I will tell you after I’m done with the challenge. This is only the first round, after all.”

Siegfried only had a single thought in his mind—he had to duel against Shakiro’s other disciples.

***

Siegfried continued doing his Challenge quest and dueled against Shakiro’s other disciples after beating Luna.

[Alert: You have won against the Weapon Academy’s Blade Maestro!]

[Alert: You have progressed 66.6% of the Quest – ‘Challenge’!]

He managed to defeat the Saber Maestro, Verenas, after Luna.

[Alert: You have defeated the Weapon Academy’s Shield Maestro!]

[Alert: You have completed the Quest – ‘Challenge’!]

[Alert: Go to Guccio of the Thierry Merchant Company to collect your reward!]

Upon defeating Shield Maestro Velkanto, Siegfried’s quest was finally complete. He finally obtained the right to purchase the merchant company’s Heavenly Silk.

However, Siegfried still had no intention of stopping.

“Is it fine if I… continue?” Siegfried asked Luna, Verenas, and Velkanto.

“A-As much as you want!”

“I wish to see you fight more, so you may continue if you want to.”

Luna and Verenas agreed.

“Ugh… Aigoo, my joints… my whole body… you should have gone easy on me…”

“I apologize.”

“No need to apologize … Anyway, go ahead with it if you want to… Duels are always welcomed here—Euk!” 

Shield Maestro Velkanto kept on groaning in pain after getting mercilessly whacked by Siegfried’s hammer. Despite that, he readily nodded when he was asked if he could still fight.

“Owner punk! Are you all right? Kyu! I don’t think you got out unscathed from the duels so far! You got beaten up!” Hamchi exclaimed.

“Yeah, I did. I need to rest and drink some healing potions,” Siegfried replied.

He was also in a terrible state right now.

It became clear to him in the duels just now that Shakiro’s disciples weren’t a bunch of people who would go down without a fight.

The fact that they had to fight under the effects of Aura of Balance also made it much more difficult for him to beat Shakiro’s disciples. Siegfried had long noticed that he had been accumulating damage the more disciples he challenged.

“Hamchi will take care of you, owner punk. Come over here.”

“What…?”

“Hurry up and sit here! Kyu!”

Siegfried listened to the hamster and sat on a bench at the arena.

“Hamchi is going to put medicine on you, but you should still keep drinking the potions,” Hamchi said. He earnestly nursed Siegfried by applying ointments and wrapping bandages over his injuries.

It seemed that he could still remember the love and care that Siegfried had shown him last time after the battle against PyakPyak.

It can be hard to make great work when its stolen from bit.ly/3iBfjkV.

‘He’s a good guy, after all,’ Siegfried thought.

However, it seemed that Siegfried was mistaken.

“Here I go, Kyu!”

“Yeah, hurry up before the other Maestros come—”

When Hamchi applied something to his injuries, Siegfried was suddenly struck by a wave of terrible pain.

“Ack! That stiiiiiingsssss!”

Siegfried ended up screaming at the top of his lungs.

1. Quick Draw can be performed without activating the skill, so Siegfried probably just swung really fast without activating the skill because activating it will be lethal. ☜