Chapter 212

Chapter 212

I had discovered this new application of Self-Deception purely by chance.

While sparring with Ellen as usual, I’d grown genuinely irritated after taking hit after hit (not that this was a rare occurrence).

In any case, I truly wanted to pierce through Ellen’s impenetrable guard. Just once.

Just this one time, I wanted to knock her sword away and create an opening with a single blow.

And so, I swung.

“...”

“...”

But nothing happened.

I still failed to knock her sword away, and her counterattack left me with her blade against my neck.

Ellen tilted her head in puzzlement. “That felt strange just now.”

“... What did?”

Though my attack failed, it had surprised Ellen.

“It was different from usual.”

Having sparred with me for such a long time, Ellen knew exactly how my blows usually felt, with or without my supernatural powers.

She said that my attack at that moment had felt oddly more powerful than usual.

Although I didn’t manage to pierce through her guard, that single blow had indeed been much stronger than usual.

“Try it again.”

Ellen didn’t know exactly what I had done, but asked me to do it again. After several trials, I realized a new way to use Self-Deception.

Instead of overall physical enhancement, I could focus my supernatural power in one specific direction for a very short time—whether in attack, defensive reinforcement, or movement.

It was similar to setting and selecting a preset for reinforcement types and calling it up as needed.

By naming and remembering a specific application method, simply recalling it would activate the corresponding pattern of enhancement later on.

Even so, having to mentally use these skill names that I concocted in my head filled me with immense self-loathing...

At least I didn’t have to shout them out loud. That was a relief.

Just thinking about them in my head dealt enough mental damage to me.

One day, I’d probably end up shouting something like “Asura Attack!” or something similarly ridiculous. I definitely had the potential to do that...

Lately, therefore, I had been trying to get used to using these skills, the products of my imagination, by employing them during my sparring sessions with Ellen.

Of course, Ellen was the only one who knew about the imaginary nonsense I was having to do in my head.

“... No matter how I look at it, it’s a weird ability.”

“... I think so too.”

Ellen seemed to think my ability, which could be this or that depending on the situation, was strange, regardless of its effectiveness.

Being capable of doing almost anything was amazing, but the overall impact was still low, which made it more peculiar than awe-inspiring.

Nevertheless...

This was my first time using the new method of Self-Deception on someone other than Ellen.

Oscar was keeping his distance, analyzing me. He had landed a few attacks, but hadn’t dealt enough damage to knock me down.

“... That’s annoying.”

Using these Skills gave me a significant advantage. By suddenly focusing my supernatural power in one direction, my opponent couldn’t predict my movements, speed, or destructive force.

Even Ellen had struggled the first time I used my ability in this manner; it was too unpredictable to counter. Of course, it didn’t take long before she got used to it and started beating me again.

Eventually, Ellen grew so accustomed to how I used these new skills that she began to read my patterns, predicting exactly when I’d use what move. She could predict me impeccably, which made it impossible for me to score a victory against her.

However, Oscar de Gradias wasn’t like Ellen.

He was undoubtedly stronger than me, but he didn’t even know what my supernatural powers were. He could only guess that it involved some sort of physical enhancement.

He hadn’t accurately grasped my abilities, which gave me a clear advantage.

I currently had three skills set up:

Single Strike enhanced the sheer destructive power of an attack;

Haste amplified my reactions and speed for both approaching and evading; and

Harden maximized my body’s defensive capabilities when I had no choice but to take a hit.

I had other skills in mind, but I wasn’t proficient with them yet. These three were the only ones with practical use in actual combat.

Kang! Ka-Kang! Kang!

“Ugh!”

However, the gap in skill was too wide.

I had been training hard, but only for a little over half a year.

This level of effort was something ingrained in the daily life of Orbis Class students.

Despite claiming to hate effort the most, he was forcing it on his juniors.

Why make them do what he himself despised?

The expressions of the Orbis Class students were starting to twist a little.

“If that’s all one can do, then that’s what has to be done. Isn’t that right?” he replied. “If you’re not born with anything, you must at least put in effort and time.”

Even if one hates it, even if nothing can change it, if effort is all you can aspire to, then you have to do it.

His words sounded like a self-pitying lament.

He seemed to believe that not being born with talent was a sin. Not having innate gifts was a crime, and that crime had to be paid for with effort.

“Does blaming the world change anything? If there’s nothing else you can do, you have to do that much at least,” he continued.

It was a twisted, miserable mindset, close to self-hatred.

Just like the students of Orbis Class who had been broken by this culture, Oscar de Gradias was also a broken human being.

No—he had probably entered the Orbis Class as a broken person.

He had to have fit into the Orbis Class more than anyone else.

I didn’t know if Oscar de Gradias’s way of thinking was wrong.

“If that’s what you believe, then live that way yourself, you bastard. Don’t drag innocent kids into the same way of living as you.”

Making others who weren’t born with talent into criminals and compel them to put in effort was in no way justified.

He knew full well that effort was not always enough to get everything that one desired, yet he was trying to force that false belief on others, trying to drag them into the same hell.

That was who Oscar was.

“You might be right.”

Clang!

He suddenly tossed his practice sword to the ground.

“But hearing those words from someone like you makes me feel twisted inside,” he said, his eyes burning with anger.

He looked disgusted by the sight of someone born with talent, spouting words as if they understood those who weren’t.

It seemed he was now ready to get serious.

Discarding the sword wasn’t a sign of surrender.

Srrrr...

“Let’s end this quickly.”

“...”

I watched in silence as his body underwent a transformation. His golden eyes began to shimmer with a blue aura, and a blue energy enveloped his entire body.

He was using Mana Reinforcement.

A fourth-year who was ranked first in his Orbis Class meant that he was the strongest among the approximately ten thousand fourth-year students, excluding the students of the Royal Class. Thus, it wasn’t surprising that he could use Mana Reinforcement. In fact, it might have been expected.

Achieving Mana Reinforcement meant that talent was already a given. Simply having the capacity for it was a blessing of talent. He was already in his fourth year, so his acquisition of Mana Reinforcement couldn’t even be considered late.

This guy hadn’t gained nothing from effort. He had certainly obtained something.

Yet he despised effort.

Did he think Mana Reinforcement was too insufficient a reward compared to what he truly desired?

“You bastard. You were a born genius too,” I said.

“Really? I don’t see it that way.”

“What is a genius if not this?”

“Maybe my standards are just too high.”

Everyone stared blankly at Oscar, wielding Mana Reinforcement.

He discarded the practice sword because he didn’t need it. Using a practice sword while employing Mana Reinforcement in a non-combat situation was just cumbersome.

Oscar revealed his Mana Reinforcement to end this fight quickly, thinking that prolonging it would only foul his mood even further.

Even if he hadn’t used Mana Reinforcement, my chances of winning had been non-existent.

His Mana-Reinforced fists underscored my impending defeat, but did not fundamentally change anything.

I wondered how much it would hurt to take a Mana-Reinforced punch.

“Here I come.”

Thud!

‘Harden.’

-Blam!

Oscar’s fist struck me in the abdomen, surpassing the speed of my reaction.

“...!”

The impact was so overwhelming that I couldn’t even scream.