“……!”
The trainees watching Shuren and Ivan's duel were left speechless.
Everyone was overwhelmed by the sudden storm of flames.
‘This is my first time actually seeing the power of fire……!’
‘Didn't fire-attributed mana disappear?’
Even amid their shock, they felt a sense of wonder.
Until now, the trainees had only ever seen mana without an attribute or the distinctive water energy of the Pellantz Family.
Now that they were witnessing such intensely hot fire mana, they could not help finding it fascinating.
Of course, what surprised the trainees even more was that Shuren had blocked Ivan's attack.
Ivan was Three-Star, while Shuren was Two-Star.
A difference in mana meant a difference in strength.
It was a gap difficult to close.
So it was only natural that the trainees were bewildered when they saw the duel tipping in Shuren's favor.
‘That boy…….’
The instructor's eyes narrowed as he watched the duel.
‘The mana Shuren possesses differs from Ivan's starting with its very quality. On top of that, his mana control is far more precise than Ivan's.’
He had noticed that while watching the two clash.
‘But how can that boy……?’
Even the instructor found Shuren's strength difficult to understand.
It had not been long since he first saw Shuren after the boy entered the training center.
But he knew about the Flamer Family.
A branch family that had been absorbed into the Pellantz Family around two hundred years ago and had lost its family's secret arts.
How could such an outstanding talent emerge from a family that had lost not only anyone capable of teaching its secret techniques, but even the books containing those secrets?
The instructor found Shuren's very existence incomprehensible.
“Urgh…….”
Meanwhile, Ivan's eyes darted around frantically.
‘I'm being pushed back!’
The power of water and the power of fire had collided.
And in that contest of strength, Ivan's power had been the one pushed back.
Every trainee present had witnessed it.
‘Damn it! At this rate, it'll be hard to accomplish my goal of catching the Family Head's attention!’
Ivan grew impatient.
Shuren, on the other hand, still had not lost the composure in his expression.
‘How can he act like that?’
Ivan grew even angrier.
Shuren could only be so relaxed because he was looking down on him.
“Don't get cocky just because you got me once! That red mana of yours is still proof you're nothing but lowly trash!”
Ivan shouted and charged toward Shuren.
Until a moment ago, he had merely poured out the power of water from a distance.
This time, he changed tactics and decided to engage in close combat.
SWOOOOSH—!
Ivan wrapped the power of water around his sword.
‘Go ahead! Let's see you block this too!’
He believed that if he fought Shuren seriously at close range, he would win.
CLACK—!
But Shuren blocked the attack with ease, as though he had read the path of Ivan's sword beforehand.
‘You bastard!’
CLACK-CLACK-CLACK!
Ivan unleashed a relentless barrage.
Shuren blocked every attack with minimal movement.
“You're like a damn rat! All you do is block! Then block this too!”
SWISH—!
Ivan unleashed a heavy strike with all his strength.
If Shuren tried to forcefully block it, his wrist would break.
‘Haah.’
Shuren sighed inwardly when he saw it.
CLANG—!
But even Ivan's decisive blow was brutally stopped.
‘His attacks definitely became more powerful once he entered close combat. But he's far too emotional.’
Shuren could feel Ivan's obsession with defeating him.
But that was all.
And from Shuren's perspective, Ivan's attacks could only seem laughable.
‘Tsk. He's wasting his talent.’
Ivan was merely copying the outer shell of the Pellantz Family's techniques.
Shuren knew the real thing.
Rak Pellantz.
Although Shuren had branded him a filthy traitor in his heart, he acknowledged Rak's skill.
‘The Pellantz sword is supposed to be flexible like flowing water…….’
In his previous life, Shuren had often admired Rak's swordsmanship.
But Ivan, his distant descendant, did not understand that principle.
“Ivan. You were born with Pellantz blood, yet you cannot even use its techniques properly.”
“What? I don't want to hear that from a freak like you!”
“You're just swinging memorized sword paths around like an idiot using brute strength. It's pathetic.”
Ivan's face twisted violently at Shuren's words.
‘I said that, but I'm even more pathetic for not being able to confidently say I'd crush someone like you.’
Shuren gave a bitter smile as he blocked Ivan's attack.
CLANG—!
The impact of their mana pushed Ivan back for a moment.
Shuren used the opening to swing his sword lightly.
Dark crimson flames began blooming along the path of the blade.
‘……!’
Ivan flinched.
His instincts sounded an alarm.
He must not meet that attack head-on.
Normally, Ivan would have trusted and followed those instincts.
But his pride was already badly cracked.
He did not want to avoid a frontal contest Shuren was openly offering him.
‘You want me to become a beaten dog?’
Ivan decided to ignore his instincts.
He did not want to tuck his tail between his legs and run.
Instead, he planted both feet firmly on the ground.
SWOOOOSH—!
Blue mana surged from Ivan's wooden sword.
He honestly swung his sword directly toward the path of Shuren's incoming blade.
‘I'll make you regret swinging that strike so casually!’
Ivan squeezed out every last ounce of strength he possessed and attacked with everything he had.
‘I can win!’
GRRRK—!
The instant their wooden swords collided, hope rose inside Ivan.
He could feel the heavy sensation of his sword pushing forward through his hands.
Ivan believed Shuren had failed to control his strength properly.
‘……?’
Then Ivan sensed something strange.
His sword suddenly began being pushed back.
FWOOSH!
Flames erupted from Shuren's sword.
‘Huh?’
Shuren's flames were erasing Ivan's mana.
Ivan's eyes widened because he could not believe what he was seeing.
“Ooh……!”
The trainees, on the other hand, exclaimed at the strange sight.
The collision between the two energies reminded them of beasts fighting.
FWOOSH!
The flames rising from Shuren's sword raged as though they knew no limit.
A portion of those flames touched Ivan's sleeve.
‘Urgh!’
Ivan swallowed a groan.
Glancing sideways, he saw that his skin had been burned red.
Ivan tried to heal the wound using his mana, but the recovery was painfully slow.
‘What kind of power do these flames have……?!’
Minor scratches and burns could be healed with the power of water.
But the flames Shuren created with mana were not easily treated.
Ivan bit his lip.
The pain from the burn was tremendous.
But he could not retreat.
No, he did not want to retreat.
GRIND!
He clenched his teeth hard enough to feel as though they might crack.
Ivan drew up his mana once again and tried to push forward.
FWOOSH!
But Shuren's flames only grew fiercer.
Before long, Ivan realized that his own mana had disappeared from the surroundings.
Shuren's flames had devoured all the mana around them.
‘What the hell is this pressure?!’
Even when Ivan tried to release more mana, it felt as though something unknown were pressing heavily against his Mana Circuits.
FWOOSH—!
The raging flames engulfed Ivan.
“Aaaagh!”
At last, Ivan screamed.
Taking flames this hot without mana felt like having raw flesh ripped away.
CRACK—!
The wooden sword in Ivan's hands split in half.
THUD.
He collapsed onto the floor.
WHOOSH—!
Shuren created a sword wind and swept away the flames.
“…….”
Once the thunderous noise created by their duel disappeared, silence filled the training hall.
The trainees could not understand what had just happened.
From their perspective, Shuren had merely swung his sword lightly, while Ivan had countered with everything he had.
Naturally, they had expected Ivan to seize the advantage, or at the very least force a stalemate.
Yet Ivan was the one sitting on the floor.
The trainees could only stare blankly.
Ivan, who had collapsed, also realized something.
‘Was what I saw an illusion?!’
Overwhelmed by Shuren's pressure, he had mistakenly believed the flames were devouring him.
But in reality, the flames had only burned his sleeve and forearm.
‘Looks like he's finally realized it.’
Shuren merely sighed as he looked at Ivan.
GRIND!
Shuren's reaction only enraged Ivan further.
‘At least mock me! Or curse at me properly!’
He hated Shuren's attitude.
That reaction meant Shuren did not even consider him an equal opponent.
This was the first time Ivan had ever been dismissed because of his lack of skill.
He found it difficult to hide how shaken he was.
Meanwhile, the instructor watching the duel decided this was the time to intervene.
Anyone could see that Shuren was the winner.
“That is enough. Both of you, stop the duel and lower your swords.”
At the instructor's command, Shuren obediently lowered his wooden sword.
Ivan stared at his broken wooden sword.
It had failed to withstand Shuren's attack, and the upper half had been blown away.
‘……I can't accept this!’
The duel was over just like that?
Ivan could still feel rage boiling inside him.
If he backed down while carrying this defeat, he felt as though the anger inside him would devour him.
Ivan pretended to put away his wooden sword.
WHOOSH—!
Then, the moment he believed Shuren had lowered his guard, he charged.
But because the wooden sword had broken and lost much of its reach, Shuren still had room to respond.
HUMMMMM—!
Ivan poured mana into the broken wooden sword as he charged.
The infused mana crudely formed the missing shape of the blade.
If he could stab the unsuspecting Shuren with it, the attack would be more than enough to put his life in danger.
‘You reckless bastard!’
The instructor was startled and tried to leap between Shuren and Ivan.
Blocking that attack from an incomplete position could leave his internal organs violently shaken.
Still, he judged that was better than allowing a trainee to suffer a critical injury.
‘What?!’
But an invisible force of mana gently pushed the instructor's intervention aside.
The mana had come from Shuren.
‘Is he telling me not to interfere?!’
The instructor could only feel frustrated, unable to understand why Shuren would do such a thing in this explosive situation.
‘I knew that bastard would do this.’
Shuren was not surprised by Ivan's sudden action.
If anything, he would have been disappointed if Ivan had not acted that way.
‘I'll pay you back for more than just the insults you gave me.’
With that thought, Shuren charged forward to meet Ivan.
‘……?!’
Ivan was shocked by Shuren's quick reaction.
He was even more surprised that Shuren was coming directly toward him.
‘What's he planning?’
But Ivan had already thrust his wooden sword.
He could no longer withdraw the attack.
WHOOSH—!
Shuren lightly twisted his body and avoided the incoming blade.
Then he slipped directly into Ivan's guard.
‘……?!’
Ivan could not respond.
All of his strength was already committed to the thrust.
Shuren firmly rooted his body to the ground.
WHIRR—!
Then he drew up his mana and wrapped his right fist in it in an instant.
He launched a short punch directly at Ivan's solar plexus.
THWACK—!
“Urk!”
Ivan took the blow helplessly.
Being struck from that distance naturally sent a violent shock through his insides.
But even through his daze, Ivan sensed something strange.
He thought he heard something breaking near his ears.
“Sh-Shuren!”
The instructor shouted in shock.
‘So this is why he stopped me from interfering!’
Shuren was directly striking Ivan's Rings.
THWACK—!
Before the instructor could stop him, the second blow landed.
CRUMBLE!
A clear breaking sound echoed out.
Cracks were spreading through the three Rings Ivan had been so proud of.
“Aaaaaagh!”
Ivan let out an agonized scream.
“Shuren, stop!”
The instructor shouted, but Shuren ignored him.
‘I was going to stop at a reasonable point, but this bastard tried to stab me in the back first, didn't he?’
Shuren already hated the Pellantz Family.
And now Ivan had tried to stab him in the back on top of that?
He had touched Shuren's reverse scale.
‘I can't show mercy to Pellantz bastards who try to take my life.’
THWACK—!
Shuren's third punch landed.
With that, Ivan's Core was completely shattered.