Acquired the EX-class attribute ‘Transcendence Copy’

36 – Unexpected Defeat

“THAD….”

Born’s eyes looking at the fallen Sade shake like a sailboat facing a storm. The unexpected result unfolded right in front of my eyes.

‘Surely, THAAD must have been a step above….’

In terms of the power of skills and proficiency of weapons, THAAD showed an appearance worthy of its name. If he had been a normal student, he would have been knocked out by a devastating spear that would leave him unresponsive.

However, Sierra Grimkeeper showed perfect game management as if she had put such a THAAD in the palm of her hand. As she had predicted in advance, she let out each and every one of THAAD’s attacks with a method close to the standard, and stabbed the decisive weakness.

“hahahaha. It’s a duel that reminds me of something.”

Gio Strandal murmurs in an eerie voice.

As he said, the sparring that was unfolding right in front of his eyes was almost the same as the sparring he and John had a while ago. In that matchup, Born was completely beaten by Johann in a number fight.

“Sah, THAAD lost.”

The spearman is defeated in close combat against the shuriken thief.

It was the worst humiliation for a spearman.

“Hey hey… ! Sierra students! I believed in clothes… !”

“Que… ! Variable….”

The two professors showed conflicting reactions. The stunned Saad was dragged out by a spearmanship student. Eventually, the big battle he thought would never come came.

“Geo Strandal. That John is dangerous.”

“Are you worried? I will listen.”

Gio responded to Born with a soft voice and stepped forward. The opportunity to compete with Johann Baker, one of the people of interest, came so quickly. It is an unexpected income.

‘John Baker. Perhaps a master at least Arsha Swordhorn or Sara Leoris…. I’d like to embrace him if possible.’

Any group wants excellent talent. The same goes for Angra Mainyu. Recruiting talented people was the biggest task given to G.O.

‘Then, shall I leave a good feeling here?’

I don’t care about winning or losing in exchange matches. Whether the honor of the spearmanship department ascends to the sky or falls to the ground, it doesn’t matter because I don’t feel a sense of belonging at all. Geo’s purpose now was to establish a positive relationship with the person named John.

For that to happen, you must not win.

It’s a kind of entertainment duel.

It’s not good to lose too pointlessly. Because it doesn’t make a strong impression.

‘Wouldn’t it be fine if I lost by matching my hands and feet properly?’

Gio had the luxury of being able to command the opponent by looking down perfectly. Geo temporarily sealed his powers to avoid the eyes of the Church of the Sun, but his skills are not at the student level in the first place.

“Yo, student John! I’m sure you’ll win… ! The honor of our department of thieves is at stake in Student Johann’s hands… !”

“hahahaha. Your shoulders are heavy.”

“Hey hey… ! You can’t be nervous. Clothes… !”

It wasn’t just Professor Izumi who was restless. Professor Xenia was more restless than Professor Izumi.

“Que… ! Geo Strandal. I personally think highly of you. Even if the opponent is the head of the academy, can you do well?”

I thought I would cleanly take 2 wins first and win the match of cheating. However, a huge variable occurred. The variable that Saad Bilt loses to Sierra Grimkeeper.

“I will do my best.”

I said that, but I didn’t have the slightest intention to do my best.

Yohan and Geo stood facing each other.

“This is Geo Strandal. I look forward to.”

Gio lowers his head with a hazy smile.

John also gave a simple greeting.

‘Can Geo Strandal beat Johann Baker?’

Beads of sweat formed on Born’s hands as he watched the duel. From Born’s point of view, who experienced Yohan’s skills firsthand, it was too far for Geo to defeat Yohan. Professor Xenia’s firm expression said it well.

“”Begin the duel!””

Time did not wait for a burning heart. The duel has begun.

‘Let’s do some light exploration first.’

It was Geo who took the lead. John did not take any action, as if waiting for Geo to move.

“Lancer Dash.”

—

[Level 10 – 8] : While holding a spear, exploding agility to hit forward and push enemies in front. He is stunned for 0.5 Seconds immediately after using the skill. The duration of stiffness decreases in proportion to agility, and becomes 0 seconds when agility is 20 or higher.

From noble mtl dot com

Cooldown: 8 minutes

—

Gio’s body coolly rushes forward. Lancer Dash, a common and universal skill among spearmen.

John let go of Geo’s charge with light movements. He wasn’t a quick attack, nor was he an anomalous one. It literally felt like a light jab. So it was no surprise that he dodged the attack as well.

“You move lightly.”

Gio’s spear spins around and aims at Yohan. It does not have the destructive taste that Born or Sade previously showed. However, it was a very stable attack. It’s not strange even if it’s in a textbook.

John did not dodge the attack. He steps lightly and moves his body toward Geo. The dagger in his right hand glistened in the sunlight.

“Haste.”

—

[Level 3]: Temporarily increases agility by strengthening the body with mana. The duration of the skill is proportional to the agility level, and the increasing agility level is proportional to the luck level.

Cooldown: 7 minutes

—

John’s movements accelerate. It is the effect of the Haste skill.

The speed increased instantaneously, but it wasn’t to the point that Geo couldn’t catch up. Raise the spear obliquely and take a posture to block John’s attack.

Ting! Ting! Ting! Ting!

A spear and a knife collide at a very close range. The spear is said to be advantageous in close combat, but that is only when the reach is secured to some extent.

For melee fights that are so close that breath can touch them, a knife with a fast attack speed is advantageous.

It was Yohan who took the lead in the offensive, but Geo didn’t break at all and responded to Yohan with a solid spearmanship.

“Gio! Nice!”

“As expected, that guy named John. Because there is nothing Only the face is handsome!”

“The honor of the spearmanship department is in your hands!”

The spearmanship department students raised their voices and cheered for Ji-oh’s save.

Ellie and Sierra also raised their voices as if they could not be defeated by him.

“John! You’re doing great! Don’t give up!”

“John! If you win, I’ll do something nice for you… Hey hey… ! Miss Sierra! Don’t look at me with such scary eyes! It’s a joke!”

Gio calmly let go of Yohan’s attack and thought.

‘Each attack is as heavy as a heavy sword, not a knife. But….’

The technique of wielding a knife is extremely monotonous. It does not take advantage of the dagger’s superiority in close combat.

Undoubtedly, John’s ability in the duel at the entrance ceremony was outstanding. However, the ability he showed was not a skill of threatening power like Born or THAAD. What made John shine was his tactical strategy.

‘No way, that duel. Was it simply luck?’

Looking at John now, he didn’t look much like he did during the entrance duel. The feeling that he relies on powerful weapons to drive attacks.

Rather, Sierra Grimkeeper from the previous duel was closer to the genius Geo wanted.

In many ways, the present John is insufficient to be evaluated as a genius. Gio deducted a lot of points for Yohan in his mind.

‘The basics of attack are solid, but I don’t feel the flash of genius. Hmm…. I don’t know.’

It’s confusing. I thought maybe he was a genius who could surpass even Sarah Leoris, but looking at it like this, he just looks like an ordinary top student.

Angra Mainyu doesn’t need a judge. Unless he has special abilities or qualities, he doesn’t even need to look good. It means he doesn’t have to pay a tribute duel.

John took a step back and secured his weapon. The moment Yohan’s uninterrupted series of attacks created a gap, Ji-oh immediately counterattacked.

“Lance Piercing.”

—

[Level 8 – 4]: Pierce the spear quickly towards the front. Lance piercing has armor penetration proportional to strength, and has a 0.5% Chance to destroy D-class or lower armor.

Power: Power of equipped spear + 4 + (Strength * 1)

—

It was an unexpected counterattack. At first, I thought I would lose in this sparring.

However, now that John’s values have been revised, Geo’s goal has become to defeat him. There is no reason to play the clown for someone who isn’t great. G.O declared the curtain call of a boring play.

The straight spear aimed fiercely at Yohan’s chest. The counterattack that a dagger that has lost its offensive is extremely limited. Geo’s skill was too heavy to block with a flat blow.

At that moment, the corner of John’s mouth curved like a crescent moon.

‘Huh?’

John’s dagger extended toward Geo’s long spear. A head-to-head confrontation with the spearman’s spear that used the skill.

It is a stupid strategy choice that is 180 degrees different from what he showed during the duel at the entrance ceremony. The moment Yohan showed such a figure, Gio was sure that he was right. However, that thought didn’t even last 5 seconds.

Chang!

A clash between a dagger and a spear.

Originally, of course, the spear should win. However, Geo’s spear, which was supposed to be there, was pushed back by John’s dagger.

Damn it!

It’s not just being pushed. A crack formed at the tip of Ji-oh’s spear, like a crack, and fragments flew like glass that had fallen to the floor.

This is not something that can happen with normal attacks. This is obviously the effect of a ‘critical strike’.

‘Critical strike at this timing?’

Is it a coincidence?

No, if this is a coincidence, the smile Yohan showed before the final clash… ?

“The duel is over… ! The duel cannot continue due to weapon damage, so the winner is student Johann’s clothes… !”

The winner of the match has been decided. It was the moment when sighs and screams flowed from the spearmanship department.