NOVEL NEXT chapter 21
Year Exchange Match (5)
Year Exchange Match (5)
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【Herak Leonhardt】
Gender : Male
Age : 21
Status : Olympia Academy 2nd Year
※ Status
Strength : 2.12
Stamina : 2.07
Agility : 2.15
Magical Capacity : 10
Magical Efficiency : 10
Magical Sensitivity : 0
※ Unique
【Ultimate Body】 NEW!
【Twelve Constellation Fist】
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Finished the grade exchange match and opened the status window.
Being able to check stats down to the decimal point is so much more convenient. It’s easy to see how much they’ve gone up.
I’m already satisfied seeing some already over 2.1.
‘Well, things will be different in the latter half though.’
Even the original protagonist’s growth rate slowed down as he pushed through the story.
Since my physical cheat is probably similar to the protagonist’s, I guess it’ll get slow around that time.
Of course, it doesn’t matter right now. It’s going up fast thanks to my physical cheat.
And it’s not just my stats I need to check.
The 【Ultimate Physique】 already had a notification, confirming I’d been chosen as the winner of the grade exchange match.
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【Ultimate Physique】 NEW!
[Reward ‘Cheat Selection Ticket’ granted for winning the grade exchange match.]
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Cheat Selection Ticket.
Currently, the cheats I possess with 【Ultimate Physique】 are ‘Adamantine Body’, ‘Heavenly Martial Body’, and ‘Magic Slayer’.
They’re all such overpowered cheats, so having one with similar power would be amazing.
Let’s open the list and take a look.
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[Cheat Selection Ticket]
※ Lionheart: The vessel of a hero.
Exerts even stronger abilities during battle and is immune to status effects.
※ Berserker: A disposition that grows stronger when cornered.
Combat power dramatically increases as health decreases.
※ Golden Ratio: A human in the image of a god.
The harmony of the entire body, from face to ankle, is perfect and beautiful.
…
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‘Hmm.’
A bunch of useful-looking cheats are popping up.
Especially eye-catching are ‘Iron Will’ and ‘Berserker.’
Both are cheats that are a huge plus in combat.
It’s almost a shame to compare them to a variety cheat like Golden Ratio down below. Seriously, why does Golden Ratio even exist?
I pondered deeply about which to choose, but then a particular phrase caught my eye.
※ Iron Will: Not affected by status ailments.
‘Not affected by status ailments, huh.’
Considering the variety of status ailments that exist in ＜Song of Swords and Magic＞, that’s one hell of a cheat.
Especially since it means I can ignore those forced CCs the story bosses like to hurl at allies, that’s pretty damn appealing.
‘Yeah, this is the better one.’
Even if I hope there’s no direct involvement in the story.
As it stands, the male lead’s already out of the first act boss fight. I absolutely have to participate, so picking Iron Will is the right call.
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【Ultimate Physique】
※ Iron Will: Vessel of a hero.
Unleashes stronger capabilities than usual in battle, and is not affected by status ailments.
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And with that, ‘Iron Will’ was added to 【Ultimate Physique】.
That’s a load off my mind.
It means I can prepare for the first act boss fight with a lot more ease—
“Hey, Ra, Kru, Si?”
“Yes.”
I shake myself out of my contemplative stupor.
A woman with a pouty lip is sitting in front of me.
Her braided blonde hair shines, and she’s dressed in a gorgeous gown.
Princess Helene was toying with my hand.
“You weren’t listening to me, were you~?”
“No, I was.”
“Then what did I say?”
“You said I was your destined one.”
“……Hmph.”
Her lips are pouting, quite visibly displeased, but.
The answer is the answer, and she can’t say anything against it, it seems.
“Eek.”
There’s no good to be had from riling the Princess.
Forget the status window, focus on Helene.
“Please forgive me. I was so overwhelmed by the fact that Your Highness would personally treat my hand, I lost my senses.”
“Hmph~. It’s blatant flattery, but. I’ll let it slide, specially.”
“Your grace is boundless.”
“Honestly. Mr. Herak seems to have quite the talent for being a sycophant.”
Even though she says that, Helene grins widely as if satisfied with my reply.
While she does so, her beautiful hand busily moves, wrapping a bandage.
Where?
On my hand.
‘…This is awkward.’
The honor of Princess Helene herself wrapping a bandage for me.
Any other student wouldn’t even dare to look.
This is only because Helene regards me as her ‘person of destiny.’
‘【Celestial Oracle】.’
Helene’s unique power.
Fate reveals the future to her, so there’s been no hardship in Helene’s life.
The youngest princess, loved enough not to be entangled in the succession to the throne.
She’s not lacking in food, clothing, or shelter to begin with, but the 【Celestial Oracle】 even points out her future for her.
Therefore, Helene was able to grow up extremely optimistic.
There is no hardship for her, she just needs to live as the 【Celestial Oracle】 tells her.
At least, that’s how Helene herself would think.
And so, Helene loves her ‘person of destiny’.
She develops a genuine love for a person she has never even met, someone who was simply thrown into her path by fate.
That’s what her life has been.
There’s no reason for her to doubt it.
‘The problem is that it’s me though.’
This role was supposed to be the male lead’s, so why the hell am I doing it…
“Heh heh. Thinking about it, Herak’s opponent ended up in quite a laughable situation. To nominate Herak himself and then lose. And with such a huge difference in rank, I hear?”
“Well, it’s his own doing. He’ll have to take responsibility for it.”
“Exactly, exactly! Herak had a secret weapon, didn’t he. I knew it~.”
Helene seemed genuinely pleased that I won, wearing a big, bright smile.
Her words about Jackson were quite cold, but moments like this do give off a vibe of her being an imperial princess.
She finished tying the bandage around my hand, then – *ahem* – puffed out her chest.
Like she wanted me to praise her.
“There. All done. I was so worried that Herak’s precious hand was injured. I bandaged it for you, so you have to be careful, okay?”
“Thank you. …Though, is it alright for you to pay so much attention to a mere student? Some might take it the wrong way.”
“Tsk! Don’t say things like that. If someone comes to treat you right after a duel, all you have to say is ‘thank you’~.”
“……”
As Helene said.
After the duel with Jackson, my hand had a few minor scrapes and cuts.
Well, I’d been clashing against metal and punching a guy, my skin was bound to tear.
So I was just gonna head to the temple for some basic treatment, but then…
*Ah! Herak, could you come over here for a moment?*
*What is it, Your Highness?*
*Heh heh. I’m going to treat you. How can I, as royalty, just stand by when my person is hurt?*
…And with that, she stopped me from leaving the Colosseum and dragged me to an empty room to treat me, which left me a little dizzy.
To be treated by an imperial princess, that’s a privilege others wouldn’t get until they die.
“Shall we head back now~?”
“Do you plan to watch more duels?”
“Of course. Well, I wouldn’t mind just watching Herak~. But as a princess, I have to maintain my dignity, so I guess I should watch the first-years too?”
A good bit of time had passed since my duel.
The second-years must all be finished by now, so the first-years would be up.
‘Now that I think about it, I am a bit curious.’
The first-year’s main match.
The top student from the Knights Department, Isolette, versus the top student from the Magic Department, Irina.
Who the hell’s gonna win? I’m on edge here.
“Alright. Let’s go.”
“Ah, but before that~”
“Huh?”
Just as I was about to leave the room, turn and go, Helene poked me in the ribs.
Past the tip of her slender finger. Helene’s pale face was smiling sweetly.
She subtly extended a hand towards me.
“An escort, perhaps?”
“……”
It’s just a short walk, does she really need an escort…
But I wasn’t *that* clueless.
“Of course, my princess.”
“Heheheh. More like a knight than a mage~.”
I expertly took her pale hand and led the way.
*
I went up to the high seat where Helene had been sitting.
It wasn’t a place students were supposed to sit, but who would stop the princess when she brought someone herself?
The instructors who tried to stop us ended up just clearing their throats and backing down.
…Well, some instructors did try to talk.
“Student Herak! Just what was that technique?!”
“Herak, my boy. I’d like to ask about the bodily magic you manifested…”
“Listen here. Any thoughts on stopping by my instructor’s office? I have a proposition for you…”
Every single one of them had a look on their face like they’d die of curiosity.
But I didn’t get it.
‘What, *bodily magic*?’
No, that was just a cheat. A body cheat.
I didn’t use magic, I just…well, it’s like I moved my body and mana just responded to it, that’s all.
It wasn’t like I did it thinking it was magic at all…
But there was one person who could cut off all these desperate love calls from the instructors.
“Heheheh. Would you all please step aside?”
Princess Helene.
Her smiling words, spoken while she walked close beside me, instantly silenced the instructors, who turned away.
Even the instructors of Olympia were powerless before the princess.
A sad reality of the class system.
“Here. Right here, Mr. Herak.”
“Yes.”
The seat next to Vice-Chairman Chiron.
A seat that no instructor would dare occupy. Helene seats me there beside her.
It’s a bit much… but what can I do? I have to accept it.
“Whose turn is it now~?”
“It’s Esolet and Irina. A match between the top students, Your Highness.”
Chiron answers kindly to Helene’s question, as she returned midway and doesn’t know the matchups.
Just as he said, an intense battle was already raging in the dueling arena.
*Crack!*
Numerous ice spears emerge behind Irina.
It’s the magic that Pennell, the top second-year student, used, but hers is in no way inferior.
The skill of a seasoned mage. She truly is the protagonist of the magic route.
*Whoosh!* Beyond the scene of the spears being rapidly fired.
The woman who rushes forward, smashing through that, is Esolet.
*Crackle, crackle!* The spears are shattered by Esolet’s slashing sword.
It’s an overwhelming barrage of ice spears, enough to make defense with a single sword difficult.
Yet, Esolet cuts them all down, maintaining the front line.
—Hah, hah.
Neither has much stamina left.
Irina’s mana has been depleted by casting spells continuously.
And Esolet has exhausted her energy by blocking each one and somehow pushing forward.
They stare intently at each other, breathing heavily.
Seeing that, I was struck by a fresh wave of emotion.
‘This is it.’
Act 1, Scene 4 of ＜The Song of Sword and Magic＞.
The top students from both departments, meeting at the inter-department exchange.
The male and female leads meet, acknowledging each other’s abilities, admiring them, and thus, coming to recognize each other.
A page of such fervent youth.
‘Well, even if it’s two women…’
There’s no male lead, but it doesn’t matter.
Just the way they’re sending such passionate gazes, they’re already protagonist material.
However, what I care about is something else.
‘Still, I need to know who the real protagonist is.’
There might not be a male lead, but surely there is a true protagonist?
Even if both Isolet and Irina are women, one of them has to be the character that drives this world’s story.
In the original, the male lead won and assumed that role, so it should be the same for them.
‘The one who wins is the real protagonist.’
I’m sitting here to witness that historic moment…!
—You are amazing, Irina. I didn’t realize it would be this difficult to land even a single attack… Honestly, I’m impressed.
—…Thank you for the praise. The same goes for me. Isolet. I’ve never faced an opponent as challenging as you.
A burning friendship between women, recognizing each other.
But even that is fleeting.
—However, it will eventually be decided. The winner of this duel, and the one who will become the Senior’s first disciple.
Isolet takes her stance.
The distance between her and Irina secured, her hand grips the sword hilt tightly.
Then, a shimmering red light pulsates on the blade.
A special power, different from the blue aura knights raise.
Just watching it, the force feels incredibly potent.
—I see. It’s not like I’m paying much attention to what you said… but if you’re pushing this far for victory, then fine. I’ll accept.
Simultaneously, countless spells are cast from behind Irina.
She should have depleted her mana from continuously casting spells so far, but…
Irina is using magic as if she were just beginning the duel.
‘Oh, finally, here it comes.’
Currently, they are wielding unique powers gained from the secret chamber.
Isolet has 【Charge】, Irina has 【Rewind】.
They drew out that power, right to the very last, finally giving their all to bring each other down.
*Gulp*—
Someone swallowed, holding their breath.
A fight so intense, it was hard to believe it was between first-years.
All eyes of the crowd were fixed on who the victor would be—
*Kuwahhhng—!!!*
In the end, the blow that Isolet and Irina traded sent up a massive cloud of dust in the arena.
“What?! Who won?!”
“Damn it. Did Isolet lose…? Is even a first-year of our Knight Department going to be defeated!”
“Of course Irina won! The Magic Department is taking home the victory today!”
The instructors, who had been watching, jumped from their seats, shouting.
A dust cloud where magic swirled chaotically, obscuring everything.
Finally, the dust that had been blocking their view cleared, revealing the figures of the two women beyond it.
“…Huh?”
Everyone was stunned.
—…….
—…….
Lying down.
Neither Isolet nor Irina could move a muscle, both sprawled out on the floor.
Whether they’d lost consciousness or not, their fingertips didn’t even twitch, and faint smiles played on their lips.
It was a sign of their acknowledgment of each other as worthy opponents.
A youthful smile born from meeting a rival—
—Yes, to cut to the chase, there was no winner in this duel.
Both had lost consciousness, unable to stand to the end.
As a result, Chiron, seeming to have the same thought, issued an announcement.
[Duel ended. This match will be a draw. Let’s give both students who showed such a passionate duel a round of applause.]
Clap clap clap…
The applause and whistles of the students followed.
It was a heart-warming conclusion, where even the animosity between the Knight and Magic Departments was forgotten in their praise of the duel—
“…Ah, for fuck’s sake.”
I muttered a small curse under my breath.
Couldn’t help it.
…So, who’s the real main character…?