Chapter 228: Practical Evaluation (2)

Let’s rewind a bit to the morning when the practical tournament began.

Students swarmed around the bulletin board where the practical evaluation matchups had been posted. They whispered among themselves as they studied the brackets.

“Wow, three of the Monster Four made it to Second Army?”

“Second Army is going to be a bloodbath.”

“Kani and Brew’s teams will probably advance from First Army.”

“That Brew guy… he’s got good luck on his side.”

The brackets had been formed by splitting the top 32 teams from the previous day into two armies of 16. The final two teams from each army would face off in the championship match.

Among the three strongest potential champions—Khan, Kani, Tania, and Kendrick—Kani was the only one assigned to First Army, while the other three found themselves in Second Army.

Upon noticing this, Brew wore a peculiar smile.

Sierra turned away from the bulletin board after checking the brackets.

Her eyes were deeply settled.

First match of the first rank. This might be for the best.

Given her current physical condition, it was advantageous to finish the match quickly and recover through rest.

Match 30 is the eighth match of the first rank.

And her strongest opponent, Kani Brew, would face her in the final match of the first rank.

If she kept advancing, she’d likely meet Match 30 in the semifinals.

Throb…

Sierra forced herself to endure the pain in her chest as she entered the Transcendent waiting area at the competition venue.

Louis greeted her with a concerned expression.

“Are you okay?”

“What do you mean?”

Louis’s eyes narrowed as he studied Sierra. Though she tried to maintain composure, Louis could clearly see through her facade.

It’s mana occlusion.

This was a symptom caused by excessive consumption of attribute power, where overlapping stress beyond one’s limits narrowed the energy pathways. While the pain was unbearable, pushing through it could result in permanent loss of attribute power.

“Hmm…”

Sierra faced Louis’s concerned gaze with an impassive expression. “Don’t worry. I know my body best.”

“But I didn’t say anything?”

Shrugging off Louis’s comment, Sierra silently headed toward the Transcendent’s boarding port.

Grrrroooommmble…

As Sierra synchronized with the machine, the giant stirred to life.

Thud.

The Transcendent, now one with its owner, began marching toward the training ground.

Louis watched their retreating figure in silence.

Thud-thud.

Two Transcendents entered the circular arena.

The two Transcendents faced each other.

Each machine held a wooden down weapon.

Unit 33, Sierra’s machine, carried a greatsword.

The enemy unit, Unit 17, wielded a shield and sword.

Though the lower class used wooden weapons, the middle class actually fought tournaments with real Armed Forces.

When reaching the upper class, they conducted mock battles, sometimes resulting in casualties during assessments.

Of course, even the lower class wasn’t without risks.

Though the blunt-tipped wooden swords were used, their size—made from entire tree trunks—made their weight non-negligible.

A proper strike could transmit the full impact to the pilot, potentially causing severe injuries.

The live evaluation was so dangerous that the students in the audience watched the arena with tense eyes.

As the two Transcendents faced each other, a third Transcendent of much larger size than the students’ appeared.

This was the instructor’s Transcendent, serving as both referee for the evaluation and a precaution against unforeseen incidents.

The instructor’s voice emerged from the third Transcendent at the center of the arena.

At the instructor’s command, Sierra’s Transcendent and her opponent’s moved to opposite ends of the arena.

Sierra returned to her starting position and locked eyes with her opponent.

Their machine had already settled into combat stance.

I can’t let this drag on.

Though she maintained a facade of composure for Louis’s sake, Sierra knew all too well the state of her own body. The longer the match continued, the more unfavorable it would become for her.

End it quickly!

Driven by Sierra’s iron will, Unit 33 gripped its sword hilt with a fierce clench.

And then—

“Engage!”

At the instructor’s command, both Transcendents charged toward the arena’s center.

Thud-thud.

Unit 17 advanced with shield forward, attempting to push back its opponent. In response, Unit 33’s sword tip pointed backward as it closed the distance.

As the gap between them narrowed—

Thud-grind-grind.

Unit 33’s left leg shot forward, sliding across the ground as if riding a skateboard. The massive amount of dust kicked up by the friction between Unit 33’s feet and the ground blanketed the arena.

“W-What?”

“What’s happening?”

The students in the audience buzzed with confusion.

After about 10 seconds, as the dust settled, the scene revealed itself:

Unit 17’s shield lay discarded on the ground, its arm twisted at an unnatural angle. Meanwhile, Unit 33 now held the black Sierra sword that had originally belonged to Unit 17.

The instructor shouted, “Victor - Unit 33!”

The battle had ended in an instant.

“Wow!”

“What just happened?!”

The students erupted in excited cries.

Meanwhile, Agus, observing from the professor’s booth, saw something flicker in his eyes.

“Not bad.”

Though obscured by dust, he knew exactly what had transpired within the cloud.

Unit 33 struck the lower edge of the shield precisely with his sword.

Unit 33, channeling his forward momentum and powerful hip rotation into his sword strike, had landed a perfect blow to the lower flank of the shield. The impact forced Unit 17’s arm holding the shield to twist unnaturally beyond its normal range of motion. Seizing the momentary confusion, Unit 33 swiftly disarmed his opponent.

Raising the dust to obscure the opponent’s vision was also deliberate.

All to prevent revealing where he intended to strike.

Sierra had raised a cloud of dust to keep her opponent’s shield raised throughout the match.

And she even focused her energy precisely at the bottom of the shield using air manipulation…

This battle showcased Sierra’s talents in multiple ways.

If it weren’t for those four, she would’ve been this year’s strongest freshman.

Agus smiled at the outstanding abilities displayed by this year’s freshmen.

Unit 33 returned to the waiting area after securing their victory.

Whoosh.

Sierra’s face was slightly pale as she descended from the cockpit. The pain around her heart had intensified from using attribute power moments ago. She gritted her teeth.

This level is manageable.

Sierra took a deep breath. Despite noticing her struggle, Louis remained silent.

”…I’m going to rest for a bit. Let me know when it’s my turn.”

“Got it.”

Louis waved his hand in acknowledgment.

Sierra slowly closed her eyes and took a break.

How much time passed?

“It’s out!”

“Kani!”

The roar echoed through the waiting room, jolting Sierra awake.

Turning her head, she saw the competition arena through the open space beyond the waiting area.

There stood two Transcendents locked in confrontation.

The match begins!

The battle commenced immediately.

Thud! Crack!

One Transcendent charged like lightning toward its opponent.

The startled Transcendent desperately swung its sword, but Kani’s machine moved with human-like fluidity. It twisted effortlessly to avoid the strike and countered with a sword swing aimed at the opponent’s head.

And that was the end.

Thud.

The opponent’s Transcendent toppled backward.

“Waaaaah!”

“Kani, you’re amazing!”

“Y-you’re insane!”

In the center of the arena, Kani emerged from the boarding gate, waving her hand in response to the crowd’s cheers before returning to her waiting station at the instructor’s warning.

Sierra’s face hardened as she watched.

She’s… truly strong.

Kani’s Transcendent seemed to radiate such overwhelming power that it hardly resembled the same model as her own.

She crushed him with brute force.

While Sierra had won through technical finesse, Kani had simply overwhelmed her opponent with raw power. There was no doubt Kani would advance to the semifinals without issue.

I need to conserve my strength as much as possible in the next match…

Sierra closed her eyes once more.

Time flowed swiftly.

After the First Division’s matches concluded, the Second Division’s battles immediately commenced.

Just like Kani, Khan, Tania, and Kendrick had done before them, they all secured their advancement to the Round of 16 with single-stroke victories.

This included Shiba’s unit, No. 98.

Thus, all freshmen belonging to the Pest Extermination Research Society, including Louis, had secured positions within the top 25.

As the final Second Division match concluded…

”…I’m off.”

Returning to her original position, Sierra mounted her Transcendent and took the field.

Her subsequent Round of 16 match concluded even more anticlimactically than her previous encounters.

Due to the tournament’s requirement of completing all trials within a single day, there was scarcely any time to repair damaged Transcendents.

Fortunately, Sierra’s opponent in the Round of 16 had come up from a fiercely fought Round of 32 match, leaving their unit in poor condition. Thanks to this, Sierra advanced to the quarterfinals with ease once again.

However, despite the short duration of the match, Sierra’s complexion continued to worsen.

In the subsequent Second Division match, Shiba’s team lost to Khan’s team. Kendrick and Tania, on the other hand, advanced to the quarterfinals without any issues.

Before long, Sierra’s match returned.

Her opponent in the quarterfinals was different from the previous ones.

Thud-thud!

In the center of the arena, Unit 33 and Unit 59 clashed violently.

Sierra bit her lip tightly.

It’s already been over 15 minutes!

After confirming that her opponent’s Armed Forces consisted of a mace and shield, Sierra immediately employed a similar strategy to her first match as soon as the battle began.

But Unit 59 differed from the previous Unit 17 that had fallen.

The moment Sierra kicked up a cloud of dust, Unit 59 retreated its aircraft. Then, maintaining a solid defensive stance, it had been holding out until now.

Of course, it wasn’t simply standing with a shield. Every time Sierra’s aircraft, under the pressure of time, showed a momentary weakness, an enormous mace would fly forth without fail.

Crash!

Guh!

When Unit 33 hastily circled and deflected the mace with its massive sword, instead of pursuing, Unit 59 pulled its shield close to its body, readying its defense.

Sierra recalled the pilot of Unit 59.

Venice…

He had ranked 7th in the admissions scores for the low-tier pilot class.

The opponent ranked fifth, Sierra, wasn’t significantly different in strength. Moreover, Venice, who specialized in defense-oriented Demonic Scripture, proved to be a particularly challenging adversary for Sierra, who preferred swift and decisive combat.

Thwack!

The sharp pain in her chest made Sierra’s fine muscles twitch.

This isn’t working.

She was reaching her limit.

Then…

Sierra let out a long sigh.

At this, Unit 33 lowered its sword.

When Sierra suddenly ceased her relentless assault, Unit 59 circled warily around the stationary Unit 33.

What’s their scheme?

Venice frowned at the seemingly vulnerable Unit 33.

Are they trying to lure me in?

The match had already surpassed fifteen minutes. If it reached twenty, the outcome would be decided by default.

And in this match, the slight advantage lay with Sierra.

Time was not on his side.

No choice.

Venice made his decision.

He summoned his attribute power and began slowly advancing toward Sierra.

Thud-thud.

Unit 59 rapidly closed the gap from behind Unit 33.

As the distance between the two units shrank to just 2 meters, the students assumed Sierra had abandoned the match when Unit 33 showed no reaction.

Venice himself reached the same conclusion.

If you’re going to hand me the win like this, I’ll gladly take it!

Venice’s triumphant voice boomed through the speakers.

Crack!

…Huh?

Venice’s startled exclamation echoed as darkness suddenly engulfed the arena.

Crash!

A powerful impact struck Unit 59, followed by a resounding voice that echoed through the arena:

What… what just happened?

Venice remained clueless about how he’d been defeated, even after the match concluded. However, those observing the battle had a different perspective.

“Good Lord… He severed the Transcendent’s visual apparatus from behind?!”

“Is that even possible with a wooden sword?!”

“That thing isn’t even sharp - it’s blunt at the end!”

As Unit 59 charged forward, Unit 33 suddenly spun like a top. His extended sword moved like a serpent, brushing past both of Unit 59’s eyes before continuing its strike. Sierra’s weapon didn’t stop there - it proceeded to shatter Unit 59’s joints.

Sierra’s swordsmanship, which had achieved what would be impossible even with a bare blade, was shockingly sophisticated and sinister.

But such results always come at a price.

Thud… Thud…

In the waiting space, Sierra remained motionless in Unit 33 for a long while.

Then, after a moment, she clutched the stair railing and staggered down, her movements unsteady as if she might collapse at any moment.

Sure enough…

Thump!

Sierra’s eyes fluttered shut as her upper body pitched forward.

Just before she would have tumbled down the stairs…

Whoosh!

Louis appeared through space movement at the bottom of the stairs and caught her.

He clicked his tongue at the sight of Sierra’s unconscious form.

“Tsk, how crude.”

The technique Sierra had just demonstrated was an advanced method of spreading perception through the air—a skill not even taught in lower classes. It was something one could only barely grasp upon entering upper classes. Moreover, judging by her proficiency level, Sierra herself seemed to have barely begun mastering it.

While there was no need to understand how she had acquired this advanced technique, the problem lay in its high consumption of attribute power. Worse still, deploying an unrefined skill with an incomplete body would inevitably result in severe backlash.

“Hu… Ugh.”

Even unconscious, Sierra continued to groan as Louis carried her away.

Boom! Boom!

The loud combat sounds of the Transcendent gradually brought Sierra back to consciousness. Her mind slowly cleared, and with it came the realization:

I… passed out. Wait… passed out?

Sierra’s eyes snapped open as she bolted upright, her face pale. The moment she moved, a sharp pain shot through her chest.

“Argh!”

As she clutched her ribs, a voice drifted to her ears.

“What a dramatic awakening.”

Sierra’s head turned to find Louis sprawled in a chair, legs crossed and book in hand.

“The… the match?! What happened? How long was I out?”

“About thirty minutes, I’d say.”

Her face paled further as her gaze darted toward the arena entrance.

Boom!

Two Transcendent units clashed fiercely in the arena.

“Hey, are you trying to kill your brother?!”

“Teacher said to cut the slime with all your might!”

“Am I a slime?!”

The owner of the booming voice was immediately recognizable.

Kendrick and Tania!

The so-called Flame siblings, and main characters of the final match in the quarterfinals.

Sierra, startled, asked, “How long has that match been going on?”

“Almost 20 minutes.”

This meant Kani and Khan’s match had ended quickly. And it also meant her own match would begin shortly.

Sierra clenched her teeth and rose from her seat.

Throb-throb-throb…

Her heart ached with every movement, but she gritted her teeth and headed toward the boarding platform. Sierra climbed the stairs laboriously, one step at a time.

Just as she reached the boarding gate…

“Have you done enough?”

Sierra paused at Louis’s voice.

“You’ve reached your limit. Continuing to use your attribute power while suffering from color blindness could result in permanent loss.”

”…You knew?” Sierra turned to Louis with startled eyes.

Louis shrugged. “How could I not notice when you’re wheezing right beside me?”

“Don’t… worry. I’m fine.”

“You don’t look fine at all.”

”…”

Watching Sierra stubbornly approach the boarding gate despite his concerns, Louis sighed.

“Hey, let me ask one thing. Why are you pushing yourself so hard?”

”…”

After a long silence, Sierra quietly met Louis’s gaze and spoke.

“I need proof.”

“Proof? Proof of what?”

“It’s nothing. Just… a proof for my own satisfaction.”

Sierra didn’t know why she was saying this. Was it because her body wasn’t feeling well? Or was her head still foggy?

For the first time since being paired with Louis, Sierra revealed something she’d never told anyone else before.

“If I can’t even handle this much, I won’t be able to overcome future obstacles… It’s just a promise I made to myself. And…”

”…”

”…I need the scholarship.”

A bitter smile hung on Sierra’s lips.

Louis, who had been watching her, grinned widely.

“I like that.”

”…What?”

“Frankly, I don’t care about your ‘proof’ or whatever. But needing the scholarship? That I can get behind.”

”…”

“You need the scholarship? Desperately?”

The moment Sierra met Louis’s smile, she felt inexplicably at ease. In response, she offered a slight smile and nodded.

“You’re too desperate. Desperately mad.”

The moment Sierra finished speaking…

Wooooo!

The roar from the arena wiped the smile from Sierra’s face. She turned and walked back toward the boarding gate for her next match.

If it weren’t for those brutish hands dragging her back, she would have boarded the Transcendent.

“Mal!”

Sierra collapsed to the ground with a small cry. Louis brushed past her.

Startled, Sierra tried to rise, but her exhausted body refused to obey. Instead, she shouted at Louis’s retreating back:

“What… is the meaning of this?!”

Despite the anger in her voice, Louis didn’t turn to answer.

“You said you were desperate, didn’t you?”

“What…?!”

Thump-thump.

Louis walked at a steady pace to the cockpit entrance and finally turned to look at Sierra.

He was smiling.

“Wait there. That desperate scholarship of yours… I’ll secure it for you.”

”…?!”

Sierra, who had been frozen in panic, finally grasped the situation and shouted:

“You? You’re going out there?”

“Yeah.”

“Don’t spout nonsense! Do you think just anyone can pilot a Transcendent?”

Louis stared at Sierra with icy eyes as her voice echoed through the hangar.

“Just anyone? Anyone at all…”

He repeated the words slowly, then his lips twisted into a smirk.

“I’ll make you a promise…”

As the words left his mouth, Louis fully entered the cockpit.

“There’s no one in this world who can handle a Transcendent better than me.”

”…?!”

Unshakable confidence.

Sierra, overwhelmed by Louis’s commanding presence, stood speechless, staring blankly at him.

Whoosh…

Beyond the gradually closing boarding portal of the Transcendent—

Louis smiled and said, “Observe carefully and learn. This is how you handle a Transcendent.”

With those final words, the boarding portal completely sealed shut.