Solvas Umbra.
I never imagined I’d face him right from the start of the international individual competition preliminaries.
‘If you’re going to position me, at least do it properly.’
Well, considering how little can be done in this cramped forest, I suppose it makes sense.
Still, I couldn’t shake off this feeling of unfairness.
“His name was definitely Hanon, right?”
Solvas continued his conversation.
Not only did he know my name, but he also seemed to have a handle on everyone participating in the meeting.
“It’s quite a coincidence that we ended up in the same group. How about we form a team?”
“As long as we place within the top 16 in the preliminaries, teaming up could be a good idea.”
Solvas wore a friendly smile.
What a joke.
All he’s thinking about is how to stab me in the back.
“Really? I would welcome being on the same team as you, Solvas.”
But honestly, I felt the same way.
We exchanged smiles, facing each other directly.
Solvas is not someone easy to deal with.
His true intentions have never been revealed, not once.
But he doesn’t know, does he?
The person right in front of him is the only one capable of seeing through him.
“That’s great. I already have some folks in our group under my influence.”
“Joining them will help us clear safely.”
The ones Solvas claimed to have “influenced” are just decoys.
There would be real allies tucked away in this Group 2.
‘Stick the decoys together to eliminate others, then summon the real ones to eliminate them once they are fatigued.’
It was definitely a method used since the very beginning of the international individual preliminaries.
Without a doubt, I was sure of it.
“That’s a solid plan. It seems we can breeze through the preliminaries without wasting energy.”
“Haha, is that so?”
At that moment, the bracelet we wore let out a sound.
This meant all students had returned to their spots.
【3】
A countdown announcing the start of the preliminaries echoed.
【2】
Solvas and I exchanged grins, locking eyes.
【1】
And then, we both immediately leaned forward.
【Preliminaries Start】
Whoosh!
A shadow blade brushed past me from the tree next to my head.
I pushed down hard on the ground and activated the magic seal beneath my feet.
Boom!
My body shot forward like a cannonball straight at Solvas in an instant.
His eyes widened, and he smiled, a twist in his gaze.
It was proof that he had never trusted me from the very start.
If he’d done his homework, he would know I’m a dangerous individual.
Of course, I’d drop someone right off the bat like him; there’s no way he’d take me along as a decoy.
Thud!
Solvas stamped down with his foot.
A shadow surged upwards right in front of my face like ink.
My vision was swallowed for a moment.
But my hand shot out towards the shadow with no hesitation.
Clang!
My sword clashed against the blade that burst from within the shadow.
There stood Solvas, gripping the shadow sword.
As we clashed, we both pushed away from each other.
“So you never trusted me from the beginning, huh?”
“Isn’t that the same for you?”
My tone had changed by now.
Solvas wore a broad smile.
“I have a good eye for people. So I can tell when someone’s overly suspicious.”
“I don’t engage in long chats with fortune-tellers.”
Despite my provocation, Solvas merely chuckled, not moving an inch.
Instead, the shadow beneath him began to writhe.
The Umbra Count family has a special technique passed down through generations.
The name of this technique is…
Night Shadow
The Night Shadow is steeped in the mysteries long-cherished by the Count family.
Mystery
Lily Shadow
It manipulates a part of the shadow of the lily, capable of transforming it into any form.
This is the true secret of the Umbra family.
The hierarchy within the Umbra family is determined by how well one handles the Night Shadow.
Handling the Night Shadow is as severe as mastering a body you lack.
Thus, even the descendants of the Umbra family often struggle with it.
But in this generation, there is one.
Only Solvas is different.
He possesses a natural talent for the Night Shadow.
The shadows he controls can move freely and transform into whatever he desires.
Because of this, Solvas’s fighting style is exceptionally unpredictable.
Even if you catch him, there’s no guarantee you can catch the shadows.
The shadows can appear anywhere at any time.
So I have to always be on high alert about where an attack may come from.
Those who have fought with Solvas all feel the strain and fatigue build up.
Understanding this, Solvas actively exploits unpredictability.
He exhausts his opponent and strikes at the openings that emerge.
This is a strategy Solvas often employs.
Sure enough, shadows started to gather beneath my feet.
Just before the shadows surged upward, I pulled my body back.
Suddenly, spear-like shadows shot past my chin.
I didn’t stop there and recoiled, driving my foot forward.
This time, a short spear shot up from where my foot had been and immediately disappeared.
Solvas’s eyebrows twitched as he watched me.
Once again, his shadows turned their sights on me, attacking from an unexpected angle.
My body instinctively dodged the surged shadows.
Solvas looked at me with peculiar eyes.
Of course it was natural.
Dodging all the unexpected attacks must’ve looked unbelievable to him.
“…Hanon seems to recognize my Night Shadow.”
“How can a shadow be recognized?”
I grinned brazenly.
Solvas’s eyebrows twitched once again.
“Indeed. I’m curious how you manage it.”
He usually hides his emotions but looked remarkably irritated now.
Solvas holds immense pride in his Night Shadow.
It’s only natural for him to react this way when his precious technique gets seen through.
The reason I can recognize Solvas’s Night Shadow is straightforward.
‘It’s the same mystery as that of the steel body.’
Mysteries tend to react to each other instinctively.
Typically, a person would be unable to sense these mysterious responses.
But the steel body is my very own.
To ordinary people, Solvas’s shadows perform attacks from unexpected angles.
However, for me, I sensed exactly where his Night Shadows were moving.
‘What to do now.’
None of your tricks are working.
I allowed a smile full of provocation to spread across my face.
“Alright then.”
Solvas, in response to my taunt, laughed, shaking off his irritation.
“Well then, let’s see if you can dodge even knowing it.”
In an instant, a chilling aura surged from Solvas’s body, spreading through the forest.
My feet halted in their tracks, sensing it.
Thump-thump-thump—
Then I began hearing a sound I shouldn’t have heard.
Boom-boom-boom—
My steel body reacted violently.
My vision wobbled.
As that happened, Solvas’s lips curled into an ever more sinister smile.
Boom-boom-boom-boom!
Right behind Solvas, a wave of shadows surged up, flooding the forest.
“Aaaah!?”
“What, what is this!?”
“Gulp, pl-please! Save me!”
The kids nearby were swept up in Solvas’s shadow wave, immediately retiring.
So this is what it feels like to face a tidal wave?
Before I knew it, I had become just another human facing a natural disaster.
Solvas opened his arms towards me.
“Try escaping this one too.”
Night Shadow
The Wave’s Renegade
What a morally bankrupt bastard he is.
As soon as he sensed me as a threat, he employed his strongest move.
This was something there was no dodging.
As the wave that swallowed trees and the surrounding terrain approached me,
I was engulfed by the shadow wave.
＊＊＊
At the peak of the shadow wave,
stood a boy with wolf-cut, ash-gray hair flowing elegantly.
Solvas Umbra.
One of the six stars, the Son of Shadows.
The secret he mastered in Night Shadow.
The Wave’s Renegade.
This technique, able to create a massive wave of shadows, expended immense power.
But it was overwhelmingly powerful as well.
If everything had gone according to plan, he wouldn’t have had the intention to use this at all.
But when he saw Hanon face-to-face, he instantly changed his mind.
He had become famous within just half a year at Jerion Academy.
On his first day at the academy, he had cursed like a madman referencing an earlier incident.
That action was indeed closer to madness.
However, the actions he demonstrated afterward proved what he had said was true.
So far, the foreign students hadn’t been able to witness his achievements properly.
But Solvas had embedded spies within Jerion Academy.
He had heard all about his exploits.
‘There’s no way the exploits exposed are just these.’
Various odd inconsistencies existed in his actions.
It was evident he was secretly up to something.
‘His activities at Jerion Academy surely have some intention behind them.’
The academy isn’t just a peaceful place.
Having some intention means there are countless people hiding things.
Solvas had learned of Hanon’s exploits and gathered some knowledge on him, so he felt certain.
And today.
Seeing Hanon face-to-face, he made his judgment.
In his gaze towards Hanon, there was not a hint of hesitation.
This showed either an overconfidence in his skills or that Hanon had come prepared to counter him.
And Hanon was of the latter type.
Individuals like this are dangerous if not taken down early on.
Solvas does not underestimate people easily.
Even after rising to the six stars, he never becomes arrogant, constantly testing and throwing out strategies while sometimes playing hardball.
He determined that Hanon required a hardball strategy.
“If you’re sprouting like weeds, then they must be crushed!”
If the opponent has started considering their next move, you have to break them before they can think.
Although the original plan had changed, he intended to sweep away all the students as the Wave’s Renegade.
This was the moment when Solvas thought so.
Plop—
He suddenly heard something.
The sound reminded him of swimming.
Wondering if he misheard, he looked around.
All he could see was the black wave of shadows crashing around.
Plop, plop—
But soon, the sound came again.
A bad premonition crossed his mind.
Solvas hurriedly looked inside the waves of shadows.
He soon felt something moving upwards within the wave.
In panic, he turned his head in the direction of the movement.
Plop!
Solvas spotted someone swimming at incredible speed through the shadow wave.
It was a butterfly stroke.
No way, this had to be a joke.
“…Are you for real?”
Solvas muttered, wide-eyed at the spectacle.
It was natural to feel that way.
What kind of lunatic would think to swim within a wave of shadows?
Yet right before his eyes, someone was doing just that.
Plop, plop, plop, plop!
And they were swimming at an astonishing speed.
Hanon Irey.
He was there, swallowed by the shadow wave.
Solvas clenched his fists as he muttered Hanon’s name.
And he realized it.
Hanon was an even more dangerous lunatic.
