Chapter 35:


    After Abel epted the offer, Daniel and May did the same.


    “Yes! I’ll do it!”


    Daniel answered courageously, without hesitation. Abel wasn’t surprised because it was expected. What Abel found surprising was May’s response.


    “I’ll do it, too.”


    He expected her to say no, but she epted the offer without hesitation, just like Daniel. Karl smiled, pleased that all three decided to take on the challenge without a second thought.


    “Good. Three of you should have a fair fight.”


    “Are the three of us taking on the senior simultaneously?”


    “Yes. If any one of you three takes the tail, the three of you gain victory.”


    After answering Abel’s question, Karl continued in a loud voice.


    “Okay, first of all, let’s take a ten-minute break! You can rest on your gigant or dismount for a while.”


    “Yes!”


    Abel didn’t bother to get off his gigant. He knew it would be easier to get off and rest, but he preferred to stay in his gigant prepared for anything. It was the same for the others, but no one came down their gigant.


    “Abel, should we not make any ns?”


    During the break, Daniel approached Abel and spoke to him. Abel simply answered.


    “Huh. A hasty n would only get in the way.”


    “Is that so?”


    “But you can make ns with May if you want.”


    When Abel said that, May shook her head silently. The reason she didn’t make a n was simple: she didn’t need to.


    <b><i>‘I don’t know if she has a simr skill, but an urgent n will do no good.’</i></b>


    It would just be the same as Kalian, who had attacked with a hastily n earlier. It wasn’t such a bad n, but it had failed miserably. If they hadn’t targeted Abel from the start, they might have caught either Daniel or May. There was a high probability that trying to deal with ire with an ambiguous n would be hampered.


    “I’d much rather rely on the creativity of each individual,” Abel muttered, and Lupus nodded in agreement.


    <b>[I agree. It’s hard to realize your full potential when you’re stuck in a box. It would be a different story when you’re backed up with proper training.]</b>


    “I may do thatter. This ce is like a training center for the Empire’s Gigant Riders.”


    <b>[Well, that’s Something to look forward to.]</b>


    <b><i>Kang-!</i></b>


    While talking to Lupus for a while, Abel noticed a gigant walking in the distance. It was amon gigant used for training, but he could tell immediately who it was from the natural smooth movement. It was a gigant controlled by ire.


    <b>[Wow!]</b>


    Lupus eximed in admiration. Even in the eyes of the prickly Lupus, It seemed to have a high level of sophistication.


    “Let’s focus.”


    <b>[Alright, Master.]</b>


    Abel cut Lupus off before he could ask more questions and focused on rxing. Mental strength was the most critical aspect of his stat, as he always had to keep the Gigant in high synchronization. He would clear his head when taking a break and not think about anything. It’s all about giving the brain a break.


    “Ssshhhhhhhhhh.”


    Abel has been using breathing techniques recently. It wasn’t quite as efficient as concentrating inplete silence, but it was an excellent way to recover the mana he’d used up. The break period passed quickly, and then Karl called out in a loud voice.


    “Break is over! Everyone move to your spots!”


    It was time to start the second round.


    ?————- ★ ————-?


    ire stood alone with her tail attached to her back while Abel, Daniel, and May stood on the other side. The formation wasn’t much different, but the tension was palpable. The seven Cadets who had gotten off their gigant and were taking a break looked at them with clenched fists.


    “Time limit is 10 minutes, and rules are the same as before.”<hr>


    Infamous Scans<hr>


    Karl spoke in a solemn voice suitable for the atmosphere.


    “Start!”


    The moment the word start pierced everyone’s ears–


    <b><i>Cueng-!</i></b>


    Daniel was the first to move. Quickly lunging forward, Daniel stretched his arms to both sides and leaned slightly forward, aiming for ire’s gigant. Instead of actively avoiding it, ire reached forward.


    <b><i>Bang!</i></b>


    With a loud bang, Daniel’s gigant shot off to the left. Abel squinted at the sight. At first nce, it looked like she’d used her strength, but she didn’t at all.


    <b><i>‘She used Daniel’s power.’</i></b>


    At the moment of contact and in a bizarre move, ire had managed to deflect Daniel’s force in the opposite direction, meaning that Daniel had been knocked back by his force, not hers. Seeing that, May, who had been trying to take advantage of the distraction Daniel had made, hastily backed away.


    <b><i>‘This is not going to be easy,’</i></b>


    Abel thought to himself, ratcheting up the tension. He knew it wouldn’t be easy. ire wasn’t as careless as she had been before, and a simple knockdown from her would be the end of him, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t confident. Abel, too had grown a lot since then.


    <b><i>Cueng!</i></b>


    Abel kicked the ground violently. Instead of being vaguely concerned, he charged forward at ire at full speed, using all his armaments. ire saw himing half a beat toote and lifted her body up. Abel thrust his fist forward.


    <b><i>Whoosh!</i></b>


    ire made the same odd hand gesture as she had when she first faced Daniel. Abel felt the power in his outstretched fist deflect in a strange way. Using this kind of technique in Gigant is a challenging task. It is only possible to do this by meeting conditions such as gigant control, mana management, and technique perfection. But Abel wasn’t about to let that stop him. Using the blessing of the wind in the reverse direction, the body that was trying to move was forcibly fixed.


    “Double attack.”


    With an additional skill, his fist that was about to bend in a strange direction went towards ire’s torso, roughly modifying its trajectory. Caught off guard, ire quickly reached out with her other hand. But Abel didn’t stop there.


    “Bang”


    He used the skill he had just gained from his battle with the de Tail.


    <b><i>Whoa!</i></b>


    The gigant knuckles burned red as the energy was sucked into its core. Just before ire’s hand could touch Abel’s arm. His fist mmed into the chest of ire’s gigant. Abel’s expression hardened for a moment as he realized that ire’s gigant had only taken three steps backward.


    <b>[It was deflected. What a Strange move.]</b>


    “I know.”


    ire’s Mana wasn’t limited to her hands. She ducked the moment the blownded, taking most of the impact with her body. He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t disappointed. This was because he would have had a much easier fight if only his previous attack had hit properly. However, Abel was aware of the possibility of his failure, so he continued to move.


    <b><i>Whoosh!</i></b>


    Abel once again used the blessing of the wind to narrow his distance from ire. ire stretched out her arms from the start expecting Abel to attack in a simr way as he did earlier. He could tell that she was trying to block him from getting any closer.


    <b><i>‘Should I just use Lupus’s ability?’</i></b>


    For a brief moment, Abel wondered if he should use Lupus’s ability. It would certainly be a great way tond a big blow. However, Abel soon realized it was too early to use the trick he already had, so he returned to his original n.


    <b><i>Coorong!</i></b>


    Just before reaching ire’s attack range, Abel’s gigant stopped. He had used the wind blessing in reverse form, bringing it to a screeching halt. ire’s arm, which was about tond an attack, sliced through thin air. Abel saw it and stretched out his foot, using the Sage’s Crown.


    <b><i>Whooooo!</i></b>


    In a moment of slowed time, the outstretched foot aimed at ire’s feet. She didn’t think she could avoid the attack, so she leaped up. It was an avoidance method that left her vulnerable. She thought she’d be able to counter it. If it had been just Abel and Daniel, that would have been the case. But they weren’t the only ones she had to deal with.


    <b><i>Whooo!</i></b>


    May, who’d been watching for an opening the whole time, took advantage of ire’s momentarypse into thin air and swooped in. May’s strengths are her skillful twin swordsmanship and her speed. May swung her arms with an incredible speed that made ire panic. Once again, ire deflected the attack with her strange arm movements. However, she could notnd a hit in her defensive posture, which had been like an iron wall all along.


    In addition, Daniel rushed forward and immediately grabbed ire by the wrist.


    Abel didn’t have long to think about it before thrusting his fist forward.


    <b><i>Quang!</i></b>


    A loud loud sound echoed. ire’s gigant was hit on the left shoulder and could not ovee the force rotated. Abel then struck her defenseless back once more


    <b><i>Bang!</i></b>


    The blow sent ire flying, unable to withstand the impact, unlike before. In the midst of that, Daniel’s gigant, which was holding her wrist, was knocked to the side.


    <b><i>‘I thought you said swordsmanship was your specialty.’</i></b>


    Abel couldn’t help but think. ire’s primary skill was swordsmanship, and her physical skills were merely secondary at best, yet her physical skills seemed to be at such a high level that even Abel could not quickly grasp.


    <b><i>Thud!</i></b>


    Moreover, ire only allowed a single blow, and even after she was sent flying, she got right back up and into position. The three of them hadbined their strength and had managed to do only slight damage. The atmosphere was frightening as if they were about to engage in a full-scale battle.


    “Stop!”


    But then. Karl shouted at the top of his lungs. ire, who was about to resume her stance and attack with full force froze. Abel, on the other hand, smiled through his fast breathing. Karl then turned to ire, who didn’t seem to understand the situation.


    “The game is already over!”


    ire quickly checked her back as if remembering something and realized that her “tail” was gone. Abel said to her.


    “Your tail is right here.”


    “Huh?”


    Suddenly, ire realized why Abel had attacked her back. The battle was a little moreplicated than she expected, making her so focused on the battle that she had forgotten about her tail. If the battle was topete for victory or defeat, ire wouldn’t have lost even if it was a three-on-one battle. But in this case of catching the tail, it was clear she was going to lose.


    “Abel, Daniel, and May! It’s a victory of three!”


    Karl’s loud voice confirmed it. And Abel confirmed that the battle had been decided in his favor.


    <b>[You’ve exceeded expectations and won the hearts of both Karl and ire!]</b>


    <b>[You’vepleted Karl’s quest!]</b>


    <b>[You’ve been rewarded with an A-ranked physical skill!]</b>


    <b>[Your rtionship gauge with ire will increase.]</b>


    <b>[Your reputation will increase.]</b>


    It was a feast of messages.


    <strong>[To be continued.]</strong>