Mystery Tales Under the Moonlight

Chapter 41: Category Determination Exams at the Academy (18).

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At the same time, as the battles of the remnants and disputes began, naturally, other battles were unfolding.

What appeared to be a spiderweb-like fabric started to manifest, where allies and enemies, old acquaintances and new ones collided.

The situation can be easily imagined.

The boy with dragon-like eyes was lying down, feeling bored and drowsy.

"... I wish I hadn't stayed up late," he muttered in a tired voice.

His chestnut hair felt like silk, and his features looked as if he had stepped out of a painting into the world.

His golden eyes shone like brilliant rubies, but an unnatural seriousness could be noticed in the boy's gaze.

As if you were facing a predator and a merciless beast.

A beast.

That word, how many times had the boy actually heard it?

"Wait a moment... I don't care about this nonsense, why did I start thinking about it, humph!"

He felt a desire to scoff, a beast? Hehe, how could a legend like him care about this? What are those but names!

Clearly, this boy loved to mock and come up with silly situations for no reason.

This person was none other than Vairon Dragona.

Even thinking was difficult now, fatigue and exhaustion overwhelmed his consciousness, and he had a desire to sleep.

In fact, earlier when he was with the others, he didn't show signs of fatigue because he was focused on their mission, so he didn't notice.

Now, when he had time alone with himself, he felt the effects of fatigue creeping in.

This genius boy who was active most of the time, why did he feel tired?

Was he solving a complex formula that couldn't be solved? Was he running a thousand miles non-stop? Had he fought twenty rounds?

No! He had stayed up all night playing chess with himself!

Yes, it was an intense match, where he couldn't deceive his opponent - who was himself, or play tricks!

Who would have expected - that the match would last that long, and morning would come when it ended?

This shows how serious he was about playing, as he consumed all his mental energy to defeat, resist, and counter every strategy he devised.

And yet, even after all these efforts, it ended in a draw!

"... I want to sleep."

In the end, he stayed awake for two days catching up on fatigue.

He lay on his right hand on the side, using it as a pillow.

He didn't care who his opponent was, as the result was clear, he just had to announce his surrender and sleep for a while afterward.

Clack!

The sound of the door opposite the boy opened noisily.

Vairon didn't care and lay down tiredly.

Someone entered the arena.

Her hair was dark as the darkness, with pale and cold blue eyes.

In line with those eyes, her expression seemed like ice that would not melt no matter what happened.

The girl walked towards the arena with an unchanging stoic expression.

Devoid of warmth and emotions, an icy nature.

Those cold eyes searched for her opponent around, and their gaze fell on the form of the boy lying on his arm.

Choi Arin, the young girl of the Choi clan, her expression didn't change much, but she was somewhat surprised.

Who would expect to meet someone on the verge of sleeping, especially when it was in a combat arena?

She felt a bit annoyed, forgetting that she was his opponent, it was disrespectful to any opponent.

Of course, the annoyance didn't reach the level that would make her scold him or anything like that.

"Ahem Ahem," she made a false cough, as if to assert her presence.

She didn't move from her spot and waited for her opponent.

"Aaaah~" the boy muttered with his hand on his mouth a little, as he raised his body.

Vairon's gaze turned towards the source of the sound.

Sitting in place with one hand on the ground and the other on his knee, he watched the young girl in front of him.

His body glowed with a volcanic color that covered his surroundings, radiating heat that filled the air.

His chestnut hair fluttered in the air, and the jacket he wore over his shirt began to slide down a bit.

The top buttons of his shirt were slightly open, and when the winter jacket slipped off the shirt, it revealed a bit of his muscular body.

Although winter was nearing its end, the coldness of the surrounding air was not insignificant.

It was normal for students to wear winter school uniforms at this time.

The flash of his body began to warm the air around him, and there was steam appearing from the place where the boy was sitting.

The fog began to surround the boy's sitting body, and the atmosphere around him was filled with an air of dignity and mystery.

With the flash of his eyes resembling those of a predator, there was a sense of fatigue on his face.

With a form that looked like a legendary dragon taking on a human shape, the handsome boy smiled lightly...

"Hello," with a friendly atmosphere, Vairon opened his tired mouth, his voice filled with exhaustion.

He stood up a little from the ground in front of the girl's eyes.

Crack, crack.

The sound of cracking muscles when stretching his body could be heard.

As the jacket slid down his arms, he cracked his stiff neck and stretched his body.

He raised his arms and returned the jacket that had slipped down his arms to its place with a rough motion.

Swish!

The fog surrounding him spread and moved through the air, as if it had been pushed by the wind.

The red aura and heat in the air suddenly dispersed with this movement.

He began to jump lightly on his left foot, and then his right.

His hands moved a little around as if to warm his body.

Hooof...

He inhaled a bit, and with a slow exhale, the fog appeared from his mouth on a winter day.

With his chestnut hair and golden eyes, standing in the middle of the arena, he contrasted with the figure of the girl with black hair.

While the gate behind her was open, the wind rose and violated the place, fluttering her long black hair with a gentle rustle.

Her blue eyes like the deep ocean sparkled with an unknown light, standing at the edges of the arena, looking into the eyes of the strange boy.

Choi Arin was silent, staring at the phenomenon happening before her eyes.

This flash that resembled a volcano... was not magical energy.

It was impossible to use chi in this arena.

Chi, and mana, why did the girl refer to magical energy as chi instead of mana?

Fernando called magical energy mana, Kang Woo called it chi, what is the reason for the difference?

Does chi not resemble mana?

Is there a fundamental difference in the emergence of different names, instead of sticking to one name?

To understand that, let's think about the civilizational and ethnic separations across this continent.

Magical energy, there were four divided names across this continent for it.

This continent was called the Ego continent.

There are many different cultures that have arisen in the Ego continent over thousands, even hundreds of thousands of years.

Civilizations arose, and other civilizations disappeared, in the end, what remains now is only the little that exists in the depths of this world.

To maintain balance over the centuries, alliances were formed - and over time, they broke.

At one time, the clan system was dominant, where blood relatives had priority, and strangers from outside the clan were not tolerated, and they preferred ability and family ties together, and naturally despised cowards and nobles.

At another time, half-humans were the dominant ones, and they enslaved humans as they had been, and their different forces - because humans were the common enemy, felt kinship and became united.

At one time, nobles were the masters of the world, and only those of pure blood lineage had the right to live in luxury.

Clan kinship was despised, and they preferred the rule of one person at the head, while others were of no value, not to mention the common people and transformed humans.

There was a time when those of the highest status were the magical towers and adventurer guilds, where barbaric fighting arts and close-range sword and weapon techniques were despised.

And of course, the preference for bloodline of the barbaric Kanghua people was despised, and the preference for a person's blood as something sacred for the nobles, not to mention their innate hatred for transformed humans.

Instead, they preferred wizards over others, who were symbols of learning and virtue, and fighting intelligently, and were revered as sages, as long-range fighters and their understanding of the world was based on equality among themselves.

Each people had their way of living, each ruled as they saw fit.

In every different era, there were those who ruled over all and not everyone developed justly.

And yet - for whatever reason, when they develop and grow together, what will happen?

Differences will arise, and since humans are social creatures, they will initially try to understand each other.

And because they - at the same time - also fear the unknown, that fear will turn into caution, and after caution comes hatred, and that is due to their mentalities that arose in different environments.

Of course, when interests and ideas clash, when ways of living clash, there are conflicts.

Whether it was the rule of half-humans, whether it was the purity of blood system or blood kinship, whether it was wizards, the result was the same.

Their rule arose and disintegrated, some remnants remained forgotten, and some of those whose ideas passed on to their descendants.

But - like everything in life, the rule of one among them disappeared like a mirage.

Where there are people, there will be interests, where there are interests, there will be objections.

When interests and oppositions intertwine, there will be common and conflicting interests.

Where there are interests, there will be allies.

Where there are interests, there will be enemies.

Thus conflicts arise in the world!

In recent centuries, with the attack of demons and internal conflicts, division arose and everyone's powers became fragile.

Fear of erasing their remnants, and due to the anxiety of disappearing with history books, and to maintain balance, there was an alliance encompassing the entire continent.

And from there, the names arose after they all entered into an alliance.

In the south of the continent, where the law of bloodline and ability - clans and sects - ruled within it, they were named the Kanghua people, and they called it [chi].

That was, the southern black.

In the east of the continent, ruled by nobles, they called their land - as one might expect from them, the world of purity, the magical energy was called [mana].

That was, the golden east.

In the north, where transformed humans were at the top of the food chain, and their land was called the original world.

The magical energy was used in their special way, fitting the traits of the integrated monsters and humans, and it was called the aura, and more aesthetically [aura].

And that was, the northern white.

In the west, where there was a mix of a minimal education system and to a greater extent guilds - run by wizards, there were the magical towers.

Land of wizards.

Mercenary guilds and adventurer guilds, and the magical towers at their head, had a simpler name, that name was [magic].

And that was, the western blue.

And these alliances together were [the world of the blue moon].

And finally, the demon fighters, who were the weakest link - and yet their reputation steadily increased in recent years.

Their name was attributed to the name of the continent itself, which is [demonic ego].

The blood legion, their powers were unknown and their origin was unknown.

The history of the continent for the ancestors was unknown and unrecognized.

Not to mention the obscure millennia past, what exactly happened in the war 300 years ago, remains obscure for many.

In any case, Choi Arin, when she saw this boy emitting a volcanic aura from his body, was somewhat surprised.

Chi cannot be used here, after all.

And yet, her initial confusion was removed, and calm replaced it.

It wasn't important, most likely, it was his special bloodline ability.

"It seems you don't want to chat, huh?" Vairon smiled sarcastically.

He didn't mind her behavior, on the contrary, the less she talked, the better, that would spare him the trouble of chatting or wasting time.

[Student Vairon Dragona, Student Choi Arin, the battle will begin shortly, please prepare]

Siring!

Upon hearing the mechanical voice, she drew the sword from her waist from its sheath and took a fighting stance.

She looked at her opponent calmly.

There was no arrogance, there was no humility, there was no tension, there was no rush.

Her gaze was devoid of emotions, directing her attention towards her opponent.

Before he started fighting, while he had the time, Vairon thought of something, then smiled.

"So... and so" his murmuring was calm and carried a pleasant sound.

He took off his winter jacket and wrapped it around his body instead of wearing the sleeves.

He smiled with satisfaction and approached the girl.

The boy stepped forward lightly.

Choi Arin didn't understand what he was doing, but she didn't get distracted or lose her focus on her opponent.

"You can start as you please."

His voice was drowsy, the boy stood a short distance from the girl.

The boy with the mysterious aura, Vairon Dragona, the cold girl, silently staring at her opponent, Choi Arin.

The two were silent without words.

Clang!

Suddenly the girl disappeared from before his eyes.

The sound of metal striking something solid echoed in the girl's ears.

"You are certainly strong, huh?"

Words of admiration whispered in her ears, the boy's body cast a shadow behind the girl.

"?!!!!"

Before her mind could comprehend anything, her body was already reacting.

Immediately, she rotated the sword in her hand backward with a horizontal cut to slice her opponent.

However, Vairon stepped back a few steps and flipped backward lightly.

"Your move is interesting ~"

With his jump in the air, his drowsy voice sounded amused.

Choi Arin stood watching her opponent without expression, yet she felt a shiver inside.

She attacked the boy with a quick side movement and made a vertical cut.

With that move, even if she didn't defeat him, at least she should break his balance.

She was sure her move was fast and unpredictable, yet she barely noticed him standing behind her.

That was....

"Untraceable"

The boy was in front of her, yet there was a feeling as if he was not present in the same place with her.

As if this boy was merging with nature and the environment, existing everywhere, yet not in any one place.

A power that cannot be understood, at least in this brief exchange.

Even if he didn't completely defeat her, he could deliver a surprise blow that would give him the advantage.

But instead, he avoided her attack and uttered words of astonishment.

It was clear.... he didn't take her seriously.

Was it due to arrogance? Or confidence? Or did he just not want to attack a girl?

It didn't seem so.... at least.

An arrogant person wouldn't be polite in talking to others.

Not to mention, a conceited person always looks at others with insecure and condescending eyes.

.... and on the other hand, there is this person, what can be said about him exactly?

Boredom was evident on his features, and at the same time, some amusement hid beneath his handsome appearance.

The boy's relaxed expressions, and his eyes showing signs of exhaustion and fatigue.

Even with his tired appearance, he easily and extensively avoided her attack, this young man.... undoubtedly, strong.

For Choi Arin, what in the world had such a person done to make him feel this exhausted?

She couldn't help but feel a shiver at the thought.

Whatever he did to reach this level of fatigue, he was undoubtedly, frightening.

After standing for a while, waiting for the right opening, Choi Arin attacked.

Swish~

"You are sure you want to win without a doubt, right?"

The sharp sword attack came from behind, barely noticeable to a person, let alone avoiding it.

While her body looked like a fairy dancing with her feet in the air and holding a sword, her sneaky attack was cunning.

His expression didn't change to form panic, instead, the boy smiled slightly.

Before the blow could hit him, he moved forward lightly, in a split second, Vairon raised his foot, and with a quick rotation of his body, he delivered a backward kick.

The sharp sword attacked the boy's foot that was heading towards the sword in turn.

Bam! Clang!

Metal collided with flesh, a sound of air explosion echoed from the force of the impact.

As one might expect, metal is harder than flesh on the body of the creature, not to mention the sharp sword blade, which was meant to cut things.

It was natural to hear the sound of flesh tearing at that moment.

And yet, to her astonishment, the sound of metal clashing echoed in her ears.

While his waist bent to the right, one foot firmly on the ground, the calm smile never left his mouth.

His other foot was in the air, covered in black, passing through his shoe, and even his thigh was covered in black metal.

The back of his leg was colliding with the girl's sword.

The part of his leg that the girl's sword cut towards him did not bleed, instead, it was like the blade colliding with hard steel.

Sparks flew in the air.

The boy's foot did not tremble, and it was clashing with the sword at a good pace.

The boy's unarmed attack was not only equal, but even the girl's sword was trembling a bit, as if it was losing momentum.

".... black metal?"

Her voice was somewhat confused, as if she was puzzled.

"You know this ability? Hehe, well, you are right~"

Swish!

The boy completed his foot movement and pushed the girl's momentum backward, completing a full rotation.

Her body retreated a few steps due to the sudden force, yet she did not lose her balance or stumble from his strong momentum.

She spun her body in the air with a graceful spiral movement while holding her sword.

Taking advantage of her sudden momentum, when her feet hit the ground, she pushed forward with force.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

An unending series of attacks, the girl attacked him with her sword, and he parried the attack with his pitch-black foot.

Cut, stab, parry, dodge, trip.

Choi Arin showcased the essence of her multiple skills in this duel.