I Was the Strongest Sword God in My Past Life

part 11

If the sharp-eyed and keen-sensed archer noticed the hidden dissonance in this area…

“I’ll block it. As you said, I’m weak.”

Chris looked over the horizon, beyond the lake.

The vast lake felt like an ocean. An ashen sea that wouldn’t spit out once swallowed. Chris, resolved, murmured quietly.

“The weak have their own weapons.”

‘…What are you talking about?’

Eriado, with a face full of pity, took the pouch. Meanwhile, Chris walked out with confident steps.

Swoosh!

An arrow flew straight.

The arrow grazed Chris’s nape, leaving a thin cut from which blood flowed.

“You did miss on purpose, didn’t you?”

The arrow, made of mana, vanished quickly. Instead, Rita showed Chris the symbol on her hand. It was a gesture that meant she would shoot if he moved.

“Unexpected. I thought you’d keep running away… Have you given up?”

“And you, an archer, daring to confront me so openly?”

Chris pulled out a chain. This chain, whose length could be adjusted at will, was a cheap order from the workshop.

“Pfft, what does it matter? I still win.”

Rita drew her magical bow, aiming it at Chris. At this distance, she was certain to hit.

Instead of replying, Chris spun the chain like a yo-yo.

“This chain is just a common low-grade product. It’s nothing compared to your magical bow.”

Chris’s self-deprecating words.

Rita sneered and pulled the bowstring taut.

‘Head? Chest? No, to find the pocket… Yes, the stomach. Can’t have you dying on your own and getting kicked out through the portal.’

Rita finished her thought, and Chris kept muttering.

“Still, the chain has its advantages. It’s incredibly sturdy.”

“I can’t stand talkative men.”

Rita’s hand released the bowstring.

Twang!

The arrow, fiercely shot, broke through the air.

Chris didn’t dodge the arrow.

“Argh!”

The arrow struck Chris’s stomach but unnaturally bounced off, and Chris, ready to die, threw the chain.

Whirr.

The chain quickly wrapped around Rita’s ankle.

“Haah… Finally caught you!”

“What a pointless act… What’s the use of this measly chain?”

Rita reloaded her bow.

This time, she planned to shoot Chris’s legs to immobilize him.

“Why would it be useless?”

Chris, grinning, took off his tattered school jacket. Rita’s face flushed with confusion as she saw inside the jacket.

“That’s why the arrow…”

The end of the chain holding Rita was wrapped around Chris’s stomach. The mana-infused arrow had failed to pierce through because of the chain.

“To beat the strong, the weak must be prepared to this extent,” he said.

‘Yes, determination.’

With a faint smile, Chris looked at the lake and murmured as if to be heard,

“Ah! The inside of the lake must be cold. I hate the cold.”

It was then that Rita finally caught on to Chris’s thoughts and yelled out loud,

“No way! If you do that, you’ll be disqualified too!”

At Rita’s words, Chris pondered for a moment before shaking his head,

“It doesn’t matter. And isn’t there more to lose for the one ranked 22nd than the one ranked 144th?”

Wrapped in chains, Chris threw himself into the lake.

Splash!

Rita belatedly endowed her legs with mana, but as the chains tightened, she couldn’t hold on with her strength as an archer.

“Damn, that idiot!”

With a short scream,

Splash again.

After the commotion, the surroundings of the lake were silent and still.

How many minutes had passed?

– Chris has been disqualified.

– There are 5 participants remaining.

– Rita has been disqualified.

– There are 4 participants remaining.

Only the voice of the progress committee remained over the lake.

* * *

When forming a party of just two, what is the best combination? Most people would say,

A tank and a damage dealer.

That was the position of Lake and Isabelle before Zien’s eyes. Lake, the brawler who prioritized massive size and physical training.

And next to him, the academy’s top firepower. A witch with fluttering red hair.

Clap.

With a light clap from Isabelle, nine blue flames embroidered the air.

“A magical tool in the form of a glove.”

Zien’s gaze turned to Isabelle’s hand. Precisely, to the glove that covered it.

“Right. The name is Blaze.”

“It’s Black Fragrance.”

Isabelle, having put up a fight, announced the name of her magical instrument, the Stigma, and Gian responded in kind, revealing the name of his own magical instrument.

Exchanging the names of their Stigmas, rather than their own, was the highest courtesy among Sabers.

“Don’t let your guard down, Isabelle. Rita has been eliminated.”

“Just make sure you don’t get caught up in it.”

Isabelle, seemingly irritated by Lake’s advice, responded snappishly.

She formed a gun shape with her fingers and pointed her index at Gian.

“Bang.”

The blue flame she had conjured earlier melted everything in its path as it flew towards Gian.

Ranked 5th in the school year.

A prodigy with the greatest mana potential in the history of Arcana, the magical instrument he fired had destructive power beyond imagination.

“Kuh!”

Gian, who had only recovered his memories of a past life less than a month ago, was clearly outmatched by Isabelle’s mana. To make matters worse, the situation turned into two against one with Lake joining in.

“Hey, four-eyes. Got anything else to show?”

As Isabelle extinguished the scattered flames on the ground with her foot, she asked,

“It’s functional.”

Gian took off his glasses and replied playfully, eliciting a snort of laughter from Isabelle. Lake, standing by, felt his hair stand on end from the mana Isabelle was emitting.

‘Is she really a first-year? Lucky she’s on my team…’

Isabelle walked past Lake and slowly approached Gian.

“Let’s make a deal.”

Isabelle scattered the fire she had been holding into the air.

“A deal?”

A proposal in this situation… Gian naturally moved towards the lake.

“Yeah. A deal. It’s not a bad offer. If you can’t beat the two of us, you’ll be eliminated anyway, right?”

Gian nodded instead of answering to Isabelle’s leisurely question, which she took as an agreement.

“We’re in a hurry too, you know? We have less than an hour left. So, betray your team.”

Isabelle took out two beads.

“I’ll give you two 5-point beads as payment, and I won’t attack you. That way, you won’t be last, right?”

Indeed, it was a good offer from Gian’s perspective. Assuming he would be eliminated otherwise. Yes, under their assumption.

‘Lake Everline.’

Gien’s gaze turned towards the lake.

The site for this test, Lake Everline, is a virtual gate. A gate that has already been conquered. And the person who cleared this gate was…

‘Fate can be so cruel.’

It was Gien’s past life, Evan.

‘This body is still overwhelmed by Isabelle alone. Lake and Isabelle. I must separate the two.’

The variable was already sleeping deep in the lake. As time dragged on, Isabelle grew impatient.

“Don’t drag this out, make a decision quickly.”

“I refuse. And my goal isn’t just to avoid coming last…”

Gien sighed deeply, looking at the lake. The mist and the poor water quality. The water whose depth was unfathomable. The lake was eerily matchless.

“It’s one number.”

“You…”

“You’re thinking right.”

Gien threw himself into the lake.

Splash.

A single ripple spread, and that was the end.

The lake remained quiet without any change. Caught off guard, Isabelle muttered quietly.

“…Such a lunatic.”

Isabelle, having taken a hit, stared silently at the lake. Lake watched her, sensing her low pressure.

“Um, Isabelle? There’s no time, we need to find the other one…”

“…Shut up. We can’t go on like this.”

Isabelle, with a fireball larger than her body on her palm, calmly surveyed the lake.

‘I acknowledge the guts, but even holding one’s breath, it lasts at most three minutes.’

If she needed air, she would have to stick her head out of the water. The fireball Isabelle created was a gift meant for Gien at that moment.

“Are you trying to drown yourself?”

Isabelle’s voice boomed across the lake, carried by mana. Then, a shadow fell upon the water’s surface.

It was evidence that something was beneath, and Isabelle didn’t miss the opportunity.

“Found it.”

Isabelle, poised in an elegant pitching stance, threw the fireball as if it were a baseball. The fire roared through the air with a terrifying force and soon hit its mark.

Boom!

A great splash erupted.

“Huh?”

Isabel’s eyes widened in surprise.

Startled, Isabel stumbled backward. It wasn’t Jian she had hit. No, it wasn’t a person at all.

“Groooar!”

A massive cry tore through the lake’s silence. Beyond the mist, the source of the commotion revealed itself.

Two long whiskers. A mouth big enough to swallow a bull. A dorsal fin that continued down to the tail. The unmistakable shape of a catfish, but with grotesquely oversized legs like a tadpole’s. In a word…

“Wow… that’s disgusting…”

Isabel’s previously arrogant expression turned pale.

“It’s a gift!”

Then, from across the lake, Jian waved cheerfully, laughing refreshingly.

“That’s really…”

Isabel clenched her teeth.

Angry as she was, she decided to hold back. The priority was that unpleasant fish.

“Uruk?”

As Isabel looked at Uruk, proving that this place was indeed a gate, a holographic screen appeared next to the fish.

[Quest] – Lord of the Lake