Chapter 116: Chapter 116

Chapter 116 - The Obvious Repetition

The flow of the battle was truly one-sided.

In a short span of less than three minutes, Rain Enlight and Elwin Van Cardenas, just the two of them, had annihilated the intruders ambushing in Car 6.

In fact, one might think it was a natural result under normal circumstances.

After all, Elwin, who already possessed skills close to a Master Knight, and Rain, whose skills were close to a Senior Knight, were the protagonists of that battle.

Weren't some nameless train robbers no match for them from the start?

However, Elwin, one of the participants, thought differently. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ novel[f]ire.net

‘They were stronger than I thought.’

The Three Founding Families, and among them, a traditional martial family deeply connected to martial arts from its very roots. Elwin, raised in the Cardenas family, had eyes specialized in reading the enemy’s strength.

And the judgment made with those eyes was as such.

The enemies were by no means weak. Their organization and individual combat prowess were on a different level from those in Car 7.

‘At the very least, each individual was knight-level. The more skilled ones were even better.’

In that case, did Elwin and Rain defeat such formidable foes through a joint effort?

That wasn't it either.

‘……I ended up just getting carried along.’

His contribution in this battle was next to nothing—that was Elwin’s assessment, and it was true.

But that didn't mean Elwin was incompetent.

Even though he was suddenly thrown into a real battle, Elwin had certainly shown that he could overwhelm his assigned opponents with his full capabilities.

However, the battle ended before Elwin could even display all his skills.

The battle that took place in Car 6 was a complete one-man show by Rain, making the term ‘a fight between two’ seem hollow.

‘I ended up leaving it all to him.’

It was no wonder Elwin thought that way. Consider what happened right before the fight broke out.

While he couldn't tell what means were used, Rain had scouted the enemy's positions even before the battle began.

What those means were was not important. In an era that could rightly be called the golden age of magic, where all sorts of magic and magitech had developed, there were mountains of ways to detect enemies.

But the important point was that Rain had prepared to scout for ‘unseen enemies’ beforehand.

He had considered it as an option he could call upon in any situation, to the point where he could use it as naturally as flowing water even in a suddenly erupted battle .

‘Was he…… prepared for a situation to happen?’

It was a difference in mindset.

It meant he had clearly anticipated and prepared for such situations on a regular basis.

‘……His mindset towards battle is different.’

Not just cultivating combat power from a catalog, but nurturing the ability to respond to various situations.

Elwin, who had never experienced a real battle, couldn't help but overlook that, while Rain, on the other hand, knew its importance all too well.

However, Rain’s performance didn't end there.

After finding out about the ambush and entering Car 6.

Even though Elwin knew the enemy’s position and had an overwhelming skill advantage, he couldn't finish off the enemy in a single blow.

It might have been a manifestation of an instinctive aversion to pointing a weapon at a person at close range.

Not only did he deal with the ambushing enemy in a single blow, but he also took advantage of the stunned enemy's opening to eliminate another one.

It might be a hasty judgment to gauge their level difference from a single, two-dimensional scene, but…….

Rain, still holding his sword, ran as if crossing the corridor and jumped into the group of enemies without any hesitation.

At that time, Elwin was just turning his gaze after subduing the ambushing enemy, so it was an action where Rain had a high chance of being isolated.

“Rain-ssi, it’s dangerous……!”

Certainly, Elwin’s warning was valid. Given Rain’s characteristics as an extreme technician with clear physical limitations, a concentrated attack while isolated could be fatal.

Moreover, there was even an enemy who appeared at an exquisite timing, smashing through a window to attack from the rear.

It was clearly a hopeless situation. Rain was cornered. It was a scene that could only be evaluated as such.

Without even looking back, Rain aimed the pistol in his left hand backward.

And—pulled the trigger.

An ear-splitting gunshot.

And a bullet that accurately hit the enemy’s vital point.

And at the same time, a sword that stretched out to gracefully cut down an enemy, its trajectory drawing a beautiful arc.

Elwin, who was approaching to support Rain, witnessed that scene precisely.

Elwin couldn't help but let out a dry laugh. A series of movements that flowed naturally in a real battle full of uncertain elements, like the gears of a precise machine interlocking with each other.

And, he had no choice but to admit it inwardly.

‘In a real fight…… I’d lose ten times out of ten.’

In a life-or-death battle, he would not be able to surpass the current Rain.

Elwin, who had a win rate of over 85% after sparring with Rain for nearly a semester, what did all that mean?

During his first life-or-death battle with the intruders who had broken into Ailton Hall, Elwin had learned.

There was a huge difference between a sparring match where one's life was guaranteed, and a real battle where one's life was on the line.

And that for a truly minuscule reason, a person could lose their life.

I had only acquired 『Space Perception』 over a month or so, and even though it was a low-tier magic…… its usefulness was beyond imagination.

Just being able to grasp the enemy’s position before even entering battle meant it had already paid for itself.

And there were two main types of information I could obtain with the 『Space Perception』 manifested within my domain.

The very first was the fact that there were people ambushing right behind the door.

This was something I had mentioned before, so it was natural. I had used 『Space Perception』 in the first place because I was wary of a possible ambush.

The problem was the second piece of information.

‘……For some reason, I feel more than one presence in the same spot.’

Expressed in coordinates, it felt like there were about two people present at point A1, a space barely large enough for one person.

I pondered that sensation for a moment. After all, I had never experienced something while training in Origin Magic.

And during that thought process, what came to mind was Arien’s advice.

-Originally, space exists not only horizontally but also vertically, so the domain also has a vertical range.

-It would be correct to include this in the calculation…… but since Rain is still inexperienced, let's just include the horizontal range in the calculation for now.

Arien had recommended that I only apply the horizontal range to my domain control.

Advice to ‘exclude the Y-axis from the X and Y axes’.

In any case, that meant that even if I wasn't including it in my calculations, a vertical range affected by Origin Magic did exist.

Therefore, I could deduce.

‘Overlapping in the X-axis range means…… there is also an enemy in the vertical direction at the same location.’

And that meant that there were enemies on the train roof as well.

They would probably provide support for their allies and launch a surprise attack when a commotion started below.

‘Good information to have.’

Through hundreds of regressions, I had keenly felt how important a resource like information was in a real battle.

How well one grasped the enemy’s strength—more so than one’s own skill, the presence or absence of that information often decided the outcome of a battle.

That’s why, even against an enemy who suddenly rushed in during battle……

‘A new presence at F3, must be the one from the roof.’

I was able to handle it within my calculations, without panicking.

But the true value of 『Space Perception』 wasn't just its detection ability in non-combat situations.

‘It’s when you enter combat that you can see its real effects.’

I had cut down one who came charging through the train window and one from the front, but there were still a mountain of enemies left.

Many enemies, one me. Normally in such a situation, if you were attacked in concert, you would be vulnerable to attacks from outside your field of vision, but…….

‘From the back, one each at E1, F5, coming to hit my blind spot. I don't feel Elwin's magic reaction, so he's still far from joining. In that case—’

『Space Perception』 allowed me to pinpoint the enemy’s location without seeing them directly with my own eyes.

And the ability to process that instantaneous information simultaneously.

In other words, a sense for instantaneous combat.

It was a field in which I could confidently say I was overwhelming among the renowned cadets of my generation.

I stopped my forward movement and, in that same stance, leaped one step diagonally backward to the left.

It wasn't a retreat. It was more like closing the distance by one step to the enemy who was trying to strike my back.

‘The enemy is at E2, I am at D3. Which means…….’

I raised my sword in a reverse grip and, while taking a step back, thrust the sword between my left arm and torso, that is, through my armpit.

It was not a decision made after tracking the enemy’s exact location with my eyes…… but for me, such things didn't matter.

Right after the sword shot straight back, I felt the sensation of piercing a person’s skin, muscle, and bone through my fingertips.

The painful sound from behind, the sound of the sword piercing flesh, served as more than enough proof.

But I did not stop there.

While completing the step I had taken diagonally backward to the left, I used the rebound from landing to leap forward.

‘Four enemies are charging from the front.’

A head-on clash would inevitably mean I had to accept some damage.

And for the me of the past, that was a situation that had to be avoided at all costs.

Since my durability was far inferior compared to enemies of a similar level, a situation where we exchanged blows one for one was a serious disadvantage.

Swords flew at me in a coordinated manner. They were certainly sharper attacks than those from the riffraff in Car 7.

‘They’re better than…… those assassins from my first regression.’

But now, there was no need to dodge.

There was no need to repeat death to analyze each of their attacks.

The sound of sword strikes being blocked by something, futilely bouncing off.

That was the proof of the reason I accepted a frontal confrontation without backing down.

『Knight Robe - Senior』

Traits: Magic Durability, Lightweight, Small Internal Subspace, Camouflage, Temperature Control

: A protective robe used by knights in real combat. It is light yet has excellent protective capabilities, and its performance increases exponentially as its grade rises.

The 『Knight Robe』 I received as a gift…… or should I say, was granted, by Regina.

Since it was something worn on missions by Senior Knights, who were among the top powerhouses in the world, its durability was beyond question.

And what I saw was the sight of the enemies who had lost their balance after their failed attacks.

Unfortunately, I was not kind or foolish enough to let that go.

Once again, the sensation of cutting through flesh and bone.

And the chilling sound that proved it.

To me, it was a repetition of what I had done until now…… a meaningless noise.

As a matter of course, I would simply repeat this act.