CH-171
—
Auril slowly closed her eyes.
The air split with a whoosh!
Claaang!
She naturally parried the blade that came driving in.
Shaaang!
She even forgot the tremor that shot tingling up her arm.
“W-what is happening right now?!”
“The rabbit girl has closed her eyes while fighting the Emperor Penguin!”
“Wow, is this confidence that she can beat him even with her eyes closed?”
She did not hear them.
In her inner world, there existed nothing but the sword.
“Ohho.”
She did not hear even Randolph’s admiring voice.
She simply kept deflecting and advancing.
This was different from before.
Completely different from that one-sided beatdown from earlier.
She hadn’t known then.
She had been utterly overwhelmed by his colossal desire and that unknowable swordsmanship.
But now, she understood what Randolph’s swordsmanship was.
And if she understood it, she could win.
“… Remarkable.”
Praise. A voice born from genuine admiration.
‘Since becoming a player, she’s the first person to read this.’
…And no wonder—he truly was surprised.
Wilhelm’s swordsmanship.
Heaven-Earth Genesis—*Heaven*.
Since becoming Randolph, Auril was the first swordsman to correctly grasp this nature.
‘Heaven’ was not merely a sword art that dominated space.
It was an advanced technique that read the consciousness of those within that space.
Auril had faced him only once, and yet she had already grasped its essence.
‘A genius.’
In the realm of the sword, Auril was a genius.
He had thought her weakness was her inability to control her emotions, her tendency to flare up—but seeing her now, it seemed she had overcome even that to some degree.
Immovable. Unshaken.
With everything shut out, she had become a single, pure sword.
‘She still hasn’t reached Balte’s realm.’
In the realm of the unconscious, no one existed who could defeat Balte.
Spear-master Balte.
A berserker whose raw might surged several levels when he lost consciousness and entered the domain of pure instinct.
In some ways, Balte was the most incompatible opponent for his swordsmanship.
‘…She keeps growing.’
Auril’s unconscious state grew thicker and deeper.
The more they clashed, the stronger she became.
Her growth rate was frightening.
He had never met a genius of this caliber.
There had been a similar case, but—
‘Issera’s sibling. The Seventh Lord of Hell—Basara.’
Among all the Lords of Hell Wilhelm had faced, she was the most troublesome and horrific.
A monster among monsters whom he never wished to face again.
‘Basara was harder to fight than even the Demon King.’
That was his honest sentiment.
The Demon King had been troublesome due to all his cheap tricks, but Basara was absurd in the realm of pure, brute force.
She grew ceaselessly stronger, broke through walls, and even began imitating his techniques.
Had the battle gone on even a bit longer, Wilhelm would have lost.
And now, Auril was beginning to evoke that same Basara.
‘…A talent capable of surpassing Wilhelm.’
If so, then it was not wrong to say Auril possessed the talent to surpass Wilhelm himself.
Of course, talent alone did not guarantee she *would* surpass him.
But still—
Kwaaaang!
I lifted my foot and slammed it into the ground.
The earth burst, a massive quake and shockwave rolling out.
“Ah—?!”
Auril’s consciousness snapped back for a brief moment.
She had not perfected her unconscious state yet.
Auril bit her lip.
She likely had not imagined her unconscious flow would be broken so easily.
Such irregular tactics were something she could not yet conceive of.
Auril, who had trained only in the Primordial Forest, was still far too honest.
“Did you think I would fight you with only the sword?”
There were many ways to shatter the unconscious.
If one was not in the same realm as Balte, the unconscious would inevitably break.
Especially someone like Auril, who had only just entered its doorstep.
Even so, it was too early to end it.
*‘Come at me more.’*
I decided to keep testing Auril’s limits.
*
*
The Champion’s eyes trembled deeply.
The ever-continuing exchanges.
There was no mistaking it.
‘Heaven-Earth Genesis… Wilhelm’s swordsmanship!’
Because he possessed the memories engraved in Wilhelm’s star, he was certain.
The movements were far too familiar.
‘Ah…’
Someone wielding the swordsmanship of the man who had vanished.
The Knight King he had longed and waited for over the past year.
Wilhelm!
It was unmistakably Wilhelm’s swordsmanship.
But the wielder was not Wilhelm.
Could he be Wilhelm’s successor?
Or another inheritor who had absorbed Wilhelm’s memories, as he himself had?
‘Perfect.’
But it was far too perfect for it to be mere stolen memory.
The sword paths, the posture, and even that signature composure.
Everything matched the Wilhelm of his memories so perfectly he could believe Wilhelm had returned.
Just as he trembled in awe, his mind snapped awake.
‘Sansha’s shadows!’
From unseen places—
In invisible realms—
Sansha’s shadows were observing the Emperor Penguin.
And the Champion knew exactly what that meant.
‘You’re trying to find his weaknesses.’
Sansha’s most terrifying authority.
Using the Tower Administrator’s privileges, she could deploy her shadows, and through them discover an opponent’s weaknesses.
She had even dragged down the demigod Karas with that absolute power.
Had Sansha not dragged Karas down, today’s Champion would not be himself, but Karas.
Yes…
He could become Champion only thanks to Sansha.
Everything that allowed a nobody like him to reign as the God of War—
And that became his weakness.
But now, Sansha had begun taking interest in the Emperor Penguin.
Surely she intended to turn him into yet another puppet, just like Karas or himself.
‘I must stop this.’
A man who might be Wilhelm’s disciple.
One he had waited a whole year hoping would appear—had finally emerged as if answering his wish.
But if Sansha’s schemes were left unchecked…
This man’s everything would be endangered.
Observed, analyzed—until countless things about him would turn into weaknesses.
‘This is fate.’
The one bearing Wilhelm’s star encounters Wilhelm’s predecessor.
How could he call this anything but *fate*?
As long as he remained here, the Tower’s fate was already sealed.
And when that time came, Sansha’s desire would vanish with it.
Thus, the Champion began to move.
He could no longer allow Sansha to act freely.
*
*
‘Incredible.’
Watching the duel, Sansha let out a quiet breath of awe.
Not at the fight itself, but at the sheer amount of information her shadows were relaying.
‘So much information even *my* authority cannot decipher…’
The shadows could grasp everything.
They watched movement, discerned origins, and calculated all.
They could even search for traces of the warp the Emperor Penguin had used, and read everything around it.
But this Emperor Penguin had far too many unknowns.
‘All warp traces are erased. This resembles the Eleven of the Imperial Reaper Cult.’
There were no warp traces left where he came through.
Just like the Eleven of the Empire’s Reaper Cult.
But more sophisticated than even them—completely unreadable.
And that wasn’t all.
Even his status window and all else were shrouded in a veil.
Some kind of skill or tool blocking observation?
Impossible unless it was unique-grade.
‘So you possess a related Hidden Trait… A Hidden Trait that blocks my authority. But even that is only a matter of time.’
Only Hidden Traits could block her observation.
Those truths alone could defy the Tower Administrator’s functions.
But if something blocks her, she simply had to pierce through it.
The opponent would not even know she was watching.
More time would reveal everything.
Especially the movements—those would soon be fully analyzed.
By breaking down those unique motions and intonations one by one, she could deduce all she needed.
But before long, Sansha’s expression twisted.
‘My shadows are being erased.’
…Someone was eliminating her shadows.
The moment she realized who—
Sansha’s expression turned demonic.
‘Champion. *You*?’
The Champion was in the stands.
And he was erasing Sansha’s shadows as he moved.
The Champion, blessed by the Tower, could see the Administrator’s shadows.
Why was he suddenly acting like this?
As if a dog she had raised suddenly began barking at her.
Descending after a full year—was the man registering a protest?
‘…Has he taken interest?’
Absurd.
Could the Champion truly have become interested in the Emperor Penguin?
If so, perhaps Karas’s withdrawal had been the trigger.
A sign that he was finally ready to accept a challenge.
After a whole year.
Sansha frowned deeply, continuing to ponder.
She could not fathom why, if the Champion was ready for a challenge, he was erasing the shadows.
‘Is he saying he wants to face him purely, as he is?’
Ah.
The Champion was speaking to him—wordlessly.
He wished to fight the Emperor Penguin without interference.
Unlike with Karas, he wanted to face him wholly and properly.
A silent protest.
Sansha stroked her chin.
The Emperor Penguin versus the Champion.
She weighed which of the two would win.
‘…Fine. Just this once, I’ll let things go your way.’
*
*
20th Floor.
After defeating Auril and the gatekeeper of the 19th floor, I finally reached the 20th floor.
The Champion’s domain.
“The Champion has accepted the challenge!”
“Isn’t this the first time in a whole year?”
“Hoo… The Champion who had been in seclusion is finally revealing himself!”
Even the announcers couldn’t believe it.
The Champion who had refused every challenge for an entire year had accepted the Emperor Penguin’s challenge.
Something impossible had happened.
After Auril’s duel, every condition had been fulfilled.
Sansha’s permission—and the Champion’s interest—had both been seized.
And thus, I was finally standing face-to-face with the Champion I had never once encountered.
“……”
Silence.
We simply stared at each other.
The current Champion.
His shaggy hair covered his face so completely I couldn’t make out his features.
Not even his eyes were visible.
But—
Thump! Thump!
The moment I saw the Champion, my heart pounded wildly.
And I immediately understood why.
《Named Star ‘Sun Star’ has been found.》
…Meaning that one of Wilhelm’s scattered stars—
and a *Named* star at that, the **Sun Star**—was right in front of me.
The Sun Star was different in quality from the three stars I had obtained so far.
But that wasn’t the only reason my heart was racing.
Whoooooom—
His aura and momentum, manifested almost like a physical Azure Dragon, felt *unbearably familiar*.
‘No way…?’
How do you win against something like that?
Auril was quietly watching the arena.
But in her mind, she kept replaying the previous battle.
‘I poured everything out without regret.’
Though she had lost, she had no regrets.
Rather, she had received a lesson.
Randolph had deliberately taken her blade to the very end.
But Auril had failed to draw out Randolph’s true intentions.
‘…There’s so much to learn from Lord Randolph.’
She hated to admit it, but she had no choice.
The swordsmanship she learned in the Primordial Forest was completely closed off.
Randolph, on the other hand, was not.
Every time she crossed swords with him, she felt as if her skill surged rapidly.
Like a master and a disciple—
Randolph was someone who granted her enlightenment.
‘Lord Randolph isn’t an ordinary human.’
At first, she’d thought he was unmistakably human.
But Randolph was also a High Druid.
A being who wore the skin of a human while possessing the qualifications of a High Druid.
Elder Aruwen had said so, so it must be true.
As proof, whenever she stood beside him, laurel leaves grew at rapid speed.
—
