My Disciples Grind, I Get 100x Their Progress

"Just as expected, Kina looks like she’s not struggling in the slightest."

Julian nodded, thoroughly proud. He hadn’t done anything to directly help Kina build her strength, yet he’d watched her grow stronger and stronger with his own eyes.

Watching Kina’s incredible progress felt, oddly enough, genuinely delightful. Like witnessing a legend still fresh in the making.

At this point, only four students remained after three straight matches each, whittling down everyone who’d made it this far.

That meant Kina had already fought her way into the semifinals, and had drawn a considerable amount of attention from the crowd.

No wonder people kept asking questions, since Lukas himself had started needing a bit more time to finish off his opponents, despite being the top-ranked first-year student so far.

Kina, meanwhile, stayed remarkably consistent. She kept dispatching her opponents quickly, without breaking so much as a sweat.

That made people curious about her identity, and even more stunned once word got out that she came from the Slums. That made Kina the dark horse nobody had ever seen coming.

And now, they’d arrived at the match everyone had been waiting for.

"Finally! We’ve made it here, so who do you all think’s going to win!?" the host shouted, brimming with excitement. "The Academy’s top student, Lukas Smith, versus the Dark Horse from the Slums, Kiena!"

The crowd roared, split into two clear camps. A few backed Kina, but the vast majority sided with Lukas, coming entirely from Central himself.

The other fighting platforms were completely swallowed up by comparison, barely getting any attention from the spectators at all.

Kina and Lukas had become the single most anticipated show of the day. Knowing his opponent was somewhat unconventional, Lukas finally drew his sword from its sheath, raising it and smiling.

"I’m not losing this."

Kina, meanwhile, simply nodded, smiled, and drew her own sword.

Semifinals leading straight into the finals.

’Well, this is getting pretty close now.’

Kina watched the professor raise a hand and shout.

"Begin!"

So far, Kina had always won by knocking her opponents clean out of the arena, resulting in automatic disqualification. But this time, Kina had no intention of doing that.

To ensure students could fully unleash their strength without fear of consequence, the Academy had provided them with a kind of artifact designed to shield them from fatal injuries.

That artifact also served as one of the deciding factors between victory and defeat. Once that shield shattered completely, that meant defeat.

Facing Lukas, Kina stood still for a moment, watching as his sword slowly began radiating a bluish aura, dancing wildly like smoke, though thicker, and almost water-like in appearance.

Lukas’s Talent was Sword Aura.

He carried an innate skill that let him coat his blade with his own Mana, then convert that Mana into an aura, granting his strikes weight and sharpness far beyond what a sword coated in ordinary Mana could ever hope to match.

With a confident smile, Lukas lunged forward, raising his sword high before bringing it crashing down toward Kina.

Clang—!

Kina raised her own sword, blocking the strike, their blades colliding, but only briefly before Kina realized her sword would shatter outright if this kept up.

So, she angled her blade, deflecting off the edge of Lukas’s sword and pushing it aside.

Kwaang—!

Kina put some distance between them.

’Just as expected, high-Grade Talents always come paired with some genuinely obnoxious skill.’

Lukas’s smile widened. "What’s wrong, miss? Is this too much for you?"

Then, Lukas lunged forward again without mercy, attacking Kina relentlessly, giving her no chance to catch her breath.

The clash of their swords rang out again and again. Kina worked to make sure her own blade didn’t take too much destructive force, while Lukas, believing he’d pushed Kina to her limit, kept smiling wider and wider.

’Easy, this is way too easy. I thought she’d be a bit tougher, but at this rate, I’ll win in no time.’

Unaware of that thought entirely, Kina didn’t show a shred of struggle on her face. She simply kept absorbing the attacks, then glanced off to the side, specifically toward where the headmaster sat, and toward where the Zoldia family was seated.

A small smile spread across Kina’s face, and watching how Lukas’s blade could shatter through the protective shield, Kina’s body suddenly vanished from where she stood.

Her body flickered, then reappeared several paces behind Lukas.

That alone was enough to catch Lukas off guard, but only briefly, since he’d already known Kina had mastered Flash Step.

He spun around, and the next instant, Lukas raised his sword high into the air. His sword’s aura surged wildly, like a raging flame.

A savage wave of aura gathered at the tip of his blade. It was a single decisive strike, far more powerful than One Slash.

Slash—!

A straight wave of energy shot toward Kina. Seeing that, Kina dodged by twisting her body slightly. The strike cut clean through the space right in front of her, the gust of wind hitting with tremendous force, and, as luck would have it, Kina’s long hair, a beat too slow to follow her movement, ended up sliced through in a few strands.

The next second, Lukas appeared right across from her, smiling as he said, "It’s over."

His sword swung down, while Kina glanced at it briefly, then dodged the attack with a small smile on her face.

Lukas’s attack would have landed perfectly on anyone who hadn’t seen it coming, but unfortunately for him, Kina always recognized his movements far enough ahead to counter them before they ever landed.

Kina pivoted slightly on her foot, her body adjusting in sync, and once again, Lukas’s swing sliced through empty air, missing Kina’s body by mere inches.

That left Lukas stunned, and in that instant, Kina caught his arm, gripping it tight and yanking him closer.

"H-huh!?"

Startled, Lukas tried to break free, but his struggling only worsened his position. Kina raised her knee, then drove it hard into Lukas’s stomach.

"Kguh...!?"

He gasped out a rush of air, saliva dripping from his mouth before his body was flung backward. Wincing, Lukas lifted his head, trying to push himself back up, but that’s when his eyes went wide.

"Oh."

Kina stood about six paces away, her sword gripped in one hand, raised directly above her head.

That single, small moment was enough to draw every eye in the arena toward her. Then, with a calm smile, Kina let her sword fall.

A single line split through the air and reached Lukas. That same slash also tore straight through the floor, and the next instant, the protective barrier shielding Lukas shattered completely.

The arena fell silent.

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