/
Joshua forgot the passage of time as he concentrated on the next level of the Magic Spear Arts. But it was not meant to be—he was flung against the wall and lost consciousness.
There was a bit of a stir in the Academy. In less than a month after the start of the school year, rumors were already flooding the Academy.
Count Sten was insulted by a random Viscount’s son!
The Count’s second son, Amaru bron Sten, challenged him to a fight to the death. It was only thanks to Professor Cain’s intervention that it was reduced to a spar.
Rumors always get blown up to ridiculous proportions, to say nothing about how well-known Amaru bron Sten was in the Academy.
The students’ initial reactions to the rumors fell into three categories: astonishment, ridicule, and… fervor. Life in the Academy was tedious, and the students were stuck there whether they liked it or not; they were locked inside its walls while the teachers hammered the art of war into their heads. A fight between students was a rare break from the monotony, so they flocked to it in droves.
But it should have been impossible, as far as they could tell. Family was everything in Avalon; a powerless family quarreling with a high-ranked family was practically suicide. Even a fight between their children would drag in the entire family—thus, the lower household would always bow their head and beg for forgiveness.
By what right does this obscure noble’s son disrespect the scion of Count Sten? Who is he to demand such a thing from the son of one of the Empire’s five Masters?
“Is it today? The duel?”
“Did you say it’s a duel? I thought it was a real fight.”
“Eh, either way. Is he sick in the head? No one in their right mind would even dare to look at Amaru’s chin.”
“Who? What was his name? Puredator or something? Have you heard of it?”
“It’s Frederick, not Puredator. And no, I’ve never heard the name before.”
This spar had been hotly debated all morning.
“This sucks! I’m not gonna see the fight of the century…”
“That… and this class is boring.”
“I keep thinking: it’s only been a day or two since we got here. You think this sparring is going to affect graduation?”
The new kids had gotten themselves into a lot of trouble. Willing or not, this issue had to be resolved.
“Did he show up?”
“You think he’s gonna run away?”
“Anyone would want to run away once they realize they’re up against Amaru bron Sten—but what about his family? Is he willing to leave his family to hang?”
“Yeah.”
Even if the Frederick boy did show up, the Stens would not tolerate the insult. Their pride would drive them to get revenge, one way or the other.
“Damn it, looks like there’s no fight.”
The underclassmen grumbled as they dispersed from the auditorium.
The rumored boy, Joshua, took three days to come to his senses.
How long has it been? Joshua slowly cracked open his stiff eyelids.
His face lit up. It’s done! A sliver of electricity flickered across his eyes as he opened them fully.
The air around him vibrated, and his surroundings were tinted black and white—or was it all in his mind?
His vision was still a little blurry, but his body felt light as a feather; a tremendous amount of energy filled every muscle. Joshua knew this energy well.
Magic Spear Arts, Third Class. He could fully control his mana and envelope his weapon in this state. That said, there was a significant difference in mana density depending on the grade of the wielder.
He’d beaten an intermediate B-Class Knight before. But now everything is different. Imagine the possibilities. He had a brand-new power to accompany his mana.
Joshua closed his eyes and turned his focus inwards. The weird, lumpy energy, which rejected each other like oil and water, was gone. It wasn’t perfect, but a massive force embraced the strange intertwining of the two energies.
This kind of power… Joshua clenched his fists. He owed Bronto an awful lot. Who would’ve guessed that the Origin Stone possessed such power?
“Ah!” It occurred to Joshua that he could use that at the third level of the Magic Spear. He stretched his hand out and found… nothing? My dear Lugia! Where was it, his heart of hearts?
[Are you a moron?]
Joshua heard a child’s voice from over his shoulder. He spun around to find a long object casually floating in front of him—a glimmering silver rod emitting a strange light.
“Lugia…?”
[Your stupidity is on another level. Why would you sleep for three days where the enemy can attack you on all sides?]
“Three days—?” Joshua’s face paled.
[Thank and adore the great Lugia! The greatest companion in the world! This body cared for you while you slept dumbly for three days!]
“Wait—” Lugia’s constant chatter was making it hard for him to think.
Something wasn’t right. Joshua had expected Lugia to transform; similar changes had happened in his former life as well.
The thing was, each stage of the Magic Spear had distinct qualities. One of these was the 'subspace”, which allowed an artifact to appear and disappear. Lugia had its own subspace magic, a distinguishing trait of the extremely rare ancient artifacts.
However, those relics were typically tiny objects like rings and necklaces—there were almost no subspaces that encompassed an entire weapon, especially one as large as Lugia. Even a handful of space took enormous amounts of mana to twist, and generating a subspace required twisting space all the way.
Joshua had relished Lugia’s subspace abilities in his first life. In the blood-soaked carnage of the battlefield, Lugia could appear from nowhere and strike at an enemy at any place and at any time. To his enemies, Lugia was like the reaper emerging from hell to drag Joshua’s victims into the underworld.
Another one of Lugia’s unique properties was the ability to alter its appearance, as Joshua showed the Duke.
I didn’t realize Lugia could change its shape until this life.
Joshua was ecstatic that he could disguise Lugia as an iron rod. He was worried that its distinctive shape would draw people’s attention.
But this last ability is what puzzles me the most. Joshua’s brow furrowed.
Lugia can talk. In other words, it had an ego.
This happened to me before, shortly after I returned, so I wasn’t surprised. I felt like I was dealing with a serious middle-aged man at the time, but now…
[Are you seriously telling me that you think I act like a child?]
“Like a child…” Joshua’s eyes popped when he realized he’d been talking out loud. “What was—”
[Are you done being surprised? Don’t be a wimp and don’t rely on this weapon that just awakened, okay? Also, I can read minds, if you hadn’t noticed.]
Joshua clamped his mouth shut.
[Surely you’re not forgetting something important.]
“What are you talking about?”
[Hahhh… Worry about yourself before you start worrying about your enemy. Do you know if your body is okay right now or not?]
“It’s…”
[Want me to tell you something?] Lugia pushed up close to him.
“You know something?”
[The Stone you got earlier… You’d be a fool to believe that all it has is an “attribute”.]
“It doesn’t?”
Lugia seemed to roll its imaginary eyes before it continued.
[If you don’t know that, I have to wonder how much research humans have done on the Origin Stones. Its true power is different.]
Joshua stared at Lugia.
[You want some examples? The Origin Stone Magma has the power of extinction. It will devour everything in its scorching flames. Aqua has “regeneration”, Gaia has “harmony”, and so on. In summary, they all have their unique properties. What matters is: what kind of power does Bronto have?]
Joshua mulled it over for a while. I have the thunder attribute, known for its destructive power, but does it have more than this? No, it must. This stone is clearly on the same level as Ulabis’s red Origin Stone.
[Consider your options carefully… The answer could be very helpful in your situation.] Lugia teased him like it had no intention of giving him a straight answer. [Remember your plans? The revenge?]
The sound of Lugia’s voice made his eyes fly wide open.
“You!”