I Killed the Player of the Academy-Chapter 254 ༺ Tates Valtazar (3)༻

→ Tates Valtazar (3)←

[System Back-up in Operation. Reviewing the Precept.]

3rd Precept

〚I will save the world.〛

Demon Lord Tates Valtazar: Relativity EX

Support: 400% Increase in Stats

Aura – { Unique (25,130 + 100,520) }

Mana – { Lower Unique (18,920 + 75,680) }

Strength: 373 + 1,492

Agility: 305 + 1,220

Vitality: 300 + 1,200

Aura: 314 + 1,256

Mana: 314 + 1,256

—————————————

—————————————

—————————————

[System Back-up in Operation. Reviewing the Precept.]

3rd Precept

〚I will destroy the world.〛

Hero Korin Lork: Relativity EX

Support: 400% Increase in Stats

…………………………

…………………………

…………………………

Tates Valtazar.

A key figure from the Witch Revolution 100 years ago – the Spear Saint, who had been known as the strongest spearman of the generation.

He was a master of the Six Ways of Spear and a rune mage who was no weaker than Erin Danua.

On top of that, the support from his Precept of destroying the world was at its maximum relativity against Korin Lork.

According to what was known about him in the game, he had three Aura Cores and was at the Unique Rank with 75,000 in Aura Capacity.

However, that number had been downplayed due to the restrictions of the game. In fact, that was his stat after his 1st and 2nd Precepts were no longer functioning to the trap he fell into.

In other words,

The current Tates Valtazar, with none of his Precepts affected, was truly at the peak of his power, and on top of that was the Divinity of Light that he didn’t use in the game.

Beyond a certain threshold, however, numbers didn’t mean much. What mattered was that he had several tools to rely on.

Spear of Light, Areadbhair.

The self-moving spear that never missed its target and could not be blocked was one of the four great treasures of Tuatha de Danann.

Besides, he also had Lia Fail that could enforce destiny. That too was one of the four great treasures and could rewind time but… there was a low chance of that being used in this fight.

Lia Fail was the Great Stone of Destiny – a treasure that would rather spectate the birth of the true King of Gods.

It wouldn’t involve itself in a fight between two acknowledged contenders. Instead, it would deliver itself to the victor and serve as a symbol for the new God King.

Therefore, what Korin had to be vigilant of was the Spear of Light, Areadbhair. There were two ways to counter that spear. One was to borrow the power of another treasure… and the other was to kill the enemy before they could throw it.

Ominous Snake: Secret Arts – Distorted March

A spear suddenly emerged forth, demonstrating the art of surprise attacks. Hidden in the midst of various confusing marches was the real attack.

“I’ve seen that one already.”

Kwak!

The spear that could trick anyone in its trajectory… was caught bare-handed.

“…!”

“Let’s not waste time.”

He casually swung the spear after saying that, but even that nonchalant movement was a lethal threat for Korin. Instead of taking a step back to retreat, Korin parried the Spear of Light with the shaft of his spear.

– Kaduk! Kajijik!

The impact of the downward strike was further amplified by Valtazar’s profound understanding of heavy attacks. An aftershock from the clash of the two weapons shrieked through the air and crushed the ground beneath them.

‘Heavy…!’

It seemed like such a casual swing, and didn’t even seem like spearmanship… and yet the weight behind it was incredible. Only through an overwhelming amount of experience and understanding was this possible.

And that one attack allowed Korin to realize something.

There was a sky above the sky, and before him was someone even the skies had to look up to.

“Magnificent spearmanship. Especially for someone with such short experience,” commented Valtazar.

“Yeah. Sorry I only got 5 years of experience. What about you; 400 years or something?”

“You probably know it already yourself. It’s not about how many times you’ve swung your spear around. What’s important is who you have been against.”

Valtazar put even more force into the spear. Having been put down to one knee, Korin tried to push back as hard as he could but could barely move it.

Even though his physical stats shouldn’t be lacking in any way, the difference in their understanding of the way of heavy spears was just too immense.

“Tch… You’ve fought against all sorts of things for the past 400 years or so though. Even if you count just the players—”

“Those idiots with nothing but power are worthless. The only thing worthy of value that I got from those 99 repetitions is probably the fight against Master. Well even Master didn’t serve as much experience after I killed her about 30 times though.”

“…Watch your mouth.”

Korin said while glaring into his eyes from beneath. His arms flexed even more as he attempted to push the spear back.

“Hoh~ looks like I’ve upset my dear junior brother. I still have my respect towards Master. It’s just that she and I have chosen a different path.”

“She gave you everything she had.”

“I know. But we can’t coexist. That’s all there is to it.”

“You fucker. Is that all you say after killing your own master?”

“Let’s stop with this boring talk. There is no meaning to good and evil this late into the game.”

“Of course it’s important! It gives me a reason to win! Motivation, so to speak!”

Along with a shout, Korin pushed the spear back, but Valtazar let himself be pushed before quickly getting ready for another stab.

“You have good skills, but I wonder if that’s the same for your instincts.”

<Six Ways of the Heavy Spear>

An explosive stab raced through the air as Korin met it from the front with a stab of his own.

‘So damn heavy…!’

It was just a simple stab, and yet it was so heavy that it gave off the illusion that his spear might crumble the moment Korin let loose.

What was worse was that this was probably far from the end. There was no way that a superhuman who had surpassed the pinnacle of spearmanship and killed Erin Danua dozens of times had nothing up his sleeve apart from some stabs.

Suddenly in the blink of an eye, Valtazar did a quick twist of his wrists.

The technique of Na clung onto Korin’s Silver Spear – it was a skill that Korin knew better than anyone else.

Lan Na Zha – the art of a swift transition from a clinging parry to a press and a stab.

It was one of the basic techniques of the spear and was one that Korin could react to even with his eyes closed.

‘Rotate it the other way around and fall back!’

Lan Na Zha had to be countered with another Lan Na Zha. That way, one could at least avoid having their weapon pressed down by the opponent’s. That way—

– Flick!

As if he knew Korin would do exactly that, Tates immediately added another twist. His spear rotated in the other direction and clutched onto Korin’s spear.

– Kagagak…!

Korin barely stopped his Silver Spear from hitting the ground but it was already too late.

The Spear of Light was already flying at its enemy.

A stab was flying at his chest.

‘I won’t make it…!’

Right before the speartip landed on his chest, Korin moved not his arms but one of his legs. With his knee, he kicked the shaft of the Spear of Light before it managed to pierce through his chest.

– Kajik!

Flying up, the Spear of Light missed its original target and scraped past his shoulders instead. Immediately, Korin rotated his spear and aimed for the opponent’s throat before he could retrieve his spear.

“Hoh~”

Tates casually tilted his head as the spear only managed to graze past his cheeks. It was a minor injury compared to the slit on Korin’s shoulder.

He licked the blood flowing down his cheek and smiled.

“Not good enough. Faster.”

Tates retrieved his Spear of Light, took a step forward and rotated rapidly along with the spear. In response, Korin pulled his spear up to block it.

A thud echoed as Korin was flung behind by the impact. He rolled across the ground but didn’t fail to keep Valtazar in his sight – at least he tried to until Tates suddenly vanished from the spot.

Thankfully, Korin was able to react thanks to his vigilance and stabbed forward.

Another thud.

Korin was pushed back once again but this time he stood his ground thanks to digging his foot beneath.

He immediately followed through with a palm strike.

– Swish

Again, he mixed his surprise attack in the gap of a person’s consciousness. By the time the opponent could react, his palm was already on the enemy.

Eight Trigrams Venerating Palm—

The palm strike struck Valtazar on the chest. Right when it was about to connect into the next set of moves of the Three Heavenly Palms, Tates rapidly spun on the spot to steer away from the attack.

In the blink of an eye, Tates positioned himself behind Korin.

“If you’re aiming to be the strongest spearman, you should be using your fist like a spear as well.”

Using the power from the spin he struck Korin from the back. Korin’s eyes shook and he had to gasp for breath but Tates did not wait for him and continued through with another punch that resembled a spear.

Six Ways of the Punching Spear

Korin was flung forward as he rolled across the ground.

“That felt light.”

In the moment of the strike, Korin jumped forward to lengthen the time of impact which dissipated some of the force behind the attack.

Tates chased him up. Before Korin could stand back up on his feet, he kicked downward with his foot.

Despite still being on the ground, Korin managed to retaliate with a kick of his own. However, his bone could not endure through the impact and cracked.

“…!”

But before his cracked leg even landed on the ground, Korin twisted it around the enemy’s leg like a serpent to pull him towards him.

“Don’t look down on a Taekwondo black belt.”

What Tates had to face after that tricky maneuver with the leg was the rest of the Three Heavenly Palm Strikes.

Having been suddenly dropped into a foreign world with nothing, Korin had spent more time training the basic martial arts that everyone had access to, even more so than the time he spent with a spear.

His perfected palm attacks were about to strike at Tates’ vitals, but his hand was stopped in the middle.

“Tch…”

“Heh~ I knew it. You do have good basics.”

“Had to do whatever I could do to survive from tons of monsters like you!”

In the midst of the consecutive clashes of their fists, they transitioned back to their spears. They spun following the same trajectory of Spinning Heaven and collided.

The two of them condensed their Aura for the attack, the aftershock of which pushed both of them apart.

When the two were too far for close combat, they both reached a similar conclusion.

<Sun Manifestation – Claiomh Solais>

<Advent of Light – Areadbhair>

A gush of heat covered the sky as a sun appeared in the sky. Lighting up the darkness that had chased away light, the Sun heeded to his call and shot down from the sky.

However, the Spear of Light flickered even quicker than the Sun.

The spear that appeared like a dot-point of light reached Korin in less than a second.

Spear of Light, Areadbhair – a treasure of the Danann known commonly for its ability to be tossed like a javelin.

It moved by itself towards its target, and was a miraculous weapon that never missed its target. Dodging it was out of question and it always managed to penetrate its opponent.

As such, it was the inevitable spear.

Korin’s attempt to dodge the incoming spear was as futile as anything could ever be.

“Shit…!”

He rolled across the ground. Areadbhair swept across like a ray of light and sliced through all the twigs of the World Tree that were in its way.

‘It’s coming…!’

The spear never missed its target.

If the opponent happened to delay the inevitable consequence, it would defy all laws of physics to return to its target.

Korin ran.

He ran as far away as he could from the Spear of Light – as fast he could, he continued to run.

It wasn’t a reckless escape with no plans to support it. It was to return to the Red Spear that he had stuck on the ground at the start of the fight.

– Swish!

Reaching forward, Korin grasped onto his spear. Throwing the Silver Spear into the ground nearby, he picked up his Red Spear and stabbed at the incoming Spear of Light.

– Kaang!

The two spears collided into a single dot. Hitting a spear traveling at the speed of light at the very tip sounded too ridiculous to be true, but this was the result of his endless training with his master.

<Red Spear, Gae Derg – Anti-Magic>

The treasure of Manannan Mac Lir, Gae Derg, had two effects.

One of them was the Beast Hunting Curse. When tossed, the spear always landed on the beast and would stop its ability to escape.

That was the original purpose behind the spear, as it had been crafted to hunt demonic beasts that used to contend against the gods.

Its other ability was that of magic nullification. It crushed every magical effect and made them malfunction.

“Hmm?”

The clash of the two spears ended with the magic of Areadbhair being canceled.

Now that the self-moving, never-missing and all-penetrating concepts had been canceled, the Spear of Light was reduced to simply being a sharp spear.

Seeing the outcome of the clash, Tates retrieved his spear as he inspected the destabilized abilities of the Spear of Light.

“The 47th was it? Or maybe the 48th? There was a guy who tried something similar to what you did, but he didn’t have the ability to hit the Areadbhair. He was nothing much himself, and had only theories to back him up.”

“Damn it… the Sun did nothing.”

Tates wasn’t the only one who had attempted a lethal move. Korin too had manifested and dropped the Sun on Tates.

In fact, the Sun did do something to the nearby branches of the World Tree. Everything that touched the Sun had disintegrated and was completely gone, but there was not a single burn on Tates.

“Obviously something that big won’t be a threat to me. If you want to beat me, you have to compress it down.”

Saying that, Tates approached him once again. It was neither fast nor slow, and was one of the orthodox moves of Six Ways of the Spear.

Ominous Snake.

The Spear of Light slithered forth. Korin tried to block it but his defense was easily nullified by Lan Na Zha. In the midst of the Ominous Snake, Tates incorporated his profound understanding of the spear to stop Korin’s spear and inflict a wound.

Korin had to disgracefully jump and roll to the side to avoid the Spear of Light from creating a lethal wound on his stomach. The aftermath of the attack still crushed his body and pushed him into the ground.

‘He’s too strong… And besides, our skills are the same so he knows everything I’m doing…’

He knew he had to retaliate somehow. If he was losing in spearmanship, he had to rely on other means… by for example using the Domain Comprehension he had thanks to the system.

Ominous Snake: Extreme Arts –

Rearing Head of the Venomous Dragon

He looked into the dark Domain. The only way to counter the Domain where time didn’t flow was to use one’s own Domain.

“…!”

But Korin missed Tates’ movements for a split millisecond and the spear didn’t land on its original target – and that confusion led to a moment of hesitation.

In search of the foe, Korin looked down and realized that Tates had lowered himself all the way down right before the activation of the Domain in preparation for a deadly stab.

– Swish!

A venomous dragon flew coarsely through the air and penetrated through Korin’s shoulder.

The Spear of Light crushed through the bone and the flesh. Tates raised his spear with Korin still skewered.

He lifted it vertically before striking him back down.

“Kuhuk…!”

A kick then followed through before Korin even finished gasping for breath. The sound of his bones crushing echoed down the World Tree.

“Is this all you got?”

Tates leisurely strolled towards him and raised his spear.

“Try harder. I wasn’t keeping you alive for this kind of a boring fight.”

He struck down once again with the Spear of Light. Korin, moments away from losing his consciousness, instinctively raised his spear to block the attack.

– Kajik!

The aftermath of blocking the Spear of Light while lying down was deadly. The impact shook every muscle around Korin’s body and was conveyed all the way through to the floor beneath him.

– Crack…!

Branches of the World Tree, that were thicker than millennium-old trees, couldn’t withstand the impact and crumbled beneath. Korin fell along with the broken branches before stumbling upon another branch.

“Kugh…!”

His body was crying out in pain. It felt like all of his bones were broken; the broken bone fragments were poking at his flesh and his regeneration wasn’t able to keep up with the damage.

Whether it be technique or specs… he fell short in all areas.

Tates Valtazar was the true zenith of spearmanship; a master of spear who had surpassed even his master.

‘Then I’ll have to beat him in pure strength at the very least.’

Sixth Style Shura

x Sun Compression

“Hoh…”

Using everything in his arsenal, Korin stood his ground against the enemy.

“Good. Very good. Now I’m feeling some threat~. There were a few guys that wanted to use the Sun, but none of them was at your level. This truly is a power suitable for the birth of mythology.”

“You know you sound like a middle school kid living in his head?”

“Don’t be the dog that’s all bark and no bite. Statements like that are in vain when you’re on the losing end.”

Tates nonchalantly responded with a smile to the derisive comment. His attitude annoyed Korin even more.

“That’s the one problem I don’t like about you – you think of human lives as trash.”

“…”

“Who cares about rebirth and revival of the mythology or whatever. Life is valuable. Don’t you dare destroy it just because you want to.”

Life.

It was obviously what took precedence over all else.

The light from the compressed Sun brightened up the world.