Despite the continuous curses and jeers that were coming from the stands, Ash struggled to stand up, and he was still trembling a little.
Although he didn't have a single wound on his body, the truth was that he was almost at his limit.
Right now, just one step was enough to make him experience terrible pain.
However, if Ash just lay there and lost, he would have to endure even more pain in the future. Both physically and mentally.
If he lost, his life at the Academy would be ruined. Ash would always be looked down upon and bullied by others, and then, he wouldn't learn a damn thing for 3 years.
He couldn't allow himself to be humiliated like that.
Holding the hilt of his sword tightly, Ash looked at Lucian with hatred.
It wasn't that he hated Lucian or anything, it was just that at this moment, he needed to vent his anger on someone, and coincidentally, the protagonist of False Horizon was the most suitable person.
On the other hand, Lucian was still slowly walking towards him, not even bothering to raise his guard. Completely looking down on Ash.
But that was fine because it would be more beneficial for him.
Without wasting any more time, Ash instantly activated the Sword of Dawn.
At first, his sword didn't change much but still looked the same, but after a few seconds, the change became more obvious.
From the void, thousands of tiny yellow dots of light began to appear and enveloped the blade as if fate had bound them together.
Creating a scene that was both poetic and magical, like something from a fairy tale.
And this change also made Lucian raise his eyebrows, slightly wary of Ash's upcoming attack.
With a confident and challenging smirk, he immediately charged straight at Lucian with all his remaining stamina. This was the decisive attack, so Ash didn't need to conserve his stamina anymore.
Just wasted it freely.
Lucian still stood there, with no intention of moving, but was carefully observing Ash's movements, ready to react at any moment.
However, Ash's target was not Lucian but the area around where he was standing.
Realizing that he was only a few meters away from the protagonist, Ash couldn't help but let out an indescribable smile and looked at Lucian with a mocking gaze.
"I win!"
Just like that, the sword was slashed down on the ground without anyone being able to react in time. Lucian couldn't run, so he could only stand there, waiting for what would happen next.
***
BOOM!
The moment the blade made contact with the ground, a huge explosion occurred, so big that it created a dense smoke, completely blocking anyone from knowing what was happening in the center of that smoke screen.
The entire audience fell silent, all the spectators tried to strain their eyes to see what had just happened.
But unfortunately, their sharp eyes could not see through the smoke.
They were forced to wait for the smoke to clear up a bit so they could see who was the winner of this battle.
And fortunately, they didn't have to wait too long.
About a minute later, the smoke disappeared, revealing a horrifying scene that no one could have imagined.
All the other students were mentally prepared to shout the name of the winner, but, upon seeing the scene below, they all seemed to have become speechless.
In the middle of the arena, no, he didn't know if it could even be called an arena anymore, was a giant pit that was at least 100 meters deep.
No one could see Ash and Lucian, so it was highly likely that both of them were at the bottom of the pit.
While the students were still confused about what had just happened, completely captivated by the scene below, Albedo immediately left his seat and jumped straight into the pit.
This time, he was no longer able to hide his excitement and eagerness.
He was like a child feeling excited when receiving a birthday present.
***
There were only 2 people down in that pit. One was completely unconscious, while the other was still conscious.
The unconscious one was Lucian. And the one who was still conscious was Ash.
But based on the current situation, Ash couldn't say that he was fine.
He was panting like crazy, completely unable to feel anything anymore. At this moment, he could only feel tired and in pain.
Both of his arms had also changed color, as if they had just experienced a deadly explosion. He couldn't feel or control them anymore.
His ears were ringing, he could no longer hear the voice of the instructor Albedo.
And finally… his eyes were filled with darkness and darkness. All he could see was darkness, not the sword that was stuck in the ground, and not the unconscious Lucian.
Ash had won, but the current results said otherwise.
'It hurts… it hurts… it hurts… Why am I still conscious?'
A cold hand suddenly touched his shoulder - probably Albedo's - but unfortunately, Ash could no longer tell who it was because he couldn't see.
And the next moment, another hand gently hit the back of his neck, causing Ash to fall asleep immediately, freed from this hellish pain.
***
When he opened his eyes again, what Ash saw was an unfamiliar ceiling. And when he tried to sit up to see his surroundings clearly, it didn't take him long to realize where he was.
Currently, Ash was in the medical room of Awakened Academy, probably after he lost consciousness, he was brought here.
Thinking back to what happened at that time, he couldn't help but shiver with fear and confusion.
Based on his knowledge about the game, the Sword of Dawn shouldn't be able to cause damage to the user, yet at that time, Ash was injured even more severely than Lucian.
However, he didn't have much time or motivation to look for an explanation.
After all, that was the law of life, always full of incomprehensible and unpredictable things.
'Maybe I should limit my use of the Sword of Dawn from now on. It's true that it's strong, but the damage I take is too great.' Ash thought regretfully.
Of course, who would want to limit the use of a Relic that had such insane destructive power? However, when Ash looked at the truth, it was the best choice.
And fortunately, when he woke up this time, his body was completely fine.
It didn't hurt like before, but…
Ash stared at the large scars on both of his arms and sighed sadly.
No matter how advanced the Academy's medical techniques were, it seemed like they couldn't heal the scars on his arms.
'To be honest…it's quite sad.'