I Was the Strongest Sword God in My Past Life

part 54

“To wield magic without a magical tool…”

Isabelle’s mana was a fierce talent that instilled a sense of deprivation in her opponent.

Isabelle sneered at her opponent’s despondent expression.

“You’re the one who’s out.”

Spears of fire embroidered the sky.

As Isabelle pointed her index finger at her foe, the fiery spear surged towards the target.

Boom! Boom! Boom!!

A storm swept through, and both Gian’s black martial attire and Isabelle’s red robe fluttered in the aftermath.

“Trying a surprise attack.”

Isabelle didn’t care about revealing her position. Her style was to overpower rather than evade. Reckless, perhaps, but she had the strength to back it up.

* * *

Meanwhile, the Plana Party was on standby in a forest a short distance from Gian. As they waited for an airdrop and assessed the situation, they inadvertently witnessed Isabelle’s rampage.

“Oh, it’s the Arcana Party…”

The forest ablaze.

Against this backdrop stood two members of the Arcana Party. Lena had lost her fighting spirit.

‘It’s certain! Gian Russel and Isabelle Blitz! What to do? Can we even face them? Maybe we should just run away?’

Arcana and Celia were considered strong contenders for victory even before the start. Lena knew well both Gian and Isabelle’s faces and their capabilities.

‘I really want to run away.’

Lena glanced slyly at the two beside her. Riventon, covering his mouth demurely in shock, and Kaypan, looking calmly towards the Arcana.

‘As the party leader, it would look bad to suggest running away…’

Lena cautiously floated the idea, seeking their agreement.

“Isn’t that too strong?”

“Hmm, even Arcana chose the cave. I thought they’d be in the city. Quite unexpected.”

Riventon responded with a grave face.

As the story unfolded as she wished, Lena added another word.

“Then, shall we run away, oh, no, retreat? For future planning.”

At that, Keypan shook his head.

“That’s not it.”

Keypan looked straight at Lena.

Lena, tense with a sharp and sleek impression, swallowed hard.

“Ah… Is that not so?”

“Where did that spirit from earlier go, party leader? Think about it. What would happen if the strong Arcana monopolized even the supplies now?”

Persuaded by Keypan’s words, Lena nodded.

“It will become harder to block.”

“Yes. Rather than blocking, we’ll just be hit.”

Lena chuckled at Keypan’s serious-faced jest.

“That was kind of funny.”

“I’m always funny.”

“Alright! Then let’s fight. We might not win, but let’s snatch away the supplies!”

Lena, filled with resolve once again.

In the warm atmosphere, Riventon said with a smile.

“Then I’ll cover you with magic!”

Riventon, holding a bow that was small compared to his size, thumped his chest. Keypan also took out a magical brush and drew something on paper.

“Here, a talisman for the party leader’s return. Come back safe and sound!”

“Keypan…”

Lena, feeling a poignant emotion, wiped her eyes. Just then, as the preparations at the Flana Academy were completed. A hologram appeared to all participants.

[Airdrops have been supplied to a total of four locations.]

[The golden box containing the supplies can be stored in the pocket and opened after 10 minutes.]

[The unopened golden box will be dropped without fail if the owner is eliminated.]

A declaration of war.

The golden box with a parachute slowly descended towards the cave.

“Here we go!”

Lena, with a magical spear drawn. She ran towards the box. Or rather, she tried to run.

“Kyaa!!”

Lena let out a shrill scream.

Something had caught her leg.

Thud!

Unable to overcome her momentum, Lena fell. What tripped her was a tendril so thin it was barely visible. But the tendril was imbued with mana, making it stronger than wire.

“Tr-trap?”

Lena, in her confusion, was showered with powder from above.

“Pf-phah! Cough!!”

Lena frantically waved her hands, but it was already too late.

‘Paralysis powder? No, doesn’t seem like it. Damn it, right from the start! Just run!’

The trap Lena had stepped on was set by Gian. The powder that clung to her body was the luminescent powder of the nocturnal butterfly.

In the urgent situation, she hadn’t noticed yet, but now Lena was shining brighter than anyone else.

* * *

Plop!

A golden box fell onto the rock in front of the cave. Gian, Lea, and the masked man. All three participants began racing towards the box.

Clack!

“It’s mine!!”

The masked man was the first to snatch the box. His shoes were magical artifacts, and he possessed a speed-related trait known as [Gale Horse]. He quickly pocketed the golden box and attempted to flee the scene.

But.

Boom!!

He exploded on the spot.

Isabel’s fireball had hit him squarely.

Now, it was down to Lea and Gian.

Lea, instead of going for the golden box, aimed her spear at Gian.

Clang!

Gian deflected the spear with his sword.

Lea tore a talisman and shouted.

“Trait grant! Swiftness!”

With the effect of the [Buff Talisman], Lea’s spear technique became incomparably faster.

Swoosh!

Lea was covered in buffs from Kayfan’s talismans, plastered all over her body.

One-on-one, yet it feels like two against one. Leah’s spear technique, unlike her personality, was rough and brutally oppressive towards Zien.

Clang! Bang! Bang!

Yet, as Zien held his ground evenly, Leah created distance and desperately tore another talisman.

“Attribute enhancement! Strength!”

But Zien continued to adopt a defensive stance in combat.

The longer the battle dragged on, the more Leah’s face betrayed her anxiety.

The downside of buff-type abilities became apparent. Seizing the advantage, Zien asked Leah,

“Is it almost over?”

His smile was one of ease, as if he knew everything.

Indeed, as Zien said, the talisman’s buff lasted only a few minutes.

“Still a long way to go,”

Leah bluffed, glancing at the golden box beside her.

‘Just grab that and run, and I’ll be fine.’

Leah concluded that a head-on confrontation was impossible. She knew Zien was strong, but facing him directly felt even more daunting. However, she was not alone.

“Mr. Riventon, now!”

At Leah’s signal, an arrow soared into the sky. What was one arrow when shot multiplied into hundreds as it descended.

Whoosh!

A downpour of arrows.

While numerous, their lethality was lessened, but dodging them all seemed nearly impossible.

“Indeed, the Arcana is strong,”

From noble mtl dot come

Though weary, Leah sighed in relief.

“But you can’t avoid this, can you?”

Zien looked up at the sky.

The sky was so filled with arrows that they obscured the red moon.

“Aren’t you going to get caught up in it too?”

At Zien’s words, Leah laid down a [Barrier Talisman]. True to its name, it created a barrier that temporarily blocked external attacks.

“I have a place to hide.”

Leah’s lips curled up, assured of her victory.

‘The opponent is the Arcana’s party leader! If I can eliminate this person…’

Arcana is eliminated.

Moreover, as she thought, the main cam was focusing on them. If Leah eliminates Gian in this situation, the Plana party will instantly become stars.

But Leah couldn’t shake off the unease. It was because Gian’s expression was too relaxed.

“Really?”

Gian had a D-grade artifact, the [Arrow-Blocking Cloak]. Of course, being only D-grade, its effect was minimal, but the opponent’s arrows weren’t destructive magic like Plea’s [Path of Fire].

“I’m fine too.”

Moreover, Gian had a technique awakened from his past life.

‘It’s been a really long time since I’ve used this.’

Equipment-type artifacts like the [Arrow-Blocking Cloak] often had mana as their source of power. If D-grade mana is 1, then S-grade is about 10.

That meant it was possible to elevate a D-grade artifact to S-grade by imbuing the caster’s mana into it.

Of course, it wasn’t easy, and the artifact would be destroyed, making it inefficient.

Now that artifacts were precious, it was a technique unknown to most Sabers.

‘Now is the time.’

Gian forcibly infused mana into the artifact, matching its wavelength.

Babababak!

Then, all the arrows avoided Gian and buried themselves into the ground.

He had forcibly pulled the power of the [Arrow-Blocking Cloak] up to S-grade.

[Due to excessive use, the Arrow-Blocking Cloak has been destroyed.]

A hologram appeared, and the cloak disintegrated into particles.

The [Warding Talisman] Leah had laid out also just ended its effect.

“What, what is this?”

Leah stammered in panic.

“Artifact.”

“That’s cheating! To block a finishing move gathered by three people… like this!”

Leah was frustrated but tried her best to persuade Gian.

“How about we split it half and half? You can choose the item you want first. No, maybe 7 to 3… since there are three of us…”

As Gian took a step forward, Leah took a step back.

“Oh! Don’t come!”

Startled, Leah looked back and forth between the golden box and Gian, then her face fell.

“Uh, ugh! Why did it have to be Arcana!!”

Eating mustard out of desperation.

Leah tore the [Return Talisman] that Keypan had given her.

Boom-

With a puff of smoke, Leah disappeared, and Zien put the golden box in his pocket.