I dashed forward, my blade trailing behind me. Kavrik had a tough shell, terrifying speed, and deadly slashing power.
But its front body was highly vulnerable and could be fatally wounded with a single strike.
I swung my sword, but Kavrik jumped back and dodged my attack with ease.
I tried slashing again, but its body darted to the side and aimed for my neck.
I ducked my head, then swung my blade again. Kavrik let out a strange, unpleasant noise.
Then it leapt away.
It was really agile.
I strengthened my stance, then chased after it, unleashing a flurry of strikes—but Kavrik dodged them all.
At that moment, I ran out of breath and stopped to catch it. Kavrik dashed forward, trying to knock me down, its slash came from the left, and I blocked it with my blade.
The sound of metal scraping echoed.
Kavrik's leg, which I didn't notice, came from the right, aiming to stab my waist.
With my hand, I blocked it and grimaced—feeling the sting and blood as I grabbed its blade-like leg.
But that was enough.
Kavrik leapt backward again, trying to escape. But I had no intention of letting go of its leg.
Letting its blade sink into my bleeding hand, I tightened my grip and pulled it back.
Boom—!!
Its body slammed to the cold marble floor right next to me. I didn't waste time and immediately drove my sword into it.
The once-silent hologram then emitted a familiar sound.
• Kavrik has been defeated.
I took a breath and looked at my bleeding hand.
That Kavrik was very weak—so weak that no student in my year would get hurt even when fighting ten of them at once, maybe more.
But me?
Just fighting one was enough to draw blood from my hand.
I let out a long sigh.
"One more time..."
Once again, I fought a Kavrik.
Just like before, I had to suffer some cuts to win.
So I challenged Kavrik again.
"Hoo..."
I swung my sword, eyes fixed on the Kavrik in midair. I chased after it by leaping.
Kavrik kicked toward me. I blocked it with my blade, ruining its momentum midair, putting it in a bad position.
So I slashed it.
Scraaatt—
I ignored the sound from the hologram.
This time I won without sacrificing anything.
But...
"Not enough."
I then challenged Kavrik again. And again.
I kept trying.
And trying.
Over and over.
Until...
I was tired.
So I took a break.
"Pheww..."
That was tiring.
I could feel sweat sticking to every inch of my body. I had been training nonstop, and before I realized it, it was nearly dawn.
'This is insane.'
I had trained without sleeping at all. My schedule would be ruined if I couldn't concentrate due to drowsiness.
I scratched the back of my head.
But what could I do?
I was running out of time, obsessed with becoming stronger. I truly hadn't noticed.
"It's almost dawn, but... maybe just one more time, with a slightly special opponent?"
I took a deep breath.
This time, I decided to fight a creature that looked like a cow. But it wasn't an ordinary cow.
It had two black horns, a dark red body, and a massive, muscular build.
"Alright, I've really gone crazy choosing a minotaur that could flatten me with a single punch."
Once again, I was truly insane.
Dug—! Dug—! Dug—! Dug—! Dug—!
The minotaur slammed its fists into the marble floor with incredible force—I could feel the shockwaves from here.
And right then—
Mooaaaa—!!!!!!
That damned minotaur let out an earsplitting roar. I felt like my eardrums were about to burst, so I covered my ears with both hands.
Once it stopped roaring, I finally moved my hands away from my ears.
My eyes met the minotaur's.
I raised my iron sword.
The minotaur charged at me—slow, but every step shook the surroundings violently.
I gave a nervous smile.
'Am I going to die?'
***
No matter what, Farley would not let himself be killed—even if this was just an illusion.
Death was terrifying, and Farley didn't want to experience it.
His body was overshadowed by the Minotaur standing before him, both of its arms raised in a rage whose source was unknown.
Whummm—!!!
As if Farley were on a real battlefield, the wind whooshed violently in the wake of that descending punch.
Farley gave a nervous smile and jumped as high as he could, dodging the attack by leaning slightly backward.
Baaammm—!!!!
That monstrous punch shattered the marble floor. Farley landed on the Minotaur's arm, then ran up toward its face with unsteady steps.
After all, his footing was rough and constantly shifting.
"Hup."
Farley jumped again as the Minotaur's other hand tried to grab him.
In the air, Farley's body twisted in balance, and he swung his sword hard, aiming to slash the Minotaur's ugly face.
Farley braced to see the result of his attack.
But unfortunately, it was blocked by the Minotaur's solid arm. Farley grimaced—it felt like trying to cut through stone with a kitchen knife.
Since the attack failed...
The Minotaur laughed with a roar. Farley didn't even have time to be angry—his eardrums felt like they were about to burst.
'D-damn it.'
Covering his ears, Farley jumped away, losing his balance.
At that moment, the Minotaur's roar stopped, and a punch shot out before Farley even landed.
But the attack didn't reach him—he had jumped far enough. Then what happened?
Farley's expression darkened.
A violent gust from the Minotaur's punch struck him and flung his body to the cold marble floor.
That was just wind pressure—what would've happened if the punch had actually hit him?
Farley wondered as he struggled to get up. At that moment, the ground trembled as the Minotaur charged at him.
A direct punch came—a blow that Farley couldn't possibly dodge with just his body.
The punch came aiming to crush his skull; reflected in Farley's pupils was the Minotaur's fist.
Farley bit his lip. Just then, wind surged beneath him, lifting his body upward, causing the Minotaur to miss and punch only air.
The gust howled beneath him.
Farley smiled.
"That was my first time fighting using magic scrolls. Congratulations on being my test subject."
His smile widened as he realized it was absolutely worth it to learn those complicated runes.
"Now then, should we get a bit more serious?"
Still mid-air, Farley had some wind magic left to stay afloat. He pulled out another magic scroll and attached it to his sword.
Scrolls like these were rarely developed because they weren't as effective as a true magician's spell. However, Farley knew better.
He had played the game and saw the potential worth experimenting with.
From the many trials he conducted, most turned out successful.
Flurrr—
Flames erupted, engulfing Farley's sword. Their fiery shadows danced across the marble floor and room walls.
He couldn't keep the flames up for long, but he had prepared many such scrolls, so he had time—and it wouldn't drain his mana.
The runes might have been complex, with much to modify. But Farley had done it and earned his reward.
His dedication hadn't been in vain.
Beneath the flickering flames, the Minotaur looked up to the sky. As Farley's wind magic finally ran out, the Minotaur swung its fist, aiming to strike him in midair.
Farley didn't move much. Only when the punch neared did he smile calmly.
The punch was right in front of him, but Farley calmly used another scroll.
Traa—!!
The marble cracked, the ground trembled, and a pillar of stone shot up to block the Minotaur's punch.
At that moment, Farley smiled even wider.
"Now, it's my turn to attack."
With his sword engulfed in dancing fire, Farley slashed across the Minotaur's chest in an X-shape.
Crasshh—
Flames spread across the Minotaur's wound as it froze, seemingly trying to endure the pain.
Farley stared silently at the Minotaur.
A minute passed, and the Minotaur moved again, wiping the fire from its body with its own hands.
'I could've ended it a minute ago if I wanted. But... let me fight a bit more.'
Right—this was Phase 2.
The moment when the Minotaur pulled out a massive axe that could flatten Farley in a single strike.
In this state, the Minotaur's power would skyrocket. They had a trait similar to Dwarves.
Their weapons granted them attributes. The difference was that Dwarven attributes varied—Minotaurs had only one, shared by all.
That attribute was Berserk.
An attribute that made them bloodthirsty and enhanced all their stats. Even their slow speed became terrifying.
In an instant, the Minotaur vanished from Farley's view, reappearing behind him.
Farley hadn't been able to follow its movement, but he had predicted the attack.
"Such a classic attack pattern."
Farley wasn't good at controlling magic, so he couldn't cast body enhancement spells.
But he could do something else.
He carved single-use runes into his body.
A faint rune glowed between his wrists. Farley spun around, saw the axe about to strike, and blocked it with his sword.
BAAM—!!!!
Farley was sent flying, but he landed calmly on the cold marble floor.
"Crazy... haha."
In his mind, a thought came.
'So this is what battle feels like.'
Always on edge—if he let his guard down for even a moment, he'd die. Walking a tightrope between life and death.
Farley swallowed hard.
In the future, he had to reach the point where he was used to combat. Because right now, Farley was fighting while afraid of death.
He had felt that way from the start.
He could die at any time.
His body was cold and trembling.
And... he was afraid that he might have killed a living being—even if it was just an illusion.
But in the future?
He would be killing for real—monsters, demons, and even humans.
That's why Farley wanted to get used to everything.
'Sometimes I think... those heartless people who keep killing others—they're the real monsters.'
'But here I am, fighting to survive... with the intention of becoming one of them.'
At that moment, many runes lit up across Farley's body.
Magic to enhance his strength, wind magic to boost his speed, earth magic to raise his durability.
Without them, Farley wasn't sure he could beat the monster in front of him.
"Come on."
The battle between Farley and the Minotaur dragged on for a long time. At this point, they were evenly matched.
Farley landed hits but dealt little damage, while the Minotaur missed its strikes but forced Farley to exhaust his stamina.
He could feel his body aching and drained. But he ignored all of it and kept fighting with a clear mind.
The Minotaur attacked his shoulder, Farley dodged to the side and slashed with his blazing sword.
But due to the Berserk effect, it didn't deal much damage.
Was Farley hopeless?
He was—and wasn't.
He was hopeless because he realized how lacking his damage output was. But not hopeless—because even if he lacked raw power, he could outmaneuver.
Farley quietly waited for an opening, and when it came, his eyes lit up.
He dashed forward, evading two incoming strikes—a fist and an axe—until he stood face-to-face with the Minotaur, plunging his sword straight into its eye.
No matter how tough the Minotaur was, the eye was soft—and Farley had aimed for it.
He smiled in silence.
Flames surged from his sword. At that moment, he used two more fire-type scrolls, making the fire roar even more intensely.
The Minotaur winced in pain—its eye burned, and fire seeped inside, scorching its head from within.
Raaaghhh—!!!!
The Minotaur roared and dropped its axe, reaching for Farley—but its body collapsed with a heavy thud.
Its head burst into flames.
Farley panted, sweat pouring down his face.
'See? I'm crazy, I'm reckless... but I won!'
The hologram's voice echoed, and the Minotaur vanished. Farley collapsed to the marble floor.
He was exhausted in every way.
He was also extremely sleepy.
But morning had arrived.
Farley sat up, glanced around the room, noting the damage everywhere from all the powerful explosions.
With a deep sigh, he stood and shut down the hologram. The room instantly restored itself as Farley blinked once.
That was how cool the academy's illusion system was.
Now, Farley needed only one thing—
He needed more experience, and he would continue training here after class each day.
This was what he needed