The spar was one-sided.

Cyan’s sword-force might be unbelievably refined for his age, but it was impossible for him to push back against Eugene. Although Cyan refused to back down and swung his sword fiercely, he couldn’t even force Eugene to take a step back.

It felt like Cyan was swinging his sword into nothingness.

Or at least, that was what he thought at first, but gradually the feeling began to change. Cyan started feeling like he was battling sticky mud and an endlessly deep swamp. Even though it felt like Eugene’s sword was just diverting his attacks, at the same time it was also sticking to Cyan’s blows like mud, and then, as if his attack were being sucked into a swamp, it dragged his blade over to where Cyan didn’t want it to go.

And after that, the mud and the swamp became the sea, as a huge wave of mana shook Cyan’s sword-force, guiding his attacks away and making them sputter off into thin air.

There should be no reason for him to have gotten tired so quickly, but… Cyan felt his breathing become rough, and he could hear his heart pounding away rapidly.

As he had worked towards the Third Star of the White Flame Formula, Cyan’s mana control had improved greatly.

In the past, even emitting sword-light had required great concentration, but now it was possible for him to draw out his sword-force naturally, without even needing to focus on it.

It also wasn’t difficult for him to maintain the sword-force that he had drawn out like this for a long time. This was Cyan Lionheart, after all. As a member of the prestigious Lionheart family, he had been trained in using mana since a young age and had received all sorts of support. At their age, it would be extremely rare for anyone in the entire continent to have as much mana as Cyan.

Cyan was aware of this fact and had felt pride in this. However, this pride was currently crumbling apart like a sandcastle.

“Fuck….”

He could no longer maintain his sword force. As Cyan panted for breath, he spat out this curse and collapsed on the spot.

The sand and dust that had been floating around the gymnasium gradually settled down. Thanks to Cyan’s non-stop flow of attacks, the floor of the gymnasium had been deeply scarred, cracked, and turned over by his sword-force.

However, Eugene’s surroundings were in perfect condition. There weren’t even...