Chapter 123: The Aftermath

Starlight Royal Academy, Third Arena.

Even after Victor walked out of the arena, the excited discussions of the students continued to echo behind him. Clearly, the seemingly ordinary challenge match had caused quite a stir among those who witnessed it.

A Level 23 defeating a Level 29!

And he had achieved victory through a direct confrontation, with both sides using training longswords!

However, compared to those shocked students, Victor’s attention was currently focused on something entirely different because just moments ago, the System notification had finally changed.

[Ding!]

[Fate Deviation Calculation Complete!]

[Detected that the Host has altered the predetermined fate trajectories of certain individuals through his own actions!]

[Current Degree of Fate Deviation: Minor!]

[Congratulations! You have obtained 5 Investment Points!]

Looking at the System notification floating before him, the corners of Victor’s mouth curled upward.

Five Investment Points!

Although the amount wasn’t particularly large, this had only been an ordinary academy challenge match. He had originally intended to find someone to test his strength against, never expecting to receive an additional reward.

This could certainly be considered a pleasant surprise.

"It seems changing someone’s fate doesn’t necessarily require doing something earth-shattering." Victor pondered to himself.

However, the System hadn’t provided any further explanation regarding whose fate had been affected, and he had no intention of wasting too much time thinking about it.

After all, as his strength continued to improve, the number of things he could change would only increase. Rather than obsessing over the source of this small reward, it would be better to focus on his own growth.

And the battle against Edmund had given him a much clearer understanding of his current strength.

Although Edmund had not yet truly entered the Second Tier, reaching such a level at his age was already enough to demonstrate that neither his talent nor his cultivation resources were lacking.

At the very least, among the academy’s ordinary students, he could definitely be considered outstanding.

However, after actually fighting him, Victor had discovered something rather interesting.

His opponent’s mana was clearly superior to his own, yet once they entered close-range sword combat, the advantage provided by their six-level difference was nowhere near as significant as he had imagined.

And the reason was simple.

[Combat Intuition]!

The benefits brought by this talent extended far beyond merely sensing danger in advance. Particularly in close combat, it allowed Victor to perceive subtle changes in his opponent’s movements with much greater sensitivity and, combined with his own combat experience, quickly determine the most appropriate response.

When paired with [Shadow Blink] and [Heaven Burning Sword Art], as long as his opponent lacked sufficient practical combat experience, it was entirely possible for Victor to defeat someone of a higher level within a short period.

Of course, that didn’t mean levels had become meaningless.

If the person standing before him earlier had not been someone like Edmund, a professional who had primarily developed his abilities through academy training, but instead a Level 29 swordsman who had experienced countless life-and-death battles, achieving victory probably wouldn’t have been nearly as easy.

Moreover, there was an even more significant difference in Life Tier between the First Tier and the Second Tier.

Thinking of this, Victor couldn’t help rubbing his chin.

"Looks like I still need to raise my level as quickly as possible."

"Young Master?"

Hearing his quiet muttering, Evelyn, who was walking beside him, turned to look at him.

"What did you just say?"

"Nothing."

Victor smiled.

"I was just thinking that a Level 29 opponent doesn’t seem all that difficult to deal with."

Evelyn fell silent for a moment before replying with a perfectly serious expression.

"You should probably avoid saying that where Edmund can hear you."

"Why?"

"He just lost the match."

"So?"

"I’m worried he wouldn’t be able to take it."

Hearing this, Victor couldn’t help bursting into laughter.

"Why do I get the feeling you don’t particularly care about him either?"

"I never cared about him in the first place." Evelyn answered as though it were the most natural thing in the world.

Victor shook his head helplessly and was just about to continue walking when a familiar voice suddenly came from behind.

"Victor!"

Hearing someone call his name, Victor stopped and turned around, only to see Edmund, who had been in the arena moments

earlier, walking briskly toward them.

Compared to his arrogant and overbearing demeanor before the match, Edmund was noticeably quieter now. Although his expression remained somewhat unpleasant, the aggressive hostility that had previously filled his eyes was gone.

"Something else?" Victor raised an eyebrow.

Edmund glanced at him and seemed to hesitate for a moment before finally speaking.

"That final sword strike just now..."

He paused slightly, as though finding the question difficult to ask, but eventually gritted his teeth.

"How exactly did you do it?"

Victor was slightly taken aback.

He hadn’t expected this fellow to chase after him not to cause trouble, but to ask for advice about swordsmanship.

"Which strike?"

"The one that broke through my defense at the very end."

Edmund spoke in a low voice.

"At that moment, my sword had clearly blocked your attack trajectory, but after our blades collided, you suddenly changed your angle of attack. And the force behind that strike didn’t seem nearly as strong as I had anticipated."

Hearing this explanation, a trace of surprise flashed through Victor’s eyes.

To notice such details immediately after suffering a defeat meant Edmund wasn’t entirely lacking in perception.

It was simply that he had become too dependent on his level and sword techniques, causing him to overlook some of the most fundamental aspects of combat.

"It’s simple." Victor smiled. "Because there was a problem with your defense from the beginning."

"What?"

Edmund immediately frowned.

Victor didn’t keep him guessing and explained directly.

"Every time you’re preparing to launch an attack with your full strength, your right shoulder habitually shifts slightly forward. You also like concentrating your mana in your sword arm in advance. Although doing so increases the speed of your strikes, it also creates an extremely brief pause whenever you need to change your attack direction."

At this point, he spread his hands.

"As for that final strike, I simply took advantage of that opening."

Edmund froze. He subconsciously recalled their previous battle, and the lingering unwillingness on his face gradually gave way to a solemn expression.

Because Victor was right!

That was indeed a combat habit he had developed over many years!

However, because this method of exerting force made his attacks faster and more powerful, he had never considered it a problem. In fact, he had even deliberately reinforced the habit.

Who could have imagined that the attacking technique he had always taken pride in would become such an obvious weakness in someone else’s eyes?!

"You actually noticed all of that in such a short time?"

"More or less."

Victor smiled, naturally having no intention of explaining [Combat Intuition].

"So, before challenging someone else next time, you’d better understand your own weaknesses first."

With that said, he didn’t linger any longer and turned to leave with Evelyn.

Only Edmund remained standing there alone, silent for a long time.

It wasn’t until their figures gradually disappeared into the distance that he slowly lowered his head and looked at his right hand, which held his sword, a complicated expression appearing on his face.

"So... that’s how it was."

...

Guys Today is my Birthday