WeTried Translations
Translator: Coughing Baby
Editor: Coughing Baby
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
Chapter 85: Release
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Caitlin had lost consciousness.
For a while, I stared down at her.
“...”
The hand I carefully held was cold and stiff.
Her body was covered in sand, and white frost crackled around her fingertips.
The frost had spread across her bronze skin, steadily stealing away her warmth.
The girl was a complete mess.
-If you lose this, I’ll kill you...
Those were the words she’d spat out right before passing out.
I savored their blunt weight.
Her arms and legs must have been numb, and her mind must have been drifting in and out of consciousness.
Even then, Caitlin hadn’t shown the slightest sign of groveling or breaking.
‘She’s relentless. Really.’
A quiet snicker escaped me.
I smiled softly.
Without thinking, I reached out and rested my palm against her sleeping cheek.
Her skin was so cold that I had to keep my hand there a little longer.
“You really gave it your all.”
I lent her my body heat, warming her frozen cheek, if only a little.
It was my own way of showing affection.
Caitlin had lived up to my expectations perfectly.
Her stubborn venom, that terrible jealousy and inferiority complex, were all so admirable.
“Please rest.”
So this was the kind of person you were.
“I’ll make sure we win.”
I’d certainly said I believed in her, but what was I supposed to do when she went and became this impressive?
I’d almost fallen for her on the spot.
-It means I believe in you that much.
-Miss Caitlin’s feet are the fastest.
I really did like people like that.
People who clung desperately to something even knowing they would break. People who poured their lives into filling a leaking jar, even knowing it would never be full. Even if those dark, ugly emotions were not bright ones like love, happiness, or joy, they could still become a step forward.
If we recognized the value of steps taken like that, if we did not see foolish people’s foolish actions as nothing but foolishness, if we came to accept them, then perhaps anything could become an opportunity for a person to change.
I rummaged through my clothes.
Before long, a brightly colored sword was in my hand.
Caitlin lay sprawled among the bushes. Her condition was as follows.
[Status Ailments]
-Overload
-Frostbite
-Mana Exhaustion
-Forced Weakness
Just how badly had she pushed herself to be carrying that many debuffs?
I swung my sword through the empty air beside Caitlin as if cutting them away.
The moment I did, Status Effect-Parrying activated and removed the debuffs one by one.
[Status Effect-Parrying]
-Description: Status ailment effects inflicted on a specific target are treated as ‘attacks.’ When the system user performs a ‘parry,’ they can remove the status ailment effects from the target.
Pshh, pshh.
Several soft bursts, like air escaping, rang out.
Then I pressed the tip of the sparkling Balloon Knife against the girl’s chest.
Ding!
[Balloon Knife+]
-Category: Growth-Type Weapon
-Rank: D+
-Maximum Growth Rank: None
-Status: Colorful, Soft, Sparkly
-Description: A special Balloon Knife. It emits a faint purifying light from its blade. You can use the passive skill ‘Sparkle!’ This weapon can grow.
[Skill Name: Sparkle!]
-Heals the target stroked with this weapon.
-The range and effectiveness of this ability increase as the exclusive weapon’s rank rises.
It was the first time I had used this skill.
A faint glow from the Balloon Knife enveloped Caitlin.
Her blotchy skin calmed, and the small cuts across her body began to heal.
Srrr...
Its effects weren’t powerful yet, since the weapon’s rank was still low.
Still, it was enough to help her stabilize.
Caitlin’s complexion had visibly improved as well.
As I laid her flat, a notification rang from the crystal ball in my pocket.
Beep beep beep!
[The team has suffered its first elimination.]
[Team member ‘Caitlin Lettus’ has been removed from the match after being judged incapable of combat.]
[Sprinter absence confirmed. The team leader may adjust the settings to fill the vacant Sprinter role.]
A message announced her elimination from the match.
I casually turned off the crystal ball.
After all, their flag was already in our hands.
Holding the thick flagpole, I spun around.
“Lady Glacia.”
“...”
A blue-haired girl stood before me.
She had crossed all the way to the boundary of Zone 2.
Unlike Caitlin, who was a wreck, Rin didn’t have a single scratch on her.
[Team Rin]
-Sprinter: Dexi Cluise
-Assistant: Rin Glacia
-Keeper:
-Eliminated: Gale Levint
She had already switched roles.
Gale was the one I’d knocked out a few minutes ago. Rin seemed to have rearranged the roles as soon as the notification arrived.
A sharp chill leaked from the girl, cooling the hot and humid jungle air.
“...”
While I tended to Caitlin, Rin hadn’t made any move.
She had simply stood there and watched me.
I spoke to the expressionless girl.
“Thank you for waiting.”
“Yeah.”
Rin nodded.
Her blue eyes blinked without any life in them.
“I didn’t know you had healing abilities too.”
“I’m fairly versatile.”
“I see.”
She really did react like a doll.
I slipped the flag I had been holding into my clothes.
Then, as I took out Wriggler, the girl who had been watching spoke.
“Are you going to run?”
“Who knows?”
“Give up. I’ll catch you anyway.”
“You’re awfully certain you’ll catch me.”
“I know because we clashed earlier. You’re strong, but not strong enough to be my opponent.”
“You won’t know until we try. I wasn’t at my full strength earlier either.”
“It’ll hurt.”
“Youth is supposed to hurt.”
“Yeah. I don’t have any bad feelings toward you.”
“Same here.”
A brief stalemate.
That thin peace broke after only a few words.
The instant we fell silent, both of us kicked off the ground at the same time.
“Just go down.”
“Activate. Scythe.”
Clang!
The scythe and sword collided.
The heavy crash rattled my ears.
Even as she continued her sword forms, Rin murmured in surprise.
“You’re not running.”
“I think it’s worth trying.”
“Don’t you plan to win?”
“Winning is the only thing I’m planning.”
Clang! Screech...!
Only sparks flew through the air.
We traded blows second by second.
The pocket watch hidden in my palm ticked away.
Each time I pressed its button, I deflected the girl’s sword strikes.
“Hup...!”
Pshh.
Pshh.
Parry after parry succeeded.
Her attacks narrowly missed again and again.
Of course, the difference in our weight classes was overwhelming, so I couldn’t avoid everything.
Her flowing chain of attacks continued, and for an instant, I lost the rhythm.
“Got you.”
The girl slipped into that opening.
My mistake came back with crushing force.
-Rin Glacia Style Offensive Swordsmanship, First Form-
‘Icebreaker’
Slaaash!
The air around us tore apart with a vicious sound.
Trees standing nearby were cut down in droves.
If not for the mask’s effect, I would’ve been knocked out on the spot.
Ding!
[The item ‘Mask of the Evil God’ has activated.]
-Remaining Uses: 2/3
-Time Until Uses Recharge: 47 hours 59 minutes 59 seconds
The status window flickered before me.
Without giving me a moment to rest, the girl rushed in again.
“That’s strange. I thought that would definitely knock you down.”
“I’m tougher than I look...!”
“I’m surprised. I didn’t think you’d come out without even a scratch.”
Creak!
My opponent was known to be strong enough to match most faculty members.
I couldn’t afford even the smallest mistake.
Click. The watch slowed the world.
I deflected her rushing strike, then swung my scythe deep in return.
“It won’t work.”
Clang!
The timing had been perfect, but she blocked it as if it were only natural.
Not even a trace of emotion appeared in her eyes.
Her indifferent strike knocked my scythe away.
“You should’ve run. You might have managed it.”
“I probably should have. You really are ridiculously strong.”
“Do you really have no intention of surrendering?”
“Unfortunately, that’s right.”
I gave a light shrug.
After only a few clashes, both my arms throbbed as if they would come loose.
Still, I didn’t show it.
“I was threatened with death.”
-If you lose this, I’ll kill you...
“She said she’d kill me if I lost.”
Someone had lived up to the expectations I placed in them.
Then it was only right, as a person, that I repay Caitlin for meeting those expectations.
I gripped my scythe tightly.
Standing straight, I faced the girl.
“We’ll have to win this practical exam.”
“You really don’t listen.”
The air grew cold and heavy.
White breath bloomed like a flower between her pale red lips.
“Let’s finish this.”
Rin raised her sword.
No longer holding it in one hand, she gripped it with both.
Immediately, deep blue sword energy swarmed through the jungle like a storm.
-Rin Glacia Style Offensive Swordsmanship, Seventh Form-
‘Snow Calamity’
Crackle, crackle!
Blue light burst wildly around her.
The energy within her body exploded, packed tighter and tighter onto the sword blade.
She compressed the sword energy again and again until hundreds of layers formed.
A white haze pressed down over all of Zone 2.
“Sorry. This will hurt a little.”
Rumble!
A level of power far too overwhelming for a student.
Still, I had no intention of backing down now.
“I’m the one who should apologize.”
This was what I had been waiting for.
The girl seemed to have decided this was the end and was finally fighting in earnest.
Without being pushed back by that momentum, I raised my scythe.
The corners of my mask’s mouth curled up grotesquely.
“This will hurt a little.”
A message appeared before my eyes.
It was the trump card I had prepared.
Ding!
[The second skill of the exclusive weapon ‘Black Mist’ activates.]
[Skill Name: Devour]
-Stores all damage inflicted on the user.
-The stored damage can be released.
A strike containing Javert’s full power.
Damage amplified fourfold through a bug.
Swoosh!
Rin had already closed the distance and was swinging her white blade.
Click.
I pressed the watch, and the world slowed.
A freezing winter was falling over my head.
Within that unfolding scene, I spoke the promised activation phrase.
“...Release.”
A faint resonance.
The next moment, a soundless flash swallowed the entire field.
Footnotes:
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