18 - 【Blade Thunder】

After finishing his duel, Erend, who had been directed to the rest area, sat down and exhaled deeply, trying to relax his tense body.

"Is this what fighting really feels like?"

Only now did Erend have the time to reflect on the experience of fighting against others for the first time. He felt his heart racing, a rush of energy coursing through him, as if his adrenaline had been fully ignited.

"It was the same before the match. Could it be that I am actually a battle junkie at heart?"

Erend started to doubt himself for a moment.

But he had to admit—this feeling was exhilarating. The thrill of victory, the sheer rush of outmaneuvering an opponent, was intoxicating.

"Thanks to you, Blackforge."

Erend held onto the activation body of the Black Furnace Demonic Sword and smiled.

"We performed well just now. This proves that our combat style is entirely feasible."

By releasing the heat of the Black Furnace Demonic Sword to generate hot wind, Erend could propel himself forward, increasing both his movement and slashing speed.

Just as Claudia had mentioned, this was an unconventional way of utilizing the magic sword—something no one else had thought of before.

The four-color magic swords were notoriously difficult to control. For an ordinary fighter, just wielding them properly was a monumental challenge. To go beyond that and develop a completely new combat technique that harnessed their potential was practically unheard of.

Only Erend, who could control the Black Furnace Demonic Sword with absolute precision and work in complete sync with it, could pull off such a feat.

This was a method Erend specifically devised to compensate for his current limitations.

Even after absorbing a large quantity of ten thousand Responding Mine, Erend's abilities had improved significantly, earning him a place among the elite fighters. However, when compared to the top twelve in Durmstrang, there was still a noticeable gap.

Without the Black Furnace Demonic Sword, Erend's talent allowed him to master any weapon he wielded, as if guided by instinct. He never had to worry about a lack of combat skills or battle experience. However, even with his talent, he was only on par with fighters like Curran.

In other words, he was still not as threatening as the top twelve in the academy.

Physically, and in terms of star power, he ranked somewhere between 30th and 50th place in Beauxbaton. Even with expert weapon skills, the gap in raw power meant he was still not a threat to the best of the best.

Even with the Black Furnace Demonic Sword, which could incinerate everything, it would be useless if he couldn't land a hit. This was why Curran had been so confident, claiming Erend would never get the chance to attack him again.

Curran was already skilled in close combat, and his physical abilities and star power surpassed Erend's. If he focused on dodging, there was a real possibility that Erend wouldn't be able to land a strike.

But if others could recognize this weakness, then Erend himself was certainly aware of it.

That was precisely why he had developed his unique heat-propelled acceleration technique—to compensate for this gap.

The results spoke for themselves.

With this new ability, Erend had managed to defeat the 13th-ranked fighter in an instant, striking fear into the hearts of even the top-ranked fighters. His very presence was now a threat to the top twelve.

"If I keep fighting like this, energy consumption is going to be a serious problem again."

Erend shook his head, feeling slightly helpless.

Releasing the Black Furnace Demonic Sword's heat was easy—it could do so on its own. It had demonstrated this capability before during fitness testing at the Equipment Bureau's underground experimental site.

The challenge was in controlling that heat, directing it into a precise hot wind, and using it for propulsion at just the right moments.

Erend was able to achieve this by relying on his absolute synchronization with the Black Furnace Demonic Sword, but it came at a heavy cost—massive star power consumption.

Under normal conditions, he could wield the Black Furnace Demonic Sword for over an hour without running out of energy. However, when utilizing hot wind propulsion to enhance combat speed, his star power would be completely drained in just twenty minutes.

"Thankfully, this is only temporary."

Thinking of the piles of ten thousand Responding Mine stored in the underground vault, Erend's expression eased.

He had discovered a way to rapidly enhance his power. As long as he ensured his strength did not spiral out of control, his physical attributes and star power would improve at an astonishing rate.

"There are still almost two months until the first round of this season's Festivals—the official start of the Phoenix Festivals."

Erend thought to himself.

"In two months, even if I don't absorb all the ten thousand Responding Mine in the warehouse, my strength will still be completely different from what it is now."

According to Erend's estimates, after each absorption, he needed about a week to adapt to the sudden surge of power before absorbing another.

In other words, in one month, he could absorb four batches of ten thousand Responding Mine and complete four upgrades.

"One month should be enough for me to reach the level where I can defeat the average top twelve members—even without using the Black Furnace."

Erend mused.

"By the time the Phoenix Festivals begin, I'll be even stronger. I should be one of the top students in all of Durmstrang."

By then, with the fully controlled Black Furnace Demonic Sword, Erend was confident he could win the Phoenix Festivals.

"However, the Phoenix Festivals is a team-based competition..."

At this thought, Erend fell into deep contemplation.

"Wow——"

Suddenly, a cheer loud enough to shake the arena erupted, startling Erend out of his thoughts.

"What's happening?"

Erend was momentarily surprised, then quickly remembered something. He opened the official Durmstrang ranking battle live stream to watch the latest match.

There, the most highly anticipated duel was about to begin.

Both combatants had entered the arena—two young girls.

And one of them, in particular, stood out.

She had an exquisite, almost doll-like beauty. Dressed in a refined middle-school uniform, her big, watery eyes gave her an innocent, delicate aura. But despite this, she carried a real sword at her waist.

Her silver hair, tied into twin tails, flowed behind her. Though petite, her figure was astonishing—almost unbelievable for someone her age.

"...What kind of two-dimensional character is this?"

Erend found it hard to believe that such a baby-faced powerhouse could exist in reality.

Wait. This was a fantasy world?

Fine. That made sense.

"She is Natasha?"

Erend stared at the seemingly fragile girl.

Natasha, a first-year middle school student, was only thirteen years old.

Yes—thirteen.

That kind of physique at thirteen? Unbelievable.

But even more shocking—this thirteen-year-old girl was currently the strongest student in all of Durmstrang.

She had only been at the academy for two months, yet had already defeated the 11th-ranked student, securing a place among the top twelve.

A month ago, she challenged and defeated the previous No.1, taking the top spot herself.

Today, she was no longer a challenger—she was the target.

And in less than a minute, the duel was over.

Watching Natasha's blindingly fast swordplay, Erend's eyes flickered.

"[Swift Wind Blade Lightning]...?"

Erend fell into deep thought once more.