Chapter 49: I’m an Attention Seeker (3)

Jordic, who didn’t know about Luke’s curse, wasn’t particularly surprised by the attack. What did catch him off guard, however, was the force behind Luke's arrows.

“Impressive,” he muttered.

There was no need for conversation. Unlike Keter, Luke had plenty of arrows. Without hesitation, Luke pulled out three arrows at once and shot them simultaneously.

As Jordic charged, he thrust his spear and intercepted all three arrows in one swift motion. But surprisingly, three more arrows flew toward him, even faster than before.

“Wh-?!”

Shooting arrows faster than I can deflect?!

Unable to deflect two of the arrows in time, Jordic was forced to spin, using his spear as support, and barely managed to dodge them.

Jordic closed in on Luke, but Luke kept retreating, continuously shooting arrows at him. Jordic couldn’t seem to get close to Luke; even his spinning spear technique wasn't working either, as each of Luke’s arrows was precisely striking the spear's shaft and disrupting its rotation. Luke's strength was entirely different from Keter's style.

Then, one of Luke’s arrows struck Jordic right in the chest. Luke had angled his bow just enough to deceive Jordic. But the wound was shallow, as Jordic, already knowing that he wouldn’t be able to dodge the arrows, used Aura Armor first.

“I thought you were a servant, but it turns out you're a proper knight. I apologize for underestimating you,” Jordic said.

With that, Jordic kicked off the ground, causing the ground to erupt beneath him. As he swung his spear widely, the aura concentrated at the tip transformed into a slicing energy wave that surged toward Luke.

Though the spear’s range was short, knights could launch long-range attacks through their aura. This technique, called Aura Flight, was a symbol of a three-star knight. The destructive power of the slash tore through Luke's arrows as it advanced. The attack was widespread and was waist-high, making it difficult to evade. Luke had two choices: flatten himself against the ground or leap into the air. Either option would leave him vulnerable and at a disadvantage.

Luke chose the latter, jumping into the air. Even in the air, he continued to shoot arrows at Jordic, who was running toward him for a second attack. It was reminiscent of Keter's earlier attack of shooting in mid-air.

Clang!

Even with his spear charged with powerful aura, Jordic couldn’t easily deflect the arrows, as Luke’s arrows were also concentrated with a matching amount of aura.

As the fight continued, one of the knights observing from a distance remarked, “It seems the captain is enjoying himself. The way he’s prolonging the fight instead of finishing it quickly...”

It wasn’t just that knight who felt this way. The other knights also sensed it. To them, it appeared that Jordic was deliberately allowing the arrows to come close, dodging and blocking them as they came.

Arbold thought differently, but he wasn’t confident enough to tell his subordinates. He could see that Luke anticipated all of Jordic’s movements. The Jordic he knew didn’t let people win, especially if that person was an enemy.

This Luke... How is he reading all of the captain’s moves? No, that’s not just reading his movements; he is basically anticipating them.

It was common sense that people’s behavior had a pattern. In battle, the person who figured out their opponent’s pattern first and used it gained the upper hand. Right now, Luke seemed like he perfectly understood Jordic’s pattern—he knew that even though Jordic had his spear lowered, he was going to unleash an overhead attack, and he knew whether Jordic would do three or four thrusts.

This was beyond just reading patterns. For someone as skilled as Jordic, showing his attack patterns so clearly was unlikely. Yet, even with all of this insight, there was no chance that Jordic would lose.

The captain is thorough

.

He still aims for complete victory even against a weaker opponent.

Luke, whether he realized it or not, was firing his arrows recklessly. He never shot just one; he fired many at a time. Even though he had two quivers, his rapid firing was quickly draining his supply. Jordic, meanwhile, was biding his time, waiting for Luke to completely run out of arrows without overexerting himself.

Suddenly, there was a slight hesitation in Luke's relentless attack. For the first time, doubt crept into his movements, as he could feel the dwindling number of arrows at his fingertips—just four left. So far, his only hits had been minor grazes on Jordic's cheek and shoulder.

There was no way Jordic would miss this opportunity. He closed the distance in a flash and launched a series of fierce attacks. These weren't just light attacks; even a graze would cause a serious injury. It was the kind of relentless assault that even a seasoned veteran would struggle to handle calmly.

“...!”

But Luke dodged every single attack. Just like Keter had earlier, he evaded it all by the narrowest of margins. However, it felt different from Keter; there was a distinct difference, something that Jordic himself sensed most keenly.

This guy dodges as if he already knows where I'll attack.

Keter avoided Jordic's attacks after seeing them. However, Luke was dodging without even needing to see them. The reason why he seemed to move similarly to Keter was because Luke was slightly slower.

Jordic, who had been attacking without a pause, suddenly leaped back. As if anticipating this, Luke fired an arrow in an instant, aiming for a vital point.

Jordic deflected the arrow and confirmed his suspicion.

This guy knows everything I'm going to do.

Jordic didn’t care to ponder how this was possible. If he wanted to kill Luke, it wouldn’t be difficult.

Looks like I'll need to use my secret technique.

The Bydent family’s secret spear technique was the Moonlight Spear Style. Both the Order of the Black Leopard and the Order of the Silver Leopard were taught four fundamental techniques: New Moon Spear, Half-Moon Spear, Reverse Half-Moon Spear, and Full Moon Spear. However, only direct descendants of the family learned the final, most powerful technique—Fifth Form: Lunar Eclipse.

This was Jordic’s first time using Lunar Eclipse in real battle as well.

Lunar Eclipse was a technique that couldn’t be practiced in sparring matches. It was too destructive to be controlled. As such, instead of practicing on people, it was practiced on mountains. The massive crescent-shaped carving on the mountain behind the Bydent family’s estate was evidence of Jordic practicing Lunar Eclipse.

Jordic’s hair stood on end, and the aura he released warped the space around him, creating a momentary sense of weightlessness.

Arbold shouted urgently. “Everyone, fall back! It’s the Lunar Eclipse!”

The Bydent knights hurriedly retreated. However, Karon of the Flying Wolf Tribe only squinted, arms crossed, and did not budge. Luke, too, stood his ground, but it wasn’t his choice.

There’s no avoiding this. No way to block it

.

That was what Luke’s curse was telling him. In truth, it was no longer a curse—it had become his instinct that warned him of incoming disaster. This instinct was what had allowed him to fight Jordic on equal terms so far. But now, that instinct was telling him it was hopeless. No matter where he moved or what action he took, nothing would make a difference. The only thing left was despair.

“Damn it, so what!”

Instead of tears, Luke cursed. Even though he knew it was meaningless, he decided to act as a true knight of Sefira. While he avoided meaningless battles, he never retreated from an ongoing one. At this moment, he wanted to fight as the best archer he could be, even in the face of inevitable defeat.

Luke nocked an arrow and aimed at Jordic. In response, Jordic gripped his spear with both hands and swung it from a distance. His spear bent like a reed, eventually tracing a perfect circle. Luke put all the aura he could into his arrow and shot it along the best trajectory he could manage.

But it was all in vain. Luke's arrow, along with his aura, disintegrated into mere dust. The next moment, Lunar Eclipse engulfed Luke entirely.

Kwaaaaah!

In the vacuum left behind by the attack, a whirlwind whipped up the dirt and debris. Jordic stood still, catching his breath, his spear now planted firmly into the ground.

“...It's over,” he muttered.

Lunar Eclipse, the secret technique of the Moonlight Spear Style, was powerful enough to carve a deep cave into a cliffside. A human hit by such an attack wouldn't even leave behind bone fragments. Where Luke once stood, there was now a deep, fan-shaped crater.

“Arbold!” Jordic called for his deputy to deal with the aftermath.

But there was no response from Arbold. Jordic's brow furrowed as Arbold always responded instantly, no matter the situation; Jordic had trained him to be that way. Yet, even after three, five seconds, there was only silence.

Jordic felt a strange sense of foreboding. It was a familiar feeling—just like when he had stabbed Keter. He turned his head toward where Keter’s body had been lying. However, Keter was no longer there. For a moment, Jordic wondered if Keter had been caught in Lunar Eclipse and died, but he was certain that wasn’t the case.

“Keter! You bastard!”

Keter wasn’t dead. In fact, it was clear now that Keter hadn’t been fighting seriously from the start. During the battle, Jordic had doubts, but now he was sure.

Why did Keter deceive me? For what reason?

He didn’t know the reason, but one thing was certain: Keter had tricked him.

“He's distracting me!”

Jordic swept away the dust from his field of vision with his spear. He was able to see in front of him as the dust settled. On the vast bean field, only two people remained standing: Jordic and Karon. But something was wrong with Karon. He was clutching his neck, and upon closer inspection, Jordic saw a deep wound running from his neck down to his navel.

Thud.

Karon collapsed.

Jordic quickly scanned the area for his subordinates, and it wasn’t long before he found them.

“What... what is this?”

As Jordic rushed over to his men, his eyes widened in shock. Their bodies were shredded, torn apart. Fortunately, no one was dead, but they were all gravely wounded, in desperate need of immediate medical attention.

“Why on earth?”

Jordic was certain he saw his subordinates escape the range of Lunar Eclipse. Besides, these weren't wounds caused by that.

So, who could have done this?

“Ugh.”

At that moment, Jordic heard a groan, but it wasn't from one of his subordinates. It was Luke. He was stumbling to his feet, emerging from the dirt-filled crater.

“...!”

Jordic's eyes were already wide with shock, so his mouth dropped open instead. It was unbelievable enough that Luke was still alive, but what stunned Jordic even more was that Luke was unharmed. He was covered in dust, but not bleeding at all. Luke had taken the Lunar Eclipse head-on, yet he stood unscathed while everyone else was on the brink of death.

Even amidst his confusion, Jordic acted swiftly. He charged at Luke to finish him off.

But just then—

“Hold it riiight there!” shouted a grating voice, followed by the sound of an arrow flying from behind.

Jordic quickly spun around, deflecting the arrow just in time.

Clang!

“Ugh?!”

Along with his spear, which he blocked the arrow with, Jordic was blown into the air from the impact. It was a tremendous arrow, which came from Keter, who was holding a bow completely unharmed.

Jordic thought this was a dream.

* * *

I think it’s the first time in this life that I’m getting a hole in my body. It’s pretty breezy to have a hole like this once in a while.

Keter didn’t forget to relax his pupils to make sure the illusion was perfect. Luke probably didn’t hear it, but for the sake of complete deception, he even slowed his heartbeat. A hole in the abdomen wasn’t fatal, but to a kid without real combat experience, it would certainly look like he died. Keter even let his face slam into the dirt.

Of course, he wasn’t dead, not even close. Just before Jordic’s spear could penetrate, Keter shifted his organs aside, making sure only his flesh was pierced.

“You...”

Maybe Jordic has caught on by now.

Jordic wasn’t talking to Luke, but Keter.

Well, I guess this isn’t enough to fool someone like you.

But it didn’t matter, because Keter wasn’t trying to deceive Jordic—he was trying to deceive Luke.

Is this not enough? This isn’t enough for Luke to awaken? My death isn’t enough to break his limit?

Keter was curious about Luke’s latent abilities as well, as even in Liqueur, which was known for having everything that existed, ability users were still a rare find.

All the ones Keter had met had absurd, overpowered abilities. There was even a saying in Liqueur about how overpowered species were nothing compared to overpowered bloodlines.

There was a guy named Maran in Liqueur, and he was also an ability user. His ability could swap out his own eyes with someone else's. When he did, he gained all their skills and powers—swordsmanship, magic, anything. He could even use two sets of powers if he swapped both eyes. That’s why they called him the Eye Collector. He had a collection of eyes from all kinds of unique or powerful individuals. He even asked for one of Keter’s eyes once, but when Keter told him it would cost a billion gold, Maran backed off.

I wonder what Luke’s ability is. I hope it won’t be that Luke wasn’t actually an ability user and this was just all my delusion.

At least, that was what Keter thought, as he had the experience of awakening someone’s ability back in Liqueur. A strong emotional shock was the condition for awakening the ability. Since that was what worked for the ability user in Liqueur, Keter figured it would be the same for Luke.

Just when Keter started to wonder if his own “death” wasn’t shocking enough, he heard the sound of an arrow being fired. It worked. Luke had shot his bow.

But it was too soon to celebrate. Whether Luke was going to reach his true potential or not still hung in the balance.

“Impressive,” Jordic remarked with a sharp tone, breaking his focus from Keter.

Now, he could watch openly without hiding.

That’s it.

Without moving his hands, Keter activated his internal mana to mend the wound in his abdomen. That would suffice; after all, his body wasn’t an ordinary human body. After all the fights he'd survived in Liqueur, it couldn’t be.

He had once lost his fingers, and even his limbs. Back then, he had risked his life to undergo extensive body modification surgery from a chimeric mage. Now, his blood carried the regenerative properties of trolls, so even with damaged organs or severed limbs, he could regenerate. This recovery rate became even faster when combined with his own medical skills.

Once he finished sealing the wound, Keter turned his head slightly to watch the fight between Luke and Jordic.

Hmm... Not bad for a kid. He's got some real fire in him.

Jordic, who had been underestimating Luke at first, was now fully focused on the fight. Jordic was so concentrated that he didn’t even notice Keter slowly moving away. Keter hid behind the tall stalks of the soybean field to properly watch the battle. After watching them exchange blows twice, he had a clear idea of what Luke’s ability might be.

It’s probably precognition. The window is probably around 0.3 to 0.5 seconds.

Keter was able to draw this conclusion because Luke was perfectly anticipating all of Jordic's moves. Normally, when there was a vast skill difference between fighters, the stronger one could easily predict the novice’s actions. But Luke was nowhere near Jordic's level—at best, he might be on par with Arbold. And yet, he was reading Jordic’s every move. That had to be an ability, no doubt about it.

Abilities weren’t something that could be replicated with magic; the origin of magic was these abilities anyway.

But... if that’s all he's got, it’s a bit disappointing.

Precognition was indeed an overpowered ability, but that wasn’t enough to qualify Luke to be Keter’s subordinate. To be blunt, those kinds of abilities were a dime a dozen back in Liqueur. A replaceable ability lacked rarity.

And—well, look at this. Jordic’s caught on too; he figured out Luke’s ability.

The atmosphere in the field was signaling that the battle was nearing its end. Jordic was clearly preparing for a massive attack, taking a stance for something big.

“Everyone, fall back! It’s the Lunar Eclipse!”

Seeing that the dregs of Bydent are retreating, it must be an area attack. I think it’s my turn to step in. Luke’s ability isn’t as top-tier as I hoped, but I can’t just let him die like this. Gramps Jacques would be heartbroken, and then he wouldn’t be able to serve as my butler anymore. I can’t have that. Wait...

Luke most likely also knew that he couldn’t handle Jordic’s ultimate move, the Lunar Eclipse.

So why isn’t he dodging? He’s not even scared.

If so, Keter couldn’t do anything about it.

If you’re bluffing, Luke, just die now. That would be a less miserable end for you.

Keter took a step back away from the range of Lunar Eclipse. Then, the attack hit Luke directly. Right up until the moment of impact, Luke wasn’t doing anything noticeable.

“Ugh!”

“What the—?!”

What just happened?

Suddenly, screams erupted from all around. It was Karon and the dregs of Bydents. Unable to contain his curiosity, Keter stood up slightly to sneak a peek at the situation.

Everyone but him was wounded, bearing deep gashes as if clawed by some beast.

Did someone ambush us? That’s impossible. There’s no one else here. So when did they get attacked?

“

Cough

,

cough

.”

A faint voice reached Keter.

This is the kid’s voice. He’s alive?

Just from the sound of the cough, Keter could tell that Luke was tired, but he didn’t suffer any injuries.

How is that possible? That Lunar Eclipse Jordic unleashed... even my bones and flesh would have been separated if I took it head-on. Wait... could it be...? No way.

The only explanation of the fact that Luke was completely fine was his ability. Keter didn’t know how it exactly worked yet, but from what he saw now, the attack had been reflected.

A reflection ability is one of the rarest and most powerful abilities. This changes everything. Luke, you're my friend now.

“Urgh.”

Such a clueless guy. Jordic is going to notice you if you make sounds like that while getting up. Well, I’ve already seen everything I need to, so there’s no point in pretending to be dead anymore.

“Hold it riiight there!”

Keter shot up and immediately fired an

Aura Arrow. Keter’s Aura Arrow wasn’t like others, though. It was coated with magic, so none of the aura dissipated as it flew.

“Argh!?”

Jordic blocked Keter’s arrow but was clearly shaken.

Guess it’s his first time experiencing this kind of firepower.

Jordic and Luke both stared at him in surprise, as if they saw someone come back to life.

I can’t help but introduce myself if you look at me like that. I’m an attention seeker, you know.

“Call me the Immortal of Sefira.”