-Bang!!!

With the midterm evaluation fast approaching, Laurent and I were sparring in the training ground.

She heard I could use elements like Trinia, and wanted to have a go.

I fired a series of shots at Laurent, but none of them landed effectively.

Laurent’s unique weapon is a pair of gauntlets, which have the power to manipulate attraction and repulsion.

She pulled all my bullets to one spot and crumpled them together.

Then she pushed off the ground and charged at me, reaching out with one hand as she closed the distance.

She intended to catch me with her power of attraction.

Before entering her range, I pulled out a grenade and threw it, leaping out of her zone.

-BOOM!!!

The grenade was sucked into her grasp, enveloping her in the explosion.

But, the explosion couldn't penetrate through the repulsion force that Laurent emitted and dissipated ineffectively.

“How am I supposed to win when my attacks don’t work?”

“You haven't used elemental attacks yet, try harder.”

In response to my astonishment, Laurent flashed a confident smile.

It really seems like there’s no solution.

I attempted a few more strategies.

I applied the skill [Elemental Attribute Infusion] that I recently acquired to my shotgun.

I scattered the shotgun pellets, imbued with the earth element, into the air as if spraying them.

If even one of those managed to hit Laurent...

The earth element would latch on and solidify, immobilizing Laurent's movements, but...

This time, Laurent swept them aside with repulsion and charged forward.

It's like dealing with a tank equipped with a protective shield.

"Huff..."

This time, instead of dodging, I charged directly at Laurent.

Laurent's eyes twitched, as though she hadn't expected this move.

However, she remained steady, extending one hand to seize my neck with attraction.

I used my leap skill again, jumping over Laurent's head.

Successfully avoiding her grasp, right when I got closest to her...

I thrust the shotgun right in front of Laurent's face.

And I infused the shotgun with the two most hazardous elements: fire and lightning, and fired.

I thought it would reach her before she could nullify it with attraction, but at that moment...

-Click

The trigger made no sound when pulled. It was as if every sound was drawn into something.

"Oh no..."

Laurent's golden eyes flashed in that brief instant.

The pellets of the shotgun lost their force and crumbled in front of Laurent's eyes.

This occurs when the energy, or mana, in the pellets is entirely exhausted.

In other words, Laurent succeeded in absorbing the energy of the pellets with her power of attraction.

She then extended her other hand towards me, releasing a force combined with fire and lightning.

-BOOM!!!

Laurent's special skill

[Taeguk]

It absorbs the opponent's power, rotates it within the body using attraction and repulsion, and then releases it back.

If caught by this technique, one must withstand an attack that is dozens of times stronger than their own.

As soon as I saw Laurent preparing Taeguk, I raised my shield and used the impact of the strike on the shield to leap backward.

I was flung meters back by the force and only came to a stop after crashing into the training ground wall.

-Cough!

A sharp breath escaped my lips.

"Is this all you've got? How boring?"

Laurent murmured as she walked towards me, a victor's smile on her lips.

It’s the kind of face that makes you want to play a little prank.

"Normally, this would be everything, but..."

While Laurent was off guard, I prepared my secret move.

There are a total of seven elements.

Water, fire, earth, wind, lightning, light, and darkness.

Mixing two of these elements is called Dual Core.

Mixing three is Trinity.

Mixing five is Full Spectrum.

Mixing all seven is called Genesis.

Genesis is a legendary level of skill.

Full Spectrum is a technique once used by the strongest superhuman but is now obsolete.

I could comfortably use Dual Core.

However, if I pushed myself a bit, I could handle Trinity.

I took a grenade from my pocket and mixed three elements.

The notoriously difficult ones.

Fire, wind, and lightning.

When gathered together, they push against each other, and if two settle, they team up to expel the remaining element.

For a Trinity grenade, it's essential to balance all the elements precisely and to use sufficient force immediately to prevent them from scattering.

This time, I was lucky enough to synthesize the Trinity grenade on the first try.

-Thud!

The Trinity grenade, infused with three elements, pulsed violently as if it were about to explode.

"...Oh? That..."

"It's a gift."

I threw it, and Laurent was startled.

The power contained in this grenade surpassed what Laurent could handle.

And power beyond one's capacity couldn't be absorbed in the first place.

Laurent would have to deal with the Trinity grenade without [Taeguk].

Duel result.

I won.

Laurent ultimately couldn't handle the power within the Trinity and was overpowered.

"Just by containing three elements, it became this powerful..."

The result was unimaginable. It felt like if previous fights were using an airgun, now they were fighting with a real gun.

"The power of the elements gives the sense of replenishing something that was originally meant to be there..."

Shotguns and grenades. These seemed like innate weapons designed to use elements in battle from the start.

Additionally, although I gained abilities from dreams, I could handle all seven attributes, and given the high success rate of fusion among attributes, it seemed I had considerable talent with them.

While fusing all attributes might be impossible... Fusion of five attributes, meaning up to the Full Spectrum, was a talent worth attempting.

To think such talent resided in the body of a one-star character like me...

Although using it once would completely drain my mana, even considering that, I displayed the potential of a three-star level.

Just as I was marveling at my own capabilities, Laurent emerged from a cloud of dust far away.

“Weren’t you knocked out?”

Her clothes were dusty here and there, but it looked like she had absorbed the impact in various ways.

Anyway... Even though she had dissipated the attack, it seemed she took quite a hit. Laurent's eyes were unfocused.

"Whew... That was quite a sting."

Feigning bravado, Laurent came charging at me.

Faced with the sudden situation, I tried to lift my shield and leap aside to escape.

Unfortunately.

"Hey!!! I'm out of mana!!! Stop!!!"

With my mana depleted, I couldn't take any action.

It seemed Laurent, upon jumping in, realized this too. She tried desperately to halt her momentum by manipulating force and attraction in the air. However, Laurent's speed was too fast.

-Whoosh!

Laurent flew towards me like a missile and crashed directly into me.

“Ugh!”

That was my last memory.

I found myself watching television alone in a room.

Hmm... Another dream?

Unlike before, this seemed like an ordinary dream. I probably passed out during the sparring match.

But more importantly, a drama was playing on the television.

[I will become the greatest superhuman like you, sister.]

I've seen this before. It was one of the sub-stories from the gacha game I often played.

The older sister of the child appearing in that drama...

One of the superhumans once called the strongest in the world.

Iscaliote.

She worked hard to fulfill her duty as the strongest.

Cleared dungeons that no one else could conquer, rushed into deadly situations to rescue isolated squads, and fought against monsters that everyone feared.

[Sister, you are the strongest in the world! I want to be like you!]

When the sister heard those words from her younger sibling, she responded with a bitter smile.

The strongest in the world.

That might be true.

She was stronger than any human.

But she wasn't stronger than every monster.

The girl known as Iscaliote, once celebrated as the strongest in the world, was defeated by a monster and left crippled.

[The bitter smile the girl gave in response to her sibling's words—it was perhaps because she lamented having to fight creatures stronger and more frightening than herself.]

As the narration flowed, I, as always, shed tears.

It was a sorrowful story.

"…"

I dreamt about a game story.

Who was... Iscaliote again?

Memories related to dreams tend to fade easily once one wakes up.

By the time I was fully awake, the memories from my dream were mostly gone.

‘Where am I?’

I looked around to assess my surroundings.

A familiar setting and a familiar bed... it was the infirmary.

‘Am I coming here too often?’

I noticed Laurent sitting next to me, looking somewhat awkward. She seemed to be using tissues to stop a nosebleed.

"What, what are you looking at! I can get hurt during a spar too..."

"..."

Then, I turned my head to look at the woman lying in the bed to my left.

A familiar face.

It was the player I had met yesterday; her name was definitely Hiro.

“…Hello?”

She greeted me, so I asked her, “Why are you here?”

“I got injured while helping Trinia train.”

“We’re in the same boat, then.”

Trinia.

Hearing that name brought clarity to my memory.

The girl from my dream.

The strongest in the world, and the remarkable figure who achieved the fusion of five elements, known as Full Spectrum.

Iscaliote

Her only sister's name was Trinia.

As I was recalling my knowledge from the game, a strikingly beautiful blond woman appeared—she was the school nurse.

"Cadet Gardner."

"Yes."

Under the subtle pressure from the nurse, I straightened my posture.

"I believe I mentioned that you need to rest."

"I'm sorry."

"I understand you're working hard to maintain order at the Academy, but you need to take care of yourself first."

"Yeah, be more careful! Last time you were completely wrecked..."

Laurent, sensing an opportunity to tease, began her usual playful ribbing without a hint of awareness.

"Cadet Laurent."

The nurse's face twisted into a grim expression, silencing her immediately.

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