Chapter 226: Just Playing Around!
The Amakakeru-Ryū-no-Hirameki Second Stage that Ikki mimicked wasn't perfect.
By focusing on the second strike, he had overlooked the follow-through effects of the first strike.
Even so, his ability to replicate and evolve the Amakakeru-Ryū-no-Hirameki into a two-stage drawing technique after seeing it just once greatly surprised Luke.
This sword technique wasn't the original Hiten-Mitsurugi-Ryu - it was one perfected by the Main God Space and further personally modified by him.
Being able to replicate his secret technique in such a short time was already remarkably difficult.
Moreover, Luke knew that Ikki's 'Mimicry/Imitation Sword Technique' had a further stage of mastery.
That was 'Complete Mastery'.
Not just sword techniques, but human actions themselves all have core principles.
Whether understood as dreams, goals, values, or otherwise - all human actions stem from these such 'principles'.
Ikki could use his unique insight to see through a person's essence.
Then, after understanding a person's principles of action.
What would the opponent do? Advance or retreat? Attack or defend?
All of their actions would become clear to him.
Luke actually knew of one other person with a similar ability - Himura Kenshin.
In the Hiten-Mitsurugi-Ryu style, there was a technique that wasn't really a sword technique, called 'Reading'.
Its fundamental principle was also to see through the enemy's action principles to achieve preemptive strikes or counter-attacks.
But this move didn't have much to do with the 'sword' itself, and among all generations of Hiten-Mitsurugi-Ryu successors, only Himura Kenshin had mastered it.
When it came to sword techniques or even skills in general, Luke could do similar things.
However, seeing through a person's essence through observation alone wasn't so easy.
People like Kurogane Ikki and Himura Kenshin possessed an entirely different kind of 'quality'.
But perhaps as a drawback of this 'quality', both of them had deficiencies in 'power'.
Himura Kenshin had been called the weakest successor in Hiten-Mitsurugi-Ryu's history by his master.
While this might not have been true, his unremarkable physical abilities were widely acknowledged.
As for Kurogane Ikki...
Luke looked at his unconscious future roommate in the distance and shook his head with some regret.
"Looks like I'll have to wait for another chance to witness the 'Ittou Shura'."
With this, the mock battle had completely ended.
Like Stella, Ikki was carried away by medical staff.
Since they were defeated by the illusionary form of Device, they had only lost all their stamina and fallen into severe fatigue.
The two hadn't sustained serious physical injuries, and after a simple examination confirming they were fine, they were carried back to their dormitory to rest.
"Mmm..."
Awakening from darkness, Stella opened her eyes to see an unfamiliar ceiling.
"Where am I..."
"Awake, are you?"
Kurono was sitting by the bed, smoking.
"This is your room. Since it was a mock battle and you weren't injured, you were brought back to your room to rest."
"By the way, this will be your dormitory from now on."
"Next door is Ashburn and Kurogane's room."
Stella watched the smoke slowly drift from Kurono's mouth.
The thought 'Isn't smoking prohibited in student dormitories?' flashed through the girl's mind.
However, she currently had neither the spirit nor strength to point this out.
"So... it wasn't a dream."
Now fully awake, Stella acknowledged the cruel reality.
She had lost.
And lost in an incomprehensible way.
"I couldn't even see how my opponent struck... so this is how heavy... defeat feels."
"Well, don't worry too much about it. At your current level, you couldn't possibly beat that boy."
Kurono's words drew the attention of the dejected Stella.
"Director, who exactly is he?"
The girl looked at Shinguuji Kurono, her voice heavy with confusion.
"I've never heard of such a student knight, and that final strike... that..."
'How could such a monster-level student remain unknown?'
Understanding the girl's meaning, Kurono handed over the prepared documents.
They contained Luke's background information.
As a princess, Stella had the authority to view these documents, though the content was certainly edited.
"These documents contain some of his information. If you want more detailed intelligence, you'll have to gather it yourself."
"With your status, that shouldn't be too difficult."
"As for that final strike... you can use the student handbook, right?"
The student handbook Kurono mentioned was a phone-sized electronic device uniformly issued by the seven schools in the Far East.
Its performance was quite exceptional, serving as student ID, identification card, wallet, phone, internet device, and more.
Similar to the school badge Luke had received in Asterisk City.
"Um... I'm somewhat... with electronic devices..."
Kurono had only asked casually, but Stella's hesitant response was unexpected.
Sighing helplessly, Kurono picked up Stella's student handbook and opened the campus website.
"Today's two mock battles were recorded by some students. Though the quality isn't great, you can get the general idea."
"If you want to understand that final strike, I suggest not watching your own battle. The later fight between Ashburn and Kurogane might be clearer."
"At least you can make out some hints from Kurogane's movements."
Saying this, Kurono showed the pulled-up video to Stella.
"The second match? Kurogane?"
Initially confused, Stella was soon completely absorbed by the video displayed on the handbook.
Both Luke and Ikki's sword exchange and their later secret technique clash left the girl utterly shocked.
As someone who also used a sword as her weapon, she could better appreciate the gap between herself and those two.
"Vermillion, do you remember how you answered when I asked why you came to study abroad?"
"To become stronger..."
Stella instinctively looked toward Director Kurono.
"Then try chasing after these two with all your might."
"You've seen Kurogane's swordsmanship, and he still has a trump card that can turn defeat into victory."
"As for Luke, in his home country he's known as the 'Fallen Star Sword Emperor'. They say his sword techniques are as magnificent as falling stars."
"But..."
Stella's words halted as soon as they began.
She wanted to ask why the video didn't show what the Director had just described.
But then she understood on her own.
"This level... was still the result of those two not being serious..."
"That's exactly right."
Kurono stood up and walked toward the door.
Before leaving, she left Stella with one final comment.
"In my view, this was just two children who'd finally found playmates fooling around. Anyone who thinks that was their full power... heh."
With that, Kurono left the girl's room.
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