F-ranker Sword Saint: My Soulbound Sword is Secretly SSS-tier!-Chapter 295: Cold Practicality

"Holy sh— err, H-H-Heavens!! Good gods, goddesses!! Are my eyes deceiving me?!"

Nathalie’s voice boomed across the arena.

She rubbed her eyes repeatedly, as though trying to cleanse them of obstructions.

"No, no they are not!! Through some unheard of method, Daru Finnley hid the true identity of his blade behind the facade of an F-tier Omaru and has now revealed that he is the elusive and legendary novice Onimaru Kunitsuna!!!"

As her words crashed upon the crowd, a second wave of deeper, true realization struck, and the arena went mad.

But the ones who were truly losing their minds were the journalists. They had just stumbled upon what was probably the juiciest and most career-advancing scoop in the history of journalism.

The scouts were a close second, except for those sent by the Seven Sword Guilds.

Meanwhile, at the main stage, Skylar’s smile grew colder.

"Now that’s more like it. After all, what if you suddenly decide not to reveal your true self anymore after I defeated you? Wouldn’t I be credited less for merely stopping the fairy tale run of a fake F-ranker instead of defeating the mysterious Onimaru Kunitsuna?"

"Hmph." Daru snorted in response. "What ridiculous concerns."

Unlike the crowd, he was not in a great mood, having just revealed something he did not want to but needed to.

Daru dismissed the Soulbound Oni Mask and got back to striking a fighting pose as though he hadn’t just dropped a bombshell revelation.

"Draw your sword and let’s get this over with," he said with the coldness of a winter night.

Skylar sneered at him, but proceeded to draw Ourion anyway.

The crowd’s intense reaction began to settle, but the moment their eyes fell upon the matchup on the main stage, a mad rush of excitement devoured them.

Their heads began to hurt due to the overwhelming rollercoaster of emotions they’ve been subjected to.

The legendary mysterious novice who had been on par with the four brightest versus one of the strongest SS-rankers of this generation.

Onimaru Kunitsuna versus Ourion.

Somehow, in this thriving yet modest city of Crownspire, their eyes were about to be treated to this delicacy of a match.

What are the odds of two youngsters of such levels of talent residing in the same region in the same cluster?

Still, there was a bizarre sense of slight disappointment at the back of everyone’s minds. It was just that they were not sober enough to pinpoint the reason and acknowledge it yet.

Regardless, noticing that both representatives were ready, the referee — barely having just recollected his wits — stepped forward and extended his right arm.

It seemed that Skylar was done speaking his mind. For now, at least...

Without waiting for the crowd and even the hostess to recover, the referee pulled his arm to the sky, roaring with unusual passion:

"Begin!!"

The air trembled for a moment as both youngsters exploded into action.

This was the first time everyone saw Skylar take the initiative to move at the start of the match, immediately hopping on his sword and flying away.

Daru was caught off guard by what he perceived as cowardice, but he quickly acted, skidding into an L-stance, his sword flashing twice.

A spinning cross slash drifted across the air, attempting to knock the Sky Prince off his domain.

However, before anyone could even process that the match had begun, Skylar nimbly backflipped off Ourion, narrowly dodging the sword projectile with the grace and skills of a professional skater.

The moment he landed on his feet atop the flat of his flying jikdo, the arena was a storm of cheers.

"W-What flashy sequence!" Nathalie’s voice resounded once more. "The Sky Prince showcases his connection with his kingdom!! But what could he be planning by avoiding Onimaru Kunitsuna?"

Soon, Skylar answered that question.

The crowd would’ve booed at the sight of five darned tonics and three pills. However, the one using them would be Skylar Ashwind, and very few dared risk getting on his bad side.

They could only watch as he downed all of them with a shameless smile on his face.

Daru, too, only watched coldly. His opponent clearly wouldn’t hold back in using his inventory, just as Iris had said.

"Ah, that’s better." Skylar began, looking down from his high perch. "Shall we continue?"

"Depends on whether you come down or not." Daru shot back, to which his opponent only smiled.

"But does it really?"

In the next moment, Skylar showcased a new level of airborne mastery, circling above him while occasionally jumping off Ourion, catching his sword to fire various projectiles — Wind Slashes and Cutter Halos.

Daru slashed at the first Wind Slash, only to find out that it was not as fragile as the Sword Skills of his previous opponents.

He destroyed it with a standard attack, but was sent staggering back a few steps as a result.

The Cutter Halo, meanwhile, was tougher and could not be destroyed so easily. Daru could only dodge them.

A one-sided scene unfolded.

Skylar, kept airborne by his weapon, continued to attack with low-cooldown yet somehow powerful and enduring Sword Skills, whittling down his opponent’s health and stamina from a safe distance.

But Daru wasn’t too pressed to fight back. At least not yet.

After all, the tyrannical prince was probably losing stamina far more quickly than he was. As long as he kept on surviving, his foe would eventually have to come down and face him.

"Ruthless! Unfair! Ashwind’s second young master proves superior in the early stages of the battle!! Will the renowned and mysterious Onimaru Kunitsuna lose just like this? Or will the Sky Prince be eventually forced to face his mighty blade in direct combat?!"

Skylar, with a smile on his face, whirled in the skies, continuing with his shameless but effective tactic that forced his opponent into a helpless defensive, and Alopecion from the sidelines to grit his teeth at the realization that he wasn’t being taken seriously earlier.

Still, Daru remained calm and continued doing what he had to do.

His situation was riskier, but he thought of it as advantageous, contrary to the majority’s belief.

The Sky Prince was burning through his stamina; he was not. Daru wasn’t really suffering too much damage, either.

Then, it just happened. The aerial assault stopped.

He looked skywards, finding his adversary just hovering a safe distance away, drinking stamina potions while flashing a taunting look his way.

Daru felt the urge to shoot him down with Crescent Dicer, but eventually decided not to.

His goal was to have Skylar exhaust his stamina reserves, however deep they may be. It would be unwise to tap on his reserves impulsively.

He could only watch from below.

Naturally, the crowd was displeased. There’s got to be a limit to one’s shamelessness. Still, there were a few who became fans of his cold practicality that transcended guilt and shame.

This was the first Inter-Class Representative Competition that was turned into a novice event in the Myriad Sword Realm, and since it has been decided by the Novice Affairs Department that one’s inventory is a part of one’s arsenal as a Bladeborn — a decision they will be criticized for and will regret after today — there was nothing wrong with what the Sky Prince was doing.

It wasn’t like he was breaking the rules, was he?

Tossing two empty vials of stamina potions, Skylar wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, locking gazes with Daru.

"There’s more where that came from."