1 Second Invincibility in the Game Chapter 241

The Aizen Arena is peaceful today as well.

Since there’s still ti until the finals, the audience that used to boo at like monkeys throwing banana peels has vanished.

Thanks to that, I could spend so quiet ti thinking about the future Dorosian.

“Hmm.”

At the very least, she’s not an enemy.

That fact puts in quite a tricky position.

Because from my perspective, that woman is the kidnapper who dragged to Asares.

On top of that, she even threw into a hellish environnt by putting into the body of a scoundrel who should’ve been dead—clearly a preditated act of murder.

And yet, I have no choice but to consider her an ally because her goal is so clear.

Her thods might have been a bit sociopathic, but her job was to prevent destruction, and I was forced to join in just to survive.

Still, thinking about it again makes so angry I want to lose my mind.

But framing it this way helps calm down a little.

Maybe her chaotic actions were just steps toward achieving what she wanted.

And yet, I get angry again when I think about the one thing I still don’t understand.

I get wanting to change the storyline drastically to reach a different ending, but why did she have to drag into it?

Why , out of all people?

And whether it was given to on purpose or I got it for so other reason, I still don’t understand why soone would go through all that trouble just for soone with a asly “one-second invincibility.”

This was the only thing she ever said that might have been a clue:

—You’re not just so pawn. Maybe you haven’t had a choice until now, but soday, you will. Just believe that much.

So apparently, this “one-second invincibility” skill is ant to beco important at so point.

And choice, huh...

I don’t know exactly what that ans, but it definitely implies it’ll work in my favor.

To clear my tangled mind, I shook the empty glass in front of Selli.

“One more.”

“...We’re out of ice.”

“Go get more.”

“Ugh, it’s really far from here to the kitchen though...”

“Good, you need the exercise. You’ve been slacking off lately. Have you gained weight?”

“I—I have not! I just grew a bit from getting older!”

When hit with that brutal truth, Selli, who’d been making excuses, turned to glance back at with a sharp glare before walking toward the door.

“But young master, aren’t you a mage? Can’t you just make your own ice?”

“If I could, I would’ve. But I’d rather drink that than ice you made—I don’t trust what weird stuff you might pull.”

“F-fine, I’ll go get it.”

Selli quickly hid her dumbfounded expression and left the room.

A quiet voice slipped in through the door crack.

“No way soone like that beat Wisdom... ridiculous.”

“This door is thin. I can hear everything.”

clatter clatter —her footsteps sped up.

Fifteen minutes passed.

I heard a knock and told them to co in.

But instead of Selli, soone even more unpleasant to look at barged in with urgency.

“Ricks...”

“Hersel, we’ve got a problem. You need to co to the lobby, now.”

I swallowed down the words I wanted to say—“That’s a big problem, alright. I’ll have to see more people I hate if I go to the lobby.”

And also this one:

“Why should I?”

Nope, failed to swallow that one.

“I know I’m interrupting your break, but I’m serious. There’s a fight.”

A fight?

That actually sounds interesting.

“Between who?”

“Silla and Saila.”

Not surprising.

It’s sothing that’s been brewing ever since the match with Valient was set.

Well then, maybe I’ll go take a look since I’ve got nothing better to do.

I an, it’s not like they’re pulling each other’s hair or anything, right?

Just as I stood up, the door opened.

Selli entered with the ice.

Noticing I was about to leave, she looked confused.

“Huh? Young master, where are you going?”

“Yeah.”

“Then what about the ice?”

“I’ll drink it later.”

“But it’ll lt...”

I gave her a playful smile and said,

“You can just bring more.”

As I closed the door, I heard her satisfied mumble through the crack.

“Ugh, seriously.”

“This door’s thin. I told you I can hear everything.”

“Ahem.”

As we turned toward the lobby, Ricks spoke.

“You and your maid sure have fun, huh?”

“She’s a brat, but teasing her is kind of fun.”

I still haven’t forgiven her for trying to kill .

***

“You rude little witch. Who started picking a fight in the first place?!”

“Your foul mouth hasn’t changed, Silla.”

Right in the middle of the lobby, Selberton was holding Saila’s arms, while Leana was pulling Silla back.

Blood was dripping from the sisters’ noses.

Since I could see the magic barrier set up between the two—suggesting prior physical contact—I turned to Bellman and asked,

“What started this?”

“Saila said sothing like, ‘Still the sa height, huh?’ as a greeting.”

“Yep, definitely touched a nerve she shouldn’t have.”

Maybe the commotion was too loud.

The Valient group started showing up at the lobby one by one.

They all gave us disgusted looks, then cald Saila down.

As the distance between them widened, Silla seed to cool down a bit too.

Bellman, still flustered, thanked them.

“Thanks for coming. She made the first move, so I apologize for that.”

Then the guy with glasses on their side snapped back.

“Don’t talk to .”

“Hm?”

“It’s annoying that you think you’re on our level.”

Bellman didn’t look too pleased either.

“Do you have a problem with facing us in the finals?”

“I know what’s going on. You guys just got lucky to get here. We were supposed to fight Wisdom as planned.”

Tension rose between the two.

“But they lost to us. That’s the result.”

“What aning is there in a win earned through luck? All of you barely scraped by. The one who lost got crushed, and the ones who won only barely pulled it off. That guy with the bow? He only won because of so ridiculous tool.”

“Watch your mouth. Don’t talk about my brother.”

Selberton stepped in to break the tension, but Glasses still didn’t stop.

“If Wisdom had received the right potions, you wouldn’t be here. No way.”

Our glasses guy kept his mouth shut.

It probably stung, but the other glasses guy wasn’t wrong.

Our mages went into battle with high-end potions, while Wisdom, even without such boosts, fought almost evenly and still lost.

So we have to accept reality and admit they might’ve had the upper hand...

“Especially that blond guy you all treat like your leader—he’s the biggest problem.”

Huh?

“It’s already ridiculous enough that he’s a swordsman who joined the magic division, but taking on a mage’s role while using spells that don’t even et the basics? I’m honestly speechless.”

Bellman shot back with a sharp tone.

“Lilot gave it her all. Are you saying you object to Hersel winning regardless?”

“I get what you’re trying to say. Sure, he won using so creative strategy. So what? Tricks like that only work once. They’re one-and-done. So let ask you this—if your captain were to fight Lilot again, are you confident he’d win?”

Bellman looked away.

So did Leana and Silla.

Ricks, who had at least kept eye contact out of loyalty, gave up after three seconds.

What a bunch of annoying people.

They love hyping things up when it doesn’t matter, but now they’re suddenly silent.

So I answered in their place.

“If there’s a rematch, I’d probably win again.”

The glasses guy scoffed.

His buddies behind him looked at like I was a joke.

So I hit them with a truth they couldn’t argue against.

“Then let ask you—if this wasn’t a match but a real battle, would you still say that with a straight face?”

Even without adding, "As a swordsman, not a mage," the way their throats clicked as they swallowed said enough.

I nearly burst into laughter.

That line might’ve sounded like nothing but bluff before, but now, it wasn’t.

Now that I knew how to use “Jingi” and that even the cost—death—could be canceled out by “one-second invincibility,” I was confident I could take on every single one of them here and win.

Of course, the downside is that if I use Jingi all at once, I’ll collapse right after.

But I figure if I pace myself, I can manage.

Whatever I lacked could be filled in with magical tricks anyway.

They walked away.

I stared blankly at their backs and suddenly started thinking again about the aning of “invincibility.”

Invincible.

If you stick to the original aning, it doesn’t an you can take any hit without flinching—it ans you have no enemy.

And I was getting closer and closer to the essence of that phrase—“one-second invincible.”

***

A short distance from the Aizen Arena, there was an open clearing.

Ares sat at the center, radiating aura.

His daily training.

Just as a drop of sweat ford from his intense focus, he sensed a presence from afar.

‘Here it cos. Fast.’

Sothing faster than the wind was barreling toward him—it was a feeling he could sense through his skin.

He tilted his head slightly just as a small rock on the ground grazed a single strand of his hair.

And when he opened his eyes, a thunderous boom accompanied the arrival of a familiar young boy he had seen before.

“Here to bother again?”

Mircel scoffed.

“You’re flaring up your aura like crazy—how could I not co?”

Ares sighed.

“Do you have so kind of inferiority complex toward ?”

“Huh?”

“If I had to guess what’s fueling your hostility, I wouldn’t say it’s a desire to challenge the strong. If that were the case, you would’ve been going after your older brother, not . And if you insist it’s about rivalry, well, that just sounds like an excuse not to fight your family.”

Mircel let out a small grunt.

“In the end, they’re all just excuses.”

Then he went silent and looked upward.

He seed to be deep in thought.

Ares waited for a mont, but Mircel only let out a groan, as if even he didn’t fully understand his own feelings.

‘When he’s like this, he really does just seem like a kid.’

That contrast with his usual deadly glare left a bit of an impression—but Ares quickly lost interest.

“If you’re going to think, do it sowhere else.”

Just as he was about to move away himself, Mircel opened his mouth.

“I dunno? I just don’t want to fight my oldest brother. But I don’t think it’s about family love or being scared either. Maybe it’s... because he feels more like Dad?”

“Hm?”

“You know... he feels so far above that I can’t even think of him as a rival.”

Ares opened his eyes and stared at Mircel.

“You’re saying Hersel Ben Tenest is on the sa level as the Grand Duke?”

“Not saying—I saw it. With my own two eyes.”

Judging by the sincerity in his gaze, it didn’t seem like so immature excuse.

‘I thought maybe he’d just misjudged, but if he really didn’t have the eye for it, that would’ve been exposed by now. Considering the kid’s level, that must’ve been a legitimate assessnt.’

That made it even harder to understand.

“Then why’d you pick ? And why did Hersel Ben Tenest allow it?”

“What’s with that reaction? You saying I’m not in your league or sothing?”

“I’m saying you’re not ready to be seen as a rival.”

“Your brother probably thought the sa about you. See? Now you get where I’m coming from?”

Ares gave a tired smile at the provocation.

“You really are under a strange impression. Like we’ve got sothing in common. But I don’t think that at all.”

It wasn’t because he was annoyed by Mircel lingering around.

It was because Mircel seed to think they were similar—and Ares wanted to make one thing perfectly clear.

“From the mont I first held a sword, nothing has ever stood in my way.”

‘If sothing was there, it was only ever sothing I noticed after I’d already broken through it. That’s hardly what I’d even call an obstacle. If I had to rephrase, it would be sothing more like a faint breeze.’

A breeze that briefly lingers in front of you, but vanishes the mont you take a step forward.

“For soone like , there’s never been another ‘.’ I’ve never had a real rival. So I can’t even begin to understand the kind of feelings you’re having—because I’ve never had soone I felt I had to beat.”

“......”

“That might’ve sounded harsh, but I don’t an it maliciously. Honestly, I think within three years—maybe even two—you’ll be standing on the sa level as . And then, maybe I’ll feel that kind of rivalry, too.”

Mircel, who had just been listening until now, suddenly said, “Ah.”

“Now I get it.”

“Hm?”

“I finally figured out what’s been driving . Why I keep coming after you.”

“You’ve found your motivation?”

Mircel nodded with an adorably smug face.

“Yeah. I just find you annoying. You know why? You look like soone I could totally beat—but that look in your eyes, like you’re always looking down on ? I can’t stand it.”

Ares let out a small laugh without aning to.

Such blunt words from such an innocent face.

That pure stubbornness to oppose him no matter what was oddly amusing.

“Well, at least you’re honest.”

Ares picked up the towel draped around his neck, just like last ti.

“Well then, this towel here—”

“Already took it.”

Mircel replied, holding up the very towel in his hand.

‘He’s grown again, huh?’

But it was only half the towel—ripped.

Ares wiped his sweat with the other half and said,

“Next ti, wait till I finish talking.”