Chapter 66
Franklin continued her battle against Arcroyal.
In the midst of it, Franklin was feeling her own limits.
Arcroyal before her was clearly a formidable foe.
A 10th Rank Warrior, one who had surpassed the wall of a high-rank warrior.
The difference in level was perhaps only one stage… no, not even half a stage—
Yet the clear gap between them was now glaringly evident through their battle.
Franklin was only using a perfectly honed Condensation Technique.
The Magic Energy spiraling around her butcher’s knife formed something like a blade of light, but it still remained confined within the reach of the blade she held.
In contrast, the Condensation flowing from Arcroyal’s sword wasn’t just a bundle of light.
It was a stream of Magic Energy that danced like flickering wind.
Each time she swung her sword, a sharp windstorm formed— leaving massive claw-like gashes across the ground.
Each strike felt like she was casting a wind-element Magic spell— a spell designed solely for destruction and overwhelming force.
That was the decisive difference between a High-Rank Warrior and a Warrior of Great Might.
The difference of whether or not one could imbue Condensation with an inherent attribute.
Though their physical strength and Magic Energy weren’t drastically different,
the fact that Franklin could only focus on defense made the reason abundantly clear.
It was just a single step— No, even less than half a step—
But its meaning was as significant as the difference between a bird inside its shell and one that had already broken out.
To overcome that wall, Franklin needed her own awakening.
She was just beginning to sense its rhythm—
But she had yet to clearly form what it was.
‘But still… I have to do it now…’
If things continued as they were, she could perhaps hold out.
But her original goal was a swift escape.
Caught by Arcroyal like this, escape was impossible.
If Elkana and Magellan could win and regroup, there might be a chance— but given how vastly outnumbered they were, even that seemed unlikely.
At this point, she was just thankful they were holding the line, so she didn’t need to worry about that front.
In the end, to break this situation— she had to surpass the wall herself.
That same wall that had crushed her in despair for years.
‘What should I do?… How can I overcome this wall?’
While pondering, she suddenly remembered the words of that man.
The man who became her life’s guiding light, and eventually, everything to her.
When Franklin asked how one could become a Warrior of Great Might after becoming a High-Rank Warrior— how one could infuse Condensation with attributes,
He had answered with his usual smile.
“Your own inherent essence. Once you recognize it, and can infuse that into your Magic Energy,
then it will be possible.”
It sounded simple— but it was anything but easy.
For all of history, people had sought to discover their own nature.
Ancient theories like the four humors, or traditional constitutional medicine, even modern blood types or MBTI— all were attempts to understand who one truly was.
Yet even now, there was no perfect classification.
And this “inherent essence” wasn’t something that could be known through surveys— nor could anyone else tell you.
Only the individual themselves could realize it.
And the clue to that…
Just like that man said, was buried in the life she had lived until now.
‘Life… boiled eggs… boiled potatoes… boiled broccoli… no wait— this isn’t it…’
Being a chef, stray cooking thoughts came up instinctively.
Now that she thought about it, they were almost out of eggs— She’d have to go buy some soon.
Right when she was thinking that—
“!”
Bang!
In a flash, Arcroyal pulled out a pistol from her coat and fired directly at Franklin.
It wasn’t an ordinary bullet— It was a Condensation imbued with rippling wind.
Franklin reacted instantly, raising her butcher’s knife and blocking it.
Then—
Whoosh!
“Ugh!”
“Got you…”
Arcroyal took advantage of the brief opening and closed the distance.
Franklin desperately moved her knife to block—
CRACK!
“Ghhk!”
Blood spurted from Franklin’s chest.
She barely avoided a fatal wound— But the injury on her rather large chest gave her sharp, overwhelming pain.
‘Thinking about “essence” might get me killed first… Damn it… Whenever I start thinking, it always goes back to food…’
The thought meant to lead to an epiphany had become her downfall.
Franklin frowned bitterly.
Then—
“…Huh?”
Suddenly, something flickered to life in her mind.
It was just a fleeting thought, but it was like a light shining deep within the abyss.
It made Franklin begin to perceive something.
And—
‘…Could it be…’
It didn’t take long for her flicker of doubt to grow into near certainty.
Come to think of it— She’d already known the answer all along.
***
Arcroyal had landed a strike— But she didn’t feel satisfied.
It was shallow.
She only landed the blow because of that needlessly large chest— Had she aimed elsewhere, it might have been deflected or dodged.
Even though her opponent was just a High-Rank Warrior, aside from not having elemental attributes,
Arcroyal had to admit— Franklin wasn’t falling behind in any other area.
‘So she really is one of their key executives, huh? Looks like I’ve got no choice.
I wanted to conserve power just in case… but that’s not going to happen now.’
If this continued, it felt like it would never end.
Furthermore, time was definitely not on Arcroyal’s side.
From the sea, Bennessa’s Navy launched a surprise attack,
but since the pirates were already somewhat on guard, it didn’t cause that much damage.
As a result, they were beginning to fall back little by little due to being outnumbered.
On top of that, she had to focus on the battle at hand, so she couldn’t expand a Magic Circle,
but most likely by now, the Pirate King had already finished handling the situation and was on his way here.
‘There’s no time… The Magic Energy cost is high, but I’ll have to use that technique here…’
With that conclusion, Arcroyal began gathering Magic Energy into the sword she held.
Condensing her maximum output into a single point,
Arcroyal held the sword crackling with wind and stared coldly at Franklin.
Then.
“…Huh?”
“…”
A scene suddenly came into view.
At the same time, a flicker of confusion crossed Arcroyal’s face.
Just moments ago, Franklin had only been using standard Condensation Techniques, as expected of a High-Rank Warrior.
However, at that moment—
The power flowing from her butcher’s knife was different than before.
The flow of Magic Energy glowing with a blue hue.
It looked like a burning flame…
—“Kyaaaaah!!!”
“!!”
“Huh?”
Suddenly, a scream rang in Arcroyal’s ears.
It was a voice that had been bothering her in the back of her mind throughout the battle.
Not just Arcroyal, but even Franklin, who was about to take action, turned their gaze toward the source.
And what they saw—
“S… Sister! Please help m— Mmph!!”
“Shut up, you brat!”
“We’re setting sail! Get us out of here now!”
A girl being kidnapped when no one had noticed.
Ambasha.
As she screamed from the deck of a light frigate, only to be forcibly dragged below,
the faces of Arcroyal and Franklin hardened.
“Franz Navy? W-Why are they taking Ambasha…?”
“? Wait—what do you mean? Weren’t they our allies?”
“T-They were, but… what in the world is this situation…?”
A sudden, incomprehensible development.
The first to collect herself and speak was Auriel on Franklin’s side.
“Let’s go! We need to rescue Ambasha now!”
“Ah—Yes! Everyone, head toward the ships!”
At Franklin’s command, the pirates pushed past the dazed Bennessa Navy and rushed deeper into the port.
Watching them, Arcroyal—
Who had been left with the same “dog chasing a chicken” feeling—
Suddenly snapped back to her senses and gave a hurried order.
“Ch-Chase them! We need to follow those Franz bastards and find out what’s going on!”
“Understood, Admiral!”
The pirates and navy surged forward, halting their battle mid-fight.
But compared to the other ships, the light and fast light frigate was already slipping away from the harbor faster than anyone had anticipated.
And then—
“What… the hell are those guys?”
“Are they crazy or something?”
The Franz light frigate sped straight through the cannonfire between the pirates and Bennessa’s Navy.
At a glance, it looked like suicide—charging straight through the middle of a naval battle.
But the next moment stunned everyone in a very different way.
“Huh? Huh?”
“W-What the… how is that even possible?”
With movements close to godlike, the frigate skillfully dodged the bombardments and surged ahead.
Neither fleet considered it a major target,
and its small size and speed played a role,
but more than anything—
It was clear that whoever was piloting that ship had extraordinary skill.
“Shit, what kind of freaks are they?”
“They’re useless in battle, but they’re damn good at this?”
Thus, the Franz light frigate cut across the battlefield and sailed off smoothly.
Eventually, the ship disappeared into the distant darkness.
Arcroyal…
And Franklin, along with the pirates—
Could only fall silent in stunned disbelief.
—
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