Chapter 33

I designated a spot behind the tavern, away from prying eyes, as the arena.

Since Sera Radiant and her group had no reason to refuse, the preparations for the duel were quickly settled. We both swore our desires upon the town’s Mana Lines—the magical veins of the city—and drew our swords.

I had borrowed a sword from one of the knights surrounding us; it wasn’t the Heirloom Sword of House Alais . In a match where we’d likely be stopping our blades just before impact, there was no need for a weapon with high attack power.

“—Magic: Dimension: Gladiator. Magic: Form.”

I whispered the words. The sensation of magic expanded. Several magical bubbles overflowed from my blade.

This was the first of the magic tactics I wanted to test—the practical application of the magic Form.

Actually, after continuously experimenting with Form during my spare time in the Labyrinth, I had discovered a minor utility for it.

When using Dimension and Form together, I noticed that Form actually assisted Dimension. By itself, Form didn’t produce much of an effect. But when used in conjunction with other magic, it showed its true value.

In short, these magical bubbles allowed me to grasp space more intensely. It felt as though I could “anchor” my Dimension magic onto these bubbles.

When I paired it with Connection, I found that while I normally needed time to create a door close to myself, I could pre-load a bubble with Connection to instantly create a door at a distance.

For this fight, I was using it to supplement my spatial awareness.

I let the bubbles infused with Dimension magic cling to my sword. Just by doing this, my ability to perceive the space around my blade skyrocketed. I could understand exactly how the sword was moving with surgical precision and feel the vectors of force acting upon it. It felt as though the sword had become an extension of my own body.

I took a standard mid-level stance with my bubble-wrapped sword. Sera Radiant let out a derisive snort.

“Hmph, enhancement magic…? However, unless it is the Holy Magic of the Progenitors, your stance is nothing but a poor imitation. Shallow, unorthodox tricks are no match for me.”

With that, Sera Radiant chanted her own spell.

“—Growth.”

A white light ignited around her body. It was similar to the Holy Magic Dia had shown me. They likely shared the same attribute. Watching her, I performed a simple check of her status with [Display].

I felt relieved by the straightforward effect. On the other hand, I felt a bit sorry for Sera, who had to deal with Dimension magic for the first time without any prior knowledge.

“Here I come.”

“Approach whenever you wish.”

Sera turned her body sideways, pointing the tip of her one-handed sword toward the ground.

It was a unique stance—one that, to my eyes, seemed to offer no advantage. But since she possessed a high-level Swordsmanship skill, it couldn’t possibly be a bluff.

I gathered strength in my pivot leg, increasing the internal pressure of my muscles. It didn’t look like she intended to make the first move. I could tell she planned to act as the “teacher” in this fight.

I could have stayed there staring her down, but spending time fruitlessly went against my principles.

“Hah—!”

I exhaled, releasing the compressed power in my legs to close the distance in an instant. Simultaneously, my sword swung as if it were being sucked toward her lowered right hand—but Sera evaded the flash with room to spare. And as she moved to dodge, she swung her sword toward my neck.

It was a fluid, beautiful motion. A magnificent “counter-attack” that offered a glimpse into her tireless training.

However, my eyes perceived it without issue. Due to the nature of my magic, it was impossible for me to overlook anything. I immediately shifted my body backward, parrying the strike by creating distance.

The momentary contact ended, and I returned to my initial position. Looking at Sera Radiant, she seemed surprised that I had parried that last blow.

“…Hoh. You’re better than you look.”

She evaluated me with a condescending tone.

That made sense. In that brief exchange, she was the one holding back. I replayed the sequence in my mind and realized something. I had intended to slash the back of her hand. But Sera Radiant had intended to stop her blade right at my throat.

She possessed the skill to make that possible. I caught my breath. It wasn’t fear. It was an awe that made my heart stop.

It was an emotion I hadn’t felt against Teida. That was probably because Teida’s techniques were crude. He swung a blade, but there was no “art” in it—just pure strength derived from overwhelming power and speed.

But today was different.

It was a strength bordering on a work of art, born of refined technique.

The footwork.

The rotation of the hips.

The relaxation of the shoulders.

The flexibility of the elbows.

The resilience of the wrists.

The mere fact that I could track her perfected swordsmanship with my eyes filled me with a sense of euphoria. That single clash with Radiant was—that beautiful.

My inherent nature—the part of me that was a dreamer and a gamer—brought a surge of excitement. But I immediately smothered that fire.

My goal wasn’t to admire Radiant’s swordsmanship. If I played around, I could end up lagging behind. Conversely, she was an opponent I wouldn’t lose to as long as I didn’t let my guard down. The objective was to measure my own strength and ensure her departure. Not to play.

I suppressed the urge to keep drawing out her techniques.

“What is wrong? Are you not going to attack?”

“No, just… thinking for a second.”

Radiant seemed puzzled that I had retreated and was standing dazed. I had instinctively blurted out an excuse that I was calculating my next move.

“Hoh… judging by your movement just now, you seem different from the usual fools. Did you see through my true ability in that first exchange? I suppose you didn’t kidnap the Lady for nothing.”

Believing my excuse, Radiant’s evaluation of me climbed even higher on its own.

“I told you, it’s a false accusation.”

“Heh, it’s been a long time since I’ve faced such an interesting opponent. Very well. This time, I shall be the one to come at you.”

She wouldn’t even listen to my denial. But it wasn’t that she was ignoring me out of anger; rather, a new interest had blossomed, making her oblivious to everything else.

I felt the shift in the air as she grew serious. Her sheer presence made my skin tingle. This is the sword of humanity’s top class. Just as that thought crossed my mind—

—Radiant’s body blurred.

It was movement technique achieved through flawless physical control. Without anticipation, one’s eyes would never catch that speed. However, I already knew from her status that she was a knight specialized in agility. That foreknowledge made all the difference.

I tracked her step with my eyes. I clearly saw her sword swinging upward from below. I tilted my blade horizontally to receive the blow.

A high-pitched metallic ring echoed. My sword bounced upward, and Radiant’s blade was parried downward. In that instant, I shifted the target of my Form magic onto Radiant’s sword.

The dimensional bubbles clung to her weapon. The speed at which I received information about the enemy skyrocketed. My spatial awareness narrowed down, specializing solely on the movements of our two blades. Dimension: Gladiator sharpened further, relaying the movement of both swords to me down to the millimeter.

—Good.

The experiment was a success. I now knew this was an effective magical tactic against swordsmen. I had nothing left to test. All that remained was to hide my abilities as much as possible and finish this quickly.

I instantaneously infused a massive amount of mana to further bolster Dimension: Gladiator. Calculating the optimal body movements while engraving every split-second motion of the swords into my brain, I made my move.

In the third exchange, we dodged each other’s blades by a hair’s breadth.

In the fourth, the blades grazed each other, sending sparks flying.

And finally, the fifth.

Radiant’s sword cut through empty air, while my blade came to a dead stop right at her throat.

“Wh-!?”

Radiant stared at the frozen blade with a face of utter disbelief.

“I believe that counts as my win?”

Looking at the result, it appeared to be my overwhelming victory. However, if we were considering pure skill alone, I was likely far inferior. The difference lay entirely in the amount of information acquired.

I knew Radiant’s strength in precise numerical values, while she had no idea what I was capable of. There might have been a gap in composure or mental preparation, but the disparity in pre-battle information was too vast. And most importantly, Radiant couldn’t even realize such a disparity existed.

Before she could finish her technique, she had fallen one step behind my top speed, which I had modulated with precision. In a real battle, her head would be rolling on the ground. Ironically, Display proved its true value not against monsters, but against humans.

The knights who realized the outcome of the duel broke into a collective commotion. Some even reached for the swords at their waists. Seeing this, I slowly moved my sword away from Radiant. I remained silent, waiting for my opponent’s word.

“…Kuh. It is certainly my loss. A knight does not make unsightly excuses. You lot, do not draw your swords!”

Radiant had also noticed the behavior of the surrounding knights and called out to stop them.

“…Phew. Thank you.”

I let out a breath of relief since she had gracefully accepted defeat. Facing a group of this size with my remaining MP would have been worrying. Even if I focused entirely on escaping, there was a chance I’d sustain some injuries.

“What a humiliation… to lose to a man like this…”

“Please withdraw as promised. Immediately, if possible.”

“Gugh… gununu…! Kuh—a knight’s oath in a duel is absolute. I shall do as you say.”

Radiant was remarkably reasonable. I wasn’t well-versed in the ways of knights, but it seemed she wouldn’t go back on her word. I thought things would be easy if the other Seven Knights were like this, but I immediately remembered Palinchron and realized Radiant was likely just exceptionally honest.

“H-however!! The promise was that I would never show my face to you again! That was it, right?!”

“H-huh… well, yes.”

“Even if I cannot come, I shall send the other Seven Knights in my stead! Do not get overconfident just because you beat me!”

“Eeeh…”

Isn’t that just a sore loser making excuses…?

“We shall leave it at this for today!!”

With those parting words, Radiant turned her back and walked away from the tavern. The surrounding knights followed suit, and the troublesome group departed. Watching her back as if to say there would definitely be a next time, I re-confirmed that the “duel system” isn’t exactly reliable.

Next time, should I tell them not to involve themselves with me at all? If there is a next time, I’ll have to think more carefully about the conditions. I made that mental note to myself.

Then, I began to dispel the Form bubbles. The success of this experiment was huge. The last few exchanges wouldn’t have been possible without it. Understanding the clash of blades as if I were holding them in my own hands is simply too strong. In a sword fight, there could be no greater advantage.

I let out a satisfied breath and wiped the sweat from my brow—when someone started clapping.

“As expected of you, Kanami.”

On the roof of the tavern.

A girl with golden hair fluttering in the moonlight laughed enchantingly.

The girl who was the cause of all this chaos.

Lastiara was right there.