Chapter 11 - The Sparring Match (2)
"…You'll regret saying that."
Tiana ground her teeth—grit—and kicked off the ground.
Fwoosh!
Her body, enhanced by Body Hardening, shot forward at an incredible speed.
'No matter how outstanding his martial arts skills are…!'
Someone who can't even use magic cannot keep up with the speed of Body Hardening.
Tiana instantly closed the distance to Lael.
From bottom to top.
She thrust her fist upward with enough force to shatter his jaw.
'Got him!'
Dodging from this distance is impossible even for her father, her Fist Art master.
Furthermore, the moment the jaw is hit, the direct impact to the brain would prevent him from getting up right away.
The duel was as good as over.
Her original plan to show off various techniques was out the window, but this kind of overwhelming victory wasn't bad either.
Tiana, confident of her victory, twisted the corner of her lips into a smirk.
And in that moment.
Her eyes met Lael's.
A chill ran down her spine from an inexplicable, eerie sensation.
Tuk—
The trajectory of her rising fist was deflected.
It was because Lael had precisely struck her wrist.
He then immediately rotated his body in the opposite direction of the punch.
The gauntlet grazed past Lael's face by a hair's breadth.
Fwoosh!
A fist cutting through empty air.
At the unexpected result, Tiana lost her balance and staggered.
"Kuk…!"
But there was no time to be flustered.
Lael's rapidly spinning elbow was flying toward her face.
'No, anyway…'
A bare body cannot break through Body Hardening.
This is because when Body Hardening is active, the body becomes as hard as steel.
So even if Lael's attack landed, it would have no effect on her.
There was no need to dodge.
…But why?
She couldn't erase the thought that she had to block the attack.
It was as if her dormant survival instinct was sounding an alarm.
'…Dammit!'
In the end, she raised her arm to block her face.
Kaaang!
The elbow slammed down on her gauntlet.
A strong impact followed, and her staggering posture completely collapsed.
Like flowing water, Lael's next attack followed.
In her current state, she had no way to block it.
Thwack!
"Keoheop!"
A fist accurately planted itself in Tiana's side.
A breath-stopping pain followed.
But she couldn't just lie here.
She forcibly endured the pain, pushed herself up, and immediately created distance.
"How on earth…!"
She hadn't seen Lael bring out any mana.
It was normal for there to be no pain.
It felt as if she had been hit by a sledgehammer.
…If so, it meant he had really broken through Body Hardening with his bare body.
That was truly nonsensical.
"Are you asking how I did it?"
Lael asked as he slowly approached.
His leisurely gait was incredibly grating.
'He's letting his guard down.'
As if he already thought he had won, in her eyes, Lael was full of openings right now.
Tiana was not so soft as to miss that chance.
Toward the wide-open gap, she threw a punch.
"Kuk!"
By the time she realized it was a trap, it was already too late.
Lael lightly dodged her punch and counterattacked.
Thwack! Pow!
After allowing several more attacks, she was sent tumbling to the floor.
"Heok…"
Biting her lip hard, Tiana pushed her upper body up.
She raised her head.
Deep, dark eyes were looking down at her.
"..."
Tiana flinched unconsciously.
It felt as if a giant, endless wall was standing before her.
"If you want to know."
As if to provoke her, Lael spread his arms.
"Try and land a single hit on me."
"..."
She opened her mouth reflexively, but she couldn't utter a single word.
It was just one hit.
But for some reason, she couldn't even be sure of that one hit.
It was miserable.
Anger at herself welled up.
'Was I the one who was off guard?'
She got up.
She fixed her stance.
She erased all useless thoughts.
I will knock that guy down.
She thought only of that.
Just as he had leisurely held back his full power.
She, too, had been hiding her full power.
Her father had told her to hide this as much as possible, but now that it had come to this, there were no other options.
「Overlap.」
She recited the incantation.
Intense mana surged from her entire body.
'Overlap…!'
I was a little surprised by Tiana's incantation and stepped back.
It was because I already knew what kind of magic she had just used.
'Already 4th Circle at that age.'
4th Circle magic, Strengthening Overlap.
As the name suggests, it's a magic that overlaps strengthening spells.
The memory of myself struggling with the 1st Circle at fifteen naturally came to mind, but I quickly erased the thought.
Because I have swordsmanship, anyway.
"…I see, with that, you might be able to land one hit."
I said, still maintaining my leisurely attitude.
She let out a scoff as if finding me ridiculous.
"Hah…! Do you not know what this magic is? Or are you just bluffing?"
"Neither."
"…This will be completely different from before."
Of course, I know.
What she overlapped was Body Hardening, a 3rd Circle magic.
The power of a 3rd Circle magic has been layered onto her body once more.
'Of course, it's not like she's become twice as strong.'
Achieving the 4th Circle at fifteen is, of course, an amazing feat.
But just because one can use 4th Circle magic doesn't mean all 4th Circle mages are the same.
Assuming Tiana is at the entry-level of the 4th Circle, the increase in power from the overlap would at best be around 1.5 times.
'That's by no means weak, but… still, I can handle that much.'
I took my fighting stance again.
I slowly circulated the Aura that was gathered in my heart.
The reason I had deliberately provoked her and emphasized a single hit.
It was for this very moment.
"Come on, bring it. I'll block it all."
I will block your attack.
By saying so, I erase the option of dodging from her mind.
So that I can clash with an honest, heavy blow.
An attack carrying all her strength.
'I have to take a proper hit at least once.'
Only then will I know how much my current self can handle.
"Grit your teeth."
Tiana said, cloaking herself in mana.
In that moment.
Kradeuk—
Her foot crushed the floor.
And then.
Fwoooosh!
She shot toward me at a terrifying speed.
A single blink.
In an instant, Tiana's fist was right in front of my nose.
'Too fas—!'
BAAAM!
Her gauntlet slammed into my solar plexus.
KWAAANG!
Unable to even resist the enormous impact, I was sent flying into the outer wall of the arena.
Intense pain surged through my back, as well as my abdomen and chest.
"Keohak…!"
Letting out a rough groan, I fell to the ground.
Dust covered the surroundings.
The arena fell into a tranquil silence.
"Heok… heok…"
My mind went dizzy from the intense pain I hadn't felt in a long time, but in my past life, I had endured pain even worse than this.
I slowly steadied my breathing.
Bit by bit, I pushed my body up.
'If I had been a little late in cloaking myself with Aura, it would have been dangerous.'
I immediately gathered the scattered Aura.
Then I lightly moved my body, checking my condition.
"Keuk…"
It wasn't a good state.
It would heal quickly with rest, but it would be difficult to continue the fight for long like this.
'…So it's still too much to handle the 4th Circle.'
The Aura wrapped around my body had significantly reduced the power of the punch.
But as it was, it had failed to block it completely.
If a low-level 4th Circle magic is this much.
The maximum my current Aura can completely block is probably the 3rd Circle.
And considering various situations and factors, I can only be confident up to the 2nd Circle.
'This is enough.'
Considering I had only bloomed my Aura a few hours ago, this was a truly unbelievable result.
In just one day, I had gained power comparable to the 3rd, or perhaps even the 4th Circle.
"Hoo…"
While I was thinking about this and that, the pain subsided to some extent.
Soon, the dust cleared, and Tiana, seeing me standing on two feet, shouted in astonishment.
"…H-how!"
She must have thought I was down for the count.
That must be why she stopped her attack.
"As promised, I'll tell you. The reason you can't beat me."
Toward her, still in disbelief, I twisted the corners of my lips.
Then, I drew out all the Aura from within my body.
Now, it's my turn.
Fwaaaak—!
A red energy enveloped my entire body.
It covered my body as if ablaze.
And I moved my lips so that everyone could see.
"Strengthening."
Since there is no outward difference between speaking a voice and reciting an incantation.
Those watching me cannot distinguish between them.
"Grit your teeth."
Furthermore, since no one among them knows of the existence of Aura.
In their eyes, I am not a swordsman, but a mage.
KWAAAAANG!
I kicked off the ground hard.
Just one step.
One step was enough to reach her.
***
5th floor of the banquet hall.
"Ke-hat!"
Suddenly, a hearty laugh echoed out.
This was the Philhart's space.
They were watching the duel via video here, not from the stands.
"What's with him all of a sudden?"
The second son, Iren, asked Argon, puzzled.
It was very rare for him to laugh out loud like that.
"Hmm?"
Argon's gaze was fixed on the arena.
Iren was even more puzzled.
Though it was a duel between representatives of each family, the participants were all just children.
Moreover, the ones named Lael and Tiana on the screen had only just taken their stances and hadn't even used magic yet.
In a moment neither funny nor interesting, the fact that the most stoic person in the Philhart family was smiling brightly was utterly bewildering to Iren.
"What's so funny~?"
Just then.
The eldest daughter, Ena Philhart, stuck close to Argon and asked.
Argon pushed her aside as if annoyed.
"You don't need to know."
"Brother, you always keep the fun things to yourself. I'm your only sister, let's enjoy it together!"
At that, the other two sisters, whose existence had been denied, glanced at Ena.
Not long after, the two sighed and averted their gazes.
If that crazy woman's attention were to turn to them, it would become quite troublesome.
"..."
"Tch, so stingy."
When there was no answer from him, Ena had no choice but to focus on the video.
In the video, Lael, who hadn't used any magic, was overwhelming Tiana who had used Body Hardening.
"Hoh."
Even to her, who didn't know much about martial arts, Lael's fist art was perfect.
A gap in skill that surpassed magic.
Only then did Ena realize that Argon's gaze had been following Lael.
"Lael Peron. You were laughing because of him, weren't you?"
"..."
"Well, he fights well, but… hmm."
That was all.
Since he still wasn't using magic, he probably made up for his lack of magical achievement with martial skill.
But that kind of thing would only work up to the 3rd Circle at best.
The miracle that is magic is not a power that can be challenged by some paltry martial art.
Even in this current duel, if Tiana used 4th Circle magic, she could beat Lael with her eyes closed.
"It's over."
No sooner had she imagined it than mana surged from Tiana's body.
Soon after, she used a 4th Circle magic, and Tiana sent Lael flying with a single blow.
A truly natural result.
It is a limit that can never be crossed with a heretical path.
"More importantly, Tiana, that girl is quite usef…"
Ena, who had averted her gaze from the video, couldn't finish her sentence and furrowed her brow.
Argon was still smiling with satisfaction.
He spoke softly.
"It is not over yet."
Ena hastily turned her gaze back.
On the screen, Lael, who had already picked himself up, was visible.
And the red mana shimmering around him.
"What is that…"
The surging energy was clear without any impurities, and it burned fiercely.
It is impossible even for a 4th Circle mage to handle such pure mana.
At least 5th Circle.
Pure mana that only one who is close to becoming a full-fledged mage can possess.
That was blooming from Lael's body.
"Do you know how old he is?"
"I heard he's just turned fifteen."
"Puhah! Really? Only fifteen?"
Ena Philhart.
She had reached the 5th Circle in the spring of her seventeenth year.
—The winner is Lael! Lael Peron!
The host announced the winner.
The corners of Ena's mouth curved into a small smile.
Beyond her wide-open eyes, pupils filled with madness gleamed red.
"Brother, give me that one."
She said, smiling bizarrely, pointing at Lael.