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The conversation progressed smoothly after that, and before long I found myself facing Warren-san in the arena.
Normally this place served as a training ground for Marquis Forgas's private territorial forces, but Warren-san had apparently made arrangements with the marquis to use it for our mock battle.
In the arena with us were Selma-san and several recovery mages—including Lucre.
In the spectator seats sat members of the Silver Moon Rabbit of the Night Sky.
Since we hadn't informed anyone outside the clan, the audience consisted solely of clan members—but quite a crowd had gathered.
For an unscheduled event, an impressive turnout...
"Man, what a lively clan. How many years has it been since I fought in an atmosphere like this?"
Warren-san narrowed his eyes with a smile as he watched the excited members in the stands.
"Everyone's supposed to be busy..."
"Haha, don't say that. It might not be ideal for you, but for us, watching our clan's ace go up against the former Hero Party leader—who now serves as His Majesty's personal guard—is incredibly exciting."
I could understand why third parties would find it fascinating.
At least it hadn't leaked to newspapers or the public—small mercies.
"Well then, no sense keeping the gallery waiting. Let's get started."
As he spoke, Warren-san drew his sword from his storage artifact.
His blade was too large to call a longsword yet too small for a greatsword—an awkward in-between size.
"Yes, let's begin. But before that—you remember our earlier agreement, right?"
"The one where if you win, I explain why I proposed this mock battle?"
"Yes."
"Of course I remember. And don't forget—if I win, you answer my question."
"Understood."
After reconfirming the terms, I gripped Schwarzhaize in my right hand.
"Now then, before combat begins, let me confirm the rules."
Once both Warren-san and I were ready, Selma-san spoke up.
"In this bout, attacks intended to kill or inflict permanent injury are prohibited. During combat, I will continuously apply [Sharpness Zero] to both weapons—but I will not intervene with any other magic. Victory is determined when one side surrenders or I deem continuation impossible. Warren-sama, are these terms acceptable?"
"Yes, no problem. Just to be clear—within these rules, feel free to use magic or abilities as you wish. Sword alone wouldn't make for much of a fight."
Selma-san confirmed the rules, and Warren-san agreed while adding clarification.
Frankly, having no restrictions on magic or abilities was a relief.
"...Understood. Then—I'll borrow your strength, Warren-sama."
"Yeah. Come at me, Orun Dura—no, [Hero]!"
With both of us in stance, Selma-san gave the signal: 『Begin!』
Warren-san had once been called [Hero] during his explorer days.
Now he was known as [Guardian].
That title came partly from his role protecting the king, but mainly because—even back then—he'd excelled at defense.
In other words, his fighting style likely resembled what we'd now call a Defender.
If so—
(I'll break through Warren-san's specialty—defense—and seize control!)
As I activated ki and charged toward him, he suddenly seemed to grow larger.
"—!?"
The sensation of him growing came because he'd closed the distance to right in front of me faster than I could advance.
Warren-san swung his sword at blinding speed.
I barely managed to catch it with Schwarzhaize's blade.
But the strike was far heavier than expected—despite bracing myself, I was blown backward.
If I crashed into the wall like this, it'd be bad—so I used [Gravity Manipulation] to slide along the ground and kill my momentum.
I felt no flow of support magic buffs.
Yet his movement far exceeded human limits without buffs.
Which meant—
(Warren-san has mastered ki manipulation...?)
While I was stunned by that realization, he closed in again in an instant.
I'd planned to block the next attack and create distance by being blown back—but this time the force was far lighter than the first strike, throwing off my timing.
He mixed in feints while delivering a relentless series of slashes—I was forced entirely on the defensive.
While dodging and parrying the repeated strikes, I channeled mana into the spell formulas I'd prepared.
A magic circle appeared between us, and a shockwave erupted from the expanding air.
My [Aero Shock] interrupted his combo momentarily. I immediately put distance between us.
At the same time, I activated the next series of spells I'd prepared.
First came [Rock Needle].
A magic circle appeared at Warren-san's feet, and countless spikes erupted from the ground to impale him.
He evaded effortlessly with a backward leap.
Next I fired four spells almost simultaneously.
From above him—[Thunder Shock].
Anticipating his dodge, I sealed both sides with [Fire Arrows].
And straight ahead—[Fire Bullet].
I didn't expect this to finish him, but even a moment's hesitation would let me seize the initiative.
Yet Warren-san's judgment was far quicker than I'd predicted.
He produced a small iron lump embedded with a magic stone from his storage artifact and hurled it skyward.
The lightning strike that should have come down on him was drawn to the lump like a lightning rod.
[Thunder Shock] wasn't natural lightning.
Normally it should ignore the iron lump and follow my designated path.
Yet its trajectory had been forcibly altered—which meant that little lump was almost certainly a magical tool.
Having neutralized the aerial attack, Warren-san swung downward. The resulting slash cut through [Fire Bullet] and continued toward me.
Abandoning pursuit, I evaded the incoming slash.
"Haha, not bad, [Hero]. This might actually be fun."
Warren-san murmured with a fearless grin.
As expected of someone who'd spent twenty years in the military—specializing in anti-personnel combat—and been chosen as the king's guard, handling human techniques and magic was second nature to him.
But precisely because of that—this mock battle held immense value.
My goals right now were twofold: conquer the Great Labyrinth as an explorer, and crush the Cyclamen Order.
While some members could control monsters, most opponents in a fight against the Order would be human.
At present, my experience in human-versus-human combat was woefully lacking.
That's why this chance to face a human-combat specialist without risking my life was incredibly valuable.
"I'm glad I seem to meet expectations. Then—here I come."
Answering Warren-san's murmur, I interfered with the spell formulas engraved on my body.
"—[Seal Release: Fifth Layer Restoration Quintuple]"
In simple terms, [Seal Release: Restoration] was an improved version of [Layering].
[Layering] modified the spell formulas binding me—but now that I could fully manipulate ki and knew [Seal Release: Culmination]—which completely removed those bindings—I realized how inefficient it had been.
With my current ability to use ki freely in combat, I almost never applied the six basic support spells to myself anymore.
So I shifted focus: leave physical enhancement to ki activation, and specialize in efficiently modifying the binding spell formulas while minimizing waste.
That was [Seal Release: Restoration].
It granted the same physical enhancement as [Layering] while dramatically extending my sustainable combat time compared to before.
My ultimate goal was to maintain [Seal Release: Culmination] constantly.
During the fight with Felix, my concentration had reached an astonishing peak, allowing me to sustain that state—but maintaining it now was still difficult.
I still had a long way to go.
"...Heh."
Warren-san—sensing the change in my aura—showed clear caution.
(If he's wary, that's perfect. I'll end this in one rush!)
I kicked off the ground and closed the distance in an instant.
At the same time, I activated magic.
From behind Warren-san came [Thunder Bullet].
Of course, such a simple feint wouldn't slip past his guard.
He immediately evaded the lightning projectile.
I didn't miss the split-second his attention turned to it. Using [Reflective Wall] embedded in the ground, I leaped skyward.
For an instant Warren-san lost sight of me—but quickly relocated me above him.
That moment was enough.
Using another [Reflective Wall] in midair, I dove straight down from above.
Warren-san—cold sweat on his smiling face—moved to intercept.
Handling my descent—augmented by [Gravity Manipulation]—wouldn't be easy.
—Which made it the perfect bluff.
Right before entering sword range, I activated [Space Leap] and teleported behind him.
Then I swung Schwarzhaize at his defenseless back.
—But Warren-san reacted to my attack. Schwarzhaize clashed against his sword.
"—Wha!?"
Even with [Sharpness Zero] applied, I'd swung at an unguarded spot with some restraint.
Yet being blocked—and countered—on what should have been a complete surprise attack was completely outside my expectations.
While I was stunned, Warren-san's kick came flying.
I blocked it with my left arm on reflex—but was still sent flying, creating distance.
"That was close, close! That one actually surprised me."
Warren-san muttered casually, as if nothing had happened.
I'd thought I could seize control right there—so being blocked left me visibly shaken, even to myself.
"Come on, keep coming. You're not done yet, right?"
Warren-san—clearly seeing through my agitation—taunted me.