episode_0105

In a secluded forest near Kubeul, I faced Algot one-on-one.

She stood before me, each hand gripping a sword, staring at me.

“Of course, we won’t take each other’s lives.”

Algot pointed the sword in her right hand towards me and spoke.

It felt strange to face a human after always confronting monsters.

But since it had come to this, I wanted to prove something.

How far would all the things I had unknowingly accumulated up to now hold up against this person?

“It’s my first time sparring with a human, so I’m a bit worried. I might get hurt.”

“Oh, are you worried about me?”

Honestly, I didn’t know how far to go.

If I used the magical techniques I usually used against monsters on Algot and ended up seriously injured, what would I do?

But Algot seemed to see through my worries and smiled as she said, “We’re both not ordinary people. We might get hurt a bit, but as long as we do our best, there shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Is that so?”

“Are you perhaps underestimating me too much even before we face off with our swords?”

That’s true.

Objectively speaking, she had more experience and a higher rank as an adventurer than me.

If I were to worry, it should be about my own body.

“Shall we begin then?”

Algot lowered her stance and fixed her gaze on me before striking the ground.

Curious about the extent of her attacks, I tried to block with my Dragonyte sword.

But in the next moment, Algot disappeared from my sight.

“…!”

Feeling magic behind me, I instinctively rolled forward to dodge.

At the same time, Algot swiftly caught up and swung her sword at me.

Clang!

What kind of speed is this?

It’s not human speed.

Struggling to block the sword, I didn’t even have time to think about my next move.

Algot, wielding two swords, continued to attack from different directions even after I blocked one attack.

Clang! Clang!

The swords imbued with Algot’s magic were exceptionally powerful.

With the amount of magic in those swords, even I wouldn’t be able to withstand them, and each block left my body stiff.

She seemed to anticipate where my body would move instinctively and attacked from all angles.

And soon, I realized.

From the start, there was no chance of winning against her in a sword fight.

Using magic techniques and swordsmanship were two different realms.

Despite having powerful magic, I had never properly learned swordsmanship.

It was definitely different from facing monsters.

Having blindly crushed several enemies with powerful magic, I had no idea how to counter Algot’s real swordsmanship.

Moreover, she was also using magic effectively.

Her incredibly fast movements, sometimes seeming to disappear from sight, made it difficult.

Her swords were efficiently filled with magic, leaving no gaps.

The reason I could barely withstand her attacks was not because of my skills.

It was simply due to my enhanced body through magic transformation and instinctive, sensitive senses.

It was like instinctively dodging when a rock was thrown at you.

There was no skill or strategy involved.

“Urgh…”

Algot’s attacks continued relentlessly, like a storm.

Using magic efficiently along with refined swordsmanship made her attacks even more powerful.

There was no chance of winning in a sword fight.

She was an expert in swordsmanship, having even passed through the swordsmanship instructor of the Knights.

So, instead of trying to deal with her in a way that had no chance of success, I had to use my specialty.

I focused my mind and tried to sense the magic flowing through her body.

Despite being busy dodging and blocking the relentless attacks, sensing and manipulating magic was my specialty.

When Marie cast a binding spell on me and shot a fireball, I could still feel the magic.

Attacking with the Dragonite sword imbued with magic is within the realm of swordsmanship.

I might easily be seen through and counterattacked.

So, I’ll pierce her defenses in a way that Algot never expected.

“Is this all you’ve got? It’s rather disappointing compared to what I expected.”

Algot said as she narrowly passed by my side, relying on instinct and focusing solely on defense.

The scent emanating from Algot’s hair was so close that I could smell it.

Ignoring it, I continued to focus on defense, striving to detect the magic imbued in Algot’s body and sword.

They say people get flustered when they experience something they’ve never encountered before.

I could have simply used sword techniques or other skills involving magic, but those ordinary techniques seemed too predictable.

So, I prepared a move that would surprise Algot.

It was a method that Marie had theoretically shown me was possible.

Adventurers typically enhance various things with magic.

The reason for storing magic in the body was fundamental to adventurers.

The accumulated magic in the body creates a strong physique, while the magic infused in the sword increases its strength and attack power.

When magic is released outward, one can send out sword energy or even change the nature of the magic to ignite the sword, akin to a half-magical act.

Real magic, such as shooting fireballs or teleportation like Marie uses, seems to have a different method of use, but it was clear that all adventurer combat skills are based on magic.

And I had a superior ability to control that magic.

My control was so exceptional that I could reach out to others’ magic not bound to me.

So, what would happen if I were to take the magic filled in Algot’s sword?

Without magic in the sword and body, it would just be an ordinary sword wielded by a civilian.

Of course, whether I could withstand the onslaught while maintaining such focus was a separate issue, but since this fight wasn’t a matter of life and death, now was the perfect opportunity to test it.

Clang!

Algot swiftly spun around me, wielding her swords like dancing, aiming to strike me.

As I deflected one sword, the other sword flew almost simultaneously from a different direction.

But each time Algot’s sword met my Dragonite sword, I could clearly feel it.

It was the magic faithfully imbued in Algot’s sword.

Maintaining my focus, I attempted to control the magic filled in Algot’s attacking sword.

The feeling of almost touching the magic persisted, as I had felt before.

And…

Finally, I felt the magic firmly grasping Algot’s sword, like gears fitting perfectly together.

Crack!

I blocked Algot’s sword as it was.

As a result, unlike before, Algot received a significant shock and let go of her sword.

The sword she dropped flew through the air, landing deeply in the ground behind her.

I had taken away the magic filled in Algot’s sword.

A sword strike without magic cannot withstand a strike from a magic-filled sword.

Algot briefly showed a surprised expression, then quickly masked it and continued her attack with the remaining sword.

But…

Clang!

That sword had also been stripped of its magic.

If she realized this, she could refill it with magic, but she probably didn’t expect me to do such a thing.

I threw the remaining sword into the air and lunged at Algot, who was now unarmed.

Then, I lightly tapped her forehead with my finger.

“I lost.”

In the end, Algot admitted his defeat.

* * *

After finishing the duel, I returned to the adventurer guild with Algot.

It was sudden, but thanks to that, I had a good experience.

“I expected it to be tough, but… I never thought I would actually lose.”

“Well, I took advantage of your carelessness.”

“Yunoa, your swordsmanship was a mess, and your movements were like a monster moving on instinct. But strangely, you were strong.”

Algot subtly delivered a fact-based blow.

What she said was true.

In reality, I was relying on a magically enhanced body and moving purely on instinct.

But in the end, I won.

Algot still didn’t seem to understand why he lost.

It’s hard to imagine suddenly having all the magic drained from the sword he was confidently wielding.

“My original plan was to adjust Yunoa’s adventurer rank and fight the guild master of Kubele on equal terms to make it convincing for other adventurers… but…”

“Was that so?”

I already knew through the narration.

“I never thought I would lose. It’s embarrassing… Did I relax too much?”

“No, I was surprised too. I knew you were a gold-ranked adventurer, but I didn’t expect to be overwhelmed to that extent… I barely won because I lured you into complacency.”

Algot cautiously offered words of comfort to prevent her from feeling too defeated.

And I was genuinely surprised by her skills.

Honestly, apart from Milaia, she seemed to be the strongest among the adventurers I had seen so far.

While I briefly considered learning swordsmanship properly by enduring her flashy swordplay, I gave up thinking it was too late to catch up with Algot’s technical skills.

I believed it was more efficient to maximize strengths rather than erase weaknesses.

And so, Algot gave me a new adventurer rank.

A rank given by the guild master’s privilege according to the revised guild rules.

I returned the old badge and received a new one.

It was a shiny golden badge, Gold 3rd grade.

I never thought I would achieve a gold rank like this…

Having a high adventurer rank doesn’t change my daily life significantly right now, but it will come in handy someday.

Especially when visiting areas other than Kubele, there were various benefits to being a gold rank.

Above all, just by showing the adventurer badge, people wouldn’t dare to disrespect me like they did with silver ranks.

Leaving that aside, I should investigate the goddess’s crystal I found in the ruins of Baldur now.

If we can really summon the goddess with this, we might find a way to solve the crisis facing the kingdom.

The existence of the crystal was still a secret to everyone.

Well, I still don’t know how to use it.

I’m tired today, so I decided to go home and rest.

Hoping that the goddess’s crystal will be the key to changing the fate of destruction tomorrow.

* * *