Martial Arts Tournament (3)

1.

I was expecting a strong opponent, considering the provocation.

“Sigh…”

Only a sigh escapes me.

Just a puppy.

Relying only on his massive size, he charges in so foolishly.

Who would be foolish enough not to dodge such straightforward movements?

How boring.

I glanced around, searching for the next opponent.

“What?”

All eyes were on me.

They were staring at me, frozen as if time had stopped.

Their faces looked as if they had witnessed something absurd.

What happened?

I turned around.

Behind me was a lump lying face down, its rear end sticking up.

I don’t know why they’re making those faces, but I decided to do my job.

Opportunities like this aren’t common.

There are no sword fights at the convent.

So, it’s best to enjoy it while I can.

“Anyone, come on in.”

I flicked my sword.

And at that moment, the audience, who had been frozen as if time had stopped, erupted in cheers.

“Eek! That startled me!”

The explosion of cheers hurt my ears.

A sound you might hear on a battlefield.

A sound comparable to the roar of valiant knights.

I pressed my ears.

Is it because I’m in a young body?

I hear well, so I react sensitively to loud noises.

I was fine even when I heard the Basilisk’s roar right in front of me.

As the audience became noisy, the participants began to move again.

The sound of swords laughing, coming from all directions.

How long has it been since I heard such a cheerful sound?

Let’s see…

I slowly turned my head, searching for the next opponent.

Who would be good?

I can grab anyone and fight, but I want to spar with someone who fights well if possible.

And someone smarter than the guy from just now.

“Oh…!”

I found one.

An adventurer wearing a platinum-ranked emblem on his chest.

He’s emitting an unusual aura, armed with black armor.

Good.

That’s the one.

If he’s platinum-ranked, I’ll have some fun.

He’s suitable for my sword.

I immediately rushed at the adventurer.

I kicked off the ground.

My robe flutters against the headwind.

In one step, I reached the adventurer and looked up at him.

I immediately swung my rusty sword.

-Clang!!

The sword laughs.

It seems happy to be active after a long time, and a clear sound echoed.

Yes, you should be able to block this much.

If you can’t even block a straightforward slash, you should have that emblem confiscated.

Let’s slowly raise the level, starting with the easiest attack.

I was curious to see how much he could block.

I’m also curious to see how much swordsmanship I can use.

Shall we see if he can block the next attack?

Being a one-handed sword, it’s advantageous in close combat.

I dug into the adventurer’s chest and stabbed the sword towards his abdomen.

-Thwack!

Just as the sword was about to penetrate the armor, the adventurer slammed his elbow down on the back of my hand.

“Ugh…!”

Because I’m not using Body Enhancement, the impact was directly transmitted to the back of my hand.

Oh, oh, oh, my hand bone is fractured.

In an instant, my small, pretty hand swelled up like a baby fern.

Enduring the pain, I gripped the sword tightly.

A swordsman shouldn’t drop his sword.

If there’s anyone who drops their sword during battle, they’re not a swordsman.

They’re vermin, vermin.

Should I heal it?

I can heal it using Divinity.

But I decided not to.

This much disadvantage is necessary for that friend to feel like he has a chance.

Anyway, I acknowledge his quick reflexes.

To think of blocking with his elbow in that situation.

If it were a normal person, they would have panicked and been stabbed at that distance.

Well then, shall we see if you can block this too?

I unleashed a barrage of attacks on the adventurer.

All straightforward attacks.

This was my consideration.

I showed gaps as if to say, “Attack here,” hoping he would play with me more.

“This…!!”

Oh, finally!

The adventurer, who had only been blocking and dodging, attempted a counterattack.

He swung his sword, aiming for my wide-open flank.

I quickly folded my arm and blocked the attack with my sword.

It was a difficult place to block, but I was able to block it easily thanks to my flexibility.

“Ugh…!”

However, due to the difference in basic strength, my body flies to the side.

I landed stably just before rolling on the ground.

This body is good in every other way.

Light.

Fast.

Flexible.

It also has good Magical power adaptability and innately possesses Divinity comparable to a high priest.

Depending on what I decide, I can choose any path.

Become the owner of the Magic Tower.

Or, not satisfied with that, become an Archmage.

Or, I could enter the cathedral and become a High Priest.

Of course, the path I will take remains unchanged.

Once a swordsman, always a swordsman.

Anyway.

If there’s a disadvantage to this body, it’s just one thing.

Excluding Magical power, Divinity, and things like that, it’s the body of an ordinary girl.

Small and fragile.

If I don’t control my breathing, my stamina is terrible.

When I don’t use Body Enhancement, it’s so pathetic that I can’t even do one push-up.

Well, that’s not really a problem.

Because I always have some Magical power around my body.

I straightened my posture again.

Shall we continue?

With a joyful heart, I rushed in again.

2.

Adventurers.

They are classified into a total of seven ranks.

Bronze.

Silver.

Gold.

Platinum.

Mithril.

Orichalcum.

Adamantium.

Among them, platinum-ranked adventurers, who account for about 10% of all adventurers, have the power to subjugate high-risk Magical Beasts alone.

Rein, who participated in this martial arts tournament, was also such a platinum-ranked adventurer.

What is this kid’s true identity?!

Rein felt madness from the girl in front of him.

She was toying with him.

She deliberately exposes weaknesses as if to say, “Attack here,” and smiles gleefully when he attacks there.

She’s happy even when she’s attacked… is she a pervert?

Not only that.

The girl was full of composure.

She could defeat him at any time, but she wasn’t doing it.

The girl’s attacks are getting more and more intense.

Rein is barely managing to defend.

Is she the daughter of a swordsman’s family?

Honestly, Rein was confident in his victory.

When he was looking around at the participants in the waiting room, there was no one who seemed stronger than him.

If there was one guy who caught his attention… it was the giant man who was foaming at the mouth and collapsed over there.

That man is quite famous for being ferocious within the Adventurer’s Guild in this area.

But what is this girl who defeated such a guy in one blow?

A petite figure.

Her weapon isn’t even a proper weapon.

But her skill is real.

She’s better than any opponent he’s ever met.

…What should I do?

There’s a limit to how much he can block.

He can’t even follow her with his eyes anymore.

If he’s careless even for a moment, that rusty sword will tear through his armor.

He was trying to conserve as much Magical power as possible until he got to the finals.

But this isn’t a situation where he can do that.

He can barely defeat her if he fights with all his might.

-Thump!

Magical power pulsed.

Magical power was infused into Rein’s sword.

He will cut her down at once with this sharp Sword Aura.

This attack had even severed a man-eating Magical Beast in one strike.

To have to use such an attack on such a small girl.

That’s how highly he evaluated the girl.

“Oh! Lighthead Family Swordsmanship?”

She knows this technique?

In fact, the swordsmanship Rein uses is the Lighthead Family Swordsmanship, which he learned when he was a soldier in the Count Lighthead’s family.

“It’s a swordsmanship with good cutting power. Hmm hmm!”

The girl nodded.

“But…”

Rein swung his sword.

Sword Aura thundered and flew towards the girl.

The girl’s red eyes in the robe flashed.

The girl drew her sword vertically.

Four lines shaped like a lion’s claws tore through the space.

The thundering Sword Aura was torn to shreds.

“It breaks even with a little bit of strong power.”

Watching his own Sword Aura scatter and disappear like crumbs, Rein felt a sense of futility.

If she blocks this, what should I do next?

He hadn’t used all of his Magical power, but seeing that his attacks weren’t working at all, he lost his will to fight.

It’s humiliating.

Was I such a weak existence?

Rein thought and looked at the girl.

That girl is either a genius or a monster.

“I liked it. Let’s continue fighting in the main round.”

She couldn’t drag out the time too much.

While she was doing this, she thought the other participants would finish the first round on their own.

But fierce battles were still going on all around.

The girl went to the other participants.

“Ack!”

“Cough!”

“W-wait a minute…!”

The participants screamed.

The participants fell like reeds in a strong wind.

The number of participants is decreasing rapidly.

Overwhelming difference in skill.

That’s the phrase you should use when looking at that girl right now.

“Stop! Stop! Stop!”

The host’s urgent voice was heard through the megaphone.

The girl, who was about to bring her sword down on the head of her next opponent, paused.

“Eek!”

The participant was horrified to see the sword stop in front of his eyes.

“First round over! Over!”

16 survivors.

It was decided in the blink of an eye.

She thought it would take at least two hours.

It ended in a total of 30 minutes.

“The surviving participants are asked to wait in the waiting room until the match schedule is decided.”

The girl exhaled a sigh of disappointment.

She sheathed her sword.

And returned to the waiting room with a cute little trot.

The heat of the audience was burning hot.

On the other hand, the faces of the participants in the arena were coldly frozen.

Is there any point in continuing this…?

Many people were thinking that.

Except for one person.