Friendly Spars and Shadowy Rumors
“Huh? Ludenberg and Tara came looking for me?”
“Yes. They asked if you could help with practice for the friendly matches.”
“Ah.”
“What will you do?”
“Of course I'll help. They've done so much for me in return.”
“Your face did soften up a bit, Senior.”
“Just preparing for this exchange event would've killed me from overwork without those two.”
“……Yeah, true. Back during the Solemnute raid, you were on the verge of collapse.”
“You'll help too, right?”
“Yes, yes. Don't worry. I don't have anything else to do anyway.”
“Huh? You're not researching Ortara's divine power?”
“I finished that last year. And personal practice is easier in the Moon Garden anyway.”
“Really? Well then……”
“I set the appointment for tomorrow, so they'll come by then.”
“Oh. It's already this late.”
“By the way, what did the Ortara side say?”
“Something about……a strange atmosphere in the air? Then they started warning me to be careful.”
“What?”
“Lately, there have been reports of orphans vanishing from small villages and cities in Ortara, one by one. Apparently, someone witnessed it yesterday……”
“Like some kind of ghost story?”
“Who knows……”
Dalia's expression darkened. It was the face of someone who had a hunch.
The sharp-minded Seia wouldn't miss that. If there were suspicious incidents happening lately, there was one group that couldn't be excluded.
“Or……is it the Salvation Cult?”
Dalia let out a sigh and nodded.
“We can't rule out the Salvation Cult. But considering what they've done so far, they're the type to unleash erosion beasts first and foremost, right? I can't really picture those lunatics quietly kidnapping people.”
That was true enough. Just looking at the massive eastern erosion outbreak or the recent Solemnute raid, the Salvation Cult weren't the sort to do anything quietly. What they always sought was to summon the evil god and turn the world upside down.
“That's why we can't pin it on the Salvation Cult for sure. There might be some other shadowy group at work.”
“Tricky……”
“The professors are aware, so it'll come up soon. You be careful too.”
“Got it, Senior.”
It had already been four days since arriving in Ortara. As soon as dawn broke, Ludenberg Lavante and Ashytara Solenute went looking for Dalia and Seia.
“Hey!”
Was it because she'd escaped her student council duties? Dalia greeted them with an incredibly cheerful tone.
“Hello.”
“You said you were looking for me?”
“Yes. We wanted to do some practice for the friendly matches. Would that be okay?”
“Of course! Seia said she'd help too.”
“Then the location……”
“Oh, about the location……do you want to hide your full strength, by any chance?”
“Pardon? Well……no.”
Ludenberg shook his head. What were Ortara's students like? Even though they could have hidden their practice, they'd shown everyone how they coordinated with Ortara's priests in battle. It was clear they weren't obsessed with victory alone. They valued the friendly matches themselves, wanting to fight honorably without shame.
In that case, shouldn't he respect that attitude and match it? He had no ill will toward the Ortara folk, and their hospitality had more than earned his goodwill.
“Let's do it in the training grounds. Ortara's students didn't mind us watching anyway.”
“Perfect.”
A smile curved Dalia's lips.
As the four headed to the training grounds, they spotted Solemnute students intensely preparing for the friendly matches—just as expected. From the usual slippery types like Leb Heinz, Marvin Ashus, and Gawin Greta's crew to the diligent ones who'd always been serious. Everyone was united in giving their all for victory.
The four silently picked weapons from the training grounds' rack. Seia took a bow and arrows. Dalia grabbed her axe-spear. Ludenberg selected a longsword. Ashytara hefted her cross greatsword.
Settling in one corner of the grounds, Dalia and Seia spoke to Ludenberg and Ashytara.
“We know you're ridiculously strong anyway, so we can go all out too, right?”
“Yes.”
“Good. Then……”
In that instant, Dalia's usual warm, playful demeanor sharpened into that of a fierce warrior.
“Here I come.”
Terra's divine power swirling around her, Dalia kicked off the ground.
Boom!
A thunderous roar echoed through the grounds, impossible from her small frame, drawing all eyes to the four.
Ludenberg met it head-on. As Dalia charged with her axe-spear, he stepped forward.
Clang!
The clash of metal rang out, the ground cratering beneath them from the sheer pressure they exerted.
Dalia pressed her advantage, leveraging the axe-spear's reach to overwhelm Ludenberg. It wasn't for nothing she was student council president—her assault was ferocious.
'At this level……'
He could win. Ludenberg assessed it immediately. Having safely passed his first trial, he was far stronger than during the Solemnute raid. Back then, right after, he might have struggled or lost……but now, he was on another level entirely. Victory was assured.
But this was practice for the friendly matches. Solo brilliance meant nothing. It was about syncing with Ashytara.
He eyed the incoming axe-spear. He'd gauged its power; now, to dismantle it.
His gaze locked on, visions unfolding: trajectories, angles, possibilities. He perceived them all and swung.
The axe-spear's fierce strikes began faltering. Spear tips glanced off his blade, axe swings halted by his unpowered sword.
Dalia was struck anew by how absurd this boy was.
'Strong, I've heard he's strong……but this isn't just strong……'
She herself had soloed an upper-level erosion beast before. So when she heard Ludenberg had done the same, she'd thought it fitting. Unswayed by prejudices about lacking divine power, she'd never let her guard down, believing strength had reasons.
Thus she realized: no need for complicated excuses. Ludenberg was simply strong. Like how he'd repelled an upper-level erosion beast on a different tier, the gap between her and him was clear.
Axe-spear moves weren't common; few wielded it as primary. Yet he read it like an open book, preempting paths with his sword. Chilling.
But losing to a young underclassman? Her pride wouldn't allow it.
She surged more Terra's divine power, swinging wildly to breach his defense.
Ashytara, too, raised her greatsword against Seia, channeling Solem's divine power. Fierce flames stirred.
'I know Ludenberg's strong. So at minimum, I can't get in his way.'
Confident in her skills, but the friendly matches spanned all years—not just first-years—so she couldn't guarantee her role.
Watching her channel Solem's power, Seia impassively cloaked herself in Lanur's divine power.
Ashytara knew she was a Lanur saintess. Predicting wild tricks, she advanced cautiously, as discussed with Ludenberg. Rush in recklessly, and she'd be toyed with.
But caution was what Seia wanted.
Obsessed with dissecting Hidea Rune's techniques, Seia had adopted her bow and trained relentlessly. Fanatical effort plus unexpected talent yielded impossible archery for a theology student.
An arrow flew. Not some grand Piercing Arrow like Hidea's, yet it hammered Ashytara's greatsword madly. Invisible speed, uncanny precision.
Ashytara swept her greatsword upward, disrupting paths with wind pressure. Futile.
Lanur's divine power defied laws. Arrows twisted midair, infused with it.
“Ngh!”
One grazed her arm, impact defying its size.
'Bad matchup.'
Ashytara realized instantly. Her rotational, reactive greatsword style sucked against elite archers. Seia exploited range masterfully: free arrow control, unpredictable saint laws.
A seasoned hunter.
But retreat? No.
She shielded her front with the flat and coiled power in her toes.
Thud.
Ground shattering, she shot forward like light.
Arrows pinged off the blade near her ears.
Seia recalled her nocked arrow, spreading Lanur's power. Ashytara's sword neared her throat—but Seia vanished.
“What……!”
Shock escaped her lips. Then arrows rained from all sides.
Ashytara fell back on the defensive.