Chapter 45
Chapter 45
Under a crimson sky without a single breeze, the air hung heavy.
The two squires, who had been trading insults moments ago, now gripped their weapons tightly, their fighting spirit blazing.
The duel about to unfold looked unfair at first glance.
Though they wore the same squire uniforms, the difference in physique was overwhelming.
On one side stood a small, slender young girl.
On the other stood a tall boy packed with muscle.
The height difference alone was nearly thirty centimeters.
To any observer, it would have looked like a giant bullying a child.
Yet Bentley himself remained completely serious.
Anyone with functioning eyes would have realized long ago, after years of training alongside Sera, that her abilities were far from ordinary.
It was only natural to be cautious.
He was confident he could win, but he wasn't foolish enough to underestimate her.
"She looks pretty confident."
Her expression showed no signs of fear or hesitation.
"No... is she blinded by rage?"
If anything, she looked more like she was trying to figure out the best way to beat the hell out of the bastard who had insulted her.
Bentley expected her attack to come at any moment.
The hostility radiating from her practically announced that she would strike first.
Raising his wooden sword, he prepared himself.
"Abnormally fast double strikes. Occasional shockwaves. Endless stamina. Ridiculous strength that doesn't suit a girl."
Bentley quickly reviewed Sera's strengths in his mind.
The brat certainly had plenty of strange tricks.
Even taking all of them into account...
"...she's still not my opponent."
He simply couldn't imagine losing.
Just as Sera was convinced of her own victory, Bentley was equally certain of his.
The reason was simple.
This year, he had finally learned to wield Aura.
"And the gap will only continue to grow."
That single fact alone was enough.
The moment a person began using Aura, they stepped beyond ordinary humans and entered the realm of superhumans.
"She's brave to the point of stupidity. She probably thinks she has a chance because I've never used Aura during our sparring sessions."
A huge misunderstanding.
The arrogance of someone who had never truly faced an Aura user.
Even if she somehow landed the first strike or smashed him with one of her absurdly powerful attacks, it wouldn't matter much.
An Aura-enhanced body was several times tougher than normal.
"I'll use my reach, keep my distance, and cut her wooden weapon in half with an Aura-infused strike."
Once she lost her weapon, the fight would be over.
She would immediately realize the overwhelming gap between them and surrender.
"And what's with that sword-and-spear combination?"
Today, Sera had brought both a wooden sword and a short wooden spear.
Bentley couldn't even begin to imagine how she intended to use them together.
"Well... she'll probably be devastated, so I should comfort her afterward."
No matter how talented she was, if she couldn't use Aura, she needed to accept that becoming a knight wasn't realistic.
It was harsh, but it was reality.
Better to quit now than suffer even greater disappointment later.
"Besides, being a knight isn't the only career path..."
What exactly was she imagining?
Bentley suddenly found himself blushing.
Regardless, there were plenty of reasons he needed to win this duel.
Crunch.
His hands tightened around the wooden sword.
The thick calluses covering his palms spoke of relentless effort and an obsession with becoming stronger.
Remembering the humiliation of being knocked out by a tiny child years ago, he hardened his resolve.
At last, he had a chance to erase that shame.
Yet despite his serious determination...
Sera's behavior was shockingly disrespectful.
She was doing something completely unrelated to the duel.
"What the hell is she doing?"
She set down her wooden spear and picked up only her sword.
Bentley frowned.
Why bring two weapons only to use one?
"I thought she'd at least throw the spear..."
Apparently not.
Her bizarre behavior left him utterly confused.
Tap. Tap. Crunch.
She brushed away dirt from the ground and carefully flattened the surface beneath her feet.
Like a pitcher inspecting the mound before a throw.
Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh.
Then she began swinging her sword through empty air.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Four times.
To anyone else, it would have looked like meaningless nonsense.
But Bentley had seen this before.
"...Don't tell me."
A troubling sense of déjà vu flashed through his mind.
"Wa-da-da-da-da!"
Six years ago.
A tiny little brat had thrown punches at empty air.
Then, moments later, a shockwave had appeared and knocked him unconscious instantly.
"Just as I thought. She's playing dirty because she knows she can't win."
Bentley had already figured out her mysterious shockwave technique years ago.
And it wasn't enough to threaten him anymore.
He knew it was powerful.
But—
"That's right, Sera. If you don't want regrets, you'd better give this everything you've got."
He would cut through the shockwave with his Aura-infused sword.
Then—
"This is the last time you'll ever hold a sword!"
He would close the distance and finish the fight.
"Tsk, tsk. He's making such a fuss by himself."
Watching Bentley's ever-changing expressions, Sera smirked.
He looked like he was carrying some grand mission on his shoulders.
It was honestly ridiculous.
"I can practically read every thought in his head."
At first, he'd been wondering what she was doing.
Now he had probably convinced himself she was preparing to launch a long-range shockwave attack.
"There couldn't be a more humiliating defeat for Bumblebee than this."
It would be the perfect way to make him understand the gap between them.
The truth was, Sera intended to knock Bentley out with a single attack.
She'd talked about beating him senseless, but nothing would leave a deeper scar than forcing him to relive his old humiliation.
Still, one question remained.
How exactly did she plan to defeat someone like Bentley in one hit?
The squires might feel like childhood friends because they had grown up together.
But objectively speaking, Bentley was a monster among his peers.
Even in a large city full of talented people, someone like him would be rare.
Recently, he had even become strong enough to fight four massive, muscular orcs at once.
No matter how much stronger than adult men Sera was, defeating him in one blow should have been impossible.
"Hmm-hmm~♬"
Yet Sera casually hummed a tune while lazily swinging her sword.
Judging by the increasingly murderous look on Bentley's face, she was clearly doing it on purpose.
Whoosh. Whoosh.
Nine swings.
Which became eighteen thanks to her Double Attack trait.
Then—
Thunk.
She lowered the wooden sword.
Crunch.
Picking up the wooden spear she'd left on the ground, she gripped it tightly.
"Bumblebee."
With an innocent smile, she aimed at her target.
"If you can block this, I'll fight you seriously."
She was trying not to underestimate him.
Trying not to let her guard down.
Yet he still looked laughably weak to her.
No matter how she thought about it, she simply couldn't picture herself losing.
"...Originally, I was only planning to break your sword."
Bentley's eye twitched.
"But now..."
His patience finally snapped.
"I think you need a proper beating before you come to your senses."
Blue Aura flared violently within his eyes.
Unfortunately for Bentley, his comeback would have to wait.
"Let's see... I think Master held a spear like this."
Just as Bentley expected, Sera really was planning to throw the spear.
The problem was that the power behind it would exceed anything he could imagine.
For nearly five years, Pan had taught her spear-throwing techniques.
She also possessed a twenty-percent bonus to all weapon proficiencies.
Crack-crack-crack!
Her current Strength stat was eighteen.
After activating her temporary triple-stat boost, it soared to fifty-four.
An absurd level of raw power.
Then add the trait that tripled the power of thrown spears.
And on top of that—
The tremendous shockwave generated from twenty consecutive attacks.
What would happen when all those traits combined?
"Bumblebee. Sleep well."
She wasn't entirely sure herself.
But she knew the synergy created by those traits would produce something terrifying.
BOOOOM!
The explosive force that left her hand could no longer be called a thrown spear.
At that point, it was closer to a missile.
"GUH!"
Caught off guard by the bizarre timing and overwhelming acceleration, Bentley failed to block it.
The attack landed directly.
And so—
KRAAAAAASH!
Bentley was instantly sent into a deep, peaceful sleep amidst a thunderous explosion.