The Air of Peace (3)
That’s the Vanguard—a knight armed with Force equipment.
Force equipment is a weapon that converts a knight’s aura into the release-type energy called Force.
A complete set consists of a Force Sword and a Force Armor.
The Force Sword is used offensively by channeling the released energy, while the Force Armor is used defensively.
The maximum range of the Force Sword is 1.2 kilometers, and its power is comparable to a 6-circle offensive spell like a Laser Cannon.
The Force Armor has a defense power rated at the 6-circle level, but because Force itself has a massive effect on magic defense, it is impossible to call it ordinary 6-circle level.
It is evaluated as roughly equivalent to a 7-circle.
There is one restriction on Force equipment: no matter how much aura you pour into it, it can only output a fixed amount of power.
Whether the user is an Aura Master, Aura Expert, or Aura User, the power of the released Force is the same.
However, that doesn’t mean the combat ability of an Aura Master Vanguard equals that of an Aura User Vanguard.
If you wrap Aura Blades around the Force Sword and release the Force, the two energies mix and create a blow that is even more powerful.
Kind of like an Aura Force, perhaps?
Even though the Aura Blades mixed with the Force begin to discharge rapidly beyond 30 meters, they still produce power comparable to a completed 7-circle ultimate spell within 30 meters thanks to long casting.
An Aura Master Vanguard is someone who can deliver that attack without any casting.
So my confident actions must have looked reckless to the experts and the cast members.
“Why don’t we settle this with Force equipment? Knights fighting with magical gear and mages fighting with their bare hands are basically the same, right?”
Baron Jimmy, the National MC, asked with real worry.
Even though it was his idea, if I messed up the schedule and lost, the crew’s embarrassment would be impossible to shield.
“Well, I don’t mind that at all. If Sir Felix wishes, I’ll fight him with ordinary weapons.”
When he heard my response, Felix, the Count, already looked like he had won, nodding as if he had already triumphed.
I let out a light chuckle and waved my hand.
“Can a newbie Aura Master really lose?”
“So you’re saying the same goes for the side of the newbie Great Mage?”
“Me and Sir Felix are not the same at all.”
“What arrogance, to be so driven by desire. I like it very much.”
Adrian and Felix moved to the center of the duel arena.
The audience stirred, and people’s attention poured down.
“Kyaaaaaaa! Adrian-nim!”
Among them, the fans shouting my name were the most dazzling.
I waved at them with a relaxed smile, and a short while later, the tactical commander from the Reinhardt Defense Forces—who had been invited as today’s judge—approached.
“I gave a lot of thought to how we should conduct the duel. If we consider the usual battlefield environment, I’d have to cast a space displacement interference spell, but I wondered whether we even needed to restrict mages with it in a practice match.”
A knight strengthened by Vanguard equipment versus a mage whose space displacement is completely sealed—on the surface it looks blatantly unfair.
But if we think in terms of the battlefield, we have to accept all of it.
On the battlefield, there is no room to consider a mage’s situation.
So in the end, this practice wasn’t meant to simulate actual combat either.
“For that reason, in the first round we will fight while space displacement magic is still available, and if Lawrence Count wins, we’ll cast space displacement interference magic as in an ordinary battlefield.”
They were showing some consideration for me.
Even Felix, the Count, smiled brightly without any displeasure at this decision.
“In any case, we won’t reach the second round.”
What a conceited human.
Well, as an Aura Master, overestimating one’s own strength is understandable, but he seemed not to know how big of a difference the ability to use Blink—short-range space displacement—could make against a mage.
These days knights don’t have much experience with Blink like the old knights did, so probably not.
“Shall we start soon?”
“Are both of you ready?”
“Yes.”
“I understand.”
“Then let’s begin the countdown.”
The judge quickly left the duel arena and headed to the safe zone.
The countdown began, counting down based on 30 seconds.
“Adrian-nim, fighting!”
“Oppa, win!”
For the first 10 seconds, the spectators shouted wildly in support.
But soon the noise gradually died down as everyone became aware, and by 15 seconds, the entire duel arena was as quiet as if all the mice had died.
With 10 seconds left, Felix, the Count, put on his Vanguard equipment.
I twisted my neck in a stretch, and just as 5 seconds remained, I pulled out my Magic Staff from the void.
[3]
[2]
[1]
[0]
Immediately, the countdown numbers reached 0, signaling the start of the duel.
—Ta-at!
It’s a well-known fact that mages are weak in close-range combat.
So—
At the same time the duel began, Felix, the Count, launched himself at me with an elated expression, as if in a frenzy.
It was a speed like a whirlwind, with the spirit of a beast.
“Die!”
“This is a duel. You can’t kill me.”
Even if he had such speed, he couldn’t be faster than space displacement.
As soon as I used Blink—the 5-circle short-range space displacement magic that needs no casting— the surrounding scenery changed instantly, and Felix, the Count, appeared right at my feet.
I casually cast the 5-circle Explosion magic.
—Kwaaaang!
It was aimed at his head, but it couldn’t penetrate the Force Armor’s defense.
However, the shock was not zero.
Because it was a 5-circle spell that struck at nearly zero distance, it was different from ordinary 5-circle magic.
“Kuh!”
—Pit!
Felix, the Count, whose head had twisted back from the impact, swung his Force Sword in a rage.
The Aura Blade infused with terrifying destructive power, combined with the Aura Master’s physical ability, was swung at bullet-like speed.
Too late to attack now. You moron.
Yet I knew he would attack, so there was no obligation to wait quietly.
I had already moved with Blink the moment the attack started, and Felix, the Count’s attack only cut through empty air.
—Kwaaaaarang!
Again, I cast Explosion toward the back of his exposed head.
I kept repeating the same action until his response changed.
“Cowardly backstabbing!”
“What’s that? Without the Force Armor, the Count would have died several times over.”
“Don’t make me laugh!”
Blink, Explosion, Blink, Explosion.
5-circle magic that needed no casting could be unleashed with just a trigger word, so the prejudice that mages are slow no longer applied.
Felix, the Count, panicked and shouted as he tried to counter, but since nothing reached me, he just flailed around helplessly.
He had no experience fighting actual mages.
So it was his mistake not to know the terror of Blink.
—Pit!
But he wasn’t that stupid.
After repeating the same pattern about a dozen times, his attack pattern changed.
Instead of chasing visually, he began tracking the magic’s flow with his Aura Master’s perception.
Even an Aura Master is still an Aura Master, huh?
Laser Cannon
However, because I wasn’t the forgiving type, I toyed with him for a while.
When Felix, the Count, began to adapt to combat, I immediately appeared behind him and used the 6-circle magic Laser Cannon that I had never used before.
Magic power weakens the farther the caster is from the target.
But striking it from nearly zero distance creates a blow even stronger than the usual.
—Kwaaaang!
A normal Vanguard would have lost its head here, but the enhanced Force Armor of the Aura Master protected me without a scratch.
“Kuh…”
But I had already shown that it couldn’t fully cover the shock.
Explosion, which feels like a punch, from 5-circle.
Laser Cannon from 6-circle delivered a level of shock like a traffic accident.
An Aura Master might survive a traffic accident with his bare body, but what about taking that shock to the back of the head?
—Thud.
Felix, the Count, let out a single groan and collapsed to the ground unconscious.
I stepped on his back, struck a victory pose toward the cast members and cameras who hadn’t recovered from the shock, and declared victory.
“You should declare the win, sir.”
“Ah, the winner of the first round is Count Lawrence.”
I snatched the Force Sword from Felix, the Count’s hand and threw it far away.
Soon the cast members came over one by one, bombarding me with questions and praise.
“You never used 7-circle magic, right?”
“Yes. Using 5-circle magic with no casting is already very threatening. Even though 7-circle magic is amazing, I think the greatest advantage of being a Great Mage is being able to use 5-circle magic without casting.”
“With the ability to use Blink freely, the battle was very flashy. The evaluation that mages are slow seems like nothing but empty talk.”
“But on the battlefield it’s hard to fight like that, since space displacement interference magic is the standard.”
“The final magic was the 6-circle Laser Cannon, right? Did you memorize it in advance?”
“No, I just cast it while fighting.”
“Does that mean you cast 6-circle magic while unleashing 5-circle magic without casting?”
“Double casting is a basic requirement.”
“You’re truly amazing.”
“It was so cool!”
The female celebrity in the cast, who had been giving me particularly intimate looks since the beginning, stared at me even more creepily, but I completely ignored her and pointed at the half-dead Felix, the Count.
“Ibril, please treat this person!”
“Yes!”
Only then did a medical team come running in a panic.
But when everyone saw her, they all froze in shock because the medical staff member was a girl who looked like an innocent maiden.
In fact, I had arranged for Ibril to join the medical team by negotiating with the production crew in exchange for my appearance here.
If the injury had been severe, other specialists would have come out, but since Felix, the Count’s injury wasn’t that bad, Ibril had appeared.
Everyone was staring in amazement as countless cameras turned toward Ibril examining Felix, the Count.
“Heal.”
She used the holy magic she had learned from Archbishop Fred.
It was basic healing magic, but—
—Pa-at!
The healing magic created by the Saintess’s talent and supreme-grade holy power produced an effect beyond common sense.
“What’s this?”
“Angel’s Feather?”
White feathers like cherry blossoms scattered around as the healing magic unfolded from her fingertips.
It was the enhanced holy magic effect, ‘Angel’s Feather,’ that only high-ranking priests could see.
Of course, surprise filled everyone’s expressions, and MC Baron Jimmy and Baron Park were in a fluster.
“By the way, I heard today’s medical staff were personally recruited by Count Lawrence. I never imagined it would be such a young girl.”
“Probably better to use someone you can trust.”
“A priest-level holy woman at such a young age? Amazing.”
“No, she has only been baptized and has not yet joined the church. That’s why she’s only listed as a vassal of our Lawrence family.”
“What? But I heard that holy magic and Angel’s Feather effect can only be seen from church priest-level holy women.”
“Holy magic is something I personally learned from Archbishop Fred, who is currently stationed in our Lheinhatz Kingdom. The Angel’s Feather effect is because her talent is so outstanding.”
“Talent?”
“Yes. Ibril is scheduled to participate in the Saintess competition this time.”
“Eeeh?”
“Whoa, that’s huge.”
This was a pre-negotiated matter.
It was the dialogue and reaction I had set in advance when my appearance was confirmed.
Thanks to that, people’s interest had drifted from the program’s direction and was now on Ibril.
I called her over and made her greet the cameras in front of them.
“H, hello. I am Ibril Barnet, in charge of today’s medical support. I will do my best. But please don’t get too injured, okay?”
She was not only beautiful but had an extremely kind appearance and a soft voice.
It was like the perfect Saintess image I had only imagined in my dreams?
Even appearing on screen for such a short time would have a huge impact.
“Uwaaaaah! Damn it!”
Ibril’s advertising time ended as soon as Felix, the Count woke up.
The cast members looked like they had been scorched by fire and stepped back.
“I was starting to get used to the fight a little bit. If just a little more time had passed, I probably would have won.”
It seemed he had already forgotten the polite speech after losing consciousness.
I answered calmly to his furious appearance.
“I’ll have to hear that line again.”
On the battlefield, space displacement magic becomes useless.
So if this is meant to be a real combat-like practice, space displacement shouldn’t be used.
That’s why the judge had divided the round into two in the first place.
But even the organizers probably didn’t think the first round would end so quickly and helplessly.
I picked up the Force Sword I had taken from him and tossed it back.
Felix, the Count, clenched his teeth and told the judge,
“Start the countdown.”
“Ah, I understand.”
No matter how angry you are, can you really forget that the cameras are rolling right now?
I shook my head at his attitude that seemed to threaten the judge.
Don’t worry about the broadcast image.
There is someone who is so kind as to willingly take on the villain role.
After that, the countdown for the duel began again.
The distance to the guy was about 10 meters.
In the first round it had been about 20 meters, but now the distance had halved.
For an Aura Master, it was a distance you could reach in one step.
But I quietly watched the countdown displayed on the hologram as if it didn’t matter.
[3]
[2]
[1]
[0]
Then the signal for the start of the duel rang out.
“Die!”
“You said you can’t kill me.”
The guy launched himself at me like a madman.
Faster and more threatening than before.
The will to not let my guard down was clear.
So I pointed my index finger at him.
Flame Blast. Flame Blast. Flame Blast… Flame Blast.
I unleashed ten 7-circle ultimate spells at once from my memorized list.
“Eh?!”
Felix, the Count, hurriedly swung his Aura Blade to cancel the magic.
But canceling an entire 7-circle ultimate spell was no easy task, like canceling one ordinary spell.
“Uwaaaah!”
—Kwaaaararararang!
With a sound unlike anything before, the vibration shook the world, and Felix, the Count’s miserable scream was swallowed by the brilliant light as he was swept away by the explosion.