Chapter 7
Chapter 7
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 7
Chapter Title: Reinhardt-1
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Sword strikes flew wildly.
"...What... is that..."
The wind pressure that matched them roared.
Jehard, witnessing the scene, could only gape.
'...When did the young lady reach this level...!'
The Ariasfil before his eyes was not the 'young lady' he knew from the past week.
The realm of her swordsmanship, the purity of her mana, and even her stance were on a completely different level from before.
'...And that kid, how...'
What was the identity of that boy blocking all of Ariasfil's strikes?
A mere mercenary... how...!?
But even in this moment, Jehard failed to notice two things.
The first was that he himself couldn't fully track their movements with his eyes.
The second was...
'...She's strong after all. Can't hold back on power.'
'Faster than expected. If I go easy... I'll be pushed back.'
...That those two boy and girl hadn't gone all out yet.
Claaang!!
Their swords clashed, forcing them to separate for a moment.
"Hoo...!"
Ariasfil exhaled deeply and fully deployed her mana.
The surrounding winds whipped up as mana concentrated toward her.
"I know."
Sword strikes poured in.
Fierce blows at full power, such swordsmanship raged wildly.
'It's not just good power or form.'
She precisely predicted Leo's trajectory and responded with the optimal sword technique.
Through the week's training, Ariasfil had already devised countermeasures for Leo.
Is that a compliment?
What an incredible talent for turning compliments into insults.
But
She's definitely gotten stronger. At this rate...
He might lose by a hair's breadth.
That fact didn't scare him.
No, it was the opposite.
The fact that she had grown to threaten him brought Leo immense thrill.
"Today...! I'll win...!!"
To finish it, she deployed her mana to the maximum. It was now beyond what Jehard could even follow.
But
"...Huh?!"
Her opponent was always the number two who threatened her.
It wasn't a single sword that deflected hers.
"You're definitely fast. Hard to counter with one sword."
Leo countered with two swords.
"...Leonardo, you use Dual Wielding...?"
"Depending on the situation. Not committed to one style or the other."
Leonardo had talent in martial arts, but not the peak growth potential like Ariasfil.
So the path he chose was...
Learning as many diverse weapons and techniques as possible—that's the way I chose.
Some do that, but this suits me better.
One technique alone couldn't beat Ariasfil. In any single style, she was undoubtedly top-class.
You could summarize my life's efforts that way.
Unyielded by the belittling, Leonardo gripped his swords in both hands.
"Here I go."
The counterattack began.
Speeds incomparable to before, not just twice as fast—the chain of strikes twisted variably.
'Strong...! And fast...!'
Ariasfil, barely deflecting those swords, was shocked beyond shock. She thought she'd reached him, but Leonardo had more.
'But...'
She too had talent beyond that.
'Not as strong as before.'
Wielding swords in both hands inevitably dispersed the power behind each strike.
Realizing that wasn't easy, but she was the number one who had always bested the number two.
Clang!! Clang!!
The clearly different clash sounds made Leo's expression change.
'She already found the counter? Scary as expected.'
The swords clashed continuously. Their resonance signaled the end was near.
"Hah... ha..."
"...Hoo..."
Mana deeply concentrated in their swords. Those blades would likely end the duel.
'I'll win...!'
'Can't lose yet.'
Stances ready. All that remained was for the swords to meet.
They charged, swords colliding.
KABOOOM!!
An explosion deafening the ears.
But it wasn't the sound of swords clashing.
They halted their sword dance and turned toward the explosion.
"...What is that!? Young lady?!"
"It's a monster."
This thick, foul demonic energy was immediately sensed through their trained senses.
"A monster?"
"Sorry. Duel later!"
With that, Leo sprinted toward the explosion.
"Wait! Leonardo!"
Leo didn't answer, dashing toward the village where the boom came from.
"Monsters out of nowhere...!"
Before regression, he hadn't even known it happened. Normally, Leo would lose to Ariasfil, she'd leave the village early.
Humiliated, Leo would chase after her and leave too.
"I heard rumors of a Gate in the village before, but... demonic energy this thick..."
Racing to the village, screams echoed. The outskirts were nearly ruins, corpses littering the ground.
"Roooaaarrr!!"
That ferocious roar—he'd heard it before.
"Balrog...!"
The monster of flames, a Balrog.
"Roooaaarrr!!"
Breathing flames, the Balrog began massacring villagers.
"Help...!! Daddyyy...!! Mommmyyy...!!"
A child near the Balrog wailed. Seeking parents, the Balrog gladly tried sending the child to its dead father.
Claaang!!
"Roo...?"
The Balrog's fist halted against Leo's sword.
"...Huh...?"
The child, eyes squeezed shut, slowly opened them.
"Kid...! Bro's struggling here...!"
The Balrog's fist slowly pushed Leo's sword back.
"Won't you run...?"
"A... Ah...! Yes!!"
The child bolted at Leo's words.
"No way."
Deflecting the fist, Leo replied.
Gauging distance to the Balrog, Leo gripped his sword again.
"...Yeah."
A Balrog was an opponent even a 2-circle mage or 3-star knight barely beat.
Of course, this was a whelp, but the racial gap was disadvantage enough.
"...What choice do I have? No one else here can fight it."
It was true. The village guards couldn't beat a Balrog, nor could Jehard or even Ariasfil.
"As if."
Leo didn't aspire to hollow heroism.
"Running would be embarrassing. As the Sage's disciple, or that girl's rival."
The Sage sighed but chuckled. Leo smirked too, facing the Balrog.
The Balrog charged, flames spewing from its maw.
"Roooaaarrr!!"
Touch the flames or graze the fist, fatal wound. With only one core at 1-star, Leo would die instantly.
'So dodge everything.'
None of the Balrog's attacks reached Leo. He evaded every one by a hair's breadth.
Leo lacked the physical prowess to overpower the Balrog. Power and speed favored it. Thus, he intentionally created openings.
This fixed the Balrog's attacks to ones he could definitely dodge—though matching them meant instant death.
"Shut up when I'm one hit from death?"
Another advantage wasn't just defense and evasion.
"Roo?!"
Mid-fist swing, Leo's sword slashed. The surprise slice nicked the Balrog's fist.
Counterattacks seamless with evasion—the moment the foe missed was prime for assault.
"Shut up! One hit and I'm done!"
With those words, Leo swung his other sword.
Crack!
Metal shattered on the fist—cheap sword, no great durability expected.
'...Good enough.'
No matter. The shock from the breaking sword would stall the Balrog.
"Roo...?!"
Leo didn't miss the stagger.
"Roooaaarrr!!"
He slammed his other sword into the Balrog's wrist, twisting it backward.
Crunch
Bones twisted, right arm limp.
'Good. Keep this up and I can win...!'
"Roooaaarrr!!"
Unfortunately,
Fwoooosh!!
His foe wasn't an honorable knight, but a monster of flames.
'Breath...!'
The moment his gaze shifted, that thought was canceled.
"Mommmyyy...! Wake up...!"
It was that child from before.
"Lewis...! Leave Mom and run...!!"
The child strained to free its mother, arm pinned under debris.
"Fuck...! Fuck...!"
Cursing nonstop, Leo charged toward the mother and child, at the incoming fireball.
He deflected it with an Aura-clad sword.
"Run, now!! Wanna go to heaven with Mom!?"
"But her arm...!"
"Ah!! Fuck!!"
With curses, Leo kicked away the debris crushing the arm.
"Hurry!!"
The mother clutched her injured arm, fleeing with the child.
"Now...!"
"Roo!!"
The fist was already flying.
'Fuck.'
The impact sent Leo flying.
"Guhak...!"
Crashing into a building wall, his body shredded.
Bones dislocated and crushed, blood pouring from his mouth.
...Do I look okay?
Why ask if you know.
10 seconds and yes. Align dislocated parts with Aura...
"Woooar...!"
No time for 10 seconds.
The Balrog closed 100m every second.
"...I won't."
This was do-or-die.
One hand drew out mana—not rigid steel Aura, but soft wrought iron mana.
The Sage's art: magic.
Die without it?
Even in death, gouge its eyes first.
"Roooaaarrr!!"
Spell near completion, fist incoming—a paper-thin margin for life.
BOOM!!
Balrog faster. Fist already hit.
"...?"
But Leo was unharmed.
"...You okay?"
Her sword had blocked it.
"...Ariasfil?"
Ariasfil had blocked the attack.