Just Once... Just One Hit!
Franz stood atop the restored castle walls of his territory, staring blankly at the Grandia flag fluttering in the wind.
“Young lord! What’s got you so lost in thought!”
Braum, who had approached without him noticing, gave his back a hearty slap. Franz let out a small laugh and shook his head.
“It’s just… I’m still amazed, that’s all.”
With just one of Serian’s potions, they had reclaimed more than half the territory that had been taken from them in mere days. It was nothing short of a miracle!
But his smile quickly faded. They still hadn’t captured the enemy’s former court mage—the true mastermind behind all this.
That man had displayed an absurdly tenacious survival instinct, slipping through every encirclement with bizarre magic whenever he was cornered.
Once, the Black Hammer Knights thought they had him cornered, only for massive vines to erupt from the ground in a burst of plant magic, tripping the knights.
In another chase, the horses suddenly went wild—clearly the work of animal control magic. The knights were thrown from their saddles or dragged off in the wrong direction.
And just recently, they had driven him to a cliff’s edge, only for a sudden gust of wind magic to shove the knights back, letting him escape yet again.
The mage they thought only handled lightning kept pulling out entirely different types of magic in every crisis: plants, animals, wind. Controlling all of them at once was clearly beyond the realm of ordinary mages.
It’s not just the lightning that’s the problem. If we don’t catch him, the same thing could happen again at any time.
That mage had far too many tricks up his sleeve. There was no telling when he might return for revenge.
“You still haven’t experienced the Goddess’s blessing yet, have you?”
“Haha… Unfortunately, no.”
It made sense. As the lord of House Schmidt, Franz had mostly stayed in the safer rear lines. And those muscle worshippers charged straight at lightning like madmen, so his turn never came.
What exactly happens when you get hit?
The Schmidt Ironclad Knights who had drunk the replenishment potions and taken direct lightning strikes had ended up with their entire bodies wrapped in muscle. In the end, they had all become just like these lunatics!
“Lady Serian! She is a god!”
“Damn it, now I have to worship her too!”
“Please, just one more time! Grant me another trial!”
When even his once-sane knights had reached the point of worshipping Serian, Franz couldn’t help but grow a little curious himself.
Just how good was it that they were making this much noise?
Me too… Just once… Just once!
I want to get hit too… just once!
“By the way, that lightning mage is nowhere to be seen!”
At this point, the Black Hammer Knights weren’t waiting for battle—they were waiting for the lightning mage himself.
“It’s been clear for the past few days,” one knight muttered regretfully. “I’m starting to feel itchy. Can’t someone just develop a spell that makes it rain—”
“…….”
“Kahaha! Just kidding, just kidding.”
Braum said this while repeatedly patting Franz’s shoulder, but his expression didn’t look like he was joking at all.
. . .
Perhaps the heavens had taken pity on his wish. Not long after, dark clouds began to fill the once-clear sky.
“Everyone, take out your potions and drink!”
“It’s here! It’s finally here!”
The entire knight order cheered as they pulled glass bottles from their pockets and chugged them down in one go.
“Hehehehe! It’s coming again! Again! The power is returning!”
“Goddess! This time! This time please bless my trapezius muscles!”
“The moment the lightning starts falling, I’m running out first!”
From the Astra camp on the distant hill, they watched the knights’ frenzied behavior.
“Isn’t it strange… Every time it rains, the enemy’s morale seems to rise instead?”
When a new recruit asked in confusion, the veteran beside him answered with a horrified expression.
“Ah, you must be from the newly reinforced unit. Be careful. If you get hit by them even once… your mind will collapse.”
The veteran swallowed dryly instead of answering.
“Is it really that powerful?”
*
“We have a problem, Commander! The special operative mage is nowhere to be found!”
General Kaelan, supreme commander of the Astra western front, frowned at the urgent report.
“What?”
It was even raining today—why now!
Indeed. The secret weapon dispatched from Astra’s homeland—the special operative mage who wielded lightning—had vanished overnight!
“I specifically ordered full preparations because it was supposed to rain today!”
Of course, he knew the mage was an eccentric who defied common sense. Conversation rarely got through to him, and he always wore a ragged hood pulled low, never showing his face properly. He was the type to ignore orders and act based solely on his own judgment of the battlefield’s flow.
…Are all high-ranking mages like this?
Still, he never expected the man to disappear without notice at such a critical moment. Had he judged the battle hopeless and fled?
No, that couldn’t be. Desertion during wartime was grounds for immediate execution. If he had done that, he would be hunted by Astra’s assassins for the rest of his life. No matter how talented a mage he was, he couldn’t evade the empire’s pursuit forever.
Kaelan suppressed his rage and tried to calm himself.
“Hmph, forget it. That bitch has been useless for a while anyway.”
Of course, the lightning magic she wielded was on a truly terrifying level. Even after decades on the battlefield, this was the first time he had seen a mage who could directly summon the heavens’ wrath. Thanks to her, they had nearly seized complete control of Grandia’s western border.
But then what happened?
That brat, the young lord of Schmidt, had somehow recruited a bunch of strange fellows and brought them along. Barbarians who took direct lightning strikes and remained completely fine, wearing no armor at all.
No—it must have been that woman who brought those barbarians!
Serian Elhardt, the commander who created the Night Ghosts unit and recaptured the Silver Horn Fortress!
Ever since she appeared leading those barbarians, the tide of battle had been relentlessly turning against them.
What race are those things, exactly?
He had never heard of such a powerful tribe existing on the continent. Judging by their abnormally developed muscles, they must have orc blood mixed in their ancestry. They certainly seemed a bit lacking in intelligence.
Still, even so! To have orcs as ancestors! What a tragedy that would make the gods weep!
Kaelan unknowingly broke out in goosebumps all over his body. In this era where the very concept of sexual sensibility was nearly nonexistent, the idea of mating with orcs instead of elves or dwarves was something his common sense could neither understand nor accept.
Anyway.
He could not afford to retreat any further here. After losing the Silver Horn Fortress, western influence had plummeted. He had received excessive support from the imperial family under the pretext of filling that void and establishing a foothold for the western front’s reconquest. Troops, supplies, and even that uncontrollable mage.
If he lost here, not only would his military career end—his family’s honor would be finished as well.
He gritted his teeth. Even if he had to sacrifice countless soldiers today, there was no place to retreat.
“All forces, advance!”
Bwooooo—!
With the sound of war horns, Astra’s soldiers charged down the hill with battle cries. The battlefield air became thick with the smells of blood, mud, and rainwater.
As Kaelan had predicted, the battle was fierce. But… something felt off.
The frontline that should have been completely overwhelmed by the barbarians’ monstrous strength was holding surprisingly steady. No—in fact, Astra’s side was pushing the enemy back, if only by a tiny margin.
“……?”
Kaelan narrowed his eyes and scanned the battlefield. Finally, he realized the source of his unease.
The overwhelming presence of those orc-blooded descendants had shrunk dramatically. Their once superhuman physiques had diminished to the point where they were merely among the larger knights!
I don’t know how it happened, but… at this rate, we can win!
Kaelan’s eyes flashed. The barbarians were, as always, completely naked. Having lost their unreal muscle armor, standing on the battlefield without any armor at all… they were now nothing more than prey.
He drew his sword and roared.
“All forces, full assault! Show those arrogant barbarians the power of Astra!”
*
The moment the battle began, Serian realized something was wrong.
She had already heard that the mage only appeared on cloudy days. Schmidt territory was currently in the middle of the rainy season. Rain fell frequently. Today too, the sky was full of dark clouds, and small raindrops were pattering down.
Then… why isn’t he here?
Before the battle started, Serian had spread her mana wide from atop Whitie to locate the mage. Whenever it seemed like the mage was about to be caught, Serian would secretly use magic to save her without anyone noticing.
—Oh! That mage is using plant magic!
—Huk! This time the mage is controlling the wind!
…or so she would shout.
In Serian’s plan to quit her job, that mage absolutely had to stay alive. So today, out of habit, she searched for the mage again.
But—she couldn’t sense the mage’s mana at all!
Whether they knew her insides were burning or not, the atmosphere on the battlefield was growing increasingly bizarre.
“Why… why isn’t the lightning mage hereeee…”
“It’s raining, so why!!!”
“There’s even thunder… whyyyy!!!”
“Whyyyyyy!!!!”
That’s right! The knight order, drunk on the omnipotence granted by their muscles, had been filled with anticipation. Before the battle even started, they had stripped off their armor and completed all preparations!
Yet as time passed without any lightning falling, they began to tremble.
“D-damn iiiiiit—!”
“The time to get hit has already passed long ago—!”
“Just one hit… just one hit for me…!”
And then, one by one, they began showing abnormal symptoms.
“My… my muscles… are shrinking againnnnn…”
“I’m going crazy… I’m going crazy… I’m going crazy…”
“I feel like I’m gonna go out for lunch… I feel like I’m gonna go out for lunch… I feel like I’m gonna go out for lunch…”
The strange muttering spread like a plague. They reached their hands toward Serian in the sky with desperate, pleading eyes.
“Goddess! Please bestow your blessing upon us quickly!”
I keep telling you I’m not the one giving it!
“Goddess, just one shot of electricity! Just oooone shot please!”
“Just one shot! Couldn’t you possibly spare us one?”
Serian shook her head in disgust.
“No. My mana isn’t infinite either.”
“Daaaaamn it! My divine power is dropping!”
That’s right! They had become addicted to the omnipotence granted by muscle. Now that they weren’t getting struck by lightning, the sense of deprivation was overwhelming! As the energy they had stored from previous lightning strikes ran out, their unrealistically swollen muscles were visibly shrinking.
Now they were—simply people who had forgotten to put on clothes before leaving the house.
Serian was overcome with anxiety. Had the mage realized that getting hit by lightning made them stronger and left the battlefield? If so, that was a huge problem.
The knights’ morale had hit rock bottom.
It’s raining, so why? It’s raining, so why? It’s raining, so why?
I’m going crazy. I’m going crazy. I’m going crazy. I’m going crazy…
The depression caused by muscle loss was exactly like the withdrawal symptoms of addicts craving medicine!
Franz looked at them and felt goosebumps rise. He had already drunk a rubber potion just in case.
If I get hit by lightning… I won’t end up like that, right?
The battle situation began to shift rapidly. The knights, having lost their muscle armor and with their mental strength depleted, were helplessly pushed back by Astra’s fierce assault. The defensive line collapsed, and screams erupted everywhere.
It was then.
Rumble—!
A thunderous roar that seemed to tear the sky apart engulfed the battlefield.
“……Thunder! It’s thunder!!”
“It’s hereeee!!”
The knights who had been drowning in the despair of muscle loss let out a collective cheer.
Franz hurriedly looked around, but the hooded mage was still nowhere to be seen.
No matter what, without that mage, there’s no way to get hit by lightning, right?
It was then that the Black Hammer Knights began rummaging through the bundles they had tied to their backs and pulling something out.
It was a helmet with a silver rod sticking out of it, like a fishing rod.
What the… is that?
Knights riding horses completely naked, yet wearing sharp-pointed helmets on their heads.
The sight was… incredibly bizarre.
The moment Franz’s mind was stolen by that dizzying spectacle—
Crackle—!
Boom—!
The sky flashed, and several streaks of blue lightning slammed into the ground.
“….Wait, what is this!”
The lightning was striking directly onto those ridiculous helmets.
Franz could only stand there with his mouth agape, staring at the unreal scene before him.