CH 6

Chapter 6: Match vs Leviell

“——Welcome to the guild’s underground arena.”

That’s what Leviell said to us again.

The place that was said to be the best place to go was inside the guild. It was further in. It was an open space located at the end of the stairs leading to the basement.

It was called the “guild’s underground arena.”

This is what Leviell called the bleak landscape with minimal decoration.

It’s just what he calls it, though. It’s mainly used here for party rank advancement exams.

As he spoke, he continued walking. Then, when the distance between us was about 20 meters, he stopped and turned to face me.

As he did so, Jorha, who was following behind, had already moved to the edge of the arena.

After a while, Leviell reached out his hands and said one word.

“——The dragon scales wriggling, Dragunil.”

The rugged silver ring on his middle finger reacted to the words and lit up.

Soon after, the light enveloped not only the ring but also all of Leviell’s arms——and after the dazzling light subsided, his arms were covered with what looked like the arms of a dragon.

“…Ancient relic artifact. It’s also very high ranking, it seems.”

“Ah, yeah. I found it by accident when I was an adventurer, you know? Since then, I’ve been using it like this because it’s so useful.”

Treasures lie dormant in dungeons. One of them is called the “Ancient Relic Artifact”.

It was obviously made by human hands, but the method of its creation is completely unknown. It is a treasure full of mysteries that has never been solved, except for the fact that it is occasionally found in dungeons.

However, the “Ancient Relic Artifacts” has a mighty power of its own, which makes every adventurer wanting to break through the dungeon to get one so badly.

“Hey. You should also bring out your weapon. I heard that, you know? You use a sword, right?”

That reminds me.

“…Ah, that’s right… I forgot.”

So, I’m allowed to use the sword now, huh?

“…Ah?”

In response to my reply, Leviell frowned in doubt.

“…Ah, um, the court of Gardana has a strong electoral will in its own way. …Sword is only worthy of the nobles. I was told that I was not allowed to use it for four years.”

I made an excuse that I didn’t have the option to prepare the sword right away because the awareness of not being able to use it in public was ingrained in me for four years.

However, when I was working as a court magician, I was really limited.

It was forbidden to use a sword.

When it came to magic, the crown prince insisted that he would be the one to conquer it, and if I tried to use magic that he couldn’t use, he would throw a tantrum, claiming that it was disrespectful.

To top it all off, I was treated as a baggage handler, and I couldn’t even use my skills to my satisfaction because of the baggage I was carrying.

So, the best I could do was to use supportive magic to back them up.

“But don’t worry. I never used it in public in the past few years, but that doesn’t mean I was slacking off.”

“Kuwah, okay, okay.”

Leviell’s facial expression showed that he was clearly concerned about the matter… but he continued to say “…That’s fine.” in order to dispel the worry.

The king’s order is not to let the crown prince die. That is why I could not neglect the methods of fighting, even though it is usually forbidden. Therefore, I can use a sword properly.

“——Magic Sword, Dual Sword.”

I took my right hand out as Leviell did earlier, and grabbed the blue and white sword that was created by the magic power that came along the words.

“What’s wrong? Don’t you want to make the first move…?”

Leviell’s eyes narrowed.

With a fierce smile on his face, he looked at me as if he was trying to judge me. From this conversation, it seems that he is already measuring me as a person.

The absolute confidence I could feel in his face reflected in my vision. In front of his calm appearance that he doesn’t think that he will be defeated in the slightest, I uncharacteristically wanted to reveal his snoot just a little bit.

So I chose my words as if I were trying to provoke him.

“It’s none of your business.”

“Oh, really? If that’s the case, then you don’t need to take it easy, do you?”

That was——the signal to start.

The next moment, Leviell’s right hand was thrust out, and the hand that had been clenched into a fist was opened. At the same time, I tapped the ground with the toe of my right foot.

“——Accelerated Spell Boost.”

A series of deafening metallic sounds echoed through the place. Immediately afterwards, a silver magic circle appeared directly in front of me, evenly spaced in the space between me and Leviell.

And at the same time that Leviell took a step forward, like an arrow from a bow, the figure disappeared, leaving only an afterimage on the spot.

That’s a magic that allows you to go through the magic circle that appears and multiply your own acceleration support magic——”Acceleration Magic Super Boost”.

However, there are few people who are as easy to deal with as those who attack too linearly.

“Roaring thunder, Thunderbolt——.”

I deploy the magic circle that I prepared when I poked the ground earlier.

“Hey, hey! You can’t stop me with that, you know——!”

I know. I knew that without being told.

And that’s why.

“——Five-fold deployment, fumph!”

It’s not only in one direction, but in all directions and everywhere at the same time. Thanks to the accelerated spell boost, I already know where Leviell is coming from, so my magic is sure to hit him.

I was confident that my attack would hit no matter how fast my opponent went.

“Hou?”

The lightning bolts covered my vision. It’s a merciless thunderbolt shot from the magic deployed in five directions.

Leviell’s face, which was visible just before the attack, seemed to be tinged with surprise.

However, he screamed and was hit by a thunderbolt, which would have penetrated him.

“——But it’s still not enough.”

It’s not enough to stop him.

It was a direct hit, but a familiar voice came from in front of me. And then, using his own body, he plowed through the rising cloud of dust and rushed forward.

Eventually, the dragon’s arm-like gauntlet collided with the magic sword that I had just created.

“…..”

However, although his power was increased by the fact that he had made a run for it, mine was not. Therefore, even though I clenched my teeth and tried to catch the unusual weight coming through the hilt, letting out a moan through the crack, I soon realized that it was impossible.

“This…”

If it’s impossible to take it head on, then it’s time to deflect the attack.

In response to the outrageous attack, I twisted my body forcibly and took it backwards——!

“…Uwoohh!?”

Did you think I was going to stick around a little longer? Unexpectedly, I succeeded in catching the attack backward easily, and I went after Leviell, who lost his balance in front of me because he lost his power to fight head-on.

I couldn’t let this opportunity pass me by.

I put all the strength I could into the hilt of the sword in my hand, and attempted to strike a straightforward cleave blow at Leviell, who was probably stomping on the ground right now.

However.

“You’re so naive——.”

The scene I had expected to see was not there, and instead of stepping on the ground, he stopped in his tracks, smiling fearlessly as he prepared to intercept.

And then the sword and the gauntlet clashed again. As sparks flew, a loud metallic sound echoed through the air.