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Fighting the Court Wizard ②
Translated by AmaLynne
Edited by AmaLynne
「Sam, don’t let that pervert get the better of you. You are sister Ur’s disciple!」
「We’ll be watching from a little distance. I believe you will win.」
「Thank you, Erica-sama and Lise-sama. I will win, so that Ur will not be ashamed of me. I mean, I will not be defeated by perverts who sniffs Ur’s underwear!」
Erica and Lise delivered their words of encouragement and moved to the edge of the courtyard to watch Sam and GĂźnther as they faced off.
「Are you ready?」
「Whenever you are.」
Sam is full of enthusiasm while GĂźnther looks cool.
This will be Sam’s first battle since coming to the Royal Capital.
The other day, he got into a tussle with a nobleman in the dungeon, but that was not a battle.
This time, he would be facing a court magician.
It was a good opportunity to test his abilities.
「Oops, let’s get ready for a fight first.」
GĂźnther snaps his fingers.
A moment later, multiple layers of wards covered the courtyard and the building.
「Wards.」
「Heh, did you notice? I’m a Ward Artist. And I’m so proud of it that so far no one has broken my warding except Ulrike.」‡
「Then I guess I’m the second.」
「Fufufu… brave of you. I hope so. My fighting style is quite simple. I can only put up wards. It’s not that I can’t fight, but it’s just not for me.」
「Classy stuff.」
「So, if you can penetrate my wards, I will surrender. You win. I wish you good luck with the power you inherited from Ulrike.」
Even before the battle, GĂźnther was as calm as the surface of a calm lake.
「You talk from the top. Let’s see how long you can keep that attitude up.」
In contrast, Sam’s eyes glittered and his canine teeth bared ferociously as he laughed.
He is itching to fight the court wizard.
「I have great respect for you, Ulrike’s apprentice, and I swear to you that I will use my warding skills to the best of my ability. Come on, take me on.」
「Here we go.」
No signal was needed.
They looked at each other, nodded their heads, and Sam kicked the ground.
With his physical abilities explosively enhanced by his magical powers, he quickly closed in on GĂźnther.
「―――Yes, yes, yes, you’re fast! But it’s not the speed at which you can’t react. Even if you couldn’t.」
Sam unleashes a fist with all his might.
But,
「The wards that protect me will block your attack.」
True to Günther’s words, Sam’s blow was met with a roaring sound and a hard ward.
「―――Tsk.」
「You ill-behaved child. But speed, the power of a single blow, is great.」
「I don’t want you to feel good about stopping just one blow, though.」
Sam increased his magic.
「―――Flame.」
*Roar*, flames engulf Sam.
His enhanced physical abilities were further heightened, and he was engulfed in flames.
Sam kicked the ground again and then turned to face GĂźnther, unleashing fist after fist and kick after kick.
「Hee. Flame-body enhancement magic… I’ve never seen this before.」
Although his attacks are blocked by the wards, Sam does not let up.
If one blow doesn’t work, two. If that doesn’t work, repeat the attack.
Nothing is absolute in this world.
Even if the wards were strong, if Ur had broken them before, Sam could do it.
「I wonder if I see Lise’s habits in some places. Is Lise the master of the physical arts? No, it looks like Ulrike raised her and Lise trained her.」
「UraaaaaAAAAHHHH!」
Sam unleashed a kick with all his might, but was again blocked by the ward.
During this time, GĂźnther did not move an inch.
Of course, he is doing nothing because he is consuming magic power to maintain the wards, but there is no doubt that he can afford to do so.
「You can see that I have a strong ward protecting me. Your attack may be a dual strike of blows and fire, but neither will reach me.」
「How about that?」
A smirk, and Sam’s lips lift up.
「―――What?」
All the fire in his body is focused on his raised fist.
More than ever before, the enhanced fist was filled with a dense flame.
A blow was released, which made the flames gain momentum by putting in as much magical power as possible.
「UraaaaaAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH! 」
The fist crashes into the ward and bursts into flames.
Sam does not stop.
He takes one more step and increases his magical power, determined to break through the wards.
「―――Tsk, what a great amount of magic!」
The heat alone was outrageous.
Without the ward, GĂźnther might have been burned to death.
「But not enough to penetrate my wards.」
Günther’s eyes widened and Sam’s smile deepened.
「I win!」
「Nonsense!」
Cracks appear in Günther’s prized wards.
It sounds like glass cracking, and the wards covering him creak one by one, then another.
「Good. That’s why you are Ulrike’s disciple. Body-enhancing magic and fire, simple at first glance, but with your tremendous amount of magical power, you are a great threat. I see.」
「It’s a hard ward. But not unbreakable! The dragons we fought on the southern continent still deployed harder wards!」
「I don’t want to be compared to a dragon. But, Sam. My ward still holds. Even if it cracks, it’s not shattered.」
「I know it when I see it.」
「And you haven’t even really started yet. Right?」
At Günther’s question, Sam extinguished the flame and took a giant leap backward.
「Let’s settle this. I know you have the potential to break my wards. I’m going to do my best to deploy my wards. I want you to give me your all.」
「I’ll take it. But first, let me ask you something. The wards covering the courtyard must be sturdy, right? I wouldn’t want anything to happen to Lise-sama and the others.」
「Haha, HAHAHAHAHA! You sound like Ulrike! You think you’ve already won? I’m the one you’re attacking, right? Unless there is something wrong with my ward, I will protect them.」
The reason Sam didn’t go all out from the beginning was to keep Lise and the others out of it.
This is an inner-city area and the residence of the Count Walker family.
Sam did not want to cause damage to the surrounding area.
Above all, although they are fighting, Sam has no intention of killing GĂźnther.
In fact, he does not want him to die.
Hence, he was watching to see what would happen.
「The warding that covers this place now is the best warding technique I could have made in anticipation of a serious fight with Ulrike. It is not so fragile that it can be destroyed by you, who only inherited its power.」
「Then I’ll give it a try.」
Sam quietly held out his hands and chanted in a small voice.
The short but magical chant released all of Sam’s inner magic.
「―――beautiful.」
A crimson magic power rises to envelop Sam.
Even Sam’s black hair is dyed red by this magical power.
「Put your magic into your wards if you don’t want to die.」
All the magic taught and inherited by Ulrike was now unleashed here.