"Huff... ha..."
Morning sunlight filtered through the leaves and scattered in fragments across the concrete ground.
The lush, green forest was filled with the clean scent of nature, and the leaves rustled softly. Being immersed in it made one feel as if one's soul was being purified.
Ryoji did push-ups, supporting himself with one hand on the ground. His bare upper body showed muscles rising and falling rhythmically as sweat dripped continuously from his forehead.
He pushed himself to finish the final set, then collapsed onto the ground with a heavy thud, like a massive boulder crashing down. He gulped air in, his chest heaving like a bellows.
"Catch!"
Only then did the scorching gaze from nearby ease slightly as a bottle of sports drink was tossed over.
Ryoji caught the bottle with his right hand, which wasn't very sore, opened it, and drank it all at once.
After replenishing his fluids, he finally felt much better and simply lay there, resting.
This was a corner of the dense forest within Hagun Academy.
Ryoji had claimed it as his personal training ground because a small park had been built there. Every morning, he came here to use the legal loli's special ability to train his body.
Several days after returning from the DanMachi world, his life had gradually returned to normal.
"What about the date you promised?"
"Isn't this a date, too?"
Training together meant the two of them were alone, so it still counted as a date.
The legal loli naturally felt tricked, but she instantly felt better when she thought about being able to see Little Junior Brother's naked body while he trained and decided this arrangement wasn't bad at all.
"First Senior Sister, how do Blazers usually deal with reflection-type special abilities?"
Ryoji lay completely still on the ground. In reality, his body was bearing roughly twenty times the normal amount of gravity. While resting, he asked the question he'd been pondering for several days:
"I heard you were attacked a few days ago. Did running into something that counteracts your ability scare you?"
"Do I look scared?"
As long as you didn't lose your fighting spirit."
Saikyou Nene reclined in a chair, sipping carbonated water and fanning herself with a folding fan.
"If it were me, I'd blast through it head-on with power exceeding the opponent's reflection limit!"
Very good, extremely in character for her.
"Can you suggest something I can actually do?" Ryoji rolled his eyes.
"If I had that kind of power, would I still be worrying about this?"
"I was just giving an example."
The legal loli waved her fan and fell into thought.
"Hm... Considering your special ability and sword technique, Little Junior Brother, it's impossible for you to break a reflection-type special ability head-on. It's the perfect counter to you."
After thinking for a long while, she spread her hands.
Impossible.
The counter relationship between abilities was simply too strong.
Reflection was undoubtedly the most troublesome ability for Ryoji to deal with. Every other special ability had some kind of flaw to exploit, but Reflection did not.
If he couldn't defeat the opponent before they activated Reflection, once they were wrapped in that reflective layer, he would be completely unable to break through.
"To defeat a reflection-type special ability, you must either drain the opponent's Magic Power or trick them into canceling the reflection. There's no other way."
Even the legal loli arrived at this conclusion with absolute certainty.
Ryoji's thoughts gradually sank.
"However, this isn't entirely absolute."
For some reason, the legal loli suddenly became serious.
"If your sword technique were to reach the level of the world's strongest, you might be able to break through the reflection head-on!"
The sword technique of the world's strongest.
Just thinking about that level of swordsmanship made Saikyou Nene shudder inwardly.
Ryoji fell into deep thought.
"What kind of sword technique is that?"
He lifted his head and looked toward the legal loli.
If there were a concrete model right in front of him, he was confident that he could learn it quickly—and even surpass the level of the world's strongest!
The legal loli searched through her limited memories.
Even though it was late spring, bordering on early summer, she couldn't help but shudder.
A thick sense of fear surged uncontrollably from the depths of her heart.
"I don't understand sword techniques, so I can't really explain it. It's just...something no human should be able to use!"
Ryoji could even see a trace of fear in her eyes.
It was simply unbelievable!
This legal loli, who feared neither heaven nor earth, actually felt genuine fear just from recalling the world's strongest sword technique?
Just what kind of sword technique was that?
Instead of fear, excitement welled up in Ryoji's heart.
His goal was to become the world's strongest.
The current world's strongest was someone he would inevitably surpass one day!
He was overcome with curiosity about the current world's strongest sword technique, which ignited a burning desire to resist.
"Heave-ho!"
Ryoji sprang to his feet with a carp flip and manifested the Spiritual Item (Device) Vrring in his hand.
"What are you doing?"
The legal loli snapped out of her memories, suppressed the strange feeling in her heart, and asked curiously when she saw this.
"I must find a way to counter reflection!"
Ryoji gripped his blade with both hands, sensing every subtle change in his body.
If he was going to be the world's strongest, there could be no room for even a moment of slack.
He knew he was completely unable to compete with them right now. No matter how high his innate talent was, the amount of time they had practiced was incomparable.
The world's strongest swordsman had risen to fame more than ten years ago, while Ryoji had only been learning the sword for a few months.
He would take it step by step.
As long as he continued to progress steadily and build his foundation, his talent would eventually flourish. One day, he would surely catch up to the world's strongest!
...
"It's here! The sixteenth round of the internal school selection tournament has begun! As always, I, Tsukuyomi, will be your commentator for today's arena matches. Without further ado, let's introduce the contestants of today's ninth match!"
The massive arena was packed with people.
Hundreds of teachers and students had gathered there. Some even waved banners and glow sticks, turning the solemn battle ring into something resembling a concert venue.
"First, the girl emerging from the blue gate! She ranked seventh in last year's internal school rankings, two places higher than her younger sister, contestant Hagure Botan!"
"That's right! She is the older twin sister of the Ye Mu contestant from three days ago! Her name is Hagure Kikyō. Both sisters are on the internal school leaderboard, what a beautiful story! She remains undefeated as well, but can she maintain this perfect record today? Let's wait and see!"
A doll-like girl who looked exactly like Hagure Botan walked out from the blue gate.
She tied her long hair into a ponytail with a red ribbon. Her face was filled with complex emotions, joy, excitement, and more, while her fighting spirit burned brightly.
"And now, the other side! Oh… oh! He's already stepped out from the red gate!"
"That's right! As long as you're a member of Hagun Academy, there's no way you wouldn't know his name! Countless fans from other schools idolize him, and even society at large has formed a massive wave of admiration! Compared to a contestant, he's closer to an idol, Hagun Academy's pride, the Broken Wings Angel, contestant Nangou Ryoji!"
(End of Chapter)
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