"…Hey, what's with that pathetic sword?"
"Don't worry about it."
"Are you keeping it weak for an excuse when you lose? Pathetic."
"Stop barking. Just get ready. No matter how much time you waste, the result won't change—you're going to lose."
"—!! I'll kill you!"
Derrick unleashed an unbelievable wave of killing intent as he readied his shield and sword.
"Now then—both fighters appear ready! Round 2 Match 4—begin!"
Right from the start, Derrick closed the distance.
If you provoke him that much, of course he charges in.
Honestly—he's so easy to handle.
Derrick swung his sword downward.
Back when I was still in the hero party and converted to enchanter, Derrick was already a member.
I watched his movements for years.
And I matched [Instant Capability Super Rise: Impact] to his attacks countless times.
Your moves—I've completely seen through them.
I matched his sword with a half-step back—letting the blade pass right in front of my eyes.
Once I confirmed it whiffed, I moved to his right side and aimed the short sword at his neck.
"—!?"
Derrick reacted to my attack and tried to dodge.
I know that whenever Derrick takes evasion action right after attacking, he always steps with his left foot first.
The instant his left foot moved—I swept his right foot out from under him.
"What!?"
Then, referencing the feel from yesterday's punch—this time aiming to break his nose—I slammed my left backfist into his face.
He'll get treatment after the match anyway—broken nose won't be a problem.
"Ugh!"
I released the short sword from my right hand, drew the long sword from my waist, and followed up toward his chest.
"Gah!"
I thrust the sword tip right before the eyes of Derrick as he fell backward on his back.
"…Match over."
"Not… yet…!"
Derrick's eyes weren't dead—he glared up at me.
"There's zero chance of you turning this around from here. Know when to quit."
"Sh—shut up…! —Gaaah!"
Derrick released his left hand from the shield and tried to punch my shin.
But his aim was obvious. I slammed the long sword down hard on that left hand instead.
"…Judge—call it."
"…Winner—Orun Dula."
The judge declared it—my victory.
As expected—but still a bit anticlimactic.
Next up—the real hurdle: Fuka.
◇
"Orun—nice job."
When I returned to the waiting room, Will's voice greeted me.
"Will? You already okay?"
Fuka and Hart weren't there—just Will and Lucre.
"Thanks to Lucre's recovery magic."
"Hehe—be very grateful!"
The serious worry she showed earlier was gone—back to usual Lucre.
"Yeah yeah—thanks. —Congrats again. Keep winning for my share too."
"…Yeah. I'll win for your share."
And so—day two of the martial arts tournament ended.
◇◇◇
Day three of the martial arts tournament.
Fuka and I left the "Copper Twilight" clan home and headed to the arena.
Only four remained.
Two of them are from "Copper Twilight"—isn't that enough already?
This tournament turned out way more annoying than I expected—my motivation is pretty low.
"Ahh~ so boring~"
"Weren't you supposed to take it seriously?"
Fuka asked from beside me as we walked.
"Well—I thought I would. But I've already done enough, right? Anyway—you're in awfully high spirits."
Her expression was the same unreadable usual, but she gave off the vibe of an excited child who couldn't wait.
"Because today I get to fight Orun. Maybe I'll finally see the real… full-power Orun."
Fuka's eyes sparkled.
"Speaking of—which reminds me—you were holding back, right? Both first and second rounds you looked pretty serious…"
"I think I fought full power yesterday and the day before. But your real strength is way beyond that, isn't it?"
…Don't ask me to agree.
◇
"Hart-san—hello."
When I entered the waiting room, Orun arrived.
Same room as Orun again today.
"Yo, Orun. How's your condition?"
"Perfect. Today's opponent is Fuka, after all."
Orun's clearly conscious of Fuka too.
After hearing Fuka's evaluation of him earlier, I started paying attention to his fights.
But still—his strength seems average.
His fighting style is certainly skilled—I acknowledge that.
But fundamentally—his potential doesn't come close to Fuka's, or even mine.
"…Hey, Orun. You fighting seriously today?"
"I don't get the intent of the question—but I never hold back. I'm not arrogant enough to think I can win while sandbagging."
…I really can't sense any lie in that.
In the whole wide world—as far as I know—only five people have a realistic chance against Fuka.
But Orun isn't among them—and even if there's a chance, I can't imagine Fuka losing.
Fuka is special.
Well—those five are special too.
"Good morning everyone! The semifinals of the martial arts tournament are about to begin! Only S-rank explorers remain. The gap between A and S really showed. Now—today's matchups! First match—Hero Party's Oliver Cardiff vs "Copper Twilight"'s Hart Tendou! Leader vs leader—S-rank showdown! Second match—"Copper Twilight"'s Fuka Shinonome vs "Silver Rabbit of the Night Sky"'s Orun Dula! Ace vs ace—another S-rank clash! Both matches are must-see—!"
The host's loud voice cut off my thoughts.
To head to the arena, I moved deeper into the waiting room—just as the host called my name, so I walked straight to the center.
We took our positions—Oliver's expression was blank as he glared at me.
He's completely superior—yet shows zero carelessness.
(Never thought I'd fight Oliver like this… Well—let's see what you've got.)
We entered combat stance without a single word.
"Then! Semifinals Match 1—begin!"
At the drum sound—we closed distance.
Obviously—with sword vs bare hands, sword has reach.
So the one with the sword attacks first.
As usual—I'd handle his attack and counter.
But contrary to expectation—Oliver entered sword range without even attempting a swing.
(What's he thinking?)
Unable to read his intent—something golden appeared before my eyes.
What's this?—it burst.
"—!?"
I leaped back instantly.
(Close one…! What was that!?)
While shocked inwardly—I noticed something.
—By leaping back, I returned to perfect sword range again.
"Shit!"
Naturally—he swung now.
I blocked the blade with my gauntlet and retreated further—escaping sword range.
That was dangerous… Almost ended in an instant.
(This is [Mana Convergence]… Incredible destructive power that could level a city—yet he uses it this skillfully. As expected… —No time to admire. First—destroy the sword as usual and drag him to my turf!)
I concentrated ki in my fist and closed on Oliver.
◆
Ki is energy flowing through the body.
Everyone has it—but controlling ki isn't easy.
My ancestors reached the pinnacle of ki and passed the know-how to descendants.
Trained since childhood—now handling ki is as natural as breathing.
Circulating it internally greatly boosts physical ability.
—Exactly like support magic buffs.
Releasing ki externally enables many things.
For example—flowing ki during strikes and detonating it destroys targets from inside.
That's the trick behind weapon destruction.
◆
Oliver matched my movements and attacked.
But too bad—my target is your sword!
I met his swinging blade with my fist—detonated ki into the sword at impact.
—but the sword didn't break. Off-guard—I took the hit.
"Guh!"
My body moved before thought—retreated before follow-up.
(What? I definitely touched the sword—flowed ki.)
"You look like you saw something unbelievable. Surprised my sword didn't break?"
Oliver spoke coldly.
Weapon destruction—countered.
"Damn… I'm in trouble…"
My fighting style specializes in destruction.
This tournament's rules are especially bad matchup for me.
I hid my hand—only destroyed weapons.
Looking at Oliver's blade—I understood why it didn't break.
His ability—[Mana Convergence].
Mana membrane coated the blade—ki didn't reach.
Seriously—how versatile is that?
…Maybe surrender.
No—thinking future—should watch Oliver's fight up close a bit more.
Sigh… Fight a little longer—then lose appropriately.
No chance anyway—sorry to Alf-san, but can't help it.
Decision made—I circulated ki throughout my body—boosted physicals.
"—!?"
He seemed surprised at my increased speed—but handled it calmly.
I attacked repeatedly to create openings—but unarmed and unable to destroy weapons—no chance against him.
His counters increased as he grew accustomed.
Gradually—more resources to defense—finally pummeled—lost to Oliver.
Hurt so bad…
◇
After the fight—treated bruises from Oliver—headed to where Huey and Kati sat in the stands.
"Ah—the leader who got pummeled by the hero."
Kati greeted harshly when she saw me coming.
"Pretty harsh to a comrade who fought hard."
"You got beat up while holding back—so that's all I can say."
"No no—I was full power. Rules limited me there!"
"But if Leader seriously wanted to win—could've attacked one-sided from outside sword range, right?"
"S-Sonna koto dekinai yo?"
"Broken Japanese… We wanted to see Leader beat the hero…"
Huey muttered—truly sad.
"…Sorry for the pathetic display. But understand—I couldn't corner him. Me vs Oliver would take too long. Anyway—leave championship to Fuka."
"Now—semifinals Match 2 time! Will we see a fierce battle like Match 1!? First—won both round 1 and 2 with a single stroke—Sword Princess Fuka Shinonome! Vs skillful advancement—'Dragon Slayer' Orun Dula!"
While we talked—Match 2 prepared.
Fuka and Orun took positions—ready.
"Huh? Orun's only using one long sword today."
Kati pointed out—I noticed too.
Previously—long + short irregular dual wield.
Today—long sword only—no sheath in sight.
Reducing weight to match Fuka's speed?
But that gap can't be bridged so easily.
"Both ready! Semifinals Match 2—begin!"
After start—crowd began murmuring bit by bit.
Reason—simple.
Battle began—yet Fuka and Orun hadn't moved a step.
—Hey—it's started!
—Fight already!
Crowd—impatient at motionless pair—started jeering.
"Leader—why aren't they moving?"
"Those two are in a deathmatch right now. Too fast—looks still."
"Eh!? Lie!?"
"Yeah—lie. —Ouch!"
Tried lightening mood with joke—Kati hated it—poked me repeatedly.
"Don't tell lame lies here!"
"Sorry—stop hitting! —Latter half lie—but first half true."
Freed from Kati violence—I began commentary.
This—unless very martial-versed—wouldn't understand what's happening.
"What do you mean?"
"They look motionless—but tiny shifts like weight transfer exist. Reading those minute movements—fighting entirely in their minds. Pure mind game."
"…Can do that?"
"Master-level fights—outcome decided before movement sometimes. Fuka's obviously there—but never thought Orun reached that realm."