While staying alert for the [Hero]'s next attack after he locked onto me, the floating tree trunks suddenly turned toward me.
"…Hey, no way—"
The massive objects—easily over ten meters long—came hurtling straight at me.
"—Damn it!"
I swung Schwarzhause (still in magic sword form), unleashing multiple jet-black slashes.
I combined attack magic to intercept the incoming trees, but the sheer volume overwhelmed me.
(Should I have done [Seal Release] from the start!? Then I could've used advanced or top-grade magic. No—maybe I could've intercepted more easily, but it doesn't guarantee I'd be in the same situation right now…!)
Finally, one tree I couldn't stop came crashing straight down.
I stopped swinging Schwarzhause and dodged.
With no more black slashes to intercept, even more trees rained down.
By some stroke of luck, the dust cloud from earlier made him lose sight of me again.
The [Hero] switched to area suppression with the trees.
I desperately kept dodging while staying inside the dust cloud.
After a while, it seemed he'd run out of "ammunition"—the rain of trees stopped.
(Now it's my turn to counter—!)
The [Hero] probably thought we'd both lost track of each other in the dust.
But I could still see him clearly.
Since the joint subjugation in February this year, my spatial awareness had improved dramatically.
I didn't know why.
But with my field of view expanded so much, I could now overlook the battlefield from an overhead perspective.
That was how I'd accurately fired magic at the [Hero] while hidden in the trees earlier, and how I'd kept dodging trees in the dust cloud.
"[Form Four: Mont Vier]"
Schwarzhause reshaped into a spear.
"—!"
I hurled the spear straight at the [Hero].
It flew at high speed.
A focused, single-point attack like this might pierce through his force field.
But that hope was shattered in an instant.
Just like with the previous attack magic, the spear's trajectory bent around the force field.
"Not yet!"
The spear suddenly burst apart, turning into diffused mana.
A jet-black shockwave engulfed the [Hero].
But I already knew even this wouldn't reach him.
As expected, the [Hero] emerged unscathed from the black mana.
Then he swung his sword toward the spot where I'd thrown the spear.
(This is it—!)
His ability created a force field that blocked all attacks. But if he used that same force field offensively, then the moment he attacked would be when my own attack could get through!
The jet-black mana spreading around the [Hero] gathered in my right hand after I used [Space Leap] to get behind him… forming a long sword.
I swung the magic sword.
However—
My swung blade was caught by the [Hero]'s force field.
Until now it had only pushed back—but now when I tried to pull away, it pulled me in instead, completely locking me in place.
(So my guess was wrong.)
I immediately released Schwarzhause to try escaping alone—but my own body was caught in the force field too, unable to move.
"Quite an array of unique attacks. I enjoyed them quite a bit. Personally, I'd have liked to drag this out longer, but—"
The restraint from this force field worked by applying equal opposing force to whatever power I exerted.
If that was the case, then a sudden, unexpected force might break free.
With that thought, I ignored the [Hero]'s muttering, circulated ki throughout my entire body, and—
"Calmi—"
"It's over."
Before I could finish saying [Seal Release], I was yanked downward and slammed face-first into the ground.
"Gah… aaah…"
Then something crushed down on my entire body from above.
Every inch of me was pressed flat—unable to move even a finger—intense pain shooting through me.
(Breathing… is…)
The pain alone was bad enough, but the pressure on my body made breathing nearly impossible.
The [Hero] quietly landed beside me and spoke.
"You can taste the suffering of being unable to breathe while teetering between life and death."
With those words, the [Hero] turned his back and walked away.
And my consciousness gradually faded—
◇ ◇ ◇
Flashback.
That's what they call the phenomenon where past events flash through your mind when facing the brink of death.
If so, then all the things passing through my mind right now must be a flashback too?
But something was off.
Because among the events flashing through my mind… were many I had no memory of.
◇
I became an explorer at nine years old.
Oliver, Luna, and I formed a three-person party and dove into the southern great labyrinth.
We advanced through the floors at incredible speed.
Oliver and I had already trained in the village and possessed strength equivalent to B-rank explorers. Luna also had aptitude for magic—while it took time to cast, she could already use top-grade spells.
We reached the middle layers in no time and continued conquering smoothly.
The first real struggle we faced was the floor boss on the 40th layer—a giant.
Even then, "struggle" didn't mean we'd lose. It just wasn't an easy takedown.
Even covered in natural armor, Oliver's Heaven Flash and Luna's advanced/top-grade magic would eventually bring it down with time.
Meanwhile, I hadn't yet awakened [Mana Convergence]—my attack magic was limited to beginner level at best. I clearly wasn't contributing much to the 40th-floor conquest.
Even so, I did "what I could"—using my high adaptability to play a defender role, drawing the giant's attention so the other two could focus on attacking.
It was frustrating.
Back then, I didn't even know the concept of "roles." I could only contribute in such limited ways, and I turned that anger on myself.
"Why am I so weak…! I want to do attacks like Oliver…! I want to get stronger!!"
I remembered shouting that while glaring at the 40th-floor boss.
And perhaps that anger toward myself bore fruit—on that day, I sublimated my existing ability to sense mana and awakened [Mana Convergence].
◇
"Whoa! You finally awakened your unique ability too, Orun! And it's the same as mine—we really are two halves of the same soul!"
"Congratulations, Orun-san."
"Thanks, you two. Now I can get even stronger!"
"But it's strange… I've heard unique abilities are supposed to be different for each person. Similar ones exist, but this similar?"
"Don't sweat the small stuff! Now all three of us have unique abilities! A party where everyone has one—there's no other like us! We might become famous way faster than expected!"
◇
"Grandpa! Listen—I awakened my unique ability!"
After conquering the 40th floor, I couldn't sit still and rushed to Grandpa's general store.
I'd met Grandpa a few days after becoming an explorer—when I was looking for a place to buy exploration tools, he called out to me. Since then, he'd treated me like a real grandfather.
My story as an excited child must have been all over the place.
Even so, Grandpa listened with a smile.
The words he said to me back then still remained deeply etched in my memory.
"Those with unique abilities understand their own to some extent. But you must not be bound by that understanding… Unique abilities can be 'expanded and reinterpreted.' Your ability might not be limited to 'gathering mana on a sword and shooting it.' Always explore the possibilities of your own unique ability."
Those words were huge for me.
Without Grandpa's advice back then, I never would have thought to solidify mana for footholds or repurpose it into original magic.
I'd probably have become a completely different explorer.
◆
"Orun is our king, right?"
An empty space.
A silver-haired girl stood there, speaking to me.
I knew she was facing me.
But her face was shrouded in haze—I couldn't make it out.
I could see her… yet I couldn't.
"——————"
A boy's voice answered the girl's question.
But I couldn't understand the words as words.
"Ahaha! That's so Orun. But you're going to fight, right? So I decided too. I'm going to fight the world."
"——————"
"Yeah. I thought it through carefully. That's why—I want your help. Help me think about the possibilities of my unique ability together."
"——————"
"…Sorry for asking so much. But I know my limit will come quickly if I'm alone. Oh—I already got permission from Grandpa and Grandma."
"——————"
"Ehehe~ They always tell me to do proper groundwork~ Anyway, I'll tell you everything I know about my unique ability—[Time Regression]. So use your unique ability to expand and reinterpret [Time Regression]. With that [■■■■]."
◇
Events I experienced and memories I had no recollection of raced through my mind.
Flashbacks are said to be the phenomenon of drawing useful information from past experiences to break through a current crisis.
So was there a hint in these strongly recalled memories for escaping this situation?
More than that—why was I able to stay so calm in a situation like this…?
No—that wasn't what I should be thinking about right now.
I replayed the memories that had just flashed through my mind once more.
—I admired Oliver's Heaven Flash and wanted to do an attack like that, which led to awakening [Mana Convergence].
—Luna said my unique ability and Oliver's were too similar.
—Grandpa said unique abilities can be expanded and reinterpreted.
—The silver-haired girl said my unique ability would be useful for expanding and reinterpreting [Time Regression].
—Ah… so that's what it was.
◇ ◇ ◇
After the [Hero] turned his back and walked away for a while, I slowly stood up.
Sensing me rise, the [Hero] turned around.
"…Why are you standing? I should have crushed you until you lost consciousness."
The [Hero] muttered, his eyes trembling.
"You'll understand with this."
I swung my magic sword and unleashed jet-black slashes.
As expected, the [Hero] didn't try to dodge—just like before.
Of course. Until now, my slashes had been powerless against his ability.
—Until now.
My slashes made contact with the [Hero]'s force field.
And this time—without being deflected—they struck him directly.
I'd suppressed the power to avoid killing him—but for the [Hero], it was a complete surprise attack.
If this ended it, great—but—
"It won't be that easy."
The [Hero] had crossed his arms in front of himself just in time to take the slash.
Both arms wounded, he emerged from the smoke.
"…You nullified my unique ability…?"
The [Hero] was visibly shaken.
I didn't miss that opening—I activated [Thunder Arrow] from above.
Lightning arrows rained down on him like a storm.
Seeing that, the [Hero] chose to evade for the first time.
Thanks to the flashback, my mind felt strangely clear.
I judged I could now fully control ki. I circulated it throughout my body and—
"—[Seal Release]."
I cast off whatever had been binding me.
Then I closed in on the [Hero] who had dodged the lightning arrows and—
"[Form Three: Mont Dry]."
I swung Schwarzhause, reshaped into a greatsword.
The moment the magic sword made contact with the [Hero]'s force field, I canceled out the repelling force using my ability…
The [Hero] blocked with his own sword, but I used sheer physical strength to force the swing through and sent him flying.
Ironically, my unique ability was essentially the same type as the [Hero]'s.
If I hadn't possessed this ability, I would have had no chance.
My unique ability wasn't [Mana Convergence].
[Mana Convergence] had been an expanded reinterpretation of my original ability.
I had mistaken it for my true unique ability.
If I were to name my original ability—it would probably be [Gravity Manipulation].
The ability to freely control gravity around me.
But if that's the case—one question remains.
[Gravity Manipulation] isn't inherently an ability that interferes with mana.
So why can I perceive mana?
Only those with abilities that interfere with mana should be able to perceive it.
Well… no point thinking about it.
Being able to perceive it is convenient—so that's fine.
"[Hero]—this is round two."