Chapter 15
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Episode 3 - The duel of the strongest [4]
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After the assistant handed over the numbers, my next opponent was:
'Rinna, huh.'
This time, I can't win through the advantage of attribute purity.
As the next Saintess, the purity of her attribute is at its peak.
Since she is the chosen one of the God Ordeal, the God of Light.
Naturally, she doesn't need to go through the refinement process.
'She has an enormous advantage in purity, but she's a mage.'
One could say that, for a swordsman, a mage is easier to deal with.
But, interestingly enough, for mages, a swordsman is easier to deal with.
Facing an enemy who specializes in the same field as you is considered extremely difficult, but if you face enemies from other specialties, the difficulty feels lower.
'Besides, Rinna has already killed villains; she has combat experience fighting Dark-attribute users.'
Logically, anyone would say that I would be defeated, but that won't be the case.
'I'm different from any villain Rinna has faced until now.'
And those are my traits; my advantage lies within them.
And, as a curious fact, Rinna was a character destined to die if Adel were the final enemy.
No matter what tactics the players used.
Rinna's death at Adel's hands was intended to be inevitable.
'If I take the game's setting into account, then I can guarantee victory.'
In these duels between cadets, I'm gaining combat experience.
Which is why I feel reluctant to lose or surrender.
'If I reach the finals, then my opponent will be Lumina. The outcome isn't clear; it all depends on whether she uses her sword art, one of the Five Swords, or the sword art she created herself.'
By the way, the sword art she used during the opening ceremony was her own style, the one she created herself.
She calls it
Until she finally obtained the sword art of one of the Five Swords.
As I was thinking, a voice pulled me out of my thoughts.
I turned my head to the side, and a girl had sat down beside me.
"Saintess."
It was none other than Rinna, the next Saintess.
She smiled brightly and said:
"Hello, Adel. I came to talk about the duel we'll have."
"Oh, that… are you confident you can beat me?"
She remained silent for a second before saying:
"If we're talking about a fight without using our attributes, then I'll lose, but it's not out of arrogance; I'm confident in the purity of my mana, you know?"
Look at this proud little Saintess.
Smiling, I said:
"That might be true, but I'm different from any other Dark attribute user. I don't fully rely on the purity of my mana, you know?"
She looked at me in surprise when I replied in the same tone.
Then she burst into laughter.
"Well, uh… how do I put this… ah, has anyone ever told you that you're funny?"
"..."
"No."
"..."
"You're not funny."
I wasn't sure if she was good at these kinds of conversations, but it was definitely better not to listen to her too much.
Anyway, as the current duel came to an end, Rinna said:
"Looks like it's our turn, right?"
"I guess so."
Silently, neither of us said anything else as we stood up and walked toward the platform.
Shortly after stepping onto the platform, I thought:
'She's my strongest opponent so far.'
I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel somewhat uneasy.
However, after this match, I'll enter the finals and will probably face Lumina.
So, without hesitation, I unsheathed my sword.
"Greet each other."
"I'm Rinna, rank 9."
"I'm Adel, rank 1."
"Begin the match."
After the referee's words, magic surrounded Rinna's hands, and a white light appeared.
At the same time, I infused Dark attribute mana into my sword.
'I'll be quick about this; dragging it out will only cause me problems.'
I have no intention of going easy on Rinna, and although fighting a Saintess could serve as valuable experience, honestly, I already gained enough experience dealing with Light attribute users through Clana, and now even more with Rinna.
So I decided to end it quickly.
When Rinna's magic was launched toward me, I followed the blue-colored points and drove my sword into them.
Naturally, the magic disappeared, and the disbelief on Rinna's face appeared almost immediately.
Just like with the other cadets and the professor.
This was only natural; normally, nullifying a mage's magic is nearly impossible.
Unless you understand the structure of their magic and dismantle it at the exact moment before it hits you.
So for almost everyone, it's impossible; for me, it's like breathing.
"Sacred Flame."
"Chain of Light."
"Binding."
Rinna cast several more spells in rapid succession.
Red lines and red points appeared everywhere.
I thrust my sword wherever the blue color appeared, and the magic was destroyed.
At the same time, a large red point appeared directly ahead; it was a pure white flame.
The blue point of light was somewhat small compared to the other spells.
'This proves her mastery over light magic.'
Of course, it was still easy for me, so I cut the flames in half and advanced toward Rinna.
She was surprised and quickly cast another spell, but…
"... I think I win here."
"..."
However, at that exact moment…
"You fell for it."
Apparently, Rinna had been waiting for me to get close to her.
At that moment, the fine tip of a spear appeared beneath my feet.
Caught off guard by the spear, I didn't have enough time to dodge it completely.
The spear grazed my chin, and I thought that would be the only spell, but…
At the same time…
"Light Swords."
A dozen floating swords appeared so close that my body wouldn't be able to move enough to evade them.
Instantly, the swords flew through the air; the next second, several cuts that left small wounds covered my body.
My cheek, my arms, and my legs.
At least a dozen small cuts covered my body.
'It's my first time being injured since I arrived in this world.'
Rinna had probably created a strategy specifically to achieve this result.
I immediately counterattacked; I moved my sword toward the blue line connected to Rinna.
A wound then appeared on her arm, and afterward I kicked her in the abdomen, sending her flying backward.
About three seconds later, the match was declared over.
"Cadet Adel wins."
As always, there were no cheers or applause or anything like that; only boos and curses directed at me.
And instead of stepping down from the platform, I approached Rinna, who was panting on the ground.
Before they could take her to the infirmary, I walked up to her and…
"Eh, what are you doing, Adel?"
"Healing your arm."
Since she had injured me, I took advantage of this moment and smeared some of my blood onto her wound; almost immediately, the injury closed as though nothing had happened.
When Rinna saw this, she expressed disbelief and shock.
"W-what is this? How did…?"
I placed a finger against my lips.
"Shh… let it stay a secret, and since you've been kind to me, I don't want you to end up with any injuries because of me."
Then I stood up and went back to my seat, leaving Rinna behind.
Of course, I made sure no one noticed what I had done.
The others probably saw it as me apologizing to Rinna and expressing my regret.
'Well, they can think whatever they want.'
***
After my duel against Rinna, the semifinals came to an end, with Lumina defeating Diana.
Lumina's next opponent was Julian, and my next opponent was Charlotte.
Without much difficulty, I defeated Charlotte, and Lumina was just as overwhelming against Julian, knocking him out with her second attack.
Anyway, my final opponent is, naturally, Lumina.
"So now rank 1 and rank 2 are going to face each other, huh?"
"Even though I hate to admit it, those two are definitely the strongest."
"Who do you think will win?"
"Honestly… I'm on Miss Lumina's side. Rumor has it she mastered one of the Five Swords' sword arts."
"What? Then the winner's already decided, isn't it?"
By the way, commoners are, for the most part, people who hate nobles.
As people who hate nobles, they gather among themselves as if they were an organization.
Anyway, commoners are not like nobles when they look at me.
They are more neutral, and they also do not care about attributes.
They consider attribute users to be no different from any other user.
The only ones speaking this time were a few nobles and most of the commoners.
'Even so, everyone is on Lumina's side.'
I can't blame them; if I were in their position, I would think the same thing too.
'There are only two ways to defeat Lumina in my current situation.'
First, and the most natural one, would be to have a higher star than hers.
And second, for her not to use
And with some luck, I could use Inverted Heaven, but since I only recently learned it, I still do not know how to use the first form in actual combat.
As I stepped onto the platform, Lumina was already standing on the other side.
"..."
Her eyes were fixed on Professor Franklin.
More specifically, on the elixir he was holding in his hand.
'Looks like she wants the elixir, huh.'
I could give her my blood without her knowing, since, in the end, she is the key to reaching the final chapter.
And if I give her my blood every time she ends up seriously injured, it will be extremely important.
'Even so, I feel reluctant to cut myself just to give my blood to others.'
Sighing, I stood in front of Lumina, and the referee raised his hand.
"Greet each other."
Lumina, however, did not bow and simply said,
"I'll defeat you in two strikes."
"..."
Ignoring her words, I bowed and said,
"I am Adel, rank 1."
And before the referee could say anything—
"And I will rise to rank 1."
"..."
"Let the match begin."
As soon as the referee finished speaking, Lumina charged at me without hesitation, drew her sword, and…
'What…?'
Her very first move was to use her sword art, Fallen Moon.
Within my True Sight, everything around me turned a deep crimson red.
I could not see any way out, and unless I counterattacked, I would end up injured.
Gritting my teeth, I pushed Mana Sense, Weakness Detection, and True Sight to their limits; everything my current self could make use of from these traits.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
My sword followed the few blue lines, and I blocked the first form of Fallen Moon.
However, just as I was about to counterattack—
"..."
A voice coming from behind me startled me.
"I'm here."
'H-how did she evade my senses!?'
But that was not what mattered; what mattered was Lumina's next attack.
'Second form…'
Lumina used the second form of Fallen Moon, and the moment she did…
The only thing I could "see" again was darkness; even with my True Sight, I could not predict Lumina's attack.