It was tough.
Because of the pain that felt like my entire body was on fire.
But it wasn’t to the point of feeling like I was dying or being severely restricted in my actions.
So this was rather not a penalty.
It acted like an adrenaline-boosting stimulant.
“Fwooo…”
What method should I use to win against Trie von dem Schulzenburg without a weapon?
Should I use ‘Selection and Concentration’ on my Mana to overwhelm her with superior Spell Deployment speed?
That was impossible at this distance.
Before I could pour my mana into the spell, her sword would slice my throat.
The only answer was hand-to-hand combat.
Against the strongest swordsman who would become the Sword God in the future, with bare hands.
Ironically, that was the method with the highest chance of victory.
I wondered if there was any way if I maximized my internal circuits.
‘I can’t see a way to win.’
No.
The opponent was a monster who had toyed with me countless times even while wielding a sword.
Even if I invested ‘Selection and Concentration’ into Agility or Strength, all I could do was run away from her sword.
I couldn’t invest my abilities into something meaningless.
Still, I decided not to give up.
I at least had to give it a shot.
“Start!”
Just as the signal was given, Trie leaped towards me as expected.
Her first strike would aim for my neck.
For now, I would strengthen my body with internal circuits and dodge that…
Then what… uh…
Forget it, I’ll just dodge and think about it later.
“Eh?!”
“……?”
Trie stood still, her eyes round with surprise.
It wasn’t that she was losing her composure from being startled.
She definitely saw something threatening as she approached, which made her stop.
Zzzzzzzing…
A crackling sound echoed.
From my right side.
I stiffly turned my head to look at my right hand.
An unbelievable sight was unfolding below.
‘What the…?!’
A blue flash was slowly emerging from my palm.
I was momentarily stunned, wondering what was happening.
The light crackled and swayed, almost looking like electricity or a beam.
The pillar of light descended almost to my toes, then stopped expanding.
A strong impulse surged within me.
An impulse so strong it was hard to explain with reasons or logic.
That impulse was telling me to grab this light.
Resisting that instinctual urge was impossible.
Paaaah…
As I clenched my right fist, the form of the pillar of light changed.
The pillar, which had been spreading its light in several directions, was now gathering back into one place.
Soon, the pillar of light transformed into a long rod gripped in my hand.
No, it wasn’t just a rod.
This was…
“A Greatsword?!”
Yeah. It was a longsword.
Although it crackled and shimmered, it hadn’t taken on a clear and smooth shape.
But there was a grip I could wrap my hand around.
A guard extending to the sides.
And a long blue blade emerging from it, making it nothing but a longsword.
“Hah…”
A smirk escaped me.
I had finally recognized the identity of this blueish glow weapon.
A weapon that changes into the optimal form for its user.
Vafe.
It had absorbed into my right hand and became quiet, making me wonder what was happening.
It seemed Vafe had transformed into a weapon fueled by Mana Energy.
As evidence, although the internal circuit was busily running, I wasn’t bleeding from my nose, feeling dizzy, or collapsing.
From the last time when I was being eroded by Mana Energy and dying, it seemed that it only used the Mana generated by the internal circuit as fuel.
I racked my brain for a short time, trying to understand the properties of Vafe as much as I could.
“Wow… I didn’t know there were still surprises left, Teacher.”
“Stop calling me Teacher.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s embarrassing to lose after being called Teacher.”
“Heh. Are you already laying the groundwork?”
Trie raised her sword again and took her stance.
She had pretended to be surprised at what was crawling out from my hand…
Since she apparently waited for me to draw a weapon.
Thanks to that, a fair fight was established.
I would also fight without using my abilities.
After expending a burst of mana in three matches, I had about 30 mana left…
That should be enough to run my internal circuits.
“Groundwork? No way.”
I lifted the sword of light high and took my stance.
It was the same upper position as Trie.
A stance focused solely on offense, having no intention of defense.
If I tried to defend half-heartedly against Trie’s sword, there was a 100% chance I would get pierced.
It was much more hopeful that my sword would be faster.
Apparently, Trie had the same thought.
“Come at me, Trie.”
“Kuhuh!”
Our swords rushed towards each other at the same time.
The blades flew at exactly the same angle, but in opposite directions.
If things stayed like this, it would end in a draw.
The artifact might slightly favor the one who was a bit faster, but if it were real combat, both would lose their heads.
And any swordsman who had something to protect would never choose such a gamble.
Zzzzzing!
The paths of our swords simultaneously veered, and they collided between us.
Instead of a clear metallic sound, a crackling noise echoed through the arena.
At the moment of collision…
At that moment, the sensation transmitted to my fingertips felt different from usual.
Normally, the sword would tremble, and the vibration would be conveyed through the grip, but this time there was no sensation at all.
In other words, this sword of light absorbed all the impact.
Although it felt strange and different from usual…
This was definitely not a downside.
“No?! It feels like I’m faster…!”
Without any time to brace myself, I immediately countered with a backhand strike.
This forced Trie into a defensive position.
It was an entirely opposite situation compared to usual.
The more our swords collided, the faster our swords moved, and the speed gap between Trie and me widened further.
I needed to end this while I was in control…
“Ah, I see.”
“Kuah!”
Trie quickly grasped the reason for the speed difference.
Switching from defense to offense, she pressed into me.
When the longswords got this close, there was no room for wide swings.
In other words, there was no chance for a significant impact to occur.
“I’ve never won in wrestling, have I?”
“Damn it…”
The situation had become quite entangled.
My left hand was on Trie’s right wrist.
Trie’s left hand was on my right wrist.
We were both sealing each other’s swords and engaging in a tug-of-war.
But having gone through fights like this a few times, I knew.
This wasn’t something that could be resolved by sheer strength.
Ultimately, it meant abandoning one’s sword.
Thud…
Trie’s sword rolled on the ground.
At that moment, I opened my right hand, and the pillar of light swiftly sucked back into my palm.
I had to decide the winner quickly.
Without Vafe, I had to completely accept the Mana generated by my internal circuit.
“Urgh!”
Trie pulled my arm and threw a knee strike.
There was no way to block it.
I could only pull my waist back as much as possible to reduce the impact and counter.
Time was really tight.
If I wanted to catch Trie in that time frame, there was only one option.
Inserting a Critical Hit to restrict her actions.
To be honest, landing a blow on her almost perfectly protected vital points with my skill was almost impossible.
Even if it wasn’t a vital point, delivering a strong blow to inflict a pain debuff seemed the most realistic.
“Ugh, eh?”
And that opportunity came faster than I expected.
It seemed Trie had gotten careless while dodging my kick, making her steps clumsy.
It was an opportunity to attack her upper body.
I aimed for the fleeting moment when Trie couldn’t move and swung my arm.
Then, Trie would have no choice but to protect her head.
However, my target was her shoulder.
Swaack!
“Ugh!”
My hand struck down hard and shattered Trie’s shoulder bone.
Got it.
I delivered the first Critical Hit.
From now on, as long as I didn’t get careless, I could easily claim victory…
“Huh?”
That moment, my body was suddenly lifted.
Trie had pulled me in like she was hugging my arm and turned, throwing me onto her back.
Hold on. I’ve seen this technique somewhere before.
In that moment, my vision spun around.
Pang!
“Kurgh!”
I slammed straight down onto the ground.
Shit… A shoulder throw…
I had forgotten.
Trie had mastered all martial arts.
Once I released my arm, it was only natural that I would be subject to a judo throw.
Although it didn’t seem right to do a shoulder throw while having a shattered shoulder…
“I got you, Teacher.”
“Ugh.”
As my back screamed in pain and refused to obey, a flick landed on my forehead.
Damn it, it’s over.
“I surrender.”
“Hoo!”
As soon as I shouted my surrender, the pain that burned through my whole body vanished.
Though the pain in my waist felt like it had turned to dust.
I struggled to my feet, grabbing Trie’s hand.
Trie, despite her left arm hanging limp, didn’t seem to be in any pain at all.
Is she even human…?
“Oh no, what do I do? I actually won!”
“Yeah. Congratulations.”
“No! That’s not it! Since I won, doesn’t that mean I’m first in the first semester?”
As she suddenly gasped with excitement, I wondered what she was talking about.
Is she bad at math?
“Don’t worry. Even considering this, I’m barely in first place.”
“Oh. Really? Woah! Thank goodness! I thought I was in big trouble!”
“If you were worried, you could have just let me win. That way it would have been certain.”
“Ew. How could I throw the match? That’s impossible.”
Calculating the test and surprise exam scores, even if I placed second in this tournament, I would still barely clinch first place in the combat magic class for my first semester.
With that, I had secured at least one of my two majors.
Despite it being a final match that I could afford to win or lose, I had no regrets thanks to giving it my all.
“Why are you two fighting so fiercely…? Congratulations, Trie. You are the tournament champion.”
“Thank you, Professor.”
“Go see the medical staff quickly. Get your shoulder treated.”
“Yes!”
“And you? Don’t you need treatment for your waist?”
“No. I’ll be fine.”
While it still felt slightly stiff, it wasn’t to an unbearable degree.
I smiled awkwardly and straightened my back.
Aw damn. It hurt too much.
Should I get treated after all…
“Schlus. You’re bleeding from your nose.”
“Ah… yes.”
I turned away to quickly wipe my nosebleed.
But the students were looking at me with strange expressions.
They were whispering, and I couldn’t catch what they were saying; I must have been too tired.
Why were they looking at me when the winner is Trie?
In truth, I had no time to think about that.
The elemental magic exam was tomorrow.
I needed to hurry back and focus on studying for that exam.
“Schlus!”
“Trie, is your shoulder feeling any better?”
“It healed well, hehe. They told me to avoid strenuous exercise for a while.”
“Right. That would be wise.”
“So today, I should only do around 200 push-ups.”
“…”
That’s what she considered restraint.
Her way of thinking was totally different from mine.
“How many do you normally do?”
“500.”
“That’s considered restraint…?”
“I can just split them up into sets of 200!”
She must be trying to lessen the strain on her shoulder by breaking them up.
Wait a second.
Breaking them up?
“Ah.”
“Why are you like this, Schlus?”
“Thank you, Trie! Really, thank you!”
“Ehh?! I’m all sweaty?!”
Thanks to Trie, a brilliant idea popped into my mind.
A great thought to break through the blocked problem.
Overjoyed, I unintentionally hugged Trie tightly.
