The intense sunlight was completely different from what one would expect of autumn sunshine.

It couldn’t be helped since the seasons had just changed, but the lingering heat mercilessly drained the physical strength of those training in the courtyard.

「HAAAAaAAaaAH-!」

「You’re not going to hit with an attack like that!」

A large claymore swung through the air with a force that seemed to chatter the air.

However, there wasn’t a relaxed expression on Luzi’s face. Since training had started, he had yet to make a successful attack.

As he was told before starting to spar, his attacks would of course stop before making contact. Because of that, his attacks weren’t at full power in the truest sense, but it still couldn’t have been for all his attacks to be evaded.

However, his claymore, which was swung with full intent, sliced through the air without touching its target.

Perhaps his blood rushed to his head, there was an opening after his attack……

The next moment, he saw the tip of his opponent’s long sword resting on his neck as he looked at his opponent in disbelief.

……Yes. It was Rhodes’ long sword.

「Wow……I can’t believe Luzi was taken down so easily. He’s strong enough to cut down even Orcs in a single strike.」

Vaycul, who was watching from the side, muttered while ruffling her hair in disbelief.

Luzi was the one with the greatest attack power within Wind Dragon’s Fang. That was why he had so much confidence in his attacks and believed he could defeat most opponents.

Rei aside, who they had asked for training, it was completely unexpected for them that Rhodes, who was in the same position as them……that is to say training under Rei, was so skilled.

「There’s also the matter of compatibility. Luzi specialises in one hit kills, which is strong against certain monsters. That’s why, in the case of purely fighting monsters, he’s definitely better than Rhodes. However, when dealing with people, like in this tournament, the power of a single strike is not enough. That’s why you need the skill to evade attacks and hit your target.」

Hearing Rei’s comment from close to Vaycul, Mosst, who had been listening in, spoke up in a curious matter.

「It’s true that our opponents are mostly monsters, but we’ve also fight bandits, haven’t we?」

「Bandits? It’s true that some bandits are quite skilled, but……do you think there would be many with the same level of skill as Rhodes, who has sparred a lot with me?」

「That’s……no, this is our own arrogance.」

「That’s right. Also, don’t you think it’s a good thing you noticed it before the actual tournament? Well, that aside. It seems like it will be hard for Luzi to deal with him alone due to their compatibility, so we’ll have Vaycul and Luzi next. You two spar with Rhodes.」

Rei’s words caused a voice of surprise.

The voice belonged to Rhodes.

「Hey, wait a moment. Dealing with two people is a bit……」

「You’ll need to train to deal with a large number of people. Especially since the preliminaries are a battle royale.」

「That’s……」

He must have realised that Rei’s words held some validity. Rhodes started to speak before stopping mid sentence.

「I see you understand. Then, I’ll train with Mosst, so let’s start sparring.」

「……Understood.」

「I won’t lose this time!」

「Do I have to get between those two? I’m worried about a number of things.」

As he watched their mock battle start, each with their own thoughts, Rei turned his attention to Mosst, who was next to him.

「That’s why us mages will will train in our own group.」

「A mage, huh? Come to think of it, the reason why the name Crimson became so well known was because of the huge fire whirl you created during the war that caused enormous damage to the Bestir Empire. However, it doesn’t seem like you have a magic casting device?」

Mosst seemed to be quite proud of his cane. He stroked it as he asked Rei.

In fact, the cane that Mosst was holding was made from the branches of a Treant that was over 50 years old, it’s performance as a magic casting tool was guaranteed.

However, Rei shook his head towards Mosst.

「It’s true that as a mage, it’s only natural to prioritise magic ……But, in my case, I’m a mage who wears a robe, but I actually specialise in mid range to close range combat. And that’s why I can give you some advice.」

「What do you mean?」

「First of all, this doesn’t just apply to mages but also to those who use bows, those who attack from a distance are generally weak at close combat. You know that best, don’t you?」

「……Yeah, you are right.」

Mosst’s build wasn’t that different from Rei’s. Maybe just a little bigger.

Rei must have read Mosst’s thoughts from his expression. Rei held out his right hand from under his Dragon Robe.

Mosst puzzledly responded to Rei’s request for a handshake by grasping his hand.

Before feeling a sudden pain shoot up his arm.

「Argh-!」

The pain was so intense that it felt like his palm was being crushed as Mosst let out a scream of pain.

Seeing that, Rei immediately let go of Mosst’s hand.

「Do you understand? Even though this is an extreme example, you can’t use magic immediately if you’re in pain. Also, if you want to use magic, you’ll need to invoke it. Well, in your party, you have someone to buy you time, a well rounded lineup of vanguard and rear guard, so normally there wouldn’t be any issues……but, if you plan to participate in the fighting tournament, you’ll definitely need to deal with situations where someone gets close to you.」

Hearing Rei’s words, Mosst shook his had, still feeling some pain, as he looked at Rei with resentment.

「I understand that now. If you could explain that in words though, it would be easier to understand……」

「You have to experience it for yourself. A picture is worth a thousand words, and feeling something is worth more than seeing it a thousand times.」

「What does that mean?」

「It’s better to see something with your own eyes at least once than to just hear about it, and it’s even better to feel something directly yourself than to just see it with your own eyes. So let’s get back onto the main topic. Do you know how to use a bow?」

「No. What does that have to do with this? Or rather, doesn’t a bow have the same issue when your opponent gets close?」

Rei shrugged his shoulders as Mosst asked him with an unconvinced expression.

「I’m not saying that you should use a bow for melee purposes. However, being able to use a bow as a mage simply increases your methods of attack, so it’s quite useful.」

As Rei said that, he recalled the Elf, Firuma, who had taken the rank up test to D rank alongside Rei.

Rei had been surprised by her range of attack methods that used magic along with her bow. That said, she hadn’t used normal magic but spirit magic.

「I understand what you’re saying, but it would be unreasonable to use a bow in addition to this cane. In the first place, you need to use both hands to fire a bow, so if I do that, I would have to let go of my cane. As a mage, giving up your cane is basically suicide, so I don’t want to do that.」

Rei nodded at Mosst’s words.

For someone with physical abilities like Rei, they might have been able to manage using a bow and a cane. However, Mosst was a pure mage and, although his physical strength was greater than ordinary people as an adventurer, he was still no match for people like Luzi and Vaycul, who specialised in physical force.

(I wish I had some sort of crossbow, but I’ve never seen one since coming here……)

He had already spent more than a year in Elgin and had traveled to may places including Gilm, a remote frontier land with many rare monsters and materials, Emoshion, one of the largest port cities in the Mireana Kingdom and where a large number of goods traveled through, Exil, a labyrinth city, and many other places. Rei had spent a lot of time in various cities, but he had yet to see a crossbow.

(After loading, you can fire a powerful bolt. Of course, considering a small person like Mosst would be using it, a small crossbow would be necessary……no, I don’t think it’s that unreasonable, right? Also, I haven’t seen one until now, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t one in the whole of Elgin. There’s a good chance they’re being made somewhere. ……If only I knew it’s structure, I could have made one myself.)

Rei was someone who had lived in the countryside back on Earth. He hadn’t been part of an archery club, so he never had a chance to use a bow and arrow and, of course, crossbows were only weapons that appeared in games and novels, so his knowledge on them was half baked.

There was still some leeway when it came to cooking, so that had led to things like udon and okonomiyaki.

Rei shook his head after coming to the conclusion that there was no point in thinking of something he didn’t have.

「It’s true that you can’t use a bow with one hand. In that case, there are other weapons that can be used with one hand and don’t take up too much space.」

Saying that, Rei took out a dagger from the Misty Ring.

「Eh? W-Wait, I mean……is that an item box!?」

「Hm? Oh. You didn’t know. That’s right, it’s an item box. That aside, here, take this.」

Despite the rumours about Rei, it seemed like Mosst didn’t know about his item box as he handed over a dagger.

The rumours of Crimson had spread through Bestir Empire following the battle at the Selemus Plains, so in other words, they had mostly focused around his huge scythe, the fire whirl, and his Griffon, which had been the main cause of damage to the Bestir Empire’s army.

In that sense, unlike in the Mireana Kingdom, the rumours here were quite biased.

In fact, the rumors that Rei was a massive person were part of the result.

「Uhm, this……uh……can I have this dagger?」

Mosst, who seemed like he had recollected himself somewhat, asked Rei, who nodded back to tell him it was fine.

In the first place, the dagger he had given to Mosst wasn’t a magic item that Rei had collected, but just one of the many daggers he kept for stripping materials.

(Speaking of magic items……there has to be quite a number of them in the Bestir Empire’s capital.)

Since alchemy here was popular enough to create Demon Soldiers, there was no doubt that a wide range of magic items could be found.

That was what Rei thought, but in his current situation, carelessly leaving the inn would be problematic in many ways.

Both because he was supposed to be protecting Daska and because of the hostility directed towards him. There was also the existence of Requiem’s Toll. Considering all that, he had no intention of causing a commotion in his current situation.

His purpose was to attract the attention of the upper echelons of the Bestir Empire, but if he caused a commotion here, there was a possibility he might not be able to participate in the tournament itself if he made a mistake.

Should he ask Mosst to buy some for him? Rei thought about it for a moment, but shopping was only fun when making your own choices and buying with confidence, he might even be able to find some bargains.

「Rei-san?」

As he was thinking, Mosst’s voice brought him back to reality.

「Sorry, I was just thinking about something. So, what were you saying?」

「That is, I was wondering if I could keep this dagger.」

As Rei was thinking, Mosst seemed to have completely recovered from seeing Rei’s item box. He asked without displaying any shock on his face.

「Hm? Yeah, that’s fine. It’s a dagger that’s sold everywhere, so there’s no need to worry about it. For now, you can hide a small weapon like this under your robe, right? Later, you can use it when an enemy approaches, or……」

Rei quickly threw out a dagger which he took from the Misty Ring.

The dagger only stopped when its tip pierced into the trunk of a tree that Rei was aiming at, as he hadn’t thrown it with much force. But, even so, it was enough for Mosst’s eyes to go wide with surprise.

Throwing a dagger wasn’t that rare in of itself. Although it wasn’t an essential skill for thieves, many of them still knew how to do it.

He had even seen Vaycul do it several times.

There were even quite a number of warriors who knew how to do it.

Luzi didn’t have the skill, but Mosst had still seen other warriors throw daggers.

Furthermore, throwing a dagger didn’t simply mean just throwing the dagger. It meant throwing it in such a way such that its tip would pierce your opponent.

「A mage with this sort of skill is……rare.」

「I guess so. But, it’s precisely because it’s rare that you can surprise your opponent. You can also surprise them by telling them you’re a mage who doesn’t have a dagger or any other weapon. I don’t know how long it will take you to learn how to throw a dagger and, more importantly, if you practice here, the other guests in the inn might complain.」

While saying that, Rei pulled out the dagger, which was a few centimeters into the tree, before pointing it towards Mosst.

「I’m not used to teaching people, so the only thing you can do is practice. Here, it’s better to get used to it to learn. Come on.」

In this way, Mosst sparred with Rei, a mage who could also use a dagger and seemed quite competent as a thief.

……As for Mosst, he had wanted to train more of his magic if possible.

 

 

In such a way, two days passed and the day of the fighting tournament arrived.

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