「HAHAHA. That was a disaster. You ended up having to deeal with that because you went out on your own without my support.」

Inside the Eternal Sky Pavilion’s dining area. After hearing that Rei had been attacked by assassins today, Luzi replied with a cheerful laugh.

The reason why Luzi was in such a good mood was probably because he had won his match today.

Rei heard from Rhodes that it was quite the fierce battle, but any injuries Luzi took were all healed back up after leaving the arena.

「Luzi sure is in a good mood……haah.」

It was Mosst who let out a melancholy sigh.

Luzi’s match was today, but his match was tomorrow.

Furthermore, his opponent was Varg, a former knight of the Bestir Empire and an someone from an orthodox school of sword fighting.

As a mage, it was one of the worst match ups Mosst could have gotten.

「Well, don’t worry about it. You were trained by Rei as well, right?」

「Yeah. Well, that’s true. However, even though I was trained by Rei-san, who is a fantastic mage, the only thing I improved on was how to use a dagger, not magic. As a mage, don’t you think there’s something wrong with that?」

He complained with a sigh.

For Mosst, after hearing about Crimson, he had hoped that Rei would train him in magic skills.

「But, it’s actually useful to know how to use a dagger, right?」

Mosst nodded at Rhodes with a somewhat unconvinced expression.

In fact, Mosst knew it best that if he had been a little less skilled with the dagger, he probably wouldn’t have made it through the qualifying rounds.

That’s why he couldn’t really complain too much, but he still felt slightly annoyed despite his gratitude.

Seeing Mosst’s complicated expression, Rei spoke up while stuffing meat and salad into some sliced bread in his hand.

「I’ve said this before, but I’m not a pure mage. I don’t want other people to think I am. If you really want to know more about magic, then you should ask other mages to teach you.」

「……Yes, you’re right. But, it’s also true that if it wasn’t for Rei-san’s teachings, I would have lost in the qualifying rounds……is there anything I can do about my match tomorrow in the main tournament?」

Mosst’s fight would be a one on one battle against a former knight, someone good at close combat. His opponent undoubtedly had many ways of dealing with mages.

「If they had allowed tamed or summoned monsters, you could have let it protect you.」

「No, no. But I don’t have any tamed monsters and I can’t use summoning magic.」

As Rei complained about the tournament’s rules, Mosst told him that even if it was allowed, he didn’t have either.

Mosst was right, but Rei’s main dissatisfaction was that he couldn’t fight with Set.

It would have been fine against ordinary opponents, but when dealing with someone like Noiz, Rei’s ability to use Set’s strength became very important.

(Well, considering I already have to restrict my use of some skills, it’s already not perfect.)

That said, Rei had no qualms with demonstrating Set and his skills in front of a large number of people as long as it meant he could overcome the wall before him that was Noiz. At least that was what he thought.

「Anyhow, I’ll do my best in tomorrow’s match. I still have some tricks up my sleeve.」

Although his expression was calm, there was definitely some confidence on his face.

「Heh……in that case, I’d like to watch your match tomorrow.」

「You’re right. I’ve been in your care in various ways, so if you could, please come to watch.」

They conversed as such while eating.

 

 

The next day, as promised, Rei was in the stadium.

Although he was quite annoyed with the number of people around him, he still went to the general audience seating. As for why, it was because he would continue to receive hostile glares from the Bestir Empire nobles if he stayed in the guest seating.

He had reported the attack that had happened to him the day before to Daska, but there wasn’t a lot that could be done about it.

To begin with, Rei’s official position was currently no longer that of Daska’s bodyguard.

Of course, it didn’t change the fact that Daska and Rei were close, but it did mean that Daska could do much about it in an official capacity.

That was because adventurers were responsible for their own actions.

In addition, Theorem and Vihera had requested Rei to stand out, which he had done more than enough to.

In fact, he had been so high profile that if he stopped standing out so much, the people targeting him might start to hide away again. It was for that reason that he did what he did.

There was also the fact that he was quite interested in Mosst’s secret tricks.

「Hey, the next match is between a mage and a knight? Who do you think will win?」

Probably because Rei was wearing a hood, another member of the audience, who thought Rei was just another spectator, asked him.

They seemed quite excited to see the matches that had played out so far. His face was visibly red from from all the shouting he had done, not just to Rei but to everyone else around him.

「Let me think……I think the mage is still at a disadvantage in the end. After all, he’s quite defenseless while casting magic. However, Mosst used a dagger quite a bit in the qualifying rounds, so we’ll have to see how that goes. ……Aside from that, if he has any trump cards he didn’t reveal before, there might be a turnaround.」

「You think so too, brother? The rulles of the tournament are quite disadvantageous for pure mages. personally, I’d like to see some flashy magic. See, like the magic Crimson used in the qualifying rounds.」

「……That’s right.」

Rei was speechless for a moment, not expecting his name to be brought up, but he managed to push out some words of agreement.

The man was confused for a moment, feeling Rei’s response to be be somewhat unnatural, but in his state of excitement, he immediately ignored it as he kept talking.

Rei didn’t feel inclined to ignore someone who didn’t hold any particular dislike of Crimson, so he and the surrounding audience enjoyed the discussion until the match began.

 

 

「He’s strong.」

Mosst muttered as he looked at his opponent across the arena, the former knight, Varg.

In fact, just standing there made him feel pressured.

His skills were at a different level to his. Mosst had no choice but to make that assessment.

Mosst, who had watched all the qualifying blocks, had naturally also watched Varg make it through his qualifying block.

Judging from how things were going, he might have to pull out his trump card to gain the victory. That’s what he thought, but when facing his opponent head on like this, he realised how reckless of an idea that was.

「Does he understand his opponent’s strength? He’s quite talented for his age.」

Hearing Mosst’s murmurs, Varg spoke with a smile on his lips.

As a former knight, he wore half plate rather than leather armour and his weapon was a long sword.

He was probably in his mid 30’s, more than 10 years older than Mosst.

In terms of combat experience, Mosst was overwhelmingly inferior.

Additionally, Mosst was an adventurer. Although he occasionally fought humans, his primary enemy was monsters.

(Still……as a member of Wind Dragon’s Fang, I can’t afford to put up a shameful fight!)

Bracing himself in his mind, he focused on his opponent as he held his cane in his right hand.

「The match, begins!」

As the referee said those words, Mosst immediately began his incantation.

『Blessing of magic within me, be my shield. A strong wall of great magic power, let it be……』

If he had just a few more seconds, his magic would have activated. However, the person Mosst was facing was a former knight. Unlike adventurers, he was someone who had trained to fight against other people. Naturally, he knew what was essential when fighting a mage……namely, to stop the mage from activating their magic by interrupting their incantations.

Because of that, as soon as the signal was given, he had closed the distance to Moss and swung his long sword.

His attack was a horizontal sweep aimed at Mosst’s body, at a speed which Mosst, who was now used to handling daggers, was capable of responding to.

However, it wasn’t something Mosst could do while trying to activate his magic at the same time.

「UWaAAAAAaah-!」

Although Mosst immediately drew his dagger to block the sword, there was no way he could stop the power behind the attack with his build as a mage, nor was he skilled enough to parry the attack with his dagger. As a result, he was sent flying to the side.

Still, he deserved credt for being able to regain his balance in the air and land on the arena.

The former knight’s eyes widened slightly, perhaps at the unexpected result.

It looked like he hadn’t expected a mage to be able to block his attack.

The fact that he hadn’t immediately chased after Mosst had shown how big of a surprise it had been.

And……that momentary gap was what Mosst had been hoping for.

As he had originally planned, he channeled his strength into his trump card.

「EEEEEEEY-!」

Mosst’s action was to dash forward with a shout, not distance himself from the knight like a mage normally would……but to close the distance to the knight.

Furthermore, the speed at which he moved wasn’t something a mage would normally be able to do.

Seeing Mosst suddenly appear in front of him, the former knight’s eyes widened as he tightened his grip on his long sword, but……

「Too slow!」

With those words, Mosst swung his cane towards Varg’s head.

Thunk, a clear sound echoed out.

Of course, that one attack wasn’t enough. But this was his only good chance of winning.

The reason why Mosst’s physical abilities had increased so explosively was because he had released his latent power in a critical situation……but rather the effect of one of his treasured magic items.

It was a magic item that could temporarily strengthen his body to a level that rivaled warriors, but as powerful as it was, it also had the fatal flaw of breaking after use.

Because of that, now that the effects of body strengthening were in full effect, it was his first and final opportunity for victory.

「YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH-!」

He swung his cane over and over and over again.

Striking, smashing, and slamming Varg’s helm.

Varg’s head shook violently each time, but his body never fell.

After staying in such a situation for several tens of seconds, the moment Mosst held started to rapidly decrease.

The effects of the magic item’s physical strengthening had worn off.

「Haa, haa, haa……」

The moment Mosst’s movements returned to normal, something fell from the wrist of his right hand, which was holding his cane, to the ground along with the sound of something breaking.

It was a bracelet. The magic item that had strengthened Mosst’s body and his trump card.

「……I see. You used a magic item to compensate for what you lacked. But……it still wasn’t enough.」

Mosst could see that Varg was bleeding slightly from his lips, but that seemed to be the only sign of injury that had occurred.

「No way……」

「Even if your physical ability was strengthened, your technique is still that of a mage, which is a fatal weakness.」

Without waiting for Mosst to respond, Varg leaped forward……and slammed his long sword into Mosst’s body.

Varg already knew that Mosst, who was out of breath, no longer had the ability to resist, so he struck his belly with the flat of his blade rather than the edge, probably as an act of mercy.

Mosst was blown away and bounced several times along the ground before eventually sliding……and falling off the edge of the arena with his momentum.

「That’s it! The winner is Varg!」

With the referee’s announcement, the match was ended.

Varg raised his hand while being cheered on the by the audience.

Mosst looked at Varg as he stood up.

The sword blow had cracked his ribs, but fortunately, the injury had already disappeared as he left the arena.

Still, he could feel the pain from earlier as he reached out to touch his side.

「That hurt……I guess he really was a tough opponent for a mage. I even used my trump card……」

At the end of his line of sight was the remains of the bracelet that had fallen to the ground.

It was an expensive and rare magic item and it had been very hard for Mosst to obtain.

「Still, I was able to fight for a bit……and it’s just a tournament, so I didn’t die, so I guess it’s okay.」

「That’s right, I was very surprised by your physical strength in many ways. ……However, your problem was that you didn’t realise that your cane dampens a lot of the impact and that you just went for my head instead of my body.」

Turning to face the voice he heard, Mosst saw Varg.

Having already left the stage, Varg’s lip had also stopped bleeding.

「Even if you say aim for the body……what can I do against metal armour?」

「Well, it’s not like it’s full plate, so you should target the gaps?」

「Please don’t say something so unreasonable. I’m just a mage, not a warrior……」

「I see. Anyway, it was a good fight.」

「Yes, thank you for letting me learn.」

Shaking each other’s hands, they left through the entrance they had come from.

Like so, the first to drop out from Wind Dragon’s Fang was Mosst, the mage.

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