「Mm……Hmm……?」

Rei regained consciousness with such groans.

Getting up, he used his half awake mind to find out his current location.

It was a place that was both familiar and unfamiliar.

Looking around……he noticed a figure on a sofa that was facing where he had been lying down and his consciousness rapidly awakened as he stood up.

The reason for the sudden shock was because he saw Noiz sitting opposite him, memories of the finals still vivid in his mind.

「Looks like you’re awake.」

「Noiz……this is……no, what is going on here?」

「This is the waiting room that was assigned to you. Do you remember the finals?」

For some reason, Nozi was smiling, seemingly in a good mood. Rei felt stupid for being so nervous as he sat back down.

Closing his eyes, Rei recalled what had happened before he was knocked out.

(The finals……yes, I did fight Noiz. Or rather, was it even a fight? If anything, it would be more accurate to say it was a one sided beating.)

What flashed through his mind was the figure of Noiz with compressed magic power wrapped around his body to the point it could be seen.

He had tried to imitate it almost on instinct but, in the end, he had still lost.

「I lost, huh.」

As Rei muttered out loud, Noiz just looked back and nodded.

「That’s right. But it’s also true that I’ve rarely been this serious in the past few years.」

Noiz’s words sounded like he was simply stating the truth rather than trying to comfort him, but Rei didn’t say anything in response as he covered his face.

The pain in his right ribs and the small scratches he had sustained in the finals had all disappeared as he left the arena.

Noticing the effect again, Rei let out a sigh without much thought.

(I felt the difference in ability between me and Noiz when we first met. Still……I did think I could win, but……)

It had been about a year and a half since Rei had come to this world known as Elgin. He had been through many battles since then and won every one of them.

……Well, there were some exceptions like the lich, Grimm.

Above all, he was proud of the fact he had been able to defeat A rank adventurers like Elk and Digma.

Still……he hadn’t even been able to get Noiz to become serious.

No, Noiz had probably gotten serious. At the very least, he was completely different from when he had faced other opponents before the finals, where he had strength to spare.

But, in the end, that was all there was to it. He might have been able to get Noiz to use some strength, but it was true that he hadn’t been cornered to the point where he needed to use his full strength.

(He’s strong. Of course, I didn’t think I could defeat everyone at this point, but still, I didn’t expect there to be such a difference in ability.)

Noiz, who was looking at Rei, deep in thought, with an amused expression, eventually spoke up.

「There’s no need to be so depressed. You even used my Overlords Armour after just seeing it. From a profit/loss perspective, you gained a lot.」

「Overlord’s Armour? ……Is that the name of the skill?」

For a moment, Rei didn’t understand what Overlord’s Armour was, but after hearing that he had copied it, he immediately realised what it was.

Seeing that Rei had realised what he was talking about, Noiz nodded as he spoke.

「That’s right. That’s the skill I used. Overlord’s Armour. However, it’s a name that isn’t very widely known. ……I never thought there would be someone else who could use it aside from me.」

Along with those words, a fierce smile appeared on his face.

But, when Rei saw Noiz’s smile, he realised he wasn’t as scared as he had been before.

His palms for example. The first time he had met Noiz, he palms had started sweating just by talking with him.

But now, even though they were facing each other like this and Noiz was smiling in a combative manner, he didn’t feel threatened at all.

No, it wasn’t that he didn’t feel threatened. Just by being face to face with Noiz, he could understand that Noiz was an order of magnitude stronger than him, he had no doubts after experiencing it himself.

So, why was he so calm?

Although he didn’t know the reason, Rei guessed that it was because he had actually fought Noiz and gotten a feel for what he was capable of.

Regardless of Rei’s state, Noiz continued speaking with that smile still on his face.

「Until now, there have been several people who have said they wanted to use Overlord’s Armour. Of course, all of them had some level of skill, but none of them were able to use it. I didn’t think you would learn it just by seeing me use it. The title of Crimson wasn’t given just for fun.」

「You seem to be praising me, but I was no match for you and lost.」

Perhaps caught off guard by Rei’s words, Noiz’s eyes went wide, which was unusual for him.

He stayed like that for several seconds. Eventually, he let out a laugh as he responded.

「Of course. How long did you think it took me to master Overlord’s Armour? It’s true that you managed to use it. But that’s all you did. You didn’t master it. Generally speaking, no matter how you look at it, using that much magical power to demonstrate only that level of performance is nothing but immaturity.」

What Noiz said was correct.

Rei understood that and didn’t offer any counter argument.

It was a fact that his skill with Overlord’s Armour was far from Noiz’s.

Seeing Rei’s reaction, Noiz smiled bitterly as he thought to himself.

(Still, it’s amazing that he was able to learn so much just by watching and copying. To concentrate the magic power for Overlord’s Armour in one place and maintain it……how long did that take me?)

As he thought to himself, Noiz spoke to Rei again.

「If you continue to grow like this……eventually, you’ll be able to defeat me. That day may come.」

A pause.

Hearing Noiz’s words, Rei froze for a moment……and after a few seconds, he asked Noiz for confirmation.

「Is that really true?」

「Yeah. In the first place, what good would it be for me to lie? Of course, it won’t happen right away. You’ll probably have to go through some tough training and actual combat.」

Maybe he could become stronger even without using Overlord’s Armour.

Considering Rei’s abnormally fast learning curve, it wasn’t impossible. No, it would be better if Rei instinctively sought out other strengths. That way, he wouldn’t feel bored.

Even though he felt bored after reaching such a level, he spoke up hoping that his boredom would one day disappear.

「On a different topic, the awards ceremony for the fighting tournament will be held soon. The referee asked you to participate if you could, but……are you okay?」

「……That’s right.」

Muttering out loud, Rei got up from the sofa he was sitting on and checked the condition of his body.

His injuries had gone by the time he left the stage, but he still wanted to be on the safe side.

After a few seconds, making sure that there was no discomfort in his body, Rei spoke up again.

「No problem.」

「I see. ……Oh, your weapon is over there.」

Noiz glanced over towards the Death Scythe, lying on its side on the ground.

When Rei say that, he had a shocked expression on his face.

「Did……you bring this here?」

「Yeah. Would it have been better for me to leave it where it was?」

「No, I’m grateful you brought it here. It’s just……you were able to bring it here. A normal human wouldn’t have been able to carry it……no, I see. Overlord’s Armour, huh.」

Rei quickly noticed. Noiz smiled after hearing Rei’s words.

In the finals, Noiz had appeared with the Overlord’s Armour all over his body. But, even in the fights leading up to the finals, he had still been able to move at high speed, which meant that he had still be using Overlord’s Armour. In other words, it meant that the effects of Overlord’s Armour could be utilised even he didn’t wrap his whole body in it to the point where it could be seen.

(Also, he was able to stop Luzi’s claymore thrust with just the tip of his sword. Being able to do that means he had perfect control over Overlord’s Armour.)

Rei understood it because he had used Overlord’s Armour as well, even if only on the spur of the moment. It was true that it let him get one step closer to Noiz’s strength. However, it also only made the difference in strength more apparent.

At the very least, Rei couldn’t control Overlord’s Armour that delicately right now.

(There’s a long way to go……)

Although Rei thought that to himself, there was no sign of despair in his eyes. Rather, because there was a target to challenge in front of him, he smiled back at Noiz just as fiercely.

Noiz seemed to notice as well. He smiled back with interest, as if he couldn’t wait to fight again.

Even though it hadn’t been that long since their fight had ended, he was already eager to fight again.

That was how much Noiz had been overtaken with boredom. Rei touched the Death Scythe as he revealed his own determination to overcome the clear wall that had formed in front of him for the first time.

As Rei stored away the Death Scythe, Noiz seemed impressed.

The fierce smile that had on his face several seconds ago had already disappeared.

Rei smiled bitterly at Noiz’s reaction, remembering the first time they had met.

「An item box? Mine is bag shaped, but……」

As Noiz said that, Rei sai that his item box wasn’t at his waist.

「Come to think of it, you talked about that before. But, it seems like you don’t have it on you?」

「Hm? Yeah. If people find out I have an item box, I be targeted. It’s quite inconvenient to me in that regard. That’s why I don’t bring it to places where is conspicuous like the fighting tournament.」

「So you weighed the benefits of the item box against the hassle and chose the less troublesome option.」

It was the complete opposite to Rei.

Rei had proudly used his item box ever since he arrived at Gilm.

Of course, there were quite a few people who had attacked him, aiming for his item box, but most of them had already left for the underworld. Everyone else still alive would eventually come to regret it.

「Well, let’s talk about that later. There’s an award ceremony to attend, right? Let’s go.」

Rei brushed his Dragon Robe to remove any dust on it before turning to Noiz and speaking.

Seeing that, Noiz gave a slight noded before checking the condition of his own equipment.

A complicated expression appeared on Rei’s face as he watched that.

That was because in the final match, it hadn’t been possible to cause any damage that stuck to Noiz’s equipment.

Although he had used magic, its effectiveness had been limited.

(However, it’s the same for me.)

He had been attacked and punched several times in his right side, but his Dragon Robe hadn’t suffered any damage or marks.

Of course, there were some differences. Compared to Noiz, who hadn’t suffered any real damage, Rei had been hurt through his Dragon Robe.

(Is that technique an extension of the Overlord’s Armour? ……No, probably not. It seems to work differently. If that’s the case, it must be a completely different skill. ……S rank, huh? Once again, it’s so far away.)

Thinking to himself, he left the waiting room together with Noiz.

Neither of them said anything in particular as they headed back towards the arena when they saw someone running towards them.

The person spoke up in relief when they saw Noiz and Rei.

「Good, it looks like it won’t be a problem for both of you to attend the award ceremony. Preparations for the award ceremony stage have just been completed. ……However, what will be held today will only be for show. The official award ceremony will be held at the castle at a later date. In addition, regarding your reward, you may make your request to His Majesty the Emperor today and it will be awarded at the official award ceremony.」

「No problem.」

「Understood.」

Noiz and Rei both nodded at the explanation of the award ceremony procedure.

That said, the busiest part of the award ceremony would be fore Noiz. As the runner up, Rei would mostly just be listening to what they had to say. The conversation would only turn to him when it came to ask what he wanted.

After the explanation, Noiz and Rei went to enter the arena from the participant entrance.

There, the arena had been had been quickly organised to look good for the award ceremony as cheers rose from the audience……

Roar-!

Suddenly, a loud sound echoed out from somewhere, exceeding even the crowds’ cheers and reaching their ears.

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