“Whoa, ha… … .”
Proud calmed down and narrowed the distance with slow steps. The sight of them approaching little by little, scattering haze with intense heat, reminded me of a killer robot from a movie I had seen a long time ago.
‘If I opened it that much, my sword would have melted.’
Even though it was quite a distance, I was sweating. The grass on the ground could not stand the heat and was dry and flew up. The students who were watching could not overcome the heat and retreated further.
“… … Whoa.”
Proud was a calm figure that felt even the impossibility of cold, the opposite of a blazing fire. It’s almost like I’m not even sweating.
“Is that sword from the Azmashi Workshop?”
When I asked, the approaching Proud stopped.
“… … Our family has inherited the magic of fire from generation to generation.”
And he gave a brief, incomprehensible answer.
“So it’s Azmash Workshop stuff? … . well, that’s it.”
Maybe they want to say that they supply the fire used in the Azmash Workshop. That way, the nuance was understandable.
“Then I should be serious about this too.”
I poured magic power into the sword. As the electricity ran through my silvery black, it sparked and slowly turned bright white.
“That, that’s the sword of the one who inherited the emperor’s magical power!”
“Is this the magical power of a thunderbolt…? … !”
People screamed in amazement. I just put it on, but I was embarrassed by the excessive reaction.
‘Actually, it would be quicker to just use the magnetic field to take the sword away than to do something like this… … I don’t know if the phoenix blade is iron or not.’
I tried to reach out and manipulate the magnetic field to check it, but I gave up and withdrew my hand. I want to keep the skill of manipulating magnetic fields as a trump weapon. It’s too early to write now.
“Shall we fight properly?”
“As you like.”
I lowered my stance and kicked the ground. Like lightning, he jumped into Proud.
“Ha!”
“hmm!”
Kaaang!
Proud skillfully blocked my sword. As their swords and magic collided, the wind blew like an explosion.
‘Oh, it’s hot!’
Due to the unexpected heat, I slightly widened the distance without being able to pour in a small amount of electricity. It was much hotter than it appeared.
“… … Whoa.”
Unfazed by a slight electric shock, Proud took a deep breath and approached me. And he swung his sword with the fastest ceremonial swordsmanship.
“Ha!”
Even if it’s fast, it’s clearly visible to me since it’s the second stage boost. I deflected Proud’s sword and intercepted him. Aiming at the moment of contact, I poured in a strong electric shock——.
“… … Kut!”
‘… … Chit. After all, electricity doesn’t work well.’
Proud didn’t show much reaction other than flinching for a moment. A normal swordsman would probably immediately tremble and drop his sword.
“Whoa… … . ha.”
‘Maybe it’s just that Proud is holding up well.’
Standing firm with regular breathing, Proud was like a fortress.
The static and heavy movement, which is the opposite of the generally thought image of the owner of fire magic fighting with flashy flames, gives intense pressure.
‘I won’t destroy that fortress!’
I’ll gradually accumulate the electric shock so that you won’t be able to withstand it. I closed the distance again and pushed Proud.
“… … Whoa!”
Proud hardly counterattacked as if blocking my sword was the limit. Sometimes I couldn’t stand the heat and had to back out, but in fact it was almost the same flow as the first time.
‘I wanted to make it a little fun, but it’s still defense-oriented… … ?’
“… … hahahaha. Whoa… … ?”
As I was using an impression that I thought would come out uninteresting, I realized something strange.
“Haaa. ha… … ! Coke, Coke! whoops, whoops… … !!”
It was not easy to breathe. It wasn’t just because of the opening. The oxygen around them was disappearing.
‘… … what, was it like that? Now I understand.’
I finally figured out Proud’s tactics.
The number one cause of death from fire is not burning. They usually suffocate because they can’t breathe before then.
‘When I fought Eugene in the original work, it was a battle between fire and water, so it didn’t come out like that.’
Proud’s slow breathing and static movements were not just a simple fighting style. It was part of a strategy in which he restrained his breathing with minimal movements and slowly drove the opponent into suffocation.
This was the true Proud way of fighting.
“Whoa… … . ha.”
Unlike me, who was breathing heavily, Proud was still calm. Occasionally my body trembled because of my electric shock, but each time it happened, the flames around me shook even more.
“hahahaha… … . You’re writing a dirty number. Are you going to make me fall over on my own grass?”
From noble mtl dot com
“Even if it’s a challenge, I’m not reluctant to hurt the crown prince.”
Is that what you mean by burning your shirt in an explosion? It was embarrassing, but I had no time to speak.
‘Damn it. I should have brought Beretragna as well. Should I just use a magnetic field?’
I was desperately worried about my head not getting enough oxygen.
‘But seeing as the electricity didn’t flow well, the possibility of taking the sword away even if it was used… … What is the secret of the earth? no. What am I going to do with it here?’
While I was thinking about it, the flames surrounding Proud made it even stronger, as if it was about to see an end. If you force yourself to enter, you will be burned and lost immediately.
‘Isn’t it hot even if you look around like that?’
I also apply electricity to my body, but isn’t that against the rules? The moment I thought that,
‘… … Is it hot or not?’
something flashed
No matter how much I am born with the magical power of electricity, if electricity beyond the limit is passed through my body, I will suffer damage. Even after raising the resistance greatly, there were clearly limits.
It won’t be much different from Proud either.
But Proud wasn’t burning right now. That means——.
“Right. ruined it.”
Proud’s fire can never burn me.
I closed my eyes and focused. And among the five senses, I closed my sense of touch. The contradictory sensation of ‘feeling nothing’, as if the whole body had turned into dull calluses, dominated the body. I no longer felt the heat I had felt until now.
Without hesitation, I jumped into Proud’s fire. It was the maximum acceleration that blocked even the sense of touch in the second stage boost.
“… … !!”
Proud, as if surprised, raised the flame even more. Red flames blocked my eyes, but——I passed through the flames.
Then, he lightly cut the stunned Proud’s cheek and passed behind him. Proud was so surprised that he couldn’t even take a defensive posture.
It happened in less than a second.
“… … .”
“… … .”
Everyone was silent, as if they didn’t know what had happened.
Proud put his hand to his cheek. The blood that flowed out was immediately dried by the heat.
I stood proudly looking at the stunned Proud without suffering any burns.
“This is my victory.”
“Kuh… … .”
Confirming his defeat, Proud silently reaped the flames. I also reopened the sense of touch that I had closed. The heat that I felt along with a slight tickling sensation was slowly erased by the cold iron-blooded wind.
“Shut up, are you done? What happened?”
“I don’t know either! He suddenly jumped… … .”
The students began to mutter, asking each other what had happened.
“Uh, uh. that’s it… … . Wow, Crown Prince’s victory!!”
I took a deep breath as I heard the bewildered Kkondae shouting from the podium. The cold iron-blooded air was very delicious.
I once saw a video of a monk walking on fire on TV. I still remember the image of him trudging out barefoot over the hot charcoal, leaving a deep impression.
At first, I thought that it might have been through some kind of special training that made it able to withstand fire, but as it turned out, the truth was quite simple.
The thermal conductivity of air is not very high. It’s not that different from the human body either.
Surprisingly, people do not burn easily unless they are exposed to fire for a long time after being scared and hesitated, or when it is not hot enough to exceed the limit.
In other words, the fire of Proud that is not hot enough to burn itself cannot burn me.
By blocking my sense of touch, I overcame even my instinctive fear and moved at the fastest speed, so I was able to attack Proud without being burned by the flames.
“Proud.”
“… … yes.”
Proud answered and looked at me with an incomprehensible expression. He seemed to be unable to comprehend what had just happened.
“If you are not prepared to burn yourself, you cannot burn your opponent.”
“… … !”
At my words, Proud opened his eyes wide as if he realized something.
Proud would surely be able to generate enough firepower to turn them into ashes if they made up their mind. However, firepower that strong was dangerous to itself, so he must have put a limit on it.
“Well, it’s not a fight to kill each other, so it’s funny to say such a thing.”
It’s not a bad choice. It is already proving that Proud has become the highest rank of the knight academy and the student council president.
“For an ordinary person, the fire from earlier would be enough. I can’t jump in because I’m scared of falling, and even if I do, I’ll shudder from the heat and get cooked.”
but,
“I was just not an ordinary person. Don’t be too heartbroken.”
You can never win against an iron-blooded monster.
“… … Advice, thanks.”
Proud respectfully bowed his head and expressed his gratitude. The students, who were confused by Kkondae’s declaration of victory and couldn’t understand the situation, started applauding all at once when Proud lowered his head.
I looked around at the clapping students. The way the students looked at me was a mixture of admiration, respect, and a very slight ‘different emotion’.
“… … Proud.”
“yes.”
“I don’t mean to humiliate you, but… … .”
“yes?”
“Lend me your jacket.”
Proud slightly frowned at the sudden request. Embarrassed, I pointed at my bare upper body.
“Are you a bit ashamed?”
“ah… … . hmm. yes. sorry.”
Only then did Proud understand what he meant, took off his coat and handed it over to me. I cleared my throat for no reason and took my coat and put it on roughly.
“Is it flame retardant? You didn’t manage to burn in the heat.”
“… … yes. It’s troublesome to burn your clothes every time.”
“I guess so. I understand.”
Proud’s outerwear was the perfect size. However, it was still very embarrassing to see her wearing a coat right on her bare skin.
‘Thanks to training, my body isn’t bad, but… … .’
The glittering eyes of the female students were quite burdensome to me, who had hardly ever met a woman other than Katyusha and her second generation.
Anyway, the first day of entering the knight academy.
I challenged the boss character of the knight academy, the flame horse Proud, and won.