61 – Duel 3 –
In the rules of attire for a duel, there are no restrictions.
The training attire was designed to minimize hindrance to mobility, but it wasn’t entirely free of inconvenience in all combat-related activities.
That’s why I wore ballet attire.
It successfully excited my opponent.
Well, maybe a bit too much.
“You seem quite excited. Is crossdressing to your liking? Unfortunately, I prefer women.”
“You… are making fun of me.”
“Why would this be making fun? Even if I were in a regular suit, there’s no reason to consider it mockery. Ballet attire is elegant enough to be worn by nobles without ridicule.”
“But it’s not without mockery!!!”
“Yes.”
There is no mockery, so it’s a problem.
He’s doing this just to tarnish my reputation.
So, I stand tall and proud.
Mocking a nobody, what’s the point?
“I thought I could have a little revenge because they claimed to have captured the bishop of the cult of evil spirits… But it was all a futile truth.”
“He seems weaker than the bishop. If you were to fight against him, you would lose pretty quickly, wouldn’t you?”
“Don’t talk nonsense. Do you think I would lose to someone I caught? I am Alexander Trimpeum, the chief disciple of the great academy’s tower of knowledge! I am not destined to lose to the likes of you!”
“Don’t you usually get comments about being too pompous? Your speech is not like real everyday language. How can someone speak like that to another person?”
“There’s no point in responding. Come at me. It’s only polite to concede the initiative.”
“We haven’t even started the duel yet. Attacking now would be a disqualification, how sneaky.”
“!!! That’s not the meaning!! How dare… to make me feel ashamed…!”
He’s a new person.
An excellent sight to behold, confronting oneself as one’s own enemy.
Truly an amazing person.
The two of us looked at Professor Maxmillian, who had positioned himself as the judge.
Expressing a willingness to start slowly.
Professor Maxmillian understood our thoughts and raised one hand.
[Then let’s start the duel between the two.]
With that, a giant firework exploded.
It meant the duel had begun.
“…This time, I’ll concede the initiative. Show off your skills freely.”
A counterpart speaking in a manner more suited for a martial arts novel (forgot the name).
There was no reason not to, so I immediately took a step forward and approached the opponent.
The reinforced body moved through the enhanced muscles.
The discharge of aura accelerated the swift movement of the body.
The support of aura prevented any possible slipping.
My charge, created in this way, reached almost at the speed of sound.
“Indeed, you’re fast. But… too shallow.”
The opponent showed a response as if mocking.
But this was also the expected reaction.
I extended my right leg straight toward the opponent and kicked when he tried to casually create a shield to block the kick.
I pivoted my left foot around the axis created by my right foot that I had just flicked in the air, bypassing my opponent’s shield.
Thunk—
A concise sound.
But enough to startle my opponent.
He didn’t expect me to use such a technique.
“Hmm?! Well… it certainly wasn’t something I acquired easily.”
Empty air supported me.
I hadn’t learned it in the past, but during my time in prison, I had nothing to do, so I mastered it.
I had initially refrained from mastering this skill due to my impending showdown with Gye-hwa.
But I decided to learn it as I revised my plans, thinking I might be able to go during next year’s vacation.
It takes a month to master, but with only three weeks of the holiday, I can’t learn it all.
“Empty air support… you seem to know why it’s important in some sense… It’s a useful technique for a knight to the point of surpassing the elevation of a bishop…”
To someone who doesn’t know, it might seem like I can just fly in the sky, but the possibilities expand immensely once you’ve mastered this ability.
Because you can change directions in empty air, the range of your attacks extends into three dimensions.
You can also use jump attacks, which were previously strictly forbidden.
You can completely prevent a fall to your death.
Overusing it consumes a lot of aura because of the aura reinforcement.
“Aura reinforcement and empty air support… Achieving that at an age that’s not even in the *contract yet. You may not be better than me, but you have quite a remarkable talent.”
*Age 20
“Did you… manage a half-transformation on your own? No, you’re a wizard, so it’s impossible. Why is a young person like you speaking in a manner that doesn’t even require a principal’s intervention?”
Of course, a wizard might be able to achieve a half-transformation.
When the principal appeared in the main story, he looked younger than he does now.
He’s not a problem because he’s facing natural death now.
But when I insulted the principal by calling him an old geezer.
The person whose name I couldn’t remember rebelled even more.
“Sergei Darmoor is a remarkable individual! Do you know how many great achievements he made during his military service?”
“I don’t know.”
“!!!…%&#*($*@”
My honesty only caused the person to furrow his brows even more.
He seems to have a lot of anger. Even if he really participated in a counter-revolution, it seems like he won’t live long.
Anger is the root of all illnesses.
It’s a bit strange to say that illness is the root of all illnesses, but anyway.
“Die!!”
For a moment, the opponent couldn’t control their anger and rushed towards me.
They must have changed their first occupation to a battle mage from a magician.
I was a warrior in WFS, so I’m not sure if it had any effect.
As the powerful magic began to be cast, an incredible amount of energy gathered in his hands.
The rotation of white and red light around his hands was truly magnificent.
In this situation where everything converged.
As he ran towards me, he shouted.
“Fragor Magnus (Big Bang)”
Along with his casting, the huge sphere in his hand turned into an onslaught towards me.
It’s difficult to dodge.
Because he had approached enough and attacked me.
If that sphere hits me, it will probably explode like a big bang.
I can’t let that happen.
“What are you doing!?”
Here’s the problem.
There is a range attack that is hard to avoid.
When you have no choice but to be hit, how can you still win?
The answer: make the opponent fall into the attack and aim for a counter-attack.
I charged straight ahead and reached the sphere without it getting far from the opponent.
Kwaaahh—
The enormous energy condensed in that sphere exploded and engulfed us.
Tap—tap—
The immense energy surpassed the ignition point of my ballet dancer outfit and set it on fire.
But it’s alright.
I can just put out the fire with my hands.
Although we experienced tremendous agony due to the explosion.
I am still able to move fairly well.
From Noble mtl dot com
As I looked at my opponent, there seemed to be some kind of protective barrier between us, and they appeared to be in good condition.
Not better than me, though.
“…So there are cases like this… I definitely shouldn’t have underestimated anyone so easily… I was arrogant.”
“Um, excuse me. If you’re just realizing that you were arrogant now, it seems like you don’t have a perfect sense of objectivity.”
“Huh. It’s because things have been going well that I realized I was arrogant. It’s natural to assume that one can do the impossible, even though it often leads to distortions in the work. But in my case, I have the ability, so it’s not arrogance but confidence.”
“Oh. I see.”
This opponent doesn’t understand what I’m saying.
It’s not easy to communicate like this.
People like me, ordinary people, have a personality that can easily explode from frustration.
“Well then… since I have acknowledged you, let’s have another duel. Your attire may be shabby, but you seem to have some ability. I definitely want to know why you became a bishop.
But don’t be too conceited. If you don’t have the ability like me, you’ll eventually crumble under the weight of your achievements.”
“Hmm. Have you ever been told to shut up by anyone around you? You have been occupying 90% of the conversation for the past 17 seconds.”
“I should stop talking.”
“That’s a very good attitude. That’s how you fix your problems.”
“You’re crazy.”
“Have you seen a mirror? There isn’t one here, is there?”
Surprisingly, we are in the middle of a duel right now.
We are not participating in a diss battle like on a hip-hop broadcast.
We have both received some appropriate injuries.
We have realized that the opponent’s ability is not insignificant.
Taking a momentary break, I initiated the attack.
The legendary substance I prepared in anticipation of this situation, along with my ballet outfit.
I picked up the object that was in my arms and threw it directly.
“Look at this!… Huh?”
However, his aura did not falter.
What I had thrown was nothing special, just an ordinary flyer.
Scattered throughout the flyers were pictures of naked women.
“To be fascinated by something so trivial… what’s this?!”
I have no intention of captivating the gaze of men and diverting their attention.
From the start, it is an ineffective tactic when dealing with women.
That’s why I prepared a plan.
A technique that takes advantage of the fact that the psychological impact is even greater if seen in a relaxed state.
“W-What is this…!”
The opponent clearly looked bewildered and disgusted.
There was no other choice.
Even if the only women in the flyers were elderly ladies.
Because the age of those women ranged from their twenties to their eighties.
“What is this idiot showing—”
The opponent was flustered.
And my objective is not to defeat the opponent but to tarnish my own reputation.
Others provided detailed explanations to instill disgust towards me.
“What is this? Originally, I was planning to show young women’s pictures and then show pictures of elderly women to bring about disgust… Ah, why did that one come out first?”
“Are you in your right mind?!”
“You’re the one who doesn’t seem to be in your right mind. How can you look at that picture and endure the disgust?”
“Oh no…! You despicable…!”
“Aren’t you speaking in the tone of a thousand people getting angry? I think I have as much patience as a thousand people, so it irritates me.”
“$&*$^*$@@&(*$#@&!!!!”
The opponent became agitated.
It was different from my expectations, but I still achieved the result of clouding the opponent’s mind.
The more agitated the opponent becomes, the higher my chances of victory.
In this case, my reputation also decreases in proportion to the win rate.
It’s a perfect plan.
“You evil person! Have you been kidnapped by a demonic cult and learned illegal activities?! Distributing someone’s pictures without their consent!”
“I obtained this legally. There is not a single illegal element.”
“What…! Does the empire also permit such vulgar things?”
“I purchased it from the republic.”
“Don’t lie! You have no reason to visit the republic to acquire such things!”
“This isn’t working.”
“!? Were you really trying to deceive me?”
“What did you believe? If so, it means that something similar can happen in both the Empire and the Republic. Why are you acting this way when you already know everything?”
“&$*@*!&($&!*^!~”
The person in front of me is saying something loudly.
I couldn’t hear what they were saying.
The man expressed tremendous anger in response to my rebuttal.
He took out a staff from thin air and immediately began drawing a magic circle.
The magic circle was being drawn at an incredible speed. And when the rough outline was formed, he charged at me.
“!!!!!! You must not use that technique! Alexander!”
Who is Alexander?
Is that his name?
An elderly magician who appeared to be nearby shouted, but Alexander (presumed) did not even hear the old man’s words.
He doesn’t even listen to what adults say.
As someone born in the East, I was shocked.
But there is no need to worry.
His attack will not reach me.
An agitated opponent creates an obvious pattern.
When people are angry, they can’t think rationally and tend to rely on familiar actions.
Of course, he didn’t control his strength as much as his anger, so an immense force was rushing towards me.
But I had a way to cancel that charge.
“By the way…”
I reached into my embrace.
“I haven’t released everything yet.”
This time, I showed him a nude photograph of the old man.
“!!!!!!”
A repulsive and vulgar image seen in a state of anger.
In a state of losing his rationality, he instinctively closed his eyes.
And this is the opportunity.
He is defenseless.
At this moment, I put an end to the opponent in the most certain way possible.
The technique I used during the half-assignment exam.
Flying Kick.
It’s time to use that technique.
My foot flew towards his vulnerable spot as he closed his eyes.
Since both the opponent and I charged forward, my foot hit his vulnerable spot at an incredible speed.
“Ku… Kuhhh…”
Unlike the previous time during the half-assignment exam, he couldn’t even scream and just fell down, perhaps because he had also been running.
The magic circle forming at the end of his staff scattered.
There were no more elements threatening me on the sparring ground.
The fallen person was a man wearing a magician’s robe.
The person standing was a knight wearing ballet attire.
“Woahhhhh!!!!”
Cheers erupted as they witnessed the scene.
Some people praised me as the winner, shouting my name.
As the crowd cheered, I felt a sense of joy from my victory…
Wait.
Why are they cheering?
I only did three things here: cross-dressing, terrorist-like actions, and a low blow kick.