Volume 7 Chapter 5 Part 1
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Translator: Kell
A little while later, Count Gaze and I were facing each other in a meadow near the campsite. We were surrounded by onlookers, mostly the Count’s soldiers.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea to have so many of your men here,” I said.
“It’s fine,” the Count replied. “There’s plenty of time before our attack. The plan was to rest around this hour.”
Count Gaze eyed the soldiers around us. All of them possessed well-trained physique and exuded an aura that said they were elite. And they were probably excellent fighters when it comes to pure physical combat, without the use of Skills.
I’m just glad they’re not a bunch of roughnecks. If they were the unsophisticated kind, they might start a riot when the Count loses.
“I will be using a real sword in this match,” the Count said. “I take it, you don’t mind?” He raised his sword in front of him.
The sword was not particularly large or heavy, but it had a well-worn look. While it doesn’t have any special features, it doesn’t have any noticeable flaws either. It’s a weapon that demonstrates your raw skills, the kind of weapon that experts prefer.
The blade was still intact, of course, with no chipping. In fact, it had been sharpened for battle. If the Count swung his sword for real, cutting off a human head would be easy. Needless to say, if you get hit anywhere on the body, not just the neck, you would be seriously injured.
That doesn’t mean I’m gonna back out from this fight, though.
“Not at all,” I said. “My spells can be as deadly as a real sword too.”
“I like your spirit. Just to confirm the rules, the match will end when one side surrenders or dies. Getting injured doesn’t immediately mean a loss, so make sure you surrender before you die.”
“Yeah. If I think I can’t win, I’ll graciously give up. But only if I think I can’t win.”
I readied my own sword. It’s been a long time since I fought with one, but I figured it was my best option in this fight.
I can prove my power by casting one devastating spell, but high-level spells can’t be cast in rapid succession. The Count, then, might think that numbers are needed after all. But if a knight was defeated by a sword, he would have no excuse whatsoever.
Fighting a knight with a sword. There’s no easier way to prove my skills than this.
“Oh. A Mage using a sword?” the Count said.
“Well, I’m fighting a knight, so I thought why not try it? I don’t plan on losing though, so rest assured.”
“Them’s fighting words. Then show me the skill that took down Cardinal Georgis!”
Count Gaze immediately began to close the distance between us. Despite the vigor in his voice, he didn’t run or even canter. He was moving slowly, taking his time. His stance appeared to be less about closing the distance quickly and more about keeping maximum possible reaction time in case of projectiles.
But that’s just for attacks that can be avoided by running or jumping away. Careful movement is meaningless in the face of a Sage who can use Sandstorm. If you can’t stand the spell’s might, the only countermeasure is to stay way from its range.
If I had to guess, the Count thinks that the way he’s walking is enough as a countermeasure for any battle. Most of the magic spells known in this world are basic Skills of Mages, so his stance is to deal with those. I’d say the typical spell in this world is something like Fire Bomb.
As a matter of fact, the way he’s walking is completely pointless against my Steam Explosion, but killing him is not the objective of this match, it’s to make him recognize my abilities and quietly back down. I decided to use spells that this kingdom considers common.
“Fire Bomb.”
I cast a flame-type spell at Count Gaze’s feet, a spell common to both Mages and Sages. In that exact moment, he moved.
“Shrinkage!”
Shrinkage, a skill that sword-wielder classes have that allows for instantaneous high-speed movement. Although it has the downside of not being able to be cast consecutively, and the distance covered being not very long, it’s probably the best mobility Skill in terms of instantaneous power.
A fireball landed on the spot where Count Gaze was just now, causing an explosion, but no one was there anymore.
“Such power!” one soldier exclaimed, seeing the power of the explosion. “So this is what Eld is capable of.”
“I never thought a Fire Bomb could be that powerful!”
Sure, it’s slightly more powerful than average, but there’s no point if I don’t hit.
“Just as planned,” I muttered as Count Gaze made it in front of me.
He let me fire a spell and use the opening to close the distance in one breath. This is probably his way of fighting Mages.
If his oppnent is a Mage who can only use Fire Bomb, this method would be excellent. A swordsman has an advantage against a Mage if he closes in. However, I actually let him get close to me all along.
With a grunt, the Count swung his sword toward me, his weapon hissing in the air. There was no hint of restraint in his swing. If I take a direct hit, I’d be seriously injured.
But of course, I’m not just gonna stand there and take it. I too swung my sword to stop his weapon.
A knight with strength incomparable to that of ordinary humans, his sword stacked with plenty of buffing Skills. A Sage who’s as physically strong as your average person, with almost no buffing Skills for his sword.
Their swords clashed, and the knight’s sword was the one parried.
Critical Counter. A technique that produces incredible power by intercepting an opponent’s attack with optimal timing and force. If both sides were of equal strength, Critical Counter would have enough power to knock the opponent back, and this time the technique made up for the difference of our physical strength.
A Sage like me can use Critical Counter, but a knight, who should be an expert in swords, can not. Why is that? Well, that’s because there’s one trick to activating Critical Counter.
The moment the sword strikes, you relax your hand slightly. At that instant when you need to put the most force into it, you loosen your hand just a little bit. And I mean, very little, maintaining the perfect balance.
If you got the trick mastered, you can increase the critical rate chance by ten times. Because people in this world don’t have that crucial knowledge, critical hits are called Miracle Strikes, a counter that even skilled swordsmen can’t produce one out of ten times.
Of course, just knowing the trick doesn’t guarantee you can land critical hits. There are plenty of other conditions to be fulfilled, such as how the sword hits and how the blade is brandished. It’s especially difficult to land critical hits against someone you’re fighting for the first time. The trick aside, the other conditions are difficult to fulfill.
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