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Maou no Hajimekata Volume 3 Chapter 7 Part 4

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Translator: DarkHeartedAlchemist  Editor: Weasalopes

Name: Branche

Race: Scale Tribe

Gender: Woman

Age: 23 years old

Master: Froro

Possessed Skills: 『Unarmed Combat Lv.8』, 『Body of Thunder』, 『Inversion』, 『Servant Lv.10』

Confirming the information displayed before his eyes, Aur nodded. That was the effect of the 『Appraisal』 Skill that he borrowed from Nagia. It turned out to be not as useful as he initially expected. It listed the information about the person you looked at, but while it game you the names of the Skills that person possessed, it said noting about how those Skills worked.

『Unarmed Combat Lv.8』 most probably referred to the ability to fight empty handed, with her fists alone. It being Lv.8 also meant that it was stronger than Sarnak’s 『Swordsmanship』 Skill, which was only Lv.5, but whether that meant that her fists were stronger than sword techniques remained a mystery for now.

In the first place, humans used weapons instead of their own bodies precisely because they are weak and frail. But if one were to possess sufficient strength in one’s own body, it would be understandable that such an individual would not have any need to use a sword, mace or any other melee weapon.

『Body of Thunder』 was probably that technique she used to destroy Aur’s Dungeon Cube, which he got a glimpse of for just a short moment. As for its effect, it has to serve as an enhancement of physical attacks, because otherwise she wouldn’t have been able to destroy it with such ease.

As for the other two, he had absolutely no idea what 『Inversion』 and 『Servant Lv.10』 could be doing. In other words, he didn’t have enough information to even risk a guess in regards to their effects.

「Aur, look out!」

Froro shouted a warning to him from behind Bran’s back.

「Bran…!」

Before she could properly finish what she had to say, Bran has already charged towards Aur with Godspeed and the crackle of lightning. When she was about to reach Aur, a sound of metal rubbing against metal could be heard, and sparks were scattered at Bran’s feet.

「Oh? And here I thought you’re not the type to use weapons and martial arts.」

She said, looking at the edge of a sword that was bout a sheet of paper’s distance away from her. A sword that Aur has hid beneath his robes, and pulled out now.

If she could move at such high speeds, Aur wondered if she’d be able to stop in an instant as well, and apparently she was able to do that without any issues. At any rate, it was good to see that the general strategy of engaging magic-using enemy at close quarters existed in this world as well. That is why he tried pulling out his sword at the last possible moment, using the 『Swordsmanship』 Skill which he has borrowed from Sarnak. He predicted that if she was able to move at the speed of thunder, than a fast, unpredictable move like that migh have been effective.

However, Bran managed to stop herself in time, leaving a burn mark on the rug on the ground. Was it something possible because of her high-level 『Unarmed Combat』, or perhaps something granted to her by the 『Body of Thunder』, making her move with the speed of lightning? It would be better if it was the latter, since that would make it that much less of a nuisance.

「Well, whatever.」

Muttering to himself, Aur took out the leather bag from the hem of his robe and opened it, releasing a large number of Scorpion Bees, making them charge towards Bran with their 『Rush』 Skill.

Sound of insects being crushed could be heard, ringing out across the entire chamber. But it shouldn’t be heard only once, because there was no way for Bran to be able to crush all twenty six Scorpion Bees at once. Therefore, Aur judged that it was possible because her fist moved faster than the speed of sound.

Inside the swarm of Scorpion Bees, there was a dagger thrown by Aur. Instead of trying to catch it or stop it with her hand, she twisted her body to evade it. A small dagger that fits comfortably in the palm of the hand pierces the table behind Bran and shatters it into pieces.

「『Iron Arm』?」

「Quite perceptive of you.」

Aur smacked his lips while restraining Bran with his sword. If that hit connected the battle would have been as good as decided, but on the other hand he assumed the possibility of her dodging it.

Bran’s apparent true strength was being accustomed to fighting with all her Skills. If the opponent makes any suspicious movements, she will detect it with high accuracy and almost unconsciously infer what kind of Skill they are using and act accordingly with her own Skills. It was ability that someone like Sarnak definitely lacked.

That is why Aur showed her 『Iron Arm』 in the early stages of their battle. For someone like Bran, who does not possess any defensive abilities, a Skill like 『Iron Arm』 should be extremely threatening. Supposedly, even one hit with it should be enough to incapacitate her, making her unable to continue fighting. She should be aware of that as well, and that’s why she refrained from taking a more aggressive approach to their fight….

But she didn’t even hesitate to get close to him as he was in the middle of his analysis. He swung the sword in a hurry, but she bended her body accordingly, slamming her fist into Aur’s chest as a counterattack. When the attack connected, the sounds of two impacts could be heard, and his body bounced like a ball before it was driven into the wall behind him.

「… Looks like I dropped my guard down.」

Grinning in pain, Bran raised the hem of her long skirt. A long tail extending from between her legs was clearly broken after it was hit by a number of pebbles Aur released the moment he was send flying. It’s not the hairy beast-like tail like the one  Radico has. It was like that of a snake… no. Aur knew the name of a more appropriate creature who bore a tail just like that.

「Are you… a dragon?」

「Oh? Didn’t you know?」

Bran brushed her hair and traced her fingers along the horns protruding from her forehead.

「Aur, she’s telling the truth! The Scale Tribe are the most powerful among all the demon clans! They are the demons that inherited the dragon factor! Be careful!」

「Could have mentioned that a little bit earlier.」

Aur stood up slowly while spitting blood.

「You took that blow rather well. Some kind of defensive Skill?」

「No, more like my own magic.」

To be precise, that was not magic, but a magic tool: the robe he was wearing ever since he arrived in this world. Although it looks like it was made form your regular cloth, its defensive stats are higher than that of a set of steel armor. If he wouldn’t wear it, that blow which send him flying would have simply killed him. In his mind, he thanked his number one familiar for weaving it.

At the same time, he thought that Skills couldn’t really be trusted. If Yunis was here with him, she wouldn’t have any problems with evading a strike like that with her sword skills, which were definitely higher than those that Aur currently has.

The only thing you can get by obtaining the 『Swordsmanship』 Skill is the knowledge on how to swing a sword. You’re not getting enhanced reflexes or the means to read what kind of attack your opponent was going to launch.

At the very least, he managed to crush her tail, which should stop her from moving at high speed. That sudden stopping after moving at high speed probably involved her tail as well, which would explain why there was only one burn mark on the rug on the floor earlier. In other words, she wasn’t able to make sudden stops with just her two feet alone.

「Shadows reflected, cage of rainbow beams, piercing the wandering kind as time goes by, two stones over three swords…」

Bran stopped moving when Aur suddenly started casting spells. Skills themselves didn’t require any sort of casting, therefore his behavior was quite unpredictable to her. Bran was a seasoned warrior, and now all of her senses were at high alert. Just because it’s unpredictable, doesn’t mean that it will be something easy to deal with. As a result, Bran gave Aur around three breaths of time.

「Kuh….」

Bolts of lightning gathered on her arm. She took another breath. And at that moment, Aur shouted:

「Radico, now!」

Following his line of sight, Bran looked back. The 『Iron Arm』 that Radico originally had and the 『Silver Arm』 Bran bestowed upon her were two separate Skills. Which exactly Aur had didn’t matter, because both of them were deadly weapons.

If Aur could manipulate the 『Mother’s wall』 to create an entrance, he could make a surprise attack from the wall, floor, ceiling, and all directions possible. Bran was always on the lookout for it, so it responded perfectly this time as well. Not only her sight, but each and every one of her senses was ready to detect the incoming attack, no matter the direction. Aur’s attack, of course. However, Bran misread the fundamental part. The magic of manipulating the walls of a Dungeon is very sophisticated one.

There were many things to look out for: the pressure of the ground, the thickness of the walls supporting the ceilings, the speed and rigidity of the stones when they were being moved and changed. Labyrinth magic, which completely analyzes and calculates such things and manipulates walls, is the essence of his research that can only be created by Aur.

In other words… Aur no longer had that kind of magic power left.

He passed by Bran, who was supposed to be throwing every attack possible at him, picked Froro up and waved his hand lightly.

「Well then…」

She performed a Godspeed thrust. But right as her fist was about to pierce through Aur’s chest… his body disappeared, thanks to Transportation Magic.