The greatsword swung down toward me.
-Kagak!
I parry it with my sword and deflect it, throwing the trajectory of the blade out of the way before switching to a half-sword stance and stabbing for the nape.
If he was clumsy, he would have already exposed the nape of his neck at this point.
But he’s a foul-mouthed bastard after all, and while he may be excited, he’s not exactly clumsy.
He swung the parried sword back up at an angle, forcing my blade into the zweihander’s parry hook, and pushed me away.
Given the weight of the weapon itself, it’s foolish to contest it when I was at a disadvantage.
-Ka-ang!
I adjusted my sword out at an angle, closing the distance. Haulman quickly readied his stance.
-Ka-ang! Kagak! Kadok!
We exchanged a few more blows.
He’s keeping his distance and utilizing his long reach to keep me at bay. If it works, great, if it doesn’t, no harm done.
There’s no reason not to capitalize on the reach advantage. So he’s just doing what he does best.
The one with the longer reach always has the initiative, and the one with the shorter reach has the disadvantage of having to push forward.
That’s why it’s so annoying to fight against spear users when you’re using a sword. In the qualifiers, I’ve been able to defeat spear wielders, but I can’t say that I’ve been able to knock them out.
In this case, the opponent wasn’t armed with a spear, but the reach difference was still significant.
Another swing..
-Ka-ang!
Even the weight of his sword was significantly different from mine.
It meant that the weight on the tip of our swords were the difference.
It’s an unwieldy weapon, but if you can handle it well, it’s like a blunt instrument. And he had the physique and strength to wield it competently.
“What? You’re all bark, but when it comes down to it, you’re toothless!”
Richard Haulman sneers at me with a wicked grin.
To the others, I couldn’t help but look like I was being pushed around, and I am.
“Don’t give me that bullshit when you’re sweating like a leaky bucket. Wipe the sweat off your face, asshole.”
“…Hmph.”
Even as I retorted, I could feel his nervousness.
No matter how physically fit he is, that’s a lot of weight to carry.
I’m sure he’s been training a lot, but at the end of the day, close combat required an enormous expenditure of strength and energy.
It’s not like a simple workout.
As long as you’re fighting, you’re going to get combat fatigue.
If he has the initiative, he’s going to keep using it, and he’s going to keep going on the offensive.
I ended up just accepting his strikes defensively due to the reach difference and calmly backed away.
Get tired.
Show me an opening and I’ll bite.
We’re not all like Ludwig, so our stamina is not infinite.
He’s nervous, and I saw an opening.
If I can’t do anything about the difference in reach, I’ll take advantage of the difference in weight,
-Kang! Bang! Bang!
I calmly backed away, occasionally circling to the side and dodging his attacks.
Draw it out.
A little more.
Keep fending him off.
I stepped back with an exposed stance, inviting him to attack.
He stabs forth with his sword in a long grip, his right hand on the handle and his left gripping the ricasso.
The way he gripped his weapon wouldn’t provide him much reach, but it’s a monstrously long two-handed sword to begin with. Even held like that, it has a much longer reach than my weapon.
Basically, that grip was more suited for a slashing motion rather than a thrusting one
The wider the distance between the hands holding the sword, the easier it is to balance the weight, and the more powerful it is.
If I were to parry, I would have to do so in a thrusting motion; he was effectively using a half sword stance and if I wanted any chance of countering it, I had to do the same.
But his sword has a parry hook and mine does not.
So even if I win the battle of strength, the parry hook on his sword will block my sword, but if I am pushed back, my hand had no similar protection and would be cut off.
The difference in weapons.
It dictated the choice of tactics one could make.
A zweihander thrust forth in a half sword fashion will be nigh impossible to parry. But if I clumsily clash with it, I’ll certainly lose.
His stance.
All of these thoughts happen almost simultaneously.
I could do this.
I learned some of this in class, but it was Ellen who really opened my eyes.
She taught me a lot about different weapons and showed me a lot of different offensive and defensive techniques based on them.
In this situation, a slashing stab like that, or a half-sword to an opponent with that weapon, would be suicide.
It’s a split second, and the decision was made by body, rather than my head.
The result of countless hours sparring…
Muscle memory, if you will.
After so much practice and training, I didn’t make decisions consciously. I’ve bumped into things so many times that I’ve gotten to the point where my body draws out the memories.
Of all my skills, this one is the product of hard work.
It’s safe to say that this instinct, which has been broken, rolled over, punched, knocked down, and beaten into me, was the only thing I’ve gained from my efforts.
This was not a cheat.
Common knowledge, learned from Ellen, dictated that in a situation with such a disparity of arms, a powerful blow like that should be avoided, not parried.
There was no reason to think he didn’t know this. He probably had something up his sleeve, because neither of us have spent time in Temple for nothing.
He probably doesn’t think this attack will work either.
He must have his own calculations in his head. At the end of the day, this was as much a battle of brains as it was a battle of bodies.
He’s assuming that I’m going to dodge the downward thrust, and as soon as I do, he’ll pull off some maneuver that would let him win.
Regardless of where I dodge, he’d make a miniscule adjustment to his grip and deliver the finishing blow.
He’s planning for that, but I’m planning for something else.
The point is.
Under normal circumstances, the correct response is to dodge.
But.
I made a decision that I shouldn’t.
A decision that he didn’t think I could make.
With it, I scatter all his plans.
I, for my part, swing my longsword upward.
With weight, reach, and physical advantage over me, I made the worst possible move.
Under normal circumstances, this would be over for me..
Under normal circumstances.
I put all of my power into a single swing.
One Strike.
-Thwack!
”!”
I was a supernatural ability user.
It was within my power to surpass normality.
With a sudden burst of power, I knocked his sword off his hands, then thrust my longsword by his throat.
-Flash!
The bleary-eyed Richard Haulman has been summoned back by teleportation.
It connected.
‘Reinhardt of the Royal Class takes the first set!’
It’s my win.
Three wins in a best-of-five.
A total of three wins and zero losses.
‘Reinhardt of the Royal Class reigns over Group A of the First Grade Tournament undefeated!’
‘Waaaaaah!’
I was staring at Richard Haulman, who had been re-summoned to the tournament grounds after his last teleport back.
He didn’t know that I was a supernatural ability user.
And since this wasn’t a shonen manga, I didn’t bother to explain to him that I was actually a supernatural power user and what my powers were.
So he probably thought I was pulling some kind of trick.
Of course, I had used most of my abilities in my previous matches. However, this was the first time I actually used One Strike in the tournament..
After all, in a fight, a single mistake is all that separates you from defeat, so I just took his attacks normally and then surprised him with a burst of power.
All I had to do was poke through the gap and get in.
He doesn’t even realize what I did. He had a haunted look in his eyes. He had thought he had a clear grasp on his opponents capabilities, but was caught off guard by a sudden burst of power.
“You… You did something… That was definitely some sort of foul play….”
Richard Haulman muttered through clenched teeth.
I didn’t bother explaining it to him.
“Your lack of information about your opponent is your own damn fault.”
There’s no point in arguing with him anyway, since supernatural abilities were allowed in the tournament.
I had already won.
So I’m not going to raise the stakes, and I’m not going to provoke him.
All that’s left for me is to win the championship.
I didn’t lose.
I succeeded in achieving that by minimizing my use of Magic Body Strengthening.
My match was messy, but I didn’t lose a single set. The audience was cheering wildly.
I was a little nervous at first, but having been through it a few times, I wasn’t exactly terrified of all those eyes on me, though it wasn’t fun either.
There were a lot of people in the audience watching me.
I was watching people who were rooting for me..
The semifinals, and if I won there, the finals.
Two more to go.
I watched all the remaining matches.
Gladen Amorelle, like me, was undefeated with three sets and no losses.
Ludwig finished with three wins and two losses in close matches.
Scarlett won two, dropped a set, and finished 3-1.
In the end, everyone made it to the quarterfinals as expected, albeit with different set scores.
The Royal and Orbis Classes were all represented.
After the conclusion of the last round, there would be a short break and spectators would either take a break or stay put.
The quarterfinals brackets would also be announced.
I locked eyes with Scarlett.
“Ah… Reinhardt.”
“…Well, here we go.”
Scarlett and I.
“I thought it would be Ludwig. Good luck!.”
“You too!”
Gladen Amorelle and Ludwig.
The semifinals had been decided.
They were all tough opponents, and I knew it would be the same no matter who I faced. The key to this matchup would be One Strike.
My timing of that technique, which could only be used a few times, and my ability to withstand the aftereffects would determine whether I would win.
The fact that the final was tomorrow was a bit of a bummer.
I thought the week-long festival was long, but after all, there are tons of events, and anyone who was planning on participating in anything had to be on a tight schedule.
It wasn’t just the finals.
Whether I won or not, I had to compete in a cross-dressing competition on Wednesday.
“….”
“‘Reinhardt, what’s wrong?”
“No, it’s nothing.”
Ludwig and Scarlett examined my complexion as my expression suddenly turned sour.
“Good job, guys!”
When we left the stadium to head back to the dorms, Charlotte was there to greet us.
All of Class B was there, including Charlotte.
And most of Class A, too. Ellen and Harriet didn’t say much, but I could see the emotion in their faces.
“Maybe I should have joined in. I could’ve laid them all out with an electric shock.”
Liana muttered under her breath.
Apparently, everyone except Bertus.
The three idiots, Heinrich, and Cliffman were also there.
No, but I only saw Cliffman, were they there? Where were they?
…I think they were sitting on the other side, but I didn’t find them.
There was also Olivia Lanze, Redina and Saviolin Turner
“Hey, junior, you’re getting good at fighting now, aren’t you?”
“You could have just said I did a good job. Did you really have to put it like that?”
“Well, it would be weird if you couldn’t do it after all the running you’ve been doing!”
Redina giggled and grabbed my arm.
“We’re all going to go get something to eat. Come on, everyone!”
It seemed like everyone in both Class A and Class B had gathered together to celebrate our success in reaching the finals.
In the original story, Class A and Class B were rivals, bickering, bitching, and getting along terribly. Class A was the one who bullied Class B, but Class B didn’t like Class A either.
But now the two classes were getting together, talking to each other, and asking to go out somewhere on this beautiful day.
‘You’re in the Open Tournament?’
‘Uh, yeah.’
‘I’m glad to hear it, but I’m surprised, it’s been a while since I’ve seen a magic student compete.’
‘… I should do well.’
‘Yeah, I hear you’re pretty amazing.’
‘What, that much?!’
Harriet was leading the way, chatting with Charlotte, they weren’t that familiar with each other, but they were chatting anyway.
“Let’s go, Reinhardt.”
Ludwig grinned and tugged on my arm.
Everyone was leading the way.
I sensed that I’ve become part of the scene.
I saw people and their relationships changed by me.
This situation that I didn’t intend, but which has turned out perfectly.
Everything was perfect.
Almost too perfect.
Please report to us if you find any errors so we can fix it asap!