Our swords broke.
However, neither I nor Ludwig were surprised. As if he already expected it, Ludwig then attempted to bring down the pommel of his broken sword on my head.
“Hup!”
Magic Body Strengthening.
I’ll hit you back.
I endured the pommel strike, as I retaliated by driving my fist into Ludwig’s abdomen.
-Bam!
Thud!
-Clank!
-Gasp
Ludwig, whose stomach was struck so hard even I winced, was blown away, letting go his broken sword in the process. He rolled around on the ground a few times, but eventually stood back up, as I recovered from the blow to my head.
I threw away my broken sword, as Ludwig lunges at me
The longer I maintain Magic Body Strengthening, the harder the next sets will be.
So I met Ludwig’s charge with my own, aiming to take him down.
Tackle him to the floor and beat him to submission.
That was my plan for now.
-Thud!
Ludwig falls to the ground as I jump on top of him.
At this point, it’s already over.
As soon as I thought that.
As he fell over, he grabbed onto my waist and threw me off.
Magic Body Strengthening provides protection, but it does not increase weight.
-Thud!
I lost my balance and flew backwards in an instant.
What a crazy bastard.
Even without access to Magic Body Strengthening, his physical strength was already beyond normal.
A monster even stronger than me.
My endurance was waning.
Ludwig may be lacking in sheer physical strength, but he’s far superior in endurance.
I didn’t know what kind of changes have happened to his body, but I can’t compete with him without my abilities.
I will win.
I never thought I would be in a position to rival Ludwig, but since I’m already there, I can’t be defeated easily.
Just as in the original, where Ellen’s mere existence fueled Ludwig’s growth.
I, too, became a driving force that drove Ludwig stronger just by existing.
Moreover, because I started at the bottom, I stirred up Ludwig’s envy and inferiority complex.
The stronger I got, the faster Ludwig got stronger too.
I must not be defeated by you.
Only if I am always a wall above you will you be stronger.
The protagonist must be strong.
One day you will be stronger than me, but for now I must be stronger than you.
That’s what rivals are for.
So, I can’t lose.
I’m taking on the guy I created but always avoided because of my own bias, but now I’m taking him seriously.
Now that he thinks of me as a serious rival, I had no choice but to respond.
The last man standing is the winner.
You, for now, must lose to me.
I will concede the last victory, so you must continue to lose to me.
To do this, I think I cannot lose, and at the same time, I believe I cannot lose.
“You cannot defeat me.”
I declare that I will never be defeated.
“Ha!”
As I rushed towards Ludwig and threw a punch, he dodged my outstretched arm with a step and tried to grab my arm to throw me over.
However, as I let myself be pulled, I brought my knee up to meet his chin.
-Thud!
“‘Oof!”
Ludwig, who took a knee to the chin straight on, fell over.
He should have lost consciousness, but Ludwig rolled a few times and got up.
Blood was oozing from Ludwig’s mouth, indicating that he was not in perfect condition.
He didn’t show any signs of pain. He was a guy whose only redeeming feature was his tenacity. Of course, in this situation, the pain felt is lessened..
I can’t lose.
The unexpected variables in this tournament, which I had entered for the achievement points, changed my purpose.
Scarlett and Ludwig, who were simply competitors, had come to mean different things to me.
I didn’t think we had much of a connection, but as a result of my actions thus far, these guys saw me in different ways, but ultimately similarly.
Scarlett said I was her hero.
Ludwig wanted to catch up with me, but felt I was a wall he could never reach.
So, I will defeat him.
I must do it to help the dreamer who wanted to leap over every insurmountable obstacle in their desire to grow.
So, I’ll show you.
Ludwig rushed toward me, his lips chapped and bloodied.
I have shaped this world to be on your side, but I have more.
Self-Suggestion.
Word Magic.
Magic Body Enhancement.
Qi Sense.
And a teacher named Ellen.
With all of these under my belt, Ludwig couldn’t keep up with me.
So, I will defeat him.
At this moment, my greatest weapon was not Magic Body Strengthening, nor was it Self-Suggestion, but Qi Sense.
I read it.
His lunge will shift his center of gravity forward.
Timing is everything.
If you can read the timing and the method, you can counter them.
It’s important to understand where the force is being applied, but what’s even more important are the shoulders. By watching the shoulders, you could predict the movement of the arms. If you’re skilled in martial arts, you could throw a punch without any shoulder movement, but I wasn’t at that level, and neither was Ludwig.
If the movement came from the waist rather than the shoulders, you could infer that an attack using the legs will follow
Using a sword wasn’t much different in the end. Every action has a starting point, and it must originate from the body.
Ludwig’s right shoulder shifted back as he rushed forward.
The fact that his right shoulder was slightly pulled back meant that his right arm would soon be extended towards me.
Then, using the left foot as a pivot, he intended to thrust his right fist into my face.
This was Qi Sense.
There were many ways to deal with this.
I could sidestep from his attack while simultaneously hitting him with my left fist or I could use the force of his oncoming punch against him.
As soon as I read the incoming attack, the outcome of the battle was practically determined.
I didn’t dodge the attack nor did I block it.
Ludwig had not yet shifted his shoulder as he stepped forward with his left foot.
I took a step forward, rather than pulling back.
As soon as Ludwig’s left foot touches the ground after he finishes closing the distance between us, I knew that he would move his right shoulder back with that left foot as a pivot.
I aimed for a point slightly ahead of his position.
Just before the moment the attack begins.
-Thud!
Just before the moment when his left foot touched the ground, I delivered a swift kick to his shin.
“Ugh!”
As a result, he ended up sprawled out onto the ground.
Since it was an unexpected counter, the damage was even greater.
As Ludwig was writhing on the ground, I knew that he could not stand up this time. It was a perfect counter, strengthened by both Self-Suggestion and Magic Body Strengthening.
It felt like I just woke up from a dream.
‘Due to Ludwig’s inability to continue fighting, Reinhardt of the Royal Class wins the first set by default!’
Ludwig couldn’t even get up.
“Ugh……”
While the priests ran over to provide treatment, Ludwig remained lying down and looked up at the sky.
It was a gaze that seemed to be looking at an incomprehensible existence.
Actually, I only saw Ludwig charging at me and took him down with one accurate hit.
‘It was read perfectly. Whatever I do in the future, it will eventually be read.’
‘How on earth do I beat an opponent like that?’
It was the gaze of someone having such a thought.
Qi Sense improved my combat potential excessively. Considering that I got it from the most dangerous event I had ever encountered, it felt right.
I was smiling.
“I said you couldn’t win.”
“….”
Not yet.
I swallowed those words.
I felt like a villain.
No, I really was a villain. I was the Demon Lord, and Ludwig will be the second hero of humanity after Ragan Artorius.
A hero always loses to the Demon Lord at the start
But someday, won’t he catch up to the Demon King and bring justice to the world?
It seemed like the overly perfect painting was foreshadowing my eventual downfall.
Ludwig, who received treatment from the priests, stood up.
“Let’s try it again. Reinhardt.”
It was a look that seemed to question whether it was right to make an unbeatable opponent a rival, but Ludwig never gave up.
“It wouldn’t be much different.”
“But, you won’t know until you try.”
He would get up again no matter how many times he fell.
He won’t give up and will continue to fight without giving up.
If I was the egg that broke rocks, then this guy was the one who threw eggs until the rock broke.
I didn’t think that I was superior to Ludwig.
Someone who had never broken, not even once, someone who would stand up again after being broken hundreds or thousands of times.
Ludwig will be greater than me.
But greatness alone cannot win victories.
Right now, I was stronger, and Ludwig cannot bridge this gap.
‘The set score is 1-0! Reinhardt has taken the first set! Now, it’s time for the second set of the Gardias Temple First Year Tournament! Begin!’
‘Waaahhh!’
After getting used to the screams after only two days, Ludwig and I received new weapons
I had a sword in my hand again.
What could be the difference between fists and swords?
There were no more changes in this tournament that was already overflowing with changes.
I won an overwhelming victory in two consecutive sets.
I took the championship.
As a close combat specialist, I was almost always outmatched in technical aspects by most other close combat students, but I had the upper hand against Ludwig.
That’s why, even if his physical abilities rose, with Magic Body Strengthening I was always ahead, and I could easily read his movements to the point of being absurd.
It was a fight that was impossible for me to lose a single set. The only possibility of Ludwig’s victory was for me to overuse Magic Body Strengthening and succumb to exhaustion, but such a situation did not occur.
As a result of my victory in the finals, first and second place were decided, and the following match was held between Scarlett and Gladen Amorelle for third and fourth place.
The result was a victory for Gladen Amorelle.
And so, the 1st-year tournament had come to an end.
Never did I imagine that the moment I would hold a trophy in my hand would come like this in my lifetime.
[Achievement Unlocked - 1st Year Tournament Victory.]
[Acquired an Achievement Score of 10,000 Points.]
This was the first time I’ve ever earned such a huge amount in one go.
People were cheering for me.
“Can I catch up to you?”
Although there was no despair on Ludwig’s face, he seemed to feel such doubts.
“You know what I’m going to say, don’t you?”
“…Okay.”
Ludwig smiled at me.
“I just have to believe that I can catch up, right?”
“No.”
I crossed my arms while holding the championship trophy.
“It’s not about believing, it’s about thinking that it naturally happens.”
“Oh, right. Wasn’t that the case?”
Hmm.
It seems like the protagonist has joined my cult. Ludwig, who held the second place trophy, says.
“I can catch up to you. Reinhardt.”
“It’s absolutely impossible though?”
It’s a strange religion, where we believed that our version of the future was the correct one, but I don’t disagree with it.
Everyone believed in the future they had chosen.
In the end, Ludwig and I had fundamentally different beliefs, but we possessed similar strengths.
Although some strange things had happened while trying to earn achievement points, my plans didn’t deviate significantly.
I won.
On that day, Ellen was watching from afar.
She said if I didn’t win, she’d kick my ass.
Since I won.
Would you praise me?
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