Volume 4 - CH 4

Chapter 4 – Mock Battle

Eto faced Hero Ronaldo who stood at a distance.

When Eto was still in the Hero’s party, Ronaldo was the symbol of strength for him. He could defeat any monster with just a single swing of his Holy Sword and rarely suffered any injuries. And right now, even though it is just a mock battle, Eto is going to fight against such a person.

Eto swung the training sword that he holds in his right-hand several times to check the condition of his body. Apparently, there was no stiffness in his body due to the tension, which was actually weird even for Eto. But, he thought that as long as he could muster every bit of his strength, he had no complaints.

“What’s wrong, Eto-kun? Are you getting scared now of all times?”

“Strangely, I don’t seem to be scared of you at all.”

“Wha! Looks like you got a bit overconfident in your power. But that’s fine, you will soon be unable to say something like that.”

The knight who acts as the referee then asks Eto and Ronaldo whether they’re ready for the mock battle, which Eto replies by nodding, expressing his readiness for the battle.

As the knight waved one hand and said, “Begin!”. Ronaldo once again tried to speak, but unfortunately for him, Eto didn’t think there was more to talk about anymore. While casting Battle Spell, a magic that enhances one’s physical ability, Eto closes his distance and strikes Ronaldo.

However, the basic statuses of a hero were already high from the start and Eto naturally knew about this. He calmly judged that his raw power wouldn’t be able to do much to Ronaldo. And just as he expected, even when facing Eto’s attack, Ronaldo seems to have an advantage. It can be seen from how he easily deflected Eto’s slash while laughing mockingly at Eto.

“Eto-kun, was that all?”

Ronaldo says with a triumphant look.

“I just wanted to try something.”

“Hou, and that is?”

“It is the support magic that you forbid me to use because you deem it useless.”

Just as he said, Eto decided to try the variety of support magic he can use one by one. First, he casted Haste, a speed strengthening buff, to himself. However, Eto doesn’t increase his speed to the maximum at once. He gradually increases his speed while checking Ronaldo’s ability.

“Kuh! What is this?!”

Gradually, Ronaldo’s expression, who had the high ground while handling Eto’s attack until then, became serious.

Since Eto cannot move around at maximum speed for a long time, he decided to stop increasing his speed at a level below maximum and swung his sword towards Ronaldo. From their exchanges, Eto judged that it seemed that his current speed is a little faster than Ronaldo’s.

The next support magic that Eto is going to try is ‘Strength’, which of course, strengthens his power. With that, Eto’s sword attack became heavier each blow.

“Ugh… something like this!”

Ronaldo clenched his teeth and deflected Eto’s sword. Although it seems he was still able to cope with Eto’s power, his blabbering mouth has become quiet.

Gradually, the sound of two training swords clashing against each other also became more powerful. And the knights witnessing the battle between them surely have felt that Eto’s speed and power had increased exponentially, approaching that of Ronaldo’s.

However, it doesn’t change the fact that if Ronaldo was holding the Holy Sword, he would be able to use the sword’s power for himself. If that happens, Ronaldo’s power should be higher than it is now. And Eto, who had the upper hand in this fight, also wanted to try facing that power someday.

“Eto! Where did you get this much power?!”

“Haven’t I told you before? It is from my support magic. The power that I originally had, just like the hero title that you have.”

Then, after giving Ronaldo a powerful blow, Eto took a few steps back. He already tried the power of his buff. Now, what’s left is testing the power of his weapon enchantment.

Although Ronaldo tried to speak again, Eto ignored him and cast Magic Force to empower his magic attack. Subsequently, he also enchanted his sword with fire magic, covering the surface of the sword with magic power before it morphed into burning flames.

Eto instantly closed his distance and swung his sword toward Ronaldo, who reacted quickly and brandished his sword to parry it. By looking at the course, the two swords are definitely going to collide. But, before the two swords were even able to collide, Ronaldo’s training sword was melted by Eto’s ‘Enchant – Fire Sword’.

Promptly after that, Eto thrusted his sword at Ronaldo’s neck, making the flames covering the sword burn Ronaldo’s skin.

“Hero-sama?”

“… M-my loss.”

With that, Eto pulled away his sword and released the fire magic he enchanted to the sword. Ronaldo, who has shown his intention to surrender, hangs his head in shame with his knees on the floor.

“Winner, adventurer Eto!”

When the referee announced the winner, Sorano, Kohaku, Amou and the knights cheered. On the other hand, Mirei and the nobles on the audience seats had lost their words.

“That’s cowardly, Eto!1”

Until suddenly, Ronaldo’s voice echoed in the training ground as if to drown out the cheers.