“Yo. It’s been a long time, but you sure kept us waiting.”
I offered a greeting to mark our reunion after five years as I walked toward the Violet Crystal Scorpion waiting in the center of the large room. Though, I don’t know if it’s the same individual.
Reacting to my voice, the giant scorpion shifted its massive frame into battle mode. The face of the insect, impossible to read, seemed to have the light in its eye sockets trembling with madness at the prospect of a rematch with the nemesis it once defeated.
The distance between us shrank inch by inch. Finally, the moment our ranges touched—the giant scorpion’s massive pincer swept across.
“Whoops…!”
Knowing I wouldn’t stand a chance if I took that head-on, I jumped back to let it pass. As the opposing pincer swung down to pursue me, I turned half-body to dodge it and slashed.
Gakin. Along with a hard sound like striking metal, a few crystal fragments scattered.
Adventurers, without exception, use mana when they fight. This applies even to melee classes. No matter how much one trains their flesh, a human cannot stand against the mighty existence known as a monster without Body Reinforcement via mana.
In that regard, the vessel of mana I was born with was far too small. My meager mana was so poor that I couldn’t even satisfactorily exercise existing Body Reinforcement arts.
So, why am I able to stand against a Labyrinth Guardian like this right now? It is simply because I have shaved off the waste to the absolute limit. Not only in pure physical techniques – taijutsu, but I also thoroughly managed my mana resources.
I improved the formulas, adjusting the reinforced body parts and the intensity to the bare minimum required for the situation at all times.
Furthermore, by mastering the art of converting surrounding mana into magical energy faster than normal, I barely made my activities as an adventurer possible.
After parrying and slashing a few more times in the same manner, the giant scorpion spun its body around as if to swing its tail stinger, so I took a large distance back.
Thinking it aimed the tip of its tail at me as I stepped out of range, the needle at the end fired off.
“Come to think of it, it had that move too… Tch.”
It’s not my first time seeing it, and it’s not a speed I can’t handle. It seems to be able to regrow the needles immediately, so I dealt with the ones flying one after another by sometimes dodging and sometimes cutting them down.
The places I slashed all bore faint scratches. It looked like I could break it if I persistently slashed the same spot, but I could see the chipped areas slowly regenerating. As I thought, defeating it with just my sword isn’t realistic.
The key is timing. The giant scorpion’s consciousness is focused on me; it isn’t paying any attention to Linfa, who is currently out of range. Don’t rush, keep chipping away, and wait for the opportunity.
Around the time I must have slashed it dozens of times, the giant scorpion, seemingly irritated that its attacks weren’t hitting at all, slammed both pincers down.
This is it.
“Linfa!!”
With a shout, I swung my sword as if to intercept the pincers. Naturally, if we collided like this, I had no chance of winning.
Roar.
However, the trajectory of the pincers closing in on my eyes was altered by the collision of a massive block of ice that flew in with tremendous force. It didn’t end there.
Towards the pincer making ominous cracking sounds from the direct hit of the ice block, I swung my sword through with all my might.
Bagin!
The pincer, which had been steadily chipped away from the start, finally reached its limit from the ice block and the slash at the perfect angle, snapping off from the middle and flying away.
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT LOCALIZERMEERKAT.GITHUB.IO
A little while earlier–
“Spirit Arts and Magic… Chain Spell?”
“Yeah. If it goes well, it’ll have about the same power as a Mid-Tier Spirit Art.”
“N-no no no! I’ve never heard of such a thing!?”
“Well, usually it’s faster to just use a Mid-Tier Spirit Art…”
It takes more effort to execute than a Mid-Tier Spirit Art, and the mana consumption is slightly higher. Since it’s practically meaningless, nobody usually does it. It was a technique I discovered as a byproduct when I was exploring various things, but it looks like it’ll be useful in an unexpected place.
“B-but even assuming such a technique really exists… I can’t do that.”
“You just have to learn it now.”
“Hah?”
Linfa looked at me with a face that seemed to say, ‘What is this guy talking about?’
“What is this guy talking about…”
She actually said it out loud…
“There’s no way I can do that so quickly! I don’t know anything about that technique!?”
“I’ll teach you.”
“Teach me… You’re a swordsman, aren’t you!?”
“Now, now, just trust me on this. It’d be pitiful to keep the Guardian waiting forever, right?”
“P-pitiful…!? Why have you had zero tension this whole time!”
“Well, that’s because I believe you can do it.”
“…!”
“Relax. If it’s you, you can definitely do it.”
After a brief silence filled the area,
“…Alright. Teach me.”
Fear, tension, or perhaps suspicion. From Linfa’s eyes, which had been wavering with those emotions, the hesitation vanished.
“Then, right to it—tell me the magic attributes you can use on your own.”
“Ice and Fire… and low-tier Lightning magic.”
“With those three attributes, Ice is good. First, expand your Spirit Arts, keep holding them, and try chanting magic yourself.”
“Got it. [Freeze and Pierce].”
As usual, ice pebbles floated up around Linfa.
“…[Ice Ball].”
Mixing with the ice pebbles, a block of ice the size of a human head was generated above Linfa’s palm.
“Good, you’re holding them simultaneously. Now, discard the spells once. Next, activate the spells simultaneously, and before they manifest, synchronize those two manas and synthesize them.”
“Eh, l-like this…!?”
Mana swirled around Linfa and her palm, the air frosted slightly—and then immediately dispersed.
“No, like I can do this! I don’t even know what it’s supposed to feel like when they’re synchronized!?”
“Hmm, well, you wouldn’t understand just by having it explained verbally. …Excuse me a moment.”
Saying that, I took Linfa’s hand.
“Hyaa!? W-what, all of a sudden!?”
“I’m going to help, so try it one more time.”
“H-huh? Help… what do you mean…”
“Just do it.”
“What is this… this is sexual harassment, you know…”
While he was muttering something in a small voice, Linfa began chanting the two spells again.
Hmm, hmm, I see… then, maybe like this.
“Nngh… Nnnh!? W-wait, what, ah…!”
Just as the mana swirling around Linfa—who was twisting his body and making strange noises—strengthened significantly, a massive block of ice manifested right before his eyes.
“!?”
“Alright, you did it.”
“Eh, hah… How, just now, what did you…!?”
“I just tweaked the flow of your mana a little bit.”
“…………???”
Linfa made a face like a cat that had just understood the truths of the universe.
“I’ll assist you with this, so memorize the sensation.”
“Eh, no wait, what do you mean tweak the mana… Hyan!?”
Linfa started to say something, but time was precious, so I made the mana undulate to urge him to practice. The manipulation works, but everyone makes weird noises when I do this. It’s ticklish, or rather, it apparently gives them the shivers.
It was fine doing it to guys like Geld, but honestly, it was awkward when it was Homura. Though Homura herself showed a mysterious assertiveness during this training…
“Come on, next. We’re gonna keep doing it.”
“Hiaa… Nnh… Okay! I get it, so stop thaaaat!”
“Nice one, Linfa!”
As a result, Linfa successfully mastered the Chain Spell of Spirit Arts and Magic. There was a bit of a gamble on whether he could pull it off in the real fight, but I’m glad it went well.
The Violet Crystal Scorpion, having its two pincers—its main method of attack—destroyed, let out an ear-grating scream like metal rubbing together and backed away.
Now, the only things left to watch out for are its massive body itself and its tail; this makes moving around significantly easier. It’s practically a cleanup match now. The giant scorpion judged Linfa in the back to be more dangerous than me right in front of it and wanted to go crush him, but of course, there was no way I would allow that.
I obstructed its initial movements at every turn, and Linfa responded by making small adjustments to his position according to the signals I had conveyed beforehand.
We repeated the cycle of me steadily chipping away at its legs and Linfa destroying them for the finish five times. Finally unable to support its own weight, the giant scorpion collapsed to the ground. You could say the battle was all but decided.
“Phew…”
I didn’t drop my stance as I regulated my breathing. All that was left was to deliver the final blow. I wouldn’t let my guard down.
Yes, I didn’t lower my guard against the Violet Crystal Scorpion. A wounded monster is sometimes more troublesome than a healthy one. If anything, my concentration was at its peak.
That became my undoing. I was focused so much on the enemy in front of me that I was late to notice the footsteps running toward me.
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