Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
[Strong! As expected from the previous year’s winner, Knight Jim! Alvin, you’re in trouble!]
The first round of the semifinals.
Unfortunately for Alvin, he was being pressed.
The match started with both players stepping in and landing a blow. The high-pitched sound of swords clashing with swords echoed through the arena.
As before, Alvin was planning to push in with a series of blows. However, Knight Jim was faster than Alvin in drawing his sword and launching his next attack.
And now, Alvin was forced to be on the defensive, catching Knight Jim’s slash with his sword.
(Now it’s my turn…..!)
Alvin swung his sword to counterattack.
His movements are fast and sharp, with a level of skill that could be called top-notch. But Knight Jim’s attack was even faster.
Still, Alvin’s interception was just in time, but when the two swords clashed again, the battle was completely dominated by Knight Jim again.
(Good attack…… but a lot of wasted movement)
Knights are trained from an early age in a style that is designed to fight against other people. By repeating a set pattern and accumulating training, the movement of “swinging the sword” is optimized.
So, his body’s ingrained movements are lean and fast. This is the factor that gives the knight Jim an advantage.
(Gugh, there’s really no waste of movement!)
On the other hand, Alvin is self-taught. From the very beginning, commoners never had the opportunity to learn a sword style, which is normal for adventurers.
The same is true for Emily, Alvin’s teacher. The reason why he can adopt Emily’s teachings but cannot fully imitate them is because Emily has the best body movements and not the ones that Alvin can perfectly adapt to.
Even so, the experience of fighting with Emily had certainly helped Alvin develop his fighting instincts and overcome Knight Jim’s quick attacks.
(My master was even more unpredictable! She was just as sharp as this knight, but with more unreadable and erratic attacks!)
(Stopping a counterattack doesn’t make it an effective strike. ……His stance is messed up, but he’s good at receiving them)
Alvin continues to receive attacks while looking for opportunities to counterattack. As long as there is a certain pattern, the number of sword strikes is limited, and Alvin is trying to figure it out.
Even Knight Jim, who was attacking unilaterally, noticed that Alvin was on the receiving end, trying to figure out how to attack him.
”Nuh!!”
(Now!)
Knowing this, the knight Jim switches from a style that focuses on speed to a style that focuses on the weight of the attack. With a fast movement, he held his sword up with his eyes straight and unleashed a karatake wari. (*Note: cutting straight down, cleaving (a person) in two)
Alvin did not miss the moment when the style changed. So, he gathered his magic power in his legs and backstepped to get out of the range of Knight Jim.
And a sharp blow from the knight Jim went past Alvin’s nose as if to snatch it.
(I can’t win if I couldn’t strike him properly!)
Alvin, who had managed to stay back, wiped away the sweat with one hand and admitted that Knight Jim’s skill with the sword was superior to his own.
Knight Jim’s dignity is indescribable as he leisurely walks towards Alvin, looking straight at him.
(If I can’t win with my sword skills, I will win with something else!)
”Nu!?”
When the knight Jim came to the center of the stage, Alvin gathered magic power in both feet and sword and kicked the floor.
He moves in a circle around the knight Jim, kicking the floor briefly and accelerating repeatedly as if looking for an opening.
The speed was much faster than the act of running. And the knight Jim had to follow Alvin’s movements as hard as he could to avoid being caught behind.
[Fast, It’s very fast! Alvin! He’s so fast that Knight Jim is getting tossed around!]
(Here is it!)
Alvin finally slashes at Knight Jim from the side after a moment of delayed reaction. Knight Jim caught his sword as he closed the distance and attacked in an instant. But Alvin had already moved on to his next action.
He leapt and kicked through the air, passing over the knight Jim’s head and slashing him in the head.
He was surprised by the unbelievable move, which is not something he usually does in training, but he managed to prevent it.
”Uooooo!!”
”What is this move……!”
While Knight Jim turns around to the right, Alvin kicks further into the air, accelerating and changing direction.
Knight Jim had lost sight of Alvin, who had accelerated to get behind him in the same right turn. He knew that Alvin was diagonally behind him. Even though he knew it, he couldn’t catch up with the turn.
When Alvin’s horizontal strike landed on Knight Jim’s neck.
Relying only on Alvin’s presence, Knight Jim was able to raise his sword and take the blow to the neck.
(Behind me!)
Knight Jim looked back. But there was no sign of Alvin…… and his presence had shifted above his head.
Alvin was kicking again in the air and leaping over Knight Jim’s head.
He twisted his body upright and swung his sword down on the back of Knight Jim’s head as he passed him.
Knight Jim’s body, which had already moved to turn around, could no longer keep up with the next movement, and Alvin’s sword finally caught Knight Jim in the head.
The strike was powerful enough to bring the knight down to the ground, and as a result, he fell forward with both knees on the ground.
When Alvin managed to land on the stage and held his sword steady, the audience erupted in cheers.
[It’s decided~! No way, this is a huge surprise!! The adventurer Alvin has defeated the previous year’s winner, the knight Jim!!]
[‘‘Wowwwww!!!‘‘]
”Yooossh, I won!”
Alvin shouts as he raises his sword to the sky.
The ring girl, a fox beastman, looks at Alvin with a passionate gaze as he smiles and waves to the crowd, which is the most excited it has ever been.
* * *
”Oh, I didn’t expect the adventurer to win”
Himeno was watching the semi-finals from the corridor leading to the stage, out of sight of the audience.
Although she felt that the knight was stronger overall, she gave honest praise to the adventurer who had managed to win by playing with moves she had never seen before.
As the knight was being carried away on stretchers, Alvin was being interviewed by the ring girl about his enthusiasm for the finals, after receiving a <Loudness> spell at their request.
”<Running Wolves>…… that was Shinji’s party. I didn’t think I’d actually have to fight him, but he’s as good a warrior as…… he says”
Himeno naturally smiled at the presence of a warrior who fought with a body movement she had never seen before.
”I’m looking forward to the finals…… but first, the semifinals”
Himeno is not proud of it. This is because she believes that it is the way of the warrior to crush the opponent in front of her with all her might.
And so, Himeno’s turn comes around.
The result of the second semi-final was a victory for…… Himeno.
___________
Alvin semifinal.
Win against a strong opponent.
If he can’t win with his sword, he can’t win with his mobility.
Alvin’s active part continues.