The atmosphere instantly became tense.
Adam's words were even more shocking than Natsuki's job interview speech.
Such a challenge at this time could easily be seen as provocation — not just against Count Roswaal, but against the Kingdom of Lugunica itself during the Royal Selection period.
After all, as a count, Roswaal's duty was to guard the kingdom's borders — he was the kingdom's first line of defense!
Now that he had been challenged so boldly, it was hard not to suspect Adam had ulterior motives.
"You—!" Ram's brows furrowed in anger, but Roswaal stopped her.
"Don't misunderstand, I have no other intentions." Adam explained, noting the wariness in everyone's eyes, "I'm a wanderer who enjoys battling strong opponents to learn from experience. Roswaal, you're strong, right? So I want to have a match with you!"
"Oh ho~" Roswaal let out a theatrical sigh. Speaking both as warning and statement of fact, he said, "Don't let my appearance fool you. I am the Kingdom of Lugunica's Chief Court Magician, and have been granted the titles of『Red』,『Green』, and『Yellow』as the strongest magic user. Carter, are you certain you want to duel with me?"
His gaze turned sharp, piercing toward Adam with dangerous coldness.
"Of course! This is exactly why I came!" Adam smiled confidently, paying no mind to the threat, "Not to brag, but my magic is quite formidable too."
Meanwhile, he secretly touched his five high-quality Manatites, instantly feeling more assured.
Even if he couldn't win, he could at least hold out for a while, right?
Roswaal agreed to his request, "Since~ Takebu has~ said so, that's fine."
Though Emilia and Ram wanted to protest, they were stopped by Puck and Roswaal.
And so the matter was settled.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
That afternoon, violent tremors shook the entire border region! The ground quaked and the air itself shuddered, as if the sky were ablaze!
This was no approaching storm — it was the clash of two powerful magic users!
From the southwest of the Magic Beast Forest came a series of explosions, their towering flames casting light into the darkest shadows!
The lush forest suffered catastrophic destruction, its verdant greens vanishing from the lord's map, replaced by stretches of black and yellow sand.
Deep fissures carved through the earth like the gaping maws of ancient giants, striking dread into all who beheld them.
When frightened villagers rushed to the count's mansion seeking aid, they received an unexpected answer: their lord was merely having a "friendly spar".
Could a mere friendly match wreak such devastation?
Though bewildered, the villagers' questions died on their lips at the mention of their lord. They quietly returned home to prepare for evacuation.
By evening, the tremors finally subsided.
Adam's five Manatites lay completely drained, and even Roswaal's mana was spent.
Adam had to admit — male opponents proved more challenging than female ones, especially those of formidable strength. Their relentless, storm-like attacks had nearly overwhelmed him.
"As expected of the Chief Court Magician — your strength is truly admirable!"
"Takebu is also~ very~ impressive. I thought I could win easily, but~ even at full power~ we were nearly equal."
Two voices drifted from the border — one steady, one peculiar. Adam and Roswaal emerged from the Magic Beast Forest, both covered in dirt, their clothes hanging in tatters.
Despite his disheveled state, Roswaal maintained his noble bearing, though his clownish mannerisms remained as puzzling and off-putting as ever.
Adam looked even worse — not only were his clothes in shreds, but his expensive custom-made Hokage resistance cloak had been burned beyond salvation!
When they returned to the count's mansion, Ram stood waiting.
"Lord Roswaal!" Seeing him emerge from the forest blackened and tattered, she rushed forward with furrowed brows, "Are you alright, Lord Roswaal?!"
"I'm fine, Ram. Don't worry yourself." Roswaal replied calmly, "Have you prepared the hot water?"
Ram bowed and said, "Yes, Lord Roswaal, the hot water is ready."
"Well then~ Takebu, shall we take a bath~ together?"
Roswaal extended the invitation to Adam, who internally fought back nausea. He deeply regretted entering a world with oriental customs.
Taking a bath together... Ugh...
Still, refusing would only make things more awkward.
The two followed Ram to the grand bath.
Along the way, they encountered Emilia, Natsuki, and others who, seeing their filthy state, expressed concern. A few brief words sent them on their way.
The count's mansion naturally had a large bathhouse. The two washed themselves and then soaked in the pool.
The warm water enveloped their bodies, instantly relieving half their fatigue.
Adam leaned against the wall with his eyes closed, keeping as far away as possible from the other man, when he heard Roswaal call his name.
"Carter, about what I mentioned..."
"Let me think about it some more."
Before Roswaal could finish, Adam cut him off with a vague response.
"Think about it some more, hm..." Noting the evasiveness in his voice, Roswaal raised an eyebrow but said nothing more.
They chatted idly for a while longer before returning to their respective rooms, disturbing no one else in the mansion.
Night fell in silence.
Adam sat alone by his bed.
"Divine Protection of Magic (Roswaal L. Mathers), huh?"
One hand carefully examined his adventurer card while the other cast magic.
Like a child with a new toy, he played with it endlessly, experiencing a satisfaction he couldn't get enough of.
Without a doubt, the〘Divine Protection of Magic〙provided an enormous boost to magical abilities!
Low-level magic came effortlessly, and while high-level magic required more effort, he became proficient after brief practice.
Unlike the〘Divine Protection of the Sword Saint〙which merely awakened human potential in swordsmanship, the〘Divine Protection of Magic〙was a concrete enhancement of everything in the magical domain!
〘Divine Protection of Magic〙: Enables use of all six types of elemental magic, allowing domains including mana, power, speed, and others to reach their absolute peak!
Strong! Very strong! Incredibly strong!
Fortunately, Roswaal had held back at first — otherwise, Adam would have been instantly defeated. Where would he have found the chance to copy such a powerful Divine Protection then?
However, such a powerful Divine Protection had one major flaw for him!
Namely, he couldn't take it out of this world!
Divine Protections were gifts from the Od Lagna, proof of being beloved by the world. When Adam crossed to other worlds, no longer in the [Re:Zero] world, he naturally couldn't continue using the divine protection.
What exactly were Divine Protections? In his eyes, they were plugins!
Everyone with a Divine Protection had a special activation code. By connecting to the terminal called [World] and inputting the activation code, they could load and use various plugins.
And Adam used〚Analyze and Copy〛to simulate this activation code — once loaded, he could also use the Divine Protection activated by that code!
As for why he couldn't copy Natsuki's〚Return by Death〛Authority? He wasn't sure.
He hadn't analyzed or copied Natsuki's, nor did he want to experiment with it.
But Adam suspected it might require more than just an activation code — perhaps something else.
For example, soul consciousness or existence force might serve as personal proof for authentication, activating exclusive privileges (Authorities). Such verification was beyond what his〚Analyze and Copy〛could currently achieve.
But there was no need to overthink it.
If he wanted to experiment, the Authorities of other Sin Archbishops would be much easier to copy than Natsuki's〚Return by Death〛. There was no rush.
"Never mind, time to sleep."
Putting away his adventurer card and dispersing the magic from his hand, Adam gradually drifted off to sleep.
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