And then it was 1 o’clock.
After lunch and a break, they returned to the training ground once again.
Seven members of the Hero party, Fiona, Oscar, and Jurgen were in the arena.
Apart from the rescue platoon on standby at a corner of the training ground, everyone else was at the spectator seats.
“I, Jürgen Bartel, will be the judge for the battle. Immediate death attacks are forbidden. The match will end if one side surrenders, faints or if the judge determines that they are unable to continue the battle.”
“Then, I shall watch from the spectator’s seats.”
Fiona started walking towards the spectators’ seats.
Graham said, and everyone from the Hero party, except the Hero, was about to walk to the spectator seats too.
“No, all of you have to participate in the fight.”
It was Gordon, the Fire Magician, who asked back with an out-of-tune voice.
“Isn’t the Hero party a party of seven? Then it would be meaningless if you didn’t fight together.”
“That’s not the issue, do you understand what you’re saying?”
Gordon replied with clenched teeth.
“Gordon, watch your words.”
Graham chided him and continued the conversation.
“That said, Oscar-dono. Gordon is right. Even if you are the Explosive Blaze Magician, I do not think that a seven-on-one match would be a decent match.”
“I watched your seven-on-seven fight from the middle but if your ability is 『only that extent』, it won’t be a decent match anyway.”
Oscar shrugged his shoulders and sneered.
Naturally, a few members from the Hero party were fuming.
“Deputy Chief-san is inciting such animosity.”
“The opening bombardment during the team battle and now this, the people in this division are good at fanning the flames.”
The Scout Maurice and Wind Magician Alicia whispered to each other so that the men wouldn’t hear them.
The Enchanter Ash Khan, who heard it, nodded silently many times.
“Interesting! Let’s do it! Roman, I’ll be the first. Don’t make a move!”
“Even after I said it would be difficult even for seven people, a single person is out of the question …”
Oscar replied coldly to Gordon’s shouts.
“Shut it! That’s for us to decide. Hey, judge, let’s get started already.”
“Haa …. Deputy Chief doesn’t even have to bother to instigate … Okay. Then, please take your positions.”
The judge Jurgen sighed an extremely deep sigh as he guided each to their starting positions.
Oscar held a sword with a blunt blade in his right hand, which was taken from the training ground, while Gordon held a Magician’s staff.
“Then, the match begins!”
When Gordon chanted, three flames swirled from the tip of his staff and flew toward Oscar.
Gordon’s strongest anti-personal spell.
His strongest attack immediately from the start.
HeI intended to defeat Oscar without letting him do anything.
Or rather, that whirlpool of flames could even pierce castle walls, and if it was an ordinary Magician opponent, they would die instantly.
But … Oscar was not an ordinary Magician.
With the sword in his right hand, he casually swept the whirlpool of flames approaching him to the side.
That alone caused the vortex of flames to disappear.
Of course, it was Gordon who shouted.
“This level … is equivalent to child’s play. ”
Before he noticed, Gordon’s solar plexus was struck by a fist-sized mass of flame, and Gordon fainted in agony.
“What the hell was that …”
The Priest Graham muttered softly.
The lump of flame that sank into Gordon’s solar plexus had already disappeared.
No doubt, it was some kind of magic but … Graham’s eyes couldn’t see the activation of the magic or its trajectory at all.
“No matter what it was, I don’t want to be on the receiving end of that …”
The Wind Magician Alicia muttered while hiding behind Graham.
“Everyone! Cast enhancement magic on me.”
In response to the Hero Roman’s call, the party recomposed themselves.
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Enchanter Ash Khan, Priest Graham, Earth Magician Bellrock, and Wind Magician Alicia each magically enhanced Roman.
“I see, that’s an Enchanter? There certainly aren’t any in the Central Nations.”
Oscar was not impatient and watched what Roman and his party did.
That composure reminded Roman of the Akuma Leonor.
He shook his head several times to drive the memory of Leonor out.
Roman announced and rushed in.
He pulled the Holy Sword Astarte up and swung it down on Oscar’s shoulder.
It made a sound as if it struck a hard metal, and was deflected loudly.
A surprised voice came out of Roman’s mouth.
“What’s wrong, Hero-dono? As long as you are a Swordsman, you cannot win unless your sword reaches your opponent.”
Oscar fanned the flames even further.
As if reacting to it, Roman wielded the Holy Sword Astarte and,
Slashed. Slashed. Slashed.
But every slash struck something that covered Oscar’s surface.
Roman groaned involuntarily.
“What, what, what is that!?”
It was clearly visible to the Hero party that all of Roman’s slashes were deflected off the surface of Oscar’s body.
Hero Roman’s sword was not just any ordinary sword.
The Holy Sword Astarte had been passed down for generations among heroes born in the Western Countries.
That sword’s slash was being repelled without any sword, armor, or shield.
Anybody would be surprised, not just the Scout Maurice.
“That is an overlap of magical and physical barriers …”
The Wind Magician Alicia explained to Maurice.
“Physical barrier? That’s a spell that prevents physical attacks such as swords and arrows. But it’s easy to break. It’s only useful to block arrows. In close quarters, no one uses it anymore, right?”
“It breaks easily. It’s not practical so it’s rare to see it in close quarters. Perhaps the Central Nations’ physical barriers are sturdier …”
Maurice made a conjecture and Alice nodded in confirmation but …
“But the adjutant-cum-judge is also looking at the Deputy Chief with a surprised expression …”
“Yeah. It doesn’t look like it is sturdy because it’s a Central Nation variant. It seems that the Deputy Chief’s barrier is just abnormal.”
Next to them, the Enchanter Ash Khan was silently watching the battle intently.
“But the fact that it deflects his sword means that Roman can’t win? Isn’t that unfair? I know Deputy Chief is a refined, good-looking man but Roman can’t win?”
“Yeah, I know he’s your type, Maurice, but don’t touch him because he’s a prominent person from another country. Well, that physical barrier is troublesome but physical barriers consume far more magical power than magical barriers. That’s also one reason why it’s no longer used. So I don’t think that physical barrier will last that long …”
“Since it’s a mock battle between a Swordsman and a Magician, I tried using a technique that only a Magician can use. Did you like it?”
Oscar sneered with his mouth raised slightly and asked Roman.
“It’s just a magical barrier and a physical barrier. It’s non-attribute magic, so any Magician can create it.”
“It’s way too sturdy.”
Roman responded in a daze toward Oscar’s nonchalant explanation.
He knew about both magical and physical barriers.
However, he had never heard of such a sturdy barrier.
“If you can’t break my barrier, you can’t break the Demon Lord’s barrier, right? That won’t do for a person who calls himself the Hero.”
Even now, Oscar still pilled on more provocation.
The Hero Roman frowned with frustration.
However, a few moments later, his facial expression changed completely.He had made his resolve.
“I apologize if I stab you.”
With that said, Roman began to put all his energy and magic into the Holy sword Astarte.
“That’s something you should think about after breaking through.”
And Oscar waited without changing his expression.
Roman shortened the distance in an instant and thrust with his entire body.
Cracks formed on Oscar’s barrier.But he couldn’t break it.
Moreover, the cracks were instantly repaired and the barrier restored to its original form.
The words leaked from Roman’s mouth.
And then, he knelt on one knee because he couldn’t support his body after pushing it with all his might.
Oscar slowly tapped Roman’s nape with his sword.
“That’s enough! Winner, Deputy Chief Oscar.”
At that moment, Jurgen’s voice echoed in the training ground.
And cheers echoed from the division members.
Consecutive defeats from yesterday … Even though they were going up against the Hero party, it lingered on the minds of the division members.
In the eyes of the division members who looked at Deputy Chief Oscar, who had given them their first victory, some had a light in it that could even be called faith.
“Roman-dono, you are still young so you can still get stronger. Please do your best.”
“Oscar-dono, thank you for your guidance. I learned once again that I can’t do anything in front of a true Magician. Thank you very much.”
Hero Roman was deeply grateful.
“Oh, that’s right. Can you tell me about the Magician you previously lost to?”
“Of course, she called himself Leonor, a woman? No, she’s probably not human, but I’ve never seen her race before. Today, Oscar-dono blocked all my sword strikes with a barrier, but Leonor dodged all of my sword strikes. And she did it casually.”
Roman described his battle with Leonor to Oscar.
“Leonor … I’ve never heard of that name. I’ll keep it in mind.”
Hmm, Oscar nodded and tried to end the conversation.
“Um, Oscar-dono. Who was the Magician Oscar-dono first had in mind? If you don’t mind, could you please tell me?”
“… A Water-Attribute Magician in the Knightley Kingdom. We’ve had conflict before. Sorry but I don’t wish to say anymore.”
Then Oscar walked to Fiona, who had come down from the spectator seats.