Friday, May 30, 2025

[WN] Dragon Chain Ori : Volume 4 Chapter 1 [Re-Translation]

This is a re-translation.

Volume 4 Chapter 1

 

"Hah!"

 

"Hmph!"

 

In the outskirts of Arcazam, in the fields stretching towards the outer edges, two figures, a man and a woman, were locked in combat.

One was a girl with long black hair swaying in the breeze, Irisdina Francilt. Dancing gracefully like a butterfly flitting across the field, she brandished a rapier in one hand, striking at her opponent. Her speed was like a flash of light. The girl unleashed a barrage of attacks at a velocity that ordinary people couldn't even register visually.

The other was a young man with blue eyes, Nozomu Bountis, holding a katana. He subtly moved the katana he held, deflecting the continuous strikes that seemed like afterimages. However, perhaps it was difficult to parry completely, as the young man gradually retreated.

Irisdina's rapid-fire attacks, varying in speed, slowly broke down Nozomu's defense. Nozomu gradually couldn't parry them all, and her rapier began to graze his body, but even so, Irisdina couldn't completely overwhelm the boy before her.

 

(Damn it! She's fast as expected!! I can't parry perfectly!!)

 

(As expected, amazing! To parry my sword, which is overwhelming with ability, to this extent…………)

 

While retreating with sliding steps, Nozomu transmitted the movement of his backward stepping foot and the movement of his core to both arms, skillfully deflecting Irisdina's slashes, which were enhanced by her superior physical abilities.

Against an opponent whose physical abilities were drastically increased by enhancement magic, it was difficult for Nozomu to clash head-on.

Her physical abilities weren't as great as Mars's, but her versatility in using not only swords but also magic made her numerous attacks troublesome. And Nozomu didn't know all of her techniques.

That's why, at first, Nozomu had tried to keep a certain distance, trying to discern even a little of her hand.

If the two had been fighting in a narrow room, Nozomu wouldn't have been able to take this approach. It was only because they were fighting in the spacious outskirts that Nozomu was using the space to parry Irisdina's attacks.

 

(But swords aren't my only weapon, Nozomu!)

 

At that moment, the ground at the boy's feet suddenly rose up. The boy lost his footing on the raised ground, and his steps faltered. However, Irisdina, swinging her sword in front of Nozomu, hadn't performed any incantations or created any formations to cast magic until now. The reason the magic was activated anyway was due to her ability, "Instant Activation."

 

"Tch!"

 

Losing his balance, Nozomu immediately abandoned the parrying techniques he had been using. By rolling on the ground, he barely avoided Irisdina's approaching sword. If his judgment had been even a moment slower, her sword would have caught Nozomu's body.

 

(I thought that one had landed, but his judgment is also extraordinary…)

 

(That was close. There's almost no time lag in her magic activation. The Instant Activation ability is this troublesome…)

 

Irisdina pressed her attack further. She swung her rapier at Nozomu, who hadn't yet gotten up, but Nozomu, still on one knee, blocked the rapier with his katana and used the katana's unique blade curvature to deflect her slash upwards.

 

(It's my turn now!!)

 

"Hah!"

 

Having parried Irisdina's slash, Nozomu stood up and simultaneously took a step towards her, thrusting his katana. The thrust katana was naturally blocked by Irisdina, but Nozomu continued his thrusts without hesitation.

Unlike before, Nozomu stopped his feet and slashed at Irisdina using the rotation of his hips, ankles, and knees. The dance of slashes, without any pause, was truly faithful to the basics.

A high-pitched sound rang out, and sparks flew as metal clashed against metal. Nozomu's slashes were accurate and efficient, but his opponent was the top talent of the third year. She easily parried Nozomu's horizontal slash by raising her rapier and, with a returning strike, slashed at Nozomu.

 

"There!"

 

"Kuh!"

 

Irisdina's counterattack aimed to slash Nozomu diagonally, but Nozomu took a step back and tried to parry. But in the next instant, a black magic bullet approached Nozomu's eyes.

Nozomu instinctively drew his scabbard and defended against the magic activated by the Instant Activation ability, but he was blown away by the impact and lost his balance significantly.

Irisdina's magic further pursued Nozomu, who had lost his balance. Several ice arrows the size of an adult's arm formed in the air.

 

The magic Irisdina activated was "Icicle Dance."

A magic that forms and shoots multiple icicles, impaling the opponent.

The icicles that had been waiting in the air rushed towards Nozomu at Irisdina's command.

Nozomu activated Flash Step with all his might. The flying icicles crashed into the ground, shattering into pieces while kicking up soil from the impact.

Of course, since it was a mock battle, the spell had been modified to make the tips of the icicles round, but even so, if they had hit him directly, he would have writhed in agony from the pain.

 

"I'm not done yet, Nozomu!"

 

(This is bad! This distance makes me an easy target!!)

 

This time, a magic circle was drawn at Nozomu's feet, and dark chains entangled both of his legs. It was the "Chains of Darkness" that had restrained Rugato's contracted familiar in the previous incident.

 

"M-my legs!"

 

Irisdina pressed her attack further. A mass of wind formed in front of Irisdina.

Swirling the surrounding wind, the roaring green vortex looked like a hungry beast with its prey, Nozomu, dangling before it, eagerly awaiting its moment.

Nozomu's legs were completely caught by the Chains of Darkness, and it seemed impossible for him to evade Irisdina's magic. The contracted familiar that the Chains of Darkness had previously restrained was roughly A-rank equivalent.

Common sense dictated that Nozomu, who couldn't use magic, had no means to break free from this binding.

 

"Here I come!"

 

At Irisdina's signal, the beast of wind was unleashed. The released wind drew a spiral, tearing through the surrounding atmosphere, and rushed to devour its prey, Nozomu, while trampling everything in its path.

 

"Ravenous Beast of the Wind Tunnel"

 

A magic where a spiral of wind rushes through, trampling everything in its path. It was named this because the compressed, swirling wind let out a roar like a beast.

Since both of his legs were already restrained, evasion was impossible, and Nozomu, who couldn't use magic, couldn't take any defensive measures like erecting a barrier.

 

(But it's not like I have no means!)

 

Facing the beast of wind rushing towards him, Nozomu sheathed his katana while slamming the butt of the scabbard against the "Chains of Darkness" binding his feet.

 

Ki Technique: "Vibration Strike"

 

Originally an internal destruction technique that directly strikes the opponent's body, tearing apart their internal organs. He slammed this into the magic circle at his feet.

The magic circle shattered with a high-pitched sound due to the Vibration Strike, and the dark chains dissipated into mist.

The moment his shackles were gone, Nozomu activated Flash Step. While charging towards the Ravenous Beast of the Wind Tunnel, he poured all his ki into the sheathed katana, simultaneously compressing it to the extreme.

Facing the Ravenous Beast of the Wind Tunnel closing in before him, Nozomu changed Flash Step to Flash Step - Curving Dance -.

Without losing his speed, he dodged the approaching magic's trajectory, dashed past the Ravenous Beast of the Wind Tunnel, and directly closed in on Irisdina.

However, as expected of the top of their year, she had already readied her rapier, preparing to intercept. Nozomu drew his katana, about to unleash the extremely compressed ki blade, but...

 

"!"

 

A red nightmare flashed before his eyes, making him hesitate to draw his katana. And in a match, there is no victory for those who waver. By the time Nozomu realized it, Irisdina's descending sword was already right before his eyes.

 

***

 

The mock battle had ended with Irisdina's victory. The two who had finished the mock battle were sitting down in a corner of the grassland, where Mars, Tima, and Somia were also present.

Today, they had all decided to do some early morning training together and had come to this outer area where it wouldn't matter if they were a little noisy.

 

"That was a good match."

 

"Hah, haah... do you think so?"

 

For Irisdina, it was a genuine compliment for Nozomu's tenacity, but Nozomu, who didn't quite understand his own abilities, could only give an ambiguous reply to her words.

From Nozomu's perspective, he had been on the defensive the whole time, and his counterattacks had been completely blocked, so he didn't think it was a good match at all.

 

"That's right. It's strange that you, who hasn't released your ability suppression, could hold out that long."

 

Mars agreed with Irisdina's words. He was currently sitting on the grass, reading a book. The book he was reading was a magic-related textbook.

It was unlike his usual behavior to willingly open a textbook, but perhaps he had some thoughts after the fight with Rugato.

 

Tima and Somia were sitting beside Mars. Both of them had watched Nozomu and Irisdina's mock battle earlier.

Kuro, the black cat, was curled up in Somia's arms, and Tima was stroking Kuro in her arms beside Somia.

Kuro himself was dozing off, basking in the warmth of the sun, occasionally letting out a big "fwaaaah" yawn.

 

"Yeah. I haven't seen many people fight Ai to that extent..."

 

"That's right! Onee-sama is so skilled that she wouldn't even lose to a regular knight of Forsina, so I think you can be more confident!"

 

Tima and Somia continued Mars's words.

 

Irisdina's rank was A. This was a rank that first-class individuals could hold, and if considered as a knight, it was equivalent to a royal knight. Nozomu himself had seen her abilities in the fight with Rugato and felt that her skills were worthy of that rank.

 

"Hmm, I wonder about that."

 

However, the self-evaluation that had been ingrained in him for so long didn't seem to change easily.

In fact, Nozomu wasn't that strong. Or rather, it would be more accurate to say that his abilities were too inconsistent to be easily evaluated.

 

The truth was, it was strange in the first place that he could fight against Mars and Irisdina, who overwhelmingly surpassed him in ability, while his ability suppression was active. At that point, Nozomu's swordsmanship skills far exceeded the level of a student.

 

However, in a state of ability suppression, there were limits no matter how skilled he was. Just as a dragon, an overwhelming existence, could blow away a first-class swordsman like a piece of trash with a casual flick of its arm, the pure difference in ability manifested as an overwhelming gap on the actual battlefield.

Moreover, what was restricted by Nozomu's ability suppression wasn't just his physical strength, but also his ki and magic power.

His ki amount decreased, and the number of times he could use ki techniques, their power, and range were all significantly limited. As for magic power, it was almost nonexistent, making magic an unusable option from the start.

It was like fighting after sprinting at full speed with weights all over his body. Nozomu was always giving it his all in every fight. He never felt like he had any leeway. Even if his abilities, with which he could only fight in such a state, were evaluated, Nozomu only felt a sense of incongruity.

 

"Besides, even though I won in the end, Nozomu didn't use that technique. I don't know what would have happened if he had used that technique in a real fight."

 

"Indeed."

 

Mars agreed with Irisdina's words.

The technique she was referring to was Nozomu's ki technique "Phantom Void" that she had seen during the previous incident.

That technique possessed unbelievable speed and cutting power, and once unleashed, it was extremely difficult to defend against or evade. Certainly, Irisdina had been on the offensive throughout the mock battle earlier, but Nozomu had a means to instantly reverse that disadvantage and hadn't used it. Or rather, he couldn't use it accurately.

 

"...Well, we can talk about that later. By the way, what are you doing, Mars?"

 

Nozomu changed the subject and looked at his friend beside him.

Nozomu had never seen Mars, who was bad at studying, read a textbook on his own. Frankly, it was extremely out of place, but he was glaring at the textbook as if it were his parents' enemy.

 

"Hmm, well, I have my reasons. I think things can't stay like this."

 

"So, magic?"

 

"Yeah."

 

Mars had used only ki techniques in combat training so far, except during lectures. This was partly due to his own temperament, as ki techniques suited him better than magic, but it was more accurate to say that there hadn't been an opponent who could push Mars to his limits.

Mars's abilities were among the top of their year, but since the class he belonged to was the lowest of the ten ranks, his opponents were always weaker than him. He had never had the experience of being pushed to his absolute limit in a true sense.

However, being pushed to the brink by Nozomu at the end of last year and being beaten by Rugato in the previous incident had probably become a turning point for Mars to re-examine his past self.

 

"Ugh, mutual relationship of attributes? The influence of terrain and geological conditions on magic? ……What kind of code is this?"

 

Even so, judging from Mars's appearance, with steam practically coming out of his head, it seemed like a long road ahead.

Regardless of his practical skills, his grades in written exams were far from good.

With a strong desire to become stronger, he found swinging a sword more to his liking than reading books, and acquiring and refining techniques allowed him to physically feel himself becoming stronger.

But in return, his grades in written exams were abysmal, hovering around the bottom of the class. Incidentally, Nozomu, who often had to retake practical exams, was actually among the top of the class in written exams alone.

 

"That's it! How about having Tima teach you? Tima has considerable knowledge about magic, and it would be more efficient for Mars-kun than studying alone, wouldn't it?"

 

"Eh, eeeeeeeeeh!"

 

Irisdina suggested to Mars that he should have Tima teach him. Tima shouted in surprise, her face blushing slightly for some reason.

 

"What are you saying? Think about Tima's situation too."

 

Mars stopped Irisdina's suggestion with a dumbfounded look.

 

"I'm saying it after thinking it through. Besides, Tima herself doesn't seem entirely against it..."

 

"Um, that... uuuu..."

 

When Irisdina said that to Tima, her face, which had begun to turn red, became completely crimson, and she looked down. She clearly looked embarrassed, but Mars in question took her gesture in a completely different way.

 

"Look closely, don't force her if she doesn't want to."

 

For Tima herself, teaching Mars was not entirely unpleasant, but the person in question had said something completely off the mark. Tima hurriedly corrected Mars's words.

 

"I-it's not like I don't want to! I just thought... if it's alright with you, Mars-kun, would you like me to teach you?"

 

"Eh, i-is it alright?"

 

"Y-yeah. I think I can teach you about magic... b-but only if it's alright with you, Mars-kun…………"

 

"W-well, I'd be grateful..."

 

"Y-yeah."

 

In the end, Tima ended up teaching Mars, who was struggling to understand the textbook. The wall that had existed between Mars and her had completely disappeared after the forced date by Irisdina and Somia. In its place, however, a strangely endearing atmosphere now lingered...

 

"Onee-sama, isn't it almost time?"

 

"Hmm, is that so? Then shall we go to school now?"

 

Irisdina replied to Somia's words. The sun had completely risen above the horizon, and its light had begun to pour down brilliantly on the earth.

Nozomu and the others began to walk towards the school. And so, a new day began.

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