Chapter 100
The Thunder Emperor's Prince
Translator : PolterGlast
The situation is
technically one against three, since I've finished off Zola and Sonia, but...
Ginia and Aoi won't be interfering, so it's effectively a one-on-one between me
and Duke.
Duke is smiling for
some reason, and if I were to guess from his expression, it's the face of
someone who has figured out how to deal with my flying slashes.
If he has a perfect
countermeasure, then there's no need for me to attack with flying slashes, but
I can't help but want to test it.
It wouldn't be any fun
to just blow him away with magic he's never seen before.
I readied my katana,
and just as I had with Zola and Sonia—I began to shower Duke with flying
slashes.
I cut from the left,
right, top, and bottom with various timings, but... Duke didn't even draw his
sword, simply dodging with his body.
He's not quite on
Ginia's level, but... his eyes are exceptionally good.
I can also sense a
talent in the way he moves his body; I can tell he's able to move his body
exactly as he intends.
"It's an
incredible attack—but I've seen through it now."
With those words, Duke
began to close the distance one step at a time, all while dodging my flying
slashes.
The ability to adapt
is an excellent part of being human, a skill that monsters rarely possess.
And as expected of an
S-rank adventurer, that adaptive ability is far superior.
I never thought he
would be able to see through my flying slashes so perfectly.
"You have no
chance of winning anymore, old man. I'll tell you my epithet. [The Lightning
Emperor's Scion]. The truth is, I'm better at magic than I am at close
combat."
After announcing an
epithet so grandiose it made me embarrassed just to hear it, Duke began to
gather magic power in both his hands.
The gathered magic
power transformed into lightning magic, and as it did, he charged at me.
"I'll finish you
in one blow. —[Lightning Claw]."
It was a spell that
made lightning magic look like a claw.
He came at me with
tricky movements, trying to slice me with his [Lightning Claw], but I dodged,
and dodged, and dodged his attacks.
It seems Duke had
predicted that I was using a strange attack like a flying slash because I was
bad at close combat; his eyes widened in surprise that he couldn't land a
single hit.
"Sorry to burst your
bubble when you were so sure of your victory. I'm also good at close
combat."
"Damn you!
—[Lightning Claw Thunder Rend]!"
Duke dispelled the
magic he had been brandishing like a clawed weapon and, in desperation,
unleashed a wide-range attack from close distance.
There is no attack
easier to handle than a spell fired off without any aim. I sliced through the
magic with my katana as I approached—and thrust my sword into Duke's heart.
"To have that
much strength at your age is the real deal. ...But you should be careful;
calling out your epithet is lame."
At the same time as I
gave him that advice, Duke was enveloped in particles of light and disappeared.
With only us left in
the arena, Salis declared the end of the match.
"Incredible.
Another complete victory. It's terrifyingly promising that such a talent was
hidden away."
"It's probably
because the Guild Master was mocked so much. My desire to get back at them is
strong, so I might be in better condition than usual."
"I don't think
that's the kind of strength that changes with your condition. In any case,
there are two matches left. Keep aiming for a clean sweep."
"Yeah. For the
sake of the Guild Master's honor, I'll keep going wild until the end."
After that
conversation with Salis, I returned to Ginia, Aoi, and the Guild Master.
The three of them
greeted me with smiles, and we exchanged light high-fives.
"As expected of
your stable strength. A complete victory against that [Battenberg]... Your
power is truly terrifying, Graham-san."
"And on top of
that, you still haven't used magic, Graham-san! What would happen if you
did?"
"It'd be an
instant kill, obviously! I always thought he was strong, but I never thought he
was this overwhelming! ...Isn't he the strongest person in all of
humanity?"
"I doubt that.
Part of it was that things just clicked."
"You always say
'I doubt that'! You're definitely in the strongest class of humanity!"
"From the first
time I saw him, I thought Graham-san was the strongest. That's why he's the
only one I speak to with honorifics."
They're really
overestimating me, but being able to fight like this against an S-rank
adventurer is a confidence booster.
...But I am concerned
that they're weaker than I had imagined.
I know because I've
fought the Demon Lord's army many times, but in comparison, they are
overwhelmingly weak.
It makes me wonder how
they were dealing with it when the Demon Lord's army invaded.
"Dwayne-san, and
Graham-san. Please allow me to apologize for my many discourtesies. I did not
imagine you were a warrior of this caliber. I am truly sorry."
The one who bowed his
head with those words of apology was the spectacled Guild Master who had
brought [Battenberg].
If I remember
correctly, his name was... Lunette?
"You don't have
to apologize. I didn't hold anything against you, Lunette. [Battenberg] was
also a pleasant group of adventurers, and I'd be happy to have another exchange
with them."
"The pleasure
would be all ours. I would very much like for you to visit the Dungeon City at
least once, Graham-san. We have a dungeon there that is beyond compare with
this one, so please come and visit."
"Just don't try
to recruit him. Graham-san is the sole hope of Biodasdal."
"Don't worry. I
have no intention of moving my base. ...But the Dungeon City does sound interesting."
Even this dungeon made
me want to investigate it more.
If there's a dungeon
even greater than the one in the Royal Capital, I'd definitely like to go at
least once.
"Please do come.
I will be your guide when you do."
"Yeah. I'll be
counting on you."
I shook hands with
Lunette and promised to visit the Dungeon City.
And, just at that
moment—.
"Ah, the next
match is starting! It looks like it's [White Phoenix] and [Crimson Rose]!"
There's no match with
a more obvious outcome than this one, but I do want to see [White Phoenix].
Cutting our
conversation short, I turned my eyes to the fourth match.
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