Water Magician

His opponent was smoke.

Amon’s sword sliced air.

Parin!

Immediately, Amon’s chest armor was shattered.

Ryo’s special was shattered in one blow.

“Laminated Ice Armor 30 Layers.”

He instantly recast the ice armor.

He had accounted for the possibility that it would be broken in one blow.

Even though the opponent was different from Michael (pseudonym), they were still a being who claimed to be an ‘angel’.

Even if that was not their main body, they should be considered to have the greatest attack power possible.

“Hmm… even though it’s within expectations, a single blow is still…”

Even though he expected it, he still felt frustrated.

Niels answered Ryo’s murmur.

“As expected, the opponent this round is so different from what he is used to.”

Amon’s movements also showed that he was quite confused.

Ryo’s ice armor being broken with a single blow was something he had never experienced before.

“But now that we’ve sent him out, we have no choice but to watch over him.”

Etho declared.

It seemed that Etho, who is a priest, was mentally stronger than the swordsman or magician.

“I know. I know… Amon is at least more talented with a sword than I am. He might even reach the level of His Majesty Abel someday.”

Ryo was surprised by Niels’ words.

To Niels, Abel’s swordsmanship is synonymous with God.

The fact that he recognizes that Amon may reach that level someday can be considered the highest evaluation.

“But he’s only 19 years old… I think he should have had more time to slowly gain experience…”

Niels ended his statement weakly.

Of course, he understood it in his head.

It was too late now.

So he didn’t complete his sentence.

“It’s okay. Unless it’s instant death, I’ll save him.”

Etho declared powerfully.

“His heart is protected by Ryo’s ice. So it will be okay.”

Etho insisted strongly again.

Ryo nodded at that.

Bakki.

Amon’s chest armor cracked again.

However, it was not penetrated.

It stopped at two-thirds.

It seemed that increasing the 20 layers to 30 layers had some effect.

“”

Second reconstruction.

Bakki.

“”

Third reconstruction.

Bakki.

“”

Fourth reconstruction.

………….

The ice armor cracked, and each time Ryo reapplied it.

That was repeated over and over again.

Niels was watching with an anxious expression on his face.

Etho stood firm and watched.

Ryo… he noticed something as he was reapplying the armor.

“Little by little, the duration between reconstructions is widening.”

Yes, the interval between reconstructions was increasing.

In other words, it was becoming harder to break.

That was proof that Amon was getting used to it little by little.

Kakin.

Additionally, from time to time, they could hear the high-pitched metallic sound of hard objects striking each other.

One is probably Amon’s sword.

Then what about the other object?

It was probably smoke that had solidified…

In other words, Amon was starting to catch the moment when the smoke solidified and attacked.

“He’s amazing…”

Ryo couldn’t help but whisper.

That was Amon’s strength.

Naturally, the opponent was ‘smoke’, so it was completely different from fighting an opponent with just a sword.

Every part of their body can turn into a weapon at any moment…

Amon responded with minimal movement of his body and sword to evade the attacks.

With the slightest movement of his sword, he parried the attack of the ‘Spirit Smoke’.

If he didn’t rely on minute movements, he wouldn’t be able to keep up with the number and speed of attacks from the ‘Spirit Smoke’.

At first, when he defended, his chest armor was broken many times, which seemed to be a problem.

However, now he could deal with it and was no longer suffering any fatal damage.

While Etho was impressed by Amon’s movements, he noticed that Ryo’s hands were also moving slightly.

Etho shook his head with a bitter smile.

“As expected, Ryo is also a battle fanatic.”

No one could hear Etho’s murmur.

The sword that Amon learned while in his village was the Hume style.

In Ryo’s context, of those he knew, that is the style Abel trained in.

In the early stages, footwork is used extensively, but it is optimized according to the characteristics of each body while reducing unnecessary movements.

But that’s just the basics.

Even Abel doesn’t use footwork a lot… he’s the type to use it exclusively at key points in a battle.

Whereas for Amon.

He doesn’t use much footwork.

In the first place, since the enemy is smoke, he may not have that leeway.

But more importantly, his swordsmanship is different from Abel’s…

“Ah, there are parts where his style overlaps with Niels’.”

Ryo finally noticed.

Niels’ swordsmanship is completely self-taught.

Amon seemed to have incorporated Niels’ sword style into Hume-style swordsmanship and customized it to suit him even more.

Related to martial arts and tea ceremonies, there is a term called ‘Shuhari – the three stages of mastery’.

You could say it’s a word that expresses the relationship between master and student, the stage of training, or the relationship with the school itself.

Shu (fundamentals): The stage of faithfully observing and mastering the teachings and techniques of the school. Most people remain at this stage.

Ha (breaking from tradition): The stage where you take in the good from other schools and develop them within yourself. The super top-notch individuals.

Ri (creating own technique): The stage of breaking away from a school and starting your own school. These people leave their names in history.

Ryo’s understanding was roughly like that.

Abel is definitely at the final stages of ‘Ha’.

If he had tried to master the art of swordsmanship as a swordsman instead of becoming a king… perhaps he could have reached the level of ‘Ri’.

However, what was surprising was Amon in front of him.

He reached ‘Ha’ at the age of 19, and even now, at this very moment, he continues to grow…

Eventually, he will reach ‘Ri’ and there is a possibility he might create a new sword style…

For example, in the history of Japanese swordsmanship, Nenami Jion, the founder of Nen-ryu style, Aisu Iko, the founder of Kage-ryu style, or Ito Ittosai, the founder of Itto-ryu…

It’s truly a level that will leave their name in history…

“Maybe I should secure his signature now.”

Both Niels and Etho heard Ryo’s murmur.

However, the two of them ignored it because they had no idea what it meant.

Speculative investment is quite difficult.

“Amon is amazing huh.”

“Yeah”

Etho muttered and Niels agreed.

Then, Etho glanced at Ryo and asked in an even lower voice.

“Who is stronger… Amon or Ryo?”

“Ryo.”

Niels answered without hesitation.

Etho was surprised by the speed.

He thought he might at least hesitate a little.

From Etho’s point of view, he couldn’t tell the difference in strength between Ryo and Amon at all…

“Is that… because of Ryo’s magic?”

Etho asked with the first reason that came to mind.

“No… In the first place, if you consider magic, it won’t even be a fight. Even if they fought without magic, Ryo will be the last one standing.”

Niels declared again.

“Why?”

“Ryo’s defense is impregnable. Even… a Sword Saint can’t break through it… in other words, it’s humanly impossible.”

“Sword Saint…”

A Sword Saint is truly the highest-ranking swordsman.

There’s not always one, and it’s not something that someone formally decides and recognizes.

It is an existence that many swordsmen in the world naturally recognize as the strongest.

Currently, there is nobody called the ‘Sword Saint’ in the Central Countries.

No, to be exact, they’re not currently active.

They have already retired from the front lines…

“A being beyond human capabilities… be it power, speed, or something else… only someone at that level can even think of trying to break his defense.”

“That strong…”

Etho was surprised by Niels’ words.

And he thanked God.

Now, at this party, there were people like Ryo and Amon.

Meanwhile, the battle between Amon and ‘Spirit Smoke’ continued.

However, it was clear that things were different from when the battle started.

It was Amon’s movements.

His legs were moving.

In short, the situation had evolved to where he had gone from trying to survive with minimal movement to counterattacking.

At that time, he began to utilize footwork to close the distance at once.

All because he got used to the smoke’s movements.

“If you think about it normally, I don’t think that smokeman expected their situation to gradually get worse.’’

“I agree.”

Niels nodded in agreement with Ryo’s words.

The ‘Spirit Smoke’ would also understand that although they started with an overwhelming advantage, they had now been forced into a situation where they were at a disadvantage.

Naturally, to overcome that situation, they would typically… make a move to reverse the flow of battle…

But… if they don’t make such a move?

Then it would be something abnormal.

What’s abnormal?

As far as he could see, there wasn’t anything being done.

If that’s the case, he had no choice but to believe that there was something abnormal happening that was invisible to the naked eye.

And eventually…

“Here!”

Zaku.

Amon’s sword pierced something that wasn’t smoke.

At that moment, the something that was pierced became covered in ice.

“Eh…”

An exclamation of surprise escaped Amon’s mouth.

The moment the ice covered what looked like the heart of the ‘Spirit Smoke’, the smoke dispersed.

“Excellent work, Amon.”

Ryo clapped.

“Well done!”

Niels also applauded.

“Are you hurt?”

Etho, being a priest, was worried about Amon’s health.

“Ah, yes, I’m okay.”

Amon answered Etho’s question for now.

Then he looked at the piece of ice that slipped off his sword to the ground.

“This is… Ryo-san’s ice?”

“Yes, that’s right. That’s what I drew on the sword with a magic formula earlier, activated if Amon’s sword catches something that might be the core of the smokeman. As expected of Amon, you did a good job piercing it.”

“Ah, yes, thank you very much!”

At this point, Amon finally showed a bright smile.

However, Etho noticed something strange.

“Huh? But Amon’s sword doesn’t have any magic stones attached to it, right? Where did the magic power that activated the magic formula come from?”

“Just as I’d expect from Etho. You’re great at knowing what to look out for! That’s from the magic line connected to me.”

“Magic line…”

“Yeah. Though it’s invisible.”

Ryo nodded many times and answered happily.

As if a novelist satisfied to know that there are readers who have noticed hidden elements in the novels he wrote…

“Well, whatever it is, I’m glad we were able to defeat it safely.”

Niels said the most sensible thing and the battle in the western atrium ended with Amon’s victory.

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