Chapter 291

The greatsword, the Zweihander, came crashing down towards me.

Clang!

I deflected the blade with my own sword, diverting its path outward. Twisting my blade, I transitioned into a half-swording stance and thrust my blade towards my opponent’s neck.

If he had been a clumsy opponent, it would have been the end, and my blade would have found his throat.

However, my opponent was far from clumsy. Despite his foul temper and apparent fury, his skill was undeniable.

He angled his deflected blade back up, hooking my blade with the parrying hook of his Zweihander and pushing it away.

It would be foolish to enter into a contest of strength with him and push against the weight of his weapon.

Clang!

I disengaged my sword and created some distance, and Haulman quickly adjusted his stance.

Clang! Clang! Screech!

We exchanged several more blows. My opponent maintained his distance, using his longer reach to keep me at bay. If his attacks landed, great; if not, there was no risk to him.

There was no reason for him not to exploit his overwhelming advantage. He was simply doing his best.

The one with the longer reach always had the initiative, while the one with the shorter reach had to suffer the disadvantage and look to close the distance.

That was why using a sword against spear wielders was always a nuisance. During the preliminaries, I had simply overpowered them with my physical strength rather than relying on skill.

In this case, my opponent’s weapon wasn’t a spear, but the difference in reach was still significant.

And there was another factor.

Clang!

His sword was significantly heavier than mine.

Thus, the force applied by the tip of his blade was inevitably greater.

𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

Though a difficult weapon to handle, if mastered, the Zweihander was as effective as a blunt weapon. And he had the physicality and build to wield the Zweihander effectively.

Richard Haulman sneered at me, favoring me with a sardonic smile. “What’s the matter? You talked big, but now that we’re fighting, you’re struggling, huh?”

To the onlookers, it might have seemed like I was being pushed back, and indeed, I was.

“Stop sweating like a pig and talking nonsense during a sacred duel. Wipe that sweat off, you bastard,” I responded.

“... Heh.”

Though he was smiling, I sensed his anxiety.

No matter how physically strong he was, his weapon was heavy.

He had trained hard, but close combat consumed immense mental and physical energy.

This wasn’t just some exercise.

As long as it was an actual fight, he would slowly start to suffer from combat fatigue.

Having the initiative meant he had to keep attacking, maintaining an offensive stance.

I, on the other hand, had no choice but to calmly retreat, remaining passive because of the difference in reach.

‘Come on, grow tired. Show me an opening, and I’ll tear you apart.’

None of us were Ludwig, with infinite stamina.

He was anxious, and I was waiting for an opening.

If I couldn’t overcome the disadvantage between our weapons, I had to exploit the penalties he would have to suffer for using his.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

I retreated calmly, sometimes circling to the side, evading and guiding his attacks.

‘That’s right, get desperate. A bit more. Get a bit more impatient.’

I lured him forward, retreating and drawing out his attacks.

He gripped his sword in a long stance, his right hand on the hilt and his left hand on the ricasso, thrusting it in reverse. Even though he held it short, the monstrous length of the two-handed sword still far exceeded the reach of my weapon.

Such a reverse thrust typically involved a downward strike rather than a forward stab.

The wider the gap between the hands gripping the sword, the easier it was to balance the weight, and the stronger the force that could be applied.

To counter his blows, I would inevitably have to strike upward. He was essentially applying force in a half-swording manner, and to counter his downward strike, I would have to lift and push in the same half-swording manner.

However, his sword had a parrying hook, and mine did not.

Even if I won the struggle, his parrying hook would block my blade, but if I lost, his blade would slice through the hand I was using to grip the middle of my blade.

The difference in our weapons rendered some choices impossible and others viable.

The length of his grip made his reverse thrust difficult to push against or deflect due to the imbalance in power. If I clumsily let his sword clash with mine, I would be the one pushed back.

‘His reverse thrust...’

A line of thought came to me from that single move, and a swift judgment occurred almost simultaneously.

I had learnt some of what I knew in class, but it was Ellen who truly made me understand.

Ellen had taught me various offensive and defensive techniques that varied with different weapons.

In this situation, countering such a downward thrust from an opponent using such a weapon while half-swording was suicidal.

In that brief moment, it was not my mind that made the judgment, but my body.

It was an embodied memory, or perhaps some sort of nervous reflex.

After countless hours of training, I did not have to think in a fight. After all the practice I’d been through, my body moved automatically, instinctively.

Amidst all of my abilities, this one had been acquired through sheer effort.

This embodied memory, forged through countless breaks, rolls, hits, and falls, was the only thing I had earned through sweat alone.

This was not a cheat.

From the knowledge I gained training with Ellen, the correct response to a powerful downward strike from an opponent who had a longer and heavier weapon was to evade, not to block.

Neither me nor my opponent had wasted our time at the Temple, and so there was no reason for us to underestimate each other before this clash.

Therefore, my opponent likely didn’t expect this attack to succeed either. He had to be doing his own calculations. Ultimately, this was a battle of wits as well as bodies.

He had to assume that I would evade the downward thrust, and would have planned other follow-up attacks for that scenario.

He would have prepared his next move so that if I dodged to the side, or if I retreated, he might respond by quickly changing his grip or trajectory of his sword to allow for another slash or thrust.

He was making such plans in the fleeting moment as his sword descended, and I was devising ways to counter them.

The important thing was that in such a situation, any competent and rational person would know that evading was the correct move.

However, I made the decision I shouldn’t have.

The decision he didn’t expect me to make.

I whipped my sword upward to meet his descending blade.

With that, I shattered all his plans.

In a situation where his weight, reach, and physicality all surpassed mine, I had made the worst possible move.

In a typical situation, it would have been the worst move.

But I was not typical.

I channeled all my strength into a single blow.

‘Single Strike (一擊).’

Clang!

Richard Haulman looked startled.

I was a superhuman.

It was well within my power to achieve that which was beyond ordinary.

With a sudden burst of explosive strength, I knocked away his greatsword and, still holding my own sword with the half-swording technique, thrust my blade into his exposed chest.

Flash!

Richard Haulman, eyes wide in shock, was summoned away by his recall artifact. He was unable to comprehend how his sword had been deflected.

—

Critical hit successful.

—The winner of the first bout is Reinhart!

The first victory was mine.

***

A best-of-five meant first to three wins...

Total: 3 wins, 0 losses.

—Royal Class Reinhart emerges from Group A of the first-year tournament finals undefeated!

—Waaaahhh!

I stood still, watching as Richard Haulman was teleported back into the tournament grounds after being summoned away to avoid a fatal strike.

He didn’t know I was a superhuman.

And since this wasn’t a Shonen manga, I didn’t bother explaining to him that I had supernatural powers or detail how they worked.

Therefore, he probably thought I had used some bizarre trick.

Of course, I had been using my supernatural powers in previous duels, but I hadn’t utilized this focused application of my Self-Deception skill.

In the end, a fight could be lost in a single moment of vulnerability. I had absorbed all of his attacks, waiting for the right moment to unleash my explosive strength in an instant.

All I needed was to exploit a brief opening.

He had no idea what had hit him. It had to have felt like being possessed by a ghost. He assumed that he had gauged my abilities accurately, only to see me suddenly exert an inexplicably powerful force.

“You... You used some trick, didn’t you... that’s definitely a foul...” Richard Haulman muttered through gritted teeth.

I didn’t bother explaining it to him.

“Lack of information about your opponent is your mistake.”

Even if he cried foul, there were no rules against superhumans participating, so such a complaint would hold no merit.

I had already won, so I had no intention of further provoking or taunting him.

I had achieved victory in the Group A finals.

‘Undefeated.’

I had succeeded in minimizing the use of Mana Reinforcement to achieve that.

Though my duels had been somewhat uneventful, I had continued my undefeated streak by not losing a single bout. The cheers from the audience were deafening.

I had felt a bit nervous at the start of the day, but after experiencing the noise of the crowd a few times, being watched by countless sets of eyes ceased to feel intimidating.

In the audience, many people were watching me.

I was looking at those who hoped for my victory.

I was now going on to the semifinals, and If I won, I’d be going to the finals.

Only two matches remained.

***

I watched all the remaining matches.

Gladen Amorel, like me, finished with three wins and no losses, and did not concede a single bout.

Ludwig emerged with three wins and two losses after a close contest.

Scarlett won her first two bouts, then conceded one, finishing with three wins and one loss.

In the end, despite the varying scores, the people I had expected had made it to the finals.

The students from the special classes—the Royal Class and the Orbis Class—had made it through.

There was a short break after the conclusion of the first-year group matches, and the audience could remain in their seats or take a break.

In addition, the matchups for the semifinals were immediately drawn.

I made eye contact with Scarlett.

“Oh... Reinhart,” she said.

“... Well, it looks like this is how things turned out.”

Scarlett and I were facing off.

“Ludwig, right? Let’s do our best.”

“Absolutely!”

Gladen Amorel was paired against Ludwig.

The three of them were all formidable opponents, so it didn’t matter who I faced; the challenge would be the same.

Mana Reinforcement was the key to this battle. The timing of when to use that limited power and whether I could endure its aftereffects would determine whether I won.

The fact that the finals were the next day was a bit unsettling.

I had thought that this week-long festival was long, but with so many events going on, those participating in them faced a tight schedule.

The tournament finals weren’t the end.

Regardless of whether I won the finals or not, I had to participate in the cross-dressing contest on Wednesday.

“...”

“Reinhart, what’s wrong?” Scarlett asked.

My expression suddenly soured, and Ludwig and Scarlett looked at me with concern.

“Nothing, just...”

“Everyone, great job today!” Charlotte said.

When we left the stadium to return to the dormitory, Charlotte was there to greet us.

Charlotte, together with all of Class B and most of Class A were there to support us. Ellen and Harriet didn’t say much, but their expressions clearly showed their emotions.

“I should have participated too. I could have knocked everyone down with a zap,” Riana said, picking her ear and offering a frivolous comment.

It seemed like everyone was there except for Vertus.

The hopeless trio, Heinrich, and Cliffman were also there.

‘Wait, I saw Cliffman, but were those guys there too? Where had they been?’

It seemed they had been sitting elsewhere, and I just hadn’t noticed them.

Olivia Lanche, Rudina, and Sabioleen Tana were there also, the latter having been assigned as Charlotte’s bodyguard.

“Hey, Reinhart! You’ve really mastered the art of beating people up now, haven’t you?”

“Couldn’t you just say I fought well instead of putting it like that?”

The tiny Rudina laughed heartily as she clung to my arm. “Well, considering how much you’ve been brawling around, it’d be strange if you weren’t good at it by now!”

“We all decided to go eat something delicious together! Let’s go, everyone!”

Both Class A and Class B seemed to have gathered to celebrate the success of all their classmates making it to the finals.

In the original story, Class A and Class B were constantly in competition, always picking fights and tearing each other down, enduring a notoriously bad relationship. Class A would bully Class B, and Class B resented Class A.

Now, students from both classes were mingling, talking to each other, and planning to go somewhere to celebrate this good day.

—Hey, you’re in the Open Tournament, right?

—Ah, yeah.

—I figured you’d do well, but it’s surprising. I heard it’s been a long time since a magic major participated.

—I’ll try my best...

—Yeah, I heard you’re really amazing.

—Not that amazing, really...

Harriet, who didn’t seem particularly close to Charlotte, was having a conversation with her about various things at the head of the group.

“Let’s go, Reinhart.” Ludwig said with a smile as he pulled me by the arm.

Everyone had begun to walk off before me.

I sensed myself becoming part of this scene.

I saw the change in the relationships between these people because of me.

Though it hadn’t been intentional, the result was perfect.

Everything was perfect.

Almost excessively so.