Rei watched the blade of the longsword whistle past him, then swung the butt end of the Death Scythe in a scooping counter-strike.
It was an attack aimed at the feet, catching his opponent off guard because he had focused all his concentration on his previous heavy swing. Rhodos realized his mistake and tried to dodge, but he wasn’t fast enough. He went sprawling onto the ground.
Before he could recover, the blade of the Death Scythe was pressed against his neck.
"Ow... Dammit!"
Frustrated at taking such a clean hit, Rhodos slammed his empty left hand against the dirt.
Rei pulled the scythe away and looked down at him. "Increasing the power of your strikes is fine, but concentrating so hard on offense that your defense turns lax is a bad habit. Especially in the Main Tournament, where so many skilled fighters are gathered. You might get away with it for the first strike or two, but they’ll see through you in an instant as the fight goes on."
"I know that!" Rhodos snapped irritably. He scrambled to his feet and leveled his longsword at Rei once more.
They were in the same secluded ruins where Rei had previously trained Ruzy’s party. With almost no foot traffic, it was the perfect spot for a mock battle. Moreover, this was no ordinary practice session. They weren't using the blunt training tools common for such things; both Rei and Rhodos were wielding their actual weapons.
Of course, using the Death Scythe for a mock battle was inherently reckless. It was unnervingly light in Rei’s hands, yet those it struck felt the weight of over a hundred kilograms slamming into them. It was a complete absurdity, a magic item born of Beast Magic. To his opponents, it felt like an unfair joke.
In truth, had Rei been using a normal spear—or had he lacked his inhuman physical strength—Rhodos might have managed to handle that last leg sweep.
Complaining about an opponent's stats or gear is just making excuses, Rhodos thought. He took a deep breath to push down his frustration and stood his ground. He knew he was lucky just to have this opportunity. Usually, an adventurer wouldn't get to cross blades with someone of Rei's caliber.
Father is the exception, I suppose. He thought of Elk, the A-Rank adventurer with an epithet, as he shifted back into a combat stance.
"Come," Rei said simply.
Rhodos didn't waste any breath on a reply. He lunged, unleashing his Consecutive Thrusts. It was a technique that had improved by leaps and bounds during their recent training sessions. Rei had to admit the boy had talent; ten thrusts flashed forward in a matter of seconds.
Rei parried them all. He used the shaft, the butt end, and even the blade of the scythe to knock the strikes aside. No matter how fast the flurry was, it couldn't last forever. As Rhodos began to flag, his speed dropped. Rei saw his opening and swept at the boy’s feet with the butt end part of the scythe again.
Rhodos sensed it and leaped backward. He wasn't about to fall for the same trick twice.
However, that was the extent of his defense. Because he had forced a jump while out of breath, he was left momentarily immobile upon landing. Rei didn't miss the window. He kicked off the ground and closed the distance instantly.
Rhodos could only watch as the gap vanished and the massive blade was once again leveled at his throat.
Rei held the pose for a few seconds before shouldering the weapon. "Your thrusts are top-tier. But because you rely on them so much, your movements are becoming easy to read. You need to be careful."
Rhodos found that his normal attacks couldn't touch Rei, so he fell back on the thrusts. The more he relied on them, the more he practiced them, and the more his speed and precision grew—but having only one specialty made him predictable once seen through.
"Maybe you should think about derivatives," Rei suggested.
"Derivatives?"
"Yeah. Like when I stopped your sword with my bare hands back at the inn. You changed your thrust into a slash mid-motion, remember? Like that."
Rhodos nodded, recalling the training session with the Wind Dragon Fang in the courtyard of the Eternal Sky Inn. "Yeah, I caught you off guard then."
"...And the result was you catching it with your bare hands. I still don't want to believe that actually happened."
Rei started to reply with a shrug, then suddenly froze. He felt several presences nearby.
(Is this... murderous intent?)
He tightened his grip on the Death Scythe. It was a subtle change, but Rhodos had been training with him long enough to recognize the shift. He didn't know what was happening, but he knew something was wrong. He gripped his own sword hilt tight.
A sharp clink of metal rang out.
Rei had parried something mid-air. Rhodos looked around frantically and spotted a needle, about 20cm long, buried in the dirt.
"...They seem skilled," Rei muttered. He looked toward a masked figure whose face was completely hidden. Several more needles were tucked between the man's fingers.
"Needles, huh?" Rei wasn't particularly surprised. They were a rare weapon, but he’d seen Byune use them in the Exil dungeon. He knew exactly how annoying they could be. They were thinner and sharper than arrows, making them almost impossible for a normal adventurer to knock away. They didn't have much stopping power on their own, unless...
"Rhodos, watch out. Those are poisoned."
"What!?" Rhodos looked at the needle in the ground. The dirt and weeds around it were already turning a sickly, dark color. It was a potent toxin.
"There are several more nearby," Rei warned. "They’re waiting for an opening. Keep your eyes open."
"Got it." Rhodos squeezed his hilt, his face pale. Despite his resolve, the tip of his sword was trembling; the mock battle with Rei had drained most of his stamina.
(Is this some rival trying to clear the field for the tournament? Or someone after me as 'Crimson'?) Rei wondered.
The rewards for the tournament were immense. Even if no one expected to beat the S-Rank adventurer Noise, the prizes for second or third place—money, magic items, and offers of service—were life-changing. Sabotaging a rival before the Main Tournament was a classic move.
Then again, Crimson was a sworn enemy of the Bestia Empire. Given what he’d done at the Seremuse Plain, it made sense for assassins to target him and his student.
"Requiem Bell?" Rei asked.
The masked figure flinched. Rei took that moment of agitation as confirmation. In reality, the man was from a different organization entirely, and had merely been rattled by the name of the Empire’s most infamous assassin guild.
The assassin glanced at his surroundings, looking for support. Rei didn't let the opening pass. He lunged, closing the gap before the man could throw another needle.
"Pain Burst!"
Rei triggered the skill to double the agony of the strike. The scythe sliced through the air, catching the assassin across the abdomen as he tried to leap away.
"Gah! Aaaaghhh!"
Blood sprayed. He had escaped being cut in half, but a deep horizontal gash now ran across his stomach. It wasn't a lethal wound, but the man shrieked in absolute agony. He knew from experience how much a cut like that should hurt—but the pain he felt now was astronomical.
Worse, his specially made chainmail had been useless. It was designed to stop longswords, yet the Death Scythe had cut through it like wet paper.
"Damn... he's a monster... just like they said..." the man groaned, his voice revealing him to be male.
Rei considered capturing him for interrogation, but the other assassins weren't about to let that happen. Seeing that attacking Rei was suicide, they switched targets to the exhausted boy nearby.
Four presences hidden in the shadows directed their murderous intent at Rhodos. Four daggers whistled through the air from different angles.
"Rhodos!"
"I'm on it!" Rhodos swung his sword to parry, but his fatigue slowed him down. He managed to knock away two of the blades. Rei used a Flying Slash to destroy a third, but the fourth dagger flew straight for the boy's right shoulder.
"Water Ball!"
A voice cut through the ruins. A sphere of water the size of a human head slammed into the dagger just before it could strike Rhodos.
Rhodos blinked, then looked toward the newcomers with relief.
It was the Wind Dragon Fang. Ruzy, the muscular warrior, was already charging one of the hidden attackers with his claymore. Veikyul, the woman with the daggers, was closing in on another. Most, the mage, stood back with his staff, scanning the area.
Seeing the arrival of a veteran C-Rank party, the remaining assassins realized the tide had turned. They threw several round objects onto the ground.
Thick smoke erupted, masking their retreat.
"Don't you dare run!" Rei pulled a dagger from his Misty Ring and threw it into the fog. He heard the sound of metal biting into flesh and a muffled cry, but by the time the smoke cleared, the assassins were gone. Only a few drops of blood remained on the stones.
"Tch. If I'd used a spear, I could've ended them in one go..." Rei spat, annoyed. He was faster with a dagger, but he'd sacrificed the lethal power of his spear throw. He’d wounded one, but he hadn't secured the kill.