The mock battle between Rei and the fighters prepared by the nobles was, in many ways, irregular.
First and foremost, holding multiple mock battles rather than a single one was strange in itself. While there were certainly mock battles where one person faced many opponents, the sheer number of people gathered this time was somewhat excessive.
That said, not many possessed the ability to fight in a mock battle against Rei, Bearer of the Crimson Moniker. When it was framed as an opportunity to properly gauge Rei's abilities, most were convinced.
Normally, Rei could have complained, but since he was receiving a Wind Magic Stone from Liberte as compensation, he had no particular dissatisfaction with fighting a large number of opponents. The fact that he had nothing in particular to do since arriving in Anesis and was at something of a loss for how to pass the time was also a major factor—though even with free time, his honest feeling was that he would prefer to avoid having his body measured for clothes if at all possible.
"Then, I would like to begin the first round of the mock battle! Those fighting Crimson Rei are... first, these ten!"
So saying, the Host gestured toward the Fleeing Adventurers facing Rei.
It was a rather exaggerated gesture, but the Audience, elated by the festive atmosphere and the opportunity to watch an Alias Holder in a mock battle, cheered at the Host's theatrics.
"These are the adventurers who wished to try a mock battle against an Alias Holder! They know their own inexperience, yet they still want to see how far their current strength can carry them against an Alias Holder adventurer! Just how far can C-Rank and D-Rank adventurers—those already considered full-fledged—press the challenge!"
At the Host's words, a few of those about to fight Rei displayed unpleasant expressions. They didn't think they could win against him, but being spoken of with the premise of their defeat was apparently unpalatable.
"Hey, calm down. If it bothers you, just show them what you've got in the mock battle, right?"
Whether he was an acquaintance of the displeased man or not, a nearby man told him this. At that voice, the man came back to himself, and the others also reached a state of readiness.
Confirming this, the Host turned his gaze toward Rei.
Still empty-handed, Rei met the Host's gaze and withdrew the Death Scythe and the Twilight Spear from his Misty Ring.
A massive scythe and a crimson spear.
Those who had seen Rei fight before would not have been surprised to see him like this, but the majority of those present were seeing his weapons with their own eyes for the first time. Because of that, the fact that a small-statured person like Rei was holding both a scythe and a spear one-handed was simply unbelievable, and a loud commotion arose.
For the Fleeing Adventurers in particular, since they actually carried weapons themselves, they could estimate just how heavy Rei's were. They might be able to hold one one-handed too, but manipulating it freely was another matter entirely. This alone was enough to make them recognize Rei as a being outside the bounds of their understanding.
In reality, the Twilight Spear aside, the Death Scythe possessed a special ability that made it feel virtually weightless—though only for Rei and Set—so it was not heavy for him at all.
"Oh! What Crimson Rei has drawn are a giant scythe and a red spear! The famous great scythe known as Crimson Rei's weapon, and a spear that even a layman like myself can tell is a fine piece. Normally, weapons of this type are both what are commonly called longarms, generally wielded with both hands... but incredibly, Rei can wield those two longarms one in each hand! As a confirmation of the rules, falling to the ground counts as a loss. Normally, combat would continue from there, but due to the large number of participants this time, such a rule has been established! Additionally, leaving the stage also counts as a loss!"
At the Host's words, the Audience raised voices of bewilderment and surprise. The rules aside, they simply could not believe that Rei could wield both a scythe and a spear simultaneously. But seeing him standing there holding them without difficulty, they could be almost certain that he could handle both weapons at the same time. Since he was wearing the hood of his Dragon Robe, they couldn't tell what kind of expression he actually wore.
Regardless, the sight of Rei holding weapons that even they could not easily wield made the Fleeing Adventurers momentarily falter. That they immediately steeled themselves again was likely because they understood this was a mock battle.
"Let's go! Our opponent is an Alias Holder adventurer. We're getting paid to have a mock battle with such an opponent, so for us this should be exactly what we wished for!"
So shouting, the adventurer with the longsword was the first to charge. As if chasing after him, the others also broke into a run simultaneously.
Ten people—moreover, people accustomed to rough work—charging all at once carried an intense force all on its own. In fact, those who had come as spectators held their breath at the sight.
But Rei, in the position of receiving that charge, showed no sign of tension at all, simply waiting for the adventurers rushing toward him.
Since Rei frequently engaged in bandit hunting, he was well accustomed to facing multiple opponents at once. Normally, the best approach would be to charge forward and attack the incoming adventurers himself, but since this was a mock battle, he judged that the opponents needed their moment to shine as well, and waited without moving from his spot.
Some of the nobles, seeing Rei show no sign of moving even as the adventurers charged at him, directed contemptuous looks at him, thinking he was frightened. But Rei, naturally, paid no attention to such gazes whatsoever.
"Uoooooooooooooooooh!"
The first to attack Rei was, as one might expect, the man with the longsword who had charged first. Right behind him was a woman holding a spear, and further behind and to the sides were the other adventurers.
Rei waited for his opponent's actions, then caught the first strike from the longsword of the man who had been running at the front with the Twilight Spear in his left hand, deflecting it along the shaft. It was a strike with plenty of weight behind it, but the deflection caused the man to lose his balance, and in the next moment Rei swept his legs out from under him with the butt cap of the Death Scythe in his right hand, sending him tumbling right there.
Being an adventurer, the man somehow managed to at least keep from hitting his head when he fell, but the impact of his body striking the ground meant he would be unable to move for several dozen seconds.
For the time being, Rei shifted his awareness away from that man and dealt with the woman with the spear who had been coming right behind him.
The thrust, released straight forward, carried decent speed and sharpness. But conversely, it was only decent, and for Rei, evading it was not difficult.
He dodged the spear with only a slight movement of his body, then used the Twilight Spear that had just deflected the longsword's strike to entangle the spear's shaft—and in the next instant, the woman's spear was sent flying into the air.
Rei then swung the butt cap of the Death Scythe to sweep the legs of the woman, who stood dumbfounded at her weapon vanishing from her hands in an instant, toppling her just as he had done to the previous man.
However, from here it was different from before.
Without stopping the motion of the Death Scythe that had swept the woman's legs, Rei swept the legs of two people who were attacking him from the side. The two crashed to the ground almost simultaneously, and Rei swung the Twilight Spear toward the next attacker.
And so, one after another, the Fleeing Adventurers had their legs swept and tumbled to the ground. A few of them likely sustained leg injuries, but none had gone so far as to break anything.
The last one remaining was a single Elf holding a bow.
Originally, he was supposed to exploit the opening while his comrades—though they were merely a team by coincidence—fought Rei, and shoot arrows with blunted arrowheads. But when the mock battle actually took place, it turned into a one-sided affair where Rei simply demolished them, leaving no room at all for him to loose an arrow.
"Well then... what will you do? You're the only one left. Do you intend to fight me?"
"...I do. This is a rare mock battle against an Alias Holder. Given that, if I do not fight here, I would not understand what I am here for."
With those words, an arrow was loosed from the Elf's hand. The arrow flew straight toward Rei, but in the next instant it was effortlessly struck down by the Death Scythe.
Glancing at the arrow that fell to the ground in two pieces, Rei walked forward toward the Elf.
Judging that he had no chance of winning if his arrow could be blocked like that, the Elf discarded his bow and drew the dagger at his waist.
"Come."
The moment Rei said that, the Elf surged forward. But since his primary weapon was a bow, he apparently could not put much force into the dagger. His step-in was one level—no, two levels—below that of the longsword man who had first charged at Rei.
Was it somewhat disappointing? Rei did not entirely dismiss that thought, but as the distance between him and the Elf closed, the Elf's speed suddenly increased.
I see.
Moving slowly at first, then suddenly changing speed right before his eyes. What the Elf was doing was simple, but having something like that done suddenly right in front of him would naturally cause confusion. That said, that was only the case for an ordinary adventurer. Even if the Elf tried something like suddenly changing speed, it was not so surprising for Rei.
In the end, the Elf had his legs swept by the butt cap of the Death Scythe and fell, and the first round of the mock battle ended in a complete victory for Rei.
"That's it! The first round goes to Rei!"
The moment the Host announced that, no small number of the Audience raised voices of despair. They were likely those who, not knowing just how much strength Rei possessed, had bet on him losing in the first round. That said, since handling ten opponents alone was normally an extremely difficult feat, it was not exactly a major miscalculation.
Those who knew just how strong a man Rei was raised voices of joy, having also avoided losing their bets right out of the gate.
"Phew."
Letting out a small breath, Rei surveyed his surroundings. He could see the Fleeing Adventurers getting up and leaving. Among them were some whose leg injuries prevented them from standing, but the Guards stationed by the stage lent them their shoulders and led them away.
Did I go a little too far? But they said there were people who could use potions and Recovery Magic, so it shouldn't be a problem, right?
As Rei watched the Fleeing Adventurers leave the stage, the Host spoke.
"Incredible! Truly lightning fast! Even though there were ten opponents, Rei overwhelmed them all by himself! As expected of one who bears the Crimson moniker!"
At those words, the Audience's excitement rose even higher. The Host was skilled at whipping up the crowd.
"But... how-ev-er! The next opponents are a little different from those adventurers. That is because they are Knights in the service of the Count Lremeela Family!"
Hearing that they were knights serving a noble, the Audience's gazes turned toward the stage. What ascended were five people. In terms of numbers, they were only half of the previous group of adventurers, but that likely meant they were that much more elite.
Thinking about it normally, there's no need to gather people weaker than the ones who went before.
Perhaps noticing that Rei was looking at them, several of the Knights turned eyes filled with fighting spirit toward him. The five wore matching armor, each one asserting their status as knights.
"Then, since both sides seem ready... the second round of the mock battle, begin!"
At the Host's words, the Knights charged straight at Rei. However, unlike the previous adventurers, every one of them understood what they were supposed to do, and even without exchanging words, all were trying to fulfill their respective roles.
Two with longswords, two with spears, one with a war hammer.
The last man holding the war hammer appeared to be proud of his strength, standing nearly two meters tall. A blow from the war hammer swung by that massive body, if it landed squarely, seemed powerful enough to easily kill a person even in a mock battle.
Could they be the men of a noble who intends to kill me? ...But I don't sense any killing intent.
What was reflected in the Knights' eyes was not killing intent, but fighting spirit. Facing the strong enemy that was Rei, they appeared to want to test just how far their own strength would carry them.
In that case... let me give them a taste first.
So judging, Rei took a step forward, the Death Scythe and the Twilight Spear in hand.