(Calm down. This is a mock battle. This is the place to test whether the anti-personnel tactics I’ve devised can actually work against a man like Warren.)
I repeated my objective to myself, steadying my agitated heart.
"—[Restoration: Octuple]."
With my physical abilities pushed even higher, I charged Warren head-on once more to close the distance.
Up until a moment ago, I had been employing various schemes with magic as my primary focus. Now, I chose to pivot, leveraging my enhanced physical specs to clash with him through pure, raw power.
From our previous exchanges, Warren seemed to be on high alert for another magical feint. He was so focused on guarding against magic that he couldn't keep up with my speed—or rather, that was the hope, but naturally, reality wasn't so kind. He intercepted my high-speed strikes with Schwarzhase perfectly using his own sword.
Thanks to [Restoration], my swings were heavier and sharper than his. I intended to simply overwhelm him with force, but Warren’s blade work suddenly shifted.
If his previous style could be described as "hard," his current movements were the definition of "soft." My sword’s path was parried as effortlessly as if he were using a twin-bladed sword like Will's. Before I could register the change, a magic tool resembling a small wand appeared in Warren’s left hand. It triggered instantly, and an explosion blossomed right in front of me.
"—Gugh!"
I used the blast to propel myself backward, putting distance between us. I had managed to manifest a magic barrier in the nick of time to offset the brunt of the explosion, so the damage wasn't severe, but it marked the first time I’d actually been hit in this duel.
Warren moved to close the gap without a second's delay, so I deployed a [Reflective Wall] to obstruct his path. Seeing the barrier materialize, Warren came to a halt.
"That last attack had another level of sharpness to it. I take it you’ve reached the essence of the Six Basic Types of Support Magic as well?"
Now that we had some breathing room, Warren spoke again.
The Six Basic Types of Support Magic worked by using mana to forcibly activate the "Ki" of the target. In other words, the "essence" Warren referred to was almost certainly Ki itself.
"……Yes. Did you master it on your own, Warren-sama?"
"Something like that. No one believed me when I tried to explain it, and even among those who did, no one could master the art of self-buffing. For a while, I thought it might just be my unique ability, but it seems I was wrong."
It had been about ten years since I became an explorer, but the only person I’d ever heard mention support magic that didn't rely on spell formulas—and by extension, the concept of Ki—aside from this moment, was Haruto-san from Copper Afterglow. As far as I knew, only three people were aware of Ki: Haruto-san, Fuuka, and now Warren.
Since Haruto-san and Fuuka were both from Kyokutou, I’d initially assumed it was a well-known concept in the eastern part of the continent and had done some research. However, it didn't seem like the existence of Ki was common knowledge there, either. I knew from experience that mastering Ki required grueling training, but I believed it was well worth the effort.
And yet, the knowledge hadn't spread, and Haruto-san had even gone so far as to swear me to secrecy. I could form several hypotheses as to why, but they all lacked evidence. I really needed to draw more information out of Haruto-san eventually.
……Wait, I was getting sidetracked. I had to focus on the man in front of me.
"I’d certainly like to hear more about that later."
"Haha! Very well. Provided you can beat me, of course!"
◇
From that point on, I threw every tactic in my repertoire at Warren. A few of them came close to landing, but he dealt with every single one. None of my moves proved to be a decisive blow. Conversely, I managed to handle all of Warren’s attacks as well. We both took a bit of damage, but nothing that would prevent us from continuing.
"……Phew. Well, I suppose that’s enough."
After a grueling series of exchanges, Warren suddenly muttered those words and let his combat aura fade, returning to his usual relaxed demeanor.
"Does this mean the mock battle is over?" I asked, lowering my guard.
"Yeah. I’m satisfied. Besides, all we both have left are the things we’d rather keep hidden, right? If you really want to keep going, I’ll indulge you, but what do you think?"
I had a feeling Warren was holding back quite a bit. One of the biggest differences between soldiers and explorers was the use of various magic tools in combat, yet the tools Warren had used were, for the most part, things even I recognized. For a man so close to the heart of the kingdom, it wouldn't be strange at all for him to possess cutting-edge magic weapons developed by the state.
At the very least, it was certain that he wasn't going all out. Similarly, I had decided not to use [Impact], [Alteration], or [Culmination]. The purpose of this mock battle was to gain experience in anti-personnel combat; I had no intention of revealing my final trump cards here.
"No, I’ve been able to test everything I wanted to, so I’m fine with ending it here. Warren-sama, thank you for this valuable opportunity."
"The pleasure's mine. I enjoyed myself more than I expected. My thanks to you too. ……Selma-chan, is that alright?"
"Yes," Selma replied. "I was merely observing the proceedings. As long as both parties are satisfied, I have no objections."
The ending was a bit abrupt, but the mock battle with Warren drew to a close with a draw.
◇
After the duel, we decided to move up the final strategy meeting for the 93rd Floor conquest. By the time we finished, the sun had long since set. I found myself waiting for Warren in a private room of a restaurant in the city of Roils.
After the mock battle, Warren had asked for a chance to speak with me one-on-one.
"Aah, sorry to keep you waiting."
A short while after I arrived, Warren stepped into the room.
"Not at all. I only just got here myself."
"Glad to hear it. Come on, let's have a drink. I’ve been running around like crazy even after the fight, so the ale should taste great tonight."
"Understood. I’ll join you."
Once our drinks arrived, Warren tilted his mug and drained it with gusto.
"Pwah! Nothing beats that first glass after work!"
The meal began with casual, lighthearted conversation.
"—Now then, shall we move on to the serious talk?" Warren eventually said, his tone shifting. "I imagine you have plenty you want to ask, don't you? You’ve been good company for these drinks, so I’ll answer what I can."
"Thank you. I’ll take you up on that, then. First, why was I the only one invited here? I’m honored, of course, but I’m curious if there was a reason you didn't want Selma or the members of the First Unit to be present."
"Well, it makes sense that you'd wonder. To put it simply, I didn't really want Selma-chan to hear what we’re about to discuss. And since it would have been awkward to invite the other four while leaving her out, I figured I'd just pull you aside alone."
"…………"
The unexpected answer caught me off guard. Did that mean the upcoming topic was something I shouldn't share with Selma? Regardless of my intent, the tension in the room spiked.
"Before the mock battle, you said that if you won, you wanted to know why I’d asked for a duel in the first place, right?"
"Yes. I couldn't imagine a man as busy as you would spare that kind of time without a specific reason."
"I’d intended to tell you eventually anyway, so I’ll give you the reason now. There were several factors, so I can't sum it up in a single sentence, but the biggest reason was that I thought I could offer some advice as a senior explorer—or more accurately, as a senior 'Hero'."
"……As a 'Hero'? Do you mean regarding our mindset or public image?"
The title of "Hero" was essentially an honorary label given to any explorer party that reached a new floor in the Great Labyrinth of the South. Similar titles existed for the other labyrinths: "Monarch" for the North, and "Sage" for the East. In modern times, the word "Hero" didn't carry much weight; the real Hero was the figure from fairy tales known as the "King of Special Ability Users."
Since the previous Hero Party, Golden Dawn, had disbanded, there were currently no explorers who officially held the title. If we—the Silver Rabbit of the Night Sky—managed to conquer the 94th Floor and reach the 95th, the public would start calling us "Heroes."
I assumed Warren was going to advise me on how to carry myself once we reached that milestone, but he shook his head at my question.
"No, no. Being a 'Hero' is just something the public makes a fuss about. The title itself? It’s meaningless. There’s no rule or obligation that says you have to be some paragon of virtue just because people call you that. You were in Golden Dawn; you should know that better than anyone. The advice I’m talking about is this: You should assume that you’ve already been marked as targets."
"Targets…… You mean we’re facing malice from a third party?"
"Yeah. No point in beating around the bush, so I’ll give it to you straight. The organization that has you in its sights is the natural enemy of all explorers: 'Amunzaas'."