Part 1: Chapter 6 – Bout. Vs Reviel

“…Welcome to the underground guild arena.”

Reviel announced.

Saying it was the perfect place, he had guided us into the guild building. And then deeper in. The place was located on a wide open floor that was reached through a staircase going underground.

The underground guild arena.

It was very sparse, with only the minimum furnishings.

“Well, I just call it that. We usually use this place for the promotion exams for party ranks, etcetera.”

He explained as he continued to walk.
And once there was twenty meters between us, he stopped and turned to face me.
By then, Yorha had moved to the corner of the ‘arena.’

And then Reviel thrust both hands towards me and said a single word.

“…Dragneel.”

At this word, the plain silver ring on his middle finger began to glow.
After a moment, the light moved from the ring to cover both of Reviel’s arms entirely… And once the blinding light faded, his arms were equipped with gauntlets that looked like they were from a dragon.

“…An Artifact. And it looks like a very expensive one too.”
“Aye. I found it by accident when I was an Adventurer. And since it was so convenient, I’ve never stopped using it.”

The treasures hidden in the dungeon.
Some of them were called ‘Artifacts.’

While they had clearly been crafted by someone, no one knew how they had been made.
And aside from the fact that they could occasionally be found in dungeons, there was nothing else that people knew about them. They are treasures shrouded in mystery.

However, these Artifacts contained great power within, and so there was not one Adventurer who was ambitious, who wouldn’t give an arm or leg for one of them.

“Now, show me what you have. I’ve heard about it. You fight with a sword, yes?”

He said, and then I remembered.

“…Ah, that’s right. I had forgotten.”

Yes, I was allowed to use a sword now.

“…Huh?”

Reviel narrowed his brows suspiciously.

“…Uh, well… In the Gardana palace, the people have a strong sense of superiority. …They believe that only nobles should use swords. And so I wasn’t able to wield one for four years.”

For four years I had the mentality that I could not use a sword in front of other people. And so I did not have the option of quickly being able to prepare one.

In fact, it felt like there were nothing but restrictions when I had been working as a court magician.

I was forbidden from using a sword.
As for magic, the prince would always want to defeat the enemies, and would not listen to me. And if I dared use magic that he could not use, he would say it was insolent of me, and become furious.

And to make matters worse, I was made to carry all of their belongings. That meant that I could not use both of my arms as much as I would like.
And so using support magic to help them was the biggest contribution that I could manage.

“However, there is no need to worry. While I haven’t used a sword in front of others for a few years, I have not been slacking off either.”
“Hah. Is that so? I see.”

I continued, as it was obvious the Reviel was now worried on my behalf.

The king’s order had been to keep the prince alive.
And so even if I wasn’t normally allowed to use it, I couldn’t allow myself to get rusty on a potential method of attack.
That’s why I could still use a sword.

“…Magic sword.”

I thrust out my right hand, just like Reviel had done a moment ago, and then a pale sword appeared in my hand.

“Do you want to make the first move? Your choice.”

Reviel said.
He had a beastly smile and appraising eyes. He was already measuring me to see what I was worth.

And his expression showed complete confidence as well. There was not a shred of him that thought that he was going to lose. It made me want to knock him off his feet, just a little.

And so I purposely chose words that would provoke him.

“Your consideration is unneeded.”
“Haha. Really!? In that case, you won’t want me to hold back either?”

That…was the signal to start.

In the next instant, Reviel’s right hand thrust out, and his fist opened.
At the same time, I hit the ground with the tip of my right foot.

“…Spell Boost.”

The high-pitched sound of ringing metal echoed through the room. Immediately after, silver magic circles appeared between us at equal intervals.

And just as Reviel took his first step forward, he shot out, just like an arrow, and disappeared, leaving only an afterimage.
By moving through the magic circles, he was casting accelerating support magic on himself multiple times…

However, opponents that use such direct attacks were often the easiest to deal with.

“Thunder Bolt.”

I activated the magic circle that I had prepared earlier when hitting the ground.

“Hey, hey, hey!! Don’t think that you can stop me so easily!!!”

I know.
You don’t have to tell me that.

And so…

“Five!!”

Not in just one direction, but I activated in every direction in different locations all at once.
Thanks to Spell Boost, I knew exactly where Reviel would come from, and so my magic was sure to hit him.

No matter how fast my opponent was, I was confident that I could hit him with my even faster attack.

“Oh?”

A blinding flash of light. A merciless thunder attack was unleashed from the five layers of magic.
I saw Reviel’s expression of surprise right before it happened.

However, he just rushed through it. And in spite of being hit…

“…But that is still not enough.”

Not enough to stop him.

But I had hit him directly. And yet the familiar voice rang as he charged through the cloud of dust.

Eventually, my magic sword clashed with his dragon gauntlets.

“…!”

As he’d been running, there was more force with his charge compared to me.
And so the weight was extreme. I gritted my teeth and tried to hold my position, but soon realized that it was impossible.

“You…”

If I couldn’t block the attack head on, then I just had to turn it away.
And so I forcefully twisted my body and swept the attack so that it moved behind me…!!

“…Oh!?

He probably thought that I would hold for a little longer.
It was easier than I thought it would be, and as Reviel lost his balance due to the sudden loss of resisting force in front of him, I went on to attack.

This was an opportunity that I was not going to waste.

As Reviel was likely clutching the handle of his sword tightly and stumbling forward, I would try to unleash a horizontal slash.
But…

“You’re too slow!”

The sight that I expected to see was not there. Somehow, he had stopped in his tracks, already in an offensive stance as he smirked at me.

And so blade and gauntlets clashed once again.
Sparks flew and the sounds of metal rang through the room.

Next Chapter

A Court Magician A Court Magician Who Was Focused On Supportive Magic Because His Allies Were Too Weak Aims To Become The Strongest After Being Banished Aims To Become The Strongest After Being Banished