『Well, here we are! The second round of the tournament with a hot card ready from the first match! Our fighter is the B rank adventurer, Mordred! A seasoned fighter who is skilled in the use of spears and molten magic!』
The cheers of the crowds erupted as per usual when Fran walked upon the stage.
（Master. I’ll start by myself.）
『Yeah, I know… I won’t touch him until you ask me to or until we’re about to lose. Urushi, you okay with that?』
（Woof!）
The tournament is a test for Fran. Just like last year, I’m going to leave it all to Fran until the last minute.
『Against him is the strongest 13 year old who won the first round in a blink of an eye! What kind of fight will she show us in this match? You can’t take your eyes off her! Here comes Fran, the hero of the Black Cats!』
Fran and Mordred face each other in the centre, smiling confidently.
「Long time no see.」
「Yeah. I know it hasn’t been that long, but you’ve gotten a lot stronger.」
「You too.」
Fran was right. Mordred had become much stronger. It is not so much that he has acquired new powers, but rather that his overall level has improved.
Name: Mordred Age: 43
Race: Human
Occupation: Skilled Magic Spearman
Status Level: 47/99
HP: 423 MP: 418
STR: 217 VIT: 111 AGI: 237
INT: 218 MAG: 222 DEX: 249
Skills
Concealment: Lv 5, Chant Shortening: Lv 5, Stealth: Lv 3, Evasion: Lv 3, Inferno Magic: Lv 2, Brawling: Lv 2, Crisis Sense: Lv 4, Fear Resistance: Lv 4, Collecting: Lv 3, Leadership: Lv 4, Shooting: Lv 4, Blink: Lv 7, Swimming: Lv 2, Petrification Resistance: Lv 2, Spear Arts: Lv Max, Spear Mastery: Lv Max, Holy Spear Arts: Lv3, Holy Spear Mastery: Lv4, Elemental Sword: Lv5, Heat Resistance: Lv6, Tracking: Lv2, Earth Magic: Lv8, Throwing: Lv3, Poison Resistance: Lv5, Fire Magic: Lv Max, Magic Sense: Lv5, Paralysis Resistance: Lv1, Molten Magic: Lv6, Trap Setting: Lv5, Energy Manipulation, Sahagin Killer, Hawk Eye, Sense of Direction, Split Thinking, Magic Manipulation
Unique Skills
Spellshroud
Title
Sahagin Killer, One who Overcame Death, Giant Killer, Pyromancer, Transcender of the Ordinary
Equipment
Adamantite Alloy Spear, Mithril Alloy Light Armor, Hard Magisteel Gauntlets, Water Demidragon Cloak, Cannon Tortoise Greaves, Bracelet of Abnormal Status Immunity, Magic Staff Ring, Warding Stone
「Well yeah, I can’t let myself stay defeated by someone younger than me. I took a vacation for the first time in a long while and went to a monster den.」
「Monster den? Where did you go?」
Mordred was trying to play it cool, but Fran’s eyes lit up at the mention of the “monster den”.
Mordred gives a bitter smile at Fran’s sudden eagerness before the fight.
「Well, I’ll let you know if you can beat me.」
「Nn! Got it!」
Fran nods and awakens. This is one opponent she won’t be able to beat in her base form.
「I’ll win.」
「You look excited.」
『A battle between B rankers! Will the cunning of the veteran prevail? Or will the young and energetic surpass him? This is a match you can’t miss!』
And so the match began.
Both fighters were quiet at the start.
Fran started to use her footwork to move around the stage while holding me at the ready, while Mordred stood firm and watched Fran’s moves.
Fran was looking for an opening she can jump into. But it was Mordred who made the first move.
「If you aren’t coming, then I’ll go first!」
He read that Fran was about to make a hasty move, and came forward at the perfect moment to catch her off guard.
「Sh-!」
Mordred cleaves the spear horizontally while making a light feint using his eyes.
It was a sharp blow, but Fran wasn’t fooled by such a feint and handled it calmly.
She used me to catch Mordred’s horizontal cleave and used the momentum to get behind him. Or at least that was what Fran was trying to do, but…
「What?」
『Whoa!』
Mordred’s spear bent with a jerk. An adamantite alloy spear. It would be impossible for such a light blow to even cause a scratch.
『Molten magic!』
「!」
He didn’t seem to be chanting so he must have activated it earlier.
The tip of the spear bent at the point where it made contact with me, aiming for Fran’s head. Fran quickly ducked and dodged, but Mordred had already moved on to his next action.
「Hmph!」
「Mwah!」
As soon as the spear, which was wrapped around me like a string, returned to its original stiffness, he pulled me to him with all his might. Not only did he pull me with force, but he also gave the spear a slight twist, so that Fran’s position would be slightly disrupted.
At the same time, Mordred’s armor transformed into a hedgehog-like appearance.
If Fran tries to hold on to me, the needles in his armor will skewer her, and if she lets go of me, she will lose her weapon. Either way, Mordred would have the advantage.
This is what he’s been trying to do from the beginning. He seemed to have been preparing multiple molten spells while pretending to be wary of us.
He is very skillful and had completely taken us by surprise.
However, Fran’s ability to respond was not to be outdone.
「Hah!」
「Whoa?」
Unexpectedly, Fran hit Mordred with her free left hand and right in his torso through the needles.
He might have expected to be attacked in the face, but he certainly did not expect Fran to hit him with her bare hands in such a reckless place.
Fran’s fist was pierced by multiple needles, and a large amount of blood spurted out. However, Fran did not flinch at all and the fist went all the way through.
Mordred grunts and backed up a few meters. He must have sensed that he was going to be severely damaged if he stayed where he was, so he flew back.
He had not let go of his spear, but he was off his balance and then, Fran came in. It was a change of attack and defense.
Fran shakes off her left fist, which was still covered with blood, with a gesture as if she was stroking air causing a large amount of blood to splatter onto Mordred’s face.
She used the blood to blind Mordred but he calmly brushes it off with his cloak and backs away further.
Fran, perhaps not expecting him to be unfazed, stops chasing and slows down.
The distance between them is about the same as when we started.
「You’re being reckless.」
「Yeah? But you weren’t surprised at all.」
「Sometimes guys use blood as a weapon.」
Fran’s idea of a surprise attack was not so unusual for Mordred.
「But like I thought, I’m at a disadvantage fighting face to face. I’ll give it my all right now rather than saving this for the finals.」
「No! I won’t let you!」
Mordred pulls something out of the bag at his waist. It’s a familiar potion. It must be Mordred’s trump card, used when we were together on a previous mission. A molten magic super-enhancement potion.
At this tournament, recovery potions are forbidden, but magic potions are not. I didn’t quite understand what the difference was, but I heard that only the various types of recovery potions were forbidden in this tournament.
That is to say, enhancement drugs and poisons are allowed. This may be because many contestants use them as a part of their combat.
This tournament isn’t a honorable practice duel to decide who is the strongest. This is a competition for adventurers to show who comes out on top with no holds barred.
Fran tries to stop him with magic but it gets blocked when it reaches him. It was the effect of the warding stone, an item used to create a disposable barrier. He must have brought it for this occasion.
The well-prepared Mordred downed the potion and immediately afterwards, I could tell that his magic power increased several times over.
