Manowa

Chapter 193 - Let"s Have a Violent Nosebleed

◎ Param City, Kuzunomia Large Public Bath

「Fuu . As expected of a hot spring, right?」

They floated as Louise stretched while immersed in the hot water .

Param City was one of Hyvern"s famous health resorts . It wasn"t as high cla.s.s as the city they previously visited Shirodieh . It could be best described as a city matching the common people"s taste . Louise and the others had come to the large public bath in that city .

「Uu, why, even though she"s an elf . . . rather, even though we"re supposed to be blood related . . . 」

Emily groaned while watching Louise"s splendid things . What is up with genetics? The difference between Emily and Louise was large enough to make someone think that .

「Louise-san is your great-great-grandmother, isn"t she? It"s strange . 」

Tiara let out a little chuckle . It seemed Tiara found the fact that Louise was Emily"s great-great-grandmother funny, since the two could only be seen as sisters at most .

「Well, it isn"t that rare among the elves, though . 」

Louise said . In fact, it seemed that around three or four generations could only be seen as sisters, and Tiara was taught from Louise that the way long-lived species thought about such things also differed from humans .

Though elves were a race that basically had modest chests and indifferent personalities . Louise herself recognized that her extremely opposite way of life was actually quite far from the norm of long-lived species .

「So then, Kazane is with that idiotic guy?」

Louise asked Yumika about Kazane not being there .

「Yeah . Master is acting as an observer . He said it"s a good opportunity . 」

Tiara seemed worried after Yumika"s light reply .

「But that man seemed crude . I"m worried about Kazane . 」

It seemed Tiara found the man named Angus difficult to deal with . Louise replied「It"ll be fine」to rea.s.sure Tiara .

「Well, I don"t think he"s a bad guy . Besides, Jinrai-kun is also with her . 」

Yumika also nodded after Louise"s words . Contrary to Tiara, it seemed Yumika rated Angus highly .

(I guess fellow warrior types can understand each other . I"m not interested in men who are too dumb like that, though . )

While thinking that, Louise immersed herself up to her shoulders .

◎ Near Param City, Gra.s.slands

At the same time that Yumika and the others were taking a bath . Kazane, Jinrai, Naoki, and Angus with his followers were in the gra.s.slands near Param City .

Jinrai suggested to Kazane that she should challenge Angus, and Angus and Kazane were now going to have a mock battle in front of Jinrai and the others .

「So, why is Aneki and that man going to fight?」

Naoki couldn"t allow his sister to be alone with only other men and had followed them out there, and before the battle began, he asked that question to Jinrai .

「Hm . What do you think about how Kazane fights?」

「Aneki? I think it"s pretty amazing . I think she"s stronger than me . 」

In fact, as far as Naoki could see, Kazane"s kicking was splendid . He had heard it was a Skill acquired from a monster, and Naoki didn"t think he, at least, would be able to win .

「That might be so for the current you . But if your sword training continues as it is, it won"t be long until you won"t lose to Kazane, at least due to the extra range granted by using a sword . 」

「Hmm . Is that so?」

Naoki couldn"t imagine it . While Naoki"s current swordsmanship had also been shaped by Ori, it was mostly self-taught . It was currently being gradually corrected, but Naoki"s idea of ​​thinking of his sword as only one means of attack was similar to Kazane .

「So, Kazane . As a magician, she can act as artillery perfectly fine . She can also fight well if she can maintain a little distance, but that way of fighting relies mainly on kicking . Actually, the way she does things now is basically fine, but if she were to face a cla.s.s of opponent like me, Yumika, or that Angus, it would be difficult for Kazane to make the best use of that kicking . 」

Jinrai declared「She would be completely seen through . 」

「I have also done a few mock battles with her . While Kazane can use what she possesses reasonably well, it seems mastery is difficult . 」

Perhaps she could gain mastery by raising her Skill『Warrior"s Memory』to Lv . 2 . But Kazane merely used『Killing Leg』to raise the power of her kicks and『Nimble』to increase her overall physical ability; in other words, it seemed she wasn"t able to sublimate any kicking techniques .

「I"ve faced many swordsmen with my spear, so I can teach sword techniques to a certain extent, but as might be expected, I don"t have such knowledge when it comes to kicking . 」

「Then you"ll have her study under that guy?」

Jinrai smiled at Naoki"s uneasy expression .

「I"m not intending for it to go that far . Well, it seemed like she was troubled by that guy, so I simply wondered what might happen if she tried competing against an opponent with a similar style . 」

Kazane consulted Jinrai after fighting the Kobold Blue . The attacks using those spell daggers were certainly strong, but Jinrai told her they also wouldn"t be difficult to deal with once the movements were known . Jinrai was a bit of a special case, since he would win even against the Wolf G.o.d Transformation, and it was true she would have no problems with up to intermediate cla.s.s opponents . But Kazane"s a.s.sumption was an expert level opponent like Jinrai .

(Unureーーー!!!)

「Chon, wa, to!」

Kazane fired a rushing kick using the Fire Boost from her spell dagger, but Angus easily stopped her kicking with his own legs . He only used his tonfa to block the beginning Fire Boost kick and used his legs and his captivating level of footwork to deal with everything else .

「Whoa! You"re like a gra.s.shopper, young lady . 」

「Shut up . 」

Kazane was usually conspicuously clever when it came to battle, so raising her voice like that might be a rare thing . At any rate, her attacks weren"t working . It was exactly like her mock battles against Jinrai .

As a matter of fact, using Fire Boost to fight was only considered usable for up to intermediate cla.s.s opponents even in Zexiahart . Actually, the Heroic Spirit Sieg also didn"t take that same strategy . The truth was that damaging opponents who used defending then countering was difficult with this technique . It was fine against small fry, but it was common knowledge among players that using a shield was more stable in interpersonal warfare .

Since Kazane mainly battled using kicks, she thought she would be able to do erratic maneuvers when close by using Boosts with both her left and right hand and then quickly regain distance for high-speed maneuver combat, but since she completely relied on her kicking power it seemed she was easy to read .

(Muu . That Ossan seems like he has eyes on the back of his head . Even though I"m the one who really can see behind me . )

Due to the Remote Viewing of the Circlet of Wisdom, Kazane didn"t have a blind spot behind her, and she grumbled inside her mind .

「Well then, my turn . 」

Kazane put herself on guard after Angus spoke .

(Fast!?)

She dodged the first kick with『Intuition』 . But『Intuition』informed her of a further crisis . It was possible to avoid the second blow . But she would lose on the third . She was able to understand that .

「Hu!!?」

Then after avoiding the second attack, Kazane used Material Shield . It wasn"t the specified extent type, but the omnidirectional type for emergency avoidance she became able to use when it reached Lv2 . It used a higher amount of Magic Power than normal, but since it didn"t need to be aimed, activation was instant .

「What!?」

As might be expected, Angus couldn"t hide his surprise . Angus was blown away when he tried to strike with his third attack . And Kazane didn"t stop . She forcibly corrected her posture with Air Jump, plunged toward Angus" torso, and when she tried to kick the pit of his stomach,

「Hibu!?」

Kazane was forcefully sent flying backwards . It seemed her face was struck . Blood scattered from her nose, and seeing Kazane rolling across the ground,

「Aneki!?」

Naoki tried to jump out, but Jinrai stopped him .

「Don"t get in the way . Idiot!」

「But Aneki is!」

As Naoki spoke and tried to resist, Jinrai grabbed his shoulders and forcefully pulled him backwards .

「Look . At that delighted face . 」

In accordance with Jinrai"s words, Naoki looked at Kazane .

「Ufufufufufu, you used it . The tonfa, you used it . 」

Kazane was smirking as blood dripped from her nose, and Angus seemed vexed . The tonfa held by Angus had traces of blood . Kazane"s face was unmistakably struck by that specialized weapon .  

「Jinrai-san and Yumika were saying you used your tonfa, so I was wondering whether you would really use it or not, but you used it . 」

It seemed Kazane could somehow tell from Angus" atmosphere that he was planning to finish things by solely using kicks and was waiting for her opportunity .

「Heh, young lady . Coming closer from now on will be dangerous . 」

Tutting Tch, Angus shook the blood off his tonfa, and the complacency vanished from his face . The Skills Kazane had used for close combat were『Killing Leg』, 『Nimble』, 『Warrior"s Memory』, and『Intuition』 . But after hearing Yumika talk about the practical application of her Sylphin Boots"『Air Jump』and the level up to『Material Shield』from eating the dragon steak, Kazane advanced further .

It was the first time she had actually tried it, and she was the one who took damage, but Kazane was satisfied that she finally frustrated the plans of the c.o.c.ky, idiotic, yet excessively strong man in front of her .

Kazane"s nosebleed had stopped due to『Regenerate』, so she wiped away the blood and cured herself completely with the spell『High Heal』 .

「Well then, I"ll resist a bit more?」

Then the girl stepped forward while her eyes blazed brightly .

Name: Yuihama Kazane

Occupation: Magic Swordswoman

t.i.tle: Ogre Killer, Dragon Slayer, High Beast Summoner, Rea King

Equipment: Staff 『White Blaze』, Two Handed Sword『Black Fang』, Adhesion Sword『Gum』, Spell Dagger, Dragonscale Breastplate, Drake Gauntlets, Silver Sheep Clothes, Sylphyn Skirt, Plasma Pants, Dragon Ogre Greaves, Indestructible Cloak, Mysterious Pouch, Crimson Saint Coffin, Heroic Spirit Summoning Ring, Circlet of Wisdom, Aim Bracelet, Magic Acc.u.mulator, White Magic Acc.u.mulator

Level : 31

Health: 114

Magic Power: 205+420

Strength: 55+10

Agility: 48+4

Endurance: 31

Wisdom : 62

Dexterity : 39

Spell : 『Fly』『Torch』『Fire』『Heal』『Firestorm』『Healer Ray』『High Heal』

Skill : 『Kick Devil』『Warrior"s Memory』『Night Vision』『Crushing Blow』『Dog’s Sense of Smell』『Golem Maker: Lv3』『Rush』『Fire Principle: Third Chapter』『Healing Principle: Fourth Chapter』『Air Jump: Lv2』『Killing Leg: Lv3』『Fear Voice』『Invisible』『Tiger Eye』『Wall Walking』『Intuition』『Cheat Death』『Nimble』『Charge』『Material Shield: Lv2』『Information Link』『Optical Camouflage』『Dash』『Bloodsucking Blade』『Dragonization: Lv2「Dragon」』『Regenerate』『Soul Breaking Blade』『Stealthy Placement』『Thunder Chariot』『St.u.r.dier Teeth: Lv2「Dragon」』『Crystallization: Lv2「Dragon」』『Fabricated Coercion』『Stone Minotaur』『Mega Beam: Lv2』『s.p.a.ce Expansion』『Pseudo-silver Creation』『Poison Claw』

Yumika:「Omnidirectional type Material Shield? If I remember right, at the end of the Minotaur battle it was being recklessly discharged and we couldn"t approach, right?」

Kazane:「Yeah . It"s quite useful when I use it myself . 」