Who was it again? I had absolutely no recollection.
"Poor Man Club. I'm not convinced."
The mysterious man, Garado, leveled a sharp glare at me.
Strangely, there was no hostility in those eyes.
"Not convinced about what?"
"You, Wof."
"Me?"
Garado sighed and nodded.
"I've heard all sorts of rumors about you... That you took down Laada, too... I know. But I've got my doubts. I can't buy it. Can a kid like you really have beaten that thing? I hate to go against Heizen's wishes, but show me what you've got."
"I don't mind, but how would we do that?"
"Simple. Fight me."
Figured as much. I already knew that was coming.
For now, let's put figuring out who he is on the back burner.
"Alright."
"Poor Man Club. I'm going to borrow the training grounds."
"Sure, no problem."
"Come this way. Follow me."
I did as told and trailed after Garado, who wore a mirror mask.
Araya followed along too.
Where were we headed, anyway?
"The place with the training ground?"
"We're heading to the Goro Subjugation Squad's headquarters."
"Oh, I see."
Araya answered for me.
Then she gave me a small bow.
"I'm terribly sorry for all the trouble I caused you before. I took care of the cleanup properly, but did you experience any inconvenience after that?"
"No, none at all."
"Normally it would be proper to formally visit and apologize in person, but various circumstances led to this form of apology instead. I'm truly sorry."
"Don't worry about it."
Nothing had happened since then. No strange ones had followed me around either.
That was more than enough.
A sterile white building came into view, and we headed inside.
So this was the Goro Subjugation Squad's headquarters. Pretty spacious. On par with a decent-sized guild.
I felt like I'd seen something similar in a museum exhibit painting from my past life memories.
Before long, we arrived at what looked like a courtyard.
For an empty courtyard with nothing in it, the space felt almost too desolate.
So this was the training ground.
"The training weapons are over there."
Araya guided the way.
A room without a door, like a narrow storage closet, was lined with training weapons.
Training weapons. They were wooden. I was going to grab a wooden knife but chose a spear instead.
This will do.
I took my position in the training area with it chosen.
Galad had a wooden greatsword in hand.
Araya stood between us, facing off.
“Alright. This is a training match. Killing your opponent is forbidden. Accordingly, the use of any Relic with lethal force is prohibited. Anything else is fair game.”
“Got it.”
“Understood.”
“The victory conditions are: destroying your opponent’s weapon, rendering them unconscious, or having them verbally concede defeat. Alternatively, if continuing the fight becomes impractical.”
“Got it.”
“Understood.”
“Then—both of you, step back—begin!”
Galad and I clashed in an instant.
I leveled the spear’s point and charged straight ahead.
Galad raised his greatsword and rushed forward to close the distance.
“Haaah!”
“Daaah!”
I deflected it. Heavy. I retreated slightly and thrust.
Parried by the greatsword. Still heavy.
"Hraaagh!"
Garado deflected my spear with brute force.
I pulled back to regroup, and Garado seized the opening to press the attack.
We clashed several times. I could feel myself being pushed back slightly.
He found an opening. The instant I pulled back, I blocked the descending greatsword with the long shaft. Heavy.
I bent my knees to absorb the shock.
Garado must have thought I was losing ground, because he poured in even more force.
A split-second chance. I deflected sideways, and the greatsword's momentum carried it into the ground.
"Nwoah!"
Just when I thought a wide opening had appeared, Garado swiftly followed with a horizontal sweep.
Fast... Blocking with the shaft would snap it, so I leaped.
"There's an opening! Ngh—wha!?"
Garado's greatsword sank.
Right after leaping, I stabbed the flat of the greatsword as it swept sideways.
Like a pole vault, I planted my weight behind the thrust and pushed down.
Even Garado couldn't hold against my added body weight, it seemed.
But the wooden greatsword didn't break. Surprisingly tough.
I pulled back and set my stance.
Garado raised his greatsword and took his stance too.
Back to square one. Quite the handful.
"……"
"……"
We measured the distance between us, each waiting for an opening.
Right now, Garado had no openings. Neither did I.
"Hey. Araya."
"What is it?"
"There's no rule against using a Relic if it isn't lethal, right?"
"That's correct. As long as you don't kill."
"———Then I'm using one."
Garado tightened his grip on the greatsword and spread his legs slightly.
Then he swung it back in a wide, deep arc.
Was he about to unleash some special move?
Huh? Garado's wooden greatsword was turning black.
No, that was strange. As it turned black, it seemed to faintly warp and bend.
The entire blade was distorting, wavering.
I didn't know what kind of Relic it was, but I'd use one too.
I used [Lever Move] for '
Aether-Piercing Style
'.
'
Aether-Piercing Style
It's an ancient spear technique I learned during Lab training.
It's primarily thrust-based, with devastating power per strike.
However, the flip side is that its defense is weak. Counter techniques are few, and it's not designed around the premise of missing.
It's close to what my past life memories would call the Satsuma school? The Herstainer brutal killing method?
So if you dodge it, that's it.
But if it hits cleanly, it could take down even a dragon in one blow.
That's the philosophy behind this spear technique.
I grip the wooden spear with both hands, loading my power at my waist.
I thrust my dominant leg far forward, raising the knee, and sink the other leg as low as it'll go.
Quite an odd stance, isn't it? But this is how it should be.
"……Here I go, Wof!"
"I'm coming, Garado!"
We call each other's names and charge almost simultaneously.
Once I close into striking range, I use One Step to appear right in front of Garado.
I drop into a crouch in an instant, creating an opening, and thrust upward.
"Rising Thrust!"
"Distortion Blade!"
The wooden spear and the warped black greatsword clash violently.
If it had been a simple thrust, it probably would have been warped and snapped.
So I put a little trick into play.
"What!?"
Vibration hit the distortion.
I had been using the Relic [Vibration] to vibrate my wooden spear.
It was [Lev Move] that let me pinpoint the exact threshold before it shattered. One more use left for that one.
That was when I heard a strange, high-pitched creak.
It came from both my wooden spear and Garado's wooden sword.
The combined impacts of distortion and vibration were pushing them to their limits.
Garado's Relic was most likely [Distortion].
Twisting and warping — he'd applied it to his wooden sword.
What surprised me was that there was no sense he was using some kind of auxiliary Relic, like I was.
He was holding his wooden sword right at the edge of breaking purely through experience and instinct.
In a way, Garado gave off a vibe similar to Agaro.
This guy was strong. Very strong.
That was when my wooden spear and Garado's wooden sword both shattered into pieces.
"Match decided — it's a draw!"
At Araya's call, we both leaped back.
We squared off, and naturally closed the distance to exchange blows.
I deflected Garado's punch; Garado deflected my kick.
"Not bad."
"Not bad yourself."
I caught Garado's fist and threw a kick.
He dodged the kick, then grabbed my arm hard. Was he going to throw me?
No — he twisted my body. Aiming for the joint, was he. Fine then.
Take this reversal.
"Whoa—!"
By the time he realized, it was already too late. I exploited the opening he'd left going for the joint lock.
I swept his leg, broke his posture, and still holding on, threw him down with my full weight.
A reversal-into-push-throw, passed down straight from the Witch.
The Witch used all three of her tails for this one and pinned me under her rear.
Same as before — Garado couldn't withstand it, and crashed face-first into the ground.
"That's it! Winner: Wof!"
Araya's voice rang out across the arena.
A roar of cheers erupted, so loud it made me flinch.
Somewhere along the way, a whole crowd had gathered to watch.
I was startled. Had they really been watching the whole time?
"...I lost, huh."
As I stepped back, Garado pushed himself to his feet.
"A deal's a deal," I said.
"Yeah. Wof — I acknowledge you."
Garado-san held out his hand, and I gripped it firmly.
But seriously, who was this guy?
This person.