Rest found himself having a mock battle with Toya Cattleya, the third son of the House Cattleya.
It wasn't a life-or-death duel or anything. It was more like an intermission for camaraderie.
(Even so... it's a bit tense. It feels like I'm about to say, "Please let me marry your sister!" or something.)
"Hey, looks like Toya is going to fight!"
"Who's his opponent... who's that guy?"
"Don't you know? It's Count Rest Clover. The magician who subjugated the magic beast Sabnock!"
Rest and Toya faced each other, keeping a distance of about three meters.
The other knights and soldiers gathered around, cheering them on half in jest.
They didn't seem particularly tense. It was clear this mock battle really was just for building camaraderie.
(The only ones getting serious are us... no, maybe just these brothers.)
"Alright then... here I go!"
Toya declared unilaterally.
Just when Rest thought he would rush straight in... Toya cast his magic instead.
"[Stone Armor][Harden]!"
A duet cast of magic.
Toya's entire body is covered in stone armor.
On top of the stone armor, a Harden spell has been cast, giving it defensive power comparable to steel.
"Before my dear little sister broke this combo, but... there's no way an older brother would seriously fight his own little sister. That being the case, with ' Divine Thief ' I don't need to hold back, so it's nice and easy!"
"It might be my imagination, but... I feel like I was just called in a very suggestive way."
Don't tell me 'Divine Thief' is supposed to be read as 'little sister's boyfriend'!
Rest, while genuinely exasperated by that siscon brother, still admired his skill.
(A noble house of knights. Given his rough speech, I thought he'd be more of a brute... but his magic is delicate. He's talented.)
If it were just coating the entire body in stone, many magicians could do that.
However, covering the body in stone just immobilizes you. Trapped inside the stone, the worst case is you suffocate to death.
(But... that stone armor. Of course, there are breathing holes, and the joints are movable. That's delicate mana control... Even professional magicians should be rare to achieve this level.)
"Alright, here I come!"
"!"
Toya kicked off the ground.
With incredible speed unbefitting his large frame, he rushed toward Rest with the force of a charging truck.
"[Body Reinforcement][Acceleration]!"
Rest also cast a duet of magic.
I sped up and avoided the collision.
(He's using Body Reinforcement too... no, that alone doesn't explain that speed!)
A human-sized stone statue. It must weigh several tons.
There's no way an object of that weight could be moved by human strength alone.
(Is he making it lighter with magic? He talks about being from a famous knight family, but he's really throwing magic around!)
"Good reaction! Then how about this!?"
A spear about two meters long sprouted from Toya's arm.
It was a spear whose tip was shaped like an axe, similar to a halberd.
Looking closely, the stone armor had shrunk by the amount the spear had appeared.
He must have shaved off part of the armor to reshape it into a spear... as expected, he was quite skilled.
"Hmph! Hmph! Hmphh!"
Toya brandished the stone spear, spinning it around, and lunged at him again.
As expected, his movements were swift. The spear had extended his attack range, leaving no room to dodge.
"[Flame Wall]!"
However, Rest didn't dodge this time.
Instead, he manifested a wall of flame in front of Toya.
"Wha—!?"
"I'm a magician. I have no obligation to indulge you in close-quarters combat."
Toya hastily stopped short in front of the wall of flame.
If he had charged in like that, he might have been roasted.
"[Fireball.]"
Then, he showered him with fire attacks.
Countless fireballs appeared around Rest. Like a relentless barrage, fire was thrown at Toya's body one after another.
Even through his armor, the heat seeped through. Toya let out a groan.
"Guh... you...!"
Toya swung his spear and knocked down the fireballs.
As expected of a knight from a distinguished family. His spear handling was quite impressive, and he managed to knock down most of them.
"It's hot as hell! Cut it out already!"
"If you want me to stop, why don't you try charging in and stopping me yourself... Brother-in-law?"
"Tch... Don't call me brother-in-law!"
Just as planned. Toya, enraged, charged in.
"Ooooooooooooooooooh!"
"Whoa... scary..."
He burst through the wall of flame and attacked with his spear.
It seemed he had endured the fire through sheer willpower and momentum.
"You have no right to call me brother-in-law!"
"So that's what you're getting at... ["
"Ice Cannon."
]] "
He leaped back, avoiding the stone spear, and cast another spell.
This time, a wave of intense cold washed over Toya's body.
"It's my hardened stone armor! This thing has the strength of steel, your magic can't...!"
"It cracks, right?"
"Ah...?!"
Toya's stone armor cracked with a crunching sound.
Because it was rapidly cooled from high heat, the contraction from thermal expansion caused distortion, weakening the bonds and leading to cracks.
"[["
Stone Bullet]]"
And then, a stone bullet as the finishing blow.
The stone armor covering Toya's body shattered.
After destroying it, he realized... Toya's stone armor wasn't tightly packed with stone; there was a cavity inside.
"So you create gaps inside to reduce weight, huh?"
"Tch...!"
Toya clicked his tongue and swung his half-shattered stone spear.
"[["
Super Acceleration]]"
Rest Casts High-Level Magic He dodges the sharply thrusting stone spear and places his hand on Toya's exposed abdomen.
"[Thunder Palm]!"
"Guhh...!?"
A lightning strike hits from point-blank range, and Toya's body trembles.
Although he does not faint, he falls to his knees and drops the stone spear.
"It's decided."
"...Damn it."
When Rest declares victory, Toya groans in frustration.
The soldiers around them raise a cheer, and the mock battle ends in victory.
—————————— Volume 1 is now on sale from Sneaker Bunko!
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