Page 87

(Grace)

Training Ground No. 7.

There was a crowd of onlookers standing nearby... It was a bit annoying, but they would be useful later.

As for who is currently in the arena, it was just me, Melon... Oh, and also Aure.

At the moment, she was sitting on a chair, for some reason looking really pale and lifeless.

It seemed she was feeling nauseous due to drinking too much milk yesterday, and her nausea hadn't subsided yet. Why did she drink so much milk?

...It doesn't matter; it must be something she did with Walson, I guess.

Right now, I was standing in front of Melon.

The last time we trained and fought together was a long time ago.

...I lost last time... That's why, when I feel a sense of respect towards Melon, I address her as "Sister Melon."

I took off my glasses.

When fighting Melon, I had to give it my all.

As the glasses came off, the gazes of the people around me, those gazes that didn't mean much to me before, suddenly felt like numerous tiny needles pricking my body.

They were densely packed, like ants crawling all over me, making me incredibly irritated.

A feeling of overwhelming anxiety surged within me, but my thoughts became unusually clear.

When I was young, before I learned to control it, I would always lose my composure.

But things are different now.

At this moment, an indescribable power filled my body—powerful yet calm, a calmness that emerged to precisely execute destruction.

I shook [IRIS] in my hand, awakening it.

The inner world made of magical energy appeared before my eyes, overlapping completely with the world visible to the naked eye.

I could hear, touch, and see the flow of magical energy around me.

Melon's magical energy was like a colorless flame, vigorous and seemingly scorching, flowing in rhythm with her breath.

Normally, using both perspectives simultaneously would cause a severe headache, but with the glasses off, there was no problem.

...It felt like there was no one who could match me.

Walson told me not to use it when I'm fighting against other people under normal circumstances, but there were some exceptions.

In the case of fighting against Melon, I could take them off.

"My apologies, Miss Grace," Melon adjusted the equipment called the [Band of the Bold ]in her hand.

The flow of Melon's magical energy changed direction, flowing into the [Band of the Bold]

Here it comes, Melon speed that I cannot catch up with!

The explosive effect from the perspective of the inner world was quite beautiful.

When her fist was about five centimeters away from me, purple petals scattered, and I teleported right behind Melon.

However, I couldn't shake off Melon chase.

It has been like this since before.

Even if I teleport to a spot behind Melon, no matter how far away, as soon as she senses my presence, she immediately changes direction.

Often, the moment I teleported to the designated destination, Melon's attack would also follow.

But this time, I also launched my attack.

"Black Flame Sphere."

What appeared around Melon was a series of black fireballs—it's a magic that is made using fire elemental magic and then intensifying the power of the flame with dark elemental magic.

When magic is tainted with dark elemental magic, it carries the characteristics of dark elemental magic itself.

Devouring all darkness and imbuing it with other attributes, this magic possesses a destructive nature—while regular fire burns, the dyed fire's purpose is to burn everything to ashes.

A single black fireball can be cast without an incantation, but for Melon, the emphasis was on continuous attacks and disruption.

However, this attack only served to restrain Melon. It interfered with her aerial movements... and the [Black Flame Sphere] that came into contact with Melon's right hand vanished.

"Ooooooo, ooo—Magic Rail Rifle, Magic Rail Shotgun!"

I gained time to organize a magic that required a longer preparation.

So... I assembled two special composite magics.

Walson's designed schematic, I conveyed it to the elemental spirits to construct the special magic.

The [Magic Rail Rifle] launched continuous magic shots to chase after Melon, while the [Magic Rail Shotgun] was used to prevent her from getting close.

This magic was a fixed-point, structure-based magic that, after improvements, allowed me to fly alongside it.

"Boom!" The explosion from the [Band of the Bold] sounded distant from my ears, accompanied by drifting petals. At the same time, all rounds were fired.

The magic bullets were compressed magic of composite attributes.

The magic was compressed using magical energy, resulting in flattened magic bullets often accompanied by explosive characteristics.

Melon evaded the continuous fire from the [Magic Rail Rifle] and appeared directly in front of me.

The [Magic Rail Shotgun] naturally aimed at her, but... Melon swung her fist, shattering my magic in one go.

...!? What did she do?

These brief thoughts only came to me a few seconds later.

In those few seconds, I had no room for thinking.

Magical energy surged around the [Band of the Bold]

I reached out my hand and sliced.

I cut the "Explosion" of the [Band of the Bold] into a cube.

The explosion that was cut off, under my control, directly collided head-on with Melon's second [Band of the Bold] attack!

Taking advantage of the cover of black smoke, I swiftly launched [Shadow Blade] at her.

"Ugh!" I heard a muffled groan from Melon.

It's over... that's what I thought, but I felt a touch on my chest.

Melon's hand pierced through the black smoke, imprinting itself on my chest—

"...Ugh!"

Twisted pain exploded, and the magical energy within me began to churn chaotically. The [Magic Rail Rifle] , supported by magical energy, was disrupted and collapsed.

Before the second attack could land, I jumped to the ground and activated the magic circle I had drawn while continuously jumping during the battle.

A black lightning struck, blocking Melon's next attack.

"...!!!" A sweet taste welled up in my throat as I half-knelt on the ground.

What kind of attack is this?

At this moment, an extremely stubborn magic clashed inside my body, disrupting the existing magic and creating chaos.

She has acquired... new skills. Melon has indeed grown stronger.

I tried chanting a spell, but the utilization of magic was hindered by the unruly magic that clashed everywhere.

"..." Giving up on resistance, I directly enveloped it with my own magic, guiding its direction of impact towards my left hand.

My left hand involuntarily lifted, and in the next moment, that surge of magic was expelled.

Using my own magic to disrupt someone else's magic... perhaps, it's a good reference.

Unexpectedly, it ended in less than thirty seconds.

"Are you alright, Miss Grace?" Gasping for breath, I heard Melon's voice. I raised my head, and Melon extended her hand to me.

"...I'm fine." After Melon helped me up, I dusted off my clothes. She handed me a bottle of MPOH(β).

Only half a bottle remained, and Melon had already consumed half... So the [Shadow Blade] did hit her.

The residual pain in my chest disappeared, and I felt much better.

"After the [Shadow Blade] hit my shoulder, you let your guard down, Miss Grace. You need to be more cautious." Melon said to me.

...Melon is right, I let my guard down.

I thought that the [Shadow Blade] would end the battle... but unexpectedly, while she took my attack, she wasted no time launching a counterattack.

Compared to Melon, my practical combat experience is lacking.

"...Thank you, I understand."

"Well, do you want to continue training now?"

"...Melon, how about we do those five steps that Walson said?" After a few seconds of silence, I spoke again. (Tn: Wild West 5 step duel)

"... Yes." Melon nodded, turning her body.

I also turned around, awakening [IRIS] once again.

The [Band of the Bold] on my back made a clicking sound, and as I took a step forward, I heard Melon's footsteps.

One step.

Carefully feeling the boiling of my blood, my mind cleared up, and I quickly pondered.

Two steps.

I extended my left hand, index and middle fingers close together, gently touching the [Mithril] handle at the top of [IRIS].

Three steps.

As I rotated my finger, the complex magic circle resembling a roulette wheel began to spin. At the same time, a blue spherical shield enveloped me.

The magic started operating autonomously. I slung the staff behind my back, and [IRIS] emitted a dim light, shining with determination.

Four steps.

"[Accelerated Thinking], [Enhanced Kinesthesia], [Physical Reinforcement], [Earth Magic - Armor Generation], [Dark Magic - Tainting]."

Five steps.

"...[Chorus Seed] Finally, I whispered as my hand, covered by the armor, lightly touched the barrier, wiping it away and staining the protective shield a purplish-red color.

Pause.

Silence.

Every time, during training with Melon, it ends up like this.

"Boom!!!"

The deafening sound tore through the surrounding air. The [Band of the Bold] roared, shaking the eardrums.

The shield that blocked Melon's attack path shattered into countless fragments under the furious punch, lasting only a fraction of a second.

However, a fraction of a second was enough reaction time.

"Melee, huh?" Melon, unusually, spoke during the battle.

Instead of immediately launching the next round of attacks, there was another reason.

"...Gotcha." Melon's left fist was firmly caught by the massive, pitch-black right arm.

As I spoke, I silently chanted twice in my heart.

"It's a bit unexpected...!?" In the next moment, Melon's hand moved lightly. The earthen armor of her entire right arm crumbled, floated, and then adhered to her left arm.

In the moment of hesitation that befell Melon, my left fist had already struck.

Thud!

A resounding explosion, not from the [Band of the Bold] but from the compressed fire elemental magic within the earth armor!

The purple-stained protective shield was restored.

My right hand hurt from the previous attack, but there was no time for that now.

New clumps of earth began to fill in, this time more and more, on the right arm, legs, and finally the head, completely enveloping my entire body.

Melon didn't soar into the sky because her left arm was already restrained... Her left arm swung directly, shattering the protective shield and striking the earth armor. In that instant, [IRIS] observed the flow of magic within the [Band of the Bold]

Together, it crumbled, shattered, and then exploded!

The entire earth armor burst open... but I was no longer inside.

"...[Chorus Bloom] I whispered softly from among the audience seats. Immediately, I could feel Melon's intense gaze.

Indeed, deceiving her by focusing on the armor only lasted for a moment.

However, it was enough.

The next moment, the scattered clumps of earth around Melon exploded, triggering even more explosions as the catalyst for the [[Chorus Bloom]] effect.

The [Chorus Seed] had already attached to the protective shield and the armor, so the more attacks there were, the more flowers bloomed on my body.

Initially, I held Melon's left fist just to hide the [Chorus Seed] that had stuck to it when I shattered the protective shield.

As a result, this fight ended in less than thirty seconds.

"...Are you okay?" I jumped to her side and asked.

Now, we were even.

"I'm fine." Melon accepted my support as she stood up and spoke with a tone I had used not long ago.

We locked eyes for a few seconds and smiled.

"...When you're too focused, you tend to overlook things around you. Next time, pay more attention." I took out a half-drunk bottle of MPOH(β) from my waist pouch to alleviate the intense pain in my right hand. I handed the remaining half to Melon.

"Thank you for your guidance, Miss Grace."

"...Well, what now?"

"Miss Grace, how many..."

"Hey, you two, is that enough? I'm going to find Walson for lunch!" Just as Melon was halfway through her sentence, we heard a shout from Aure beside us.

"..."

"..."

"Miss Grace, do you want to eat?"

"...Sure."