I wonder how long I’ve been fighting Fenrir.
By my internal clock, it’s been a little over an hour?
By then, sweat was dripping, my body was warming up nicely, and I started to think we were both done with our warm-ups.
I still have plenty of stamina left, and I’m not in a situation where I’d be oxygen-deprived and my thinking would decline, but I don’t know the exact time.
It was at that point that a gradual change began to occur.
“?”
Fenrir’s fighting spirit began to change in quality.
No, it wasn’t that it had weakened or anything like that.
Rather, it was aggressively conveying to me its desire to fight more.
If I had to describe it, it was close to an instructor who was enjoying themselves.
An instructor who attacks with a smile, as if to say fighting is fun.
Fenrir attacked with a similar atmosphere.
Fenrir, whose anger was turning into enjoyment, responded to its fighting spirit by changing the quality of my own fighting spirit.
Divine Beast Fenrir.
I heard it was an infant, but I regret so much that I want to punch myself for questioning that.
Am I fighting?
No.
I swiftly cut down the doubt that sprang to mind, along with Fenrir’s claws.
I am satisfied with the fact that I could fight.
Rather, I regret questioning the strength of such a powerful being.
From regret, I transformed my emotions into enjoyment, and Fenrir, sensing this, intensified its movements as if to say my understanding was correct, and that I should enjoy this fight more.
“Jiro’s having fun, isn’t he?”
“You’re too influenced by him, you idiot.”
“Ugh, I’m jealous! Can I join too? That kid seems to be starting to enjoy it too.”
“No, you can’t. Besides, if Yaml were to get involved, it would be dangerous.”
The voices from the sidelines reached my ears, but I immediately dismissed them as information I didn’t need for the fight.
One person and one beast advanced through a world that felt like ten seconds for every one second that passed.
Fenrir, which had initially enveloped itself in a dangerous atmosphere, gradually began to charge at me with all its might as time passed, much like a dog overjoyed at being played with by its master.
For a moment, I thought it was a life-threatening game, but it was my fault for questioning its strength.
We were already fighting with an intensity that could be called a battle to the death, but I figured it would be alright as long as it wasn’t an instant kill.
If I wasn’t on the verge of death, I’d barely survive, I thought, considering myself as a detached observer as the screws in my head came loose.
“Gau!”
I felt my slightly miffed mood, which had just returned, shift again as Fenrir seemed to say, “Fight seriously.”
“Sorry, sorry!”
I sent its massive body flying towards the ceiling, and it happily wagged its tail for a moment.
I still couldn’t penetrate Fenrir’s defense, but I could blow away its massive body.
This meant that, in terms of power, I could temporarily surpass it.
I was still able to handle the speed aspect as well.
If this is an infant, it means there’s still plenty of room for growth. What a terrifying power.
I’m already past my growth spurt, and having gained power through dragon blood, Valse-san, and various other means, I’m a little envious.
A blow, which should never have come from an Ore Tree, emanated from Fenrir’s paw, and just as I recoiled from its foreleg, lightning approached from the other side.
In reality, I wouldn’t have been able to dodge it after seeing it.
But I did.
Dodging lightning magic, which is known for its speed among magic spells, requires anticipating the strike from the preparation stage.
Mana generation, conversion, composition, and firing.
Magic, broadly speaking, is cast in these four stages.
I’ve learned to predict it during the conversion to composition stage.
As the magic starts to take shape and subtly influence the world, I infer the kind of effect it will have and then decide my movements.
Even now, I felt a chilling air, and judging from the scope of influence that the footing would freeze, I leaped up, which turned out to be correct.
It’s like hitting the buzzer in a quiz show midway through the question to win the answer.
However, this Fenrir, though not as much as Instructor Fushio, is fast at generating magic.
Sometimes it casts spells without any discernible movements, causing my response to be a beat late.
As a result of being hit a few times, I’ve finally taken some damage.
It’s not enough to prevent me from fighting, but I’m slowly being worn down.
Well, I’m always fighting opponents of a higher rank, so this is nothing new.
I just need to find a way to win without rushing.
“It looks like you’re having trouble with that kid’s defense, aren’t you?”
“Probably. Even I don’t have many magic swords that can pierce that defense. Raidou, how would you break through it?”
“I’d just blast through it with all my might!!”
I had hoped for some useful information, but my own kin were not that kind.
I knew it, but I knew it nonetheless!
I shook off my disappointment and focused on breaking Fenrir’s defenses, thinking it would be rude to give hints during a fun battle.
But…
“Tch.”
I felt a shock from my fingertips, and a smile crept up my lips. It was like trying to shave a mountain with a shovel; no matter how deep I thought I had dug, it was as if the mountain was saying, “That’s nothing,” and standing firm.
Again and again, even with decisive blows, Fenrir took no damage.
It was so hopeless it made me want to call it a “loss event.”
But…
“It’s worth the effort!!”
My spirit wasn’t broken.
My mouth grinned ferociously, my eyes gleamed, and my heart pounded.
In the past, I felt fear when fighting strong people.
That gradually numbed me.
Before I knew it, I could face anyone, strong or weak, without distinction.
And from there, I learned the joy of challenging the strong.
A greedy desire, you might say, to become stronger.
Facing an unyielding defense like a mountain, my spirit didn’t break; it didn’t even creak.
Instead, I became more determined to find a way to break through it.
I could feel a switch completely flipping on. Instinct told me that if I kept going, I wouldn’t stop, so I should push forward and show Fenrir my strength by winning.
“Alright!” I responded in my mind.
“Valse!”
I played my trump card.
“Yes! My, you’re fighting quite the formidable opponent!”
“Hahaha! It just so happened! Valse-san! Let’s play together!”
I created an opening in an instant and deployed a summoning spell.
Then, a white snake was summoned.
Fenrir’s movements stopped before it.
A giant white snake, larger than itself.
The immense magic power radiating from its body.
And from the woman, presumably its true form, a spirit, I felt a powerful presence, so it cautiously retreated.
“Hey, hey, hey, what are you going all out for?!”
“Shut up! Shut up and watch! This is where it gets interesting.”
Fenrir seemed to realize the gravity of the situation when I summoned a high-ranking spirit and Saml tried to stop me, but a large hand landed on his small head, halting his movement.
I am grateful, Instructor. I’ll treat you to a drink later, in thanks.
“Honestly, that kid’s damage hasn’t even fully healed yet. And you want to fight someone this amazing? Jiro-chan, you’re quite a sadist?”
“The night ones tend to be more aggressive!”
Ignoring the draining magic, we exchanged conversation.
I spoke as my mood, heightened by the battle, dictated.
“Is that so?”
“Don’t ask.”
The instructor tried to ask Evia something, but Evia cut him off with a one-hit, two-cleave. However, not denying it was equivalent to affirming it, and the instructor nodded in understanding, grinning.
Despite this side drama, Fenrir and I glared at each other, with Valse-san joining us.
“Isn’t that Fenrir?”
“It appears so. I’ve never seen one before, though.”
“The last time I saw one was a thousand years ago. It’s survived, has it? It looks like an infant, but it seems quite strong.”
With a single glance, she identified its species and roughly gauged its strength.
“A thousand years ago? Were you perhaps fighting back then?”
“Indeed. That was a mature Fenrir. It was quite a challenge.”
“So you won?”
“No, it was a draw. We fought for about ten years straight in the Spirit World without eating or drinking, but we couldn’t reach a decision. This creature has a nature of eating magic, so my magic didn’t work well against it.”
A species that constantly fights while replenishing its energy.
Whether it’s fire, lightning, light, or even dimensions, if it’s originally magic essence, it eats anything – a gluttonous nature.
I could only laugh at Valse talking about Fenrir like that.
Its physical defense is perfect due to its magic power, and it has the means to replenish it by consuming the opponent’s magic.
It possesses perfect defense against both physical and magical attacks.
Furthermore, a mature Fenrir has the physical capabilities to fight Valse to a draw.
“I see. By any chance, are there any legends of defeating Fenrir?”
“There are, yes. But none that would be useful to you right now. A story about a hero equipped with gear specialized for defeating Fenrir, a tale of a sneak attack while it was sleeping, or a myth about angering a god? Which one would you like?”
“None of them seem useful, so I’ll pass for now.”
I still asked, hoping to gain information, but stories of humans, or rather, the continent, defeating Fenrir wouldn’t benefit me.
I had to deal with it using the means I currently possessed.
In that case…
My available options for breaking through Fenrir’s defense are limited.
The first thing that comes to mind is Izanami.
That attack is specialized against magic power, and it can erode and absorb defenses that rely on magic.
If the opponent is a holder of seemingly inexhaustible magic power, the more you attack, the more magic you gain.
However, preparing it takes a considerable amount of time, and its duration is short.
Maintaining the spell formation is also quite taxing.
I thought I’d have to strike when I saw an opening.
“Alright, I’ll take the front line, so please provide support.”
“It pains me to have two people against such a young child.”
“Please don’t say that. Besides, by all appearances, the opponent is older than me, so it’s fine.”
“If you add my age, this child’s age, and yours, we’re overwhelmingly on the older side.”
“…”
I always thought I should challenge a strong opponent with all my might.
But calmly thinking about it, it’s me, Valse, and the accompanying snake facing Fenrir’s infant form.
Looking at it objectively, I felt like Fenrir was looking at me with an accusing gaze, as if to say, “Are you really going to do this? Isn’t that cowardly?”
“I was taught by the instructor that the word ‘cowardly’ in battle is a word for the weak!”
“You’ve really opened up.”
The people who taught me to fight were those who dismissed cowardice as an excuse for the weak.
True power lies in crushing opponents with brute force, no matter the means.
I’m still relatively decent by only fighting head-on.
Although I can’t help but think it’s a little cowardly to fight with numerical superiority after being pointed out, Valse won’t let me claim it’s dishonorable.
“Well, I promised to lend Jiro-kun my strength, and defeating Fenrir seems like it will be quite a challenge, so I don’t mind lending my power, but next time, please find a more manageable opponent, okay?”
“I’ll do my best.”
I took a sliding step forward, and Fenrir tensed up, sensing an attack.
I rang the bell for the second round.
As I took a full step forward, Fenrir lunged at me.
Today’s Word:
One can only retract the words they themselves have spoken.
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