End of Voyage
BANG! A loud sound like that of a bursting balloon resounded in the training ground.
I narrowly managed to block Red Axe-san, Hyula's preemptive fist strike with my palm.
"Hee...! Was afraid that woulda finished you off. Glad I got that wrong!"
"A combination move between [Ground Shrink] and [Magic Fist Gale] huh. Can't you be gentler on the onset, at least..."
"Ha! The heck you're spouting after blocking, that!"
Her left hand went for my torso while we exchanged words.
I blocked it with my leg, but something felt off. The impact was like getting hit twice. What the?
<<Kempo Skill Lv8 Ability [Magic Fist Strike]: Adds another hit to attacks categorized as martial arts.>>
So this ability doubles bare handed attack power, or more like it gives a supplemental hit that does the exact same damage on that same spot.
Kinda like the ultimate of ni**. It's fundamentally different though.
"Fsht!"
It's a chop now... No, it's not a simple chop. Her hand is enveloped by sharp vibrating mana.
<<Kempo Skill Lv7 [Magic Chop]: A chop enveloped in vibrating mana akin to Swordsmanship Skill's [Mana Blade].>>
Gonna block it with Mana Blade Rev.
<<Inadvisable. Hyumlassa's hand will likely be cut in two.>>
I deployed thick Mana Armor to guard.
A shrill sound like that of metal clashing echoed, you wouldn't think that was between two hands.
That was way close. What? Is my bare handed Mana Blade Rev that offensively powerful?
<<Kajikawa Hikaru's so-called [Mana Blade Rev] is not only bolstered by [Strength] but also by [Dexterity] and [Intelligence] Attributes, as such, its offensive power is much higher than [Mana Chop].>>
Huh, guess I should be more careful about that now that my Attributes have gone through the roof.
<<For your information, the same Attribute bonus is also applied to Kajikawa Hikaru's [Mana Pile Bunker].>>
...So I could end up killing my opponents if I thoughtlessly used my Mana Control-derived moves huh. Gotta pay attention.
"Look at you not even breaking a dang sweat. You gotta got pretty high Stats huh, figured seeing ya swing that stupidly heavy hammer around."
"The same goes for you Hyula-san. Seeing as you can use Mana Fist Strike, your Kempo Skill must be at Lv8 at least."
"Sorry for being so low. Hard to raise when it's not your main, Job!"
A spear hand strike this time. A stabbing attack using a sharp mana spear over her hand. Let's see, Lv6 [Mana Spear Hand], it's exactly what said on the tin.
"Watchu playing at, get on the offensive already! You trying to be a gentleman cuz I'm a woman or something!?"
"Yes, well. If you'd excuse, me!"
I let out a palm strike aimed at Red Axe-san's torso.
Putting my whole body weight behind the attack, not just my arm.
"Whoaa! That was loaded with some power alright! But your movement coulda been better."
Red Axe-san easily guarded.
Uumu, guess pseudo Kempo I'm not used to won't work on her.
<TLN: Catch the latest updates and edits at Sousetsuka .com >
"But man, despite all that opening, your firepower alone is at expert level. What your master been teaching you. Or what, have you been learning from Skills?"
"I've got a master, or more like a Sensei, yes but he just beats me up in practice matches before calling it a day whenever we meet. Frankly, he's completely out of my league right now."
"That Sensei of yours sounds like a poor teacher. Whoops, sorry about that, no hard feelings."
"Oh not at all, I seriously think that too. No like, for real."
"...I kind of get how you see your teacher."
I mean, Sensei would only reply back with 'Guru.' whenever I asked for advice.
Yet he's undoubtedly among the top strongest fighters in this world... Despite being a magic beast.
We kept beating each other for a while.
Felt like it was only a few minutes but around an hour has passed in real time.
"Gaha!!"
"Dowaa!!"
In the end, our fists hit each other's abdomen and blew us away in the opposite directions.
You can tell how strong the strikes were since we got thrown to the edges of the training ground.
"Hack, cough...! Haa, haaa... That was a good punch... Ow ouch."
"A-are you all right...?"
"Whoa there, we both agreed on this remember? Don't worry 'bout it... Rather, looking at you still acting nonchalant after all that is the biggest shock I got today."
It's all thanks to my HP Buffer. Not even Hyula-san can easily shave down over 1000 HP bare handed.
Though well, an hour of incessant beat down was enough to cut down half of my HP. This woman is strong alright.
My Agility and Dexterity are higher than hers. Yet she fought so well you wouldn't think there was even a gap in Status.
Punches, kicks, parries, defenses, diversions, feints, barrages, ramming. Each and every single one of her moves are so perfect you wouldn't believe if Kempo wasn't her main Skill.
Just like Oni-sensei, stuff not shown on Status like long combat experience can hugely bolsters your strength in actual combat.
Experience incomparable to me who has only started my adventuring days in the last few months. Bridging the gap in our Attributes.
...Guess there's a limit to focusing purely on raising Level and Attributes. We should have proactively sought out more practice matches.
"Oh look at the time, it's almost noon and all. Let's have lunch."
"Oh! What are you cooking?"
"That would be deep fried whale Hyula-san killed. Not only are those whales not fishy, they have a strong flavor so it comes out nicely no matter how they're cooked."
"Deep fried? Gotta get the booze ready if we're talking about fried food! Lemme go fetch some!"
"No uh, you never not have booze by your side whatever food you eat Hyula-san..."
This person guzzles down over 40% alcohol content like it's water. How strong is her liver anyway.
Doesn't matter that we just had a match, she already went off to buy boozes.
She's probably bought up half of the entire ship's stock by now.
Now then, time to head for the kitchen. I've never eaten fried whale before, wonder how it tastes.
And thus, it's finally the day we're making a landfall on the fifth continent.
...The ship is arriving soon. I've got this mixed feelings of being liberated from the voyage, loneliness from saying goodbye to Hyula-san, excitement from arriving on a new land, and a sliver of anxiety.
"Hyula-san, won't you go with us?"
"Ah, I've got some business to take care of before the tourney. I'm gonna head straight to the capital where it's held after I'm done, let's meet up there."
"...I plan to get even stronger by then. I look forward to our rematch."
"Count me in! Couldn't go too wild on a ship. I'mma bust out all I got!"
The women said their reluctant farewells.
From the sidelines, she looks like their relative older sister.
Yet the content itself is regarding their next battle to death, I mean practice matches. Nothing girlish.
"Kajikawa, make sure to lead 'em well you hear me? The fifth continent may be more prosperous than the fourth, but that also brings its shares of bad faces."
"Is that right. I will be careful."
"They're gonna look down on ya if ya keep playing goody-two-shoes like that ya know? What you gonna do if some thugs made a move on Alma and Reina cuz of that."
"I'll beat them to pulp, no question asked."
"Ooh! That's a nice face you got. Ain't no one gonna pick a fight if ya keep it pasted on."
"...Exactly zero person is even going to approach instead, looking that scary."
"It has the pressure of an ogre, to put it lightly... No wait, not even ogres look that scary."
"Alrighty, Reina I'll take you along to get beaten up together by my Sensei next time."
"I'm sorry, forgive me!!""
Now then, first of all, let's find out where the tournament's place aka royal capital is.
The magic beasts on this continent are apparently stronger than the fourth's, gotta look for the safest route.
The people here sound like they're gonna be more trouble than the magic beasts though.
Anyone dares to mess with the girls, I'mma kill em' de--cough. Yup, let's.
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