Chapter 46: Mock battle

Reading Settings

Translator: Soafp

---

One morning after Ashera’s incident, during breakfast, I brought up something I had been contemplating.

“Let’s have a mock battle.”

“A mock battle?”

“I’ve been thinking, if we encase ourselves in magic, we could spar without getting hurt, right?”

“Encase ourselves in magic?”

“It’s better if you see it.”

I stood up, gathered my magic, and activated it, making it visible to everyone. Then, I manipulated the magic to gradually take the shape of a dagger.

“What do you think?”

Since I had created 100% magic, it was soft to touch. I immediately had everyone try touching it.

“It’s soft, Nii-sama.”

“This won’t hurt…”

“I created a magic bracer!”

This could enable us to have a safe mock battle without getting injured, I thought. I asked Mother about it.

“Mother, can we have a mock battle using this?”

“No!”

“Why not?”

Mother activated her magic, forming a sphere similar to mine, then hurled it towards me.

“The magic you have now is enough. I will join in as well.”

Thus, we arranged to have a mock battle using safe weapons. Marl seemed afraid to fight us, so she decided to watch. Later, she planned to spar lightly with El alone.

To ensure safety, we equipped ourselves with armor or robes and headed to the magic practice grounds.

We drew lots to determine the matchups…

First Match: Me vs. Ice Witch-san (Mother)

An attention-grabbing match commenced. Since Mother is a mage, we began from a distance of 50 meters.

“I’m ready, Mother!”

“Go ahead, Al!”

I took on a combat stance with a mock dagger and charged forward.

Mother created a barrage of small magic barriers to prevent me from getting close.

For some reason, her attacks were quite cunning… Predicting my landing spot was expected, and she even launched another attack behind her magic barrier, making it challenging for me to approach.

Realizing I couldn’t avoid some hits, I decided to risk it. I charged in, enveloping both my hands in magic, attempting to dodge her magic, and if not, block with my arms.

Just as I thought I could close the distance, Mother blasted me away with a staff imbued with enhanced strength.

“Al, you’re too naive.”

That smug look and that little laugh…

Finally, after about 10 minutes, the battle reached its conclusion.

I emerged victorious from the fight.

There was nothing particularly special; perhaps it was my inherent strength that gradually pushed through, ultimately securing a safe and sound victory.

“I purposely let you win!”

Ice Witch-san’s words of disappointment at losing are heard echoing.

Second Match: Me vs. Ashera

It’s me again. Is this lottery biased or something?

“I’ll go all out.”

“Got it, I’ll do the same.”

With that signal, the battle began.

Ashera had mastered the status ailment of poison over these two years. With her magic eye, she could induce poison status simply by touching her opponent.

I kept my distance from Ashera, observing her. Her weapon of choice was the bracer. In a hand-to-hand fight, she definitely had the upper hand in terms of skill.

(Just one hit and I’m in trouble. She’s really high-performance.)

As I hesitated to attack, magic (fake) came flying at me like rain.

(She has twice the magical power as I do. Isn’t she kind of overpowered?)

I couldn’t envision winning, but I needed to get close and find an opening.

Just like with Mother, I enveloped both my hands in magic and charged in.

I dodged, slashed, and guarded against the flying magic. But just as I thought I was in range for the mock dagger (fake), she launched a close-range attack using hand-to-hand combat (fake?).

I was pushed back by thrusts, spinning kicks, and the force of her attacks. Additionally, I took a hit on my shoulder.

Soon after, the poison made my whole body feel sluggish.

“Aldo, I win. I surrender.”

“What are you talking about? We’re just getting started.”

I made a quip, but I couldn’t visualize a winning scenario.

Reluctantly, I decided to take a risk. I pushed my control over the magical enhancement of my body to its limits.

I dashed towards Ashera. I had to finish the fight before the poison took its toll.

With my body heavily enhanced by magic, I tried to outmaneuver Ashera.

This might work!

As I attempted to swing the mock dagger (fake) towards Ashera’s neck, she slightly crouched down… causing the blow to turn into a cheek punch!

In an instant, I halted the fake dagger… That moment, Ashera, with the same smirk as our mentor, struck me with a jab.

I lost consciousness, leading to a knockout defeat.

The third match was Ashera vs. Ice Witch, and Ashera won.

The fourth match was El vs. Ice Witch, and El won.

Surprisingly, the fifth match was Ashera against El, and El emerged victorious.

El adeptly used a shield, managing both magic and melee, and sealed it with a one-handed sword.

I woke up just before the sixth match.

The sixth match was between me and El.

“El, I won’t hold back.”

“Yes, I’ll give it my all too.”

I wielded twin fake daggers, while El used a fake one-handed sword with a real shield. Although different, there was a familiar impression in our styles.

I charged in straight ahead, testing the waters.

The shield that gave Ashera trouble was indeed a nuisance, but that was all. I pushed harder, showing my full speed.

El struggled gradually to keep up.

Eventually, a swift strike with the fake dagger settled it decisively.

“Nii-sama, I lost.”

“Yeah…”

There was something I needed to confirm with El.

“El, you were serious, right?”

“Eh? Of course, why do you ask?”

“Yeah, right. Sorry for the weird question.”

I realized the significance of compatibility in simulated combat, more than I had anticipated.

Originally, I hadn’t considered opponents like Ashera.

Mother and El fought as expected, but I always found myself on the defensive against Ashera.

Moreover, an interesting observation came after the battles.

I defeated El, Ashera defeated me, and El defeated Ashera, creating a perfect “rock-paper-scissors” situation.

Understanding my strengths and weaknesses from these results might just elevate my skills.

By the way, Ice Witch had lost all the games.

In her own words, “I lost on purpose”.