Published: January 22, 2026
I channeled mana into the constructed technique.
The Thunder Arrow shot toward the Robe Woman.
With her agility, she should be able to dodge it without issue.
In fact, it would be troublesome if she didn’t dodge it.
Preferably with the minimum amount of movement.
“Was that construction of intermediate mage techniques just a stalling tactic? Not good at technique construction? Or maybe that’s not it.”
Muttering something under my breath, she dodged with minimal movement.
That was fine.
Right now, she must think the Thunder Arrow was just a feint and that the real attack lies elsewhere.
She should be focusing her attention on my every move.
In a fight between individuals, the key is how well you can catch your opponent off guard, or so I believe.
Sometimes, a single surprise strike decides the outcome — like when I took down three people with Earth Shock.
The Thunder Arrow passed by the Robe Woman and struck the reflective barrier I had placed behind her, then struck again from behind.
“—!?”
She noticed just before the arrow hit and dodged once more.
But it wasn’t over. I activated several reflective barriers around her.
The translucent walls caused the arrow to change direction each time it struck, attacking repeatedly.
After dodging a few times, the Robe Woman gave up and blocked the attack with a magic barrier.
“Status Up! Sevenfold Overlay (Septuple)…!”
As she stopped moving, I activated my maximum overlay technique, Sevenfold Overlay, boosting my physical abilities, then kicked off the ground and closed the distance instantly.
(Apprenticeship tricks and rapid strikes are likely to be blocked. — Then I’ll just push through with pure strength!)
Once I was within sword range, I swung Schwarzhase in a sweeping arc from left to right.
As before, she tried to block with her staff.
(I’ll cut through the staff along with it!)
Just before Schwarzhase struck the staff, I activated Instantaneous Ability Surge (Impact), intending to strike everything at once.
However, this time the Robe Woman didn’t take the attack head-on; she lightly jumped backward and received the slash.
As a result, she was thrown back a good distance, creating space again.
“The match is over, then.”
The Robe Woman flew backward, a smile on her lips as she said so.
From all around me, the Super Explosion and, from above, the Heavenly Thunder Hammer were about to be unleashed (……).
(The required time hasn’t even been met yet, so they’ll probably be canceled immediately, but I can’t waste time thinking about that!)
“—! Demonic Sword Unification (Alteration)! Fifth Form (Mont Fünf)!”
Realizing I couldn’t dodge, I transformed Schwarzhase’s mana to form a shield.
Raising the shield overhead, pitch-black mana enveloped my surroundings.
As the attack came, I activated Instantaneous Ability Surge (Impact), causing the air around me to vibrate with a roaring sound, but I managed to endure it.
When the black mana dissipated, the smell of scorched earth hit my nose, and smoke wrapped around the area.
“To reflect magic and counterattack like that was quite an interesting fighting style. But I win. There’s no way you could withstand such top-tier magic simultaneously at such close range. …Sorry, but this is also for saving the world. Hopefully, this will buy us some time…”
The Robe Woman already acted like she had won.
“Master!!”
“No… please don’t die, Mr. Orun…”
My disciples were screaming.
I wanted to reassure them immediately, but there was something I had to do first.
The opponent was completely off guard.
She was stronger than I had anticipated.
Among such circumstances, I had grasped a once-in-a-lifetime chance.
I absolutely could not waste it!
The moment the Robe Woman shifted her gaze toward her comrades (……), I moved to her blind spot behind her.
“Space Leap…!”
“—!?”
“Zero Form (Mont Null)!”
I transformed Schwarzhase into formless, fluid mana and used it to restrain the Robe Woman.
“Huh, this mana (……)⁉”
Along with her murmur, the hood that concealed the Robe Woman’s face slipped off.