Published: July 3, 2025
In the center, while the sword fight between Roman and Fiona unfolded, the aide Marie was also engaged in close combat with the scout Maurice.
However, it was a rather unusual type of close combat.
Maurice, a member of the Hero Party, was a scout.
He wielded two daggers, one in each hand, moving with lightness in his fighting style.
As a result, instead of attacking head-on, his main method was to circle around and slash from the side or behind…
But against the aide Marie, he couldn't manage to get behind her.
No, to be precise, he attempted to circle around, but she easily countered him.
This wasn't simply because the aide Marie was fast.
Of course, compared to an average swordsman, she was on the faster side, but she was slower compared to Maurice, who was an agile scout in the Hero Party.
Yet, he couldn’t get around her.
The reason was that around Marie, there was always a downburst, a powerful descending airflow.
Marie, a wind attribute mage, had a very rare one-on-one fighting style.
She unconsciously generated a strong downburst around her, hindering her opponent's movements while she fought.
In the midst of a typhoon where winds of fifty meters per second were blowing, a person wouldn’t be able to walk as they pleased, would they?
Such winds were constantly blowing downwards towards the ground around Marie.
Regardless of one's agility, it was nearly impossible to move properly.
Moreover, this was the worst match-up for the scout Maurice, who prided himself on his nimbleness.
(This is bad. Of all people, I get stuck with this match-up. What bad luck... No way, could it be that they calculated this much and assigned me against her? That beautiful face of the princess, how ruthless.)
Scout Maurice moved without staying in one place, trying to think of a way to counter while preventing his opponent from taking aim.
Swish.
Clang.
He threw a throwing knife, but it was again brushed off by that cursed wind.
(How... am I supposed to defeat her...? I can’t get close, and my throwing knives won’t reach... For now, should I just focus on not getting defeated and wait for someone else to come to my aid?)
In the first place, Maurice was a scout.
In adventures, he wasn’t expected to have combat prowess, and alongside the healer Graham, his role was largely about survival.
Of course, as a member of the Hero Party, he possessed a level of combat strength that was far superior to that of regular scouts, but compared to the other members of the party, he couldn’t really be called strong.
(I’m completely stuck...)
Maurice let out a small sigh.
Close combat was occurring in three places.
In the center, it was Hero Roman vs. Fiona.
On the left from the Hero Party’s perspective, Scout Maurice vs. Marie.
And on the right, the Enchanter Ashkan vs. Jurgen.
The role of "Enchanter" does not exist in the Central Nations.
What exactly is it?
Enchantment refers to the magic that temporarily adds attributes to a companion’s body or weapon.
And the magic class that specializes in this is called an "Enchanter."
Why doesn’t it exist in the Central Nations?
The reason is simple: there is no incantation for enchantment magic.
Sera and Lin, or the members of the Imperial Mage Brigade, generate magic without incantation, but this is an exceptional case among the mages of the Central Nations.
In fact, even among the mages belonging to the same Imperial Army, the "Imperial Mage Brigade" does not use incantations, while all of the "Imperial Magic Army" from the first to the eighth do.
The fact that the "Imperial Mage Brigade" consistently casts magic without incantations is solely due to Fiona and Oscar.
If incantations are used, even beginners can easily activate magic.
However, the power of the magic activated in that manner becomes almost constant, regardless of who chants it.
There are studies suggesting that some advanced users can exceed expectations when casting low or mid-level magic, but fundamentally, the power remains constant.
Additionally, the need for incantation time means that the activation takes longer.