The Water Magician

The sword fight between San and Abel suddenly began in the center of the balcony.

There was no probing for distance, no reading of each other's breathing.

San took the initiative and launched an attack.

Thrust, thrust, a rising slash from an unexpected reverse grip, and then a thrust from a close distance with a left-hand dagger that had been drawn out seemingly out of nowhere...

“Ugh!”

Abel was thrown into disarray by the movements of the sword and its flow, which were far from legitimate swordsmanship.

In principle, techniques like reverse grip and dual-wielding, which could be described as superficial skills, could be easily crushed by a swordsman of Abel's caliber.

However, San was not an easy opponent.

The reason why San’s superficial techniques did not fall into mere superficiality lay in his footwork.

With precise steps, he easily encroached upon Abel's distance, and in response, the grip of his sword transformed and switched with fluidity.

In the moment of changing grip, if one were to get deflected, the sword would fly away and everything would be over, but San did not allow that to happen.

Many adventurers learned to wield swords through their own methods, and while Abel had seen many swords up to this point, San’s sword style was unlike any of them.

For Abel, it was the first time seeing such a sword.

(Damn it, this is so difficult! Is it because the distance changes too much? This sword is troublesome once it takes the lead...)

While Abel pondered such thoughts, he continued to handle the situation carefully.

The Hume-style swordsmanship that Abel practiced did involve considerable footwork, but it was not as extreme as San's right in front of him.

Conversely, it was likely that the extreme changes in distance made it challenging to fight.

Both were A-rank adventurers, and as each was exceptional with a sword, the sword fight continued, with the outcome uncertain.

At the edge of the balcony, Abel's right hand had also fallen into a standoff, but with a completely different appearance: it was Connor, the spear warrior, and Warren, the shield user.

Connor attacked with his spear while Warren deflected the blows with his shield.

It was always that pattern.

If the distance was close enough, Warren also had the option to strike back with a shield bash or a punch with his thick arms.

However, since the opponent wielded a spear, the combat distance was farther than with a sword, making both options impossible.

In such situations, Warren did not rush.

He quietly observed his opponent's movements, timing, and habits.

Yet, Connor was an A-rank spear warrior.

Naturally, he understood that Warren was watching him.

Understanding that, he continued his attacks.

“Truly, you are the shield user among shield users. It’s no wonder that shield users throughout the kingdom look up to you as a model.”

Connor's tone was bitter, yet there was a hint of admiration in it.

Continuously attacking and parrying... it was more mentally exhausting than he had imagined.

Connor had experienced such situations many times before.

Thus, he understood the mental fatigue that accumulated from such exchanges.

That was why he felt admiration for the shield user in front of him, who continued to absorb and parry everything like a rock.

The battle between Bruno, the Fire Attribute Mage, and Lin, the Wind Attribute Mage, began with a clash of magic.

Not with flashy, large-scale techniques, but rather...

“Wind! By your will, become the blade that slashes the enemy! [Air Slash]”

“Fire! You are the form that destroys all! [Firebolt]”

Focusing on speed, the attack magic aimed at the enemy's throat.

Crushing the throat to prevent casting was a common tactic in battles between mages.

However, what was rare was the speed of their incantations and the uninterrupted stream of magic being cast.

Even those with keen ears would find it difficult to catch the rapid incantations, which represented the highest level of combat techniques sought by mages of the Central Nations.

And if there was no difference in speed... it would naturally become a contest of the number of spells cast.