C-Class Tournament

"Now then, shall we put in our entries for the C-Class Tournament? Registration's open right now, so the timing's perfect."

Once we'd successfully driven Nezu off and things had settled down, Yuria brought it up.

"C-Class Tournament? That's the one Leone explained before…"

It was a repeat, but I had her run through it again.

The C-Class Tournament was held once every six months and served as the gateway to B-Class.

The world was divided into 20 regions, and ranks 1 through 64 of each region's C-Class ranking could enter the qualifiers. The top 4 from there fought in the C-Class World Tournament, and if you placed in the top 4 there, you could challenge B-Class.

Win the swap match against B-Class and you became a B-rank ranker. That was how it worked, apparently.

This tournament used the rule where the front line, once wiped out, was swapped out for the rear line: 6v6.

By beating Nezu, I'd become C-Class rank 12 and earned my entry rights.

To make good on my promise to Yamagata-kun, I had to enter this tournament, and I absolutely couldn't lose.

If I lost, Kanan would be taken from me on the spot.

… Well, I just had to not lose. That was all there was to it.

This year's tournament was accepting entries in the town of Seeds, so we headed for the registration site.

Last time I'd had Leone and Yuria, who didn't fight, wait at home, but who should I bring this time?

Considering the chance of suddenly being dragged into combat, maybe I should bring all six…

… However, while up until now we'd had so few that walking with all of them hadn't been a concern, walking through town with six or eight was probably overkill.

Looking at the other C-Class Masters in town, most of them had only one or two Garumon with them.

"… Bringing a lot of Garumon along can come across as a show of force. There's no helping it.

"Since you in particular, Naoto-san, have only the highest-rarity UR-Class Garumon in tow, the chance of being read as boasting or as a provocation is high."

"R-really? I don't want to invite needless trouble, though…"

"In that case, it'd be better to keep it to one or two for the walk.

"The other members can simply travel inside their capsules."

Capsules, huh…

"Hmm, capsules… for some reason putting my companions in them feels like treating them like objects. It doesn't sit right with me…"

When I said that, Lyuka's eyes went a little wide.

"Is that how you've been thinking of it?

"For us Garumon, the inside of a capsule is a wonderful resting spot.

"It's a half-asleep, half-awake state, like a comfortable dream, and it's effective for shaking off fatigue.

"Skill counts and HP recover faster too."

"Nya nya, of course being by Goshujin-sama's side is the happiest, nya. But the inside of a capsule isn't bad either, nya."

"Yes, when there's nothing to do, putting Garumon in capsules is perfectly normal. Completely taken for granted."

Lyuka, Adelia, Leone… the residents of this world all seemed to feel that putting Garumon in capsules was a matter of course.

"Eh, r-really…?"

"I… never really thought of it that way. Back when I was at Noda-kun's place, time inside the capsule was one of the few sources of relief…"

But Maika, originally Japanese, didn't seem bothered at all.

"When I got my capsule, I had Setsuna-chan go in, and she said it felt nice…

"I'd never given it any thought. I went in totally normally, it felt good, and I never thought twice about it either…"

"Mn, I don't mind it at all. Just because it's a capsule doesn't mean we're being treated like objects.

"I know perfectly well that Onii-chan cherishes us…"

Setsuna and Haru didn't seem to mind either.

"How to put it, the image is more like storing up your strength inside the capsule until it's needed. Like a sword in its sheath.

"None of us have a bad image of capsules, so reading anything strange into it is just overthinking it, isn't it?"

Even Yuria agreed.

"… So in other words, the only one who didn't want to go into a capsule is Kanan?"

"Eh?"

Kanan looked surprised.

"… Huh, you said so yourself at the start. Said you absolutely wouldn't get into something like that."

"… O-oh? D-did I really?

"But that was at the start… Back when I was being all weird around you, Naoto, and couldn't be honest…

"You don't need to take what I said back then at face value now…"

She said that, blushing.

"… Then, what about me being the slave and Kanan being my master?"

"T-that… that's, I'm… y-your master… s-stop teasing me already!"

"Hahaha…"

Between embarrassment and the lingering curse of the Kazami family's past, Kanan still couldn't bring herself to be completely honest with me.

I knew that.

"Then, Kanan, you don't mind going into a capsule either?"

"… Yes, I don't mind.

"I'm your master, but… I'm also your Garumon, your slave…

"Capsule or whatever, as long as I can be with you, I don't mind in the slightest."

So by unanimous decision, capsules were fine to use normally.

If everyone felt that way, then I should drop the weird notion that capsules treated them like objects.

"… Or rather, since Kanan said she didn't want to go into one, I started thinking maybe I shouldn't either…"

"S-sorry. It wasn't that I disliked capsules… I just couldn't be honest.

"Back then, I had no idea being a Garumon could be this fun and happy… heh. It's strangely nostalgic. Even though it's only been four months…"

Kanan laughed.

"Well then." With Kanan, Yuria, and Lyuka in tow, I headed for the registration site. Everyone else rested inside their capsules.

As for Kanan… I'd considered putting her in a capsule once and going with just Yuria and Lyuka, but since Kanan was always at my side, having her tucked away inside a capsule felt somehow unsettling.

I called her right back out.

"… How was your first capsule?"

"Yes, it didn't feel bad. Hazy, like dreaming… But the fact that only an instant has passed… that's not just my imagination, is it?"

"Yeah, I guess if Kanan isn't here I just can't settle down."

"… Oh my… Heh, Naoto, you're hopeless. Then I'll stay by your side, always."

That was what Kanan said.

"… C-Class rank 12, Naoto Akai. I wish to enter the C-Class Tournament."

"Yes. Registration accepted. Your entry number is 9."

A bespectacled young man processed it for me.

"… Number 9 means there are 9 participants? 64 × 20 people have entry rights, right?

"… Ah, you mean 9 in the Seeds Block. Even so, that seems few…"

"No, that's the total."

"… Did registration just open?"

"No, the deadline is in three more days. There may be a few last-minute entries, but most have already registered."

"… Isn't that few?"

"In short, things have been arranged in advance to a certain extent. Even across blocks, the C-Class top rankers know each other to some degree.

"They don't want to clash. 'This time our block is putting someone forward, so all of you stand down'… that kind of inter-block coordination, taking turns.

"If there are only four entrants, the qualifiers are skipped and everyone goes straight into the main bracket.

"This year is the Seeds Block's turn.

"If anything, having 9 people is on the higher side."

"Hmm… is that really okay…?"

So at most two wins and I'd be in the main bracket, then.

I'd been looking forward to layered qualifier and main-bracket battles as a training opportunity. This wasn't very fun.

"… Looking to enter the C-Class Tournament?"

At that moment, a figure blocked our path. Early twenties, maybe. A reasonably handsome young man, well-dressed in a way that vaguely reminded me of the Reichhardt I'd met first.

"I am Duke Lasheid, C-Class number 1 of this Seeds.

"C-Class rank 12… hm, that means there's a chance you and I will be fighting."

He laughed, hmph.

"I see. Nice to meet you."

Well, no point saying anything extra. If he turned out to be that guy's brother, I might've already been weirdly resented.

"Brother, so this is where you were… A-aaah! Y-you, you're…!"

Aw, crap…

Reichhardt. Adelia's former owner. The first Master I'd met when I came here.

To meet again like this.

He, too, seemed to remember my face, or Kanan's.

"That otherworld man from before… why is he here!? This is Seeds, a C-Class town! Don't tell me…"

Reichhardt checked the system.

"Gh… impossible, in this short time, C-Class rank 12…!? You climbed all the way up here!?"

Reichhardt was astonished.

I checked the system too.

Oh, when had this guy gotten this strong? In terms of fighting power, he was solidly C-Class. Being D-Class rank 1 was probably just a matter of promotion timing.

… Suzanne in particular was incredible. The highest value of any Garumon I'd seen so far, even surpassing Leone.

… Or rather, what was with "you climbed up here"? You're not C-Class either.

"Um… long time no see."

I struggled with how to greet him, but settled on a normal hello.

… Come to think of it, this guy was the only native Master I'd had a real conversation with…

Was I really this short on friends?

"Hmph… LV38, is it. It seems my Garumon is progressing nicely in her training too."

That said, I didn't want to be friends with him either.

"Adelia is mine."

I shot back.

"Y-you…! Don't get the wrong idea just because you're a little stronger than me! My true power comes out with Suzanne.

"Next time…"

Just as Reichhardt was about to flare up,

"Oh? So he was the otherworld Master you lost to. How interesting.

"… If we end up fighting, that makes it a revenge match for my brother."

Lasheid put in calmly.

"Gh… I cannot trouble you, Brother… A man of this caliber, I myself…!"

"Even if he ranks below me, he is at least nominally a C-Class. As a D-Class, you are no match for him.

"… It's fine. As nobles, educating the lower classes is also our duty."

"… Yes! Hmph. Out of consideration for my brother, I'll forgive you for now. By rights, I'd be reclaiming Adelia myself!"

Told off by Lasheid, Reichhardt backed down.

"Nobles, huh."

Yuria muttered.

"In this world, are nobles really exalted?"

"Ah, on its own it doesn't necessarily mean exalted.

"Nobles are essentially the sons of B-Class or higher Masters.

"Sons of B-Class Masters are called Baron.

"Sons of A-Class Masters are called Marcus.

"Sons of S-Class Masters are called Duke.

"Without ability of their own, it's a one-generation title at most. What ultimately matters is the person's actual ability.

"… That said, in practical terms, nobles are usually exceptionally strong among Masters.

"They inherit excellent Garumon from their fathers, or have powerful Garumon among their sisters that they command."

Yuria offered as supplementary explanation.

"Heh…"

Now that she mentioned it, that made sense. And in this world, getting your sisters pregnant was no problem either.

… Which meant that in this world, even I could do Setsuna… no, no. I wouldn't think about it for now.

"My apologies for my noisy brother.

"That said… let's drop the jokes."

With that…

"Could I ask you to withdraw from the tournament? I'll cover the cancellation fee."

Lasheid began, with a serious face.

"… Huh? What are you saying? We were just heading exactly toward fighting each other, weren't we?"

I couldn't help retorting.

"… Heading toward? Don't be ridiculous. Not even able to tell a joke from serious talk… this is why commoners…"

He gave a tired-sounding sigh.

What a similar pair of brothers.

"Let me educate ignorant you…

"For me, the C-Class number 1 of the Seeds Block, beating you is no trouble at all.

"But I have a reason for not wanting to fight you.

"Do you know what it is?"

"…"

If it wasn't fear of losing…

"To prepare for the swap match against the B-Class rankers waiting ahead, you don't want to reveal your hand… that's it?"

"Hoh, you're not as foolish as I thought."

Lasheid muttered, in a tone that could have been either impressed or condescending.

"That's correct. B-Class has only 512 members in the entire world. The true upper class.

"At that level, they're treated as proper full-fledged nobility. Status, honor, money, power… none of it comparable to C-Class.

"But promotion is just as difficult.

"The bottom of B-Class is heaven if you win, hell if you lose. They cling to their position with desperate, life-or-death effort.

"Only four challengers from C-Class can attempt the swap match every six months. Eight a year in total. But…

"do you know the success rate for B-Class promotion?"

"No."

"10%. Roughly less than one a year succeeds."

That sounded about moderately high to me. Well, those who could win would win, and those who couldn't wouldn't. Probability shouldn't really matter.

"There is a chasm between B-Class and C-Class… I won't deny that, but the bigger issue is the C-Class Tournament system itself.

"Anyone in B-Class can spectate the C-Class Tournament. Which means challengers have to enter the swap match with their strategy and tactics fully exposed.

"Facing a higher-ranked B-Class with a perfectly element-countered party assembled against you, how well do you think you can stand?"

"… I see."

"Since B-Class blocks our promotion with such thorough preparation, in order to win, the C-Class side has to counter. And that counter is…"

"I see. Coordinate from the start, neutralize the tournament, and stand before B-Class without showing your hand."

"That's right. Heh… such grasp of the situation is impressive, for a commoner.

"Thanks to such countermeasures, in recent years the win rate for B-Class promotion has risen.

"You wouldn't have to waste your funds on a needless defeat. It would be a win-win for both of us, don't you think?"

Lasheid laughed.

"Haha."

I couldn't help laughing too.

… Eh, was this the moment? … A chance? Coach Kishibe!

"But I refuse."

"W-what…?"

… Well, Lasheid being from another world, of course he wouldn't get a JoJo reference. He simply looked displeased.

"To begin with, I entered with the intent of winning the tournament outright. Being approached on the premise that I'd lose is out of the question.

"If you so don't want to fight in an official venue, shall we settle it somewhere else?"

"Ah, tournament participants can't engage in private duels with each other through the system until the tournament ends."

Yuria corrected me.

"Oh, is that so. Then it'll have to come down to the tournament after all."

"Are you a fool…! I told you that doing so plays right into the B-rankers' hands!"

"Thanks for the advice. Even so, the one who needs to worry about that is the winner, not the loser. So that'd be me, after I beat you.

"Or rather, isn't the reason you can't win that you're always coordinating instead of properly battling and honing your skills?"

When I said that…

"… Ha-ha-ha."

Lasheid let out a dry laugh, his eyes not laughing at all.

"Even for a commoner, this much ignorance is past saving."

With that, Lasheid went on…

"It can't be helped… educating fools like yourself is also a noble's duty.

"Fine. If I bring in the two reserves and clean it up without putting forward more than three of us, the information leakage damage will be minimized.

"… Besides, with 9 entrants, you're more likely to lose partway through anyway… ha-ha-ha-ha."

And laughing, Lasheid walked off.

"Ha-ha-ha! Angering my brother, what a fool. Whatever, when you lose, give me back my slave! Ha-ha-ha-ha!"

Reichhardt walked off laughing too.

"She's not yours, I keep telling you…"

He clearly hadn't been listening.

If you push so hard, want to bet your Suzanne on the duel?

That was what I wanted to say, but with a lower-ranked D-Class as the opponent, it was hard to bring up. It'd be picking on the weak.

… Looking at the picture again now, she really was cute…! Lush blonde curls, spirited red eyes like rubies…

No, looking again, she was honestly cute! She'd shine alongside Kanan and Adelia.

… Or rather, if I'd lost the first match, would that have happened? … I couldn't allow that.

Argh, if I had a slot open, I'd pay 400,000G… no, 2 million G… to take her.

… Wait, that was the same thing Nezu had done. Criticizing him with my mouth, but I was getting dyed by this world's values myself…

In any case, with no slot open I just had to give up.

I watched Suzanne walk away with lingering reluctance. We hadn't even directly met yet…

… But Suzanne's face… was it just my imagination that I'd seen it somewhere recently…?

I consulted Yuria and Lyuka about the C-Class Tournament.

"The tournament uses the same 6v6 battle format as the Nezu match. Once the first three are wiped out, the back three step in to fight.

"The side whose entire team falls loses."

"I see. There are only 8 entrants in C-Class besides me, so if I have info on 6 of them, that'll be enough for countermeasures."

Whenever I'd requested a Garumon Battle through the system, the option had always been grayed out due to insufficient numbers. Now that we'd exceeded six members, I could request it. 6v6 was probably the official Garumon Battle format.

"… Looking forward to it."

I licked my lips. A real fight against a top-class C-Class.

The C-Class qualifying tournament would be held in two days.

Nine participants.

C-Class ranks 1, 2, 3, 4, 8, 9, 10, 12, and 15… by and large, Seeds' top rankers were gathered here. In other words, most were on Nezu's level or above.

Or rather, even without my entry, there'd already been 8. Lasheid was sloppy.

The bracket: the winner of 12 vs 15 fought 1. 10 fought 2, 9 fought 3, and 8 fought 4. The top 4 advanced.

I see, a bracket entirely based on ranking.

So my opponent was C-Class rank 15 Adris.

"All right… let's go."

This was my C-Class debut and graduation match all at once.

"Value 5000+ and 4000+, huh."

By value, Sitri was SSR-Class, while Slea and Mehne were SR-Class.

I'd heard the C-Class top ranks were stacked with the highest-grade Garumon… seemed it was true.

But Nezu, who'd had three SSR-Class LV50s, had higher-quality Garumon. Having beaten him, I couldn't afford to lose to a lower-ranked opponent here.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Adris. Let's have a good match today."

"A-ah… nice to meet you. I'm Naoto Akai. Pleased to meet you."

… My opponent was a fresh, pleasant young man, completely out of place in this town of Seeds. A bit hard to deal with.

"Adris-san, did Lasheid ask you to withdraw too?"

"Yes, but I wanted to challenge B-Class through proper combat."

A decent person…

When I'd been D-Class champion, I'd had people use polite speech with me too, but this world rarely had people who used proper polite speech with equals or inferiors.

… If he seemed nice, could we maybe become friends?

I even thought that. Knowing only the Lasheid brothers as native Masters was lonely…

My first party was as follows.

"Go, Frau, Reza, Marja!"

The Garumon Adris fielded weren't any of the three displayed at the start.

No matter how many Garumon you had, only the three at the front of the system display were visible to the opponent.

That meant you could hide your strong Garumon, or conversely line up only your strongest ones to put on a show.

All three were in outfits that, by this world's standards, showed less skin: Frau in robes, Reza in bikini armor, Marja in a bikini. Even so, their classes were obvious without needing the names.

"A Mage, so Frau is originally an NPC. SR-Class or higher Garumon can be obtained, and once you can freely use Gate magic, the competition to scout an NPC Mage becomes fierce."

Lyuka explained.

"So with two Mages on my team, I should have some confidence?"

"Heh, that's right."

Well, anyway, let's go.

My selection criterion was just to start with the lowest three by level. Not at random, though.

It was a party with good Defender, Attacker, and Supporter balance.

I won't deny I prefer to keep my members' levels evenly matched.

It was why I disliked games where the protagonist couldn't be benched. Only the protagonist's LV would rise unevenly.

Sometimes I'd even kill them off to balance out the LV.

"LV35, 38… low level, but the values mark them as top-class rare Garumon.

"I'm sure they're strong… Looking forward to it."

"Pleased to meet you."

Battle start.

"Kanan, Wind's Blessing. Adelia, Boost Power. Lyuka, Holy Light."

"Frau, Needle Cannon. Reza, Power Slash. Marja, Dance of Exhilaration!"

Oh, the Dance version of March of Exhilaration, I guess.

The two attacks concentrated on Adelia.

"I won't let you!"

Klang klang!

Kanan splendidly cut in. Wind Shield, deflecting them. (8 left.)

Wait, Frau, that's magic but it's physical… seemed like Non-element. A rare type of magic.

"Holy Light!"

And Lyuka's magic. Its range was somewhere in between, not all-target, but not single-target either.

Since I wanted to catch as many of them as possible, the opponent's positioning became important.

I'd drilled the effective range in mock battles, so against opponents who didn't know the area, I could always land it on the whole group.

Base damage was about 15, so even though the system showed no damage numbers, by watching how the gauges dropped I could measure their HP this way.

Frau, 90 dots.

Roughly Frau 100 → 90, Reza 120 → 105, Marja 110 → 95, that kind of reduction.

Of course it depended on Magic Defense, so I couldn't be sure.

Being a Mage, I'd expected Frau's Magic Defense to be high. Otherwise it'd be unnatural for a low-LV Mage to have higher HP than Reza.

So enemy HP displays from here on weren't accurate, but I'll show my estimates where I have them.

"A defensive skill, huh… can't be helped. Reza, God-Breaker Sword.

"Frau, Strength Pressure on Reza. Marja, continue Dance of Exhilaration."

"…!"

Stacking buffs on a single attacker… probably a piercing, guaranteed-hit skill. If I didn't take her down fast, the damage would pile up.

But… she probably couldn't be taken down in one shot just yet.

"Adelia, Boost Power. Kanan, Wind's Blessing. Lyuka, Holy Light."

Buffs stacked. Reza came straight at Kanan. Aiming to drop the shielder first.

"I won't… agh!"

Just as I'd predicted, a piercing, guaranteed-hit skill. It slipped past Wind Shield and damaged Kanan.

But Kanan had guarded properly even while taking the hit. Even if it wasn't halved, the effect was at least somewhat reduced.

Even so, 82 → 62, decent damage. And was that the attack buff effect? Strong.

Lyuka's Holy Light still recovered Kanan's HP by 10, though. The opponent's HP went to the 80-90-80 range.

Damaging while healing was convenient.

But factoring in further buff stacking, four hits would put Kanan down.

… I had no intention of letting it drag out that long.

"… All right. We drop their shielder here too."

Non-element had few weaknesses and was hard to take down… but Adelia could do it.

"…! Reza, Sword Guard! Marja, Guardian Dance on Reza. Frau, Power of Defense on Reza!"

Sensing my offensive intent, they hardened their defense.

"Adelia, Fire Boost + Flame Claw! On Reza! Lyuka, Light's Blessing on Adelia! Kanan, Storm Cannon on Marja!"

In a normal turn order, Kanan with first-strike-imbued Storm Cannon would move first.

But this wasn't a video game. I could delay her action order. All she had to do was wait.

"Light's Blessing!"

Lyuka's light filled Adelia. Light's Blessing was tremendously effective. Atk/Def 30% UP, permanent first-strike, plus a one-time guaranteed-hit.

On top of that, it granted only the advantageous element effects of light.

Meaning 2x damage to dark, but no reduction against Non-element. A brazen, convenient magic. Limited to once per battle, though.

"Haaaah, Fire Boost, nyaaaa!"

Whoa! Adelia's whole body filled with red aura.

Attack power 2x. A potent buff layered onto Adelia… Once per battle was harsh, but the effect was splendid.

On top of that…

"Flame Claw!"

DOGAAAAAAN!

A super-massive Flame Claw with a base 50 damage, multiplied by 2.25 from two Boost Powers. Light's Blessing brought it to 2.55x. Fire Boost pushed it to 5x!

No matter how much defensive skill she'd stacked, even if it was once per battle, in the face of this much firepower…

Thud.

Vrrrr! The gauge dropped at terrifying speed and Reza fell. Despite stacking defensive buffs, it had been complete overkill.

"Wha… what!?"

"No way… Reza in one hit!?"

The shield's instant collapse threw the other two into disarray. The buffs they'd cast on Reza this turn were wasted too.

"Storm Cannon!"

Du!

Whirling wind charged like a cannon. Storm Cannon pierced Marja. Damage was about 40, slightly below expectation.

"Calm down. Take them down one at a time, steadily!"

Adris encouraged her.

"But, my physical magic…"

"It's fine. Skills like that have limited charges. You can break through! Needle Rain! Marja, Guardian Dance on Frau!"

… Yeah, as expected of C-Class. Counters to my offense, callouts to her Garumon, the basics covered well. Not weak at all.

"Adelia, Flame Claw on Frau. Kanan, Storm Cannon on Marja! Lyuka, Holy Light!"

The first-strike skill, plus Kanan's speed, let her move first and pierce Marja. But she couldn't take her down.

"Flame Claw!"

"Guardian Dance!"

Then Adelia's first-strike-buffed attack. But Marja's Guardian Dance was in time.

… Frau's HP just barely held on.

"Needle Rain!"

Frau's attack triggered. From above, a rain of arrows poured down.

"I won't allow it!"

Kanan stood with arms spread wide. Adelia and Lyuka slid in at her feet.

Klang, klang, klang… Three Wind Shields consumed.

And then…

"Holy Light!"

Lyuka's magic detonated.

"Aah…!"

Frau fell.

"Kyaaah…!"

Marja fell too.

… Well, a bit sorry, but overall we were the stronger side. That was all there was to it.

"Gh… s-strong…!"

Adris groaned.

All right, the first party had scored a fortunate victory.

For info-gathering on the next party, the first party's win was a huge advantage.

"Sitri, Slea, Mehne… go!"

The next members. So this was the real fight, huh.

But party swaps didn't reset the buffs we'd stacked.

… Both Kanan and Adelia were well buffed up. Wasn't this almost always going to be a one-sided sweep if the first party won? Did 6v6 really have meaning?

Well, you couldn't rule out an off-the-charts opponent like Nezu's goddess. I'd stay vigilant.

"Sitri! Wild Slash! Mehne, Battle Blessing on Sitri. Slea, Guard!"

Slea planted her great shield with a thud. She looked exactly like a Guardian Knight.

Mehne was a Mage… unlike attack-focused Frau, more of a blessing-type, maybe?

Sitri was an Assassin-type, an agile-looking swordswoman.

If Guard was up, normal attacks couldn't get through, but…

"Adelia, activate guaranteed-hit, Flame Claw on Sitri! Lyuka, Holy Light. Kanan, Tornado!"

"Nyaaaah!"

DOGOOON!

A guaranteed-hit attack would slip past Guard, and Adelia's strike landed on Sitri.

"W-what!? Slea, activate!"

But at that moment…

"Perfect Guardian Shield!"

A discretionary-activation skill of Slea's, perhaps!

"Nyaah!"

"Kyaah!"

"Agh!"

Adelia's attack, Lyuka and Kanan's magic, all of it bounced off.

Discretionary activation, complete physical-and-magic nullification…!? Wasn't that overpowered?

… Then again, Lyuka's Light Protes was the same. Probably a one-turn-limited defense skill. It had to be, otherwise it'd be a problem.

"Battle Blessing!"

Vrrrr…!

Then a buff was applied to Sitri.

About 50% on attack and defense, or maybe more. A pretty significant buff… I was getting to where I could roughly tell buff strength from how it glowed. I was getting too good at this.

"Wild Slash!"

Zan zan zan zan! Sitri's random 4-hit combo.

"I'll guard!"

Klang! Whoosh! Klang! Whoosh!

That technique…!

"… Nicely done! Kanan!"

I let slip a word of praise. She received and deflected unavoidable attacks, channeling the opponent's strikes in a single direction.

By doing that, she steered the trajectory of the second strike, making it dodgeable.

The third, freely thrown, couldn't be dodged, so she received and deflected it, then dodged the fourth.

A defensive technique she'd drilled against Adelia's Mad Slash. Splendid!

"Gh… my skill's exhausted, I'm at a disadvantage. But this is just the start…!

"Sitri, Wild Slash, Slea, Purifying Light! Mehne, Battle Blessing!"

"Adelia, Flame Claw on Slea.

"Kanan, Tornado.

"Lyuka, Holy Light!"

"Nyaaaah!"

Adelia's attack. But…

"Purifying Light!"

Slea's light triggered first. So it activated before the turn even started.

There was such a setup-style activation timing too, huh.

Adelia's attack still landed… but the damage was nothing much. Couldn't even shave half her HP off.

"My Purifying Light cancels all effects on a single target. It's an essential skill for the rear party."

Slea explained.

"I see…"

A kind person. But spilling your own info was a no-no.

It'd surely show up in the system if checked, but in actual combat there was rarely time to check the system, so the opponent might not have known the skill effect.

Well, having a buff-cancel skill made sense.

Otherwise the buffed-up first party would be too overwhelming.

… But then, why didn't she use it on the first turn?

No, she'd been calculating that Guard would handle it. When that fell short of expectations and didn't block, she'd hurriedly used the skill.

That logic held. Truly, a high-ranking C-Class.

… Said by someone looking down on a high-ranking C-Class. That was rich, coming from me.

"Tornado!"

Kanan's skill. Damage to the whole group, but… Sitri's Magic Defense was high.

Less damage than Slea even. Was this the Battle Blessing buff effect?

Letting her stack Battle Blessings on Sitri unchallenged might be pretty bad.

"Wild Slash!"

"This…!"

Klang! Whoosh! Klang! Whoosh!

Again, what I'd consider a fairly high-level technique, Kanan reproduced splendidly.

… But the remaining Wind Shields were down to the last one. Blocking the next damage might be hard…

"Holy Light!"

All-target. Did they not know Lyuka's was an area attack?

If they'd spread their formation, she couldn't have caught them all, but they hadn't done that.

Well, I wasn't going to be kind enough to teach them.

… That kind of attitude was probably why I had no friends.

… But I learned this much: Sitri was Dark-element. Lyuka's attack dealt extra damage to her.

Which meant… could I get there with Adelia's Flame Claw? Light's Blessing granted Light-advantage element, so… no, that had been undone by Purifying Light just now.

Lyuka's once-per-battle Light's Blessing was rough…

Hm, wait. If the Party 1 fight and Party 2 fight counted as separate battles, couldn't I use Light's Blessing again?

… Worth trying.

Honestly, it'd be easier to focus Kanan's party on whittling them down and leaving the rest to the next party.

… But having come this far, I wanted to win with my current force. That was how I felt.

"Slea, Guard! Sitri, Wild Slash! Mehne, stack Battle Blessing on Sitri!"

"Kanan, Tornado."

Whittle everyone but Slea. There was a play to take down Mehne first, but unless I dropped their main attacker Sitri, this fight wouldn't end. Here… I was betting!

"Wild Slash!"

Here it came. How far could I block this…!

Klang! Whoosh! Two strikes as planned. But the third…!

"Agh!"

Zan!

Kanan got cut, took damage, and showed the same parry.

Whoosh!

Dodged the fourth.

… But terrible damage. More than half. Not the kind of random attack you'd expect to take that much damage from.

One more hit and Kanan would fall. Then Adelia and Lyuka would be taken out in short order.

… No more capacity to endure.

"Lyuka, Light's Blessing on Adelia!"

"! … Yes! Light's Blessing!"

… It triggered! What was that "once per battle" stuff, it worked just fine!

"All right Adelia, activate guaranteed-hit, Flame Claw on Sitri!"

"Nyaaaaaaah!"

This left attack power only 60% UP, a little sad, but Light's super-effective bonus against Dark was special, dealing 4x damage.

Even with all those Battle Blessings stacked…

"Nyaaaaaa! Flame Claw!"

"…!"

DOGOOOOOO!

With Light-element imbued, Adelia's attack should be able to break through!

… But the gauge held on at the very last sliver. Buffs slightly insufficient, or Endure…!

Damn it, just one more hit.

… Or, could I drop her with Kanan's Tornado? No, if Slea hit Kanan with Purifying Light, Kanan's speed was probably below Sitri's.

Sitri's attack would drop Kanan, and the question was how far Lyuka's Light Shield could protect her.

Then first-strike Storm Cannon, but if Slea used a draw-in defense…

No, normally she'd use Purifying Light, so Storm Cannon should be able to drop her. But…

What would they do, what would I do… interesting. My head was spinning.

… Stay one step ahead, take her down. Treat this as a last-stand fight, push myself… and surpass them!

"Kanan, Storm Cannon!"

"Slea, Purifying Light on Kanan!"

I read it through.

"Haa!"

Storm Cannon hit Slea directly… But she didn't fall! Last time had been insufficient damage; this time it was probably Endure activating.

But…

"That's more like it. Otherwise it wouldn't be fun!"

I'd been bracing myself, intending to dodge Sitri's attack. If we'd taken her down outright it'd actually have been a letdown.

"Wild Slash!"

"Light Shield!"

Lyuka's discretionary-activation defense skill. I knew this would block one strike. But Lyuka's Light Shield couldn't trigger four times in a row in one moment.

… So I'd just asked Lyuka to activate the shield as fast as her limit allowed.

… Probably, the 1st and 3rd strikes could be blocked with that.

What about the 2nd and 4th? Kanan had to dodge them on her own.

Klang!

The question was how. If Kanan blocked with the shield, she could limit the deflection direction, controlling the start point of the next attack and making its trajectory readable. But when blocked by Lyuka's shield, the deflection couldn't be predicted…

"Aaaah!"

Who decided that?

By pushing Light Shield from behind, I adjusted its angle. Matching the moment of impact, I deflected the sword in a fixed direction!

"From the 2-o'clock direction, an overhead diagonal slash!"

Tan!

Kanan dodged the sword with a splendid sway.

"Light Shield!"

Lyuka, having squeezed every drop of speed out of herself, triggered Light Shield.

Catching the shield Lyuka tossed her, Kanan deflected the attack with that shield!

Pakiin!

"From 9-o'clock, a horizontal cut straight across!"

Shuba…!

Dodged…! With perfect coordination between the two of them, she dodged a 4-hit combo at a timing that should have been impossible.

"Holy Light!"

DOKAAAN!

Lyuka, having waited for her chance, unleashed her magic and took down Sitri.

Considerable damage to Slea too. Mehne's HP was still mostly intact, but…

"… With Sitri down, this is the end.

"I surrender."

Adris gave up and surrendered.

… I won. By pushing myself, I'd seen further growth. A fruitful victory.

… Maybe because I was so deeply satisfied with the result.

Or maybe because he was so dejected, saying "couldn't take down even one of yours… I'm reminded of my own lack of ability…", I couldn't bring myself to suggest becoming friends or anything like that.

He'd been a real, decent Master I'd met, too…