Chapter 53

Part 3: Skill Verification (1)

I tried to speak as calmly as possible, but my mother closed her eyes and said,

"I just wanted you to live a peaceful life..."

As expected, my mother's intuition was terrifying. She seemed to have grasped the situation to some extent after hearing my story.

I, too, wish for a peaceful life, but honestly, if it weren't for my abilities, I would have died long ago.

It wasn't just about living a peaceful life; I had to struggle hard just to survive.

"Besides, a sparring match with Lord Manuel? Are you sure you'll be okay?"

"Yes, I'll be fine. Ah! That's right. Come with us. I want you to see my skills."

Thinking about it, I had been too inconsiderate of my mother. When I go abroad to study, my mother will be left behind, and she will undoubtedly worry. But my mother's worry about my going abroad must be no less.

I thought I should change the purpose of the sparring match a bit.

I need to reassure my mother through this sparring match.

I escorted my mother to the forest at the back of the mansion.

The family's training ground, where I had been practicing, was crowded with many people.

The old butler, the captain of the knights, Simon, and the duchess were all there.

And in front of them, Second Son Manuel was waiting for me, flicking sparks from his fingers.

A rare gathering of the family (if you can call it that).

Unfortunately, the duke was not present.

While I was preparing for the sparring match, Manuel spoke to me.

His words, delivered with a haughty tone, were unfortunately not new.

"You fight well for your age, but I'll show you that a noble's fight isn't like that."

It was a story I had heard many times and knew well.

Of course, a knight's battle using mana was very different from a commoner's fight.

It felt like the difference between a medieval battle and a modern tank battle.

There were no long-range artillery or machine guns, but the appearance of a knight using mana, considering their defensive and offensive capabilities, was not much different from a tank in my previous life.

However, compared to the battles between nobles, a knight's battle was not much different from a commoner's fight.

"A noble's battle is more like a superpower fight, where the size and compatibility of abilities are crucial, right?"

It was a completely fantastical... no, an SF superpower novel kind of fight.

My older brother, standing in front of me, was clearly preparing for such a fight.

He wasn't wearing proper armor and was generating sparks above his hand.

Well, if he were a knight or soldier in metal armor or with a metal sword, he would have fallen immediately from that electric attack.

Not wearing armor doesn't mean he's completely immune to electricity.

Come to think of it, maybe that's why my brother isn't wearing proper armor.

I considered taking off my armor and using a wooden sword, but that didn't seem like a proper response, so I dressed properly.

Honestly, I wanted to win without considering compatibility.

I don't know what I'm doing fighting a child, but I'm young too, so it's fine.

So, I put on armor that fit me well and picked up a practice steel sword.

I couldn't use the greatsword or the dagger from the ruins. Even if I didn't show the abilities I can use with those weapons, a skilled observer could ask many questions about the two swords.

I could probably get away with it with others, but if the duchess, the captain of the knights, or the head butler noticed, it would be very troublesome.

"Hmph, so you're just imitating a knight. It's natural for you to act like this since you've never fought a proper noble."

Hmm, I have more fighting experience than he does. I've fought the inheritance ability several times, even if I'm not a proper noble.

I was puzzled by Manuel's confident appearance.

Hmm? Could it be that he didn't tell his brother?

I glanced at Simon. He might not have seen the fight, but he must have watched our sparring during the journey.

Simon's skills weren't bad either.

When I looked at Simon, his expression was somewhat strange.

He was looking at his brother, but his expression seemed a bit cold.

Ah, could it be that his brother was also a competitor? Or is there another reason?

No, now is not the time to think about this. I pushed aside the distracting thoughts. Now was the time to focus on the sparring match.

I held my sword and walked up to Manuel, looking around.

The captain of the knights and the head butler were watching us with interest.

Simon was standing next to the duchess, who had a stern face, with a strange expression.

Next to the duchess stood her personal guard, and a bit further away, my mother and my personal maid, Flora, were looking at me.

My mother was watching me with a worried face, and Flora was trying to reassure her.

After looking around, I stood in front of Manuel.

Manuel's face was full of mockery. However, his face didn't register in my mind.

Instead, perhaps because of the audience, I felt a strange heat that I hadn't felt before.

I unconsciously gripped the hilt of my sword tightly.

It wasn't a life-or-death battle, and I wasn't particularly nervous. But the heat rose in my body as I felt everyone's gaze.

It was a very pleasant heat. This must be the power of a match with an audience.

I really need to hide what I need to hide, but I still need to fight properly.

As Manuel and I took our positions,

The captain of the knights, acting as the referee, gave a brief warning and then signaled the start.

The match began.

Flash!

At the same time, my vision turned white.

Boom!

A thunder-like sound followed.

I forced mana into my eyes to barely recover my vision.

My vision recovered, but my eyelids were still trembling, and my body was shaking from the electric shock.

Spit!

I spat out the blood in my mouth and glared at Manuel.

Was he underestimating me? Attacking right at the start. I almost got hit if I hadn't reacted.

Moreover, he didn't make any specific motion to attack.

The sparks on his hand didn't change, he didn't extend his hand, and he didn't flick his fingers.

It was as if a lightning bolt struck me directly. Or rather, it was as if a lightning bolt connected me and Manuel.

Honestly, his attack was unavoidable.

However, Manuel, who was standing in front of me, had a deeply frowning face.

He probably intended to mock me after successfully attacking at the start, but his smile was twisted and incomplete.

That was because I had dodged his surprise attack.

Of course, I didn't dodge based on his attack motion. I dodged based on the mana flowing through his body.

If I hadn't sensed the mana, I would have definitely been hit.

The ground where I originally stood, and the middle ground between us, was charred black, and sparks were still flowing around it.

Moreover, even though I had moved as far as possible from the attack point, I couldn't completely avoid the attack.

The attack was much stronger than I expected. If I had been hit directly, I might have lost in the worst case.

I used mana to shake off the remaining electric shock from my body. As expected, the mana easily pushed away the remaining electric shock.

'Mana is almost a cure-all.'

As the electric shock disappeared, my trembling body returned to normal.

Indeed, there was a hidden ace.

Or, is it right to use such a hidden ace in a sparring match between brothers?

Moreover, such hidden aces are usually quite risky.

Manuel's face, which was glaring at me, was pale, and he was panting as if he couldn't catch his breath.

It seemed to be quite risky.

'Well, I don't need to show mercy.'

I immediately ran forward to end it.

Manuel's face came closer, and I sensed something strange.

His pale face quickly returned to normal, and his panting breaths returned to normal.

'What is it?'

Moreover, the mana that had been depleted from Manuel's body quickly returned.

It was a good opportunity, but based on my experience, it wasn't the right time to attack.

"Ch!"

I clicked my tongue and leaped backward.

At the same time, Manuel tensed his body and shouted, and a current surged over his body.

"Roar!"

This time, it seemed he couldn't use the technique without a specific motion.

He glared at me with a pale face.

"Impossible! How did you dodge that? And you were clearly shocked!"

He shouted at me, who had retreated.

What is he thinking, shouting during a fight?

Moreover, I had a question for him.

How did he recover his mana so quickly when he had used it to the point of depletion?

He was still emitting electric shocks, and it didn't seem like he was running out of mana.

Crack!

Of course, his face was gradually becoming paler, but it was unbelievable that he could maintain such electric shocks at his age.

I had never heard that Manuel had a mana recovery ability.

Moreover, I had never heard of anyone having more than one ability besides myself.

"Could it be that he has an artifact that recovers mana?"

"That's impossible! I don't have such a thing!"

Manuel shouted in a stuttering voice in response to my muttering.

Hmm? It was a mutter?

Could it be that such a thing really exists?

Moreover, a small sigh was heard through my mana-enhanced ears.

I glanced to the side, and Simon was covering his face, while the duchess was frowning deeply.

It seemed that such an item really existed.

My older brother, who was sparring with me, was secretly using it.

Well, if he's using it secretly, it might not be noticed.

This couldn't be a proper sparring match.

The captain of the knights also cleared his throat, indicating that the sparring match might be stopped.

I can't just let it go.

I looked at Manuel, who was still emitting electricity from his body.

Because of the electricity, it was difficult to approach or swing my sword.

Whatever the artifact is, it must be difficult to maintain the electricity for long.

Manuel also seemed to be getting more tired.

Well, he might fall on his own after a while.

"Argh! Die!"

Manuel, realizing something was wrong, shot some of the electricity at me.

Crack! Crack!

However, unlike the first attack, it was easy to dodge the obvious attack.

Ducking the attack, Manuel quickly became more exhausted.

If I just keep this up a bit longer, I might win.

However, the captain of the knights might stop the sparring match before that, and I didn't want to end it like this.