Magic: Otherworld Edition Kidō! (Seeking Reads)

Chapter 17: Magic—An Otherworldly Version of Kidō!

Seeing that his spar with Rex had even spawned a betting pool, Yoru Machi had originally wanted to cash in on it himself. Unfortunately, his pockets were empty at the moment, so he had no choice but to let the opportunity slip by.

"Ahhh—!"

"Take this! Martial Skill: Lightning Slash!"

Rex was well aware, based on their past sparring experience with Yoru Machi, that his odds of winning a one-on-one duel were practically nonexistent.

If he waited for Yoru Machi to make the first move, he might not even get a chance to counterattack before the match ended in a hasty loss.

So Rex's thinking was crystal clear: even if he had to lose, he would at least lose spectacularly—he couldn't afford to look too pathetic in front of so many onlookers.

"No way, that kid Rex is actually going all out! Against a rookie, he's already pulling out a martial skill like that? Is he trying to kill the newbie?!"

As Yoru Machi had learned earlier, almost everyone in Gran Bahamar could wield magic. Some adventurers of considerable skill could even fuse their martial skills with magic, creating far more formidable techniques.

The martial skill Rex was using right now was exactly that kind of power.

Golden light surged as mana instantly flooded into the longsword in Rex's hands. Tiny arcs of golden electricity crackled and danced along the blade.

And because of this skill, Rex's speed had clearly increased compared to before. In the blink of an eye, he had already closed the distance and was charging straight at Yoru Machi.

Unlike the startled crowd around him, Yoru Machi wasn't particularly alarmed by Rex's martial skill. Instead, he was more curious.

He had only arrived in this world not long ago, and this was his first real encounter with its magic.

Earlier, when Rex and his two companions had been beaten senseless by Yoru Machi, they hadn't used any magic.

Not because they didn't want to—but because Yoru Machi's Hakuda had been too fast, and combined with their own carelessness, they hadn't even had time to cast a single spell.

Watching the Lightning Slash come crashing down at him like a bolt of thunder, Yoru Machi calmly tightened his grip on the crude bone blade in his hand and raised it to block the descending strike.

"Boom—!"

When Rex's two-handed downward slash collided with Yoru Machi's horizontally braced bone blade, a massive shockwave erupted. Violent lightning lashed out in all directions, and a blinding flash of light instantly stole everyone's vision.

"Rex, have you lost your mind?! Yoru Machi is still a rookie, and you actually—!"

As the savage lightning flared, its wild arcs shattered the ground, kicking up a thick cloud of dust. Staring at the figures of Rex and Yoru Machi now hidden behind the curtain of sand, Soya immediately shouted at Rex in fury.

Originally, Soya had thought that sparring with Rex would help Yoru Machi recognize his own limits. Sure, he might get hurt, but that was still better than dying recklessly at the hands of a monster.

But she never imagined that in what was supposed to be just a simple spar, Rex would go this far. That last martial skill had practically been a killing blow!

However, before Soya could finish her angry rebuke, the scene unfolding before her made her words die in her throat. She didn't even know if she should still be angry anymore.

And it wasn't just her. The sight before them left the other adventurers watching from the sidelines equally dumbfounded and stunned. Some even forgot to drink the ale in their hands.

Moments ago, everyone had seen Rex gripping his sword with both hands, unleashing the martial skill "Lightning Slash" as he swung it at Yoru Machi. The rookie adventurer, standing his ground, had seemingly had no time to dodge and could only resort to a passive block.

Though the rising dust had obscured both figures, most people assumed the duel was already over. The only question now was how badly Yoru Machi was injured.

But what had they just seen? That figure that had come flying out of the dust cloud with a "whoosh"—wasn't that Rex, the one who had just used his martial skill and whom everyone had assumed was the victor?

At first, everyone thought their eyes were playing tricks on them. But when another figure slowly emerged from the dust, holding his blade in one hand, they realized in shock that the one who had been sent flying was indeed Rex!

"I see. So this is what they call magic and martial skills. A powerful force—it feels somewhat similar to the Kidō I know, but it's a different kind of power altogether.

Speaking of which, can I still use Kidō in this world? Maybe now's a good time to find out?"

The "Lightning Slash" Rex had just used felt to Yoru Machi like a Reiatsu-infused strike, though its power was rather weak. Still, the way it channeled energy was refreshingly novel.

"Ye who rules the heavens! A flesh mask, myriad forms, feathered wings, bearing the name of man! Scorching heat and strife, surging against the tide, marching southward, step by step!

Hadō #31: Shakkahō!"

Slowly walking out of the dust, Yoru Machi held the bone blade—now cracked along its edge—in one hand while extending the other forward, rapidly chanting the incantation for Kidō.

Because his power system had already been converted by the system to match the local world's framework, a red magic circle materialized in front of his palm as he chanted.

Reiatsu transformed into mana, surging up from Yoru Machi's body. The gale swirling around him instantly blew away the remaining dust.

And in the next second, a blazing crimson fireball, a full three meters in diameter, emerged from the magic circle before his hand and shot off at terrifying speed toward the direction where Rex had been sent flying.

Yoru Machi was stunned. He had consciously restrained his Reiatsu, but he never expected the Shakkahō to come out this absurdly large.

Moreover, since the Kidō had been converted into magic, it had lost its original property of being maintainable after release. The moment his chant ended, the fireball had already blasted out of his hand.

Watching the sun-like crimson sphere streak across the guild hall, leaving a scorched trail on the floor, Yoru Machi instantly moved.

No way. Sure, he was still annoyed at Rex for his earlier behavior, but at most, he just wanted to teach him a lesson—not kill him.

From their previous encounter, he already had a clear grasp of Rex's strength. If that otherworldly version of Shakkahō hit him head-on, Rex would have absolutely no chance of survival!

He had only registered as an adventurer today, and he planned to keep using that identity for a while. He didn't want to end up a wanted criminal because of an accidental manslaughter.

Yoru Machi's feet tapped lightly against the ground. With the boost from Shunpo, his figure vanished from everyone's sight in an instant. By the time the onlookers snapped back to their senses, they were shocked to find Yoru Machi already standing in front of the crimson fireball he himself had released!

(New book begging for collections, follow-reads, recommendation tickets, monthly tickets, and a beating... ahem, I mean, begging for everything! (￣▽￣))