Mastery of All Weapons

If—Gapar meant if.

If this battle of his were being livestreamed right now, he might have turned to the audience in front of the screen and asked:

"Am I going to die, folks?"

Then the director should cut to commercials. Whether it was House of Bede's toy factory or Kuripa's homemade Century Soup, they would surely get massive exposure with ratings this high, and the advertising money would come rolling in.

But sadly, this wasn't a livestream. No one had witnessed Gapar's battle from beginning to end.

Though there was no advertising money, still—

"If possible, I'd rather not let anyone see me lose."

Maintaining an air of mystery was the key to crafting the image of an aloof master.

"I regret not bringing more weapons in."

He rolled his shoulders and gripped Moonveil more tightly. Burning Wolf's Blood enhanced one's strength and made the mind excited as well, but he adjusted his state and suppressed that excitement, restoring his calm.

Excitement might make him fight better, but calm would let him fight longer.

He was ready now, ready for an all-out battle.

At the very moment his mind settled, the Mimic Tear made its move.

A Fingerprint Stone Shield, heavy and rough like an uncarved boulder, appeared in its left hand. In its right was an Antspur Rapier wreathed in poison and rot. On closer inspection, this Antspur Rapier was longer than ordinary weapons of its kind, giving it a greater attack range.

Gapar recognized it at a glance. It was the shield-poke tactic that had once been popular among adventurers.

Even now, shield-poking remained popular with novice adventurers, because having a shield in hand truly gave one a great sense of security. Veteran adventurers, however, did not like it, because when facing stronger monsters, the drawbacks of shields—even