Strength

Iron Gate Style!

He drew his sword in a flash, holding the broadsword across his chest.

"Clang..."

The arrow struck the blade and sparked against it. The impact also made Karl stagger to a stop.

"Attack!"

The red-haired man among the three across from him flicked his hand and said coldly:

"Kill him!"

The other two charged without a word. Despite the thick ice underfoot, they moved astonishingly fast.

One of them carried a spear. Leaning forward, he adjusted his stance so the spearhead stayed pointed at Karl's heart.

A thrust!

It was the most common move used by spearmen.

A longer weapon had the advantage. Combined with the wielder's body weight, a spear driven forward at speed could easily pierce a beast.

Fast!

Accurate!

Brutal!

Though he wasn't a Knight Squire, the power behind that thrust was already on par with that of an ordinary Knight Squire.

The other man carried a long saber. He accelerated with short steps, charging hard, his eyes fixed on Karl as he prepared to strike.

Compared with the assassins in Signo City, the people here were clearly better at fighting other people.

Or rather...

Each and every one of them had been through countless battles and was rich in experience.

"Clang!"

The weapons collided.

Karl swung his broadsword to block the spear, turning to meet the saber-wielder head-on.

Their tremendous force shattered the ice on the ground. Ice shards flew everywhere as the three figures tangled together.

Rage Strike!

"Bang!"

One man staggered backward.

Seizing the opening, Karl narrowed his eyes.

Zero-ring Witchcraft—Lesser Force Field!

An invisible force field appeared out of nowhere, instantly encompassing the entire area. The two men charging at him paled.

Under the force field's influence, their movements faltered and their attacks were disrupted. The coordination they'd maintained so well developed a gap.

"Spell sigil..."

"Pfft!"

Before one of them could finish speaking, a broadsword swept into view. His head flew high, and blood sprayed more than a foot into the air from his severed neck.

Slash!

Karl's expression was cold as he seized the chance to strike with a furious blow.

"Pfft!"

The saber-wielder's chest split open. He cried out and staggered backward.

Karl was about to press his advantage when his expression suddenly changed. He threw himself to the side and rolled away.

As he leapt, a head-sized fireball shot past the spot where he'd been and slammed into a wall.

After enduring a long period of bitter cold and frost, the wall had become as hard as steel. Even a longsword could leave only a shallow mark.

Now...

The fireball hit the wall and exploded with a roar, blasting a hole straight through it and melting the ice and snow around it.

If that had struck a person, even a Knight Squire would probably have been reduced to ashes on the spot.

What kind of attack was that?

Witchcraft?

Karl's heart raced, but his movements didn't falter. He rolled forward and lunged at the red-haired man.

He was the one who'd raised his hand and conjured the fireball.

Unlike the other people Karl had met in Black City, the red-haired man wore fine clothes. His long hair was smooth, his face spotless, and even the leather boots on his feet were immaculate. His status was likely far above the rest.

"Whoosh!"

Instead of choosing to "cast a spell" against the charging Karl, the red-haired man drew his sword from his waist and flicked it, producing several afterimages.

That speed...

A Knight Squire!

And certainly no newly advanced Knight Squire.

"Ha!"

Karl let out a low shout, increasing his speed once more.

Combat technique—Gale Slash!

Four afterimages appeared out of nowhere. Along with the broadsword itself, the five sword images engulfed his opponent in an instant.

With the Lesser Force Field supporting him, the air within several meters seemed to slow.

"Clink..."

"Clang!"

The clash of weapons rang out like a rainstorm.

The red-haired man clearly hadn't expected an invisible force field. His face changed dramatically, but his movements stayed steady.

"Clang..."

He blocked it!

Though the red-haired man struggled desperately, his solid foundation let him withstand the attack.

"Hmph!"

His sword flicked, and the two clashed in midair.

Suddenly,

a flash of light appeared out of nowhere. To people who had lived in Black City for years, it was painfully bright.

Light Spell!

The red-haired man shut his eyes instinctively, then realized something was wrong.

Damn it!

"Pfft!"

The broadsword swept across his abdomen, opening a long gash. Karl twisted and struck again, completely ending his opponent's life.

Dead!

Karl held his sword, breathing hard as he looked at the last man in the field.

The saber-wielder, who was gravely wounded.

A moment later,

three bodies lay scattered on the ground. Their steaming blood flowed across the ice, and Karl's face had gone pale.

The people of Black City were incredibly fierce.

Even when hopelessly outmatched, they fought back with everything they had. They were nothing like the fanatics among the Fire Thieves.

They were cruel and vicious, treating human life as worthless.

Not only other people's lives, but their own as well. Perhaps the conditions in Black City were precisely what had shaped them this way.

"Hm?"

Karl searched the red-haired man's body, puzzled.

"No Enchanted Item?"

He hadn't forgotten that the man had "cast a spell" to attack him.

When a Wizard Apprentice activated witchcraft, it caused a ripple in their mental power. Ordinary people couldn't detect it, but Karl, as a fellow Wizard Apprentice, should have sensed it.

The flawless version—where every word is correct!

There had been no obvious ripple in his mental power just now. That only happened when someone used an Enchanted Item to cast a spell.

But...

There was no Enchanted Item on the corpse.

"Strange."

Karl rubbed his chin, eyes flickering with thought. He bent down and stripped every piece of clothing from the red-haired man.

Then,

his gaze fell on the corpse's left arm.

"Whoosh!"

"Pfft!"

Karl swung his broadsword and cut off the arm. He wrapped it in the clothing, then hurried away before the others arrived.

A moment later,

several figures appeared at the scene.

"Red Hair is dead."

A man crouched beside the body and spoke in a muffled voice:

"Whoever did this was quick and decisive. They killed three people in a short fight. Among Knight Squires, they're definitely an expert."

"They also took Red Hair's spell sigil."

The person examining the body looked up, revealing a delicate, pretty face.

"Big Brother, does the Scythe Gang have an expert like this?"

A hulking figure stood not far away, as imposing as a giant bear. At her question, he shook his head.

"No."

He clenched his five fingers.

"All five heads of the Scythe Gang, including Goron, died by my hand."

"Then someone else did it." The woman shrugged. Though the dead man had been their companion, she showed not a hint of sympathy.

"Red Hair was really unlucky. He ran into an expert halfway to his destination."

"Find them."

The burly man spoke in a muffled voice.

"Whoever killed one of our Brotherhood, they'll pay the price."

"Yes."

The woman nodded and let out a low whistle.

At once,

the earth around them trembled. Rats scurried out from dark corners, sniffed the ground, and scattered in every direction.

*

*

*

Divine Domain Fragment.

Karl took a large glass vessel from among the stacked items and poured in the experimental coagulating solution until it was full.

Finally,

he placed the red-haired man's arm inside.

He'd gone to the trouble of bringing back the arm for a reason: the patterns on it.

"Spell Model?"

Karl rested his chin in his hand, deep in thought.

The markings on the arm were complicated and bizarre. Staring at them for too long made him dizzy. They resembled a Spell Model.

The red-haired man wasn't a Wizard Apprentice and didn't have an Enchanted Item. He'd been able to cast a spell because of these markings. Could Karl figure out how they worked?

Analyzing Spell Models was a subject every wizard had to learn.

Otherwise, if they got hold of an Enchanted Item, how would they know how to activate it or what witchcraft had been copied onto it?

It all required analysis.

But for a novice, analyzing a Spell Model was no easy task. That was true even for a relatively simple spell.

"Could there really be witchcraft in another world?"

"Hmm..."

"Or maybe they call it a spell sigil!"

Karl had heard a little about spell sigils, but he'd only ever dealt with people at the bottom of society. He knew very little.

"Perhaps..."

Karl pondered.

"I should spend more time exploring Black City."

He was no longer the ordinary man who had once faced an unknown world and had to tread carefully.

He was now a Knight Squire and Wizard Apprentice with considerable fighting strength.

The red-haired man had been powerful. He'd held off combat techniques even under the influence of the force field. Though he might not have been as strong as Dina, he couldn't have been far behind. Yet Karl had still killed him with his sword.

By that measure,

Karl's strength was at least on par with that of a peak Knight Squire.

From what he'd heard over the past few days, the most powerful figures in Black City were only Knights. A peak Knight Squire was already an outstanding fighter among the various factions.

Still, to be safe and make sure no one was keeping watch on the other side, he didn't plan to go there for the next few days. He'd wait a while before deciding.