Further gained the favor of Rudeus and Sylphy. Childhood participation increased.
Current stage: Childhood. Cumulative participation score: 54.
Evaluation: I never expected showing off could also earn favor.
Allen frowned at the floating system panel before him.
No, when did I show off? Where did this favor come from?
He turned to look at Sylphy on the hillside. She was staring blankly in his and Rudy's direction.
He then turned to Rudy, who was also spacing out.
...What the hell.
"Hey, Rudy, stop staring into space. Put more mana into it and fire another one. Look, Sylphy's already completely captivated by you."
Rudy blinked, snapping out of the suspension bridge effect. He then glanced at Sylphy atop the hill, the corner of his mouth twitching.
There it is, the dense protagonist type. Damn it, this is the path I chose for myself.
But... Allen's strength... is even greater than I imagined. He definitely didn't just glare that water pillar apart. I couldn't even see him swing his sword. No wonder he said we had to keep our distance. In a real fight, my head would probably already be on the ground. No, he'd probably have his sword at my throat and leisurely say something cool like, "You still have a long way to go."
No, I have to get serious. Otherwise, when we meet Lokkishi later, there's no telling who she'll be looking at.
His sense of crisis overflowing, Rudy took a deep breath and extended his palm toward Allen.
"Alright! Take this!"
Allen's pupils contracted. In his vision, water rapidly gathered before Rudy, instantly forming a turbulent mass even larger than a Terminator Boar's head. This time, it even soaked the blades of grass at Rudy's feet.
With an explosive bang, the surging water column rushed straight at Allen's face!
Twenty Slashes.
With Allen's nearly inaudible murmur, the water column that swallowed his entire field of vision split apart before him again. Yet this time, unlike what he had expected, Rudy's face was not behind it.
There was a rough stone instead.
Water Cannon! Rock Bullet!
The two moved too quickly. Only after Allen split apart the water column did Rudy's shout ring out beneath the hill!
The Rock Bullet burst through the spray and stabbed straight at Allen's face!
Because it had to be concealed by the Water Cannon, this Rock Bullet was only as large as Rudy's face. Even so, in that brief instant, the rough edges of the stone were perfectly captured by Allen's overclocked dynamic vision. The entire world seemed to enter slow motion:
All ambient sound vanished.
Wind pressure swelled against Allen's chest, carrying dampness and the earthy stench of soil. The Rock Bullet slowly spun clockwise, reflected in Allen's dark gray pupils.
Allen slowly narrowed his eyes. The breath he had taken earlier still supplied his lungs with ample oxygen. A stream of heat surged from his waist, and the fledgling core in his abdomen seeped out gurgling Dragon Saint Battle Qi, dyeing and saturating his endlessly flowing native battle qi.
...Interesting. He hid a Rock Bullet this time. Using Twenty Slashes again would wear down the blade. In that case...
Water God Style—Flow Arcana.
Pluck the String.
Allen abruptly broke free from his slow-motion perception. He slightly shifted the blade, which had been ready to return to its sheath, away from the scabbard. The tip scraped along the sheath as it swept toward the ground. At the same time, Allen released the hilt and flicked it upward with a battle-qi-wrapped knuckle.
In the blink of an eye.
The hilt suddenly shot up from his waist! With a ding, it struck the underside of the Rock Bullet before him.
A gentle, water-like stream of battle qi altered the Rock Bullet's trajectory. It raised its head and flew past Allen's cheek with a whoosh, blowing his bangs back.
The blade, meanwhile, was knocked backward by the Rock Bullet and landed before Allen's feet with a ringing tremor.
Allen reached out, drew his sword, casually spun it through the air, and sheathed it.
Then he began applauding Rudy, who was making a comical energy-transfer pose at him.
"Not bad, not bad. While preparing the Water Cannon with one hand, you had already started preparing the follow-up Rock Bullet with your other hand during the instant the water obscured my vision. It wasn't Mixed Magic, but it caught me even more off guard than Mixed Magic would have."
"Everything can be North God Style. Even though you haven't learned North God Style from the old man, it seems you understand its essence quite well."
Rudy looked at the already mangled ground beside Allen, which had been plowed apart again by the Water Cannon, and felt rather defeated.
Though he had long expected Allen to neutralize the two consecutive spells without injury, seeing how effortless he made it look still discouraged him.
"Is the gap between us really that big? You even stood still and let me attack you."
Allen blinked.
"Luck, just luck~ Keep it up. Next time—"
Rock Bullet!
Allen lifted his leg and kicked aside the Rock Bullet Rudy suddenly fired in a sneak attack. It was sent flying beside him and buried deeply in a muddy pit.
Still smiling, he smoothly finished what he had been about to say.
"...you'll definitely manage it. Though that one didn't feel as fast as the previous shot. Were you distracted?"
Rudy lowered his hand again, grinding his teeth in frustration.
"That kind of speed is all I can manage with an instant cast. If it took any longer, you'd definitely dodge it."
"Fire another one. This is fun."
"No!"
"Come on, fire another one~"
"No. Sylphy has already seen it, right? Why do it again? Besides, our promised match is two months from now!"
"But in two months, I'll be moving. This time, you can do whatever you want to me~ If you don't fire another one now, you might not hit the bullseye then, you know?"
"Heh... you'd definitely dodge it anyway. Ice Blade!"
Allen caught the incoming beginner spell—Ice Blade—in one hand and examined it curiously.
He really hadn't dodged this time. Since the ice blade was shaped like an actual sword blade, Allen, as someone who practiced swordsmanship, had an extremely precise sense of distance when it came to sharp-edged objects. He caught it effortlessly.
At that, Rudy's face fell. He immediately turned and ran toward the top of the hill, letting out a resentful wail as he ran.
"I'm done, I'm done!! Even if you beat me to death, I'm not doing this again!"
Allen casually tossed the Ice Blade to the ground. It shattered with a crack, and he turned toward the hillside as well.
"Wait for me~ Fire another one~"
"No!"
However, things still went beyond Allen's expectations. He stared in stunned disbelief at Sylphy, who had her hands clasped seriously before her chest, her eyes sparkling, while her request echoed in his ears.
"I want to learn swordsmanship! The kind where you catch ice with your bare hands!"
"Ah, that requires a fairly high level of battle qi and swordsmanship... I'm afraid..."
Sensing trouble, Rudy rose onto his toes and tried to slip away from Allen's side, but Allen, still speaking, grabbed him and hauled him back.
Rudy looked at Allen with a resentful expression.
"I already demonstrated it! It's not my fault if Sylphy doesn't want to learn! Why don't you just teach her swordsmanship instead!"
To his surprise, Allen abruptly turned toward him and said with a serious expression.
"She really isn't suited for swordsmanship. But I think that little scuffle just now was too small-scale. You need to give her something truly shocking."
"Huh?"
The two then fell silent and looked at each other for a moment. Rudy blinked, considering his words.
"Could it be..."
Allen glanced at Sylphy, who was standing obediently beside them with her hands behind her back, then nodded excitedly.
"Yes, the Saint-tier spell you learned from Lokkishi—Thunderstorm Cumulonimbus!"
It's here, where the dream begins! If I don't get to see this spell, what would be the point of coming to this Jobless Reincarnation world!?!
The author didn't elaborate enough on sword techniques, especially the Water God Style, so there will be plenty of expanded fan-created material involving swordsmanship later on. Still, it will be kept as close to the original work as possible.
Before you continue