Red Desert III.

Archibald and Rumia engaged in a battle of magic, swords and strategy against an unidentified group of Magi.

The fight was intense and lasted for several minutes.

Archibald utilized his expertise in swordsmanship, while Rumia relied heavily on her magical abilities.

The opposing Magi were skilled and well-trained, but Archibald and Rumia tried to outmaneuver and outsmart them.

Archibald demonstrated impressive combat skills when he faced a barrage of fireballs.

He quickly positioned <<Ver-Ather>> to his left side and utilized [Excellent Angel's Evasion] ----Jade-ranked, to gracefully dodge and slice through three balls of flame.

However, three more fireballs were still heading towards him.

("Oh come on!")

To counter them, Archibald used [Hazar Spiral Counter] ----Cerulean-ranked, which involved swift body rotation and the use of <<Ver-Ather>> to destroy the remaining fireballs.

Despite the enhancements provided by Rumia, these moves greatly exhausted Archibald.

They were both Sky Lord Arts. Built for for defence.

Archibald was currently in a precarious situation.

He had fallen to one knee and was visibly exhausted.

His opponents, a group of Magi, could sense his weakness and were poised to strike.

Unfortunately, Archibald's support was limited to only one Magus, Rumia, who was focused on enhancing his defense rather than ranged attacks.

Additionally, it was uncertain whether Archibald had the ability to use elemental sword skills.

This disadvantage was a result of having only one Magus for support.

'We can't win, we either need to gain additional support or find a way to escape... And that doesn't seem likely.'

Rumia had made the necessary analysis.

Their land crawler panicked, but it couldn't move anywhere since it was tied to a boulder.

"Archibald! We have to find a way to run! If I disorient their senses we could re—"

"No! I'm not gonna let them do as they please!"

If he ran now, that meant lack of confidence in his abilities. But not just that, it also meant spitting on the face of the one who taught him ----Gadi Veltits.

His resolve kept him strong.

"With the flames that burn both in the heavens and below, call forth a surge tower of that it might smite thy enemies, [Flame Instigator].."

The secondary formation executed the ----Cerulean-ranked spell, creating three vortexes of flames aimed at Archibald.

To counter, Rumia cast [Protecting Dome of Solitude] with the <<Benevolent Wind Empress>>, increasing mana output.

Her magic stave allowed for efficient mana usage.

Despite her efforts, the attack still caused Archibald to be blown back four meters.

"Archibald!"

Rumia expressed concern for his well-being.

"I'm (~coughs)... I'm okay."

He mustered the strength to stand, on one knee, he panted.

The Magi were surprised.

"Badler, sir, this kid doesn't seem to let down... We can't kill him.."

"We'll do it if that's what it takes to secure the safety of Falmuth."

"But sir they're ju—"

"I don't want to hear it! Attack!"

The leader, Badler, prioritized the safety of the city over the death of a single child.

He believed that the boy and girl were members of a Mercenary guild due to the weapons they carried.

The city had recently experienced trouble with members of Mercenary guilds sneaking in undetected.

The children's safe passage through the Red Desert without harm also raised suspicion.

It was imperative to remain vigilant and cautious when dealing with potential threats to the safety of the city.

They were gearing up for another assault.

Archibald didn't move a muscle, he was strategizing.

("So, we're in the middle of a life and death situation, and what do I see? The standard formation for any MMORPG. If this wasn't so serious, I'd be psyched right now. But no, the enemy has to go and ruin it by having a shield formation backed up by healers and offensive mages. It's proving to be a real pain in the butt. I'm gonna have to whip out my elemental sword skill, and not just any old one, the fastest one in my arsenal. Seriously, what I wouldn't give to be behind my laptop right now, playing this as a game instead of living it. But hey, gotta do what you gotta do, right? Time to show these guys what's what.")

Rumia had assumed Archibald was unable to use elemental sword attacks.

This assumption was wrong.

It was only due to the mana core of his weapon being incapable of supporting elemental mana that he hadn't attempted it.

However, after saying:

"Unseal..."

He accessed his inventory, then drew out his other Velgrynd, the <<Black Night>>.

This sword was a pale, one-handed straight sword that was slightly transparent, with a purely black and slender blade. The grip was black, with a slight tinge of purple.

Archibald placed <<Ver-Ather>> back into the scabbard on his back and planned to attack with <<Black Night>>.

"You can call all the spells you like. However... Now that I've said I will win... Your failure is inevitable."

Archibald confidently declared his victory over the group of Magi.

He then proceeded to place his sword, <<Black Night>>, on his shoulder, causing it to glow a vibrant purple color, indicating the use of lightning.

'He can use them?!'

Rumia was shocked to see that Archibald was capable of using elemental sword skills.

Badler recognized an original [Thunder God Stance], which was used to accelerate the blade and slay the opponent at God-like speed.

There were six stances in the original [Thunder God Stances].

This was the fourth stance: [Mistifying Blade of Illumination].

It was the same one Gadi used to decapitate Moriarty Sepak.

'This has to be a lie, it's a Gold-ranked skill, can he really use it? Who is this kid?!'

As he analyzed the stance in his thoughts, Badler panicked slightly.

Because their leader panicked, so did the other Magi.

But Badler still mustered hope.

"Do not fear!"

He assured them.

It was imperative to acknowledge that Badler's optimism hinged on the assumption that the original [Thunder God Stances] were limited to one-use attacks that left the user vulnerable.

Despite the potential for devastation on the frontlines, Badler believed that the remaining troops could capitalize on this weakness to launch their own attack.

However, Badler expressed hope that his strategy would succeed due to the possibility of Archibald having lack of proficiency, which could result in a slower attack speed.

Archibald executed a swift maneuver, leaving no trace of his movements.

He easily evaded the troops and appeared behind Badler in a matter of microseconds.

What they could see was a streak of purple lightning.

With precision, he attempted to decapitate Badler, but stopped short of doing so.

This sudden action left Badler paralyzed with fear, causing him to fall to his knees.

"Y-Y-Youʼre a monster! What kind of child can use an original [Thunder God Stance]?"

The leader of the troops mentioned while on his knees shivering.

"Hah! I knew you'd fall for it"

Archibald shouted at the top of his voice.

He then added:

"That wasn't close to the original, it was my own developed skill, it's still in the working phase though... I call it [Purple Lightning Blitz]"

Rumia interrupted by saying, "Focus on detaining them!" she then pointed <<Benevolent Wind Empress>> at them.

"Alright drop emʼ.."

Tapping the tip of <<Black Night>> on the ground he urged the troops to drop their wands on the ground.

Archibald employed a brilliant strategy that involved inducing panic in the enemy's frontlines.

He recognized that he couldn't break through their defenses without creating an opening.

By taking advantage of the mistakes that resulted from the chaos he created, he was able to successfully blitz past their frontlines and target their leader.

This was accomplished through the use of speed and precision.

("This reminds me of that one time in Elden Annulus. I had to fight a bunch of guilds, but luckily I'm a seasoned MMORPG player. I know how to handle those bastard mages and their ranged magic. I didn't just attack any old chess piece, oh no. I went straight for the queen. That's how much of a badass I am.")

As he reminisced, he wore an oddly smug face.

------Some minutes later.

Theyʼd successfully tied up all the Magi and their leader.

Meanwhile, Archibald had gone to see if land crawler-kun was alright.

"Alright! Why did you attack us?!"

Rumia interrogated their attackers.

None of them agreed to talk.

As Archibald returned back to the interrogation site he seemed overjoyed.

"Dude, that was seriously cool. The fight was awesome, and your plan was pretty decent too. But let's be real, if I was by myself, I would've been toast against you Dungeons and Dragons nerds."

He smugly rubbed his chin as he informed them.

"Don't compliment the bad guys!"

Rumia sent a punch straight for his head that buried his face into the red sand.

("I have the sudden urge to moan. Damn it! I shouldn't be into this kinda stuff..")

Badler was confused by the term "bad guys." In turn, he spoke:

"Who are you calling bad guys, you're the mercenaries who keep infiltrating our city.."

"Mercenaries? Do we look like mercenaries to you?!" Rumia verbally retaliated.

"Well! I mean!"

Badler was bereft of words.

After he managed to get his head out of the sand, Archibald sighed. He had a good understanding of what was going on now.

("Ah, the basic trope... It was a classic misunderstanding.")

Neither side were evil.