Chapter 18

In a blink of an eye, Jonah closed our distance and swung his sword down, targeting my head. Since I was not planning on showing off too much, I merely dodged to the side and let his sword hit the ground. Following his first attack, he cut sideways to where I was after, but I also dodged it by jumping backwards.

"Fast!" Jonah exclaimed in excitement.

Fixing his posture, he dashes towards me again. He thrusts his sword this time, which in turn, I parried casually. Sword thrusts comes a lot faster than ordinary swings, so they are a lot harder to dodge. Seeing how I reacted, Jonah continues with a combination of both attacks. I returned a few swings of my own, and he was able to deflect them all too, even finding the right time to counter sometimes.

Jonah is physically stronger than me. For sure, I can be way stronger than him with body-strengthening magic, but as Jonah said, magic is not allowed. As the fight goes on, I got more and more pained from blocking his sword with mine. He is a master swordsman as I am... and in a fair fight, he has more advantages than me.

I tried to sneak a few hits on him, but he's able to parry and block them too. Attacking him directly is too risky, since being offensive opens up my defense.

Tsk... this is why I wanted him to hold back... He's not holding back at all.

Still, I have a lot more experience than him... I'm sure I can find a way to win, one way or another.

...

...

"E-Eria-sama won...! incredible..."

After a few rounds of back and forth, I managed to land a clean hit on Jonah, and I secured my victory. Without magic, it was a difficult fight. Although this is a fantasy world, the physical limits of a person's body cannot be surpassed. Magic is the only way to be any more stronger after reaching the heights of technique and physical strength.

"I cannot believe it... even without magic, you managed to defeat me... simply phenomenal," Jonah praised as he stood up from the ground.

"Fufu..." I chuckled at his honest words. I also waved at the soldiers who were cheering my name on the sides, along with Fin who looks relieved at the result of the fight.

"Thank you for this opportunity, miss Eria. I never thought I would actually lose to a woman, but... well, I did. This is a good learning opportunity for me."

"I had fun as well! You were good!" I praised him as I took and shook his hand.

"I hope this will not be the last time we do this."

Jonah appears satisfied already, but there was still fire in his eyes. Obviously, he's looking forward for more. Fortunately for me, we won't be travelling together for too long...

"Congratulations, Eria-sama!" Fin sang in praise as he ran towards me. "Even without using a hint of magic, you were able win! As expected, even someone of Jonah's ranking is merely a weakling compared to you."

"Haha..." I awkwardly laughed, glancing at the annoyed face of Jonah who was belittled just now by Fin.

"The way you fought so elegantly was astonishing! Even someone like me who has no experience in swordsmanship could tell just how truly amazing you are!"

"Indeed. Although you lack the strength I have, you compensate with such fast and sophisticated techniques," Jonah added, "I have never fought anyone like you before."

"Thank you, Fin, Jonah-san... but still, even I have a lot to learn. It's a part of why I travel."

"Is that so, Eria-sama...?"

"Don't be so modest, miss Eria. You're plenty strong enough."