Chapter 0066: Vs Ains (part 2)

As Tsubaki thought, Yami heard Bete's words but didn't care.

He didn't care about how other people looked at him, and he wouldn't be affected by other people's words. It was just words, and there was no way to influence his beliefs.

If it was just a few rumors that shook the thoughts deep in his heart, completely changing his life or becoming decadent. In that case, it proved that he was just a man of low level, and others were stronger than him, and it was impossible to become stronger than those who belittle him. 

Great people were not born great but showed their greatness while growing up.

At this moment, Yami's attention is all on Ais. If he had chosen to compete with Ais before because he had no way to refuse, the thoughts in his heart had become extremely firm now.

He wanted to see how big the difference was between himself and the real strong adventurers.

His overall combat effectiveness may not be as good, but will he be slightly inferior in other aspects?

"Miss Ais, do you want an overall sparring with me or just a sword sparring? I might not be your opponent if it's an all-out sparring."

Ignoring other words around him, Yami asked softly.

He held his right hand outwards, and the Nichirin Sword in the system inventory appeared. It looked like a sophisticated weapon, but naturally, it couldn't compare with the "Desperate" in Ais's hand.

After all, it was a weapon from the Goibniu familia for Ais.

A rapier with Durandal attribute, even though its power was slightly lower than other first-level equipment, it was not something that the Nichirin Sword in Yami's hand can compete with. 

But as a rookie, it was very rare to own such a weapon.

Facing Yami's inquiry, Ais was slightly taken aback and responded simply: "Then let's have sword sparring."

"Just what I want. Let's get started!"

The simple conversation stopped abruptly, and the expressions of Yami and Ais became serious.

Riveria, Tsubaki, and the others around heard the words, held their breath, and stared at the two people in the center of the field with a touch of expectation on their faces.

Yami and Ais looked at each other face to face, holding their respective swords.

No verbal communication was required. Both parties understood.

The girl couldn't hold back, unsheathed the sword of despair at her waist, and rushed towards Yami. She deliberately suppressed her speed, and she only showed a strength of a level of Lv.2 adventurer. 

"clang!!!"

There was a loud clashing sound as the blades collided.

Yami drew his sword to stop Ais's sword. Even though the girl's strength was suppressed, the power behind her attack was still strong, and the transmitted force caused his feet to sink slightly into the ground.

Ais didn't continue to move but raised her head, and her eyes met Yami's in the air.

The latter inexplicably understood the meaning in the girl's eyes and seemed to be asking whether the strength was appropriate.

This feeling of being underestimated was really depressing, but the difference in strength could not be ignored, so Yami didn't force himself to hold on but just raised the corners of his mouth slightly.

"Come on, Miss Ais, don't worry about hurting me. Although it's just a sparring session, I am not that weak. It's normal to get injured while sparring. Don't you want to know what I'm best at? Show off your sword skills, and I'll do the same. I will also respond with my sword skills."

"Um."

The answer sounded from the nasal cavity.

Subsequently, golden and sharp flowers bloom quietly on this night.

These flowers were not real but formed by Ais's sharp swordsmanship, the sharp slashes. 

As expected of a female adventurer called the 'Sword Princess.'

In Yami's eyes, Ais's swordsmanship was already superb but contained many flaws.

Orario's adventurers had a common problem. Their strength was indeed strong, but there was a slight lack of skills. Most fighting methods were based on enhancing ability values ​​and powerful magic. There were very few who strived for skill mastery.

This could be seen from Ais's development ability, "Swordsman."

The level was only 'H,' but this was also reasonable. Adventurers were not very good at fighting humans. They were better at fighting monsters in dungeons.

More subtle techniques could only be of minimal help.

Strength and speed were more useful for those huge monsters with solid defenses.

When he entered the battle, Yami's basic attributes were doubled, and his bravery almost became his capital for leapfrogging battles. This was probably why he, a mere low-level adventurer, could make others feel that he was comparable to Lv.2 reason for the level.

Coupled with the blessings of breathing techniques, markings, and the transparent world, this increase was not just one plus one equals two.

Feeling the strength behind the sword, Yami didn't panic at all. He could clearly see the muscles on Ais's body. While deliberately suppressing her strength and speed, the latter's attack was captured entirely. No matter how sharp the sword technique was, it still didn't pose him much threat.

Yami was like a nobleman traveling through the flowers. His footwork was in place, and his strides were not large, but he dodged all of Ais's attacks.

The whole process looked very elegant. People could not help but look at him with awe.

During this process, Yami was not idle. He tried to attack while dodging Ais's strikes. All the while, he took advantage of Ais's flaws and moved away. His attacks were all resisted by the girl.

But the effect Yami wanted was achieved.

His attacks made Ais very uncomfortable, and sometimes she even deliberately resisted, and even her own rhythm was disrupted. 

Although Ais still maintained a high-intensity attack frequency, as time went by, she still did not get what she imagined. 

The two of them were in a stalemate.

However, anyone with a discerning eye could see that Yami, who was too low in adventurer level, was more relaxed in comparison, and even his breathing rate was not too disturbed.

On the other hand, Ais gave people a very uncoordinated feeling.

"No, it feels like Ais has been dragged into the opponent's rhythm..."

The first-class adventurers of the Loki family and Tsubaki could see clearly that when the battle started, Ais was dominating the fight, but after Yami defended for a while and started to counterattack, the situation changed completely. Ais's slight advantage was utterly wiped out.

Obviously, in terms of stat value, even if Ais was suppressed, she should have the upper hand.

But no matter how she attacked, she couldn't achieve any results. Yami's guard was impenetrable, perfectly resisting all attacks.

An attack that cannot achieve an effect is called an ineffective attack.

They had captured more than one flaw exposed by Yami, but because they couldn't perceive the latter's aura, their fighting instinct seemed to lose its effect at this moment.

Even if Ais could sometimes discover subtle gaps based on her experience, she would either be successfully avoided by Yami, or he would interrupt Ais's offensive rhythm through attacks and save himself from danger.

"If this continues, the physical strength consumed by the attacker will increase exponentially," Tione said sharply: "Although Ais's stamina is much higher than that of Yami's, if this keeps on going, then she will get tired fast, she must predict the opponent's actions."

"That's totally impossible!"

Tiona rested her hands behind her head. The surprise on her face was not hidden.

"It's simply amazing. Yami is usually very kind, and people can not feel his strength and aura, but once he enters the fighting state, he seems to be a different person, whether it is murderous intent or attacking. Regardless of the intent, it all disappears and can not be perceived."

"Even if I fight with him at the same level, I probably won't be an opponent. In this case, I should only be able to crush him by virtue of the gap between strength and speed!"

This was also what others wanted to say.

They would have never believed it without seeing it with their own eyes. It was really unimaginable that someone could hide all their aura perfectly.

Yami didn't feel like a human being to them when he was fighting but like a dead thing.

"That being said, Ais is not the type to give up easily. She will keep going even if she can't attack for a long time."

As Ais's guardian since she was a child, Riveria had the most say.

When she was a child, Ais used to carry everyone's luggage alone. Even though her tiny body was overwhelmed, she still didn't choose to ask for help or give up. In the end, she made herself exhausted and fell into a coma for three days and three nights. This was the kind of girl she was.

Perhaps because of this strength, Ais became a first-class adventurer when she was thirteen.

But after such a long time, she had not grown further, which unsettled Ais. It made her more desperate for strength and growth.

"In a sense, Yami is really a strong man. He will definitely become a first-class adventurer in the future, maybe even surpass Finn and me. The Hephaestus family has another 'Pillars'!"

"Hehe, thank you for the compliment. I think so too."

After hearing Yami being praised by Riveria, Tsubaki smiled from the bottom of her heart as if she had been praised.

To be precise, it was more gratifying than being recognized.

Sure enough, watching the cub she cultivated become stronger day by day, the sense of satisfaction was indescribable in words.

She really looked forward to the day when Yami became the right-hand man of Hephaestus's family.

Seeing Tsubaki's smug smile, Riveria shook her head slightly without continuing to speak. Her eyes fell on Ais again, and she quickly caught the girl's firm eyes.

"I hope that Ais can learn something useful through this exchange!"

Yami and Ais couldn't know what the onlookers thought.

In the middle of the field, Ais, who was unable to predict Yami's movement trajectory for a long time, and whose swordsmanship began to become a little chaotic, became obviously more eager.

Also, because of this reason, she revealed more and more flaws.

In fact, Ais's talent for fighting against people was excellent, but due to Yami's ability to hide his aura and intent, the girl's experience was not useful.

If she was not suppressed, Yami could not have been able to fight back.

However, it was just sparring of swordsmanship. If Ais was the first to break the words she said before and unlock her reserved power, then there would be no doubt about the result of this sparring.

"Sun Breathing · First form · Dance!"

Feeling the change in Ais, Yami no longer kept his hands and displayed his skill.

With one blow, Ais's sword was shaken away, and then in the astonished eyes of everyone, the scorching sun's fire wrapped around the Nichirin Sword, cutting forward with a dazzling light.

The sudden change made Ais a little dazed, but she still made a move subconsciously.

The wind pressure caused by the slash collided with Yami's flaming slash, but Ais, who was suppressed, was weaker.

"What is that? Magic?" Lefiya was full of surprise.

"No, there is no magic power output. It's not magic, just pure swordsmanship, but it can create flames out of thin air at a terrifying temperature!"

As the strongest mage, Riveria looked at the scene in front of her with a severe expression, and her evaluation of Yami was much higher.

This kind of swordsmanship was really terrible!

"It's a lie. Can swordsmanship create an energy attack that is not weaker than magic?! This should not be possible. Is it based on physical strength?"

Tiona couldn't help but exclaim.

She had never seen this magical method before. It was too unreasonable. If this kind of skill could be popularized, the status of mages would be significantly impacted in the future.

After all, if a warrior could rush into the pile of monsters with a big sword and slash wildly, the effect would not be weaker than the magic released by the magician through chants, and it seemed instantaneous. Therefore it was better. After all, this technique did not require spellcasting.

At this point, wizards would probably never be able to match it.

Not all mages had the complex parallel chant technique, and of course, not all warriors had this kind of swordsmanship comparable to magic's destructive power.

"Is that all?"

Abandoning the advantages of strength and speed, Yami did not feel too much pressure.

Then it was time for this swordsmanship sparring to come to an end!

"Sun Breathing · Second form— Clear Blue Sky!"

The circular slash from top to bottom with scorching flames once again caught Ais by surprise, and the more powerful attack made people a little bit blindsided.

Unwilling to fail like this, Ais was very excited, and the power of suppression was gradually released to the level of Lv.3.

"Tempest!!!"

In addition, she spoke out lightly and chanted the only magic she had.

With the fall of the chants, a gust of hurricane suddenly blew and entangled the girl's body, raising Ais's attack, defense, and speed to a higher level.

The wind blocked Yami's attack but also made Ais back away from the flames and wind.

Ais stomped on the ground with both feet. After liberating part of her strength, the stat and magic effect made her instantly find an opening in Yami's stance. She also caught the flaw in an instant and moved.

Clenching her sword in her right hand, she stabbed out quickly, and a dense sword net enveloped Yami.

Yami accurately captured Ais's every move, and at the same time, by observing Ais's body structure, he could clearly see her weaknesses, which was where the battle ended.

"It's over, Sun Breathing: Sun Halo Dragon Head Dance!!"

Yami's flowing body dodged all the slashing blows, and the Nichirin Sword in Yami's hand was wrapped in flames, and he swung the blade as he moved, making it look like it had turned into Flaming Dragon.

The aura of the beast-like attack made Ais shudder, and her body froze subconsciously.

Almost instinctively, her power erupted uncontrollably, causing the expressions of the others to change slightly.

"Micro Wind!!!"

"Not good!" Riveria, who was watching the battle, realized the change in the situation and hurriedly raised the wand in her hand, "Wood spirit——fulfill my wish, Mori's clothes——my name is Alf!"

The defensive magic was instantly formed, covering Yami's whole body.

A violent explosion sounded the next moment, and everything around was shrouded in smoke and dust.

... ...