(32) Difference in iQ

Surprisingly, Gelen bowed down to Nicokel a lot easier than Nicokel expected. The struggle on his face was apparent, but he still did it nonetheless. 

Nicokel felt some of his fun being ruined but didn't complain. 

"I...I apologize for all the time I have sabotaged you in the name of a spar." Gelen clenched his teeth. 

'He is surprisingly decisive in his actions.' Nicokel wasn't interested in hearing Gelen's apology, so he just checked the sword handed to him to be on the safe side. 

'I will be myself in this world, I feel sick of acting before others to maintain an image of myself.' 

Nicokel wanted to be true to his feelings, while he lived in this second life. He didn't totally spoil his image just yet as he was aware that would lead to problems in the future. 

'I have to hold back until I gain enough strength. Spoiling my fun on the battlefield just because of this would be too disappointing.' Nicokel gripped the sword in his hand. 

Gelen glared at Nicokel with his sword glazing over with azure rays. The dense feeling of the mana released by Gelen pointed out that it was just a few steps away from the vapor-phase mana. 

Seeing both of them ready, the knight commander lifted his hand and brought it down. 

"Begin." 

Without any hesitation, Gelen sprinted forward, closing in the distance between Nicokel in the blink of an eye. 

Dust rose from the impact and Gelen's sword inched near Nicokel's neck. 

A sign of triumph already appeared in Gelen's eyes. 

Nicokel's face grew serious, he could only go all out from the beginning. 

Suddenly, Nicokel kicked the stone near his leg, enhancing it with mana. With unbelievable precision, the stone directly aimed at Gelen's eyes. 

"Ukh!!" Having to dodge the stone, Gelen lost his balance for a second. Having experienced a defeat in Nicokel's hand, he was ready for anything now. He turned his eyes to Nicokel in lightning speed. 

'I won't fall for your tricks!' This was what Gelen thought, but he closed his eyes involuntarily almost immediately the very next moment. 

Blinding!

Nicokel's sword shone in a bright light, illuminating the whole arena in the night. It was a sword art he learned from an apprentice knight. It could be learned in the local adventure guild using 100 gold coins. 

Somewhat cheap for sword art. But not many learned it as only a few could afford it. In other words the high-ranking adventurers. 

This blinding sword art wouldn't be of any use with their level of strength. 

After the bright light, the sword was immediately covered in a red hue. The temperature of the surroundings grew along with the red hue. 

The temperature of the sword in Nicokel's hand grew comparable to the fire within a huge furnace. But this heat did not affect Nicokel's hand in the slightest. The red hue did not travel below the guard of the sword. 

This was the mana circulation that Nicokel could copy from the salamanders. It did damage the durability of the sword, but it was still worth a lot. 

The appearance of the red hue was called an element manifestation. Everyone who had completed the basics of the salamander sword art could perform. 

'I have gone through constant analysis of the past spar between me and Gelen. I have come up with the best route to claim my victory with all this information. Though the results are still unknown...'

With Gelen's eyes still closed, Nicokel didn't hesitate and swung his sword at Gelen's sword. 

Destroying Gelen's sword was critical in this duel in Nicokel's plan. 

Doing so would make Gelen unable to perform salamander sword arts. 

Bang! 

Not ready for the impact, Gelen was blown a few meters away from his position easily. 

Nicokel's eyes narrowed, looking at the sword which was still barely intact. The semi-vapor phase mana had increased the sword's durability a lot more than Nicokel expected. 

Seeing Gelen move suddenly, Nicokel dodged by squatting immediately. A wave of crimson flames passed through his position, causing an explosion behind him. 

From the beginning of the real duel, he had his talent activated hence he could dodge such an attack. He was using it very discreetly hence not a lot of mana was being used up at once. 

'Being able to throw flames like that...he is in the intermediate level of Salamander sword art. But is he an idiot? If I were in the intermediate level, I would spread flame across my surroundings the moment I lose my sight.' 

Nicokel who found the difference between their intelligence, found it stupid to worry about some scheme. Age played a part, but that was the current situation. 

Gelen who regained his vision, clenched his teeth and felt heat rising to his head. 

'Even though I am serious!' Gelen's eyes turned bloodshot with such thoughts. 

Nicokel clashed his sword with Gelen, showing no hesitation. He was aware of his weakness in long-distance fights, therefore he could only approach Gelen for a close-range fight to contend. 

With just a single clash, Nicokel felt his wrist bone screaming in pain, but he continued clashing while skillfully dodging and receiving Gelen's attack. 

Burn marks all around Nicokel as he continued to clash relentlessly. He only aimed for the sword and nothing else. He discarded his plan of feigning some attacks on Gelen's body to fool him, it was just not necessary. 

Verselc, watching the duel, felt more and more disappointed by Gelen. 

'Nicokel seems to be planning to destroy Gelen's sword, seeing as he attacked the same spot repeatedly. But Gelen doesn't even realize this, their intelligence is just too far apart. One wants to fight straightforwardly and win, while the other schemes to win.'

Verselc's mind of course tilted to the latter. 

The only good point about Gelen might be his cautiousness, but just that was not enough to be the next duke. 

'Was Nicokel always this smart? He still has a foul temperament, but if he shows this much improvement...it doesn't matter. I will let him in on the battlefield even if he loses.' Verselc decided internally. 

Nicokel held his sword tightly as he was flung a few steps back. The amount of boost produced by Gelen's condensed mana was almost twice as compared to Nicokel. 

Nicokel could only be on the defensive. He was able to kill the force behind Gelen's attack, but still received damage throughout his body. 

However...

Clang~

Gelen's sword turned into shards and rolled on the ground.