The day has come for me to fight Carlo.



　I've spent the last three days trying to kill myself, but who knows?



You showed up here instead of running. Well, I'll give you credit.

Well, I'm a man of my word.


　Me and Carlo will be facing each other in the middle of the dojo.
　I think everyone here is pretty sure Carlo will win.
　Carlo's talent is that of a top swordsman.
The difference between him and a swordsman is enormous.
　And I'm sure there's a bigger gap with me.


"I've been looking forward to this day, okay?　This is the day I get to beat the crap out of you I hate!

Uh-huh. Yeah?

'You're kidding me!　I'm going to make you regret making a fool of me.

I didn't mean to insult you. I'm sorry.

Don't push your luck!

　Carlo looks pretty pissed off.
　I wonder what the right response was to tell him that I'm going to beat the crap out of him.
　I genuinely wonder.

Ready, set.

　Me and Carlo hold each other's swords.

　The judge will be Carlo's father.
　I'm sure he'll be a fair judge before his students.
　You will go to ......, right?


Begin!


　On my mark, Carlo will come around to me.
　He's fast.
　It's a far cry from before they gave me the gift.


I ain't!


　With a shout, Carlo swings his shinigami.
　I'll catch it, but it's a pretty heavy blow.
　Even though I was using body strengthening, I sensed that there was a significant difference in strength between Carlo and me.


You're a nobody, so don't catch it!

You've got to take it, or you won't have a game.

'Shut up!　Don't talk back!


　He's got a point.


Go!　Carlo!

Blow Revell's brains out!


　The other students are rooting for Carlo.
　Either the guy has popularity or he doesn't like me.
　I don't know, but I'm pretty sure it's the road.


　...... but I'm not sure what to do.


"Oh, God!　Protecting them isn't going to get you anywhere, is it?

Yeah.


　We're being played.
　The difference in strength is obvious.
　I can hold off Carlo's attack as long as I can.
　That's about as good as I can do right now.

　He's probably no better than a swordsman.
　The only person who can't match him is a lower-ranked swordsman?
　There's still a long way to go .



　...... Now, considering I have some magic left, I guess it's time to start using it.



　I'm no match for Carlo at my current strength.

　That's clear and obvious.




　But if you tried to emulate something other than me...?



　The magic is still there.

　That's how much magic we've built up over the last three days.


Huh!　What!


　I've been blocking Carlo's attacks all this time, but I'm going to stop blocking and start stepping away.



　This wasn't my strength.


　This was dad's.


　──────────────────── ...

　Imitation is a skill.
　You can mimic the movements of any person. The imitated move uses magic to recreate the person's movements.

　Conditions for obtaining this item.
　With this skill in mind, use "Sight Enhancement" to understand the movements of any person.

　──────────────────── ...


　It says to understand a person's movements, but I couldn't see my father's movements at all.
　So I had to lower my skill level to see what a high ranking swordsman would do.
　That's how I was able to get my skills down to a fine point.

　When I told him what happened at the dojo, he laughed and said.

It's a good opportunity to get some real world experience. Good luck with that.



　He said.



　After using Imitation, Carlo's chances of blocking his attacks with his shinai were minimized.
　Since his body is using his legs well, he is able to avoid attacks while maintaining a perfect distance.


"Don't get too comfortable just avoiding it!


　No.
　I think there's no greater satisfaction than beating another man's best.

　Carlo's taijutsuji becomes simpler and simpler.
　I let my anger get the better of me, and all I can do is put my strength into it.


"d*mn it ......!


　And the mimicry will take advantage of any lapse in concentration.

　Pow!

　A bamboo sword struck Carlo in the torso.


"...... tsk tsk ...... one, Revell wins.


　For a moment, Father Carlo looked frustrated and announced my victory.


'Seriously? ...... Carlo, I just lost. ......

'No, no, that's too strong for that: ......

'It's so awkward that we've been making fun of you: ......'

What am I supposed to look like starting tomorrow at the dojo?


　My students were buzzing around.


　The reason they were making fun of me so much is because they thought I couldn't win.
　And now I've won.
　I'm sure it's an awkward feeling.
　But I want you to be relieved.
　I won't be coming to the dojo anymore.


This is some kind of mistake!　There's no way I can beat Revell!


　Carlo started screaming.


"Again!　Try again!

Carlo, stop it. You're ugly.


　Surprisingly, Carlo's father was scolding him.


"Carlo, I'm not gonna hurt you. I don't come to the dojo anymore.

"Of course I will!　Don't feel good about winning on a whim!

No, I'm not.


　Seeing this attitude on Carlo's part, the other students


How could he say that when he was losing?

He's an idiot. He's too stupid to know it's him.

You've got talent, but you're not very smart. Poor kid.


　He seemed to be flip-flopping, but Carlo, the man himself, was too busy getting angry to notice.


　When I left the dojo, some of my students came in.


"Revel, I'm sorry!　I pretended not to see you being made fun of.

Please, please forgive me. You have to come to the dojo.

"Carlo's just too stupid to think you beat him. You're the best student I've ever had.


　I wasn't angry at you in the first place.
　And you came here to apologize for being out of the blue, and you invited me to the dojo.
　But...


It's nice to hear that, but my talent is [effort]. Just learning swordsmanship at the dojo won't make you strong. So I'm going to try my best in my own way.

...... I knew Revel was cool.

You've always been a hard worker.

Go for it. I'm rooting for you.

Thank you.


　I'm far less efficient just working in the dojo.
　I can't get stronger just by doing the same thing as everyone else.
　I need to put a load on my body and pursue the results that are worth it.

　Well, now that we've solved the problem for now, shall we go and check on that man who is likely to be sluggish?