For now. First, you need to reach a magical state of exhaustion. I'll make it a daily quota.

Heeee!　I hate it!

'Hey, Fear!　You don't want to be strong!

Hey, I don't want to be, but I want to be!

　It's a mess.

　I just need to deplete my magic before you teach me the Hard Sword!
　but I'm still hoping you'll teach me the inner workings of the sword.

　Alright, shall we release the magic at once?

　This is the first time I've released all that magic at once.
　Let's see if I can do it right.

　Yes, I can do it.
　A lot of magic floated around me.
　This is kind of funny.

Huh?　What's this amount of magic!

　Mr. Lloyd spoke up.

''Wow. It seems that your magic level is not too different from mine already. As expected of my master.

　Kurt said that and started to release a lot of magical power.


''Ha-ha!　Looks like we've got two ridiculous newcomers on board!　Fia, you can't lose, either!

'I'll take the loss!　I don't care if we lose, let's stop this already!

d*mn you!　Come on!

'Yes, sir!　Yes, I do!　I'll do it!


　Fia was crying and releasing her magic.


　And then my magic power was exhausted.

"d*mn it...

　I can't tell you how many times I've had this pain.
　But I made a mental note to be patient, because screaming was so undignified.

f*ck....

　Kurt seemed to have become depleted of magic power and was trying to be patient.
　...... Maybe I'm a slow learner who has only recently decided to be patient.



　I don't mind!


　Fear was crying out.



　◇



You're recovering from depletion pretty quickly: ......

　Mr. Lloyd was amazed.

"It's all about skill, isn't it?

The magic super-healing is still very useful.
　While everyone else is still suffering, I'm the only one who can move just fine.

That's a good thing. The faster you heal, the more times you can attempt the Hard Sword.

Yes!

　Now I'm going to work hard on getting the Hard Sword.
　It looks like Kurt and Fia are going to train in real-world combat.
　Magic and magic guns battling it out.
　It's going to be different from anything we've seen before.
　And I'll train soberly in a corner of the arena.



　First, let's hear what Mr. Lloyd has to say.

The Strong Sword covers your entire body evenly with magic. When it strikes, it causes your body to stiffen up for a powerful blow. Can you picture it?

　That being said, I try to visualize it in my head.
　The entire body is evenly covered in magic: .......
　I wonder if I can do this by applying the magic circle?
　Since you also acquired 《Magic Control》, I think you can do it rather well.

　Next, the moment he fires his sword, his whole body goes rigid... ......
　What does that mean?
　...... It's hard to picture this part too much .

''How do I make my whole body stiffen at the moment of the sword strike?''

Get used to it. You have to train over and over to get that feeling.

...... I see.

　You make a good point, but I'm still curious as to the logic behind this whole-body rigidity.
　I'll have to look it up in my wisdom.

　.......

　Seriously: .......

　I can't find it: .......

　Well, that's okay then.
　You're right, Mr. Lloyd, we'll just have to try and learn it as often as we can.



Practice makes perfect. I'll just learn.

Yes!

　First, he taught me the stance of the Hard Sword.
　You should sit back and lean forward.
　Bend your arms and bring the sword to the side of your hips to make the draw as long as possible.

Okay, that's a good stance. Now imagine a stance like the Hard Sword and try it yourself.

...... Yes.

　Think objectively about how you are moving now, while improving your focus.
　By looking at yourself objectively, you will be able to see what is good and what is bad.
　Build up your magical energy and let it spread throughout your body.
　Because of the magic circle, it was easy to do so.

　......, but...

　But... It's really hard to get the magic evenly distributed, you know.

　Magic power changes quickly depending on how you hold the sword.
　What should I do?

　...... Right.
　We just need to dilute the concentration of magic.
　Just like when you got the Demonizer: .......


That's not going to work, Revell.


　Lloyd-san said.


''It's true that if we could dilute the concentration of magic, it would be much easier to distribute it evenly throughout your body. I'm impressed that you could do such a thing, but the Sword of Steel is a single-stroke kill. We cannot compromise.

...... Yes!


　I was so focused on the process that I lost sight of the essence of the game.
　The Stout Sword is a single-stroke killing skill.
　With that in mind, I'm going to give it everything I've got!


Haaaaah!


　He drew his sword.
　There was a sharp cut in the sky...


I can't... I haven't done a thing.


　Mr. Lloyd said with a grim face.


'I'll try again!


Oh. Hang in there. Don't give up, try again.


Yes!



　I tried the Hard Sword many times.
　I tried to figure out the cause of my failures and improve upon them, but I just couldn't do it.
　When I did the Demonization, I had an image of more success: .......
　But this time I couldn't visualize any success at all.



''Ah!''


　Ral's voice echoed through the arena.

　We stopped training once and turned to Raru.


"Application for the Freypara Rookie Competition isn't due this evening!


　Ah .
　I looked up at the sky and saw that the western sky was turning a little red.


I'd better hurry.

'What, what?　Mi, are you all going to participate?

　Fear was flustered.

''Yeah, participating and getting results will help the reputation of The Tempest.

But the people who participate are fierce people who don't seem to be new adventurers: ......

'We're okay about that, aren't we?　I've had a lot of mock fights with Fear, and I think he's strong enough.

　If Kurt says so, then Fear must be a pretty good player.
　I didn't see it at all.

"Everyone else is in, so let's get the hell out of here!

　Ral was the one who felt most threatened by not participating.

　That's true too.
　After all, it was either me or Kurt who won the Frapara Rookie of the Year competition, and we're trying to rebuild the Tempest guild.
　Nothing good happens if you're not there.

　We had to pause our training and head to the main office.