Chapter 7: The Swordsmanship Prodigy Saintess

Martial Arts Tournament (3)

1.

I’d expected someone that cocky to at least put up a fight.

“Sheesh…”

All I could do was sigh.

Just a yapping pup.

Charging in like a mindless boar, relying only on brute strength and size.

Who would be dumb enough not to dodge such an obvious move?

How pathetic.

I casually looked around the field, searching for my next opponent.

“Huh?”

All eyes were on me.

Time itself seemed to have frozen.

The crowd and contestants alike were stiff — staring at me like they’d just witnessed a ghost.

Did something happen?

I turned around.

Behind me lay that big lump of meat, collapsed on the ground with his butt in the air.

I wasn’t sure what was so shocking about that, but whatever.

I had more important things to do.

It’s not like I get opportunities like this often.

At the convent, there’s no one to spar with—

So I might as well enjoy myself while I can.

“Anyone else? Step up.”

I flicked my sword lazily.

And at that moment, the crowd, who had been frozen in time, burst into cheers.

“Yikes!”

The sudden blast of cheers was deafening.

Sounded like a warzone.

On par with the battle cries of veteran knights.

I clamped my hands over my ears.

Maybe it’s because I’m in a kid’s body now,

But my hearing’s a lot sharper, and I’m more sensitive to loud sounds.

I used to take a basilisk’s roar point-blank without flinching…

The stands were in a frenzy now, and the other contestants were finally snapping out of their stupor and moving again.

The sound of swords clashing rang out from all directions.

Ah, that sound.

It had been a while, but it was still music to my ears.

Let’s see…

I slowly turned my head, searching for my next target.

Who should it be?

I could fight anyone, but I’d prefer someone with decent skill.

And ideally, smarter than the last guy.

“Oh…?”

Found one.

A man in black armor, exuding an unusual aura, wearing a Platinum rank badge on his chest.

Now that’s promising.

Someone like him might actually make this interesting.

This sword of mine deserves a real workout.

Without hesitation, I dashed toward him.

My robe flared out, caught in the wind of my acceleration.

In a single bound, I was already at his feet and immediately swung my rusted sword.

Clang!

The blade sang as it struck his sword.

It rang with a beautiful note, like it was delighted to finally see action again.

That’s more like it.

At least this guy could block a basic slash.

If he couldn’t even do that, he didn’t deserve that Platinum badge.

Let’s start simple and work our way up.

I was curious to see how far he could keep up with me—

And also how far my own swordsmanship could go in this body.

Since it's a one-handed sword, I have an advantage in close combat.

I slipped into close range and thrust my sword at his abdomen.

Thwack!

Right before it pierced his armor, he slammed his elbow down on the back of my hand.

“Gah…!”

Since I hadn’t reinforced myself with mana, the shock hit me full force.

Ouch.

Pretty sure that fractured a bone.

My small, delicate hand swelled up instantly, like a baby fern puffed with air.

Still, I gritted my teeth and kept my grip on the sword.

A swordsman does not drop their sword.

Anyone who loses their weapon in battle is no swordsman.

They’re garbage. A disgrace.

…Should I heal it?

I could heal my hand with divine power.

But I chose not to.

This much of a handicap might actually make it fairer for him.

Still… credit where it’s due.

That elbow counter was fast.

He got quick reflexes.

Most people would’ve panicked at that range and gotten skewered.

Well then, let’s see if he can handle this one too.

I unleashed a flurry of attacks on the adventure.

All basic, straightforward slashes.

That, too, was my version of courtesy.

I left intentional openings, practically inviting him to counter.

“Tch—!”

Oh? Finally.

The adventurer, who had only been blocking and dodging, attempted a counterattack.

He swung his sword at my wide-open flank.

Good.

I quickly folded my arm and blocked the attack with my sword.

It wasn’t the easiest angle, but this body’s flexibility made it doable.

“Ugh…!”

Still, the strength difference was obvious.

The impact sent me flying sideways.

I caught myself just before hitting the ground, landing cleanly on my feet.

This body has its perks.

It’s light.

It’s fast.

It’s flexible.

It adapts well to mana, and even came with divine power comparable to a high-ranking priest.

If I wanted to, I could go down any path.

Become the master of the Magic Tower.

Or, not satisfied with that, become an archmage.

Or, I could enter the Grand Cathedral and become a high priestess.

But my path has never changed.

Once a swordsman, always a swordsman.

Anyway—

If there's a disadvantage to this body, it's just one thing.

If you strip away the mana and divine power…

It’s just a regular little girl.

Small and delicate

Stamina is also terrible without proper breathing technique.

When I don't use body enhancement, it's so pathetic that I can't even do one push-up.

But honestly, it’s not a big deal.

I constantly keep a light layer of mana wrapped around me anyway.

I straightened my posture.

Shall we go another round?

I rushed in again with a joyful heart.

*

2.

Adventurers.

They are divided into seven ranks:

Bronze.

Silver.

Gold.

Platinum.

Mythril.

Orichalcum.

Adamantium.

Among them, platinum-rank adventurers, who account for about 10% of all adventurers, have the power to subjugate high-risk monsters alone.

Rain, who participated in this martial arts tournament, was also such a platinum-rank adventurer.

‘Who the hell is this girl?!’

Rain could feel a madness emanating from the child in front of him.

She was toying with him.

She deliberately left herself open, daring him to strike, as if saying “Attack here”, and smiled gleefully when he attacked there.

She even looked pleased when she got hit.

Is she… a pervert?

Not just that.

The girl was full of composure.

She could end this fight whenever she wanted, but chose not to.

And now her attacks were growing fiercer.

Rain was barely managing to block them.

Was she the daughter of some noble swordmaster?

Honestly, Rain had expected to win this whole tournament.

When he was looking around at the participants in the waiting room, there was no one who seemed stronger than him.

If there was one guy who caught his attention... it was the huge man who was foaming at the mouth and collapsed over there.

That man was notorious within the Adventurer's Guild in this area for being a brutal monster.

And this girl had dropped him in a single blow.

Just what the hell is she?

A petite figure.

Wielding a dull, rusted sword.

And yet, her skill was real.

She’s better than any opponent Rain had ever faced.

‘…What should I do?’

He was reaching his limit.

It was getting harder just to block.

Her blade moved so fast he couldn’t track it with his eyes anymore.

If he slipped even once, that rusty sword would split his armor like paper.

He was trying to save as much mana as possible for the later rounds.

But that was no longer an option.

If he wanted any hope of winning, he’d have to go all out.

Boom!

Mana surged.

His sword now shimmered with force—

A sharp edge forged by condensed mana.

This was his trump card, a strike sharp enough to cleave through man-eating beasts.

And he was about to use it on a little girl.

That’s how highly he valued the girl.

“Oh! The Lighthead family's sword style?”

…She recognized it?

Indeed, the sword technique he used is the swordsmanship of the Lighthead Count family, where he had once served as a guard.

“Great for slicing power,” she nodded like a sage. “Mmh mmh.”

“But…”

Rain swung his sword.

A flash of thunder roared down toward her.

In the same moment, her red eyes flashed beneath the hood.

She raised her blade and drew it vertically.

Four thin slashing lines like a lion’s claw ripped across the air.

Rain’s thunderous sword energy was torn to shreds.

“It breaks apart under just a bit of pressure.”

The energy dissolved like dust on the wind.

Rain watched in disbelief. His ultimate strike, dismantled so easily.

What now? If she can even block this, what should he do next?

He didn't use all of his mana, but he lost his will to fight after seeing that his attacks had no effect at all.

It's humiliating.

Was he always this weak?

Rain thought so as his eyes drifted back to the girl.

That girl was either a genius, or a monster.

“I like you,” she said with a pleased grin.

“Let’s continue this in the finals.”

But she couldn’t waste too much time.

Rain had thought the first round would end while they were fighting, yet somehow, people were still going at it.

The girl turned away and dashed toward the remaining contestants.

“Ack!”

“Urk—!”

“W-wait—!”

One by one, they fell with a scream.

Like reeds in a storm.

The field emptied with terrifying speed.

An overwhelming gap in skill.

The kind of phrase usually reserved for a legend, but now, it belonged to that girl.

“Stop! Stop! Stop!”

The announcer’s frantic voice rang out over the loudspeakers.

Just as the girl was about to bring her sword down on someone’s head, she paused.

“Hiieek!”

The contestant yelped at the blade frozen inches from his skull. It was terrifying.

“Round one is over! Over!”

Only 16 contestants remained.

It was decided in the blink of an eye.

He thought it would take at least two hours.

Instead, it ended in just 30 minutes.

“Remaining contestants, please wait in the waiting room until the brackets are posted.”

“Hmph.”

She let out a disappointed puff and sheathed her sword.

Then, in an adorably light-footed trot, she walked off to the waiting room.

The heat of the audience was burning hot.

On the other hand, the faces of the participants in the arena were cold.

Is there even a point in continuing…?

That was the unspoken thought weighing on most of them.

…Except for one person.

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