“Well? What do you think? Feeling ready to get serious yet?”
“…Yes. That’s more than enough.”
Goritia’s tone shifted.
Normally, he restrained himself by forcing his personality into a “feminine” mold, deliberately holding back the full extent of his strength. But now, he had unleashed the “manly” side of himself.
“Hmph… you got me going full force right away.”
“Back in the martial arts tournament, it took quite a bit of damage to get you there. I figured you wouldn’t stand a chance against me if you weren’t serious.”
Less than a minute had passed since the match began. That alone was proof of just how much stronger Anje had become.
“You’re the first person to push me this fast. We’ve got nine minutes and a bit left… so I’m going full power. Make sure you give me a fight worth enjoying!”
The sheer fighting aura Goritia had unleashed made the very air in the training hall tremble, sending shivers through anyone present. Even among the assembled warriors—each capable of challenging the boundless wilds—Goritia’s presence alone was enough to overwhelm them.
“Here I come!”
“Right back at you!”
This time, both fighters closed the distance at the same instant. With explosive acceleration, they met in a heartbeat, fists flying.
Doooooooooooon!!
Fist slammed against fist with a deafening roar, sending shockwaves radiating outward in perfect circles. The walls and ceiling of the training hall vibrated under the immense force.
From there, punches and kicks rained down from both sides, clashing again and again, each impact erupting like thunder and lightning across the arena.
“S-she’s holding her own even against Goritia in that state!?”
“Actually… she might even be faster…”
“And she’s not losing in power either. No… if anything, she might even be on equal footing or maybe stronger…”
The adventurers watching the fight held their breath as they witnessed the battle. Gradually, it was Goritia who began to be pushed back.
It wasn’t that he was losing in sheer strength. Rather, Anje’s slight edge in speed meant their blows were connecting at moments when Goritia couldn’t fully channel his power—a subtly disadvantageous timing that left him reeling.
“Hah… not bad at all!”
Goritia leapt far back, creating distance. As he landed, he focused his fighting aura into his fists and shouted,
“Qi Blast!!”
It was a powerful technique that unleashed condensed fighting aura to inflict massive damage on an opponent—a move that had once sealed Anje’s defeat in the martial arts tournament.
But now, Anje met it head-on.
“Doraaaaaa!!”
With a roar of sheer determination, she struck the incoming Qi Blast with her fist, sending it flying backward.
“…What!?”
Goritia let out an incredulous, almost comical gasp.
“W–what the hell… my Qi Blast… she actually punched it back at me!?”
Ignoring his astonishment, Anje focused her fighting aura into her fists once more.
“I’ll return that move… exactly as it came! Haaaah—Qi Blast!!”
“—!?”
The aura-charged projectile now hurtled straight toward Goritia.
“Ugh… Nuuuoooaaah!?”
He raised both arms in a reflexive guard, but he couldn’t fully absorb the force. The blast sent him flying, crashing violently into the wall behind him before he finally came to a halt.
But before he could recover, Anje pressed the attack without a moment’s hesitation.
Pushed to the edge of the wall, Goritia was bombarded with a merciless flurry of strikes. Even someone of his caliber couldn’t parry them all. Her blows landed repeatedly against the armor of muscle that covered his body, each hit clean and punishing.
“Ggh… ugh… each strike… it’s… so heavy…!”
The grimace twisting his face left no doubt—every blow was hitting hard.
Mm… she’s completely surpassed him.
Watching the battle from the stands, I felt a surge of certainty.
“Anje has already grown stronger than Goritia. Back in that martial arts tournament, she was completely overwhelmed by an S-Rank adventurer’s strength…”
“So… does that mean she’s going to win just like that?”
“No… that’s a different story.”
“Huh? What do you mean by that…?”
Tilting her head in confusion, Karen looked at me. I voiced my prediction.
“Sure, by stats alone, she clearly surpasses Goritia. But… a fight isn’t decided by numbers alone.”
At that moment, Goritia’s laughter rang out, sudden and booming.
“Hah… Hahaha—HAHAHAHAHA!! Yes! This is perfect! I never imagined that in such a short time, someone could not only catch up to my strength… but surpass it! But… when it comes to the actual fight, that’s another matter entirely!!”
“—!?”
Suddenly, Goritia intensified his pressure, and with a single, overwhelming push, he forced Anje backward.
Despite having been completely dominant up until now, the tables had turned—Anje was suddenly on the defensive, and a flash of unease crossed her face.
“The difference is experience. Anje-oneechan has grown rapidly, and naturally, she’s gained a lot of skill in the process. But… she’s still only seventeen. Against Goritia, who’s probably well over thirty, she simply can’t bridge the gap in experience.”
“The gap in experience?”
“Yeah. More specifically… it’s the ability to read an opponent’s habits.”
Anje’s fist shot forward.
But as if anticipating it beforehand, Goritia shifted into a favorable stance in an instant and deflected her blow with his own fist. Within this brief exchange of blows, Goritia had already discerned the patterns in Anje’s movements and adapted accordingly.
Gradually, Anje’s attacks began to miss their mark, and she found herself taking several of Goritia’s devastating counters head-on.
“Ugh…”
“Even if your stats surpass mine, I can exploit every opening and every move of yours with the enormous well of experience I’ve accumulated over the years! That’s how a battle is won!”
Truly, this was the mark of a seasoned S-Rank adventurer, a fighter whose skill was honed far beyond mere strength.
But Anje was not the type to be discouraged so easily. True to her Amazoness spirit, she let her fighting spirit blaze even brighter.
“Hah! Impressive! Honestly, if I had won so easily, it would have been a bit of a letdown! Now this is getting interesting!”
The clash between the two fighters intensified even further, each strike and counter growing more fierce than the last.
Only five minutes remained on the clock.
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.
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