Trusting Again - Part 3

Noticing that his opponent was approaching, Yu opened a small portal from which he drew out his usual sphere, turning it into a sword as well. Everyone present was shocked, not only because of such a unique weapon, but also because of the portal he had summoned.

“Is that the ‘Inventory’ magic?!” Miss Usagi asked, alarmed.

“What is ‘Inventory’ magic?”

To be honest, while I found it rather cool, after seeing it a few times I stopped giving it much importance.

“It’s an incredibly difficult magic to master. It’s true that it only serves to store objects, but if you don’t master it, those objects disappear forever. For him to use it so casually, and on top of that with such a rare weapon… Mr. Takahiro really is full of surprises.”

“I told you so!” Daisuke shot back.

I already assumed it was an uncommon technique, but to think it was so difficult to master that even someone like Miss Usagi was surprised… Yu must truly be someone very skilled.

Back in the field, Yu didn’t move and received his opponent’s attack, using the edge of his sword to divert its trajectory and making him fall to his knees after missing.

“Quick lesson! Blocking and dodging aren’t the only alternatives you have to avoid damage—you can also deflect attacks and take advantage of the moment to strike back!”

Feeling humiliated by his opponent’s audacity in giving a lesson in the middle of their fight, Takeshi’s tutor quickly stood up and began attacking consecutively, but none of his slashes managed to hit their target.

“Remember, don’t wait for the strike to already be coming to dodge it! You have to predict it to move in time! And of course, the angrier your opponent is, the easier it’ll be to dodge them!”

No matter how much Takeshi’s tutor attacked, none of his strikes were landing, while Yu didn’t even seem to be taking the duel seriously. It was almost like a game to him.

Takeshi’s tutor imbued his sword with mana and struck from above, but Yu transformed his weapon into a spear and blocked it without much effort. Upon seeing how his weapon could become more than just a sword, the spectators were amazed, wondering where he had gotten it—something that put a smug smile on Daisuke’s face.

Did he have something to do with that?

With every passing moment, the general opinion of Yu improved among everyone present as he continued evading his opponent’s attacks.

“He really is angry…” Daisuke said.

“Angry? He looks the same as always to me.”

“No, no. He’s carefree and moves at his own pace, but now you can tell what he wants is to humiliate that guy. Besides, every now and then he throws murderous looks at that kid over there—just look at how pale he is.”

Curious, I turned toward where Daisuke pointed, realizing he meant Takeshi, and it was exactly as he said. Not only was he pale, he was sweating excessively, and his expression was terrified, all while remaining immersed in Yu’s performance.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen him like this. He must truly value you a lot, Touka.”

Hearing such words made me smile a little. It was hard to imagine that the careless tutor I had been assigned would end up doing so much just for me, someone who had only seemed to cause him trouble after trouble.

“Stop showing off!” Takeshi’s tutor shouted, jumping back to put distance between them.

Once far enough, he gripped his sword the same way he had during his own presentation and began to gather mana from the surroundings into the weapon.

He wanted to use his sword technique against Yu?!

Realizing this, panic began to take over the spectators, as this had stopped being a practice match and had become something truly serious. The teachers, alarmed, tried to step into the field to stop them, but Yu raised his hand, signaling it wasn’t necessary.

“Don’t worry!” he exclaimed cheerfully. “It’s all part of the show! Leave it to me!”

The spectators’ panic shifted into doubt and uncertainty. Yu’s confident and relaxed attitude left them speechless, and they no longer knew what they were supposed to do.

On one hand, a hunter from the third most important guild in the country was preparing his most powerful attack against an unknown hunter, but on the other hand, that same unknown hunter had just demonstrated great skill backing his words.

Then, one of the spectators who had stood up in panic sat back down, and everyone else followed. They had decided to stay and see how this battle would end.

“That Yu really knows how to draw attention.”

“Daisuke,” Miss Usagi called. “Will Mr. Takahiro really be able to handle that? It’s a technique from a professional hunter of great level, after all…”

“It’s fine! He might not look like it, but Yu is very aware of his abilities. He may seem like a show-off, but he wouldn’t talk big if he couldn’t live up to it.”

Such a display of confidence left Miss Usagi speechless, her attention returning to the battlefield to watch the conclusion of the fight.

Takeshi’s tutor’s attack was nearly fully formed, and Yu simply watched him with a relaxed, slightly smug smile, as if he had something in mind. And as if answering my doubt, Yu addressed the spectators again.

“One last lesson!” he shouted. “You surely know that knowing yourselves is important—your abilities, your limits—and yes, it’s certainly indispensable… but it’s not the only thing!”

With each word he spoke, Takeshi’s tutor frowned more deeply and tightened his grip on his sword, which was nearly charged.

“If you truly want to stand out as hunters, you must also know your target—only then will you know the most effective way to strike… and you’ll be able to do things like this!”

After giving his advice, he gripped his spear and transformed it into a sword, beginning to gather mana to strengthen the weapon. However, he didn’t stop there; he continued gathering more and more mana, just like Takeshi’s tutor…

He was imitating his sword technique!

All the spectators were stunned, including the teachers. He was not only imitating the most complex technique of a powerful hunter, but was gathering mana even faster.

Takeshi’s tutor opened his eyes wide in shock and panic, but quickly regained his composure and, with his sword ready, attacked without holding back.

“Don’t think some defective copy can beat the original technique!” he shouted as he swung his sword, sending the characteristic mana slash shooting out from it, just like the one he had shown earlier.

Yu was unfazed by the attack flying toward him at high speed; he remained firm and, once his own sword was charged, swung it in the same manner as his opponent. But the resulting attack was not only bigger and faster, it intercepted Takeshi’s tutor’s slash and destroyed it, continuing along its trajectory toward its target. Fortunately for his opponent, the attack passed just beside him, hitting one of the training dummies on the field and cutting it clean in half—even though it was reinforced to withstand powerful strikes.

The entire place fell into complete silence. No one dared speak after what had happened, and in the end it was Yu himself who took the initiative.

“And that was my presentation! I hope you enjoyed it, and above all, learned something!”

After his closing words, he bowed toward the audience, and everyone erupted into applause and shouts. No one remained indifferent after such a display of skill; the interns celebrated and shouted excitedly while the teachers sighed in relief seeing that no one was hurt.

Takeshi’s tutor, pale and with a dead look in his eyes, fell to his knees on the field.

The battle was over.