937: Izario's Style

Ill kill you!

As if I could die here.

d.a.m.n it! Stop moving!

Surround him!

Even as the battle began, Izario refused to draw his weapon. He didnt even perform any attacks of his own, simply continuing to evade Zubalb and his two friends.

Izario dodged Zubalbs axe and the swords of his companions with a paper-thin margin, smiling all the while. Such moves werent that impressive however, since Fran could easily do the same thing.

But that face of his. The reddened face of the drunkard just looked so irritating. Even I felt that way, so his opponent Zubalb must be downright p.i.s.sed.

Zubalb just kept heating up, though he kept his techniques sharp in spite of his temper. He called himself a Rank C, but Id say at least his combat abilities were closer to Rank B.

Take this! Die! d.a.m.n you!

Nope, over here. Almost got me that time. Come on, bro.

d.a.m.n it all!

At last, Zubalb activated a weapon art. His axe glistened white from the energy infused into it, then he cleaved sideways. For the first time, Izario responded with something other than an evasion.

He put his hand on the divine sword at his waist.

I thought we might finally see the divine sword in action, but I ended up disappointed. Izario never drew his blade.

He lifted his still sheathed blade and caught the axe with its hilt. As expected from a divine sword, even the hilt boasted high durability.

Zubalbs face scrunched up after seeing his full strength blocked so easily. He couldnt believe the finis.h.i.+ng move he placed so much confidence in had been caught by the hilt of a sword.

Now you know the difference in our abilities, no? Can we call it quits now?

D-Dont be stupid! What kind of trick did you pull!?

Well, he did come all the way here to challenge a Rank S. There was no way he could back down now.

But, trick? Really? He shouldnt be so weak as to misjudge his opponents abilities that badly It seems his anger was clouding his judgment.

From there, Zubalb kept swinging his axe like a madman. His friends had already stopped a while back, clearly hesitating. After realizing they stood no chance, they must have given up.

Ura! Ura! Ura! Ura!

Sidestep.

Nrgraaaah!

Haha, youre putting too much force.

Gwoooooogh!

There was such a steep difference between the atmosphere of the two that I started to feel a little sorry for Zubalb. It seems it wasnt just me, as the other adventurers started giving him similar looks of pity.

After noticing that, Zubalb only got more aggravated.

I am Zubalb-sama, the strongest in the town of Rishuga! Dont you dare mock me!

If you dont wanna be laughed at, try a bit harder. Bring it on.

As usual, Izario easily avoided all the attacks, sometimes with a duck, sometimes by blocking. Not a single one managed to land so much as a scratch.

But why is it that Izario decided to block when he is surely fast enough to dodge everything? I found this strange, so I observed Izarios movements more closely, and finally understood the meaning behind his actions.

It seems Izario avoided the ordinary attacks, and blocked the powerful arts that might cause collateral damage. He was canceling out all the force and shockwaves from his opponents blow.

After examining the mana residue, it became clear that Zubalb was unleas.h.i.+ng high-level arts. If left unchecked, there might have been people in the audience seriously injured.

Izarios behavior made it look easy, but he was doing something pretty advanced.

First and foremost, he was incredibly good at evasion. Also, he had enough physical strength to compete with axe arts, the perceptiveness to recognize his opponents moves, and the knowledge of how to counter them. He had the reflexes to react instantly, and the technical skill to redirect the impact.

All of these skills required a high level of mastery.

Amazing.

Yeah. I wonder if you could do all that.

Seems hard.

Fran hated admitting defeat, so shed never say never. But Im sure she would have a lot of difficulty.

Zubalb continued doing his best, but his movements turned sluggish after five minutes. Then, the battle ended abruptly.

Guh Gah?

Okay, thats as far as I can go. Im getting old here, so I dont wanna tire myself out.

Wha?

Zubalbs legs suddenly froze as his huge body collapsed forward. His continuous heavy panting and loss for words indicated that he had exhausted his stamina.

He must have been so focused on offense that he did not recognize his own condition. Its possible Izario did something too, but if he did, we didnt recognize what it was.

You guys, drag him out of here, will you? Id appreciate it if you dont mess with me again too. If theres a next time, itll hurt, you see?

Hyah! I-I understand!

Ill never come in front of you again! So please forgive me!

Good, good. I like people who are quick on the uptake.

In the end, Zubalb got dragged away by his underlings after the intimidation from Izario.

Id say theyre lucky to get away unharmed after picking a fight with a Rank S.

Wait! Have a mock battle with me too!

No way.

Why not? You fought him!

If I fight someone as strong as you, Ill get tired, right?

I guess someone as weak as Zubalb could be beaten without much effort, but not Fran.

Mrgh.

Anyways, I have a meeting with the guildmaster, so Im heading off now. See you later.

Nn

In the end, we could only watch Izario waving his hand as he left. As if to comfort her, one of the adventurers called out to Fran.

Meat Girl, you must be pretty good if you got Crimson Blade to praise you that much!

Crimson Blade?

Youve never heard that before? Izarios alias, since he wields the divine sword controlling fire.

I thought it was Talentless?

Oh, that.

The adventurer laughed and told us Izarios story. Apparently, he was called Talentless for his lack of talent with the sword when he first started as an adventurer.

He had since grown stronger and risen all the way to Rank S, but for some reason, he always gives that old nickname as his alias.

He may seem like a normal guy, but hes a high-ranking adventurer after all. As you probably know, none of them are truly normal. Still a pretty cool dude though.

Hmm.