Survive the labyrinth with EX-grade traits

By chance, I ended up having a duel.

Of all places, it was at the Yuzfel Count’s training ground.

“The training ground has various magic installations, such as emergency restoration and self-repair, for example?”

“…Grrrr.”

Ignoring Kaizan, who was grinding his teeth with a displeased expression, Leesia gave me a brief explanation as we walked toward the training ground.

Since most of the family members focused on striking techniques in their martial arts training, they say they pay special attention to maintenance.

With a worried expression, Leesia whispered in my ear.

“By the way, are you really okay with this?”

She said that if the duel came about because of her, she would go directly to her father and resolve it.

“No. Of course, I didn’t like how he was flirting with you, but I’m not an adult who can just brush off verbal abuse.”

“I see. If you can say it with such certainty, you must be confident in winning, right?”

“If it were a fight I was bound to lose, I wouldn’t have just let it happen… Yeah. I won’t lose. Don’t worry.”

As we chatted while ignoring the very uncomfortable-looking Kaizan, we quickly arrived at the training ground.

The procedure was swift.

We each checked our equipment and physical condition and then stood at the center of the training ground to take the oath.

“Hey, make sure you prepare everything you can so there’s no argument afterward.”

“Go ahead.”

“Heh, are you nervous? What do you think, should I lend you a C-rank necklace?”

“I’ll manage on my own, so get lost.”

“…What a cheeky bastard!”

After pulling armor out of his backpack and checking for anything he forgot, Alfredo, as the official for the duel, oversaw the vows.

First, since this is not a friendly duel, injuring each other is allowed, but killing is prohibited under any circumstances.

Second, if either of them requires healing, both may use the highest-grade potions available in the family, but the cost must be paid by the loser of the duel.

Third, everything that occurs during the duel must remain confidential among everyone present.

Finally, after agreeing on the terms, Alfredo asked.

“Both of you understand the terms?”

“Yes.”

“Of course!”

“Good. Take your positions!”

We each moved to opposite sides, far from the center.

“Miss, please stay far away to avoid the aftermath.”

“Got it. Ahren! Make sure to win and come back!”

I nodded.

“Then, let’s begin the duel now!”

Right after Alfredo’s declaration, Kaizan spoke before I even assumed my stance.

“Do you know why the Yuzfel family’s symbol is a white tiger?”

A white tiger?

Ah, that’s why Leesia used the white tiger strike as her main move.

“Heh, looking at that clueless face, it’s clear you have no idea, huh?”

When I remained silent and just listened, Kaizan spoke derisively and sneered.

This guy’s not even being subtle, is he?

“So, what exactly do you want to say? Don’t waste my time, just get to the point.”

“Leesia, the daughter of the Yuzfel family, who inherits the legacy of the white tiger!”

Kaizan lowered his body and took a stance as if he were about to leap at any moment.

“And me! The promising third son of the pureblood noble family, the Rugenberger family!”

…Here it comes!

“You don’t belong anywhere in between us─!”

Boom!!!

With a deafening crash, Kaizan leaped forward, exposing his sharp fangs as he charged like a wild beast.

The distance closed in an instant.

Kaizan’s fist, slicing through the air, was coming straight toward me.

As expected, fast.

A one-grade difference in stats is not something easily overcome.

‘But… it’s too predictable.’

His opening attack, focusing on speed, was too straightforward.

A red trajectory aimed directly at my head.

Even though we had the highest-grade potions ready, his intention to break my head open under the guise of losing control was laid bare.

This guy’s not even trying to hide it. Doesn’t he care about what comes after?

…Fine. Let’s see how you hit me!

“─What?!”

I didn’t dodge.

Instead, I thrust my head forward, meeting his punch that was surrounded by pressure.

Sensing something wrong, he tried to retract his arm, but there was no way that would work when his body was leaning forward.

Boom!!!

Unlike the loud impact sound, I didn’t feel any pain or even a slight shake in my head.

Kaizan was thrown back after his punch was blocked by my golden crown.

For a moment, he staggered, leaving his upper body open, and of course, I wasn’t about to waste such an opportunity.

Crack! Crack─!

A flash of white sword energy crackled with purple lightning.

Boom!

With my right foot planted firmly, I pushed off and slashed fiercely diagonally upward.

[Thunder Slash]

Boom!!!

“Ugh!!”

Kaizan’s body was sent flying, bent in a right-angle as it was propelled like a cannonball.

Thunderous energy echoed, almost as if celebrating the successful counter.

‘It’s shallow. There’s no satisfaction in that.’

Although I landed a valid hit, as my sword made contact, I clearly saw Kaizan’s body glowing with crimson magic, which diminished the damage.

I had no time to celebrate.

Kaizan’s ability to harden his body for defense meant that unless his mana ran out or he collapsed from exhaustion, we were in for a long fight.

“Grr, so you’ve been hiding a trick or two, huh? This will be fun!”

He staggered and immediately sprang back up, grinning as he regained his posture.

[Kaizan uses ‘Fierce Gaze.’]

Proving he was born a predator, his eyes gleamed with a sharp, predatory light that bore down on me.

Chill.

For a brief moment, I felt goosebumps from his glare, but really, that was all.

[Chaos’ eye nullifies fear.]

[Chaos’ eye nullifies stat debuffs.]

Keep it up. Keep glaring all you want.

“Hm?”

Kaizan furrowed his brows, seeing me flinch slightly despite his skill having activated.

“Hah…”

He exhaled deeply and channeled his mana to heat up his body.

His speed and strength were slightly ahead, but on the other hand, in terms of versatility and total mana resources, I held the advantage.

I had to stay calm… but at once, I needed to rush and drain his mana to its limit.

“So, you have some resistance traits? Fine! Stop fiddling around and let’s clash head-on!”

Boom!!!

Kaizan and I surged toward each other simultaneously.

[Lightning Strike]

Boom! Boom!!

Without stopping my legs, I endured the now-familiar headache as I summoned lightning to strike ahead.

“What the hell is this?!”

Kaizan twisted and turned, trying to avoid the random bolts of lightning falling from the sky.

‘Speed is lacking? Then, I’ll make him slower!’

[Chill of the Storm]

Cold air spread out secretly, binding Kaizan’s body, creaking his joints.

“Ugh, a sword mage─”

Another opening appeared. His form crumpled from the impact.

Whoosh!

I twisted my body, making a half-turn while raising my arm to slash upward.

Ka-ching!!

I slammed my sword down in a vertical strike, cutting a heavy horizontal arc.

Boom!!!

Adding rotational power, I pushed forward and delivered a horizontal strike from the middle.

A combination of three strikes, starting with the Unterhau, as Senna taught me.

“Ha!”

[Focused Strike]

Fwoom!!!

Taking advantage of the opening created by the previous clash, I drove the thrust, taught by Roten, straight through his defense.

In that instant, the crimson magic wrapping around his body was pierced by the concentrated power of the sword’s tip.

Slash!!

“Ahhhh!”

The side, exposed defenselessly, was slashed, and bright red blood scattered in the air.

As expected from a pure-blood noble beast with a prestigious name, Kaizan managed to respond quickly, twisting his body even in that brief moment.

He screamed upon seeing his own blood.

“Ugh… damn useless tricks!!!”

A loud roar─!

[Kaizan casts ‘Roar of Intimidation’.]

[Stack 1→0]

[All debuffs on the user are cleared.]

[Temporarily increases regeneration and resistance dramatically.]

[Applies minor stagger to hostile entities within a 5-meter radius.]

It seemed that he was a strong opponent above mid-tier as well. Even if he had been caught off-guard by an unexpected attack and bled, he wasn’t just going to keep taking hits.

The moment I hesitated for just a split second due to the subsonic frequencies in the howl.

“This is where it ends!”

His fierce counterattack began.

[Kaizan casts ‘Swift and Furious Strike’.]

[Damage increases with each successive attack.]

Crimson, symbolizing the noble beast lineage.

Boom! Boom!!

The magic of the mountain tribe erupted from his punches and kicks, filling the air like an active volcano.

He relentlessly unleashed a flurry of attacks, covering all directions.

Wham! Whoosh! Ka-kang!

In a slowed world, I blocked and countered, focusing on critical strikes.

The twin regenerations, death resistance, and dragon-formed powers were useless at this moment.

Why?

Just the fact that I had sustained damage enough for those powers to activate meant I was already half-defeated in a duel.

Crack! Crunch!

Having realized that aiming for his head was pointless after the previous failure, I reduced the variety of my attack routes significantly─

“Damn it, the armor!”

In the end, since he was slightly faster than me, it was nearly impossible not to get hit and avoid all attacks without retreating.

Though the silver light of self-restoration kept the damage minimal, internal injuries were slowly building up.

[Kaizan casts ‘Piercing Strike’.]

[Penetration power increases dramatically.]

“Eat this!”

After clashing with all my strength and briefly creating some distance, Kaizan jumped low, slamming his heel down like a massive fang.

But.

Szzzzing!!!

“Wh-what? No scratches?!”

Thanks to Solace’s ‘Indomitable’, I perfectly blocked his piercing attack.

His face, reflecting confusion, was mirrored on the sword’s blade.

Kaizan, realizing that if things went on like this, He’d fall helplessly mid-air just like before, shouted.

“Swift!”

[Kaizan uses ‘Cyclone Amulet’.]

Fwoosh!

A light gleamed from the blue pendant hanging around his neck.

Whooooosh!!!

A fierce wind surrounded Kaizan, who was floating in the air in a broken stance.

He pushed me back and increased the distance between us.

You’re not the only one with movement skills.

‘Lightning Step!’

In the blink of an eye, I was right in front of him, who was retreating.

“How many freaking traits do you have?!”

Without caring for what he said, I gathered my magic and shot it forward.

I unleashed a continuous barrage of lightning.

A lot.

Boom! Bang! Bang-bang-bang-bang!!!

If this were a life-and-death struggle, it would have ended already, but with the eyes watching, suppressing him became much more complicated.

Still, since his magic was at C rank, I figured this should be close to ending.

Just then, as the dust settled, he charged out.

[Kaizan uses ‘Blood-Howling Charge’.]

[Ignores the target’s stagger resistance.]

His crimson magic and blood, spilling from his body, turned into a scarlet aura.

“Khahaha!”

His eyes half-turned wild as he roared maniacally and charged.

…Ha.

How many traits does this bastard have? That’s what I want to ask.

Is it normal to have five techniques included in a single martial art?

Crackkkkk!!!

His magical-infused body and sword collided relentlessly.

The close-range battle was fierce, with us being pushed back and crashing into each other.

Crack.

With nothing left to lose, his pride wouldn’t allow him to retreat here.

I concentrated the deadly intent and icy cold into a single force.

This… was a technique learned from a fallen clone.

Gripping my sword backwards, I brought it down.

Crunch—!

I unleashed a deadly ice spike from the ground.

After minimizing his movement range with that, I used [Explosive Sword Technique].

Bang! Boom! Ba-bam!!!

Just like Eveline taught me, I detonated compressed magic to accelerate and attack even faster.

Mid-swing, my blade twisted, cutting through his torso without warning.

At first from a right angle, then horizontally.

From horizontally to a diagonal.

“Damn it!”

His limbs and feet staggered as they were thrown off balance by my unpredictable trajectory, as I stormed in with furious sword slashes.

[Kaizan casts ‘Swift and Furious Strike’.]

“Grhhrgh!”

He desperately cast the technique again, but having already experienced it once.

If the follow-up attacks get stronger with each hit, it’s best to avoid them from the start.

Let’s see.

I activated a technique I had almost forgotten, embedded in the newly purchased gear.

[Afterimage]

In an instant, my body felt blurry, as if split into two.

“Die!!!”

Boom!

The fiery grip of his hand struck the spot I had occupied a few moments ago.

The afterimage dispersed after completing its role.

“Where are you looking?”

“…!”

Had he exhausted all his magic to use this technique?

Whooosh!

His body, covered in hardened magic, broke apart as he swung a punch into thin air in confusion.

Thwack!

“Agh!”

Boom!!

I stomped his back with all my might, as he collapsed like a deflated balloon.

Two afterimages.

Just those alone made me certain that, aside from the White Tiger transformation, Kaizan had no strength left.

So now, the lesson…

“One more time.”

Snap!

“You better watch your mouth.”

Snap! Snap─!

Crack!!!

Having been given a firm lesson with slaps, even the proud pure-blood noble beast was now squirming helplessly like a worm.

“Ugh… Aaaaahhh!!!”

[Kaizan casts ‘White Tiger Transformation’.]

“You lowly bastard… die! Die die die─!”

His eyes completely rolled back, teeth clenched, he leaped up and began to thrash wildly.

All the fur from his animal ears, eyebrows, hair, and beard turned white, and the black patterns on his skin deepened.

Phew… Is this how it feels when others look at me?

Stubborn, so stubborn. It’s downright irritating.

Anyway, I’ve done what I needed to do.

Since I had already figured out all his traits before the fight began, this was the outcome I roughly expected.

With his sanity now lost, I thought it was time for Alfredo, who had been watching, to step in.

“Heh!”

───────!

Thud.

From the entrance of the training grounds, a terrifying aura swept through, scanning me before knocking Kaizan out cold.

“I see you’ve been having fun while I’ve been away!”

“Father!”

“Ha ha! Our princess, care to call me ‘Dad’ after such a long time?”

Wait, didn’t you say you’d be back by dinner?

A lively, middle-aged man with blonde hair and blue eyes.

The head of the Yuzfel family had made his appearance.