Sparring with Leona-san .


    As for the results so far, I was at the mercy of her movements .


    ‥ …… No, I didn’t think I could keep up with someone who has trained in their techniques for years .


    “I won’t be able to hit just by punching randomly . ”


    While crushing the ice on my right arm with a knife, I looked at Leona-san in front of me .


    Leona-san’s fighting style is tricky using ice magic and swordsmanship .


    Probably, when she fought against Karon, she used the same tactic as she does now and surpassed his attack .


    “I didn’t mean to look down on you …”


    She was stronger than I expected, that’s probably what it was .


    I took a small deep breath and calmed my mind then opened my free right hand .


    If I hit and kick like I was doing before, I won’t be able to win .


    “Leona-san, I’m glad I was able to fight with you today . ”


    “Wh-what’s with you all of a sudden?”


    Leona-san was confused and frowned at my sudden words .


    “After all, I have a lot to learn . I haven’t trained enough, and I don’t know any fighting techniques at all . Until now, my fighting style has been nothing more than brute force and the power of a trained body . ”


    Even if I was about to lose, I was able to overcome it together with my friends .


    However, there may be times when I’ll have to fight alone without relying on my friends .


    “I noticed my immaturity . All I have to do now is make up for it . ”


    “… You sure are positive …”


    “Otherwise, I won’t be here . ”


    If I’m not positive, I would have a broken heart somewhere along the road .


    In my words, Leona-san moved her lips a little as if to say something . It looks like she’s muttering something, but I couldn’t hear it because of the distance .


    ‥ …… I was a little worried, but let’s hear about it later .


    I changed my feelings and held my fist .


    “Currently my attack is being read, so it would be counterproductive to go along with it . ”


    There is nothing more dangerous than a sticking blade .


    Therefore, I will break her reason by breaking through the front without any tricks .


    Leona-san is poised for me, who is a little low . I don’t have any weapons in my hand, but I’m not so disdainful of a person .


    “I’m coming……!”


    I kick the ground with all my might and head towards Leona-san .


    It’ll be good to end this with a close-combat fight . Thus I have the intention of defeating her with a single blow!


    “I won’t hesitate to use my power either!”


    “!”


    Leona-san shook her fist and swung her ice sword .


    The big sword that emits something like frost approaches me at a speed that does not seem plausible from her thin arms .


    “I’ll just break them again even if you remake it!”


    “Try it if you can!!”


    The size does not matter even if the material changes .


    While trying to break the sword with my fist——At the moment when my fist touched the big sword, the blade popped like a balloon,


    “!? This is …”


    The blade popped, a large amount of frost covered my upper body, and my field of vision was dyed white .


    …… Tsk, the sword is just a decoy! The purpose is not to attack, but to block my view!


    The moment I came to that conclusion, I could hear the sound of something hitting on top of my head .


    “Catch my sword!”


    Something came down from above my head with the voice .


    With my view covered in white, when I jumped backwards, a sword made of ice fell on the ground in front of me with a rattling noise .


    She blinded and restrained me to block my movement ……!


    This person’s skill is too versatile!


    “This is not the time to rest! Usato!”


    “I understand!”


    Leona-san who grabbed the ice sword created from her palm started slashing .


    I hold my fist to intercept her immediately, but when I see the three ice swords floating from her back, my smile cramps .


    “This is the least I have to do against you …!”


    “Kuh”


    At the same time I was avoiding her slash, three ice swords attacked me as if homing after me .


    The movement was monotonous, but it still attacked at different timings, so it was quite distracting .


    “I can’t believe you can still respond to this!”


    “I’m getting desperate, though!”


    Right now, I have to deal with four swords .


    The real threat is Leona-san, but the floating ice swords that’re attacking me with a time lag do not give me a chance to fight back .


    Somehow, while handling the attack, I smashed the ice sword that Leona-san swung down, but it was soon repaired from the broken part .


    I know right . It’s ice, so she can fix it right away .


    I’ll stop destroying her sword and hit Leona-san directly . At this rate, I can’t do anything and I’m likely to be pushed back .


    “Hmm!”


    I crush one of the ice swords with a powerful fist and hit Leona-san on the main body .


    I jumped up from the spot and avoided the remaining two, I made a half turn in the air to match the attack of Leona-san who pierced in accordance with the jump, and dropped the heel with momentum .


    However, the ice sword that I crushed earlier transformed into a circle and was deployed as a shield in front of Leona-san, blocking my kick .


    “Hmm !?”


    “Such force!”


    It was only a moment that was blocked .


    However, Leona-san used that momentary gap and stepped into this place at once, making a direct hit on my empty torso .


    Although I grabbed the tip of the ice sword, the momentum did not stop and it pierced my solar plexus and I was blown backwards in the air without being able to move .


    “… Ughhh!”


    Although I barely defended in time, I landed while making one revolution on the ground without killing the momentum of the thrust .


    It’s the magic bullets that Kazuki showed at Lukvis .


    It was done with three swords …… and she herself was fighting as well .


    Kazuki is stronger, but when it comes to techniques, Leona-san is better than senpai and Kazuki…!


    “Th-That was dangerous … . . Really”


    Raising my face, a number of ice swords are falling down .


    I avoided by rolling sideways and the ice sword continued to fall toward me without giving me a break .


    “You’re seriously trying to beat me …! Leona-san!”


    As it is not clear as it is, I generate a large healing magic bullet with my palm, throw it at the ice sword that is pouring down here, and knock it down all at once .


    “…! It broke !?”


    “I have no regrets here either!”


    I threw a healing magic bullet at Leona-san, who was upset at me breaking the ice sword in the air .


    Even if an ordinary opponent gets hit by it Leona-san would easily prevent it . In fact, that was the case with Fegnis, the captain of Samaria .


    Therefore, I fought with her using a healing magic bullet without any restraints .


    “Magic bullets …!?”


    Using the healing magic bullets to destroy the Ice swords, she created an additional ice sword and shot it .


    It is certain that the ice sword that will be pouring down from now on is woven with magic bullets that stop my movement . Besides, unlike the dagger I mentioned earlier, it is falling so that it will be drawn to me .


    In order to get closer to Leona-san without being able to stop moving ―――,


    “It’s just a matter of avoiding everything!”


    I have trained my eyes and body .


    Then, I should just believe in myself and move forward .


    Instead of hesitating, I stepped further forward .


    “Oooh …!”


    I looked at the ice sword that was falling like rain with my eyes and avoided it while running .


    Leona-san showed an astonishing expression as I was rushing towards her, as the ground was scooped out and ice fragments were flying in the air .


    “Tsk!”


    “I’ve caught you!”


    The cold air was removed by hand, and I held my fist near her waist .


    The fist was blocked by the ice shields piled up in the air, but regardless of that, I shook my fist and hit Leona-san with the shield directly .


    “Dang …”


    “It’s too shallow …!”


    Did she jump back to lessen the blow! If so, let’s hit directly next!


    I raise my fist and try to charge again .


    Leona-san, who looked at me painfully while landing on the ground, throws away the broken ice sword from the middle that she would have used for defense and closes her eyes .


    “I guess there’s no choice but to use it …”


    She muttered and began to put magical power in both palms .


    It’s not just about storing magical power like before . The clear and beautiful light blue magical power becomes darker as magic is poured .


    “— Let’s do it!”


    That alone made me understand what she was trying to do .


    That’s why I had to stop her at once .


    At the moment when I tried to kick the ground with all my strength and close the distance at once, the colour of her magical power changed to a dense one at a speed that was incomparable to me .


    “Oraaaa!!!”


    Before something is done, I’ll have to put a stop to it .


    At the moment I swung my fist down, Leona-san put her hands on the ground with a surprisingly calm movement, muttering the words with a voice that I could barely hear .


    “— System strengthening”


    At that moment, a wall that gave off a strong cold air appeared between me and Leona-san .


    Strengthening herself with ice magic .


    The hero, Leona-san created an ice wall by strengthening herself .


    The ice wall was so transparent that it was hard to tell if there was a wall there .


    However, I could immediately understand that it was not just a wall because of the intense cold air that was emitted .


    “——This looks bad!? …… Guuh”


    Before even thinking about punching the ice wall that appeared before me, I applied the brakes on my feet and stopped .


    Although I had a strong pain in my leg, I managed to stop just before I hit the ice wall .


    “…!?”


    I don’t think it’ll just only hurt if I punch such a wall! At worst I’ll be blown away from my consciousness!


    How could she do this with such timing!?


    Leona-san who is at the end of the clear ice, breathes on her shoulder and looks at me regrettably .


    “… With this, it’s decided …?”


    ‥ …… If I can find a way to go around this, I can defeat Leona-san .


    The game has already been decided .


    She failed in the final bet with the technique of strengthening herself .


    ‥… If I want to win, I have to go directly to Leona-san …… .


    “It’s different …!”


    There is no way I can make a detour here .


    This is Leona-san’s trump card .


    That’s why my current power is … She wants to know how well my fists can communicate …!


    “I’m going! Leona-san !!”


    “…!? Usato, what ——-“


    In front of the wall, I wasn’t concerned about winning as I put my fist up .


    I slammed a serious fist that I could put out in my current position against the ice wall .


    “Oraaaaaaaaaaa !!”


    The intense sound of metal noise echoes in the training ground .


    The coldness of the ice wall made my exhaled breath white, and the fist felt like freezing coldness .


    The serious punch I released .


    Then, slowly release my right hand and look at the struck place .


    There —–,


    “…! Haha …”


    The ice wall that I struck as hard as I could had no cracks .


    It’s different from the time with the Wicked dragon . This wall was so hard that I could even be sure that I could never break it .


    Strengthening magic .


    The strengthening used by Leona-san is to create an ice wall that no one can break .


    No,someone as skilled as her would make a wall as troublesome as this . In fact, because her opponent was me, I would’ve been injured if she timed it right as I was punching .


    “I still don’t have enough training …”


    While recognizing my immaturity once again, I saw Leona-san who did not move with both hands on the ground .


    She can be seen through the ice wall, she shook her upper body and was about to collapse .


    “Leona-san !?”


    When I rushed to her sideways and supported her in a hurry, she looked apologetic with a little out of focus .


    Ark-san rushed to this place like me while supporting her, and was informed of the end of the sparring .


    “Leona-san, are you okay?”


    “Sorry, I’m sorry … my magical power is running out . It seems that I’ve overdone it a little … It should improve after a while …”


    Certainly, if you use that much magic, it wouldn’t be strange if the magical power was exhausted .


    Besides, system strengthening uses more magical power than ordinary magic .


    For the time being, I apply healing magic to cure her fatigue .


    “It’s amazing . Leona-san’s system strengthened . I didn’t think it would prevent even my best punch . ”


    “Haha, it can’t be broken even by Karon . It’s also the only technique I can be proud of … . but I failed that too . ”


    While looking up at the ice wall that still exists, when she said that, who had become much more complex, laughed powerlessly .


    “If I hit that wall with my strength head-on, it was Leona-san who won . ”


    “… But I didn’t even land a hit on you . ”


    “Well, I stopped it with brute force . ”


    Honestly, the moment I stopped, there was a considerable load on my legs .


    It’s okay to heal immediately with healing magic, but if I make a mistake, I may have lost consciousness due to the impact of hitting the wall .


    ‥ …… I couldn’t even joke or laugh at the shock I rushed into …… .


    “Are you okay!?”


    “Yeah, I’m out of light magic … Thank you Usato, I’m fine …”


    Leona-san, who said that to Ark-san who ran up, stood up by herself while wandering .


    Ark-san confirmed that Leona-san and I were not seriously injured, and relaxed his shoulders .


    “Well, I was wondering when to stop . When Usato-dono wanted to punch Leona-dono in the form of a demon, I was always ready to stop, but it seems that I didn’t need that either . “


    “Did I have such a scary face?”


    In the form of a demon, I’m becoming more and more of a monster …


    Ark-san showed a bitter smile at me, looked sideways at the ice wall created by Leona-san’s system strengthening and let out a voice of admiration .


    “Is it a system strengthening that excels in defense? Apparently, it has produced ice that does not contain any impurities, is that correct?”


    “Ah yeah . You seem to know about it …”


    Leona-san affirms Ark-san who considered that while stroking his chin .


    Ice without any impurities? I don’t know what it is, but I’m sure it’s a substance that is stronger than I think because it was made with magical power .


    “To prevent even Usato’s fist …”


    “Oh yeah, it didn’t feel like it’s going to break at all . It’s the first time I felt like this . ”


    “As expected of the knight that Mia Rak is proud of . ”


    Leona-san looks a little bad at the complimenting words of Ark-san .


    Ark-san stopped talking to her as to what she had guessed, and turned her gaze toward me .


    “Well, Usato-dono . Did you get anything from sparring with Leona-dono?”


    What did I get?


    I nod to Ark-san’s words .


    “I have power, but I’m not utilizing it . When I fought with Leona-san, I was keenly aware of how much I was fighting with my senses and power . ”


    “It’s enough to understand that, because it’s important to be aware of everything you do . ”


    I am an amateur when it comes to fighting .


    However, I can’t be an amateur forever .


    “There’s not much time to train . I will ask Usato-dono to learn only the basics of fighting . In your case, if you can properly prepare your posture and attitude, you will be stronger than ever . ”


    “Posture and attitude”


    “Usato-dono is a little overpowered . First, we must be able to control your own power . ”


    Control my strength .


    Is that what I need to be stronger than I am now?


    I have no choice but to learn it . I’m sure it will be necessary for future trips .


    “I will cooperate . I will do my best to fill in what I lack within this period . ”


    “If Leona-san’s power is added, it will be like going against100 people . I can really rely on her . ”


    “Well, being told like that…”


    I nodded to her, which she turned a little red, I struck my cheeks and face her again and bowed down .


    “Thank you!”


    The last few days until the special armor was made .


    I will retrain to gain new strength in this place