Hard Work Will Never Betray Me (WN) - Chapter 148

　Next day. Although the wounds themselves were healed to the point that they did not cause vital signs to cease, the match was to be resumed, leaving Christophe, who showed no sign of awakening at all. At that time, in order to prevent him from getting out of control or escaping in case he woke up, Marie had applied an anomaly spell that disrupted the magic in her body. Thanks to that, Christophe is now unable to even knead magic power, the most necessary element for using magic, which he was so good at. With broken bones all over his body and the loss of his right hand and right leg, it would be difficult for him to stand up properly, let alone break through the iron cage. The only thing I am worried about is whether or not he will kill himself in despair when he wakes up, but since no one will be bothered by his death, there is no point in worrying about it. I can’t take care of him that much either.

　So, since Christophe had to leave the tournament, the matchups were changed somewhat. The remaining matches were the semifinals and the final. The first match of the semifinals is Iris vs. me, and the second match is Eleonora vs. Gilbert.

　Although I was the one who had performed so well yesterday, the match was to be held as usual, in accordance with Iris’s wishes.

“I was so excited to be able to fight Hurt at full strength without getting hurt. It would be a shame to turn it away”

　Iris said.

“Well, then, let’s start the match. The “spiritual sanctuary” is in full operation, and Eberhard has no problem using the “lightning bolt” he used yesterday.’

‘The fact is, it’s actually quite hard to do because it uses a lot of magic power. ……”

“I’m just saying that I should work so hard that Harte would have to use that skill. If he doesn’t have to use it, I’m just not good enough.”

“Well, Iris, you’re quite determined, aren’t you “

　 I’m not going to lose to her ,……, . I have to go to the finals and fight Eleonora to avenge Lily’s loss.

Iris. There are certain skills that are suited to certain people. Just because it’s a s”pecial attack doesn’t mean it’s effective anytime, anywhere.’

‘Mmm.”

“I’ve already thought of a strategy for Iris. Get him!”

‘He won’t be easy to defeat.”

　We stand at a certain distance from each other on the ground. This time, the distance between us was set relatively far because both of us can use medium and long range spells.

“Then let’s begin!”

“Silver Armored Aegis!”

“What was casted by Iris being able to evade the attack of the ‘White Silver Fortress’ just now?”

I am still no match for Hult in long-range combat. I still can’t penetrate that “silver armor”. So I approached you with a gleam of hope. I thought I could catch you by surprise if I did.

“…… You’re a clever , aren’t you? I was taken in by him.”

I asked Iris, looking back at the earlier match, and she replied, snapping out of her farce mode.

“Hurt said that the move earlier was omni-directional, but there is actually only one blind spot.”

‘…… No way.”

“The only blind spot was at your feet, from the knees down, within a one-meter radius.”

“You’ve been hiding there the whole time?”
She nodded

“Optical camouflage stealth!”

Iris and I both cast spells in accordance with each other’s battle strategies. Iris is not impossible to fight with meat bullets, but she basically takes the route of medium and long-range combat, taking advantage of the properties of the light attribute. If this is the case, I also do not need to be prepared for close-range combat, so I do not have to waste my magical power applying a ” robe “. The “silver armor” will also improve the reflectivity of the “silver armor” and increase its resistance to light attacks.

　As the name suggests, the “silver armor” shines in a silvery-white color because light is diffusely reflected by shock waves emitted in the opposite vector of external attacks. To nullify light-attribute magic, Leon, a steel-attribute user, countered by creating a mirror. I chose to use a similar concept to reflect light.

‘I’m sure you can’t see me from there either,”

　Iris, who has disappeared with her “optical camouflage stealth,” tells me this. The “silver armor” has the flaw that if the reflectivity is increased, it is impossible to see what is going on outside from the inside as well. In short, all directional energy from the outer world is blocked, so the inside of the silver armor is completely dark.

But as far as I’m concerned, that’s not a problem.

Why is it possible for a submarine to sail through the ocean without running into any obstructions? It is because they are armed with sonar, a high-precision acoustic radar. It is the same logic as the dolphins’ and bats’ echolocation. If you can’t see it, just listen!　That’s what I’m thinking.

And I have the power to substitute it with magic power. That’s right, the spell of “active sonar.

“Disappearing won’t do you any good!　I can see you from here!””

It’s impossible to see due to “optical camouflage” anyway. Then I should not rely on sight from the beginning, but only on the reaction of magic power to detect the target!

“Impact bullet!”

　—-

Several “shock bullets” are fired at the location of the magical reaction that seems to be Iris. The optical disguise may have been well hidden, but my sonar vision clearly shows the main body of Iris and the reactions of the phantom created by the spell.

“Iris is broken!”

The next moment I thought that Iris had passed through the phantom and landed on the real body —-. The next moment, contrary to my expectations, the “impact bullet” passed through the magical reaction of the main body.

“What the he;; ?!”

Did Iris, by no means, take advantage of the fact that I was going to use “active sonar” to prepare a decoy?　When had he mastered such advanced spell ? She had never used it in any of the many mock battles we had in the past,…….

“I had never used it in any of the many mock battles we had , and yet —- it had worked. It was worth all the training I had done in secret for this day”

“Iris!　I didn’t even know you were there.　”

“Just like Hurt’s special attack. I worked hard behind the scenes.”

　I was surprised by this. The current strategy is not going to get us anywhere. The most important thing to remember is that you can’t just take a chance on a new player and expect him or her to do the same thing.

“If it is ……, it is not a very pretty way to fight, but I guess I’ ll have to use a barrage of bullets to push through.”

I can’t see it from here and can’t hit it with my attacks. From the other side, sher can’t push through my defense, and can’ t cut me down because she keeps evading my attacks. This created what is called a “thousand-day hand” situation. In order to break through this and move on, a new step is needed.

　I decided to push with sheer force o……. When a strategy is ineffective, it is better to abandon thinking too hard and push with force.

“—- If you don’t know where the enemy is, why don’t you just attack everything?　I call it the ‘White Silver Fortress Fortress’!’

buh!!!

It’s a 360-degree version of the ” shock barrage” while activating the “silver armor”. This would create no blind spots at all, so no matter where they were hiding on the ground, she would be able to blow them away. It is not very pretty, but it is the only way to win. The battle is in the numbers.

…… However, despite all these attacks, I didn’t hear Marie say, “It’s a victory”. The same is true for Marie, who is not supposed to be able to see Iris, but she is in a position to manage the “spiritual sanctuary,” so she has a bird’s eye view of what is going on inside the boundary. In other words, there is no possibility of misinterpretation. This means that Iris has not yet collapsed.

“Did you just endure that?　How?”

　No. I have no idea. It’s very regrettable that I seem to have lost the battle, but if I keep on the “silver armor” like this, the amount of magic power consumed will not be worth it. I think I should release the “silver armor” and see what’s going on outside.

　So, I thought, and while activating the “robe “, I released the “silver armor”. ……

“Hurt right , here .’

“What?”

　The moment I thought I heard Iris’s voice coming from right below me, Iris’s fist with all her might punched me in the stomach.

“Ugh!’

The fist that entered the pigeon tail so spectacularly inflicted damage on me that I couldn’t ignore. I clenched my teeth and endured it, and succeeded in catching Iris’s fist.

Oryaaaaaah!”

I felt a little sorry for her, but I punched her in the stomach with my arm strength reinforced by “robe ” to get back at her for the Dove Tail Punch.

“Gfuh!

“It’s a over !”

I won the match against Iris by punching her in the stomach with my strengthened fist, a devilish act that would make even a domestic violence boyfriend wince.

“Hal, you’re the worst.’

　”It was a serious fight!　I was in pain too!　It was my tail　I just being nice by not aiming for the vital point:!

“Hurt hurt me. I want you to take responsibility.”

“You say that like that!　No, I’ll take responsibility!

it was inside the “spiritual sanctuary”, there shouldn’t be any physical damage, but it seems to have been hard on the psyche. Iris, who had been punched in the stomach by me, protested with a bloated face.

“What a farce. …… Compared to Oscar, who was punched in the stomach, this is a gentle way to go.”

“Master, this is not about that!”

‘This is about dignity”.

“If you say so, Oscar’s is worse.”

“Ugh, I can’t say it any other way.”

“I can’t say it back.”

…… I think the exchange between the two of them is a travesty.

:I really wanted to shoot a spell from there, but I didn’t have time. It was difficult to do damage through Hurt’s robe.:

“It hurt a lot, though.”

Although Iris uses light spells, a medium- to long-range type of spell, her physical abilities are not low. In fact, as her status as a member of the Special Division shows, she is much stronger than most ordinary adventurers and soldiers.

　Iris’s physical prowess in melee combat is something I tend to forget because I can’t imagine her as being good at it at all. As a fellow member of the Special Division’s 201st squadron, I am very proud to be able to rely on her. I enjoyed chatting with my partner after the match, happy for her growth and the fact that we would be able to work together more easily in the future.