Chapter 25

The sense of intimidation I felt facing her was on a completely different level from Nanjou.

No, even back in the first round of the tournament before summer break, it had felt different.
Back then, she had enough composure to greet me, and it seemed like she was holding back a little.

But now, it was different.

The closed-off atmosphere of the training facility seemed to amplify the dense presence, the sword energy, emanating from her.
Even though she hadn’t even assumed a drawn-sword stance, it felt as if a blade was already pointed at me.

I’m not the type to get nervous in new places, even in a facility at a future school.
So, without a doubt, the pressure I’m feeling comes from her.

Focus. The countdown has ended, and the buzzer signaling the start of the match has already sounded.

“……!”

She vanished. And I caught her.
A low stance step, rapid approach.
Confusion at not fully predicting her movement. Joy at her skills exceeding my expectations.

Once again, her lightning-fast sword draw approached me, but I recognized it and attempted to deflect it with a knife-hand strike—

“!”

The sword I tried to deflect changed trajectory.
As if rewinding in reverse, it returned, taking an entirely different path, as though reading my movements.

I couldn’t deflect it by hand in time. Misaki-senpai’s attack was certainly heading toward my chest.

Looking closer, she wasn’t in a proper drawn-sword stance.
It was as if she distorted her posture to alter the sword’s trajectory.

That strike skillfully slipped past my hand, nearly reaching me.
…So I deflected the approaching sword with my elbow.
Using that momentum, I struck her with my elbow, then extended it into a hand strike.

My hand reached her exposed neck after the elbow strike.
I grabbed her and slammed her to the floor.

The exchange felt like three seconds. In reality, it was only a fraction of a second.

I attempted to continue my follow-up attack, but the training facility buzzer rang, stopping us.
One throw had completely erased the protective field of her armor.

Looking, the floor where I slammed her was heavily dented and cracked.

“Good work, Misaki-senpai.”
“…Yeah, good work.”

She slowly got up.
I reached out and helped her up.
Her expression was far from cheerful, showing traces of frustration.

“…I thought I had a chance, yet you deflected with your elbow.”

“This is a martial art called ‘Silat.’ If elbow strikes are Muay Thai offensively, this is elbow defense and counter. You can use techniques like this too.”

She’d drilled all the usable techniques into me.
To maximize my 10× Experience Gain, I had been forced to experience all the techniques I could possibly learn.
Now, I am the crystallization of the strength my sister and I developed together in my previous life.

So, senpai, I can no longer afford to lose to anyone.

“You’re really strong. Not just skill or physical ability. You can choose attacks that seem ruthless without holding back. Your warrior mindset is fully formed, Akira.”

“That’s right. In a match, I attack regardless of whether the opponent is female or not. But I also appreciated Misaki-senpai’s choice to alter her sword’s path even at the cost of her stance—it was an excellent move.”

“I’m glad you said that. I felt Akira is strong against orthodox methods, so I thought I might break through with unconventional attacks. But then, you countered with a completely different technique.”

“Yeah, I’m basically strong with basic-developed techniques. But I’ll probably be even stronger next time.”

“Yes, I think so. Stay strong. I’ll keep chasing you. That’s how I’ll become stronger.”

This match certainly caught me off guard.
I gained the experience of seeing such attacks exist.
10× Experience Gain applies to all experiences, and my strength has accumulated.

Exiting the field, Kasumi was staring at me, mouth agape.
What’s with that foolish face?

“Close your mouth—it looks silly. What’s up, Kasumi?”

“Eh… I couldn’t even follow Misaki-senpai’s movements, and before I knew it, Akira had already won… I don’t get it. Akira, how did you suddenly get this strong?”

Kasumi voiced a perfectly reasonable observation.
I needed to dodge this question lightly since Misaki-senpai was there.

“I’ve always been good at martial arts. I just didn’t have a chance to show it at school. And I had a great teacher who awakened my long-rusted body.”

“I see… you were skilled. In school training, we rarely spar one-on-one anyway…”
“Akira-kun has a teacher? I’d love to meet them sometime.”
“Ah, you mean my sister?”

Yes, that sister.

…I just realized something. My sister let Kasumi introduce herself, but she never actually said her own name!?

“Yes, that sister. She’s at the very top as an explorer, extremely strong.”
“Ah, so Akira-kun is receiving guidance from an active explorer.”

Thanks to my sister’s existence, my rapid growth made some sense to them.
Neither Kasumi nor Misaki-senpai pressed further, so we finished sparring and left the training facility.

I noticed Nanjou’s borrowed weapons neatly placed against the wall, his protectors organized.
Dutiful—or maybe someone else tidied them up.

“Well, Kasumi and I’ll take our leave. Thank you.”
“Thank you for letting us observe.”
“Thank you as well. Please let us do this again sometime.”

Exchanging greetings, we left the academy.

…Misaki-senpai is truly strong. There must be many explorers stronger than me still active.
If I sparred with them, I wonder if my 10× Experience Gain would let me grow even faster.

Alone in the training facility, Misaki watched the recorded footage of the sparring match.

“…As I thought, I could have surprised him, but he responded instantly. This footage… I should submit it to the academy.”

Since it’s an academy facility, combat is always recorded.
Even if it shows ‘the academy’s strongest completely losing to a high schooler.’
It might stir up students, but the academy’s leadership needs to see it.

“How will the academy handle him when he enrolls next year… This could shake things up.”

Seeing a younger male stronger than herself, Misaki smiled secretly, anticipating the academy shifting around him.
It was going to be fun.

“I’m home!”

The door was already unlocked, so I called out, guessing my sister had returned.
I thought I might not finish preparing dinner before she came back from the dungeon, but she got home first.

“Welcome back, Akira! How was my bento? Was it good?”

She greeted me at the door, eyes sparkling with excitement, asking about her bento.
Cute. Even though usually confident, her casual words revealed her genuine, straightforward nature.

“The rice balls were amazing. The tamagoyaki looked perfect. The spinach was cooked just right.”

“Right!? I mastered the popular recipes and gave my all in the details! I really put effort into the spinach—the stems were sweet, and the leaves melted in your mouth!”

No one would believe this maid is my martial arts teacher, possessing all knowledge in the world and perfectly recreating it.

“Dinner’s your turn, Akira! I’ve been playing games for the first time in a while, gonna go tease the Spl〇Kids a bit.”

“…Take it easy, okay?”

With that knowledge and specs, she’s also a toxic player wreaking havoc in online games!