CH 99

—————-A born genius.

This is probably the best way to describe Ain.

Even the player, the <Hero> loved by God, can’t compete against Ain if they were to fight on the same level.

The secret of his overwhelmingly high status is his “talent”.

In other words, his “Affinities’.

For example, Prana, who is one of the best Adventurers in the world has the following affinities.

―――――――

STR – 4 (Good)

VIT – 3 (Normal)

MGC – 3 (Normal)

MND – 2 (Bad)

AGI – 4 (Good)

FOC – 6 (Genius)

Total – 22

―――――――

Her overall value is high, and among her abilities, the growth of her <FOC>, which is an essential ability for Bow-Users, has a shining 6.

This is an almost ideal affinity line-up for Archers.

On the other hand, Prince Ain, who is a cheat beyond ideals, has the following affinities.

―――――――

STR – 6 (Genius)

VIT – 6 (Genius)

MGC – 6 (Genius)

MND – 6 (Genius)

AGI – 6 (Genius)

FOC – 6 (Genius)

Total – 36

―――――――

No, that’s just stupid…… is what I’d like to say, but that’s seriously his affinities.

While ordinary Adventurers are unable to put their minds at ease whether they have low 16s or high 20s, Ain is looking down at them from otherworldly heights of 36.

Even the most powerful Sword Saint only has 26, which shows just how out of the ordinary Ain is.

To begin with, this “genius” affinity isn’t just something you can get from a bargain sale.

It’s very rare, as is evident from the fact that Prana is the only one among Radd’s party who has the “Genius” affinity of 6.

Even for Unique Characters, who tend to have higher ability values than Random Characters, and out of all the characters that specialize in something, they were so valuable that you might only have one of them in your roster.

Furthermore, the devs preferential treatment of Ain doesn’t end there.

Ain was born with the Unique Class <Light Prince>, and since the correction value of this job is equivalent to the user’s original affinities, Ain is in a ridiculous state of “ability increase by 72 per level” from the moment of his birth.

Combine this with a high level befitting a prince……

This is the reason for his monstrous status which can only be described with the word “Cheat”.

[I get that he’s strong. However……]

Prana, who had been silently listening to my explanation, asked me.

[……Does he not have any weakness?]

[He does.]

Surprised by my immediate answer, Prana’s eyes widened for a moment, to which I casually continued.

[Ain’s weakness is that he’s too strong.]

Hearing me say that with a straight face, Prana frowned.

[……Are you kidding?]

[No. Look at the value of his Rank Total.]

I pointed to the last column of the Status in my notebook, showing his Rank Total.

[We talked about this before. One’s abilities have evaluation ranks such as S or A+ attached to them, and its total determines the necessary EXP you need to reach the next level. And……]

I showed the earlier table to her again.

Prana’s Rank Total is 58, while Ain has 96.

[The higher Ain’s abilities are, of course, the higher his Ability Total will be. In other words, Ain’s growth rate is very slow.]

Ain doesn’t become the player’s companion until the end-game, but he does become a temporary companion.

Even when they were at the same level, only Ain’s level rose at an abnormally slow rate, making you feel the strength of his ability revision.

Even Ain is not perfect.

[……Rex.]

[Hmm?]

Though I say that……

[————What does that weakness have to do with this match?]

I couldn’t respond to Prana’s question, which was thrown toward me like a straight ball.

Trying to shake off that astounded look she directed at me, I hurriedly spoke.

[W- Well, don’t worry about it. Under these rules, how high his ability level is doesn’t really matter.]

Ain’s original fighting style is closer to that of a Magic Swordsman than a pure Swordsman.

Magic Swordsmen are magic-oriented DPS who use both of their <STR> and <MGC> to slice the enemy by imbuing their magic power into their swords.

Ordinary Adventurers may end up being dragged down by the lack of either of the two, but Ain, who has a level of strength that exceeds that of Specialized-types, doesn’t have to worry about that.

Because he’s able to unleash attacks with far more power than focusing on being either a physical or magic damage-dealer, Ain’s magic sword boasts an unbelievably powerful edge.

However, magic can’t be used in the <Duel Room>.

In that case, Ain is only a “strong swordsman” in this match.

(Besides, I have fought in Sudden Death fights in arenas like this back when I was playing the game.)

The emphasis of matches like this is different from regular matches, which is simply a test of overall strength.

The most important ability in this format is <AGI>, which is related to the speed of movement, but the influence of this stat almost comes to a halt when it reaches 200.

As far as speed is concerned, me and Ain are considered to be evenly matched.

In this rule, a person’s durability is completely meaningless, and the power of techniques is not that significant either.

If you hit a fast and weak attack first, you win, and if you succeed in parrying once, the game is decided at that point.

[That’s why, I have a chance to win.]

Just as I was concluding my speech, a voice called out from behind me.

[……Rex-dono. The match is about to start.]

It was General Sergen.

I’m not sure if he was waiting for our conversation to settle down or not, but when I turned around, it seemed that preparations in the <Duel Room> had already been completed.

[……………….]

The sheer volume of people and the pressure of the room brought back the tension I had forgotten thanks to Prana, but there was no way I could run away from here.

[Alright.]

Nodding my head, I started walking away.

[……Do your best.]

Returning the soft pep talk from behind with a wave of a hand, I climbed into the stage where the prince is waiting.

※　※　※

Amidst the gazes of the knights and my comrades, I climbed into the ring and faced Ain.

Even in the midst of the crowd, Ain maintained his elegant posture.

He even smiled at me with a face that showed no sign of feeling pressured.

[……I never thought I’d have to fight you.]

It’s not like anyone could listen to our conversation here anyway.

Throwing away all honorifics, I swore at him.

[You think so? Ever since I heard the rumors about you though, I’ve been wanting to fight you.]

Seeing Ain seemingly having my fun, my suspicions began to grow.

[……Don’t tell me, the reason you asked me to teach them was just that you wanted to have this fight?]

[Now then, I wonder about that?]

As if to dodge my question, Ain closed one eye, but that answer doesn’t deny my question at all.

It might not be a lie that he wanted to ask me to teach the others, but this would mean that the process leading up to this fight was within his calculations.

[Ain. I’ll definitely beat you up later, so prepare yourself.]

[Ahaha, for argument’s sake, I’m still a prince, okay? I’d like it if you do that anywhere else but my face.]

It was an exchange that couldn’t be considered a conversation between a prince and an Adventurer, but strangely enough, such an arrangement between us fits perfectly.

(Seriously, how did these guys become friends?)

Light and shadow, yin and yang.

Rex and Ain are that different, one could describe them as polar opposites.

On one hand, there’s this shining and bright prince dressed in all white.

On the other hand, there’s this clumsy and unsociable adventurer dressed in all black.

Two people of opposite status, personalities, and even abilities, facing each other like this, bantering lightly and laughing with each other.

This in itself should have been strange, but I currently felt as if this was just natural.

[……Can I have your attention?]

The miraculous moment was brought to an end by our impending clash.

General Sergen, on behalf of all the knights, asked.

[This is the last confirmation. This is a three-bout contest where you are free to use any weapons, but magic is forbidden. You win a match by hitting the opponent’s body or making the opponent fall outside the arena, and the winner is the one who wins twice first. I suppose there wouldn’t be an objection to this?]

We nodded at the same time.

[I have no problem with that.]

[……Yeah.]

At our words, the General acting as the witness steps out of the ring, and this time, we face each other alone.

The air tingles.

Tension ran through the <Duel Room>, as if the harmonious atmosphere between us just now was a lie.

……Nevertheless, I held onto the weapons I held in my hands without hesitation.

After all, I’m not just an Adventurer, I’m a member of the modern society.

I’m not arrogant enough to pretend that my sword skills are superior to Ain’s.

However……

(If you want to know about it that much, I’ll show it to you. The power of the <Manual Arts>!)

Along with the impulse being withheld, the atmosphere of the <Duel Room> shook with its release.

And when the tension between us two reached its peak……

[————-Match…… start!]

With General Sergen’s declaration, the confrontation between light and darkness began.