There's still plenty of time for the appointment. I want to try some new magic. In the meantime, we're eating at Ion's, but this time I was going to ask them to hold off on the boer meat barbecue...

It's delicious!

His eyes sparkle. 'I think this will work.

'Of course it will! The food Takht made is the best in the world!

Lily says proudly. For the record, that's not true. Because I don't feel like I can compete with the people who taught me how to cook.

As we finish eating and go to the field, Lily calls out to me.

'Wait a minute! Promise!

Promise? What have you done?

I thought it was about a duel.

Yeah, we talked about that.

You're right. They're the same weapon, and they're equal.

It's not. It's an 11-level difference.

I don't mind.

If Aeon approves, then the duel will stand. What a first...

I select Duel from the status screen and select Lily and Ion and a dueling field forms around the two of them.

'What are the terms?'

It's a blowout!

Yes, sir.

Yes, sir.

I make it impossible for them to win a duel.
And I will be the judge.

Duel.
Opponent: Lily and Ion.
Victory condition: no combat
Referee: Tact

"Do you wish to proceed with this duel?

I touch OK and a field is created for the duel.
Then I check with both of them.

"Well, are you two ready?

They both hold their weapons at my question. Lily holds her sword at her side as usual, while Aeon steps forward with her dagger at her left and right.

I'm convinced by Ion's appearance that he is still the speed type. And I could see the general direction of this match.

'Anytime, Tact.'
Me too, sir.

Then let's begin.

At the same time I say that, Lily rushes in. Then, as usual, she activates her skills.

'Heavy Slash!'

Lily takes a big swing and fires a killing blow. In response, Ion activates his skills as Lily rushes in.

''Double Slash!''

Double slash is an early martial art of the double slash. It's like a martial art where you slice through it once on each side.

And the crucial first slash, the difference between Lily, who released her skills at the position where Ion was, and Ion, who released her skills in response to Lily's movements, was decisive. Aeon was slicing through Lily as if she were passing him.

''Yippee!''

I knew this was going to happen. I've been watching Lily in battle from behind, so of course I know Lily's weaknesses. Lily's attacks are only big swings. If it's a monster opponent you've been fighting, you've been able to fool it with power. For example, there was a time when she swung her weapon wide and was bitten by a wolf in the nick of time, but she shook it off with force. The wolf swung away and hit a tree and died.

But this was a fight against a man. There was no way to fight in the ring of an opponent who was swinging as hard as he could with full force.

Lily buzzes her sword around as hard as she can, but Ion runs in circles and doesn't get in between swords. Lily finishes swinging her sword in a big way and hits the skittering spot.

As I was watching this duel, I decided to take the opportunity to make some observations about the interpersonal combat.

First of all, if Aeon attacks while Lily is using a skill, the skill activation is cancelled and it stalemates for a little while. Then if you attack during that time, you get a continuous hit bonus, and your damage goes up with the increase in stalemate time and the number of hits. That's exactly what the tutorial says.

But I found an interesting phenomenon that wasn't mentioned in the tutorial. There was a scene where Lily would get bare and activate a skill and the skill would fail. I figured out why it was happening.

'Wow, I didn't know that was possible. Interesting.

I say that and Lily goes to play the game.

'Ugh!'

What?

Lilly uses the fighting air. But Ion sees it and retreats. Lily sees this and rushes in, but fighting qi is a skill that increases attack power. That's not a fundamental solution.

As a result, Lily was chopped up by Ion all the time, and the match ended.

''It's roughly like this. Do you understand what you're doing?

'Oh, wow! It's so frustrating~

Lily cries out. You really wanted to be a sister. And here's where Aeon levels up. Heh, even in a duel, I can get experience.

Name Aeon Drago Newt Lv 1 -> Lv 5

Life force 10 to 16.
Magic power 10 to 16
Strength 8 to 12.
Defensive strength 6 to 8.
Agility 20 to 28
Dexterous value 14 to 22

skill

Two swords Lv1 -> Lv3 Underwater action Lv1　

Is this as much of a given when you look at it as the experience of defeating Lily?

'We both did our best, but you know what, Lily? Your attacks are swinging too big. You'll be fine against monsters, but be careful from now on.

'Ugh~. Did Tact by any chance know that this was going to happen?

Yeah.

'Why didn't you stop me!

Because... you can't tell me why.

"You wanted this duel, right? It would be tactless for me to interfere in that.

You're right.

Yeah, but I don't get it.

Lily is swollen. Well, I did think it was a good opportunity to fix Lily's bad habits.

'I was still careful not to let Gray and the others see this, though.

''U...Surely my position as a sister would have been in jeopardy if Gray and the others had seen me!

'I don't think you're in any position to lose to me.

'Aeon, you're so mean!'

Oh, man.

"Look, it's a done deal. It's time to turn it around and go hunting.

Then, in the meadow at the beginning, Lily repeated a big swinging attack on the boa opponent as if it were an eight-strike attack... you don't fix it.