Ggh.........

　I gasp in agony.
　The noble vampire chokes me from behind and I can't breathe.
　And the vampire guy, with his fangs on my neck, tries to suck my blood.

　I'm scared!
　I'd heard that being sucked by a Noble species doesn't make you a vampire, though. An instinctive fear and physiological disgust inexplicably creeps in.

　But--

I'll follow up now.

　Magnus punches the Noble Vampire away from the side.
　Apparently, it went into his side. So, with his body bent over in a crooked position, the noble vampire was blown away.

'Ta, thank you, Magnus!
It's a party.

　Magnus didn't look back at me and glared at the Noble Vampire without a hint of caution, his fist still at the ready, but he was happy to hear it.
　Incidentally, I had left my total mithril wand with Chocolat, who was waiting outside the room.

　Meanwhile, the blown-up Noble Vampire staggered to his feet.

"Nonsense......... How can a mere fist be effective against me, a nobleman?
This is no ordinary fist. This is a martial artist's fist.

　Magnus replied nonchalantly.
　I thought it was just a game, a play on words, but - no.
　I don't know what the principle is, but the right fist that Magnus held up had a faint glow to it.
　Is that the secret to being able to damage a noble vampire that should have had resistance to physical attacks?

"A Un Rena.

　Magnus chanted something in his mouth.
　Then the glow in his fist turned into something even stronger.

　Holding it at the ready, Magnus closed the distance between him and the Noble Vampire with his unique martial artist's gait, as if he were gliding.

''Chi-chi.''

　The vampire clicks his tongue and turns into a myriad of bats again.
　They spread out and try to escape Magnus' fists.
　But Magnus seemed to have read it.

''Ha!

　A heavy, loud voice that seems to emanate from the depths of my soul.
　I couldn't help but cover my ears with my left hand that wasn't clutching my sword. Is this a martial artist's "skill"?　I thought my eardrums were going to break.

　And the countless bats had also crashed to the floor in a flurry.
　They huddled together and reverted to their noble vampire forms.

''Ki, you.......eh, are you really just a martial artist......?
Yeah. I'm a martial artist of the book.

　Magnus strikes with a fist covered in a mysterious glow.
　The Noble Vampire also gives up on bat transformation evasion and responds with extended claws.
　Fists and claws, although the parts they use are different, the two sides begin a flesh-and-blood battle.
　It's an evenly matched battle.

　Great, Magnus........
　To be able to fight like that with a boss monster that seems to be one level higher.
　I heard that he has a special training method and his "status" is higher than normal, so maybe that's why...?

　--I'm not impressed.
　An even fight means that Magnus could lose, right?
　Then it's my turn to follow up!

Fufu.......... Fufu.......... Fufu...........

　I took a deep breath.
　I had to get into a follow-up, but I shouldn't panic.
　I panicked earlier and the Noble Vampires easily backed me up, a reminder.

　In fact, you can see how Magnus fights.
　He remains calm the whole time.
　That's what makes him a true powerhouse.
　That's what I'm talking about.

　That's why I'm going to follow Magnus' example and calm my mind.
　I watch the fight.

　Magnus slams his fist into the ground with a powerful step.
　The noble vampire jumps back and dodges it.
　Right behind him was a wall. What a surprise, he kicked that wall for a foothold and leapt high, and now he kicked the ceiling and changed the trajectory of his leap, attacking Magnus from above his head.

　Now!
　I'm here!

Shine Blade!

　I slash at the Noble Vampires, who attack forcefully from the air.
　However.

'Haha, you're stuck!　Did you think you'd be stuck in the air!

　The pompous bloodsuckers don't know what I'm thinking!　I just scoffed at it.
　Then he transformed into countless bats in the air and evaded my Shine Blade.

　On the other hand, the momentum of my sword, which has been scooped up, does not stop.
　Earlier, I got too much momentum and slammed the wall.
　This time I had too much momentum and almost slashed Magnus.

''Magnus-sama!　Master Ray!

　And outside the doorway of the room, Chocolat screamed.

　But - Magnus didn't panic or make a fuss.
　As expected, he was extremely calm.
　It's a good idea to have a good idea of what to expect when you're in a position to do it.

　Yes, I'm no fool.
　I'm not going to repeat the same mistake!
　I had made a decent calculation about getting dodged by the bat change and not hitting Magnus with too much momentum.

　And then he made eye contact with Magnus for a moment.

''Ha!

　Magnus blackmailed again in a loud voice.
　The flock of bats crashed down with a bobble.
　They huddled together unbearably and returned to their Hiikora and Noble Vampire forms.

　This time there's a real gap.

Shine Blade!
'Geez!

　The vampire's weakness is the attribute of light.
　My blow was the final blow, and with a scream of dismay, it disappeared.


'Nice follow-up, Ray.'
'Magnus matched it well, and it was a good partnership. Right?
Yeah. Not a bad way to start your first fight, huh?
'I learned a lot from watching Magnus,'
Ho. But it seems to me that you also have an excellent sense of warfare. You just never thought to use it before.
So.........is it.......?

　I don't know. It doesn't feel right.
　But whatever it is...
　For the first time I didn't have anyone telling me what to do, I was able to think and devise my own way to fight.
　It was mostly thanks to Magnus that I was able to win, though. He's always helping me.

　But I was so happy.
　I felt accomplished beyond words.

　We had defeated the Noble Vampire, and Magnus had grown to level 13 and I had grown (up) to level 12 at once.