Chapter 319: Fake Weaponmaster: Axe

———Useph———

<6: 01 pm>

“...Ah crap.” I said out loud upon noticing another person approaching me. I thought today this place would be completely abandoned, maybe their pattern is on weekdays, something along those lines? I thought the chance of this would’ve been very low.

“Dog… Let’s just get ready for the pain.” Nicks said, clearly also resigning himself to what is to come as he summons his katana.

Both of us turn to face the approaching footstep. The one who approached us doesn’t resemble anyone from our class, instead it’s a blonde woman who tied her ponytail that split off into multiple thin tails. Her clothes have a somewhat futuristic appearance to them with glowing lines and metallic bits stapled on.

“Seems like you two have already resigned yourselves. A bit boring, to be honest.” It took me a while to realize who she is imitating. She then quickly summons her weapon, which almost looks like Lynda’s axe, but the head is composed entirely of a miniature water wheel, instead of one side being the blade and the other being the wheel. Calling it miniature is kinda weird since it’s obviously still a massive axe head. That thing looks like it could demolish a building even if it’s seemingly made out of wood.

“So she can imitate someone outside our class…” Nicks said as he prepared to intercept an attack. “Then again, this is only the third match, as far as I’m aware.”

Still, why does the Lynda disguise look so elaborate here? Just to make sure we won’t underestimate her?

“Let’s get this show on the road already!” She yelled out as she held the axe up high. The side of her head lights up as a golden visor is formed and covers her eyes.

*Dash* *Swing* *Block*

“Augh!” I groaned out loud as I blocked the incoming axe swing that felt like being directly hit by a wrecking ball. I can’t even maintain my stance as I got knocked away and almost tripped.

*Swing* *Evade* Swing* *Hop* *Swing* *Parry*

Nicks then had to fend her off in the moment where I needed to reenter the fight, the distance at which I was pushed back was too far for me to continue engaging her. Just two seconds of travel is a long time for someone at our level.

*Swing* *Leap*

I ran at her with my sword swung down, but she quickly jumped far away and created a large distance between two parties.

*Leap* *Swing* *Splash*

“Huh!?” Both of us avoided the incoming water blade formed from her axe, leaving a trail of water in the ground that seemed to split the arena in two.

*SPLASH* *FIZZ*

Before either of us could come up with a possibility, suddenly the water trail burst up like a geyser, creating a wall of water that shoots up into the sky and doesn’t seem to stop. Are you kidding me? Why are we stuck with this gimmick that split us up!? She even went out of her way to box us in so we can’t even escape the stadium or reach the other side! It’s a box cut down the middle and we’re stuck like guinea pigs.

*Leap* *Clash* *Clang* *Clash* *Clack* *Clang*

I can only hear a faint sound of struggle with the loud wall of water blocking the way and drowning most noises. I can tell that the amount of mana present in this spell means that I can’t really breach it with ease. Maybe if I put all of my power into it, but then she could’ve easily dipped through her own spell and left me wasting my energy for nothing. It’s more practical to jump up the insanely tall water wall, but that’ll leave me vulnerable during freefall.

…Ah. I know what to do in this situation.

*Shine* *Crackle*

I slowly pour power into my sword, letting it build a steady foundation of power. This type of enhancement always has a chance of overloading one’s weapon and breaking it, but with the slower pace making sure nothing leaks out, and the craftsmanship behind this blade, that won’t be a problem for me.

*Leap* *Splash* *SLICE*

Before she could even swing her weapon, her right arm arm and even a bit of her shoulder was already cut off by the sudden brutal swing of my sword the moment she emerged from the other side of the water prison.

“Hmph, cheeky.” She casually remarked as if the loss of her sword arm means nothing at all.

*Swing* *Evade* *Swing* *Duck* *Strike*

“Gah!?” She struck me in the stomach after repeatedly avoiding all incoming attacks like she hasn’t lost an arm and what should be a good chunk of speed and power in the process.

“That was certainly eventful. See you in a bit!” She said before regenerating back her right side and summoned the axe back into her hand.

*Leap* *Splash*

Please tell me Nicks will at least do a little bit better. At least this gives me a bit of time to recover from the sudden attack. Could’ve been a lot worse just then.

*Splash* *Leap* *Crash* *Evade*

“Whoa!” Suddenly water spouts out from the wall and forces me to begin dodging. It seems that she wouldn’t let me try any of that nonsense a second time. It’s looking like I can’t have any sort of breathing room whatsoever.

*Sizz* *Whirl* *Swerng* *Splash*

I conjure a dual elemental barrier to stave off the water spell. Their intensity doesn’t match that walls themselves, so I feel pretty confident about blocking it for long enough before she-

*Leap* *Splash* *Swing* *Crash* *Fizzle*

“Gah!?” She came back way earlier than I thought! Smashing through the barrier and sending me flying and completely off my feet. Damn, she really doesn’t make it easy.

Suddenly the water barrier keeping the two of us separated lifted, what is she playing at now?

*Leap* *Swing* *Evade* *Leap* *Swing* *Evade* 

She began jumping around wildly and targeted the two of us at a speed that makes it impossible for either of us to counter her unless we perfectly predict her movement. It’s hard to do that when we can barely keep up with her trajectory!

*Splash* *Swing* *Splash* *SLOSH*

She swung her axe one more time while standing at one end of the battlefield, and suddenly a tsunami appeared out of nowhere!

*Dash* *Crack* *Swerng* *SPLASH*

The two of us quickly joined up and conjured an earth dome around us to shield us from the impact of the waves. It barely holds from the pressure that felt like it came from the deep dark depth of the ocean instead of simple tidal waves.

*Dash* *Swing* **Leap**

The moment we stopped maintaining the dome after the attack ceased, the fake Lynda quickly rushed over, forcing us to jump out of the way of the swinging of the massive axe.

“Hey, did you get one good hit on her?” I asked as the two sides stared each other down.

“A few chip damage, if we can be generous.” He answered. Not really the answer I was looking for. He is the one proficient in water spells and should fare a bit better than me. He can even use lightning attacks if he wanted to, but so far he hasn’t pulled those off either.

We’re definitely not going to coast through this easily at this rate…

———Lynda———

<6: 10 pm>

“Weird, it really felt like you were there.” Glery remarked as we could do nothing but sit idly by and felt the battle unfolding. The invisible barrier around this stadium means that no one could interfere with whatever is happening inside. We can only sit on a bench in this campus park.

“Probably someone using a similar technique, if I were to guess.” Not to mention, I don’t think I’m anywhere near as capable as to cause this torrent of mana. Way too much for me to be able to work with. “You are better at this than me, almost to the level of making out the shape of the fight, so I can’t really say I get it.”

“With the speed and intensity of the battle, I can’t be certain of that either.” She replied. “If we get caught in the middle of it the two of us will be torn to shreds.”

“Yeah, that’s kinda obvious ain’t it?” I said, a bit annoyed by not knowing what the hell is going on and us talking in circles… “By the way, is the fruit on that tree edible?”

“Hmm…” She mumbled something before pulling up her phone and showed me a picture of the same tree with some texts to the side.

“You photographed its entry from a library book?” I said while reading through it. “A… demon tree? Is it safe to have it around?”

“I believe most of the plants here either came from there or weirdly mutated. According to the entry it should be safe to eat, it’s an experience boost item, basically.” She answered. So it should be safe, right…? “Why do you want to eat it in the first place? There’s a slim chance of turning you into a demon or killing you. That’s probably true of every fruit-bearing plant around here. We don’t even know if eating them is allowed.”

“If neither of you want to eat them, then I suppose it’ll be a free meal for this little thing.” Someone suddenly spoke up and spook the hell out of the two of us. What is with Emmie and appearing unannounced!?

*Leap* *Pluck*

She jumped up to reach the fruits and skillfully plucked them off, the golden glow still persisting on the fruits that certainly look more sacred than they are demonic.

“Here, eat up. Don’t waste a single crumb.” She said before putting the fruits down and opening up a container and… what the hell is that thing? Some sort of floating eyeball?

“What is that thing?” I can’t help but ask as it nibbles on the fruits with… I don’t actually know? Maybe there is a mouth hidden somewhere?

“A class pet. I’m in charge of it, and naturally it could use a bit of sustenance. Fruits from the Fantasy Land are naturally quite compatible with it.” She explained. “...So, it seems like you want to catch a glimpse of the culprit once the fight is over?”

“That’s the plan. You never talked about it before, or anyone else from that class for that matter.” I answered.

“Certainly bold of you, despite knowing nothing of the perpetrator.” She remarked. “...I suppose with how this town has been doing, no one here has a particularly strong sense of self-preservation. It’s too safe. Only the dungeon provides any chance for real harm.”

That is definitely… not wrong. The amount of incidents we had can be surmised as petty scams and shoplifting, it’s not a lot of physical violence to worry about. Maybe that Forbidden Zone trip was tumultuous, but someone was probably standing by to keep us safe.

“This is her idea.” Glery suddenly said as if to throw me under the bus. Can’t you be a bit more tactful right now?

“Yeah? So what? Not like we run the risk of any danger.” I argued.

“Of course.” Emmie replied first. “However, I don’t think you’ll find your answer. It’s of no importance to you either way. The person you are seeking will not give you a time of day. You’re unworthy at this moment.”

“Ain’t that last part a nice consolation…” I sarcastically replied. Still blunt all the way through.

“Simply stating a fact.” She said, remaining dull in her tone. “She will not appear before you, so simply give up and do something more productive.”

“Can’t you say that a bit more nicely?” I said while shrugging my shoulders, finding it hard to get mad at this woman with how often her words sound like something from a fantastical drama.

…She didn’t say anything else while observing the little thing eating all the fruits. Can they really provide power just like that? Even with a risk that still sounds absurd.

“What if I’m just trying to relax and enjoy the scenery?” I said to fill the dead air.

“That will be more productive than expecting something that will never arrive.” She answered.

“Guess I’ll stick around anyway then.” I said with a light smirk while Glery looked at me with exasperation. What? Let me get a bit of a comeback here…