Chapter 86: There’s no way I’d lose to a small fry like you who has the dud skill Replication!

"Number 24 emitted Aura and activated a Stun Effect type skill in that instant. You missed it, so you didn’t notice that number 24’s attacks had become a different kind of attack from before."

Various effects could be added to Aura attacks.

The Stun Effect the referee mentioned was one of those effects.

There were various skills that could add a Stun Effect to Aura.

The difficulty of learning them was fairly high, and owners of skills that could add a Stun Effect were usually intermediate adventurers or above.

Stun was a word that meant fainting.

A Stun Effect meant adding to Aura an effect that could drive the opponent into a stunned state, in other words fainting.

Because it could drive them to fainting if it landed completely, the word "stun" was used.

But even in an incomplete state it could dull the opponent’s movements, so in fights against monsters rather than people, it was more common to switch to another attack at that stage and finish them off.

Even without reaching fainting, a state where the Stun Effect was clearly working and movements had started to dull was also called a stunned state.

"What number 24 used was Stun Blow, a skill that wraps the fists in Aura with a Stun Effect added."

A strike with a Stun Effect added did not take effect from landing a single blow.

It usually reached a state where the effect worked after multiple attacks.

With Monica’s original strength, against an opponent of Kazui’s level she could drive him into a stunned state by landing about five hits.

But right now she was under Aura output restriction from the Aura Limiter, so that was not possible.

Even for a stunned state at the level of dulling Kazui’s movements, she needed to land about thirty attacks.

But "land" in this case had a different meaning from ordinary strikes.

When using Aura Mail, the arms and legs had their defensive ability strengthened considerably more than other parts.

They were often used like shields to receive and defend against enemy attacks, so they were given stronger defensive ability.

Even if you used that kind of receiving defense with arms and legs so attacks would not hit vital areas, the Stun Effect still worked.

In other words, against attacks with a Stun Effect, defense that only received them was meaningless.

With an ordinary strike, if it was received and defended against with arms or legs, it did not count as landing.

But with a strike that had a Stun Effect added, it produced the same effect as if it had landed.

Even if you received it with arms or legs, if you instantly parried it and let it flow off, you could take almost no influence from the Stun Effect.

In other words, attacks with a Stun Effect had to be dodged or parried.

Kazui had not taken that many of Monica’s strikes, but the number of times he could not dodge or parry and only received them in defense was high.

That was why the Stun Effect accumulated and he was driven into a stunned state.

The referee explained these basic things to Kazui.

He had learned the basics in Guild training, so he knew them at least in outline.

"Stun Effect type skills produce lightning-like sparks when they activate, so if you are watching your opponent properly you can notice the skill activating."

The referee continued the explanation in a flat tone.

"But you looked away from your opponent during combat and missed the skill activating. As a result you kept receiving strikes with a Stun Effect and were driven into a stunned state."

Hearing the explanation, Kazui fully understood what had happened to him.

If he had noticed the Stun Effect activating, he would not have used receiving-only defense against Monica’s attacks.

Even when taking attacks, he would have instantly parried and let flow off at least the fists wrapped in Aura with a Stun Effect.

Against attacks he judged were easier to receive than to parry, even if they could be parried, he had used receiving defense.

As a result he could see that the Stun Effect had accumulated, he had been driven into a stunned state, his body movements had been dulled, he had been beaten down, and he had lost badly.

"The cause of your loss this time was looking away from your opponent so easily. Reflect on this point properly and use it going forward."

"Understood."

The referee turned from Kazui to Monica.

"Next is the winner, number 24, but even though you won... this time you are the one full of problems."

He gave the winner Monica a harsh critique.

"An intermediate martial artist at level 41 should be able to shut out a trainee martial artist as a matter of course, even with her Aura restricted. And yet you clearly took one heavy blow."

Because what the referee said was fact, Monica let her gaze wander awkwardly.

"In the exchange of blows as well, you lacked a deciding factor. The reason it turned out that way is clearly that you looked down on your opponent and let your guard down."

The referee continued without holding back.

"Because the opponent you looked down on was stronger than you thought, you panicked that it should not be like this, and your fighting became sloppy."

She was aware of it, so while making a sour face she listened to the critique.

"Looking down on someone creates letting your guard down and impatience, and depending on the case it can cost you your life. Please take not looking down on any opponent as the point to reflect on this time and use it going forward."

Monica silently bowed to the referee.

"That’s all for the critique! Come here so I can erase your lottery numbers."

Kazui and Monica walked up to the referee.

Then they each held out the back of their right hand.

The referee took a white stamp from his pocket.

Then he pressed the stamp over the lottery numbers marked on Monica and Kazui’s right hands.

A coin-sized white glowing magic circle was stamped over the lottery numbers.

The magic circle seemed to mix with the lottery numbers, then both vanished.

When an exhibition match ended, the referee used a stamp that was a magic tool to erase the lottery numbers.

Incidentally, if they were not erased with this stamp, the lottery numbers would not fade for a month.

"Then I look forward to seeing both of your growth in the next exhibition match."

Saying that, he bowed to Kazui and Monica, then turned on his heel and walked away.

He headed for the office next to the first dojo to prepare for the next exhibition match.

Kazui and Monica returned the bow to the referee as well.

"Next time I’ll shut you out and beat you without taking a single hit, so be ready!"

Glaring at Kazui and declaring it in a strong tone, Monica turned her back on him and started walking toward the entrance.

"People who leave parting shots usually lose."

Calling after Monica’s back in a teasing way, Kazui headed for an entrance in a different direction from the one she was going toward.

"Shut up! You’re awfully cocky for someone who lost!"

In a strong tone, Monica continued.

"There’s no way I’d lose to a small fry like you who has the dud skill Replication!"

After snapping that back irritably, she walked off quickly.

She still did not know that Replication, which had been a dud skill, was turning into what might be a cheat-class skill now that its activation condition had been found.

In a time that could be called evening, the changing room of the unarmed combat gym was lively with adventurers getting ready to go home.

There were few adventurers changing to start training from here.

The changing room walls were partly brick, but mostly gray concrete.

The design was somewhat plainer than what you would see in Japan, but the setup itself, with steel lockers lined up and benches placed, was not that different from a Japanese changing room.

Having finished training, Kazui had washed off sweat and dirt in the shower room next to the changing room.

After that he had moved to the changing room and was in the middle of changing.

His martial arts uniform was dirty with sweat, so he could not put it on a body he had just cleaned in the shower.

After stuffing the dirty martial arts uniform into a plastic bag and putting it in his camouflage-pattern backpack, he was changing into casual everyday clothes.

Since becoming an adventurer he often wore his martial arts uniform as everyday clothes, but not when heading home from training.

He put on the jeans and shirt and such he had brought in his backpack and went home.

(This reminds me of when I used to go to swimming.)

Feeling a pleasant fatigue while changing in the spacious locker room, Kazui remembered the swimming school he had gone to until middle school.

The memory of changing in the swimming school’s changing room while feeling a similar fatigue came back to him.

(I started thinking it would make me taller... but I didn’t grow.)

A lot of swimmers were tall, so thinking swimming might make him taller, Kazui had started going to swimming school in elementary school.

Thanks to that, even though he was in a culture club in middle school, he had gotten good enough at swimming that he was faster than the swim club members in freestyle and backstroke.

The goal of growing taller, though, had not been fulfilled.

"Kazu!"

Just as he finished putting on his jeans, he suddenly heard a familiar voice.

He confirmed the face of the owner of the voice who had appeared on his left.

It was a boy with short red hair, as tall as Yuri.

His skin was darker than Kazui’s, and he had a wild, well-featured face.

He had a muscular but relatively slim body wrapped in casual clothes, jeans and a black T-shirt.

"Tint!"

Kazui replied to the red-haired boy, Tint. He did not know Tint’s family name.

Many adventurers hid their real names or kept their family names private, and Tint was that type.

Tint and Kazui had become adventurers at the same time and were the same age, so they had become friends who could talk easily.

He had a light personality and liked to play, but he was not a bad guy, and when it came to adventurer work he was very serious.

"Heading home already?" ℴ

"Yeah. What about you?"

"I’m just getting started. I’ve got night shift work today, but I thought I’d move my body a little before that, so I stopped by."

"Feels like I haven’t seen your face in a while."

"A while? We just met four days ago."

"Did we?"

"We did."

For work related to a large festival held in the city nearest Aquila before the city defense battle against the Brigade, Tint had been away from Aquila until yesterday.

The last time Kazui had seen Tint was right before Tint left Aquila.

"So many things have happened these past few days that it feels like a lot more time passed."

"Ah, looks like a lot happened with you, Kazu. There are rumors not just at the Guild but all over Aquila."

He could imagine what kind of rumors were going around, so Kazui made a sour face while playing with a lock of wavy hair that looked like a cat ear.

"Well, you got attacked by a Brigadier-class and survived, so isn’t that lucky?"

In a casual tone, Tint added,

"And you lost your virginity too."

(Far from just losing my virginity, I ended up experiencing way too many things.)

Muttering that in his heart, Kazui started putting on a white T-shirt.

"Speaking of rumors, I heard in the lobby just now that Monica beat you up again?"

"...You’d get beaten up too if you ran into Monica."

"Well, true... I guess level 7 me couldn’t contend with her."

Tint and Kazui had become adventurers at the same time.

But Tint’s Native Skill was not a dud that hindered leveling, so he was raising his level smoothly.

"She’s... an unpleasant woman with a harsh personality, but she has the strength."

With a sour face, Kazui muttered.

"What a waste. She’s beautiful and she has strength. With a personality that harsh, guys won’t come near her."

While roughly folding the jeans he had just taken off, Tint continued.

"Before, at a bar on Tax Street, no... was it a pub? I saw Monica drinking alone, and not a single guy called out to her."

The Tax Street Tint mentioned was the name of a street lined with taverns in Aquila’s south district.

"The atmosphere is prickly and scary, like she’s giving off an aura that’s hard to approach. No guy’s going to come near that."

"Come to think of it, you drink, Tint."

Kazui remembered that Tint, the same age as him, went to taverns like bars and pubs.

He had heard stories of him drinking at taverns a few times before.

"You don’t drink, Kazu."

"Not drinking is normal at our age, right?"

"True, but thanks to this thing we can even go in and out of taverns, so there’s no reason not to use it."

Tint showed Kazui the Orb on the back of his left hand.

"You should drink too, Kazu. Taverns are fun."

"I’m bad with alcohol."

He said the reason.

"Right after I became an adventurer I went to a tavern out of curiosity and tried drinking, and I got a terrible hangover."

From the moment the Orb was embedded and they became adventurers, they were treated as adults in this world.

That was why even at an age that would normally be underage, they were allowed to drink.

Because of that, just to try it, Kazui had gone to a tavern on Tax Street with Yuri and tried drinking.

But the next morning he had ended up with a terrible hangover.

"Besides, I... seem to be a bad drunk. When I’m drunk my mouth gets a lot worse, and Yuri complained about it too."

"Your mouth is always bad."

"No, it gets worse than usual. Words I’d think of but hold back from saying normally apparently just come straight out of my mouth."

When Kazui got drunk, his mouth got considerably worse.

And it was not simply that it got worse than usual.

Words that reason and morals would normally hold back even if he thought of them came straight out of his mouth.

It was the effect of reason and morals not working as well as usual because he was drunk.