"The sun is setting, and this year's Chrono King Festival is entering its final stage! Everyone! Are you excited!?"

"""Uoooooooohhhh!!"""

As the intermission ended, the host, Spica Lauder, returned to the battlefield. The audience erupted into cheers at her enthusiastic call. Hearing this, Spica smiled in satisfaction and continued.

"Now, we shall begin the main tournament of the Chronostaria Swordsmanship Competition! First, let me introduce the four warriors who have fought their way through the intense preliminaries!"

With grand gestures, four figures—two men and two women—emerged from the entrance. In that instant, the energy of the arena surged dramatically.

"Win it this year, Ice Demon of Greyfrost!!"

"Do your best, second son of the Gardawind family—!!"

"Lord Weiss is just too handsome—!!"

"Show us more of that strange swordsmanship, Miss Flowing Attire—!!"

The cheers flew from all directions, and each contestant reacted differently—some waved with a smile, some openly scowled and shouted back in annoyance, some chuckled awkwardly, unsure of how to respond, while others simply gave a curt nod. Truly, their responses varied.

Yet one thing was consistent: their intense focus. It was clear they were already preparing for the battles ahead. Even from the stands, their presence was palpable. Feeling this energy firsthand, Spica quickly continued in a steady voice, careful not to disrupt their concentration.

"These four will now compete for the championship! And now, the matchups for the first round—"

The matchups, likely decided during the intermission, were announced.

"A candidate for the next Seven Peerless Swords! The Tempest Swordsman himself—Flail Gardawind! Facing him is the impossibly handsome student of the Magic Sword Academy—Weiss Brightness!"

The two named warriors remained on the battlefield, recognizing each other as opponents and drawing their weapons. Seeing this, the other contestants and hosts quickly stepped out of the combat zone. The battle was about to begin.

"—Weiss Brightness!"

My heart nearly leaped out of my chest when my name was called.

I had eagerly joined this swordsmanship tournament, but until now, it hadn't quite sunk in that I had advanced to the main event. However, that changed the moment my opponent was decided. Now, standing face to face, blades drawn, I had no choice but to acknowledge the reality of the situation.

My opponent was a knight four years my senior—one of the rising stars of Refined Magic Sword Corps. Undoubtedly, he was the strongest foe I had ever faced.

—It's fine. I can do this…

I've endured the grandmaster's training up until today. I've grown stronger. A while ago, I might have given up before even stepping into the ring, but now, I’m not so naive as to entertain such weak thoughts.

—If I did, something even worse would be waiting for me.

In a way, my situation has become even harsher than before. But over these past months, I’ve come to understand that I need adversity—without it, I won’t improve.

There’s nothing to fear. As I refocused my gaze on my opponent—

"Let's have a good match, Weiss Brightness!"

Flail Gardawind greeted me with a confident, battle-hungry grin.

"…Yes, let’s!"

That was all the greeting we needed.

Refined Magic Sword Corps? The brother of an Seven Peerless Swords? A genius from the prestigious Gardawind Margrave family? None of that mattered. I was still the challenger, still the underdog. At this point, worrying about my opponent’s lineage or history was a waste of time.

"Then, let the first match begin!!"

I just had to give it my all.

"!!"

The sharp crack of air being torn apart signaled the start of the match. Instinctively, I kicked off the ground, charging straight at the knight before me. In the preliminaries, magic had been forbidden.

—I'll end this in an instant!

But in the main event, that restriction was lifted.

Magic surged through my body, accelerating my movements. In the blink of an eye, I was within striking range. I could feel the surge of mana from Flail Gardawind as well—the telltale signs of spellcasting. He wasn’t interested in testing the waters; he was going all in from the very start.

"Hah—this is great…!!"

A grin tugged at my lips despite myself. The rush of mana coursing through me sent my emotions soaring, causing my mind to race. Something indescribable flooded my brain, filling me with an almost intoxicating sensation. The spell I chose was one of my core fundamentals—

"Radiant Light!!"

As I swung my sword, a sphere of light appeared in the narrow space between us, shining intensely.

"Too bright—!"

Flail Gardawind was forced to turn his eyes away as my Radiant Light activated. A normal opponent would have been thrown into confusion, creating an opening for me to strike and end the match right there—

"Tempest Gale!!"

"Tch—!"

As expected of someone from Refined Magic Sword Corps, he instantly deployed a defensive spell, forcefully putting distance between us. To react so quickly to Bright Arts, a magic he's likely never seen before—

"That’s the difference in experience…!"

"Hah, what was that just now!? Light? I can't see a damn thing!!"

Even with his vision stolen, he showed no signs of panic. Instead—

"What the hell was that light!? Magic? I have no idea what's going on!!"

"Ah, that was his Bloodline Magic—"

The audience, after seeing just one spell from me, was in an uproar.

Since this was my first time using magic in such a public setting, Gilflare, already aware of my circumstances, was doing his best to explain everything. I decided to leave that to him. Right now, I had more pressing concerns.

"Since you gave me such a surprise, it’s my turn now!!"

If I didn't focus all my attention on the knight before me, I’d lose in an instant.

"What—!?"

My initial Radiant Light had stolen Flail's vision. Even with his recovery, he’d need at least another minute. And yet—

"Did you think I'd run just because I can't see? Too bad!! Instead, I’m charging in to surprise you! A true musclehead strategy!!"

In a blink, the Tempest Knight was right in front of me, launching a relentless barrage of strikes.

The Gardawind family’s reputation as masters of wind magic was well-earned. At first glance, his aggressive close-quarters combat seemed reckless, even suicidal. But in reality, he was manipulating the wind around him, sensing my movements with uncanny precision. Even with his sight stolen, it was as if he had created a second vision.

"This is insane…!"

"Not as crazy as your Bloodline Magic!!"

Even in the heat of battle, he had been listening to Gilflare’s explanation. A wind-clad thrust came for my abdomen, aiming to pierce straight through me. I barely dodged and spat out a curse, but Flail just laughed. Before I knew it, his eyes were locked onto me, burning with fierce determination.

My surprise attack had failed. My plan for a swift victory was crushed. But that didn’t matter. Over the past week, I hadn’t just been honing my magic—I had been refining my combat skills as well. I focused all my circulating mana into physical reinforcement. If my initial Radiant Light had been countered so easily, my other spells wouldn’t fare any better. More than that, I wasn’t confident that my current magical abilities could break through the wind barrier he had wrapped around himself.

…No, if I forced it, I might manage, but relying on an incomplete technique was too risky. A simpler, more direct approach was the better choice.

"No more fancy tricks, then!!"

"That’s more like it!!"

Our mana-infused blades clashed violently. Defense was abandoned—the only thing that mattered now was who could land more strikes first.

Wounds formed. Blood splattered as our blades found their marks. My opponent was grinning, truly enjoying himself. I was sure my face looked the same.

—This is fun.

I truly felt that way. But at the same time, I was painfully aware of my own shortcomings. My mind flashed back to the countless mock battles with the grandmaster. Compared to those, I had far more room to breathe. My thoughts cleared, and I could read my opponent’s movements with newfound precision.

—There it is!!

"Haaaahhh!!"

I let out a battle cry, targeting the flaw in Flail’s downward strike. I took advantage of the faint turbulence in the wind surrounding his blade—

Clang!!

My upward slash clashed against his sword, sending it flying.

"Wha—!?"

Flail’s face twisted in shock. He immediately moved to retrieve his lost weapon, but I wasn’t about to let that happen.

"The match is over."

"…Damn, I got too caught up in the fight… A complete loss for me."

As I moved behind him and pressed my sword to his back, he raised both hands in surrender.

"A-a-and it’s decided—!!! The victor of this fierce clash is the Hero of Light, Weiss Brightness!!"

With that, the match was officially over. The announcer had even given me some grandiose title, but I didn’t have the energy to care.

Breathing heavily, I had somehow managed to defeat a warrior from Refined Magic Sword Corps.