Luna had warned me that she might not be able to teach me properly.
True to her words, she never gave me any guidance after that.
An offhand remark by Lena, Ellen's childhood friend, struck a chord with me.
She said that if I rushed too much, I wouldn't be able to do the things I was capable of.
Luna's comment about me being overly emotional did align with Lena's remark to some extent.
But it was difficult to stay composed in my current situation.
There were too many concerns crowding my mind.
No matter how much I tried to focus on the future, the fact that all these problems were out of my hands only increased my anxiety.
Luna still didn't teach me anything, and I continued to practice Magic Body Strengthening in an empty lot, surrounded by anxiety and restlessness.
"I brought you a packed lunch. Eat something first."
"Uh... Thank you."
Lena occasionally brought me water or a packed lunch.
Her behavior seemed slightly awkward, and I could tell that she was aware of my reaction.
"Luna told me to give this to you. Do you think I would have made it myself?"
"Ah, I see."
No.
What I need is guidance, not a packed lunch.
Luna must have had her reasons, and I just didn't understand them.
Luna Artorius was providing me with the help I truly needed, but she was taking care of me discreetly.
At the crude wooden table in the empty lot, I ate a sandwich filled with stiff bread, ham, and vegetables.
Speaking of Luna, though.
My first impression of Luna Artorius was of a transcendent, supreme being.
But was she no more than the neighborhood lady in Rezaira?
Neighborhood lady (world's strongest, brings packed lunches).
"By the way, don't you think Ellen and Luna look a lot alike?"
"I suppose they do."
Their resemblance was striking. Of course, upon closer inspection, Ellen had a slightly more youthful look.
But now Ellen was twenty years old and an adult. Even so, she didn't look exactly like Luna.
"Ronan also looks a lot like Ragan, or rather, Ragan looks a lot like Ronan. That sounds a bit strange."
Lena laughed as if she found her own words amusing.
Lena said this and then quietly gazed at the village.
"You can feel it too, right?"
"Feel what?"
"Our village, it's a bit strange."
I couldn't help but be taken aback by Lena's words, as I hadn't expected her to say something like this.
Did Lena, who knew even less about Rezaira than I did, really think the village was strange?
"It's weird. When you look at Luna, it's like she doesn't age at all."
"Ah..."
Her youthful face was remarkably unblemished, and there were no traces of time on it.
On the other hand, while Ronan Artorius didn't show many signs of aging, you could still feel it to some extent.
The fact that Lena, a fellow villager, also found this strange was quite intriguing to me.
"Ever since I was a little girl, Luna hasn't changed at all."
"Is that so?"
"Yeah."
Lena moved her face closer to mine and whispered softly.
"And you know, there are some elderly people in the village who call Luna 'Lady Luna.'"
"Really?"
"Yeah. They don't do it when children are around, but when they think we're not there, they address her as if she's a very important person."
Lord of the Moon and Sun
Luna Artorius was well aware that she was a special existence even in the village of Rezaira.
It seemed only natural that the elders would show her respect.
"I thought they'd tell me more when I got older, but either I'm not old enough yet, or they just don't plan on telling us at all. They haven't said a word!"
Lena pouted, seemingly hurt and resentful.
-Hmph
"Lena, don't talk nonsense to a stranger."
Along with the low, muffled voice from the direction of Rezaira, someone appeared.
"Huh? Arta. What brings you here?"
One of Ellen's childhood friends, a young man named Arta.
A blunt and sharp-featured man.
Quite the opposite of the gentle and caring Lena.
Arta had shown no particular interest in me until now.
"Hey, outsider."
"What?"
I couldn't help but respond tersely to his brusque tone.
"It's a bit pathetic to see you alone like that. Let's practice together."
He rummaged through the storage area in the empty lot and brought out two wooden swords.
-Whoosh!
I easily caught the wooden sword Arta threw at me.
"Do you know how to use a weapon?"
At my question, Arta narrowed his brow slightly.
"No, I'm not very good at it."
As he said this, he pointed his wooden sword at me.
"Compared to Ragan, at least."
Though he claimed to be unskilled, the implication was clear – he was quite proficient.
Lena showed no intention of stopping us, watching as we faced off.
Arta stared at me intently, wooden sword poised.
I didn't feel any exceptional aura from him.
I wasn't sure to what extent the residents of Rezaira were special, but Lena was undoubtedly ordinary, and Arta didn't seem extraordinary either.
The ability of Magic Body Strengthening was not something anyone could awaken to.
It was a power that only a rare few could attain. Even in the Temple, where talents from all over the continent were gathered, only a minority eventually succeeded in Magic Body Strengthening.
Ellen and I, who awakened to Magic Body Strengthening at seventeen, were very rare cases.
Ellen, who became a master-class at eighteen, could be considered almost unique.
And I, who could face a master-class with only Magic Body Strengthening, could also be considered almost unique.
Thus, no matter how special the village of Rezaira was, Arta couldn't be my match.
If Arta were around twenty years old, not yet having awakened to Magic Body Strengthening wouldn't be a special case; it was actually quite common.
And so,
Even if my opponent were weak and inexperienced, I didn't want to crush him with the power of Magic Body Strengthening.
Skill against skill.
After all, I no longer felt inferior to Ellen.
Arta took a step forward.
-Thud!
In an instant, I lost sight of his movement.
-Crack!
I instinctively defended my side, and the wooden sword made a crisp sound as it struck.
"What the-?"
As Arta retreated, he swung his wooden sword at me from the front.
"Aren't you underestimating me?"
-Whoosh!
A threatening sound of slicing air whizzed past my right cheek, coming from the wooden sword.
I could feel the extraordinary speed and destructive power against my skin.
"You."
This guy.
"What is it?"
How could he move like this without Magic Body Strengthening?
-Whoosh!
I aimed a knee strike at his solar plexus, which had come too close for comfort, but he twisted his body, dodged to the side, and easily moved away.
"Who knows?"
Arta tilted his head.
"What do you think?"
He swung his wooden sword a few times in the air before aiming it at me again.
Lena was ordinary, but this guy was anything but.
I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but he wasn't someone to underestimate.
Even without using Magic Body Strengthening, my abilities surpassed the A-rank average.
And here was someone, without using Magic Body Strengthening, moving at a similar pace as me.
Vroom!
Seeing me enveloped in blue flames, Arta grinned.
I threw away the wooden sword in my right hand.
I didn't need a weapon that couldn't withstand my power.
"Oh."
Arta laughed.
"Actually, I prefer it that way too."
He also tossed away his wooden sword.
I wasn't an expert in hand-to-hand combat, but I was no amateur either.
After all, I had learned more than just swordsmanship from Ellen.
Bam!
But something was off.
Vroom!
This was definitely strange.
As our fists collided, a threatening shockwave swept through the vacant lot.
Arta managed to block my powerful punch by crossing his arms and was thrown backward.
Even with my body reinforced by Magic Body Strengthening, it was stronger than steel.
Arta had somehow blocked it with crossed arms, shook off the impact, and immediately leaped back into action.
Thump!
I blocked his high kick with my left forearm, and a dull shock coursed through me.
Arta was unleashing destructive power that should have been impossible with his bare hands.
This didn't make any sense.
No matter how strong one's body is, such physical strength that reinforces the body's durability shouldn't be possible. That could only be achieved through Magic Body Strengthening.
Thud!
Screech!
Thwack!
Screech!
His spinning kick missed me, but it shattered a tree behind me, leaving me dumbfounded.
Could this really be happening?
This should only be possible for someone like me, who has boosted their physical abilities through nearly cheating methods. And yet, Arta was doing it with his bare hands.
He wasn't even clad in blue magic.
How was this even possible?
How could someone with a bare-handed output stronger than mine, who used illicit methods not found in this world, even exist?
Did he possess a legitimate technique greater than my own?
As if uninterested in my internal struggle, Arta continued his relentless assault.
Bam! Crash! Screech!
With each collision between our bare hands and magically strengthened bodies, dust billowed and the dry ground cracked underfoot.
His skills were impressive, and so was his strength.
But overall, he could never catch up to me.
As he lunged toward me, I caught the movement of his left leg, preparing for another spinning kick.
I quickly lowered my stance and kicked his left leg out from under him.
"!"
Bam!
As he lost balance and fell, I moved to land the decisive blow.
Pat!
The moment before I struck, Arta swiftly pushed off the ground with one hand, flipping backward and creating distance between us.
"You're not so easy to deal with. I admit defeat."
With a nod, Arta seemingly acknowledged his loss, dusting off his hands.
Although the outcome wasn't entirely clear, he seemed to accept that continuing would only confirm his defeat.
But I couldn't understand.
"What are you?"
"Huh?"
I couldn't comprehend it at all.
"How can you move like that without using Magic Body Strengthening? How can you withstand it?"
"…Ah. I was wondering what you were talking about."
Arta shrugged his shoulders.
"Didn't you keep using that?"
"…What?"
Only then did I notice the blue flow of magic in his body, which had shown no signs of movement before.
It seemed that I couldn't see it unless he did something like this, as if to show it off on purpose.
"Do you have to see it with your own eyes to understand?"
An intricate Magic Body Strengthening that didn't even emit the flow of mana outside.
It felt as if all the common sense I knew so far had been completely denied.
Did they teach Magic Body Strengthening in Rezaira?
Are Lena and Arta somewhat different?
Even Ellen wasn't at this level.
Was Arta related to the secrets of Rezaira?
"Well, in the end, you're stronger than me, but if I were to say one thing, um… your Magic Body Strengthening is… how should I put it…"
Arta shook his head as he looked at me.
"It's incredibly inefficient."
Luna's words.
Following Lena's words and now Arta's.
I could finally understand what my problem had been.
Two years after the Gate Incident.
As I could increase my status points with achievement scores, my physical abilities improved dramatically.
Rather than a dramatic improvement, it was more fitting to call it abnormal.
I had achieved what ordinary people couldn't achieve through hard work, using a shortcut.
Therefore, my magic rank rose to SS rank due to this abnormal growth.
As a result, I boasted of being able to face a master-class opponent with just Magic Body Strengthening.
However, only my output had increased, my skills had not improved at all.
No, it wasn't just a lack of improvement.
They had actually regressed.
"Your Magic Body Strengthening is like a projection of your true nature. The form of your Magic Body Strengthening is very violent and rough."
All I could do was nod dumbly at Arta's words.
"I don't know what's wrong with your body, but if you do Magic Body Strengthening like that, your body should break down. It's strange that it doesn't."
My body could withstand my rough method only because of my powerful basic physical abilities.
I forcibly released an enormous amount of magic, strengthening my body.
It was strange that I could endure it, but my Magic Body Strengthening was essentially destroying myself.
It wasn't always like this, but it had become so at some point.
Therefore, although I could beat Arta in terms of output, I couldn't even follow the tips of his toes in terms of skill.
A sophisticated Magic Body Strengthening that didn't even show a hint of enhancement.
If Arta could convert about 90% of his magic power into his strength, I couldn't even convert half of my magic power into strength.
The efficiency was too low, but I didn't lose because the absolute output was high.
I won in practice duels, but I felt a sense of defeat.
What's important in Magic Body Strengthening is not only output, but also efficiency, which is what I can improve now that I can't increase my output further.
The fact that my Magic Body Strengthening took the form of a massive blue flame and burned intensely meant that my magic was incompletely combusting.
This method that only suppressed with force.
I had to fix this method.
"…Thank you."
Arta taught me something that Luna hadn't.
No, did she know that it would turn out like this?
"What's there to be thankful for?"
Arta shrugged his shoulders and said nothing more.
