After Stealing Hero's Mother, I Reincarnated in the Fantasy World!

The quarterfinal of the Eldorin Academy Tournament.

In a spacious lighted room with some expensive magic equipment on one of the walls and a rectangular battle ground in the center, there were 3 people. One of them was a middle-aged instructor who was yawning every now and then while looking at his watch, and the other two were two young men standing opposite each other.

At that moment, the bracelet on their arms vibrated quietly, beginning the process of communication and setting up their projections to which all their wounds would be transferred.

While this was happening, Rain scrutinized his opponent. His appearance was quite ordinary, except for the mask covering the lower part of his face and his gray battle suit, which was essentially made up of... several suits on top of each other?

Rain wondered who could possibly need to put on multiple sets of clothes.

'Does he want to seem bigger?'

Regardless of the answer to that question, Rain could only hope he wasn't another weirdo.

At the same time, the young man opposite Rain was studying his future opponent with a serious look. After a while, as if coming to a decision, he bowed his head slightly and said calmly.

"Lamel."

After saying that, he fell silent again, focusing his attention on him.

'Just one word?'

After all the weird shouting he'd heard in his past matches, this seemed surprisingly pleasant.

"Rain."

Rain nodded his head slightly as well, saying his name nonchalantly while his gaze never took his eyes off his opponent. From one look at him, Rain could tell that Lamel was definitely different from all of his previous opponents in this tournament.

'He could be the perfect opponent to finally tame that crazy sword.'

Rain cast a quick glance at the sword in his hand.

It was a single-edged obsidian sword that was slightly curved. It had a long blade that looked incredibly sharp.

Although the sword was very comfortable in his hand and seemed literally forged for him, he still felt an inexplicable discomfort every time he used it.

So Rain still needed time to fully get used to his new sword, which at first glance seemed deceptively simple but was actually different from anything he had ever held before. And then adjust his fighting style to it a bit.

He could have done this a long time ago, if all his previous opponents hadn't been... so weird.

'Then for this fight, I will limit myself to my swordsmanship.'

Having made this decision, Rain smoothly placed his hand on the hilt of his sword, ready to fight.

As they exchanged brief greetings and studied each other, instructor Eric Brake stood off to the side, yawning.

Due to a shortage of experienced instructors to handle the quarterfinals, he was sent to this room at the last minute, which he had to agree to.

He was almost two meters tall, had several scars on his face and arms, while exuding a stern military aura.

His appearance alone made him look like a seasoned warrior who had been through all sorts of near-death experiences. Perhaps that was why he looked bored now, his gaze dipping back to his pocket magic watch.

Finally, when the bracelets were finished setting up and linking them to the projections, Eric looked around at the two young men and said in a gruff voice.

"Since you've gotten to this point, you must know how to do something. So don't just stand there and show me what you're worth."

As soon as he gave the hand signal, Rain and Lamel rushed forward without hesitation.

Rain wasn't sure about his opponent's strength, but thought it would be bad if it ended too quickly.

Therefore, he simply swung his sword without using anything else.

Clang! Clang!

The loud sound of clashing metal echoed through the room.

"...Hck."

Taking three steps back from the recoil, Lamel looked at Rain, who had barely moved. Overcoming his initial surprise, he quickly resumed his stance.

After the first exchange of blows, they learned everything they needed to know.

Lamel's gaze grew even harsher as he pulled a shorter blade from behind his waist in a swift motion, then manifested his inner energy, covering both of his weapons with it.

Rain did the same as the obsidian blade was covered in a faint golden aura.

This time he made the first move, throwing himself at his opponent face to face. A furious exchange of blows ensued, with their swords clashing in a storm of aura and steel.

Rain watched his opponent's body movements, predicting his next attacks and looking for the perfect moment to counterattack.

Finally, Lamel unleashed a powerful stab with his long blade. As he leaned sideways and dodged his attack, Rain focused on his opponent's open side, where he immediately delivered his lightning-fast strike.

His opponent's projection immediately reacted, glowing with yellow light.

The wound wasn't deep enough, only severing a piece of fabric from his battle suit.

Ignoring this, they continued their duel.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

Quickly moving around the grounds, they crossed swords many times, causing powerful clashes of auras on their blades. Each used their own fighting prowess to gain the upper hand over their opponent.

With each exchange of blows, Rain felt the excitement of the battle overwhelm him. Although his opponent was inferior to him in strength, even Rain was sometimes surprised by his unexpected moves.

'I guess he's an elite student of the most prestigious Academy on the continent for a reason.'

With each swing, Rain felt himself becoming more aware of how to use his sword. As he felt the recoil of the sword, he constantly adjusted his style to better suit this finicky weapon.

Rain, using the martial arts taught to him by his Master Astrid, combined unbridled savagery with fluid smoothness in his movements, creating a striking contrast in his techniques and allowing him to defend himself effectively against his opponent's blades.

Lamel, on the other hand, had no particular style, he simply aimed at all of his enemy's vital points with a certain dexterity and persistence.

Despite the constant attacks, there weren't many wounds on Lamel's body, mostly due to his high agility and good instincts that allowed him to avoid the most dangerous blows.

In addition to his agility, his body was thinner than it appeared in his layered clothing, so a few potentially lethal blows only scratched him and cut down parts of his clothing.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Sparks flew in all directions from the impact of steel against steel as Rain's fierce sword collided with his opponent's two blades.

Crackle!

Suddenly, one of Lamel's swords cracked, unable to withstand the pressure of the battle, and shattered into small shards.

Rain immediately took this opportunity to deliver a powerful lunge, piercing his torso with his sword.

"Khhh...!"

Lamel's projection glowed red, showing the high severity of the wound, while Lamel himself shuddered in pain.

Seeing that his opponent still hadn't come to his senses, Rain quickly shortened the distance to deliver the decisive blow and end the fight. As he approached, Lamel lowered his mask sharply and a moment later something flashed dangerously in the air.

Clang!

The sound of clashing metal echoed through the air as Rain reflexively shielded his neck with his sword, deflecting the steel needle.

A smile appeared on his lips.

'Poisoned needles in his mouth? I think I understand now why he was so quiet...'