Let me quickly summarize the current situation.
The guy seems to be primarily a close-combat fighter. He's carrying a sword, so he must be a vanguard... but that wasn't just a simple guess. I judged it based on the muscles visible through his tailcoat and his footwork.
I don't see any throwing weapons. If he has ranged attack capabilities, they're probably mana projectiles or some kind of magic.
His charging speed is faster than anyone I've ever faced. If I blink, the tip of his rapier might pierce right through me.
First, I need to prevent him from approaching. He seems like the high-pride type, so I weave an illusion magic aimed at triggering his ego.
"'Jealousy Explosion.'"
"Hmph!"
He snorted. Yeah, keep letting your guard down. If you think my illusion magic is the same as other mages, you're making a big mistake...
Clang!
He deflected my magic with his rapier. Well, shit.
Now I understand the basics. When something happens that defies common sense, it means the opponent is using Ascension. What exactly is his ability?
His speed decreased slightly from deflecting the magic, but he hasn't stopped his charge. I have one turn left before the distance closes completely.
If I use my turn to create distance, I'll just buy a little time before he catches up. The difference in mobility between us is beyond imagination.
I recalled various creative works from my past life. Throughout history, east and west, the one who accurately identifies the opponent's abilities has the higher win rate. I decided to use this turn to uncover his Ascension.
"'Depression That Grabs Ankles,' 'Seagull of Heidenmark.'"
I cast different types of illusion magic—one that sends mental waves and another that creates illusions with light. And I observed without blinking.
The moment my magic entered within 5 meters of him, it solidified.
My illusion magic, which shouldn't have physical properties, gained physical force. It was like shooting an air bullet that instantly transformed into an ice bullet.
The opponent can parry magic. Check.
Clang!
He deflected my magic again. The distance has completely closed. At a range where we could see our own reflections in each other's eyes, he smiled coldly. His rapier flew toward me.
His eyes were filled with certainty of victory. He probably thought he had me since a mage allowed him to get close.
...That would be true if I didn't have AI!
Instructions appeared on my retina. Extend my right foot forward to take a step at an angle, block the incoming rapier with the back of my hand to deflect it, and strike at his center line with my opposite hand.
I gather mana and strike with a pushing motion.
Woong-!
"...Kuk!"
With a sound like a large bell ringing, he floated and flew about 3 meters through the air. I caught my breath and quietly said the line I'd been dying to use.
"Tai Chi."
"A mage throwing punches...?"
He quickly got back up. He showed no signs of pain.
As expected, it wasn't an effective hit. If I were a warrior instead of a mage, that single move would have disrupted all the energy channels in his body, but what can I do? If you want to play TRPG, you have to be an illusion mage.
He seemed confused but regained his composure and closed the distance again. Messages on my retina traced various trajectories, along with success probabilities and estimated damage.
This was the combat assistance system of an AI that had run countless battle simulations, code name "Heavenly Demon." I smirked.
"What, did you think a mage would just let you win once you closed the distance?"
"Such strange, slithery movements...!!"
I focus on striking after the opponent initiates.
Tap, tap! Pat! Pabak!
I interlock our wrists, using the opponent's strength against him. I aim for vital points, using minimal movement for maximum impact. Soft overcomes hard, and four ounces can move a thousand pounds, you bastard.
Pak!
I struck his jaw. His head snapped back, and heat flashed in his eyes before quickly cooling to an icy calm. A danger signal.
Boom-! Swish!
I created a mana explosion under my feet to launch myself backward. A series of five strikes too fast to follow with the naked eye rained down where I had just been.
If I hadn't retreated, my body would have been turned into a honeycomb.
"Phew..."
"......"
He sighed, brushing his disheveled bangs back, and grinned as if he'd noticed something.
"I'll give you credit. I don't know why a mage learned to throw punches, but not bad for a commoner."
"Does calling me a commoner make your jaw hurt less after getting punched by one?"
"...Ha, haha. Your sharp tongue won't hide your breathing. You haven't been breathing for a while now, and your limbs are trembling. How many more minutes can you keep up this little act?"
"......"
Damn, he noticed.
Obviously, a mage can't match the physical specs of someone who runs around as a vanguard. So I need to read at least three moves ahead and move preemptively to counter effectively.
Since I didn't bring a simulation facility here, I have to run "Heavenly Demon's" combat assistance system in my brain. My brain also has to control my body movements. Honestly, I feel like my head is about to cramp up.
My body not keeping up is also a big issue. Using a body that's not accustomed to this kind of movement to perform martial arts moves naturally causes side effects—my breathing is a mess, and my lungs feel shriveled, making it hard to breathe.
Moreover, he doesn't seem to have taken any damage. Well, if a mage throws punches and expects to deal damage, that would be strange.
Let me at least buy some time to catch my breath.
I moved my lips while projecting my voice with magic. While pretending to speak normally, I took small breaths without him noticing. Oxygen has never tasted so sweet.
"You're using Ascension, aren't you?"
"Feathered Ascension - 'Mana Hardening.' Magic around me gains substance. Curses, blessings, everything."
"......"
"Must be devastating for you. Keep struggling! Commoner, I'll applaud your performance."
So my magic transforms into something like arrows or stones.
Illusion magic has its advantages and disadvantages, but in combat, its greatest merit is that it almost never misses. So I didn't need to aim. I only needed to worry about the opponent's mental barrier, and if I broke through, it would work 99% of the time.
But if it's given physical form, that advantage disappears. He had to take away even the one merit I had.
Giving it substance?
Then I just need to use it like magic missiles. I had prepared dozens of minor spells, from foot tickling to phantom pain.
His Ascension doesn't block magic; it solidifies it so he can physically deflect it. That means if he can't deflect it with his rapier, he'll get hit.
He deflected them when I fired one at a time, so I need to fire so many that he can't deflect them all. Let's see him parry more than twenty spells!
"Sword Veil."
Sha-sha-sha-sha-sha-shak-!
With a sharp sound like cutting through thin paper repeated dozens of times, all my spells were shredded. It was the omnidirectional protection that Benett used.
"...You deflected all that."
"My Ascension—puts you and me, mage and knight, on the same ring. This isn't about exploiting each other's weaknesses. It's about fairly comparing our skills, commoner."
"How is forcing a mage into close combat with a knight fair?"
"When was combat ever fair?"
"......"
This bastard.
That stung.
Looking at his eyes, they're still cold. That comment just now was calculated to chip away at my composure. But it still stings.
If obvious trajectories get blocked, I'll fire them in patterns so complex that only a genius like me could understand them.
I fire magic. Then I fire more magic to collide with and overlap the trajectory of the first spell. I repeat this simultaneously, over and over. Like billiard balls, the spells collide with each other, twisting their trajectories into chaos.
Ting, tidididing!
"...Such petty tricks!"
Let's see you calculate and block ricocheting trajectories, you bastard!
Swish!
His rapier once again traced brilliant arcs in all directions. But one cannot stop a wave with one hand. One spell that bounced off the ground broke through his guard and hit his chest.
He got hit...!
Ting!
Light burst from his necklace, blocking the magic. I sighed.
"...An artifact?"
"Just because I can deflect magic doesn't mean I shouldn't wear protective gear. Didn't think of that, did you? Commoner."
I thought someone in a tailcoat wielding a rapier who parries magic would stick strictly to his concept!
So he's wearing magic defense items too. This is infuriating.
If I don't use trick shots, he deflects them so they don't hit, and even if they do hit, weak magic gets blocked. Meanwhile, he keeps thrusting his rapier at me with incredible speed.
This isn't a situation where creating new magic would help, and if I can't win, I should run. But I don't think I could escape even if I created decoys...
I need to either hold out until the Tower Master arrives or somehow capture him.
Artifact—Mystic Heart-Piercing Arrow was made to penetrate things like that. I need to buy casting time AND land a hit to win.
So I need to cast while firing trick shots that he can't deflect. It's not impossible. If I just had a little time, I could do it.
Swish!
"...Kuk!"
"Why don't you struggle a bit more? Hmm?"
The problem is I don't have that little bit of time. My body is reaching its limit. I've been squeezing every last bit out of my muscles, and running simulations in my brain by brute force isn't something a human should do.
I experienced a brief blackout. Everything went dark. I hurriedly circulated mana to stimulate my metabolism, and my consciousness returned, but...
Psht.
My shoulder was pierced.
It feels like being stabbed with a hot skewer. It's fine. I can endure pain. It hurts like hell. The problem is not having a vanguard. A vanguard.
Could I buy enough time using holograms? The prognosis was pessimistic. Holograms that can barely pick up stones wouldn't have enough stopping power.
While I was pondering, a trace of impatience crossed his expression too. Perhaps he felt a sense of crisis because a mage who should have died long ago was dragging things out.
He opened his mouth.
"The disciple of the Purple Tower Master... Learning magic from a defect has made you a mess."
"......"
Provocation. Primitive provocation. My mental discipline isn't so shallow that I'd fall for such...
"Die first and wait. The Purple Tower Master will follow you soon."
This fucking bastard.
I wavered. Normally I wouldn't have, but when the face of the Tower Master asking me for a date flashed through my mind, my emotions surged more than expected.
The combat assistance system lit up red with a warning.
A fist approached.
His fist buried itself in my solar plexus, and I was sent flying backward.
===============================================================
I briefly lost consciousness before waking up.
My body won't move. I somehow managed to wiggle my fingers, which caused a rustling sensation.
I felt something against my back as I was flying—it seems I crashed through the outer wall of a building. How hard was I hit to break through a wall with my back?
If I hadn't reflexively wrapped mana around my entire body, I probably would have died.
The threat of death.
"......"
Even when pushed to the brink of death, I didn't feel afraid. In fact, I still had a trump card.
I could force an Ascension right now.
The brain capacity I'm using to suppress 'that thing.' I just need to draw resources from there.
I need to temporarily recover my emotions that are blocked by 'that thing,' then fire a Mystic Heart-Piercing Arrow into my head. I'm not sure what will happen after that... but theoretically, Ascension should be easily possible.
If I only use it briefly, my body won't be completely taken over by 'that thing.' It would be quite infected, and I'd need to use more brain capacity than before to suppress it again...
But I can't die here worrying about the future.
As I was getting up and about to unseal the seal in my mind, I saw something rolling on the floor. A piece of metal with a familiar design.
...Armor?
It was a power armor from the Capital Knights. It seems the building I crashed into was the Capital Knights' headquarters.
"......"
Power armor.
===============================================================
Roderus, the assassin sent by Duke Redburn, approached the Capital Knights building where dust was rising. He needed to finish off the mage for certain.
He had been a formidable opponent.
Roderus had dominated the battle from beginning to end, and now he was going in for the final blow. However, that was only because he had entered the battle with every possible advantage.
If he hadn't brought his artifact, he would have been hit by the ricocheting magic, and if he didn't have an Ascension that was practically a mage's natural enemy, he would have been dead already.
To begin with, it defied logic that a mage could engage him in close combat. Despite being much faster, he would find the mage's hands reaching him first.
The chilling realization that he might have lost if they had similar specs sent shivers down his spine.
The penalty for failure was severe. Roderus didn't want to think about what would happen if he failed.
This opponent might use any kind of trick. Carefully but quickly, he needed to thrust his rapier through the mage's head. Roderus stepped over the rubble of the collapsed outer wall and moved inside.
At that moment, three shadows leaped out from the settling dust.
They were holograms wearing power armor.