The rematch with Hakon was finally set.
Ian had waited for this day with bated breath, but she looked around and let out a sigh.
"Why are there so many people again?"
She didn't know where they'd heard the rumors, but not only the people of Rundel—players, too, had gathered to watch the two of them fight.
And among them were some people Ian knew well.
"Hey, didn't you say you'd rest until today?"
"But I couldn't miss such interesting entertainment. I'm actually hurt you didn't tell me."
"Yeah. Isn't it too much of you to do this to us?"
"I-I didn't say anything...."
Emily's group was there, of course.
"I wonder what you'll show us this time?"
"Ian, I won't forgive you if you lose."
"Don't you dare hold back!"
Adrian, whom she'd briefly partied with, and the members of Raid, with whom she'd drank at the banquet.
And.
"Hoo, seems I'll get to see another good show."
"Hey, Ian. Don't lose this time!"
"Show them what you've got!"
Even Shaura's group, who had watched her last fight with Hakon.
Even though Arcadia was a world lacking in entertainment, she hadn't expected so many people to gather.
Hakon looked at Ian with a pleased expression.
"As expected of the Savior. You are loved by many."
"Well, it turned out that way somehow."
"Then I cannot show an unsightly performance either. Especially for those cheering for me."
"Then I'll have to win as well. Not that I wasn't going to anyway."
Hakon drew his spear.
As if responding, Ian drew her sword from her waist.
The two aimed their sword and spear at each other.
The tension palpable in the air plunged the onlookers into silence.
In a silence that felt as though their breath might stop at any moment.
Halbar, the village chief of Rundel who was serving as referee, cautiously stepped forward and raised his hand.
"Children of Baltor. As the fight between two warriors unfolds here before you, I offer the blood and sweat of these two in prayer for Rundel's prosperity."
Thanks to the players' efforts in restoring the distorted history, Halbar's prayer had changed from before.
It now carried a strong will to forge their own future, upholding the resolve of the heroes who had liberated this land without relying on the gods any longer.
And its beginning was precisely this duel between Ian and Hakon.
"Now, then...."
Halbar's hand fell toward the ground.
"Begin!"
The moment his voice rang out, the distance between Ian and Hakon closed rapidly.
-Clang!
Sword and spear collided.
Sparks flew from their weapons.
A test of strength unfolded from the very start.
Hakon poured in strength to overpower Ian.
However.
"Hakon, you're not going easy on me, are you? That'd be disappointing."
"Hmm... I am holding back a little. It wouldn't be fun if it ended right away."
"I don't think so."
Unlike the first time they'd fought, Ian wasn't easily pushed back.
Ian's current level was 18.
Having achieved explosive growth from combined boss clear rewards and quest rewards, she was a completely different person from before.
Name: IAN
Gender: Female
Level: 18
Status: Strength 20 | Agility 23+2 | Stamina 17 | Magic 15
Proficiency: Basic Swordsmanship (237/1000), Basic Magic (116/1000)
Of course, the Mark of the Savior that had provided a tremendous amount of stats had vanished.
But the levels that did not vanish filled the place of the lost stats.
So Ian could endure Hakon's strength, as rough as a charging bull.
Moreover.
"Then I'll come at you first."
The boss she'd fought a desperate battle against had been an enemy that used techniques similar to Hakon's.
Ian smoothly deflected Hakon's spear that had been pressing down on her.
And immediately stepped inside, swinging her sword.
A swift and clean sword strike despite not using a skill.
Though he leaned back to avoid it, the tip of Ian's sword grazed Hakon's cheek.
Blood flowed from the shallow wound.
He touched the blood with his fingers and smiled bitterly.
"I definitely shouldn't think of you as I did before."
"Tell me if it's hard. I'll take it easy on you a bit."
"I'm fine. From now on, I'll be going all out as well."
Hakon lowered his stance.
His entire body swelled with taut muscles like a beast ready to pounce on its prey.
-Boom!
Hakon stomped down.
His spear, swirling with red light, shot toward Ian like a fierce gale.
"Drive!"
Ian's sword also took on a blue hue.
"Slash!"
The thrusting spear and the sword batting it aside.
Within the intersecting red and blue trajectories, droplets of sweat scattered through the air.
Ian immediately turned and dashed backward.
The skill she was using was a 2-hit slashing technique.
"Double Axel!"
Two sword strikes surged toward Hakon.
Hakon matched her, casting his skill.
"Twin Spears!"
A 2-hit thrusting technique that seemed like two spears striking simultaneously.
The spear completely neutralized the sword's momentum.
The exchange of attacks repeated.
A dance of red and blue, swinging and thrusting, blocking and deflecting.
However, as time went on, Ian's brow furrowed slightly.
'As expected, he still has the upper hand in strength?'
Her wrist throbbed.
Since she had invested as many as 9 stats into magic upon entering Area 2, she was lacking in strength by that much.
Hakon, a seasoned warrior, quickly noticed Ian's condition.
Because of that, he relentlessly thrust and swung his spear to clash against Ian's sword.
In that case.
'I won't block. I'll dodge and deflect.'
Ian's eyes flashed.
She read every trajectory of Hakon's spear.
Using that, she predicted the spear's path and moved a step ahead.
To others, it was a movement close to an acrobatic feat.
But to Ian, who had survived on her own, it was second nature.
'Her movements changed.'
His attacks stopped connecting.
What he thought had struck was swept away like something caught in a wave.
Hakon's face hardened.
'This is bad.'
Cold sweat ran down his spine.
Because despite trying not to, he felt himself gradually falling into Ian's pace.
He had to regain the momentum.
Having made his judgment, Hakon swung his spear wide to create distance from Ian.
"Kuk!"
Ian failed to close in and fell back.
Hakon didn't miss that opening and leaped high into the air.
Ian's eyes went wide.
'This is—?!'
Because the skill Hakon was about to use was the same one she'd seen in the boss fight two days ago.
And she had felt its destructive power firsthand.
Hakon's body fell like a meteor.
Basic Spear Technique, 7th Form.
Single-Point Crusher.
"Strike Impact!"
Ian's mind raced before the crimson meteor bearing down on her.
'If I block, I lose. I have to dodge. How?'
An instant.
Having devised the best plan, Ian threw her sword at Hakon.
Naturally, since no skill for throwing swords existed, her desperate act was easily blocked.
In the end, the meteor crashed down.
-Smash!
A deafening roar that shook the earth, and shockwaves spreading like a spiderweb.
Screams rang out amid the fierce wind and rising dust.
However.
"She vanished?"
Ian was nowhere to be seen where the spear had struck.
Instead, three ice spears flew toward where Hakon was.
Hakon pulled his spear from the ground and swung it wide to bat away the ice spears.
He sent praise toward Ian, who stood before him.
"Amazing. To think you avoided this."
It was clearly an unavoidable attack.
Even if she dodged, she should have been harmed by the ensuing shockwave.
However, Ian had thrown her sword and drawn her staff at the last moment, casting Haste on herself to avoid the unavoidable blow.
Of course, because of that decision, her sword was currently stuck in the ground.
Now it was not the time for a swordsman, but a mage.
"Ice Spear!"
Ice spears appeared once again, pressuring Hakon from multiple directions.
Hakon knocked them aside again.
The ice embedded in the ground, and more ice came flying.
"What are you scheming?"
Ian knew well that her magic couldn't inflict damage on him.
Yet she kept firing spears.
Before long, the area around Hakon was filled with ice spears.
And this was exactly the situation Ian had aimed for.
Flames gathered at the tip of her staff.
"Fireball!"
Spheres of fire launched forth.
Once again, Hakon held his spear out long to deflect the magic, but.
The fireballs weren't aimed at Hakon.
"It can't be?!"
The target was the ice spears embedded in the ground.
He realized too late.
The ice collided with flame, instantly turning into thick steam that blocked Hakon's vision.
Hidden outside the steam, Ian shouted.
"Wind Cutter!"
-Swish!
A blade of wind tore through the steam.
Having sharpened his senses to the limit, Hakon barely avoided the magic.
But no matter how great Hakon was, it was impossible to avoid every attack while blinded.
'I have to get out.'
His gaze turned upward.
Hakon leaped into the air once more.
And the moment he escaped the steam.
"Sword Rush!"
As if she'd predicted this exact moment, Ian had already turned back into a swordsman.
The feeling of facing both a swordsman and a mage at once sent chills down Hakon's spine.
'But I can't lose.'
He was Rundel's Grand Warrior.
As one who stood at the pinnacle of warriors, he could not easily accept defeat.
'I'll discard the spear.'
Ian's sword was already upon him.
If he blocked clumsily, he would be defeated.
Then he would aim for an opening while she let her guard down.
Having made his decision, Hakon raised his spear shaft to reduce the sword's power.
-Crack!
The spear was split in half.
Due to that, Ian's slash slowed and failed to reach Hakon.
In that gap, Hakon switched to gauntlets.
Two fists imbued with purple light shot toward Ian.
Basic Fist Technique, 3rd Form.
2-hit striking technique.
"Double Attack!"
The fists barreled toward Ian's abdomen.
'I won!'
Hakon was certain of his victory.
At least, until he saw the smile on Ian's face before him.
Just before his fist touched her stomach, Ian used the remaining momentum of her slash to spin her body.
Like a fish leaping from the water's surface, Ian's body soared upward in an instant.
Hakon's decisive blow tore through empty air.
The eyes of Ian and Hakon met.
The corners of her mouth drew an arc.
"There's no way I'd fall for the same thing twice."
It was a disgrace for a gamer to fall for the same trick twice.
Everything had been a setup for this moment.
Ian's kick crashed into Hakon.
His body plummeted to the ground.
-Thud!
Dust billowed up, and within it, Hakon was embedded in the ground defenseless.
The moment he tried to rise, feeling dizzying pain, a cold sword tip touched his neck.
Ian.
His companion of two weeks.
She spoke with a smile.
"Shall I give you a handicap?"
Hakon let out a hollow laugh and shook his head.
"No. I lost."
The moment the victor and loser were decided.
Halbar, who had been holding his breath watching the two, declared.
"Th-the victor. Adventurer Ian!"
An enormous roar shook Rundel.