Is it wrong to try to meet someone in a dungeon?

—Let’s assume failure. But for someone of my mediocre talent, learning any move requires countless practices and challenges. Only through struggling through mud can I gain some knowledge. How long should someone as incompetent as me accumulate strength?

What is the correct answer? What kind of solution is appropriate? In a situation where I had to figure all of this out myself, sweat rolled down my face like lead, and I—did not ask Professor Leon for help.

(One minute. Just one minute.)

My original aspiration remains unchanged; I will use my own hands to solve this difficult problem.

Teacher Leon must have walked the same path.

In the struggle against her crushes, she became self-taught and eventually mastered the "City-Severing Slash." That must be it.

Now that I've heard that story, I absolutely cannot back down.

As long as I keep shouting "I want to be a hero," as long as this ambition has not been extinguished, I will never back down.

"This is the first answer, right?"

From his posture, subtle adjustments, the scale of his energy buildup, and the rhythm of his breathing, he seemed to see through my judgment and strategy, and asked a question with the eyes of a lion.

In an instant, my heart felt as if it had been seized, and my throat felt as if it had been gripped by an iron hand, making it almost impossible to breathe. But I raised my eyebrows, gripped the greatsword tightly in my hand, and declared my will through action.

I decided to avoid relying on the power of charged attacks and instead start with the fundamentals of the moves.

What laws govern the swift, sweeping strike—the slash of light? I must grasp this key.

Drawing upon my experiences of constantly encountering the 'unknown' in the maze, and mobilizing all my current knowledge and wisdom, I slowly raised the greatsword over my shoulder.

Teacher Leon, like his reflection in the mirror, also placed the Battle Axe of Light on his shoulder.

"Drink! Aa ...

Then, it swung down suddenly from his shoulder.

One minute of charging up.

I deduced a common point from the stances of the two Lv.7s: they unleashed their full power in the Kesa Slash.

Faced with this move,

"Too weak."

The knight slashed him down with a single blow.

Even though he started a little late, with pure power and superb skill, he easily rewrote the laws of time and unleashed a terrifying "afterglow" before I could.

"──────!?"

It was that same scene again.

My vision was once again swallowed up by the dazzling light.

The golden light of the lion surpassed the speed of sound and pierced through the air—yet my strike could not escape!

"Giggle!?"

With the blade of light right in front of me, I unleashed a powerful slash that slammed into the ground, only to be met head-on by the beam of light.

The explosive force of the attack is self-evident.

The difference in the execution of their moves was like night and day, making the outcome immediately clear.

Although most of the impact was neutralized, I was still utterly defeated, and was blown away along with the greatsword that was clinging to me, falling backward.

That means flying towards Nina!

"Bell-senpai!?"

"Gurgle, waaaaaah...!?"

The healer girl rushed to my side and cast a healing spell.

Beneath the combat suit, which quickly became tattered, the wounded skin began to heal rapidly.

A single blow, not even a direct hit, caused such severe damage.

But... he still showed mercy!

That initial 'afterglow' actually sliced ​​off half of the platform!

The attack I just delivered only managed to create a deep crack in the ground! I myself didn't vanish into thin air!

"Bell. Don't worry about me."

"...!!"

"As long as you harbor that thought, you'll never be able to sever my 'last glimmer' in this lifetime."

The first answer was completely wrong.

Even the slightest concern for Professor Leon, the restraint that remained deep within her heart, became a fatal flaw.

That was nothing short of an insult to knights. It went far beyond being a case of needless worry; it was utterly foolish.

The pain all over his body and the reality of his crushing defeat were telling the story of it all.

"...Nina, get away!"

I stood up. Even though she had just healed me, I still cruelly pushed this junior away and began to gather my strength again.

Nina looked pained, as if she wanted to say something, but I let her leave.

I gripped the greatsword tightly and rang the bell.

The knight also raised his light battle axe high.

From this moment on, just as Teacher Leon had said before, the thrilling "slash duel" began.

But the so-called clash was nothing more than a one-sided storm of light that tore me apart.

"Ugh—!?"

Two minutes of buildup were shattered.

"Again."

Then three minutes.

"Again."

Then came four minutes.

"Again."

Then came five minutes.

"Give me another one."

The result remained unchanged.

He desperately stretched out his fingers, trying to grasp the essence of the technique called "Afterglow," but he couldn't even touch its outline.

Instead, the output of [Hero's Wish] continued to climb, but none of them were crushed.

A corner of the combat suit ripped open, splattering blood everywhere, and a heavy cracking sound came from the bones.

The recovery of physical strength, the healing of the body, and the replenishment of mental energy. If it weren't for the therapist's selfless dedication, I would have collapsed from exhaustion long ago.

Finally, I rang the clock tower.

After three minutes of charging, the pure white flash of the heavy slash still failed to fly out, but it successfully blocked the knight's slash and deflected it.

That's how it should be.

If the knight hadn't swung his battle axe again.

"────────────"

batter.

Nothing surprising.

Since it's a "pure slash" that requires no chanting or charging, it's only natural to unleash a second and third strike in succession. During the faction war, I clearly took two hits from the "Golden Slash" of the "Fierce Warrior," but now I've completely forgotten that—this was my fatal oversight.

Just as I was trying to push back the first slash of light, the second and third slashes followed closely behind, and I was still able to grit my teeth and endure them.

However, when the unprecedented fourth beam of light struck, the clock tower's attack was finally thwarted.

He was lifted into the air.

In the convergence of torrents of light, the body could no longer bear it and was in utter disarray.

It flew backward once again, and I've lost count of how many times it's done this. However, this time the impact was far greater than before, like a dam bursting.

I couldn't stop the momentum on my own, so Nina stepped in and caught me.

She dropped her staff and caught me from the front, but even so, the momentum couldn't be stopped.

The girl clung tightly to me, our bodies tumbling and intertwining on the ground like a ball. Finally, the aftershocks of the slashing light gradually subsided.

The already barren and desolate land completely collapsed, the rock surface evaporated, heat waves spread, and thick smoke rose all around, resembling a scorched earth.

I lay in Nina's arms, struggling to pry open my trembling eyelids, and saw at the edge of my vision that the knight remained unmoved and composed.

"This...this is...! This is practically vigilante justice...!?"

Witnessing this appalling scene, even Ibri, who was in charge of the live broadcast, was speechless.

Under this destructive force, the "Dark Wilderness," known as the end of the world, was violently deformed, and its landscape was completely altered.

One after another, near-ultimate finishing moves of light were unleashed from the knight's hands. The power that even high-ranking mages trembled with made the entire circular arena fall silent.

Even the 'school district' far from the city was no exception. Witnessing the unprecedentedly cold demeanor of the head teacher, Leon, the students all covered their mouths, and the arena fell into a deathly silence.

"It was the same during the faction wars! What on earth did our Bell Craney do?!"

To fulfill his duty, Ibri tried to pierce the deafening silence with a shout, but the tremor that permeated the labyrinthine city and the school district could not be easily erased. Only his shout echoed alone, ultimately fading away in vain into the sky.

"He has ascended the ladder of heroism."

"That's all."

The four Gulliver brothers—Alfred and others—responded calmly to the roar that echoed in the air.

"That stinky rabbit got beaten to a pulp, that's nothing new."

As usual, Allen arrogantly voiced his thoughts.

The only group of people present who remained unfazed were the resilient warriors who had grown up in the unusual environment known as the Battlefield. But Hedin alone clicked his tongue in annoyance at the boy who was unable to move in the 'mirror'.

"Even though it contains some refined metal (mithril), this is still a weapon forged from an ultra-hard metal (admiralty)...!? It's breaking so quickly...!"

While Lily, Mikoto, and Haruhime were all pale, only Welf, with the eye of a 'blacksmith,' could see through the wear and tear on the greatsword in the boy's hand at a glance.

After winning the faction war, the blacksmithing goddess Hephaestus rewarded Welf with an ultra-hard metal. This greatsword was a special sword he had crafted for Bell using that metal, spending a great deal of time forging it. Now, through this 'mirror,' Welf keenly sensed that the greatsword was about to shatter, and as the blacksmith, he couldn't help but be horribly disturbed by the knight's terrifying 'afterglow.'

"Did Lady Hestia know all this would happen, yet she still handed my sword to Bell...!?"

The voices of the clan, which were almost accusatory, ultimately could not reach the gods.

However, Hestia stood quietly by the aisle of the stands, far away from them, her hands gripping the railing tightly.

"Bell-kun..."

"Are you really alright? Mr. Bell was really badly hurt, you know?"

Her soft, silver-gray hair swayed in the wind.

Hill, dressed in a light green uniform, quickly approached Hestia.

"Who knew it would turn into such a chaotic mess! Baldr only said in the letter that he needed to accompany Knight to the 'Valley' and then assist in the 'suppression'! And he also said something about how the conflict between Orario and the school district could be resolved satisfactorily!"

"Ah~ those are all excuses~. Poor Mr. Bell~"

"You, the culprit who threw Bell-kun into the battlefield, do you have the right to talk to me, Hill?! And what about your job?! I dutifully asked my part-time job for half a day off—!!"

"Don't ask! I'm going to get a real scolding from Mia's mom!"

"You really did skip work!"

The goddesses started chattering and arguing, drawing disapproving glances from the surrounding audience.

After throwing a tantrum, Hestia first sighed, then looked up at the 'mirror' above her head again.

"...We'll have to get to the 'Valley' sooner or later anyway."

"..."

"Hermes also said that Bell would definitely be sent to slay the 'Black Dragon'."