Mushoku Tensei: Sword, Magic Hats, and Romance!

Rudeus faltered for a moment. Then, blinking rapidly, he looked at Allen's face. After a moment of hesitation, he tentatively said,

"So… you don't actually know that technique, right? That line was just a North God Style bluff...?"

In the very next instant, a pebble whistled through the air, grazing Rudeus's cheek and vanishing into the mist beyond.

He reached up in a daze to touch his face—then looked toward Allen, who had just lowered his arm from a throwing stance.

The stone had come from his left hand—the one not holding a blade.

Allen grinned as he rested his sword at his side.

"Just a friendly heads-up. Next time you meet a North God swordsman, watch out for that trick."

Rudeus stared at him for a long moment, then sighed and rose to his feet.

"I lost."

"Keep going."

Rudeus blinked in surprise, only to see Allen's smile vanish—replaced by a look of solemn intensity.

"Think about it from the other direction. If I didn't know how to throw weapons, you'd have completed your spell, wouldn't you? So keep going. I want to see just how far you can push me in a situation where I don't have that move."

Rudeus's expression turned serious as well.

"Alright."

Allen shifted his legs slightly in the mud.

"Don't hold back. You wouldn't want to lose twice in the same match, would you?"

Rudeus crouched again, placing his hands on the ground to resume casting [Heat Island].

"Don't get cocky, Allen. If I finish the [Deep Mist] spell, I'll…"

He looked up, mouth curling into a grin.

"I'll win."

Moments later, the mist thickened, swallowing Rudeus's form entirely. In no time, visibility dropped to just five meters.

Allen stared at the place where Rudeus had vanished into the mist.

Suddenly, a massive [Rock Bullet] burst through the mist, tearing a hole in the haze with its speed. Through that brief window, Rudeus's face flashed into view—and their eyes met.

Allen's expression remained neutral. Rudeus smiled faintly.

The next second, Allen drew his sword and cleaved the incoming projectile. The aura-coated blade scraped harshly across the stone—shkk—splitting it cleanly in two. The pieces thudded into the mud on either side.

He looked again toward Rudeus's position—but the mist had already filled in the gap.

Still, his gut told him: Rudeus had moved.

Used the sound of the [Rock Bullet] getting cut to mask his own footsteps… The next one won't be so loud. Something narrow and quiet—probably an [Ice Blade]. He'll try to slip past my guard, then relocate during the momentary disturbance. But if I can track him in that instant—get a read on his direction—I might be able to close the gap.

Allen took a few steps forward, mud sucking at his legs.

…Worse than I expected. [Heat Island] solidified some of the deeper layers—there's real resistance. Unless I can find a foothold to support my full weight, closing the distance fast is impossible.

He lowered his eyelids, then shut his eyes completely.

With a faint sigh, he spoke inwardly:

Looks like I'm back to what I'm best at—Water God Style. Good thing the Dragon Saint-level aura is boosting my senses; otherwise, Rudeus might really wear me down here. Sure, we're both isekai transplants… but I've got a swordsmanship system, and I'm four years older. Even if he started the match with a hundred-meter head start—I'm not about to lose like this.

Three [Ice Blades] floated silently through the mist from Allen's front-left, gliding in without stirring the mist. Just barely, Rudeus's face became visible again—then vanished.

Allen didn't open his eyes.

Instead, the image of a small, elderly woman's smile flickered through his mind.

Last year, I was lucky enough to create a new technique—the [Iron Turtle Defense]. Might be perfect for a situation like this.

The [Ice Blades] reached his right ear.

Allen raised his sword lazily, eyes still closed. The blade glinted as it passed between the incoming spells.

Crack. Crack.

Each [Ice Blade] shattered cleanly into two halves—but strangely, instead of continuing to fly, the fragments suddenly reversed course and fell straight down, stabbing into the mud at Allen's feet.

As if their trajectories had been bent.

Allen held his blade steady beside him, watching the residual traces of magic dissipating from the ice shards in the mire. He smiled faintly.

He could almost still hear Reida's voice from that day:

"Inspired by [Stream Sense], one of the five Water God Style secret techniques—don't waste your senses on distant distractions. Focus every bit of awareness within the blade's radius. Capture all environmental data within one meter around you. That's your simplified version of [Stream Sense]. And from there, using your current level of skill, apply the secret art to redirect as many incoming physical or magical attacks as possible. Not bad. Fascinating, even."

"Drawbacks? Two, and they're obvious. First: the simplified [Stream Sense] range is tiny. You're on the defensive—taking hits head-on. Second: against someone faster than your perception or with a higher-level technique that resists redirection, it's useless. But flaws aside, keep at it, Allen. The day you master it, you'll be Water Saint class."

"…Hm? You want me to name it? Fine. 'Steady as stone, the current breaks upon it.' Let's call it Banshi—[Rockbreaker]."

Allen opened his eyes, still surrounded by thick mist, and smiled.

Water God Style — Self-Created Secret Technique: [Rockbreaker].

The mist surged again. As if realizing the [Ice Blades] were too weak, Rudeus switched to compressed, needle-thin [Ice Blades]. But the moment they entered Allen's range, they too fractured and dropped uselessly at his feet.

Rudeus hesitated—then quickly repositioned, firing several rapidly spinning [Rock Bullets].

They met the same fate: cut cleanly apart, sinking into the mire.

Allen's eyes tracked the movement. Just as the mist briefly parted, his gaze met Rudeus's—who gritted his teeth, then disappeared again into the mist.

Allen chuckled lowly.

"Is that all you've got? Come on, hit me with something real!"

But Rudeus didn't take the bait.

Instead, he fired three sharpened [Rock Bullets] in quick succession—more refined, more deadly.

Allen's sword spun in a dance of light—once again, the projectiles shattered and dropped harmlessly to the muck.

He glanced down. His lashes trembled slightly.

Looks like he hasn't realized it yet… But I've already built up enough debris underfoot to act as a stable foothold. So next time he fires, I'll pinpoint his location—then break through the mist with Sword God Style.

Can't let him keep pummeling me forever.

Allen exhaled, withdrawing from the [Rockbreaker] state.

Then he roared:

"Rudeus! I can see you!!"

At that moment, the mist to his left surged—and a massive [Ice Blade] tore through it.

Allen moved.

His foot landed on a makeshift platform, buried less than five centimeters under the mire. The unstable footing vanished—replaced by firm resistance. Power shot up through his legs into his body. His form turned weightless.

Ahead, Rudeus's face was already fading back into the mist, the [Ice Blade] inches from Allen's reach.

Allen's eyes flicked—ice, mist, Rudeus's startled expression—all lined up in his vision.

He grinned.

And as their eyes locked, Allen mouthed something.

Too far for Rudeus to hear—but close enough to read his lips.

He said:

"I see you."

The mist rippled—visible waves shuddering across the air.

And in that instant, as Rudeus stared in disbelief, Allen stepped forward through the mist…

…his blade suspended exactly one meter from Rudeus's chest.

The tip trembled in the silence.

"You lose."

The words rang out as the [Ice Blade] behind them cracked, split in two, and fell uselessly into the swamp.

Before Rudeus's frozen face, the mist coalesced like flowing water.

[Sword God Style principle understood. Longsword of Silence attained. Sword God Style rank increased: Advanced.]

Allen reached to sheathe his blade—only to realize the edge was dulled and bent. It wouldn't slide back in.

He stood still, then asked inwardly:

And what about Water God Style?