SWNOVELXO Chapter 33
Chapter 33. A Duel
Hayato focuses intently on every movement of Takeshi.
Takeshi doesn’t move at all. A smile graces his face, and his posture is relaxed as if completely at ease.
(No stance? Is he a counter specialist?)
Seeing this, Hayato judges that Takeshi’s ability relies on waiting for his opponent.
Some such abilities are notoriously troublesome; among famous examples is the third-ranked global ability, Absolute Reflection.
Aware of the potential for a counterattack, Hayato dashes forward.
He reaches top speed in an instant, closing the gap to Takeshi. With a powerful step, he lunges, focusing strength into his fist.
“[Mountain Breaker]!”
“Defend.”
Hayato’s punch is stopped by a barrier that appears out of nowhere.
Though there were others with similar abilities in school tournaments, none matched the sheer durability of this barrier. Hayato’s attack manages only to put some cracks in it.
Both of them widen their eyes slightly.
Takeshi is surprised the barrier cracked.
Hayato is shocked his full-power attack was completely blocked.
Hayato twists his body, bringing his heel down from above in a crushing kick.
The barrier responds to the movement and blocks every one of Hayato’s strikes.
Stepping back, Hayato begins analyzing Takeshi.
The opponent is purely defensive. Hayato must attack, but simple assaults will only repeat the earlier failure. To break through the barrier, he’ll need more penetration power rather than sheer force.
Hayato focuses his fighting spirit into his right arm.
A faint crimson aura flickers, bearing a striking resemblance to Stellar Pierce.
The distance between them is about ten meters. Typically, Hayato would close the gap to fight with his fists.
But this time, it’s different.
He sharpens and condenses his energy, refining it to pierce anything.
“Tch! More reinforcements!”
Seeing this, Takeshi hastily summons six additional barriers.
Now, seven barriers stack to shield him.
Seven layers—an excessive precaution.
Even A-rank monsters would only break four or five layers at most. Confident in the barriers, Takeshi believes seven will be unbreakable.
“Pierce—[Star Spear]!”
Hayato swings his right arm.
A crimson spear shoots forth, leaving sound behind as it crashes into the barriers.
A delayed clang echoes, and the spear pierces through three barriers with ease, halting at the fourth.
But the spear doesn’t lose momentum; cracks start forming in the fourth layer.
“Damn!”
Shatter!
With a sound like breaking glass, the fourth barrier is destroyed.
“Impressive!”
Takeshi reevaluates Hayato’s strength.
As cracks appear in the fifth barrier, Takeshi smirks faintly and murmurs:
“Absorb.”
The fifth barrier breaks.
The moment the spear hits the sixth, it vanishes as if absorbed into the barrier.
Unlike the others, the sixth barrier is dyed a bottomless black.
Shocked by the unexpected outcome, Hayato’s eyes widen.
Puffing out his chest proudly, Takeshi explains the phenomenon.
“I can grant my barriers various properties. That one had [Absorption]. It absorbed your spear. However…”
Takeshi glances at the sixth barrier.
The spear’s overwhelming power caused cracks to form, and the barrier eventually shattered.
“Haha, now that’s reliable.”
Takeshi laughs, delighted at the strength of his opponent.
Though he had heard stories about Hayato from Hattori-san, the reality exceeded his expectations. And Hayato wasn’t even fighting seriously.
While Takeshi himself hadn’t gone all-out, he now wondered if he could win against Hayato even at full power.
Meanwhile, Hayato was genuinely surprised by the Special Ability Unit’s capabilities.
He hadn’t expected Star Spear to be stopped, and when it was absorbed, an involuntary “What?!” escaped his lips.
“Hey! What are you two doing?!”
A familiar voice rang out across the training ground.
Its owner darted between Hayato and Takeshi, glaring at both with a slightly angry expression.
“When I went to fetch Yanagi-kun, he was nowhere to be found! And Kongo-san, you just dragged him off and started sparring?! You two are too independent!”
“Haha, relax, Hattori. You worry too much!”
“And you don’t worry enough, Kongo! Come on, we have Yanagi-kun’s welcome party to get to!”
Thanks to the sudden interruption by Hattori-san, the sparring session was cut short, and the two were led out of the training area.
◇
“And now, let me introduce the newest member, Yanagi Hayato-kun, and his sister Ao-chan, who moved here with him!”
“Nice to meet you!”
“Nice to meet you~!”
Led by Hattori-san, they arrived at a room where several people were already waiting.
Everyone bore patches depicting a dragon.
The welcome party began with mutual introductions.
“My name is Kirasaka Ryoko. Looking forward to working with you.”
A black-haired beauty with a serene smile.
She carried a dangerous-looking sword at her waist, marking her as a combatant.
“I’m Kukuri Hana. Nice to meet you.”
A cute girl with neatly trimmed bangs.
Her clear eyes seemed to see something beyond ordinary sight.
“I’m Gajo Subaru. Likewise.”
A quiet man with his left eye hidden by hair.
He was about Hayato’s height, his sharp right eye assessing Hayato.
Is he sizing me up? Scary.
The rest were familiar faces.
Hattori-san, the blonde Sairenji-san, senior Kirisaka Moeka-senpai, and Kongo Takeshi-san.
After introductions, they moved to eat.
Hattori-san devoured an absurd amount of food, while seniors Moeka and Hana quickly filled up and began nodding off.
The mission details would be explained in tomorrow’s meeting. For now, the day ended with the welcome party.