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  [Further increased favorability with Rudeus and Sylphiette. Participation rate in childhood stage has risen.]

  [Current Stage: Childhood. Cumutive Participation Score: 54 points.]

  [Evaluation: I didn't expect that showing off could also earn favorability.]

  Allen frowned as he looked at the system panel floating in front of him.

  'What? When did I show off? Where did this favorability come from?'

  He turned his head to look at Sylphiette on the hillside. She was staring bnkly at him and Rudeus.

  He then turned to Rudeus, who was also in a daze.

  '...This is baffling.'

  "Hey, Rudeus, stop spacing out. Increase your mana output and fire another one. Look, Sylphiette is already mesmerized by you."

  Rudeus blinked, snapping out of the momentary trance, and gnced at Sylphiette on the hill. The corner of his mouth twitched.

  'Here it is, the cssic dense protagonist. Damn it, this is the path I chose for myself...'

  'But... Allen's strength... is even greater than I imagined. He definitely didn't just gre and split the water pilr. I couldn't even see his sword swing. No wonder he said to keep our distance... In a real fight, my head would probably already be rolling on the ground... No, more like he'd have his sword at my neck, casually saying I still have a long way to go or something like that...'

  'No, I need to get serious. If this keeps up, who knows where Roxy's attention will be when we meet her ter...'

  Feeling a surge of urgency, Rudeus took a deep breath and extended his hand toward Allen.

  "Alright! Take this!"

  Allen's pupils shrank. In his vision, water rapidly gathered in front of Rudeus, forming a massive turbulent stream even rger than the one that had decapitated the boar earlier. This time, the water even soaked the grass at Rudeus's feet.

  With a loud "Bang!", the surging water pilr shot straight toward Allen's face!

  "Twentieth Ssh."

  Allen's barely audible whisper accompanied the water pilr splitting apart in front of him. However, this time, what followed the water pilr wasn't Rudeus's face as he had expected.

  Instead, it was a rough, jagged rock.

  "Water Cannon! Rock Bullet!"

  The two moved so quickly that Rudeus's voice only echoed across the hillside after Allen had already split the water pilr.

  The rock bullet broke through the water and shot straight toward Allen's face!

  Hidden by the water cannon, the rock bullet was only about the size of Rudeus's face. Even so, in that split second, Allen's heightened dynamic vision perfectly captured every rough edge of the rock. The surroundings seemed to slow down:

  The ambient noise vanished.

  The wind pressure pressed against Allen's chest, carrying the damp scent of water and the earthy smell of soil. The rock bullet rotated clockwise in slow motion, reflected in Allen's deep gray pupils.

  Allen slowly narrowed his eyes. His previous breath still filled his lungs with ample oxygen. A surge of heat flowed from his waist, and the core in his abdomen exuded a steady stream of Dragon Saint Battle Aura, dyeing his original battle aura with a vibrant hue.

  '...Interesting. He hid a rock bullet this time... Using Twentieth Ssh again would wear down the bde... In that case...'

  'Water God Style—Flow Secret Technique.'

  'Pluck the String.'

  Allen abruptly snapped out of the slow-motion sensation. He slightly shifted the bde from its sheath, letting the tip graze the ground as he released the hilt. With a flick of his battle-aura-infused finger, he flicked the hilt upward.

  In the blink of an eye.

  The hilt shot up from his waist! With a "Ding!", it struck the bottom of the rock bullet.

  A gentle, flowing surge of battle aura altered the rock bullet's trajectory. It lifted slightly, *"Whoosh!"*ing past Allen's cheek and blowing his bangs back.

  The bde, meanwhile, was knocked back by the rock bullet and nded at Allen's feet, vibrating with a low hum.

  Allen reached down, pulled the bde out, and spun it in the air before sheathing it.

  Then, he began cpping at Rudeus, who was still in a ridiculous stance from casting.

  "Not bad, not bad. While preparing the water cannon, you also started forming the rock bullet at the same instant, using the water to obscure my vision. It's not a mixed spell, but it's even more unexpected."

  "Everything can be North God Style. Even though you haven't learned North God Style from the old man, it seems you've grasped its essence."

  Rudeus looked at the ground beside Allen, now thoroughly torn up by the water cannon, and felt a bit defeated.

  Although he had expected Allen to effortlessly handle his two-stage attack, seeing him do it so casually still left Rudeus feeling disheartened.

  "Is the gap between us really that big?... You didn't even move while I attacked."

  Allen blinked.

  "Just luck, just luck~ Keep at it, next time..."

  "Rock Bullet!"

  Allen kicked away the rock bullet Rudeus had suddenly unched in a sneak attack. The rock bullet embedded itself into the mud beside him.

  He continued speaking, smiling as he finished his earlier sentence.

  "...You'll definitely get it. But this one felt slower than the st. Were you distracted?"

  Rudeus lowered his hand again, gritting his teeth.

  "This is the fastest I can do on the spot. Any longer, and you'd definitely dodge it."

  "Let's go again. This is fun."

  "No!"

  "Come on, one more~"

  "No! Sylphiette's already seen it, right? Why do we need to do it again? And our duel isn't for another two months!"

  "But in two months, I'll be moving. This time, I'm letting you do whatever you want~ If you don't take this chance, you might not hit the mark ter."

  "Heh... It's not like I'd hit you anyway... Ice Bde!"

  Allen casually caught the beginner-level spell—Ice Bde—mid-air and examined it curiously.

  This time, he didn't dodge. Since the ice bde resembled a sword, Allen, as a swordsman, had a precise sense of distance when it came to sharp objects. He simply grabbed it.

  Seeing this, Rudeus's face fell, and he immediately turned to run up the hill, wailing in despair.

  "No more! I'm not doing this anymore!!"

  Allen tossed the ice bde to the ground, where it shattered with a "Crack!", and then turned to follow Rudeus up the hill.

  "Wait for me~ One more~"

  "No!"

  However, things took an unexpected turn. Allen stared in shock at Sylphiette, who was now standing in front of him with her hands csped together, her eyes sparkling with determination. Her request echoed in his ears.

  "I want to learn swordsmanship! The kind where you catch ice bdes with your bare hands!"

  "Uh... That requires a high level of battle aura and swordsmanship... It might be a bit..."

  Meanwhile, Rudeus, sensing trouble, tried to sneak away, but Allen grabbed him by the colr and pulled him back.

  Rudeus gred at Allen with resentment.

  "I already demonstrated! If Sylphiette doesn't want to learn, there's nothing I can do! Maybe you should teach her swordsmanship instead!"

  But Allen suddenly turned to him with a serious expression.

  "She's not really suited for swordsmanship... But I think the little skirmish earlier wasn't impressive enough. You need to give her something truly shocking."

  "Huh?"

  The two stared at each other in silence for a moment before Rudeus cautiously asked.

  "You mean..."

  Allen gnced at Sylphiette, who was standing obediently with her hands behind her back, and nodded with excitement.

  "Yes, the Saint-level spell you learned from Roxy—Thunderstorm Cumulonimbus!"

  'This is it, where the dream begins! If I don't see this spell, what's the point of reincarnating into this world?!'

  Note: So far this story is published up to chapter 145 on my patreon, go take a look.