Bear School Astartes

”Ssshh~”

Elrond drew the blade hanging at his waist, the scrape of steel on scabbard ringing out pleasantly.

After drawing his blade, Elrond made an inviting gesture toward Lann.

The Demon Hunter answered the invitation and drew the Lady of the Lake’s Sword.

The two of them approached each other cautiously, eyes locked, fully focused.

”Gandalf, Radagast and I have been acquainted for many years.”

Elrond, however, seemed much more at ease, even able to make small talk in the middle of this.

”I know them well, but I don’t know you that well yet, Yadanisil.”

”Perhaps we could deepen that understanding a little.”

”Of course. That’s a good idea.”

Lann smiled and, out of courtesy and respect for his host, he was the first to step forward, entering Elrond’s attack range.

”Swish!”

The sound of a keen edge slicing the air, light as a leaf drifting down from a withered branch!

That was a completely different sound from Lann’s usual blade.

That was Elrond’s blade!

Soft and elusive, the long blade’s gleam and afterimages were like the gauze draped from his shoulders, almost indistinguishable from one another.

And they hardly roused one’s wariness at all!

But in the Demon Hunter’s eyes, those vertical pupils contracted.

”Clang!”

A crisp metallic ring—two blades met in an instant!

The sparks that burst out were blown by the airwave from a unique technique into a perfect ring.

[Iwami Style: Climbing Carp]

This move was often Lann’s opener when fighting humanoid enemies.

Iwami Swordsmanship flowed like water; [Climbing Carp] was not only a perfect defensive parry.

During this parry, the skilled contest of strength between them would let Lann further grasp the enemy’s bodily structure and power-transmission process.

It was equivalent to having Mentos and [Spiritual Vision] enter ”record enemy data” mode right at the start of the fight.

But today...

”Heh.”

Elrond chuckled with keen interest.

At the same time, a flash of astonishment crossed Lann’s eyes.

This feel... is wrong!

So light!

The instant the sparks burst between the two long blades, Elrond was blown back like a snowflake carried by the air current, flying far farther than Lann had anticipated, and his hang time in midair was unnaturally long.

This feeling... even if he struck the finest Ninja in Iwami Country, it wouldn’t have this effect!

But just as Lann snapped out of his brief surprise, intending to use the opponent’s abnormally long hang time to close the distance—

He was startled again to find that in the latter half of that airtime, the Elf opposite him suddenly reverted to a normal falling speed!

And as those boots hit the ground, with a ”shing”!

Elrond’s smooth black hair was stretched out by his speed into a flowing line parallel to the ground.

”Clang clang clang!”

A rapid series of explosive impacts sounded around Lann.

That was the noise of their blades meeting again and again in quick succession.

Elrond’s Swordsmanship was extremely practiced, but that was within Lann’s expectations—after all, this Elf Lord’s Bow and Arrow skill was enough to make even Lann’s predictive ability look crude.

And the long years had given him the chance to polish many arts to an exceedingly high level.

At the beginning, Lann was still a bit unaccustomed to Elrond’s attack tempo.

He kept suddenly speeding up and slowing down; this deliberate disruption of his own rhythm was a tactic that would basically make any enemy Warrior feel miserable.

What made it worse was that Lann still didn’t quite understand how Elrond was doing it.

Magic?

But he couldn’t feel anything at all!

Finally, as the elegant Elf darted past the Demon Hunter once again, Lann didn’t block with Aron Dite.

Instead, he used his left hand, which wasn’t holding a sword for the moment, to tug at the hem of Elrond’s coat.

A momentary resistance transmitted into Lann’s hand.

Then Mentos calculated and analyzed it, and finally arrived at an answer.

And Elrond himself, after darting past, thoughtfully flicked the tails of his coat.

”Mm... you’ve never crossed blades with Elves before, Yadanisil?”

Elrond phrased it as a question, but his tone already carried certainty.

”That’s true.” Lann weighed his words, answering cautiously.

”I’ve only heard that Elves are unbelievably light on their feet, that even walking over soft snow they leave no footprints. But I didn’t expect... you can actually control your own mass with conscious will?”

This was a lie, because Lann had no idea what rumors existed about Elves in this world.

But Elrond’s performance just now, and the feel he gave Lann when he was at his lightest, let him roughly grasp how Elves in this world fought.

So he gave a rough explanation; after all, the world was vast—no one knew how distant lands described Elves. As long as the gist was right, it was fine.

”Of course we can control our mass with our own will. Otherwise, when the wind blows, the sky would be full of Elves. This is the Firstborns’ racial talent; it has nothing to do with Magic.”

Elrond said with a smile.

”I don’t mean to boast, but I must point out: while all of us can consciously control our mass, not many Elves can shift it as rapidly as I do.”

Lann raised an eyebrow.

So, what’s hard is changing it in an extremely short span of time—but making your body lighter than a snowflake is something basically any Elf can do.

Leaving no trace on the snow with each step... Honestly, even the former Ninja Leader of Iwami Country, ”Owl,” might not be able to pull that off with just Light Body Skill alone.

Yet in this world, it’s standard issue for Elves.

In other words, if we’re just talking about mobility... does that mean Elves in this world are, on average, on par with a Ninja Leader?

”Impressive.”

Lann praised him with genuine admiration.

Elrond thought the Demon Hunter was talking about him; the Elf Lord stood poised on a slender railing, not the slightest wobble or sign of instability.

Most people wouldn’t look this relaxed even standing on level ground.

He inclined his head slightly to Lann. ”You flatter me.”

The Demon Hunter raised the blade in his hand, lifting it toward Elrond.

That was his invitation to start the second bout.

The Elf’s face carried a smile, and the Long Blade in his hand unconsciously spun in a flourish.

In a sense, Lann really was a perfect fit for the Elves’ name for him, ”Yadanisil.” They had a lot in common.

Elrond wasn’t the sort who thought himself innately noble, or inherently superior to others.

That ”you flatter me” just now came straight from the heart.

But his noble character couldn’t change a simple fact: he really was outstanding. Even among Elves, among the Firstborn Children of the world, his excellence was one of the few.

Just now, at the instant his Long Blade crossed with Lann’s, he had been able to crank up his own mass, increasing his inertia and power.

The speed of that switch was so fast that Lann and Mentos went over it again and again, listing out all kinds of possibilities, yet still couldn’t grasp the trick.

In the end, they basically tried them all before confirming their guess—sacrificing an opening to attack in order to grab at Elrond’s clothes with a bare hand and feel his mass.

And now, the answer was revealed.

Elrond was still the same as before, drifting like a snowflake.

And that featherlight mass was given initial velocity by his powerful legs.

Light winds curled around him, making him seem like a mirage as he floated toward Lann.

On the spiral staircase, Bilbo and Rong Buqiu had long since dropped their jaws. The Hobbit’s mouth even drooped down as he leaned his head out past the stair rail, instinctively straining to see more.

But just as Elrond skimmed past Lann’s side this time, he immediately sensed something off about this contact.

”The airflow... is a mess!”

Lann didn’t respond with technique against technique, blade against blade, like before.

Elrond’s ability to change his own mass in a very short time—his switching speed was simply too fast, too smooth.

In a Swordsmanship spar, running into an opponent whose attack tempo, strike force, and even the feedback you get after your blade hits are all erratic and ever-changing is the kind of thing that makes you want to explode.

Since Elrond was playing fancy, Lann had no intention of staying ”honest” anymore.

The Qi Flow Blade techniques from the Iwami Style were already something Lann could do with his eyes closed.

And as his physical strength and toughness grew, the commotion and area of effect he created with each swing of the blade grew in step.

Since you can suddenly turn light then suddenly heavy, making your body and Swordsmanship so weird it’s hard to read... then I’ll just force you to keep your weight steady!

Air pressure began to be disrupted by his skilled swings.

Rong Buqiu and Bilbo, standing on the spiral staircase, even felt a bit short of breath.

They just assumed it was nerves from watching masters clash. The little cat’s claws slipped out unconsciously, hooking into the fabric of Bilbo’s tiny suit jacket.

And the Hobbit also unconsciously clenched a handful of Elu Cat’s fur.

The moment Elrond stepped into the man-made zone of disturbed airflow, he sensed it at once. Experience accumulated over his long years meant he reacted almost without thinking, changing his mass.

So much so that even with Lann’s timing sense, he still didn’t catch any hitch between Elrond’s ”light—disturbed—instinctive increase in weight—stabilize the body,” this entire complicated chain of actions.

Elrond’s technique might not be as flashy as Lann’s, who had absorbed technology systems from many different worlds, but its reliability in actual performance drew Lann’s admiration.

Its stability was almost terrifying!

For the first time, Elrond’s boots rang out with a clear tap on the polished marble floor.

And right after that... ”Swoosh!”

In the heart of that chaotic airflow, the tall figure vanished in an instant like green smoke.

Heartless Flow: Shrink Ground!

Built on ancient techniques from the Yan Nan Hunters of Yan’an as its foundation, this move mainly works on the legs, granting an instantaneous burst of displacement.

But the Hunters of Yan’an revered high-tempo offense-defense transitions and dodges, which made their techniques grow increasingly aggressive over time.

The Acceleration Technique’s commotion was sharp and piercing, completely different from Elrond’s earlier drifting-like-snow, falling-leaf grace.

But it was indeed fast enough!

The Demon Hunter’s Long Blade cleaved in just as Elrond was forced to increase his own weight to brace against the scrambled airflow.

Elrond still showed no panic or confusion whatsoever.

His Long Blade, just like Lann’s earlier, was already set in the path of the incoming strike.

But when the impact came again, he now had to take the full brunt of Lann’s strength.

”Mm!”

The Elf Lord looked in surprise at the big, bulky young man opposite him.

With this kind of power... I’d believe you if you said you could rip an Ogre apart with your bare hands!

However... dealing with it was simple.

With a ”thump,” in the briefest moment after he felt the force on the blade, the Elf lifted his foot and stepped onto the Demon Hunter’s thigh.

Borrowing the momentum of the attacker himself, Elrond hardly took any of the pressure at all as he instantly got out of the turbulent airflow zone.

In a split second, he reverted to that weightless, unburdened lightness again, landing on the railing at the edge of the platform.

”Brilliant!”

Elrond nodded, first sheathing his Long Blade, then clapping his hands as he hopped down from the railing and walked toward Lann.

The meaning was clear: the spar had gone far enough.

”You really are someone who fills me with both surprise and puzzlement, Yadanisil.”

Elrond spoke as he walked.