Naofumi Iwatani's furious roar instantly silenced the once lively banquet hall.
Everyone turned their gazes toward Naofumi, bewildered and astonished at the fury burning in his eyes.
"Naofumi, what nonsense are you babbling now?" Motoyasu Kitamura asked, frowning.
"Motoyasu, you're truly an incurable idiot."
"Shut up, Naofumi. You're the last person qualified to lecture me!"
Naofumi sneered coldly.
"You really think people admire you? Don't make me laugh. They're only after your genetic inheritance."
Myne grabbed Motoyasu's hand, glaring at Naofumi with disgust.
"Motoyasu-sama, ignore the barking of that worthless dog."
If it had been the old Naofumi, he'd never let Motoyasu off that easily. But having lived in this world for a month, he understood clearly that real strength was all that mattered.
Instead of bickering further with that disgusting couple, he turned to Kiriko with an apologetic expression.
"Kiriko-san, I'm sorry. None of my companions are proficient in support magic, so I can't help you."
"It's fine."
Kiriko waved dismissively at Naofumi.
"Don't worry, we won't lose."
But Naofumi wasn't as optimistic as Kiriko.
In fact, his thoughts mirrored those of the spectators.
Regardless of whether Motoyasu's intelligence was truly ranked E or not, his raw power was undeniable.
Moreover, he had cheated by getting the court magicians to stack multiple buffs on him beforehand.
Naofumi knew Kiriko was strong—extremely strong—but exactly how capable her subordinate was remained unknown.
Nevertheless, he took out the little savings he had and placed his bet on Kiriko's side.
"Lute, there's still some time before the duel starts. Drink all of these first."
Kiriko pulled out sixty-six multicolored potions from her Dimensional Bag.
You remember, right? Kiriko had the skill "Alchemy (Grand-Grand-Grand…Grandmaster)." These potions were just something she concocted out of boredom late at night.
At the time, she never expected they'd come in handy now. She simply found it impossible to fall asleep immediately after nightfall.
These sixty-six potions included some that boosted strength, agility, vitality, others that enhanced attack and defense, others still that increased HP and MP capacity and recovery speed, and some that shortened skill cooldowns…
Sixty-six potions equaled sixty-six buffs—rounded up, that's practically a hundred million.
Lute poured each potion down his throat in quick succession. Instantly, surprise lit up his face as he felt the dramatic effects coursing through his body.
"Master, I won't disappoint you," Lute said solemnly.
"This is your own fight. You shouldn't disappoint yourself…"
Kiriko paused briefly before continuing.
"If something unexpected happens during the duel, I won't blame you."
Her unspoken implication was clear: if Lute, overwhelmed by rage, accidentally killed Motoyasu…
Kiriko wouldn't blame him, even knowing how much trouble she'd face from the Spear Hero's death.
She didn't order Lute to hold back.
If someone destroyed her life, she wouldn't let them off either.
In fact, Kiriko had always been like that, even in her past life.
She might not have been a good person, but she was always willing to risk everything for those she acknowledged.
She just hadn't realized that about herself yet.
The moment the signal for the duel was given, Motoyasu immediately charged toward Lute.
After all, Motoyasu wielded a spear, and the dog-headed demi-human across from him only had shields—and two shields at that. If Motoyasu didn't attack first, the title of Spear Hero would cry itself to sleep.
However, what he didn't expect was for the dog-headed guy to charge right back at him instead of standing his ground or keeping distance.
What's going on in his head?
Did he really intend to attack with those shields?
How naive!
With that thought, Motoyasu carefully measured their distance and immediately activated a skill.
"[CHAOS SPEAR]!"
His spear turned into dozens of phantom thrusts aimed straight at the approaching Dogkin.
He'd accounted for the timing perfectly—there was no way his opponent could dodge…
"What!?"
Motoyasu watched in shock as the Dogkin leapt high into the air before entering his attack range.
He hastily canceled the skill and turned around just in time to see the Dogkin land behind him, holding both shields forward in preparation for a charge.
Shit…
"[SHIELD CHARGE]!"
The shield-bearing Dogkin slammed directly into Motoyasu, driving him forward uncontrollably.
"Waaahhhhhhhh—!"
"Move aside! Get out of the way!"
Seeing both duelists hurtling toward them, the once-eager spectators panicked, scrambling out of the way.
But Lute didn't push Motoyasu into the crowd. Instead, he canceled the Shield Charge halfway.
Motoyasu, still reeling from the shove, barely regained his balance—
And was promptly smacked squarely on the forehead with Lute's shield.
"[SHIELD BASH]!"
Motoyasu went cross-eyed, frozen in place like an idiot.
Shield Bash came with a stun effect, and Motoyasu was completely knocked senseless.
Lute didn't hesitate, unleashing a barrage of fists and kicks onto the stunned Spear Hero.
The stun from Shield Bash didn't last long; Motoyasu soon regained his senses, and then—
Clang!
Another Shield Bash smacked into him.
Motoyasu went slack-jawed again, utterly dazed.
Thanks to the sixty-six buffs, the cooldown time for Shield Bash was shortened precisely to match its stun duration.
As for the concentration cost (basically, the warrior-class version of MP)…
Wasn't that exactly what the buffs replenished?
How much concentration could a single skill possibly consume anyway?
The famed Spear Hero was now little more than a punching bag, mercilessly pummeled by Lute.
Every time Motoyasu woke up, he was immediately smacked with another Shield Bash.
Never mind Motoyasu, who was continuously beaten senseless—the spectators were equally dumbstruck.
What the hell kind of duel was this!?
In their minds, duels were supposed to be dazzling, flashy battles with brilliant, eye-searing special effects and nausea-inducing 3D perspectives…
How was this any different from a street brawl?
Yet it was precisely this low-tech, utterly crude fighting style that left their guaranteed winner—the mighty Spear Hero—completely unable to fight back.