Swords, magic, and martial arts

Once outside, Rhodes felt a pang of regret as the cold wind blew in his face. Why had he impulsively agreed to spar with someone and then turned around to provoke them?

Why did I suddenly become so irrational? Where did I get this confidence? Did I get cocky after recently defeating a few robbers?

He's a knight who's received proper knightly training, while I've only been training for a few days.

But it's not shameful for me to lose; it's very prestigious to win.

Sven came out, and the other people eating in the tavern followed him out, standing aside ready to watch.

The night was dark, but with the help of the lights in the tavern, Rhodes was still able to see his surroundings clearly.

Sven, clad in full plate armor, handed his one-handed sword to Harvey beside him, seemingly preparing to use only a shield. He said, "To deal with a weakling like you, wearing armor is already beneath my honor. If I were to use a weapon as well, I think everyone I know would secretly laugh at me."

Sven glanced at the "Silent Knight" and then charged at Rhodes with his shield raised.

Rhodes was surprised that someone wearing full plate armor could run so fast, but he quickly dodged and turned to the side to avoid Sven's head-on collision.

Sven swung his right hand forcefully, and the shield struck Rhodes' shoulder hard, causing him to lose his balance.

Using this force, Rhodes spun around and slashed at Sven with a backhand strike.

Boom!

Sven perfectly blocked Rhodes' attack with his shield, and at the same time, he clenched his free right hand into a fist and punched Rhodes hard.

The punch was fast, and Rod was hit in the chest before he could react. The punch was powerful, though not as powerful as Baron's, it still caused him a sharp pain in his chest.

Rod reached out and quickly grabbed Sven's right hand, pulling him forcefully in front of him, and then slammed his head into Sven's nose.

Shi Wen had just taken off his helmet to eat and hadn't put it back on yet.

The two were about the same height, with Sven being slightly taller. Rhodes' head bumped right into Sven's nose.

The violent impact caused Shi Wen's tears and nosebleed to flow involuntarily at the same time.

Taking advantage of Sven's momentary daze from the impact, Rhodes placed his longsword against Sven's neck and said, "You've lost."

Upon hearing this, Shi Wen was taken aback at first, and then began to defend himself: "Your fighting style is despicable and has no regard for honor. If I were wearing a helmet, your underhanded tactics would be completely ineffective."

"If I used a weapon, you would be dead in the first round," he added.

"I was never a nobleman, just an ordinary adventurer. For us, victory in battle is more important. I don't care about winning glory."

"Besides, it was you who disrespected your opponent. In a life-or-death situation, I believe even a knight who values ​​honor wouldn't care whether his fighting style was shameful," Rhodes said.

Sven, his face flushed, was about to continue arguing when Harvey stopped him.

"He's right. This defeat is a good lesson for you. Remember, in the future, no matter who your opponent is, you must give it your all in every battle."

Even if you are fully armed, it doesn't matter if the other party is unarmed, as long as he is your enemy.

"Now quickly clean up the blood in your nose, then go inside and eat," Harvey said.

After saying that, Harvey led the "Silent Knight" into the tavern to continue enjoying his dinner.

Rhodes and the others went in as well. Just as they sat down, Sven came in, brought the food to the side, and sat down in a corner to eat.

Actually, Sven might not have lost just now. He didn't even consider whether my attack could cut through the armor around his neck, Rhodes thought to himself.

Rhodes was curious how the "Silent Knight" ate without taking off his helmet, but he discovered that the "Silent Knight" had opened part of his mask.

His helmet visor was different from others; it was multi-sectioned, allowing only his mouth to be exposed, just enough for him to eat.

The "Silent Knight" had a very handsome mouth, and Rhodes stared at him for a long time before giving this assessment.

He seemed to notice Rhodes's gaze and lowered his head even further.

The meal was quickly finished, leaving only Hammer and Baron at the table, still drinking and boasting. Harvey only drank one glass of wine and then stopped.

Rhodes also drank a little, but perhaps the wine wasn't very good, so the knight only drank one cup, that was his guess.

The wine had some honey and something that looked like butter added to it, so it tasted very strange.

After finishing his meal, Rod was so excited about his victory that he couldn't sleep. He decided to go out and practice his basic swordsmanship so he could level up and complete his mission.

I can practice gravity manipulation a bit more later. There's a lot I can do, so I should focus on improving my strength as soon as possible.

Rod took his sword and began practicing basic swordsmanship at the tavern entrance. He stopped practicing when he felt extremely tired.

Wearing more clothes in winter makes training tiring. I'll definitely train for a longer period of time when summer comes, Rod thought.

He put down his sword and, out of the corner of his eye, noticed Shi Wen secretly observing him from a dark corner.

An idea popped into Rhodes' mind. He turned around, his back to Sven, and began to try the gravity spell, which he had never been able to use before.

He placed his palms together in front of his chest, and a purplish-black ball of light appeared on his palms. This time, under Rhode's control, the ball of light successfully formed a perfect sphere.

Why did I succeed on my first try today?

Rhodes began to feel the ball of light in the center of his palm. After successfully connecting with the ball of light, Rhodes felt that he could perceive his surroundings through his mind.

It seems Otto's self-created magic is quite effective.

He sensed Shi Wen through his mind and imagined pulling him with all his might.

With a loud "bang," Sven fell to the ground, his armor slamming against the earth with a resounding crash.

Rhodes immediately dispelled the magic, and in that instant, he experienced a feeling completely different from when the magic failed before.

He refocused and released the gravity spell, connecting with the sphere of light. Through his mind, he noticed the anomaly that he had not noticed before.

This town seems to be a small corner of a giant magic circle.

It's not visible to the naked eye, but by using the ball to sense it with mental power, you can discover that many strange patterns have been drawn on the ground with magic, just like the magic circles described in Otto's notes.

"What happened?" Baron asked, having come out after hearing the sound of Sven falling to the ground in his armor.

Sven struggled to his feet. He had fallen unexpectedly, which made his buttocks hurt. He couldn't figure out why he had fallen.

Rhodes stood there with his eyes closed, observing the surroundings of the town through the purplish-black sphere. He had some guesses about the whereabouts of the town's residents.

"What are you standing here for?" Baron looked at Rhodes curiously. The purplish-black light was not conspicuous in the darkness, and Baron probably did not notice it.

Rhodes turned and replied, "I think I know where the residents of this town have gone..."