A Genius Boy Who Was Exiled From His Family Home for “Not Being Able To Use Magic” Becomes a Witch’s Apprentice and Masters All Magic in the Right Way. This Is How You Use Your Magic, You Know?

Chapter 77. Hand-To-Hand Combat

A common weakness among wizards is close combat.

Especially in this country, incantations are essential for casting the fundamental magic, Bloodline Magic. Therefore, in a situation where incantations cannot be performed, a wizard’s abilities are extremely limited.

Thus, to counteract this, the profession of “knight” has developed alongside magicians in this country.

People who cannot aspire to that must learn close-range combat techniques through other methods.

Naturally, Hermes has also learned unarmed combat skills from his master, Rose, in addition to reinforcement general-purpose magic that can be cast without incantations, allowing him to fight on his own to a certain extent. In fact, he is likely stronger in close combat than most wizards.

–However.

This is far beyond what he can handle.

“Ugh!”

A silver flash whizzes past his ear.

A moment later, a powerful gust of wind grazes his face. The sword slash, incredibly sharp, comes from delicate limbs, leaving him no room even to break into a cold sweat.

“──What!”

But Nina’s offensive does not stop there. Despite the force of her strikes, the recoil is minimal, sometimes even used to fuel the next attack. An unending barrage of seamless and efficient strikes rains down upon him.

Even his non-incantation reinforcement magic barely allows him any openings, which shows how threatening her attacks are.

Even with a training sword with its blade blunted, this is the result; one can only imagine how deadly it would be with a real sword.

Though he is barely managing to dodge or deflect all the attacks now, it’s only a matter of time before he fails.

Unlike Hermes, who has only a superficial knowledge of close combat, she has reached a state only attainable by dedicating a significant amount of time to mastering the sword. Naturally, when they stand on the same stage, the difference in their skills becomes painfully obvious.

Moreover,

“──!”

Even she cannot maintain an unending offensive and must occasionally pause to catch her breath, however brief.

Seizing this momentary gap, Hermes unleashes a spell. A web of lightning, designed for area suppression and speed.

At almost zero distance, the high-speed spell surges toward Nina ─ but.

(How could she dodge that!?)

Superhuman reflexes. The moment the lightning is released ─ or perhaps even before that.

With a fluid backstep and sideways leap, she completely evades the lightning web, closing in to exploit the opening after the spell is cast and resumes her offensive.

This is it.

No, he understands the reason.

She is ‘aware’ of it. Likely from the flow of magical power, she predicts what kind of magic is coming beforehand.

Recalling the events before today’s morning assembly, she knew everything Hermes did after his introduction the previous day.

And in this current fight, her superhuman reactions. From this, he deduces that:

─She possesses an extraordinarily high ability to sense magical power. Perhaps even surpassing Hermes.

Using this ability, she accurately detects and sometimes even reads the content of the opponent’s magic, allowing her to evade it.

Coupled with her unparalleled close combat skills, she is virtually invincible at this range in a one-on-one fight.

(…Alright)

Nevertheless, Hermes has no intention of giving up on victory.

More importantly, it would be a waste not to give his all in a fight against such a formidable opponent.

First, he must create distance. Though he could wait for an opening by studying her movements, it is more likely he would be crushed before learning anything significant. Moreover, her swordplay is not so lenient as to show obvious gaps.

In that case, he must prioritize getting out of Nina’s advantageous range.

Fortunately, he has one favorable element if he focuses solely on this point.

After all, she must maintain close range.

If he retreats, she must pursue. Seeing Hermes’s magic abilities, she knows that the moment he gains even a little distance, her overwhelming advantage will immediately disappear.

From this, he can roughly predict her actions. He will use this to his advantage.

First, Hermes retreats. He does not mind the disadvantage in posture and somewhat forcefully moves back.

Naturally, Nina charges forward, unwilling to let him go ─ conversely,

At this moment, she has no other option but to charge.

“!? ”

For the first time since the initial strike, Nina shows surprise.

And rightly so. Hermes, who had been retreating, now closes the distance himself.

Though bewildered, she swings her sword at him, considering it a fortunate turn of events.

Naturally, he cannot completely avoid it. Her sword digs into his side ─

“──Guh”

This is exactly what he aimed for.

Predicting where he would be struck, he defends with a barrier. The close-range impact leaves him numb with a powerful shock ─

─Yet, he intentionally does not resist it. Deliberately letting himself be blown away.

“I see!”

Nina realizes his aim and her own mistake.

Indeed, he used the same tactic as in the initial strike. Taking the hit to utilize its force to create distance.

This time, he aimed further and farther. Though there was a risk and he took some damage, Nina was caught off guard by his unexpected move, preventing her from delivering a perfect strike, thus his plan succeeded.

Nina chases with all her might to recover, but this is also a golden opportunity for Hermes. Even while being blown away, he targets her and raises his hand.

Sensing the magical presence, Nina braces herself while sprinting. Her determination to dodge any spell is evident, and she indeed can do so.

─But this is a bluff.

Hermes understands that a normal shot would be dodged.

Hence, he increases his magical power as if preparing for a major attack ─ the real aim is the ground beneath her feet as she runs.

Timing it perfectly, he uses earth-element magic to raise the ground, aiming to disrupt her footing. Given her skill, she likely won’t trip, but even slightly destabilizing her is enough. Coupled with the current distance, it would bring her into his advantageous magical range.

Concealing his true attack behind a powerful magical convergence.

Reading her running speed, the trap activates with perfect timing ─

However, Nina’s response exceeds all expectations.

“No way──”

He anticipated she might see through the trap. In that case, he planned to use the time she took to understand and counter the trap for his next move.

But incredibly, she:

Times her right foot with the rising ground.

Uses its momentum to lift her body, simultaneously kicking off the ground to leap forward.

And with that momentum, flies towards Hermes.

Yes. She neither falls into the trap nor just sees through and counters it.

She uses the trap to forcefully regain her advantageous distance.

“Ugh!!”

Even Nina, with her brute force, strikes while falling.

The combined surprise, jump momentum, and fall speed make her strike powerful.

He barely manages to guard in time, but the impact lifts him off his feet, critically disrupting his stance.

Yet, he does not completely collapse.

Seeing this as his last chance, he aims at her while falling, increasing his magical power.

Nina immediately stands, aiming to strike before the magic is released.

And then ─

“”──””

Both stop, perfectly still.

Nina’s blade at Hermes’s throat.

His right hand, imbued with magical power, poised at her nose.

They both freeze an instant before delivering a fatal blow.

(…Now then)

Hermes ponders. Who is the victor in this situation?

Likely, if it had continued, his spell would have been ready in time.

─But, her sword slash would have been almost simultaneous. On a battlefield with real weapons, his neck would have been severed.

So, at best, it’s a draw.

Moreover, considering his reinforcement magic might not have guaranteed her defeat, this is ─

“…Impressive.”

Admitting his defeat gracefully, he praises the remarkable young swordswoman from the bottom of his heart.

Raising his hands, he collapses to the ground.