As much as I am unsatisfied with how the fight have ended half bakedly, I take my rightful prize as a winner. Aside from his weapon, nothing valuable can be seen from this thing in front of me though. But as I can only take a single item, doesn't that also mean I can only take one of his blade? That doesn't seem to be too much useful, though.
As I am thinking hard of what I should take from him, Reina, Kiseki and Chikane comes over to me. Seeing me being puzzled, they are baffled as they heard what kind of thing that make me fall in a dilemma. Reina gives an easy solution, though. Being a descendant of an aristocratic house, and a demonic one on top of that, she knows how to do a simplified Pact Magic that can be used to seal an agreement.
"Why not making a Pact with that thing, that in the future, if it have an item that can strike your fancy, he must give it to you?" Smiling devilishly, the demoness make a Pact Ritual in front of everyone.
It is really simple, though. She conjure a magic circle and stand in the middle, writing my term in a prepared parchment using blood as the ink. Then, both me and the black panther signed the document and stamped it with each of our own blood. The paper then burned in purple red flame and a scarlet fragment flying over from it to our chest. I feel the power of contract entering my heart. I can also feel a certain connection with the panther. I see, with this spell, I can grasp the general situation regarding him. I can always know his whereabout so he can not hide from me. I can also grasp whenever he have found an item that he redeem as good stuff. In simplicity, I can roughly know when and where I can collect his debt from him.
I said my thanks to Reina and the girls pretty face beaming with smile. Her charm truly captivated my heart. Kiseki and Chikane seems a bit sulking seeing it, though... A ha ha ha ha....
And finally it comes to Friday, the day of the fifth duel. I arrived in the Martial Arena right at noon. The crowd make it hard for me to pass by and make my way to the ring. Even the roof and the sky seems to be full with spectators. I bet that now everyone in campus has come to see my fifth duel. When I looked at the Elder's Seat I see not only the Seven Elders but even The Principal is sitting there right in the middle.
The referee today is a teacher from the Martial Finesse Faculty. He is an elder half elf with an amiable expression, making him look like a good old man. But his gentle face doesn't belies his martial prowess as the veteran aura clearly emitted from his whole body.
The thing that stood in my opposition today is a purple skinned humanoid. Is he a Fiend? Without any respect, I cast my [Appraisal] to him. It's true. He is a Level 18 Fiend Race Spellblader. Hm? Somehow my spell is dispelled. Nah, doesn't matter. I have gained enough knowledge about my opponent anyway. But, Fiend Race huh, as a kin of Demon Race I should up my guard more as their kin are famous for feints and treachery. No offense, though, I am not a racist. Hey, I just want to stay on the safe side, okay. And remember, one of my friends are even a girl from Aristocratic Demon Family. I truly have no prejudice against Demon Race.
Wait.... Something is glimmering in his finger.... It is a storage ring! Wow, I hit a Jackpot! I instantly decided that I will take this once I win! Brandishing my sword, I took my stance and my opponent do the same. He grasped his purplish black sword with both of his hand and a sharp, red blood aura gushed out from the sword. Magic? Martial Arts? No, that aura seems to come from the blade itself, not from my enemy.
As the referee shouted "Ready? Start!", I tightened the grip on my sword and shot my [Lightning Bolt] as a greeting for my opponent. Which he slashed with a swipe of his blade. He split my [Lightning Bolt] in two!?
Damn, I sure have finally meet a tough opponent. All of my [Lightning Bolt] are getting cut by him, each with a single slash of his sword that looked so thirsty for blood. As he approach me closer and closer over time, I get an even better gauge of his strength. The dark sword in his hand must be a magic weapon, it is capable of raising his power by two stages. If my calculation is not wrong, then fighting him now would be equal to fight a Level 20 Enemy, and it is even the minimum estimate. Given him being a Fiend and a Spellblader, the synergy of his power would undoubtedly make him equal to at max a Level 22 Opponent. That is four level above me!
Luckily for me, even though my enemy is very strong, he is not very fast. Or rather, by taking such a huge boost from a magic item, he must have also paid for it with a big price. There is no free lunch, after all. No Pain, No Gain. Even though his attacks are very powerful, to the point that it can negate my barrage of spells, his defense are so full of holes. If not for his powerful attack that is perfectly covering for his naked defense, repelling my attacks with his own attack, I am very sure I can take him down from just a few attacks.
The problem now is how I can make the chance for my attack to hit him. As I tried to constantly raining [Lightning Bolt] at him, I am also pushed more and more to the back as I want to keep my distance out from the range of his sword attacks. With the strength that is so powerful to break a flash of lightning zapping on him, I can not afford to take a single strike from my enemy or I would lose immediately....