The sound of blades sounding as they collided with each other echoed through the practice field as Rael blocked the blows of the Grand Knight in front of him, a man in his thirties who wielded a foil with an eagle stamped on his shield.
The [Eye of Rael] had a wealth of resources. The practice field was filled with archery targets, a vast amount of land with guards placed in circles for knights wishing to duel, and buildings dedicated to the Grand Knights and Knights were nearby for refreshments and lodging.
And Rael was using one of the practice fields surrounded by barriers to duel a Grand Knight to practice his sword skills.
Knights, magic researchers, and other officials were watching the fight with interest, keeping a respectable distance.
"King Rael! Are you using a particular style of fencing today too?" The Grand Knight called out with a smile on his face.
His name was Sir Garret, a man of medium height and slender body who concealed the fierce strength and speed behind each blow with his sword. In addition to his attack speed, he also hid small rotations of his blade as he tried to stab me, causing the foil to come from various angles instead of being limited to only direct hits.
Rael used a long western sword, a blade made of the finest steel but which was not a magic weapon, to block the potentially fatal stabs.
In his past life, Rael had several hobbies, and on a visit to Japan, he trained in the art of the sword and learned more wherever he traveled, and in this new world, he was learning even more.
Rael had discovered that a Campione's body, with its naturally enhanced body with solid resistance to physical blows and bones as strong as steel, could be strengthened by magic, making its bones as strong as titanium and its skin as tough as flexible full-body iron armor.
"No words as usual during a fight, eh?" The Knight laughed even though his attacks were failing to hit, knowing that the Campione in front of him could block all his attacks while using his sword style, "We're not going anywhere with this, you know, your sword skill-." He cheerfully said in a fake bored voice.
Rael advanced toward him while he was in the middle of his speech.
The man tilted his head to the side as he continued trying to stab him. His eyes widened when he saw the sword heading toward him.
He cursed and jumped to the side, initiating [Jump] magic, his body glowing slightly red as he jumped. Rael followed right behind him, although his speed was faster than most cars at 40 kilometers per hour.
He knew that Rael, like Campione, was resistant to most forms of magic and could easily ignore any magic spells. Even the even higher forms of magic spells usually failed to harm him with his body as strong as iron.
For example, even if he used the highest level wind-type cutting spell for a Knight that could cut a stone with a flick of the wrist, it would be like a tickle on Rael's body.
Therefore, he had to use his superior skills in fighting with his foil while using spells associated with body enhancement.
Although his [Leap] magic was slower than Rael's running, he ran backward while continuing to stab with his sword, making Rael's advance towards him slower than it should have been, giving him time to activate his second spell, a variation of [Leap] called [Wings of Griffon] that had a three-line aria.
If it were not for Campione's preparations.
"Tsk!" He gave up trying to chant the spell, which would give him the ability to run 20 meters off the ground and a speed increase of at least double [Jump], opting instead to take the rapier in both hands and slam it into the ground, creating a small blue shield dome of stored magic that cracked when the first sword strike hit it and broke when the second hit the shield once again.
He didn't take his eyes off Rael, so he knew he was defeated when the Campione came down on him like a tractor, swinging his sword and forcing his sword to fly out of his hands, kneeing him in the body, and stopping the blade an inch from his neck.
"R-rendo." He choked as he fell, trying to bring oxygen to his body. Rael crouched next to him and made his body stand upright to facilitate the passage of air toward his lungs.
The exchange lasted about one minute and thirty seconds.
If Rael were an average person and not a Campione, the exchange would have lasted longer because his specialty was his offensive type of magic that reinforced his blows with cutting wind.
However, since he was a Campione, most of his offensive spells were unavailable, so Rael could easily beat him.
Rael stood up and gave him his hand, which he gratefully accepted.
"Y-you don't have any more problems with your sword style, right?" He said a little breathlessly as the two walked to the edge of the circular field, the protection falling all around as they finished their duel.
"No, thanks to your teaching and dueling, I was able to smooth the edges of my skill," Rael answered, backing him up quickly, knowing that such a blow to the abdomen could incapacitate for a few seconds.
The man's sword flew into his hands as they walked. The blade is sheathed in the scabbard by his waist.
"I still don't understand why you would need a lesson from me." He grumbled, clearly irritated by his loss in the duel, "I mean, you're a Campione, so you should be able to beat me to a pulp with a flick of your little finger if you use your Authorities ..."
"Because, Sir Garret, I don't want to rely on my Authority as the sole bastion of my power. Suppose my Authorities are not enough against a specific god. In that case, I want my other abilities to make up the gap and let me defeat God."
The Grand Knight was a good man but tended to be overcompetitive and did not take well to losing, even to Rael, a Campione, since I used no Authority.
While leaving Garret sitting on a ladder, Rael silently made his way out of the training camp.
The Grand Knight didn't even show annoyance, knowing full well that the [King] would leave whenever a training was over.
As he sighed, a Knight approached Garret.
"Your spar with the [King] was wonderful, Sir Garret." the young Knight said to the Grand Knight.
"Do you think so? I think our [King] is someone terrifying." Garret commented.
It had been over a week since the Grand Knight started training with Campione, which was accomplished after Campione requested someone to train. The High Priestess Nefertari arranged everything after becoming an assistant to the [King].
He had been on top for a week, using his superior skill and experience to beat him. Starting to trade wins and losses about five days ago, and now Rael tends to win every time.
"Considering who you are, [King's] performance is truly terrifying," the young Knight confirmed.
Sir Garret was simply the greatest Knight in Egypt. Besides that, he was a Grand Knight famous worldwide for his first-class skills.
Of course, there were only three people capable of posing any danger to the Grand Knight among all beings on earth- excluding the Heretic Gods and Campione's.
The first was Paolo Blandelli, the Leader of the Italian Magical Organization [Black Copper Cross], and the current [Diavollo Rosso], considered the Strongest Knight in Europe.
The second was Sir Iceman, the man with the heart of ice and a Knight who served the Fourth Campione, the Black Prince of England.
And lastly, Saint Raphael, one of the greatest Knights in Europe, is famous for using two magical swords of immense power.
These three, with Sir Garret himself, were considered the strongest humans in the world, capable of even facing Divine Beasts on equal terms.
Paolo Blandelli was famous for getting into conflicts alongside the White Princess against the Black Prince of England.
Among humans, there was no doubt that these four Grand Knights were at the top of the food chain.
That is, apart from the absurd existences that were the Campiones.
So to Sir Garret, the man known as Rael Seth was terrifying.
When that man began the confrontation a week ago, he was no amateur. Still, even then, Garret could describe his sword skills as mediocre.
However, in the small space of a week, he went from someone 'mediocre' to a swordsman capable of defeating Sir Garret using only his sword skills by mastering all the Grand Knight's techniques over decades in a few days.
There was no doubt for the Strongest Knight in Egypt that Rael Seth, now in sword skills, was superior to any being in the world.
If he had anyone to rival Rael in skill, Sir Garret could only think of the Demon King of China, known as the World's Greatest Martial Artist.
Even in the area of magic, something none of the Campiones sought to know due to being immune to any magic below the power of the Gods.
But Rael was not like that. He mastered dozens of different magics in that short period, relying only on pure talent and overwhelming magical power.
"Most Campione's have nothing special before they become [Kings]. They often don't even know the supernatural side of the world or about magic."
"The Devil of Balances, the Mysterious Cave Queen, the Black Lightning Prince, none of them had anything that set them apart from mortals. Perhaps the only exception was the Martial Realm Ruler."
"Even then, they were relatively ordinary until they managed to kill a God through luck and foolishness."
"But I believe King Rael is different. Despite being a Son of Fool, I believe he could have achieved such a rank even without the 'foolishness', using nothing but his abilities."
A genius who defied the world's norms, someone with his mortal body could have reached the Gods and now had risen to their side without relying on his overwhelming talent.
It was frightening to think that the young [King] had only been a Campione for a little over a week and had already reached a level that the greatest mages and Knights sought all their lives, in just a few days, without relying on his powers usurped from the Gods.
That man was a rare Hero. Even if all the mages and knights challenged him with all their might, he would still be a winner.
The man known as Rael Seth was precisely a monster of that level.
"He is a Heretic Genius, a prodigy among all the Campiones."
For the Grand Knight, words could not describe everything he had ever seen.
He was waiting to see what the reign of this new [King] would bring.