Reivan didn't know what to do, and he also knew that asking Donovan again would get him scolded in front of all these people. Asking Helen wasn't a good idea either, since the hairless bastard could obviously hear him even from this distance.

'Did he ask me a question or did he tell me to do something...?'

Luckily, his very dependable friend came to his rescue.

"Hey, Van! You're up! Good luck!" Hector hopped over the heads of the other squires again and waltzed back to Reivan and Helen — not knowing that he'd just saved Reivan from a bit of a pickle. "I don't think I need to tell you, but don't forget that you gotta hit 'em with the pointy end! Heh."

"I'll remember." Reivan shrugged and gave his savior a high-five when they passed each other on his way to the ring. He also leaped over the knights easily, but unlike Hector, Reivan was aware that this was an opportunity to look cool.

With a light flourish, a wooden practice sword appeared in his grasp. He stabbed it into the dirt and rested his hands on the pommel, a calm smile on his face as he awaited his challenger.

'This feels great.'

Even though he had reclusive tendencies and sentiments, Reivan, just like any other guy, had an inherent desire to show off.

And he was stroking that desire like no tomorrow.

He even held off on using a shield since fighting with just a single sword looked cooler!

Boys were looking at him with bright eyes full of admiration, while girls were looking at him with infatuation. Being a bunch of twelve-year-olds, Reivan didn't entertain any untoward ideas toward the girls nor did he have any interest in their immature bodies, but it still felt great to be liked and admired by people!

'This is why some celebrities and athletes get so arrogant...'

Donovan chose this moment to pour cold water on Reivan's head.

"Malrik's squires. You three come up and try to take down Van."

Reivan's smile froze. His neck creaked as he looked up at the nasty old man. "Uh, did I hear that correctly, sir? I thought you said three..."

"Is there a problem?"

"Ah, well. It's not a problem per se..."

"Then get ready."

"B-but..."

"Get. Ready."

The young prince's shoulders slumped a little. "Yes, sir..."

With their hesitant steps crunching the sand beneath their feet, three squires made their way into the ring after getting their respective training weapons.

"Uh, I'm Alfered. I'm pretty sure you already heard, but for formality's sake, I'm one of Sir Malrik's squires." A handsome youth with light brown hair and green eyes stepped forward and bowed. "Let's have a good fight. I don't really like ganging up on someone but... Uh, you understand, right...?"

Reivan chuckled wryly as he noted the two swords the boy wielded — a long one and a short one. "Yeah, I don't really blame you for this. Let's fight well."

Alfered smiled and grinned. "Sure thing. Go easy on us, eh?"

"Hello~! I'm Maliya. Alfered's cousin!" A charming girl with a friendly smile and a head of short blonde hair waved at Reivan. Her cheerful voice spoke in drawn-out sentences. "You look cool~! Wanna hang out later~?"

"Don't just casually try to invite him somewhere..." Another girl sighed as she chided her fellow squire. Her long red hair was tied in a high ponytail, revealing her soft and pretty features. She also smiled at Reivan and bowed her head. "I'm Jeyna. It's nice to meet you. You don't have to pay attention to what this girl says... although if you actually do want to hang out after this, it's not like that would be unwelcome..."

"Ah! Jeyna~! you're doing it too!" Maliya teased.

"Oh, shush."

Reivan's expression faltered under the two spear-wielding girls' stares, inwardly wondering if he was talking to adult women who'd reincarnated into the bodies of young girls.

'Am I a late-bloomer or are these twelve-year-olds just too mature for their age...?'

"Van. Hurry up."

"Uh." Reivan's shoulders jumped as he heard a familiar girlish voice from behind him. Despite being spoken so softly and from so far away, he somehow heard it loud and clear. He hastily cleared his throat and pulled his sword out of the ground. "Let's get this over with..."

"Fine by me!" Alfered nodded before sending a glance toward his teammates, making it apparent to Reivan who their leader was.

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The three squires got into stances as they slowly moved to surround him. The friendly looks on their faces had all but vanished, replaced by solemn expressions.

'Now, how should I do this...?'

He could've easily dealt with all three of them if he was allowed to use advanced magic power application or his Soul Armament's reinforcement ability. But Reivan knew he wasn't allowed to do it this time. Donovan hadn't said anything, but there was a tacit understanding between them — or so Reivan assumed.

And so, he only had his Might stat of ninety-eight to deal with three people that all had thirty-nine Might.

'It sounds easy, but Hector's fight showed me that these guys shouldn't be underestimated. Well, nothing to it. I guess I'll just hope that all that training and doping counts for something.'

Reivan idly twirled the wooden sword in his hand while eyeing the three — who'd just finished their encirclement.

"Hah!"

Alfered made the first move. With a loud exhale, he rushed forward with a sharp look in his eyes. Once in range, he surprisingly threw the shorter of his two swords.

Reivan effortlessly swatted it away, swiftly sidestepping to evade Maliya's spear thrust from behind. Just as he prepared to retaliate, he had to duck quickly.

The blade of Jeyna's spear sliced through where his head had just been, sending chills down his spine.

Spotting a vulnerable moment in Jeyna's defense, Reivan aimed to deliver a decisive strike, but he had to stop himself, moving to block Alfered's oncoming sword instead. Their wooden blades collided with a dull clack, but Reivan's sword barely got pushed back despite Alfered's efforts. With a grunt, the prince in disguise sent a kick toward the squire's exposed stomach.

"Woah!" Alfered exclaimed, having barely retreated in time to watch Reivan's foot stop inches away from his gut.

"Don't forget about me~!"

Maliya sent a sweep aimed at Reivan's legs, forcing him to powerfully leap back. Hoping to catch a break to regain his bearings, Reivan tried to create even more distance and make it difficult for them to encircle him again.

But even then, it was difficult.

'Damn, I can't get a break...!'

Before he could wind up for a counter-attack, someone was on him already. He couldn't even stop Alfered from picking up the short sword he'd thrown earlier and throwing it at him again. Furthermore, it seemed that his opponents were minimizing direct confrontations due to his overwhelming strength. If he ever tried to rush forward and quickly take one of them out, he'd leave himself exposed since they all stayed close enough to help each other out.

On top of all that, he had to keep moving to prevent them from encircling him again.

'Their teamwork is nuts...'

Still, he didn't panic.

Reivan swung his sword upward, swatting away Alfered's sword with such force that it almost flew out of the boy's hand. Seeing an opening, Reivan recklessly lunged forward and slammed his shoulder into Alfered's stomach, sending the boy back by three steps.

Despite essentially disabling one opponent for a while, his move placed him in danger.

"You're done!" Maliya cried out in glee before bringing her spear down on the back of Reivan's head.

Reivan quickly stepped forward again, letting the spear brush past his back while also taking note of Jeyna, who was waiting for a chance to strike him from the side.

And strike she did.

'Got you.'

With Alfered temporarily down and Maliya having just finished a strike, Jeyna was essentially all by herself.

For a second, the 3 versus 1 had become a 1 versus 1.

With a smirk on his face, Reivan threw his sword at the lunging Jeyna.

"Wha—!" Being too invested in her lunge to stop, Jeyna could do nothing as Reivan's wooden sword got acquainted with her nose. The force of the blow forced her head back, almost breaking her neck. With a light thud, she slumped to the ground clutching at her bloody face.

Even with one of the girls down, the fight wasn't over yet. Reivan turned toward Maliya just in time to see that she had quickly recovered from her missed chop.

With a big step forward, Maliya swung her spear upward, aiming straight for Reivan's family jewels.

'The fuck!?'

The hairs on Reivan's nape bristled as goosebumps filled his body. With more urgency than anything he'd done in a while, Reivan also took a step toward the short-haired spearwoman. His hand fearlessly reached down to meet with the polearm's shaft.

'Got ya, bitch!'

Just as he'd done with Hector countless times, Reivan's grip tightened like a vice on his enemy's weapon. And with strength that surpassed most of modern earth's strongest men, Reivan pulled.

"Wah!" Maliya cried out as her body was suddenly jolted forward. She'd seemingly received intensive training to prevent her from dropping her weapon accidentally, but that worked against her in this situation.

'Let's see whose head is harder!'

Reivan ruthlessly used his forehead as a club to strike the incoming girl in the noggin. The collision made Reivan's vision darken for a brief moment, but with a shake of his head to free himself of dizziness, he prepared to use the spear he'd "borrowed" from Maliya to take out the last opponent.

With two swords in hand, Alfered charged at Reivan with resolute eyes.

Or so Reivan thought.

"Take this!"

Alfered stopped just outside of the spear's range and slashed out fiercely with the long sword in his right hand. To most, it would appear as if he'd just tried to attack empty air or judged the distance wrongly...

'What the fuck...!?'

Reivan's eyes widened at the blade of sharpened mana flying at him. Throwing away thoughts of holding back, Reivan jumped back as a burst of cold air gushed out of his left palm, colliding with the near-invisible energy.

A sharp hiss filled the air as Alfered's energy attack was frozen midflight before shattering into a shower of crushed ice.

'Shit!'

Having dealt with the sudden supernatural attack, Reivan now had to address the issue named Alfered. Luckily, he managed to create some distance.

"Raaaaah!" Alfered charged at him like a boy possessed, recklessly entering the range of Reivan's spear.

Not one to let the opportunity pass, the veins on Reivan's right arm bulged as he slashed down with tremendous force.

Most likely finding the strike too fast to dodge, Alfered raised up both of his swords to block.

But that was a big mistake.

The sound of splintering wood rang out while the pieces of Alfered's swords flew through the air. Although Reivan's strike was slowed enough to enable the squire to evade, it had come at a great sacrifice.

'I've won. Heh.'

With his opponent weaponless, Reivan naturally thought the battle was over. Any time now, he would likely hear the squire's chuckle and admittance of defeat.

"Graaah!" With a fierce glint in his eyes, Alfered's feet exploded with a burst of blue magic power, propelling him forward and closing the distance in the blink of an eye.

'Eh?'

Reivan watched in slow motion as the squire flew threw the air, his hand pulled back in preparation for a full-force punch. He instinctively wished to activate his mana augmentation or his [Beast Gate], but the feeling of the bald bastard's gaze made him stop.

'Fuck. I have to let this happen, don't I...'

Reivan barely raised his arms in defense before a fist collided with his face.