By Zephyria 
Monday of the third week of October was the day I was scheduled to Sparring with an Ogre.
Originally, Maelo Sanson intended for me to observe Monsters only in August and begin Sparring with them directly from September. However, the large number of Wizards and Knights who wanted to attend required a significant amount of time to sort through.
Edwin Kiadris even joked that he was making a tidy profit by scalping tickets. I wondered if someone with his status and wealth would really do such a thing, but apparently, he was extracting blood from the Knights in exchange for letting them watch the Sparring. I was dumbfounded and scolded him severely, but Edwin didn’t even bat an eye.
Despite all the anticipation, the past two weeks had been a farce, hardly worthy of being called Sparring.
Small Monsters like Goblins and Slimes were too weak for me. One Goblin, groveling and whining on the ground for its life, did throw a poisoned dart, but it was nothing compared to Wilton Roberts’ tricks.
It was a chore to prevent the timid Monsters from running around in a panic. Tormenting the weak and small was just embarrassing and not at all enjoyable.
However, I heard that the Ogre I was to face today was ferocious, with thick skin that could withstand Aura. They were intelligent enough to break off trees and wield them in battle. Therefore, I was very much looking forward to today.
Also, today was the day I was to meet with Edwin and Rubel together.
Last time, Rubel had told me with a cheerful face that he had talked well with Edwin and that they had become much closer, so I shouldn’t worry at all. I couldn’t bring myself to ask Edwin what they had talked about, so I couldn’t even broach the subject. But if we met this time, I would be able to tell whether they had become friends or not.
I didn’t know whether I was more excited about facing the Ogre or meeting the child.
I hurriedly finished lunch and headed to the Magic Tower with Maelo Sanson.
Medium-sized Monsters, like Trolls under 10m, could have several cages on one floor. However, giant creatures like Ogres were usually tightly bound and immobilized in a vast underground chamber of the Magic Tower, using Magic.
When they needed to be moved, they were transported to the required location using a Teleportation Magic Circle, in the same way that I had suddenly moved inside from outside the Magic Tower.
The Sparring arena used for fighting Monsters was four times larger than the Academy’s largest auditorium. The floor was paved seamlessly with large flagstones, and the spectators’ seats were arranged in a circle on a high wall about 5m above, overlooking where I stood.
Half of the thirty spectators were Wizards, and half were Knights. Even though I had only seen their faces a few times, I couldn’t help but laugh at the cheerful attitude of those people far above, waving and whistling as I looked around.
As long as it was fun for someone, that was enough. That was the feeling I had.
Even though the distance between us was so great that the spectators looked like mere fingers, Rubel’s figure, arriving a little late and politely greeting Maelo Sanson, stood out clearly.
Rubel greeted Maelo Sanson and Mage Trickle in turn, then greeted Edwin with a respectful attitude before turning his gaze towards me. The child smiled softly and waved at me like the Knights on either side, so I nodded in acknowledgement.
Pwee, a high-pitched whistle sounded.
A red Aura rose like a heat haze from the Magic Circle etched far away in the Sparring arena.
The Ogre was a large Monster. A fully grown adult was at least 8m tall. The one I was facing today was even larger than that. Its head alone would surely be bigger than me.
Its eyes were round and bulging, like those of a goldfish with thick eyeballs, its mouth was terrifyingly large, with the corners reaching its ears, and there was nothing where its nose should have been.
The movements of its arms and legs used joints and angles similar to those of a human, but because its body was so large, its movements were said to be slow.
I calmed my mind, recalling what I had learned. When Maelo Sanson had taught me about Ogres, I had only seen them sealed with Magical Restraints. I still couldn’t believe that the creature that had seemed as massive as a fortress was a beast made of bone and flesh.
As the song-like Activation Word ceased, the red haze coalesced into a gigantic form.
Thud.
The ground shook as it took a step. It was as if a small hill had come to life.
There was no end to the strangeness. I remembered being surprised by the size of the Chilopoda-Worm when I had faced it before. The size of the Monsters in this land was truly astonishing and eerie.
The creature stood on two feet and looked around, blinking its eyes as big as a bull’s torso.
I was expecting the Ogre to attack first. I deliberately made a loud sound, tapping the floor twice with the tip of my sword. The sound of the Aura striking the flagstones echoed crisply.
The Monster, having discovered me, snorted once and waved its hand as if dealing with something insignificant. It was only natural that it would look down on me, so there was nothing to be embarrassed about. I was so small that I didn’t even reach the Ogre’s knees, and my body was half as thin as its arm.
Hoo, I stepped back quickly, dodging the hand that came at me with the sound of wind.
I couldn’t read the Ogre’s expression, but I easily dodged the hand that came at me again. After doing that twice, it raised its hand, as big as a carriage, high above its head.
Kwaaaaaaaaang!
It slammed down. The shattered flagstones scattered and flew up. Restoration Magic Formulas shone in a circular shape from all directions. While the broken floor shone white and returned to its original position, I ran through the fragments of flagstone.
To fight such a huge creature, it was right to aim for its weak point first.
I leaped onto the Ogre’s hand, which was touching the floor before returning to its place. I gripped my sword in reverse and tried to stab deeply,
…but my sword slid all the way from the back of its hand to the second joint of my index finger.
I realized that I couldn’t make even a small scratch on its skin without loading Aura, and I was momentarily flustered. I wondered if Rubel was watching and laughing, and my face flushed with embarrassment. I glanced sideways, but my view was blocked by the Monster, and I could only see Maelo Sanson’s face, grinning to himself, let alone Rubel.
What foolish thoughts was I having in front of an enemy?
I calmed my mind and ran, holding my sword at an angle, from its fingertips to the back of its hand, from the back of its hand to its forearm.
How many times had I climbed a cliff with my own two feet? I dodged the Ogre’s hands, which were alternately clenching and jumping around to catch me, and ran in a zigzag pattern to reach my target.
Hoo-oong.
Even though I had kept a sufficient distance, the wind that brushed past my head was enough to make it snap back. I suppressed the laughter that kept trying to escape me in a chilling excitement.
When I stood on its shoulder, I saw a thick neck that surpassed most buildings. Seeing it so close, I was more daunted than I had expected, and I paused to catch my breath. It was said to have a very tough hide. I gripped the sword hilt with both hands and loaded as much Aura as I could. I intended to open with the first form of Imperial Swordsmanship, a straightforward and solid horizontal slash.
“…Hmm?”
Scrak, the sound of scraping was surprisingly clear. I was even more perplexed because I had expected a metallic resilience. Had it been cut more easily than I thought? Just as I was blinking, wondering if it was over, a large hand shadow loomed over my head, and I quickly slipped away.
And then I understood.
There wasn’t even a trace of blood in the area where the skin had been torn.
It was only natural that its hide was tougher than that of a normal beast, but was it really this thick? I was momentarily stunned and lost my composure, seeing that the creature was perfectly fine, as if it wasn’t even slightly pained by the gash that was as deep as my forearm.
Was this what it meant for the Ogre to be able to withstand Aura?
Kwoeok, the sound of phlegm coming from the creature’s throat was excessively loud. It felt as if my insides were being shaken. I dodged the hand that was coming down again, lightened my body, and jumped down. I gripped the sword in my right hand, firmly grasped the sparse hairs on its forearm with my left hand,
And leaped onto the opposite shoulder in one swift motion, like swinging on a swing.
I thought that if one slash didn’t work, I could just slash it multiple times. I gripped the sword hilt in the same way and slashed in one swift motion from Jeongjwa to Woojeong. The blue light that ran along the sword’s blade raced out coolly. But this time, the result was the same.
…How on earth did they capture this thing?
Even if the width of the creature’s thick neck was well over 2m, I could still create that much Aura. But it was only this much?
I couldn’t believe what I was seeing with my own eyes, and I laughed. As I was riding on its shoulder, occasionally dodging its fists and chuckling to myself, Maelo Sanson, who was watching from over there, spoke to me.
“Do you think you’ve got a rough idea?”
“…Yes. Umm…. I know that the neck is completely the wrong answer, I think.”
I answered comfortably, knowing that Maelo Sanson would be able to hear me even if I didn’t speak loudly. After dodging one of the creature’s fists and clinging to its back, Maelo chuckled.
“Then now, check how much strength the ogre has, Mika.”
“Yes? How do you mean?”
“If you get on its hand, won’t it try to crush you with its hand?”
“Ah.”
There was no reason to refuse what he was telling me to do. I was also curious after hearing the story, so I quickly climbed onto the ogre’s left hand.
Was this how Sun Wukong felt when he climbed onto the Buddha’s palm? The creature’s towering fingers looked like four pillars.
As I watched the approaching palm, I gripped the sword tightly with both hands.
I had never fought a battle like this before.
Would this be how it felt to fight lightning, or to fight Mount Tai? If one were to try to split the Yangtze River with a sword, they would surely feel the same way. I felt like the sword would break in an instant if I didn’t load Aura, so I gathered all the energy I could muster and blocked it.
Guuuuung…!
The Aura Barrier around my body made a painful sound. Just as I was about to give up on enduring with my feet and arms and wanted to run away, Maelo Sanson’s voice touched my ear again.
“Can you handle it?”
“…Ugh, uh… Yes.”
“Count to ten, and come out.”
“Yes.”
I felt sorry for teasing Benjamin by calling him an Ogre. How could I have imagined such strength, such a fight? Even combining eight elephants would be weaker than this.
I slowly counted to ten. A silly laugh kept leaking out.