Chapter 18

In a blink of an eye, Jonah closed our distance and swung his sword down, targeting my head. Since I was not planning on showing off too much, I merely dodged to the side and let his sword hit the ground. Following his first attack, he cut sideways to where I was, but I also dodged it by jumping backwards. 

"Fast!" Jonah exclaimed in excitement.

Fixing his posture, he dashes towards me again. He thrusts his sword this time. Sword thrusts comes a lot faster than ordinary swings, so they are a lot harder to dodge. Still, it's no problem for me, I was able to parry it easily. 

Seeing how I reacted, Jonah continues with a combination of both slashing and thrusting attacks. I returned a few swings of my own, but he was able to deflect them all too, even finding the right time to counter sometimes. 

Jonah is physically stronger than me. For sure, I can be far stronger than him with body-strengthening magic, but as he said, we're not allowed to use magic in this duel. He is a master swordsman like I am, so if we measure up against each other fairly, he has more advantage than me. 

As the fight goes on, I got more and more pained from blocking his sword with mine. I tried to sneak a few hits on him, but I still cannot land anything. Attacking him directly is too risky, since being offensive opens up my defense. 

Tch! This is why I wanted him to hold back... 

"Didn't I tell you to hold back?" I complained in the midst of battle. 

"Come on, miss Eria! This is a great opportunity for me to test my skills, so of course I wouldn't hold back!" he excitedly said. 

So that same stoic and poised Jonah was actually a battle junkie? Fufu! He definitely caught me off guard...

Still, I have a lot more experience than him. It might not look like it, but he's still a child compared to me. I'm sure I can find a way to win, one way or another... 

...

...

"E-Eria-sama won...!"

"Incredible...!"

After a few rounds of back and forth, I managed to land a clean hit on Jonah, and I secured my victory. Without magic, it was a difficult fight... 

Although this is a fantasy world, the physical limits of a person's body cannot be surpassed. There's no exception, magic is the only way for anyone to be any more stronger after they had reached the heights of technique and physical strength. 

In the end, I only managed to win by outwitting him in his striking. Even veteran sword masters have their own familiar rhythm in their striking. I simply exposed Jonah's, and immediately took the chance to win. 

"I cannot believe it. Even without magic, you managed to defeat me. Simply phenomenal..." Jonah praised as he stood up from the ground. 

"Fufu..." I chuckled at his honest words. 

"That was amazing, miss elf!"

"Good job beating our boss, missy!"

Looking over my shoulder, I can see our audience cheering my name. Fin was also there, looking relieved at the result of the fight. I can't just ignore their enthusiasm, so I awkwardly waved my hand at them. 

"Thank you for accepting my challenge, miss Eria. I never thought I would actually lose to a woman..." he mused. "Well, this should be a good learning opportunity for me..."

"You were great as well, Jonah-san. It was fun!" I praised him as I took and shake his hand. 

"I hope this will not be the last time we do this."

Jonah appears satisfied already, but there was still fire in his eyes. Obviously, he's looking forward for more. Fortunately for me, we won't be travelling together for too long...

"Congratulations, Eria-sama!" Fin sang in praise as he ran towards me. "As expected, even someone of Jonah's caliber is merely a weakling compared to you!"

"Haha..." I awkwardly laughed, glancing at the annoyed face of Jonah who was belittled by Fin just now.

"The way you fought so elegantly was astonishing! Even someone like me who has no experience in swordsmanship could tell just how truly amazing you are!"

"Indeed. Although you lack the strength I have, you compensated with such fast and sophisticated techniques," Jonah added, "I have never fought anyone like you before."

"Thank you, Fin, Jonah-san. Even so, I still have a lot to learn. It's a part of why I travel."

"Is that so, Eria-sama...?"

"Don't be so modest, miss Eria. You're plenty strong enough."