The old prince's Skill set was greatly solid. Although he only had two transcendental domain Skills, he had a very large number of Skills that had reached the limit of the ordinary domain, MAX-rank, and SSS-rank. That didn't mean I was at a disadvantage, however; put radically, there was no reason for me, having three Skills at the transcendental domain, to lose the prince who only had two. This was because the transcendental domain didn't simply increase the effect of a Skill.

It stimulated something a little more at the essence of it all.

Though even I didn't know exactly what that something was!

Like how Miss Trainee Teacher had said, it had an influence on the way the Skill user existed. To put it simply, the transcendental domain Z-rank effect of a Skill boasted a high-efficiency that overwhelmed that of the ordinary domain—at times, to a far greater extent than all of the ordinary domain effects combined. This was what described a Skill that had reached Z-rank.

"That's definitely how it should be…?"

Yet I was being pushed back without a doubt. The gap in our strength had shown itself clearly from the first moment our weapons clashed.

The old prince swiftly dodged Holy Sword 2, which was enveloped in Divinity and Dark Energy, and the blue lightsaber he had summoned grazed past my chest.

Tik-

The injury was at the level of a slight scratch. My Divinity played a part in protecting me, but it was more that the attack was far too lacking to pierce my skin, highly compressed by the layers of enhancement achieved by Master Mollang's teachings. Nevertheless, I was definitely on the receiving end in merely the first exchange.

"O new generation Hero, are you not clumsy?"

"Shut it!"

I had expected being pushed back in terms of technical skill from the start. When thinking about it objectively, I had spent a total of 17 years—or actually 11 years—in that barbaric fantasy world, but before that I was an ordinary student. In contrast, the old prince had experienced at least hundreds of years of battle, a very long period of time. The difference in ability that came from that couldn't be ignored.

Even in the 6th Playthrough, in the Cave of Training, I had taken a one-sided beating for that reason. Although I was able to win thanks to Divinity(Z)'s normal attack immunity, I was several levels lower in terms of pure ability. In terms of Skills, though, I was superior.

Flas.h.!.+

I covered my body in Z-rank blessing, added another layer of blessing on top, then enhanced that effect with Holy Sword 2's amplification. Preparations done, I took action.

"Huh?!"

I saw the old prince gasp at having lost track of my movements for one moment.

"Even that proud skill of yours is useless if you're slow, isn't it?"

I smiled complacently as I closed the distance and vertically swung down Holy Sword 2.

The old prince was no easy foe though, as expected. He forced his relatively slower body to twist and dodged to the side.

Chwa

The black and white whirlwind that cut empty air cut a vertical line which extended into the deep ocean. Immediately afterward…

"And as for you, your Skill is wasted on you."

Trading t.i.t for tat, the old prince flicked the wrist of his right hand holding the lightsaber. Even that light motion contained a subtlety that came from Swordsmans.h.i.+p that had reached SSS-rank and couldn't be carelessly ignored—the blue lightsaber came jabbing towards my throat. The power behind the attack was threatening, but it was no use if it was slow.

Bam!

I ignored the old prince's counterattack and launched a powerful kick at his belly, but his body that was as hard as diamond didn't budge; all that shook was his surrounding.

Booom-

A shockwave so powerful as to distort the atmosphere swiftly spread throughout the entire Pacific Ocean in the shape of a concentric circle.

It was such a powerful kick and yet…!

"d.a.m.ned dirty prince! Your Level's as insane as your age!"

Even despite holding the upper hand regarding Skill, I couldn't help myself from cursing upon noticing the reason why I couldn't predict my chances of winning.

"It's the product of effort, not age!"

Sensitively reacting to my outburst, the prince pounced towards me at once and this time he was significantly fast; however, it wasn't enough to catch up to my speed.

"Tin Can! Knife!"

"It's a Holy Sword!"

"Shut it!"

Quickly summoning forth Golem D, I took Holy Sword 3 from it as if stealing and wielded it with my left hand. Now I was holding a Holy Sword each in both hands.

"That's…!"

The old prince was slightly startled at recognizing Holy Sword 3, with which I blocked his blue lightsaber and made a pretty horizontal cut at his waist using Holy Sword 2.

Slash-

I felt the sensation of having landed a good hit—this time it had struck properly.

"Haha! How good!"

Dual wielding is a technique that heavily depends on personal style. You might simply think that two swords are better than one, but it isn't as easy to utilize as in theory. For instance, imagine yourself holding a smartphone in both hands and chatting with Lover A and Lover B separately. If you use them well, you could achieve a fantastic multi-tasking feat of raising intimacy with both Lover A and Lover B, but it could also end up being the shortcut to ruin.

That's what dual-wielding is. So how was I doing with it?

Dual Wield(F)→Dual Wield(E)

Just slightly better than a beginner at dual wielding, but that was enough for the present. I had no intention of dragging out the battle; my aim was to pin the opponent down with pure speed and power.

"Kugh…!"