In the midst of their conversation, suddenly.

Shushushush!

Roxy's ice pick flew towards the key. It wasn't her unilateral decision. It was the strategy from the beginning.

Although Dier had declared the start, he was actually chatting with Frondier.

Since Dier had led the strategy meeting, it was a psychological trap that the operation would naturally start from him. Dier had aimed for that.

"Gasp!"

At the same time, Homas, who was rushing in from the right. He still couldn't handle the oar, but his large physique and muscles approached Frondier with explosive propulsion.

A simultaneous attack

"It's taking too long."

Thud!

"Ugh?!"

Frondier lightly hit Homas's abdomen with another obsidian. It was the exact same spot that Homas had been trying to attack.

"I'm not exactly one with obsidian. Don't focus on tearing it apart. You're just giving your opponent time in the meantime."

"T-that black thing, you call it obsidian, right?"

Even in his pain, Homas managed to answer resolutely.

"But while I'm trying to tear it apart, this obsidian is holding me back......!"

Hoo.

So you were deliberately focusing on Kokusen even though you knew? You were prepared to get hit?

Homas was right. Frondier couldn't get up from his chair. That's why Frondier had to use a certain amount of obsidian to defend against Homas's attacks. It was just as nerve-wracking for him.

And in the meantime.

Crack!

Once again, Roxy's magic unfolds. This time, it's a whirlwind. The ice shards released initially were to detect Frondier's invisible attacks, and this was the real deal.

"Could it be... trying to block even the wind in that situation...!"

Regardless of what the rule is, it's a success as long as you touch the key. A simple gust of wind might not be acknowledged, but a whirlwind created by magic would be a close call. Probably!

It's a bit cheap, but it can't be helped!

Whoosh!

However, Roxy underestimated Obsidian.

Obsidian, flying like a stream of water, flew in front of the key. It was not the hard metal as before, but spread out thin like a curtain.

Obsidian's curtain completely embraced Roxy's whirlwind. Then it fell down, nullifying the whirlwind.

"...That's cheating."

Roxy said, incredulous.

"If you must say, you did it."

Thinking of passing by shaking the key with the wind. Even for Frondier, it was a trick worth considering.

But the operation was not over. Homas was still pushing his fist to break through the front of Frondier, and under Roxy's attack, this time Pielott charged quickly.

Again, Obsidian flying, but.

'Left!'

Pielott dodged it easily. Frondier's forehead narrowed. Although it aimed at a somewhat small range, Pielott's current movement gave a strange feeling.

Frondier launched an attack to verify once again.

Obsidian flying in various directions. Pielott skillfully dodged all of it, hardly losing any speed.

'...He's moving before my attack even starts.'

Frondier quickly realized this. Dier, who had yet to attack, and another student.

'So, Dier's watching my attacks instead of Pielott. And Nether is assisting him.'

Frondier still didn't know how Dier was anticipating his attacks.

In fact, it was a weakness that wouldn't have existed if he hadn't made his chair out of Obsidian or if his opponent hadn't been Dier.

However, because he knew what kind of person Dier was, Frondier knew who was responsible for this even if he didn't know how it worked.

'Is he reading my attacks beforehand with his somatic vision? Or do I have some strange habit when I use Obsidian as an attack? I should check it out later.'

Frondier pondered, but he knew these thoughts wouldn't be of much help.

Pielott soon reached Frondier. Right now, Homas was holding Frondier back, and Roxy was preparing her next attack.

If the timing was right and he moved with Roxy, the odds were in his favor.

Pielott was the only one among them who could use Aura. A properly manifested Aura could extend the reach of the sword, allowing him to reach the key without jumping.

Frondier still didn't know which side Pielott was aiming for. Whether he was aiming for the key, or for him.

However, Pielott was able to attack both Frondier and the key at the same time with his sword energy. This was a fact that everyone knew from the previous strategy meeting.

'You just need to aim for the key and your senior at the same time with a simultaneous attack here!'

If Frondier tried to protect the key, he would get hurt, and if he cared about his own safety, Pielott's attack would reach the key. Theoretically, it was perfect.

...That's what Homas thought. Of course, that was the strategy. Everyone looked at Pielott with that thought in mind.

But in reality, Pielott still had his stubbornness.

'This time for sure!'

Pielott charged at Frondier with a gleam in his eyes. He didn't care about the key at all. He was blinded by the need to vent his anger on Frondier for what had happened earlier.

The eyes of the people watching widened.

Everyone screamed a similar outcry inwardly.

'That crazy bastard!!'

Pielott's sword flew towards Frondier. A hint of boredom lingered in Frondier's eyes.

Ignoring the key and targeting him. Even if he could tolerate that, the trajectory of the sword was too straightforward.

If he was willing to give up the benefit of getting the key, shouldn't he think of a strategy and attack? But what's contained in Pielott's attack now is just simple stubbornness.

Frondier intended to respond to most of the attacks with Obsidian, but this time it was different.

He had to pull out that sword and break it. That's the only way to make Pielott come to his senses.

The sword Frondier duplicated touched Pielott's sword.

In an instant.

"──I knew you would do that."

"Heheh!"

Suddenly, Pielott, who was in front of Frondier, dropped his head forward. There was a foot above his head.

It was Dier. He stepped on Pielott's head with his foot.

"……Dier……."

Frondier muttered softly.

Putting that behind him, Dier kicked Pielott's head and jumped up.

Crack!

Dier snatched the key and landed.

It was more than enough achievement in the test where the condition was just to touch it.

He had one more talent besides his amazing dynamic vision.

Hiding his presence completely, including mana and aura. He didn't think much of it himself, but it was one of the abilities that all gamers envied.

Frondier himself also felt the value of 'hiding' greatly, so he hid his cards in many situations.

While Frondier was distracted by other attacks, he hid his appearance behind Pielott's back and disappeared from Frondier's sight. There, he suddenly appeared with a leap.

Dier thought.

'Senior had a strong desire to teach Pielott.'

He felt it for sure as he watched the fight with Pielott.

'So he won't leave him alone if he does something stupid again. There's no way.'

Dier clenched his hand with the key and looked at Frondier.

"......Senior."

Dier called out to Frondier, voicing the question that had been on his mind from the beginning of this test.

"Are the seniors of the next stage really stronger than you, senior?"

Frondier felt a strange sensation.

Frondier, who had lived as a complete outsider in this world after falling into the game.

To him, Dier might have been the person who resembled him the most in this place.

To him, Dier might have been the person most similar to himself in this place.