Defense specialization and probing.

One minute into the duel with Sally.

Frederica continued casting spells while observing Sally.

—Hmm… Indeed, they don’t land.

Frederica had not struck Sally once.

Yet she had not expected to.

Sally evaded with flashy movements, but her evasion carried risky gaps. Frederica judged she could not yet press the attack.

…Just a little more observation, then I’ll bring her down.

True to her word, Frederica kept studying Sally’s evasion—she truly was impressive.

She cast spell after spell, skill after skill, but not a single strike connected.

Yet Frederica had not yet given her full effort.

[Multiblast Fire]!

As Frederica spoke, numerous magical circles spread around her, and fiery projectiles shot forth in rapid succession, assaulting Sally.

Frederica expected Sally to sink beneath the assault.

"【Attack Guidance】!"

The words reached Frederica’s ears with absolute clarity.

And the moment they ended, Sally’s movements changed completely.

A sensation of illusion: the firebolts seemed to avoid Sally entirely.

As if guided by something protecting her, the firebolts passed just millimeters beside Sally.

The danger from moments before vanished. Frederica realized, too late, that Sally had closed the distance. The dagger swung toward her face.

"【Multi Barrier】!"

Gold magic circles appeared in layers before Frederica, intercepting Sally’s dagger.

One, two, then more—each circle shattered in succession. Five circles broke apart.

Sally stepped back, creating space.

Though put to use… I shall count it as worthwhile, having seen the [Multiple Barrier]...

Frederica is undoubtedly a strong one.

She holds confidence in her strength.

For that reason, matching her words—【Attack Guidance】—against experience, she concluded it was a skill.

It was only natural that thought should turn to the long cooldown such a powerful skill would surely possess.

Frederica had newly learned to be wary of the dagger’s extraordinary attack power.

But Frederica does not notice.

The absence of skills such as "Attack Guidance."

That it is a lie.

Sally looked, then stepped aside.

That was all.

"Multiple Water Bullets!"

Frederica fired the next bullet of water.

Sally ran about, narrowly dodging even the 【Hyper Acceleration】.

Frederica saw Sally rolling across the ground and escaped somehow, and she was certain.

【Attack Guidance】 has a cooldown. At least several minutes.

The lie Sally sowed took root in Frederica, spreading slowly.

【Multiple Stone Bullets!】

Frederica thought, if she could end this now, she would ask something and leave.

Sally’s breath was ragged. Her balance faltered. She could no longer evade the stone bullets.

Good. You’ve won.

Frederica exhaled. The words reached her ears.

【Flowing Water!】

In Frederica’s gaze, Sally deflected every stone bullet with the daggers in both hands.

Frederica compared this action to the one with the water bullets. She understood the skill could only be used against tangible objects.

That understanding was useless, too.

As she watched, every stone bullet was deflected. Sally closed the distance to Frederica.

"Hey! I surrender—!"

"Wha...? Oh, right."

Victory flashed before Sally's eyes. The duel ended. She returned to her starting position.

"See you later."

Frederica waved and walked away.

A short distance off, she began speaking to herself.

"Ah—using Multiple Barriers was a mistake... But if I'd kept fighting, my information would've leaked out too much... Yeah, stopping there was probably best."

Frederica believed she had been siphoning secrets from Sally.

She believed she had held the advantage.

She never realized, until the end, which of them had been the mouse being hunted.

Sally, watching Frederica's back, murmured quietly.

"If you think yourself above, pretending to be below is easy enough."

Sally had not missed the way Frederica had twitched at the word _Gathering Holy Sword_, her caution brief but clear.

That Frederica had thought, and then handed over information about the _Empire of the Flame Emperor_, meant her guild was nearly certain to be the _Gathering Holy Sword_.

That was how the _Gathering Holy Sword_ would gain benefit.

Sally had considered the same strategy, so Frederica’s thoughts were easy to predict.

“Wrong information is more dangerous than none at all…”

Sally now knew Frederica’s magical traits—her high MP, her strong defense.

She had learned of Frederica’s abilities: _Attack Guidance_ and _Flowing Water_—terrible, yet manageable.

No. They had been planted.

Yes, Frederica had misjudged Sally’s true nature—her shallow weakness, the one she feigned—because she had grown arrogant from her own strength. She returned with nothing genuine.

She was strong. But Sally was stronger.

Arrogance clouds the eyes… aah, scary, scary.

Sally turned and returned to Maple and the others.

Having forgotten entirely that she had once written about “Attack Evasion,” she changed the skill name to “Attack Guidance.”

And with that, she added new description.