Ais didn't dwell on Ren's weapon. Full of fighting spirit, she looked at him and said, "Please go all out. I'm counting on you!"
As her words fell, a burst of cyan Magic Power erupted from Ais, enveloping her entire body. She had entered her combat state.
Seeing the Magic Power radiating from Ais, a gleam flashed in Ren's eyes. He instantly copied it with his [Jianjigu] and slowly said, "Let's begin, then."
Ais's magic was called [Ariel・Wind Spirit Dash]. It was an enchantment magic that cloaked her body in wind, boosting her attack, defense, and speed, while even allowing for short-distance flight.
*Another flight magic? This is absolutely fantastic.* Although it only allowed for brief flight, it was more than enough. If anyone in his class was suited for it, Ren could easily teach it to them later.
Moreover, this magic was used to temporarily boost one's Status. Speaking of which, that fox girl had an even more absurd magic—was it called [Uchide no Kozuchi・Magic Mallet]? A magic that could forcibly raise someone's Level.
In this world, the magic people possessed was like an innate talent—exclusive spells that others simply couldn't learn. But that rule didn't apply to Ren.
The moment his opponent unleashed her magic, Ren copied it directly. It seemed he would have to get his hands on that [Uchide no Kozuchi・Magic Mallet] magic eventually, too.
As the battle began, neither side needed to say another word. Ais launched her attack immediately. With a flash, she closed the distance, slashing her rapier straight at Ren.
Facing Ais's assault, Ren raised his Tang Dao with one hand to block. A terrifying surge of physical power erupted from his grip. With a loud *clang*, Ais felt an immense force travel up her arm.
She was forcibly blown back by the sheer, terrifying strength. The massive gap in raw power left Ais stunned for a moment, but it quickly gave way to mounting excitement.
*Amazing. What terrifying explosive power.* Thinking this, Ais quickly adjusted her posture mid-air, then dove back down, charging at Ren once more.
*Cling! Clang! Cling!* The sound of clashing blades rang out across the area. Ais launched a relentless barrage of attacks, but Ren deflected every single one. Slowly, Ais realized that Ren was seeing through her every move.
Because every time, Ren managed to launch a preemptive counterattack, precisely blocking her strikes. This put Ais under increasing pressure. The longer they fought, the more solemn her expression became.
Watching from a distance, Bete's pupils shrank when he saw that Ais's offensive was making zero progress. *Is this guy really that strong?*
Ren's classmates, on the other hand, were completely unfazed. *No big deal. This is just the beginning. Next, you'll see your own moves become his moves. This is barely the warm-up.*
Seeing that she couldn't land a single effective hit, Ais quickly retreated to put some distance between her and Ren. The wind element swirling around her grew even denser.
"Awaken, Tempest!" The crowd heard Ais's chant. As her voice fell, the wind element wrapping her body intensified.
Seeing this, the corners of Ren's mouth curled up slightly. He slowly opened his mouth and echoed, "Awaken, Tempest!"
At those words, Ais froze, her movements lagging by half a beat. Asuna and the others immediately perked up. Lefiya also heard Asuna say, "Here it comes!"
Then, Lefiya watched as the wind element wrapped around Ren's body. She was all too familiar with this state—wasn't that exactly what Ais looked like when she used her magic?
*What is going on? Why can he use that magic too?* The members of the Loki Familia felt their minds reeling. Just what exactly was happening here?
While everyone was still trying to process the situation, Ren made his move. Taking a single step forward, he launched an attack at Ais, swinging his Tang Dao.
A massive cyan blade of wind was blasted out by Ren, hurled forward like a wave of sword aura. This kind of technique caught Ais off guard.
*You can use it like that?* Thinking about it carefully, she realized she could probably do the same thing. Her mind racing, she vanished from her spot, choosing to avoid the brunt of the attack.
Her magic was geared more toward agility and attack speed, making her incredibly fast. Ren's attack didn't cause her much trouble; a slight dodge was all it took to evade it.
After all, her petite frame was highly agile, making it far too easy to dodge such an attack. Ren naturally understood this; the move was merely an experiment.
He discovered that magic in this world was essentially just a method of manipulating Magic Power. How it was developed depended entirely on the individual. Just like how Ren slashed out to release the Magic Power directly, Ais could actually do the same.
As Ais vanished, Ren also disappeared from his spot. The two clashed using high-speed movements, but this time, it was Ren who was completely suppressing Ais.
Now, Ais could only struggle to defend. Ren's airtight offense left her breathless, subjecting her to an unprecedented amount of pressure.
"What's going on? Isn't that Ais's magic?" Lefiya, who was watching the battle, was completely dumbfounded. She never imagined the tables would turn so quickly.
That guy named Ren Isana was actually using the exact same magic as Ais? And now he was suppressing her in combat? Why was this completely different from what she had expected?
"Because Ren is best at learning. As long as you fight him long enough, he'll learn all your moves and magic," Asuna explained without hiding anything.
Ren's situation would be discovered sooner or later. As long as he fought a few more battles, many people would likely notice his anomaly. So, it didn't matter whether they hid it or not.
Hearing Asuna's explanation, Lefiya was completely bewildered. *Best at learning? Is that even possible?* She asked in disbelief, "He can even learn magic?"
She couldn't understand it. In her worldview, a magic like Ais's was impossible for anyone else to learn. After all, it was an exclusive magic! Yet now, someone had actually learned it?
"Why not? As long as it's magic, shouldn't it be learnable?" Asuna looked at her strangely, not quite understanding why Lefiya would say that.
*Could there be something special about the magic in this world? Isn't it all just magic?* With Ren's talent, learning it should be a walk in the park.
"Do you all learn each other's magic?" Lefiya suddenly remembered that the magic these people used seemed to be identical. Did their magic not manifest through leveling up?
If that was the case, then everything made sense. These people were completely different from them. Their magic could be learned from one another, so it wasn't too strange for someone from another world to learn their magic, right?
"Yeah, back at school, the teachers taught us all uniformly. Is it different for you guys?" Asuna looked at Lefiya in confusion.
*Taking advantage of this moment, maybe I can learn a bit about the magic situation in this world?* Judging by her reaction, there seemed to be some hidden details.
"Teachers taught you... Ours is different. The magic in our world is divided into Innate Magic, and Acquired Magic which is obtained after receiving a God's Falna and leveling up. It's extremely rare," Lefiya explained, never expecting that these people acquired magic through such a method.
No wonder the magic they used was identical. In her world, not everyone possessed magic. Obtaining it was incredibly difficult, and the number of spells a person could have was fixed.
Innate Magic involved race and personal aptitude, and magic required chanting and the like—completely different from these people who could cast spells with a raise of their hand.
So, it actually seemed normal that the man had learned Ais's magic? Even if he learned her own magic in the future, it probably wouldn't be a big deal, right?
After hearing Lefiya's explanation, Asuna gained a basic understanding of this world's magic. *It can be obtained by leveling up your Status?*
In other words, if they leveled up their Status, they might also have a chance to obtain magic? Thinking of this, Asuna couldn't help but feel a surge of anticipation.
It was just like gaining skills after leveling up in a video game. They could potentially acquire it in this world too! Moreover, this magic would likely be exclusive to them, making it the most suitable magic for themselves.
Hearing this news, Asuna felt a burst of joy in her heart, and the others likely felt the same. No one had expected that leveling up could also grant them magic.
There was also another piece of information: magic in this world was extremely rare and couldn't even be taught to others. But that didn't seem to affect them at all.
Because Ren had directly learned the young girl named Ais's magic right on the spot. Everyone's gaze once again turned to the battle between the two in the field.
Currently, Ais was dealing with a Ren who was faster and stronger. She had absolutely no ability to fight back. Ren, possessing numerous talents, erupted with a combat prowess that forced Ais into a steady retreat.
Ais even saw many of her own moves being used by Ren. At this moment, she felt as if she were facing an enhanced version of herself. The feeling was incredibly stifling.
This thought caused Ais to lose focus for a split second. In the next moment, Ren spun around and delivered a vicious kick to her armor, sending her flying several meters away.
"If this is all the strength you have, I don't think there's a need to continue," Ren said after kicking her away, halting his offense.
Hearing Ren's words, Ais stabilized her posture. She took a deep breath and said with a solemn face, "I apologize, I lost focus. Let's go again!"
With that, she stubbornly launched another attack. She knew she had found the right person this time. An enhanced version of herself—if she could defeat him, she should be able to break through her limits, right?
The cyan Magic Power wrapped around her body once more. With a sudden burst of acceleration, she thrust her rapier forward. This time, she concentrated all that Magic Power directly into the blade of her rapier.
Her overall speed increased significantly once again. Recalling the casual slash Ren had executed earlier, she mimicked it, attempting to develop a new technique on the fly.
Facing the charging Ais, Ren also assumed a stance. An interesting idea surfaced in his mind; he could probably pull off some fun tricks with this newly acquired wind magic.
The malleability of magic in this world was simply too high. Ais's development of her own magic was still far from enough. With this in mind, Ren slowly said, "Your development of this magic is still far too lacking. [Phantom Sword Dance]!"
As his words fell, Ren rapidly swung his Tang Dao. Blade after blade of wind was swiftly unleashed through his weapon, continuously stacking until they formed a crisscrossing storm of sword aura.
This sword aura erupted instantly, blasting toward Ais with overwhelming force. Seeing Ren's sudden explosive technique, Ais's pupils shrank. With no time to think, she hurriedly braced for defense.
Ais was no longer thinking about attacking; her only thought was how to dodge Ren's sudden burst of power. But the distance was too close, leaving her no time to think. All she could do was passively defend. In an instant, Ren's wind-magic version of [Phantom Sword Dance] swallowed the charging Ais whole. Seeing this, Lefiya and the other Loki Familia members turned pale with fright. They couldn't help but scream out, "Ais, watch out!"
The Amazon twins and Lefiya were terrified. The three of them rushed toward the scene, while Bete also sprang into action. The four of them charged toward the battlefield together.
Asuna and the others were also startled by Ren's attack and hurriedly followed, terrified that Ren might have accidentally killed her. If that were the case, they would be in massive trouble.
*Hmm... We have to prepare for the worst. If Ren really killed Ais, then... we'll just have to wipe out these other people too. Destroying the evidence is the most important thing!!*
By the time they got close, the cyan storm had dissipated. The ground was crisscrossed with deep gouges, as if it had been violently plowed. And there, in the center of the field, they saw Ais.
Ais's clothes were in tatters, and her armor bore numerous new sword marks—all carved by Ren's sword aura in that single instant. Furthermore, tiny, shallow cuts covered her face, hands, and other exposed areas.
Ren had deliberately held back with that move. After all, there was no need to beat someone to death. If he had truly wanted to kill her, his attack would have been far more devastating than that.
Lefiya, Tione, and Tiona were the first to arrive. Seeing Ais's miserable state gave them a fright, but after a closer inspection revealed she was fundamentally fine, they breathed a sigh of relief.
"Don't worry, I held back. Just go back and get some minor healing, and you'll be fine." Ren glanced at them, then turned and walked toward Asuna and the others without looking back.
Seeing Ren leaving, Ais hurriedly stood up and called out, "Next time... can I fight you again next time? I want to take you as my master. Please teach me how to get stronger!!!"
Ais's gaze toward Ren was full of burning passion. She didn't care that her magic had been copied; in fact, she was glad he had learned it, because she now saw endless possibilities in him.
Moreover, she was certain that the key to her future breakthrough lay with Ren. He had only just learned her magic, yet in the blink of an eye, he had developed new techniques with it.
*This person is amazing. I want to take him as my master.* This was Ais's only thought right now. No matter what, she wanted to become his apprentice, because Ren could definitely make her stronger!!
Hearing Ais's words, Ren felt a bit speechless. He turned his head, met her eyes, and seeing the earnestness in her gaze, slowly said, "We'll talk about it later. Go back and heal your injuries first. Getting stronger isn't something that happens overnight."
With that, Ren turned back around and continued walking toward Asuna and the rest. Asuna had also stopped in her tracks. Seeing that Ais was fine, they all let out a massive sigh of relief in their hearts. *Looks like we won't have to wipe all these people out after all!*