Chapter 534: -528- A slightly convoluted way
When Kagami Reiji swung a fist adorned with rings towards himself, even without relying on the "Mind's Eye" skill, Rozen could tell how skilled this person was in combat.
To be honest, there was no comparison.
The lack of comparison referred to their proficiency in close-quarters combat compared to those who excelled in it.
For example, Servants, top players in SAO—they all fell into this category.
Although Kagami Reiji threw a punch at Rozen, it didn't mean Kagami Reiji was particularly skilled in close-quarters combat. Perhaps he just didn't like Rozen and wanted to personally give him a beating.
In other words, Kagami Reiji's combat skills were at best akin to that of a rowdy brawler, far from being proficient in close-quarters combat.
Rozen could discern this even without relying on the "Mind's Eye" power, just by the sharpness of his eyes.
Therefore, even if he could see through this punch, whether his body could react and evade accordingly was another matter.
If it were in the past, faced with this punch, Rozen would never choose to evade with his body but would instead activate "Magic Defence" to block—such was Rozen's style of combat.
But things were different now.
"Woosh!"
The punch with a powerful wind brushed against Rozen's cheek and hit empty air.
Facing Kagami Reiji's merciless punch, Rozen used the "Mind's Eye" to decipher its trajectory. Following the hair's breadth difference detected by the "Mind's Eye," he slightly tilted his head, evading the punch, making it brush past his cheek.
Following this...
"If you want to use your fists, at least aim for this level."
Accompanied by a taunting voice, Rozen tightly gripped Kagami Reiji's fist and rested it at his side in front of the completely unresponsive Kagami Reiji.
If the players from SAO were here, they would undoubtedly recognize that Rozen's current posture was the preparation for the initial basic thrusting technique, "Senda(Flash Blow)," of the "Martial Arts" skill.
In this moment, Rozen used two of his abilities.
One was the ability of "Rigid Body." Following the trajectory deciphered by the "Mind's Eye," he let magic flow within his body along the most perfect path, interfering with magic circulation, interfering with vital phenomena, and ultimately feeding back into the body, enhancing its capabilities.
The other was the ability of "Telekinesis." In this instant, Rozen unexpectedly transformed magic into mental power, and not directed elsewhere, but within his own body.
Strengthening the body with "Rigid Body," and then controlling the body with "Telekinesis," in this moment, Rozen felt as if he were back in the world of SAO, where the body could use skills under system assistance.
Thus, Rozen controlled his body with "Telekinesis," allowing it to replace the role of system assistance, and, enhancing his body with "Rigid Body," executed a sword skill from SAO— "Flash Blow."
"Clang!"
Just like the effect of a sword skill, the highly concentrated mental power caused Rozen's fist to emit radiance.
Just like a flash of light, the punch was released, and with speed surpassing Rozen's physical capabilities, it displayed astonishing power, landing heavily on Kagami Reiji's abdomen, who hadn't reacted.
"Bang!"
The heavy punch exploded on Kagami Reiji's abdomen.
"Urgh...!"
At this moment, Kagami Reiji's punch had just missed, and an indescribable intense pain surged in his abdomen, causing him to spew out a breath, clutching his stomach, and starting to step back.
Seeing this scene, Rozen had only one thought.
"Indeed, 'Martial Arts' alone don't have much power."
If this were in SAO, Rozen's punch would at least have sent Kagami Reiji flying.
Unfortunately, this wasn't a game; it was reality. Even if Rozen replaced system assistance with "Telekinesis," further enhanced his body with "Rigid Body," and made the use of sword skills possible, the power was still reduced compared to when he was in the game.
But this was what Rozen had previously mentioned—a slightly convoluted way of using sword skills.
Even if Rozen's physical abilities were weak and he wasn't skilled at close-quarters combat, with "Mind's Eye," Rozen could completely use "Telekinesis" to control his body, replacing system assistance, then enhance his body with "Rigid Body" to achieve the purpose of using sword skills.
Although the power of "Martial Arts" wasn't great, if Rozen had a weapon, the outcome would be entirely different.
After all, if he could wield a sword, Rozen could use "Magic Resilience" to enhance the sword's attack power. At that point, using sword skills like "One-Handed Sword" would easily cleave through rocks and stones, absolutely beyond question.
In this situation, Kagami Reiji's intention to punch Rozen in the face was truly overestimating his own abilities.
Kagami Reiji probably didn't expect this outcome, right?
Not to mention Kagami Reiji, even Natsume, Kyouko, and the other students and instructors had their mouths agape seeing Kagami Reiji pushed back by Rozen's punch.
"You... bastard...!"
Feeling the pain in his abdomen, Kagami Reiji's voice finally carried fury, veins popping on his forehead.
Terrifying jutsuryoku surged from him, like the malevolent aura of a vengeful spirit, filling the entire space.
Sensing this, everyone knew Kagami Reiji was truly angered.
If earlier Kagami Reiji just wanted to show Rozen some colors, now he genuinely wanted to take action against him.
The incantation chanted in the next moment confirmed this.
"————"
Kagami Reiji loudly chanted the mantra, brimming with anger.
This was the Minor Mantra of Acala, a subduing technique similar to the "Fire Realm Incantation" concept, but incomparable in power and scale.
At least, under Kagami Reiji's usage, the fire unleashed by this minor mantra far surpassed the fire from the "Fire Realm Incantation" he had used just a while ago. The fire had transformed into a magma-like wave, a fiery red tsunami, surging toward Rozen.
"Akikan!"
Natsume exclaimed.
"Wait...!"
Kyouko's expression turned urgent.
"Stop!"
The instructors shouted one after another.
But Kagami Reiji had no intention of stopping. He let his anger turn into a roaring blaze, covering the entire small square and advancing toward Rozen.
To this...
"Order!"
Rozen cast several talismans.
In total, there were five talismans.
Each talisman represented one of the five elements: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth, and shone brilliantly.
Under the radiance, the talismans connected to each other, forming a pentagram pattern, with dazzling magical patterns appearing.
The pentagram formed a magic circle, which flew out like a cannonball.
"Boom!"
The fire wave collided with the magic circle, shaking it.
And in that instant, several magical seals formed in Rozen's hands.
"Evade!"
With Rozen's loud shout, the pentagram blossomed with a brilliant light.
The fire wave, struck by the pentagram, was dispersed like waves crashing against rocks, unable to touch Rozen in the rear.
"Fire Evasion Charm?"
Kagami Reiji couldn't help but be stunned, then a ferocious smile appeared on his face.
"Interesting."
On his body, jutsuryoku erupted like a volcano.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone