By the time Dignitas had realized it, the battle had already become an endurance race.

Whoever was the first to stumble would lose, while the one who could hold out until the end would be the victor.

Dignitas wasn't one to stay on the defensive forever, though. With his body, he could handle fighting a battle for an extended period.

This had shown itself once before, back during the Colosseum invasion, when Sayuri had made him battle hundreds of imps without her help.

"Compared to that… this is nothing, honestly." Dignitas chuckled, remembering the moment when he discovered his enhanced form.

"I'm not fond of revealing my cards this early, especially to some no-name households. But I do wanna try out something."

Even as Adam and Laura's attacks seemed unending, Dignitas could spare the time to think.

Think about something completely unrelated to the matter at hand.

As the author of the Academy's Regressor, Dignitas naturally had extensive knowledge of various characters.

While the novel's cast mostly had a unique set of skills only available to them, there was one person Dignitas who shared a similarity.

John Ailey, the protagonist, also used a sword.

Dignitas thought back to the time when he had gone through the Log.

***

This was back when the Colosseum invasion had just finished.

Dignitas lay in bed, his body fatigued. He didn't even know that a person could be this tired.

Coupled with the fact that every single one of his limbs refused to move much, he was also struck with mana exhaustion.

A sickness that would hit individuals who had expended too much of their mana.

But that wasn't the point. The point was, Dignitas was in bed, and skimming through the Author's Log.

During the battle with Varnier, when Dignitas sacrificed a large portion of his mana and energy to strengthen John, the Log managed to record in great detail the moves John had used against the demon.

Normally, a C rank like John wouldn't have been able to use these skills with his lower stat levels. But thanks to Dignitas powering him, he was able to mimic an incomplete version of those techniques.

And Dignitas prided himself on being quick to learn. Even Sayuri did. Unlike her other students, he was able to find his elegance in record time.

So what was the harm in trying to do the same thing John did?

"If I remember correctly… it was Spatial Slash, Dragon's Claw, and… Driver Thrust."

As Dignitas said this, he could somehow imagine a clear vision of John in his head, performing these techniques following the descriptions.

"For now, we'll start with Spatial Slash. That seems to fit my style more."

Of course, Dignitas wasn't one to completely steal someone else's hard work. That would be plagiarism, something many writers frowned upon.

And he was no different. As such, Dignitas had to put in a little twist to make the move his own.

"Let's think… what are some movies I've watched that have a movie like this?"

After a few seconds of thinking (and deflecting Laura's slashes), an imaginary light bulb lit up in Dignitas' head.

"Yeah, I guess that could work. Let's try it."

Back on Adam and Laura's side, they saw clearly that Dignitas was slowing down.

He was paying less attention to his footwork and was only using the bare minimum of strength needed to keep himself unharmed.

"He's getting tired! Let us finish this, Laura! This peasant will soon beg for our mercy!"

"Yes… let's do it."

For their "final" move, Laura hid behind Adam. She kept the pointed end of her spear out beside Adam's shield.

In turn, Adam steadied his grip on his shield.

From Dignitas' view, they looked very much like the spitting image of the half-naked warrior.

Unbeknownst to them, Dignitas wasn't getting tired. He was just becoming more and more absorbed in his thinking.

"Beg for mercy, peasant! Feast your eyes on the combined power of the Hruber and Liebel houses!"

Yellow and silver aura began surrounding Adam and Laura's weapons. They shone with a brightness Dignitas had never seen before.

And with no hesitation, the two of them charged forward.

Their aura spilled behind them, leaving a shiny trail of mana that remained suspended in the air.

The speed at which they traveled was no joke either. If Dignitas was a bit weaker, then they would've looked like a bullet traveling at full speed.

But unfortunately for them, Dignitas had been hit with a eureka moment.

His focus now on the people in front of him, Dignitas merely leaped to the side.

Taking a deep breath, he gently placed Dainsleif in its sheath.

Then, just as Adam and Laura were about to reach him…

He swiftly brought out Dainsleif and swung it in a wide arc.

It was too fast. Too fast to see. Both Adam and Laura merely saw an afterimage of the sight Dignitas had shown them.

And as if on cue, the area in front of Dignitas burst with mana.

The surrounding air was pushed apart, making the area seem like the deep reaches of space.

"What should I call this…? How about… Distortion Slash. Yeah, that doesn't sound too bad."

It was only then that Dignitas noticed both Adam and Laura sprawled out across the sand.

"Ah, shit. Their watches will probably start notifying Professor Shib soon. I should take Lorelai and get out of here."

Seeing as the two students had passed out, it was only a matter of time before someone would come to check on them.

"Well, forgive me, Lorelai. But you're gonna have to share my personal space."

Dignitas placed the unconscious Lorelai on his back and continued on his way.

***

By some measure of luck, Dignitas was able to find a cave. He laid Lorelai against the wall and sat down as he took a breather.

Only the sound of the wind blowing could be heard. Sand drifted across the air, somehow making its way into Dignitas' eyes.

Dignitas looked at the sleeping beauty. His eyes immediately gazed upon her beautiful brown hair. The air from outside managed to get inside even the inner workings of the cave, causing it to flow majestically in the wind.

Her face was oddly calm. It looked like she was at peace, the same type of peace one would experience when being caressed by one's mother.

His eyes then lowered to her more… recognizable features. He didn't stare for too long though. Risking the wrath of a Seraph wasn't exactly on his bucket list.

Still, he couldn't help but keep glancing at her body.

"Ah, fuck. What am I thinking?"

To bring himself back to normal, Dignitas slapped himself on the cheeks multiple times.

If he did that, he wouldn't be able to live with himself.

He was already feeling ashamed that he even thought of such things.

"Guess I'll wait till she wakes up. In the meantime, I should get some light training in."

Leaving Lorelai in the cave, Dignitas stepped outside.

Unbeknownst to him, the girl in question was listening to his ramblings the whole time.

She had woken up just before they had reached the cave.

Still, she expected Dignitas to do something to her.

And the moment he tried, she'd give him the worst beating he'd ever receive in his life.

The moment Lorelai felt him raise his hand towards the girl, her hair stood on end, and she tightened her fists in preparation.

"Ah, fuck. What am I thinking?"

But she didn't expect him to cease.

Oddly enough, Lorelai immediately calmed down.

***

"Hraaap!"

Dignitas repeatedly performed his recently created technique.

He felt it. Distortion Slash had the potential to be even stronger, as long as he practiced it. The time when it would be able to level whole cities was still far away, but he knew he'd reach it eventually.

And as such, he wanted that day to come as soon as possible.

However, this whole time, he could feel a threat looming behind him.

He knew what it was. No, rather, he knew who it was.

Lorelai was very clearly holding her bow out in the open, and it was pointed directly at him.

Even as he knew this, Dignitas made no effort in raising his guard.

And he knew that Lorelai knew as well. She had most likely watched his matches, and as such knew that he had some sort of extrasensory or prediction powers.

"If she won't listen to my words, she'll listen to my actions."

It sounded like a proverb. If a person couldn't convince someone by speaking to them, they would probably listen to them in other ways.

This was Dignitas' plan. A person as hard-headed as Lorelai could willingly close her mind off to people, but her keen, trained eyes would always be able to discern people's actions and the feeling behind them.

She couldn't stop it. It was just in her nature to reciprocate people's actions towards her.

And if Dignitas harbored no actual ill intent, then she had no reason to as well.

Dignitas smiled as he felt the threat slowly subsiding. Lorelai had, even if she didn't want to voice it, subconsciously understood that he meant no harm.