The Death Mage that doesn't want a fourth time

120 A light ruler, and squirming

Kasim, who had swung his mace sideways, met less resistance than he had expected and watched dumbfoundedly as Vandalieu was sent flying.

Eleanora, Basdia and Kachia also watched as he rolled across the ground.

"Ah, that was surprising," Vandalieu said, quickly getting off the ground.

"W-what do you mean that was surprising, are you alright?!" Kasim asked.

"Vandalieu-sama, have you hurt your back?!"

Kasim, Eleanora and Kachia hastily ran towards him. But Vandalieu wasn't coughing; he quickly stood up.

"There's no problem," he said. "I was just a little surprised."

He hadn't received a single scratch, and though his armor and shield were covered in some dust, they were undamaged as well. His arms didn't feel numb, nor did he find it hard to breathe.

"I didn't think that I would be sent rolling across the ground. Your skill has improved, hasn't it, Kasim?" he remarked.

"EH?! I-I have the strength to send Vandalieu flying...?!" Kasim exclaimed, staring at his own arm that was holding the mace.

"It doesn't look that way at all to me," said Eleanora. "Have you acquired some kind of unique skill?"

"It would be amazing if that was true, but it didn't look like your skill has improved," said Kachia.

Eleanora and Kachia seemed suspicious. And then Basdia, who had remained silent, spoke.

"It's not that Kasim has some special strength. Of course, I think that his growth is remarkable, but the reason that he was able to send Van flying in one hit is simply because Van is light," she said.

"Light?" the other three repeated in unison.

"Yes, light," said Basdia, and then she began her explanation.

First of all, Vandalieu was strong. He could bore holes into an iron plate with a single swing of his claws, and if he used a martial skill, he could shred it to pieces. However, he was a boy, less than nine years of age. And he was clearly smaller and thinner than other boys of his age.

Normally, the stronger someone was, the more muscle and body mass they would have, but in Vandalieu's case, all of that strength was centered around his Superhuman Strength skill.

And the liquid Dark Copper armor that Vandalieu was wearing and the shield made of the Demon King's horns that he was holding were both made to be lighter than they appeared so that he could move more easily.

"And to hit Van's shield, you swung your mace sideways instead of from above, and you started your swing from slightly below you as well, Kasim. That's probably why Van got sent flying so easily," Basdia concluded, folding her arms.

"Wait a second," said Kasim, seemingly not convinced. "We received training from Vandalieu a few times in the cultivation village, and back then, we never thought that he was light."

"Kasim, I wasn't holding a shield back then," said Vandalieu. "I wasn't hit by any of your attacks, either."

"Ah, you're right! But didn't you deflect Fester's sword with the back of your claws?"

"Now that you mention it..."

Vandalieu had trained Kasim, who was from a cultivation village in the Hartner Duchy, as well as the frontline fighter Fester, who wasn't here. Back then, not only did he not use a shield, he hadn't been wearing armor, either, so he had been avoiding most of the attacks from Kasim and his friends.