At this moment, Lizbeth, Gerald, and Fanny had finally finished distributing the demon boar meat and returned to Riezel's side.
"She's my attendant, and these two over here are people I met on the road. For now, they're traveling with me."
Riezel introduced Lizbeth, Gerald, and Fanny to Nibald and Andrea.
Lizbeth, Gerald, and Fanny quickly bowed to Nibald and Andrea.
"I-I'm Fanny Elyssir."
"I'm a retainer of the Elyssir family and Young Lady Fanny's bodyguard. Just call me Gerald."
Fanny and Gerald lowered their heads and introduced themselves.
"I'm Lizbeth Reinnail, Master Riezel Brynhart's attendant! Please take care of me!"
Lizbeth hurriedly and nervously followed their example and introduced herself.
"Attendant?" Andrea was both surprised and curious. "Such a pretty little sister, and you're an attendant?"
Nibald was also a bit surprised.
He had assumed that someone with such beauty must be from a distinguished background, but she turned out to be an attendant. If she was an attendant, then that meant she was probably a swordsman—one that had even caught the eye of a Sword Saint.
A Sword Saint's attendant had to be at least a Sword Master, right?
'Could this girl be a Sword Master?'
Such a thought involuntarily crossed Nibald's mind.
It was hard to believe that such a delicate and beautiful girl could be a Sword Master, but if a Sword Saint had chosen her, she couldn't just be an empty vase with nothing but looks.
Of course, Nibald couldn't be entirely sure she wasn't just a pretty face since Riezel himself was still young, after all. It was normal for a hot-blooded young man to want to keep a beautiful girl by his side.
Besides, contract magic was usually something only magicians could use, while as a swordsman, a Sword Saint normally wouldn't have an attendant, so Nibald couldn't really judge what kind of attendant someone like Riezel would want.
Maybe Riezel didn't need a strong attendant at all but was looking for someone with other kinds of talents instead.
With that in mind, Nibald felt it was still too early to assume Lizbeth was a powerful Sword Master.
"Reinnail...? Have I heard that surname somewhere before?" Nibald muttered softly while furrowing his brows.
As he was lost in thought, Fanny and Gerald suddenly gasped in shock.
"Y-You're Grandmaster Nibald?!"
"No way! Seriously?!"
After hearing Nibald's name from Andrea, Fanny and Gerald widened their eyes and cried out in disbelief.
"Hm?" Riezel raised an eyebrow. "You two know Sir Garland?"
At this question, Fanny nodded repeatedly, while Gerald looked at Riezel with a surprised expression.
"In Jinas, who doesn't know Grandmaster Nibald?" Gerald said with an excited voice. "He might not be a Tactical-Class or a Strategic-Class Magician, but he's taken Combat-Class Magic to the absolute limit. People say he's as strong as a Sword Saint and known as one of the strongest magicians."
'As strong as a Sword Saint? One of the strongest magicians?' Riezel thought inwardly, feeling astonished.
He had a feeling that this so-called grandmaster was not ordinary, but he didn't expect him to have such an extraordinary background.
"Ahh, it's just the desperate struggle of someone with mediocre natural talent." Nibald, sensing Riezel's astonishment, gave a bitter smile. "I simply didn't have the talent to become a Tactical-Class or a Strategic-Class Magician, so my only option was to put all my effort into mastering Combat-Class Magic."
Hearing Nibald's self-deprecating words, Riezel gradually set aside his surprise and fell silent.
To become a Tactical-Class or a Strategic-Class Magician, both immense magical energy and sufficient magic compatibility were essential.
If one didn't have enough magical energy, they wouldn't be able to handle the massive consumption of large-scale, destructive Tactical-Class or Strategic-Class Magic, and if one didn't have the right magic compatibility, they couldn't even learn those magic spells in the first place.
Simply put, to successfully cast Tactical-Class or Strategic-Class Magic, one first needed immense magical energy, while their magic compatibility had to meet the required grade.
If one wanted to cast Tactical-Class Magic, the minimum requirement was fifth-grade compatibility, and for Strategic-Class Magic, it was seventh-grade compatibility. If someone didn't meet the compatibility threshold, no matter how much magical energy they had, they wouldn't be able to learn Tactical-Class or Strategic-Class Magic.
Because of this, only those who met both the magical energy and compatibility requirements could use Tactical-Class or Strategic-Class Magic and earn the status of Tactical-Class or Strategic-Class Magician.
In other words, even if they met one requirement, it still wouldn't be enough.
Nibald was clearly one of such people.
In Riezel's Transparent World, Nibald's magical energy wasn't any weaker than that of a regular Strategic-Class Magician and was way stronger than the original Riezel's, but since Nibald wasn't a Tactical-Class or a Strategic-Class Magician, that meant his magic compatibility wasn't up to par—meaning, he didn't even have a single compatibility that reached fifth grade.
It was indeed the truth.
Nibald's magic compatibility was actually not that bad since, while his compatibility with the Transformation System and the Structure System was only first grade, both the Control System and the Interference System were fourth grade.
Having fourth-grade magic compatibility meant he could learn any magic below the tactical class, but in the end, he didn't have a single magic compatibility that reached fifth grade, which was why he couldn't even become a Tactical-Class Magician, even though his magical energy was on par with a Strategic-Class Magician.
Needless to say, this was exactly why there were so few Tactical-Class and Strategic-Class Magicians on the Akasha Continent.
In this world, there were so many countries, so many people, and no shortage of geniuses with incredible talent, people who were born to be outstanding magicians like those with incredibly immense magical energy and those who had extraordinary magic compatibility.
Unfortunately, to become a Tactical-Class or a Strategic-Class Magician, both were required since lacking even one meant failure.
As a result, this world wasn't short of people with magical energy comparable to Strategic-Class Magicians, yet unable to reach that level due to mediocre magic compatibility or people who had extraordinary magic compatibility but insufficient magical energy.
In the end, across the entire Akasha Continent, there were only a little over a hundred Tactical-Class Magicians, while Strategic-Class Magicians numbered just eight—their numbers were pitifully low.
Nibald was lucky since he at least fulfilled one condition where his magical energy was immense, allowing him to use magic freely, but he was also unlucky since he lacked the other requirement, forever missing his chance to become either a Tactical-Class or Strategic-Class Magician.
Nibald saying 'mediocre natural talent' was a helpless yet self-mocking evaluation.
In the end, such a situation had pushed him to the peak of Combat-Class Magic, the only field he could truly master.
Not becoming a Tactical-Class or a Strategic-Class Magician?
It wasn't actually that bad.
It had been said before that while Tactical-Class and Strategic-Class Magic were undeniably powerful, their activation conditions were incredibly strict, making them nearly impossible to use in actual combat.
Combat-Class Magic didn't have the same range or destructive power, but it was easy to use, making it the dominant force in battle. Many magicians in this world even believed that mastering Strategic-Class Magic didn't make someone the strongest since true strength lay in mastering Combat-Class Magic.
Yuri herself had said more than once that if a magician didn't train their Combat-Class Magic well, even as a Strategic-Class Magician, they could still lose to some random hooligan on the street.
It was only natural, as in true combat, there was neither the time nor the conditions to cast Strategic-Class Magic, so in such cases, a magician unable to use magic was nothing more than a dead fish.
For this reason, even after becoming a Strategic-Class Magician, Yuri continued training her Combat-Class Magic relentlessly, striving for the power to take control of her own fate.
Fortunately, her efforts hadn't been in vain.
Now, not only could she hold her ground even against a Sword Master, but if she got the chance to use her signature magic, Decomposition Magic, a magic that could break down all matter, reducing it to nothing, it was a guaranteed death sentence for her enemies.
In Riezel's eyes, Yuri was definitely stronger than Riveria, and if the two dueled, he believed Yuri would undoubtedly win.
Nonetheless, even someone like Yuri still couldn't match a Sword Saint.
Against a Sword Saint, even with Marilyn, Ain, Ian, or other Sword Masters as Yuri's attendants covering her while she cast magic, it still wasn't enough.
Nibald, however, was different.
Decades of relentless training in Combat-Class Magic had turned him, someone who had missed his chance at Tactical-Class and Strategic-Class Magic, into someone who could stand on equal footing with a Sword Saint, just like what Gerald had said.
"Grandmaster Nibald fought against the Blazing Sword Saint of Reiburg six years ago, and the battle ended in a draw."
Gerald told Nibald's past feat to Riezel, proving that just that one battle was enough to prove the rumors about Nibald being as strong as a Sword Saint were true.
Because of that event, Nibald was recognized as a great magician, which was why even though he wasn't a noble, count families like the Hadyth family still had to treat him with the utmost respect and address him as 'Grandmaster'.
'Eh? He's that strong?'
Lizbeth, who seemed to have never heard of Nibald's name, looked at him with a surprised expression.
Fanny and Gerald, on the other hand, were excited and filled with admiration, looking like they were about to start worshiping Nibald.
Nibald was used to these kinds of reactions, so he just smiled peacefully.
"Hoho, I'm just an old man, nothing worth admiring, especially in front of Sir Brynhart, this reputation I spent most of my life building isn't even worth mentioning."
Shortly after saying this, Nibald, with a curious expression, asked Riezel.
"Speaking of which, Sir Brynhart, someone like you, what brings you to Mavros Territory?"
It seemed like Nibald had been wanting to ask this for a while.
"I'm heading to Sinielle." Riezel answered bluntly, not hiding his destination at all. "What about you, Sir Garland?"
"I was invited." Nibald answered honestly as if returning the favor. "Recently, a mysterious incident happened in Mavros Territory. I'm here to investigate it."