Title: Reign of the Seven Spellblades Vol. 3
Author: Sakae Esuno, Bokuto Uno (Story), Ruria Miyuki (Characters)
Publisher: Yen Press
Language: English
Format: Paperback
Pages: 224
Genre: Fantasy
Publication Date: May 31, 2022
The Story
Reign of the Seven Spellblades volume 3 continues the fight against the Garuda. Nanao and Oliver do their best to battle it; however, the fight is a bit outside of their capabilities. Still, they press forward until all hope seemed lost. Suddenly, Mr. Andrews joins the battle and provides the distraction needed for Nanao to sever its head.
Once it’s over, Katie returns to the troll to have another conversation with it. Suddenly, the troll can speak! It warns Katie to leave but before she can do so, she ends up getting kidnapped. Oliver and company split up to search and discover who is behind Katie’s kidnapping. The culprit is then discovered as the person who set up the rampage at the orientation back in the first volume. They unveil their reasons behind it and another battle ensues.
Mr. Andrews also had a warning for Oliver. He warned him about a certain instructor and after his display against the Garuda, there was a chance that he make take a keen interest in him. It is later discovered to be the case but when Oliver corners him, he has a particular question to ask him… a question pertaining to a personal matter which sets the stage for a major confrontation!
Characters
There was a lot going on in this volume. A lot of the character development that took place happens to be with two very big reveals in this volume which contains major spoilers so I will have to reflect from those for now. All I have to say is that Kimberly has some messed up fourth-years and instructors on their campus and the fact that the school turns a blind eye to most of it doesn’t really reflect on their prestigious status as a school…. Just saying!
Oliver has built himself quite the harem. After his battle with the Garuda, he seemed to receive kissing from a couple of the girls and just like any male character at the center of a harem, he’s too embarrassed to accept any of them. I mean… if he doesn’t like it, I’ll gladly take his place… just saying (again)!
However, receiving kisses isn’t the only thing we get with Oliver. At the end of the volume, we get a look into Oliver’s past and it’s not a pretty one. Beneath this mild-mannered main character lies a dark secret that has haunted him for quite some time. Now, he has the answer to that secret and I’m sure that we are going to see Oliver either get his revenge or get completely annihilated, yet, spared. Things have gotten a bit more interesting with him!
Speaking of Oliver, a girl shows up who refers to him as Noll? He keeps referring to her as “sis” but she’s not his sister but, instead, a cousin? He did speak of her before but her appearance was just so random and as soon as she showed up, she was gone. That was a bit confusing!
Mr. Andrews also received some big developments here. Rather than see Oliver as a rival, he now has a newfound respect for him. During the battle with the Garuda, Oliver had his guts ripped open. When he retreated to heal, he found himself next to Mr. Andrews who was hiding. They had a talk as Mr. Andrews couldn’t understand why Oliver continued to fight. Oliver’s words got through to him and Andrews’ attitude towards him did a complete 180. There still seems to be the smoldering embers of competition between them but he definitely has a much larger well of respect for Oliver!
Lastly… Nanao! The outcome of the first battle when they discover who kidnapped Katie gives birth to the seventh spellblade! That’s all I will say. Find out what its power is as you read it. I guarantee you’ll go “Well… that’s not overpowered or anything, sheesh!”
Final Thoughts
There is a lot to unpack in this volume but all of it was good. The only thing I didn’t really like was that some things seemed to REALLY feel rushed. The conclusion to the volume being just that. You would think that after they had built up Oliver’s opponent to be as strong as they are that they would have set up some more time before the fight between them… get Oliver some more training… get his mage powers up a bit but… nope… they are just tossing him into this fight as a first-year that doesn’t really know how to fully handle himself.
This means that it’s all but guaranteed that he’s going to get annihilated, yet, spared due to his opponent’s keen interest in him. If Oliver, somehow, wins… I’m just going to shake my head because it’s not believable in any sense right now that he stands a chance at winning. That means we would have to see some Deus Ex Machina plot device pulled out for this to happen. Should still be an entertaining battle nevertheless… unless it’s misdirection and it’s not going to happen.
In any event, things certainly got interesting pretty quickly even if this volume felt as if they were rushing to conclude as many storylines as possible. The fact that it’s only the third volume worries me a bit… especially since the final chapter here was entitled “Epilogue 1.” Guess we’ll see what volume four brings!
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**This item was provided for review by Yen Press
