The following contains spoilers for Reincarnated as a Sword Episode 9, “The Monstrous Rank A Adventurer”, now streaming on HIDIVE.
Reincarnated as a Sword’s main characters are undeniably overpowered. They’ve managed to take down a Greater Demon and clear a B-Rank dungeon all by themselves. Worse is that their power has yet to plateau. They continuously get stronger the more they fight, and show no sign or intent in slowing down. However, that is when they are together. Since they’ve decided to join forces, they’ve rarely fought independently. On the rare occasions that they have, Fran easily overpowered her adversary. Episode 9 finally shows what the cat-girl is capable of on her own.
Episode 8 has introduced the quirky Rank A adventurer Amanda. She’s a half-elf adventurer who has taken a liking to Fran at their first meeting. She even claims to be Fran’s mother, which the cat-girl swiftly refutes. Even so, that doesn’t stop her from stalking the girl. She adamantly demands Fran to call her “mother”. While she seems sketchy at best, she is not a bad person. She genuinely likes children, with even the gods of Reincarnated as a Sword acknowledging her. In her concern for Fran, she forcefully joins the cat-girl’s next guild mission.
The Battle Between The Two Feisty Women
Despite Fran’s achievements, not everyone was convinced of her abilities. That includes the adventurers accompanying her. Fran, of course, wasn’t bothered. However, these adventurers weren’t just going to gloat. They continued to provoke her. When night came, their leader, Krad, challenged the cat-girl to a duel. Fran obliged and made short work of him. Their battle then inspired Amanda into challenging Fran. But unlike her battle with Krad, there was no animosity between the two. And so, Fran accepted the challenge. She also asked Teacher to not aid her.
To up the ante, the two also added their own conditions. Fran asked Amanda to stop bothering her should she win, while Amanda asked Fran to call her “Mama” if she triumphs. The moment the mock duel started, Amanda unleashed her whip. She playfully lashed out at Fran, yet her attacks posed a great threat to the cat-girl. Fran was forced on the defensive, frantically dodging Amanda’s whip strikes. However, Fran launched her counterattack the moment Amanda let her guard down. She rushed forward and struck with her sword. Amanda used Wind Shield to blow her away, but Fran wasn’t finished yet. Fran used blasted Amanda with a Flare Blast. Still, Amanda emerged unscathed due to her unique skill Spirit’s Affection.
Fran Almost Won, But Is She Rank A Worthy?
If Amanda’s unique ability didn’t activate, Fran would have landed her explosive Flare Blast. That may not be enough to take down the half-elf adventurer, but it may be enough for the cat-girl to win the mock duel. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean Fran — on her own — can take up Amanda in a serious fight. Amanda has zero killing intent during the match, but even so, Fran had a hard time keeping up with her. Nonetheless, Fran’s efforts are not without fruit. She already manages to hold her ground against Amanda, and that is when Teacher isn’t providing her support.
It is rare for Fran to fight on her own, and Amanda’s affection is what made this rare happenstance to occur. Fran is able to fight by herself, since she is certain Amanda isn’t a threat to her. And that is true, their fight has become a good measure of Fran’s strength. Individually, Fran is far from being a Rank A adventurer’s strength, though things would be different if Teacher joins the equation. Nonetheless, it is also clear that she is far from Rank D’s level, since she has easily defeated Krad. Given that Fran has also cleared a Rank B dungeon, then her current power level is around the peak of Rank C to Rank B.