Chapter 26: Chapter 25
{Side Quest: Unparalleled Under the Heavens![Complete]}
The sight of that notification just filled me with relief as I fell down on my ass, tired from the first battle of my life where defeat actually had been a very real possibility. A fact that a sudden pain in my shoulder reminded me as I pulled Musashi's katana out of my shoulder and immediately drank a healing potion in order to not die from blood loss.
Honestly, if Musashi actually had physical abilities comparable to me... he likely would have been able to go through the Solar Shell and cut me in half like he intended. It was a mere moment of luck combined with his durability not being high enough that allowed me to defeat him. If I had made even one mistake, I would have ended up in a way similar to Hanayama Kaoru or Retsu Kaioh. Thank heavens I didn't get a meme ending.
Speaking of endings, for some reason I wasn't getting my rewards. I did defeat Musashi so why…
In the end all I could figure was that there was some sort of hidden clause for this quest, something that I still needed to do. And for that I needed Musashi alive, so I walked towards his downed form and splashed a healing potion on the unconscious man.
"Hmm." Which had the effect of healing his wounds and waking him up. "I'm surprised that you didn't cut off my head while you still had the chance." The samurai admitted as he took a seiza posture, his hands on his thighs but yet also close to the shorts word by his side.
As I took a look at the man I reaffirmed my opinion about him, he looked inhuman.
The shape of his eyes reminded me more of a beast of prey rather than that of a human and the cold look in his glasslike eyes did not seem to actually see me but instead saw through me in order to look at something else.
"Please tell me, Musashi-san." I looked at him in the eye and asked. "What exactly do you see when you look at me?"
"...a sun." The great samurai said after a moment of thought and a smile blossomed on his face, it wasn't a pretty sight. "Bright and huge, standing at the very top. The heaven itself that my sword has been trying to cut down for years." With each word, his smile became even more bloodthirsty and I could see his hands twitching. Even after I had stopped his sword with my flesh and slashed his chest with a single heavy swing, he still wanted to take a chance to try to cut me down. Yet I couldn't bring myself to be mad about it.
No, instead I felt my respect for the man grow. Seeing the swordsman's devotion towards strength that cared little for his own life made me realize the course of action I wanted to take, uncaring about what the system was going to offer me.
"Musashi." I began as a smile appeared on my face. "Do you like cutting?"
"…is it weird, to like cutting?" The samurai answered my question with one of his own as he tilted his head to the side. "I know that the world has changed in my absence, that they no longer climb by cutting, yet I care not. I intend to cut my way to the very top of the heavens and once more become the brightest star this world has ever seen." Samurai declared and I could see the air around him waver like a mirage and a red light glinting in his eyes.
He was… perfect.
"And what if I were to tell you that I could give you that chance?" I asked with a smile and the murderous aura around Musashi was replaced by a curious one.
"You see, Miyamoto Musashi-san, where I come from; the gods truly do exist. They hide themselves from the common populace but from the lowliest of Yokai to Amaterasu herself, they all do exist." I declared with a smile. "Compared to some of them, I am not even strong enough to be worthy of note." That last part took a bit more force to admit.
"Musashi-san, I can give you the chance to climb higher than even you have ever imagined by cutting. The chance to cut down Yokai, men of power beyond imagination, dragons and even gods."
"...those are quite the claims, far better than the promises Hosokawa used to give me everyday in a vain effort to get me to become his vassal." Musashi chuckled, a nostalgic look was on his face as he looked up at me. "Is that what you want, me as your subordinate? The privilege of having the Miyamoto Musashi as your personal samurai?"
"More or less." I admitted. "Make no mistake, I can leave this space whenever I want; but you can't. I can literally leave you to your death here, but the sheer waste in that decision would make me feel less for it." I said and took a deep breath as I looked up.
"But even more than that, I would feel ashamed of depriving the world of what you might bring. The level of swordsmanship you reached in a world such as yours, where the limit of power is far lower than mine, is nothing less than a divine art." For what else can one call a swordsmanship that didn't need a blade to cut people. "Yet that makes me want to see what exactly you could accomplish in a world where you can be challenged, in a world where you can be stronger. I want to see the limits of the Miyamoto Musashi, because I have the means to take him there." And then I offered my hand to him. "So, what will it be?"
For a moment, the great samurai looked like he was contemplating between taking my hand or slicing it off before he smiled. "What the hell." And accepted my hand.
{Hidden Quest: Gain Musashi's Loyalty[Complete], Side Quest: Unparalleled Under the Heavens![Fully Complete]
Rewards: +100 Obedience with Miyamoto Musashi[100/100], +50 Reputation with Miyamoto Musashi[50/100], Onimaru Kunitsuna, 10 Gacha Tokens}
{50 Reputation Reward of Miyamoto Musashi: [Bonds of Swords]. Increased Reputation, Affection and Reputation gain with sword users.}
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