Capítulo 30: Sword Dance (1)
There's one thing that comes to mind when you think of a hobo.
Sword dancing.
It's about killing all the assholes.
There's a lot more scum in the world than you think, and it takes a lot more strength to cut it down.
But most people just fantasize about it.
You have a lot to lose.
It's not you doing the sword dance. All you can do is sit back and wonder, hoping someone else will change the world.
Something is wrong. But I can't say.
I know there's a lot on my shoulders.
I'm afraid for my family.
Everyone has their own reasons for worrying.
But do I have anything to protect right now?
Do I have a reason to worry, to judge?
Do I have a reputation to somehow maintain?
No, nothing.
Neither does he, and I'm a wreck.
And a dead man walking.
"You're sure about this, right?"
I said, summoning my magic and pointing my sword, which was now blackened. My new servant was sweating profusely as he guided me.
It's probably sending chills down his spine.
If I made a mistake here, he'd be eaten whole.
"Young Master… For some reason, the atmosphere is getting darker. The air has gotten cooler."
Zitri said, following me. I scanned my surroundings.
The cages are filled with the bodies of men who have been hacked to death. Most of them had been beaten to death.
But right now, I have more important things to do than collect the bodies of the dead.
Protect Mei and return her safely to Elena's arms.
If I fail to do this, I'll lose my best unit and enter the game without it.
Is that acceptable to gamers?
"No, never.
That simple truth sticks in my mind.
Just like that, how much time passed?
I managed to make my way through the dimly lit underground to a point.
And there...
where I was confronted by countless hordes of bandits.
"I knew it."
"You shouldn't have followed me so blindly. Didn't you?"
The henchman laughed, and with that, he bounced away from me, ducking into the crowd.
I smirked back. The enemies around me are all around twenty.
But they're all clumsy.
I knew that from the start.
I offered them mercy, and they refused it.
So, I can't help what's going to happen.
I thought to myself.
If that's how they want to die, I'll let them die.
"By the time you realize your mistake. You'll already be dead. Zitri, stay close behind."
I don't even feel the need to invoke Genius Time.
Their swordsmanship isn't even close to Allen and Hartz's at best.
That's because House Reinhafer's personnel are such thugs. As for the other families, even Nox, the weakest of the bunch, wasn't too bad, except for being sick.
His health was a joke, but… what was his initial horsepower stat?
He was a natural from the start.
"I see."
Zitri clasped his hands together across her chest with a determined expression and stuck close behind me. I tightened my grip on the sword and thought to myself.
Killing people. It's not something I want to get used to, but if I have to, I'll do it.
The captain of the guard, Taigan's men, charged ferociously toward me.
I straighten my sword and slowly scan their faces.
I don't use my skills because they're not worth it.
But I'm a little interested in the swords they use.
I step into their lair.
'I needed to reduce the number of enemies with each wave anyway.'
"Fuck you!"
The guards, now little bandits, swing their swords.
Whoosh!
With a quick spin, I dodge the sideways slash.
The swords they're using are from the south, including the Chasers. It's called "Southern Swordsmanship" because it's not very advanced, but the sideways slash is surprisingly useful, and players have learned it quite often.
I watched them use the saber and other southern sword techniques for a while.
I move my body, brushing off the steps lightly.
Dash.
It's a good thing for me, this shift in the front of the pack.
It's also good for the game.
'I'm glad I caught the ogre and the wyrm.'
If it wasn't for that, I wouldn't be in the shape I'm in now.
Sometimes certain situations are for the best.
And I'd already realized it, alas.
The moment when I share only a few exchanges with the enemy.
I saw a path that only the chosen few can see.
[Talent 'Genius with Swords and Martial Arts' activates].
[You have succeeded in mastering the talent 'Southern Swordsmanship'].
My eyes, which had reached Physique 5, could see the structure of a low-level sword art without difficulty.
The gist of it all came into clear focus.
It took me less than five minutes to clear out the enemies that surrounded me on all sides.
* * *
"After all, money can't buy you anything… Isn't that right, Mei?"
Mei was a fierce-looking girl with orange hair.
She was currently bound limb from limb with restraints.
To put it simply, she was in the worst possible situation.
Because here in front of her was Taigan, the de facto leader of the Chasers.
He could do whatever he wanted. Here, he was the pinnacle of unchecked power.
All he had to do was say the word, and everyone would turn on her.
Shit. She gritted her teeth, thinking to herself.
'But I couldn't help it. I couldn't let her be dragged away, Elena. Besides, she's not like me. She has a gift. A gift that could take her out of this dreary reality.'
She has talent.
Those words were, sadly, the easiest and hardest thing she'd ever said to herself to make her give up.
Elena was born with an eye and a talent for herbal medicine.
She was a natural at mixing potions. At the orphanage, she was already second to none.
The nuns in charge of the orphanage, and even a saint, praised her talent. Each time, Mei was disappointed by her limitations.
But she soon realized that it was an absurdly overwhelming gift.
That's not the role she was meant to play.
Prodigies and geniuses can never be compared on the same level.
So she thought.
I'm going to be there for her, to help her realize the fullness of her talent.
Maybe, just maybe, she could overcome poverty and make a name for herself in the history of the continent.
Not because she's a particularly sacrificial character.
Just because she was important to her.
To Mei, Elena was an old friend, and they had each other's backs, so she gave herself up first.
She decided it was better to be the one without the talent.
So even in that life-or-death moment, Mei didn't choose herself.
She chose Elena over herself because that's the only way to live.
Because that's what was realistic.
"So, what do you want me to do with you, sell you to a whorehouse, or dismember you and sell your limbs to warlocks? Tough call."
Taigan was the devil himself when he spoke like that.
In the world of Inner Lunatic, there is a famous saying.
Sometimes men are most like the devil.
The exact wording was as follows
Humans are most like angels and most like demons.
That's why they are both beautiful and ugly.
It was a passage that captured the essence of human nature.
It was frightening. Mei felt fear like she'd never felt before, but she didn't back down and spat right back at him.
Ptoo!
The spit landed squarely on Taigan's face. Taigan's face turns more ferocious than ever. It's a look that says, "You're nothing…"
You're a commoner, not a noble.
Mei snorted.
He'd taken over the village with the mere title of captain of the guard, and his demeanor had changed like the difference between heaven and earth.
It was he who had killed Mei's parents and Elena's brother.
A man who had driven countless people into fear and despair.
Mei finished her resolve, grateful to be able to give him a final blow. "I'm sorry," she said with a wry smile.
"I'm sorry, but what you do after I'm dead is none of my business."
With that, she gave a quick squeeze. Instantly, the restraints shook and her body jerked violently.
Blood trickles from the corner of Mei's mouth.
Understanding her intentions, Taigan quickly clamps his hand over Mei's mouth.
'This bitch… I'm going to kill her!'
The muscles in Taigan's arms bulge.
He quickly jams a cloth into her mouth to prevent her from killing herself.
But her will was clear. She would not allow herself to be insulted, even in death.
He could feel it.
"You really want to do that…!"
That's when Taigan muttered.
"Did she say her name was Mei?"
An unfamiliar voice from out of nowhere, a head of pure white hair caught the light. Lavender-colored eyes flicker between the two of them, a sly smile on their face.
"Enough with the self-harm. I need you to get you to safety, so Elena will listen to me."
"Tete… tete! Eh, Ela...!"
Even with a mouth full of blood and a pained expression on her face, Mei tried to say Elena's name.
They were practically sisters.
So the game setting is real.
With that thought, Nox drew his sword.
He hadn't even wiped the blood off his sword yet.
"…Looks like we're in trouble."
Taigan, whose tone had changed, also drew his sword.
He realized that Nox had learned his secret and some important information.
If we don't deal with him here, even if he's House Reinhafer blood…?
Something worse could happen later.
Kill him here, say he was possessed, and cover it up.
Fortunately, Grine and his youngest brother don't seem to be on good terms, so he might be able to use that to his advantage somehow. He's done judging.
And when he raises his sword.
Bang.
Taigan's sword split in two, sending him to the ground.
It happened before his eyes, but he couldn't understand it.
Before I could fully comprehend the situation, Nox was already at Mei's side, wiping the blood from her bite with a cloth. He pulled out a healing potion filled with red liquid and poured it into her mouth.
"What!"
Slash!
The moment he realized, a solid line drew across his shoulder and a stream of blood gushed out.
His eyes widened, and for a split second, he could feel the pain stealing his breath.
It was no illusion.
I've been cut.
It was an unmistakable sensation.
He had been cut. By Nox von Reinhafer.
That, too…
"…You, how do you know southern swordsmanship?"
By using his own southern style sword.
* * *
The talent [Genius with Swords and Martial Arts] is one of the best talents.
It's the strongest of the martial arts talents, and it's the only one that's comparable to [Mana Sensitivity Genius].
I know how to put it to good use.
I have discovered the best way to utilize it, and that is to copy the work of others, make it my own, and then refine and transform it.
For me, this is not difficult. Physique is now over 5, and the Genius trait has definitely blossomed.
I can do better here.
I had no intention of sitting idle, and alas, I was an old man.
I will take the swords of the many who have fought, and make them my own.
And then I cut.
This sequence of events was now as natural as the flow of water.
Although the sword was nothing more than the nameless [Southern Swordsmanship], I was confident that I could utilize it properly.
Furthermore, the less advanced my swordsmanship, the easier it would be for me to change my sword path, so it could even be said that it was better for my current level of cultivation.
"I've been suspicious from the start. The Chasers province alone has a ridiculous amount of money requested from the imperial government, but the wall repairs are shit and people are sleeping on the streets. I figured there must be a bastard in there somewhere."
"You picked your moment, to make sure you caught me?"
There's no hiding it anymore.
Taigan is now fully baring his teeth to me.
But I'm not nervous at all.
[Talent 'Master of Acting' is activating].
I don't even have room to be nervous in the first place.
This is the same pressure I endured in front of Theo, and in the simultaneous battle with my brothers. It's the same pressure I've endured in front of Talia and countless other characters.
Compared to what I've been through so far, I feel like this fight with Taigan is nothing.
Mostly because he's not that great to begin with.
[Talent "Supreme Ruler's Awe" is triggered].
The enemy's overall stats are also reduced.
I smirked at Mei, who was now free and holding my wrist.
I immediately gestured to the Zitri behind me.
They will now sneak out.
I have not yet decided what to do with the prisoners.
If they're innocent, maybe. If they're truly guilty and we release them together, we're asking for trouble.
For now, I don't know.
"I think you first, then George."{1}
The sword hungrily devours the light.
With a thud, the ground caves in and my body shoots toward the enemy.
Taigan straightens his sword to parry my attack with his already broken shoulder.
But the sword is no match for me.
It won't even parry my attack.
Over the past few months, I've been analyzing the traits of genius,
I've realized one thing.
It is.
[A genius can learn one thing, and then lose ten].
I took the basic sideways slashing motion of Southern swordsmanship with a grain of salt. With a flick of my wrist, I twisted the blade vertically and brought it down on his neck.
"What the…!
Taigan's eyes narrowed.
There was no such thing as a vertical slash in the southern swordsmanship he remembered.
He'd thought he could handle it.
If the enemy was a child who hadn't learned to wield a proper sword.
Then it might be worth a try.
But he didn't know.
That the world was vast, and that 'geniuses' existed, albeit few and far between, on every continent.
"Shit."
For the last time.
Splat!
My sword sank into Taigan's throat, splitting his neck in two. A fountain of blood spurted, filling the air with blackness.
I wonder why.
In that moment, I felt an exhilarating sensation that was hard to forget.
I stared at him, my lavender eyes locked on his.
And the words dripped out.
"Search."
His body collapsed in a heap. It's a hollow end for a man who's taken an entire village under his wing.
But I know.
I know that there are more meaningful deaths, and more often than not, futile ones.
In the dozens of times I've played Inner Lunatic, most of my deaths haven't been against bosses or because I wasn't good enough.
I simply let my guard down.
When I misjudged what I was supposed to be supporting.
It was when I gave the enemy a momentary respite.
It's also when you let the enemy have the last laugh.
I will never, ever, survive this place unless I am first here.
I lightly wiped the blood from my sword.
The first force is now cleared.
I steeled myself and ran, retracing my steps.
This is where it really begins.
It was necessary to show that the sword dance was not yet over.
Not ever, and not at a pace the enemy could even react to. This game must end.
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