บท 15: Chapter 15: At the same time, they
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My blade plunges into Relial's heart, and his focus quickly fades. Relial's bulging muscles gradually give way, transforming him into a fairly dwarfed figure.
Relial was a character with a lot of history. He was known as "Relial the Slayer" and was introduced as a powerful villain in the mid-game.
He used a single strength-boosting blood spell called Blood Strength, which can be used to inflict great damage on the player.
One day, the gaming community was informed that it was possible to stop Relial the Slayer in advance.
The information said that there was a bandit hideout in the town of Gustel, located near the Academy in the beginning of the game, where Relial could be found.
If players go there early in the game, they'll encounter the Relial, who is only level 13 instead of the Slaughterer.
Relial the Undeterred was very weak. Several users commented that it was intentionally designed to be killed early on to make the game easier.
His story is also revealed through his journal, which you'll find somewhere in this hideout.
'The Vengeance of the Wicked' and his meticulous planning over five years.
Players who had previously thought of him as a simple massacre-minded villain were given a new appreciation for the game's depth.
With this information revealed many players dealt with Relial in the early game and the reward for defeating Relial the Undeterred is a rare metal, Vampiric Iron.
If you weren't a swordsman character, you could sell it on the black market for a decent amount of money, but the downside was that it made the game's blood mages slightly stronger.
Since I am a swordsman, I plan to use the Vampiric Iron to craft the Spectral Sword that will help me far more than money.
'I meant to be here sooner rather than later, but I'm here sooner than expected.'
Relial wouldn't be able to finish the bloodstone for at least another few months, so I only had to come before then.
He was a wicked man and at the same time, he didn't know how to give up.
In the game, he'd made it clear through his dialog that he wouldn't give up, but in person, his tenacity was frightening.
'Anyway…'
Time to claim the loot.
First, I checked the status window.
<Zetto> Lv.16
Skills
-Swordplay Lv.8
-Superior Senses Lv.7
-Weakness Detection Lv.MAX – [Blindfold that is Beyond Reason] is in effect
Equipped items
-Blindfold that is Beyond Reason [Legendary]
– Low-quality Eastern Blade [Normal]
-Energetic Silver Necklace [Rare]
-Bracelet of Prayer [Epic]
'…Two levels.'
I hadn't gained a lot of experience since it was before he became Relial the Slayer, but I had gained two levels, counting the bandits I had killed earlier.
It wasn't a high number, but it wasn't low either, considering their level.
I had previously invested the four skill points from Edward's first class in 'Superior Senses'.
From a game perspective, it wasn't an efficient investment. But now that the game is real, it's a choice I had to make, as the skills have slightly different effects and meanings.
Part of this is because I realized that playing a blind person is not easy.
If I were to play a blind person who could really feel, I'd have to be able to recognize people without turning my head, and I'd have to know where I was when my vision went dark.
'Super Senses' was perfect for that kind of performance and I could feel the effects as I leveled up twice.
Relial's men, who numbered more than ten, were deliberately lured into dark passages to fight.
Simply having better senses didn't mean I could quickly apply them in the real world. However, I did get some hands-on experience, so it wasn't all for nothing.
I decided to save my two skill points for another time because I realized one thing while fighting Relial.
I was underpowered for my level, as my Eastern Blade was not performing as well as it should have.
I was able to defeat him somehow by exploiting his weaknesses, but this was not a good sign for me.
Fortunately, crafting the Spectral Sword was just around the corner and I needed to save my points to invest in the new skills I would gain from it.
I gathered the petals and the Vampiric Iron. All that remained were the byproducts of monsters and an item with memories.
The byproducts of the monsters can be dealt with as soon as I have time or money, and the item with memories is something I have a vague idea about.
'The problem is…A blacksmith.'
I could not entrust the creation of the Spectral Sword to an ordinary blacksmith. A normal blacksmith would not attempt to make such a sinister weapon as the Spectral Sword, nor would they have the skills to do so.
There are only three blacksmiths who can make it so I'll go to the one closest to me but I'm not sure how well that's going to work out.
It was still dark. I had plenty of time to get back to the Academy so I walked around the room familiarly.
One bookcase slid back to reveal a space. It was Relial's secret safe.
It contained various goods he'd collected during his thieving exploits, as well as Vampiric Iron, a reddish-tinged metal that mesmerizes people.
It was large enough to make the sword I wanted.
'You're going to eat a bloodstone of this size all by yourself…I hope you'll be strong.'
As for the goods, unfortunately, I couldn't carry them all so I stuck to things that were lightweight but still valuable.
I packed the goods and the heavy Vampiric Iron into the cloth I had brought with me, and then slowly made my way out of the cave.
***
Pale moonlight streamed into the room through the open window. The owner of the room, Yuri Clementine, was sprawled out on the bed, unable to sleep at this hour.
"Zetto…"
Zetto was the first friend she had ever made.
To Yuri, he was a mystery and she couldn't stop being curious about him. She liked him for that.
Yesterday, Yuri met Zetto when he showed up unexpectedly at the girls' dormitory.
She felt embarrassed because her clothes were a little revealing, but he was blind so it was rather strange to feel embarrassed.
Anyway, Yuri wondered what brought him here, but the conversation ended without an answer.
[Zetto, what are you doing here?]
[If everything's okay, let's go. I'm hungry.]
Aizel appeared, acting much friendlier to Zetto than she was.
Yuri had a lot of questions like, "Since when?" but she couldn't ask because she couldn't even speak.
Aizel, who was pushing Zetto's back, was looking at her with cold eyes. Yuri didn't know why, but she found it infuriating.
It wasn't so strange that Zetto had other friends besides her. There was nothing wrong with having multiple friends. It's just that Yuri thought she was Zetto's best friend.
Yesterday, it had kept her awake at night, and today, it was even worse than yesterday.
During Edward's first class in the illusion Yuri had seen something terrible happen. In her vision, she saw Zetto dying, helpless.
At the time, Yuri hadn't realized it was an illusion. She was in a state of intense anger and had no time to notice anything else around her.
Yuri's mind was filled with thoughts of how she would burn every last one of those scum who dared to kill Zetto.
He was a tough opponent but Yuri succeeded in burning the scum and then her vision quickly changed.
When she came to her senses, she saw Zetto sitting at the table next to Edward, who she had just incinerated. Only then did Yuri realize that she had been under an illusionary spell.
However, the sight of Zetto and Aizel drinking tea together in the corner of her eye made her uncomfortable.
As she sat at the table, trying to calm her nerves, Edward asked her a strange question.
[Who was the first person to die in the illusion?]
Yuri didn't answer the question right away. There was no way she could say that she incinerated Edward in anger because Zetto had died, especially next to Aizel, who seemed closer to him than he was.
But then Zetto answers Edward's unexpected question.
[…Cadet Yuri.]
[The second one was Cadet Aizel.]
In Zetto's vision, she died before Aizel but in her vision, Zetto was the first to die…
Yuri's mind raced.
Maybe Zetto felt closer to her than to Aizel.
They had known each other since day one but she didn't know how to speak informally to Zetto…because she was not good at it.
It was a rather childish thought, but to her, Zetto was her 'first' friend, so it meant a lot.
'I've arranged the deaths in the order of closeness to each other.'
Her prediction was correct.
Edward's words meant that Zetto felt a greater kinship with her than with Aizel.
Yuri couldn't help but smile but now Yuri had a different problem.
'The next time I meet Zetto, should I be as friendly as I was today…?'
In a way, they had just openly confirmed their close friendship so Yuri felt a little embarrassed.
Of course, Zetto didn't know that he had been killed first in Yuri's illusion, but it was still embarrassing.
'Is this how friends are supposed to be…?'
The presence of the man named Zetto was gradually increasing in size in Yuri's mind.
***
"Help me… Please…!!"
I unleashed a blast of magic on the man on the ground and he died without a single scream since it wasn't my first time killing people.
He was the last, and that cleared the air around here.
They were disgusting, worshiping demons and sacrificing other humans to them despite being human.
They had a bad history with me.
I wipe the dirty blood from my face and look up at the night sky in silence.
'Why?'
Why wasn't I the first?
The redhead had been a nuisance before.
Intimacy… No big deal.
The instructor was different from before, but it was the first lesson, and Zetto would eventually come to my side, just like he did before.
"…Right?"
But there was no answer from Zetto.
Apart from him, there was no one alive here anymore except me.
I stood there for a long time, looking up at the sky.
This was my Zetto.
It had to be 'my' Zetto.
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