NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 9
What is this guy? The man who had clashed swords was left astounded.
It wouldn’t be strange if his slash had been deflected. This side’s strike had merely been a probing attack, not a committed effort, let alone delivered with full power.
However, the result showed that the sword which he had been gripping tightly was now floating in the air. Meanwhile, his opponent’s sword had its tip pressed against his neck.
And yet, there was no sensation of contact on either his sword or hand.
“How about that?”
“…One more.”
On a battlefield, this would have been the “end.” His carotid artery would have been sliced like a fountain spraying blood, drowning him in death. Even if protected by a neck guard or armor, his opponent would have likely driven the blade through any gap, leaving no way to defend.
Still, this man was not satisfied and requested another bout. There was no way the sword could have slipped from his grasp like fine snow melting from his palm.
The adversary accepted with calm composure and readied his sword, reassessing the distance.
The man picked up his fallen sword and gripped the hilt to confirm it. He examined it carefully, as though doubting whether the disappearance of the sword from his hand had been merely an illusion.
Nevertheless, the practice sword in his hand tangibly existed.
With renewed focus, the man took his stance. Both held their swords loosely in both hands, their blades pointed toward each other at the level of their stomachs – a generic stance from battlefield swordsmanship learned by them both.
From the man’s perspective, the standing adversary appeared riddled with openings. His gaze was unfocused, his body slightly turned, every muscle seemingly relaxed.
Despite this, an unsettling tension remained. Though visible, he felt his opponent was somehow invisible, his stance barely registering in the man’s consciousness, raising his frustration.
Driven by this agitation, the man struck out, eliminating any hesitation. The practiced thunderblade strike – a slash delivered from above – was something he’d practiced countless times with confidence. However, it never touched the opponent’s forehead.
Inexplicably, the adversary’s strike, supposedly raised afterward, had already deprived the man of his sword with an almost gentle fluidity. It then came to an abrupt yet exact halt, the tip stopping inches before the man’s forehead, as if pausing after the swing.
Had it been a real blade, his head would have split in two. The severity of the blow suggested that even with a helmet, survival would have been unlikely. Either fainting and being executed slowly or suffering a split skull with blood obscuring his vision, leading to an easy and swift death.
The man realized he was indeed killed for certain.
He swallowed hard and acknowledged his defeat.
Yet, his initial impression of this opponent only intensified.
He had never considered himself the strongest. Not once in seven years had he defeated Lambert, his teacher and supervisor in swordsmanship, and he had given up when even three-on-one practice sessions failed. As a warrior and self-defense group member, he was merely average at best.
Even so, this situation was extraordinary. Seven years of honing his skills had helped him survive countless threats against the manor. He had twice answered the lord’s call to arms, and yet he was utterly defeated by “an eleven-year-old kid.”
Moreover, his instincts told him this was no ordinary duel. Could it even be possible to disarm an opponent without injuring their hand in a single strike?
Nevertheless, no matter how many times he confirmed, the enemy’s blade remained pressed against his face, while his own lay rolled away behind him.
“Well, I concede.”
Seized by a peculiar sensation and fear, the sweat-drenched youth seemed eerily composed while the man perspired profusely.
Erich, the fourth son of Johannes. The reason why only Lambert trained him and prohibited others from sparring with him became clear.
It seemed he had always been given consideration, the pride of his seven years in the local defense group upheld.
“…A monster.”
Yet, it was his own misfortune to have challenged the boy practicing alone and casually testing his skills. He had wasted the care his teacher had shown him.
Even upon contemplating what might have resulted in a duel involving shields or spears, the man’s spirit was crushed to the extent that he could no longer even imagine mentoring rookies.
In frustration, he cursed and turned his back on the child, terrified by his inhumane strength.
—
What is the most supreme moment for a number cruncher?
Surely, it’s watching the refined data strike home and seeing the opponent’s dumbfounded expression of “What the hell is this guy?”
Having participated in the self-defense group training for about two years now, and practicing with Mr. Lambert during the gaps between family business as a self-defense candidate, it was astonishing how fighting itself amassed an incredible amount of proficiency.
By swallowing various risks and thinking deeply, you use all you have. Attack, evade, defend, redirect damage through breakfalls or damage control when hurt. Countless decisions and predictions flash in an instant, condensing all within a blink of an eye.
My skill levels skyrocketed at a rate incomparable to anything before. And as usual, my bad habit resurfaced with each bulging wallet – yet again.
Though my future path is undecided, in just two years, the battlefield swordsmanship I’ve learned from my teacher has reached an expert level of proficiency.
Ah, well… there’s nothing wrong with having a means to protect yourself in these times. Just shiver a little, okay?
At least battlefield swordsmanship in chaotic fights is coarse but straightforward and easy to handle. It doesn’t concern appearances; it’s purely about how simply you can cut down enemies and move to the next.
Most importantly, it caters to group combat, one-on-many or many-on-many scenarios, including defensive strategies and team positioning, making it highly versatile.
And with it, I’ve acquired various traits and skills.
This is where the real number crunching begins – combining various elements to cause mischief, our rightful domain. If you want to complain, talk to the god who bestowed a chimera-like ability on this system, allowing it to snack on multiple skills.
What particularly caught my eye, something I knew would undeniably cause chaos, was this:
[Seductive Dexterity] – A trait that channels superior dexterity into other techniques. Applies modifier adjustments to judgements involving [Dexterity]. Also allows conversion of other status-based judgments to [Dexterity].
In many systems, using a standout status in other judgments is common, but this was a bit different. Apparently, with martial or sword skills, there are computation formulas combining several stats like [Strength] and [Explosive Power]. However, it seems [Seductive Dexterity] can convert them entirely to [Dexterity].
So if the formula for a top-down strike involves [Dexterity] and [Explosive Power], and damage is derived from [Strength] and [Dexterity], every instance of [Explosive Power] and [Strength] is swapped out with [Dexterity].
In essence, a skill that maximizes my strongest stat – literally a ridiculous efficiency skill that squares my best stat.
The concept seems rooted in the philosophy that with sufficient refinement of technique, strength and speed can be minimized – the ultimate softness. Of course, it might be overdoing it.
My current [Dexterity] rating has been boosted significantly, investing in casual part-time activities to reach an excellent level, with only two higher ratings left. Though aiming higher would demand a prohibitive amount of experience, potentially wiping out my stock accumulation equivalent to the grind of a mobile game, so I’m holding off on raising it further.
Furthermore, [Seductive Dexterity] has another game-breaking feature.
It allows the combination of any originally [Dexterity]-based skill into another category of skill.
What was already a combo-heavy system gets even more accelerated. And the promise of combining abilities across other jobs or classes in a system that prioritizes combos leads to inevitable chaos – a reason why playing chimera class is always a bad idea.
I’ve mastered a combo utilizing [Weapon Seizure], originally a basic unarmed combat skill within the martial arts category, by incorporating it into offense, disarming and neutralizing my opponent effectively.
Given it’s among the basic skills in a defensive martial art tree, [Weapon Seizure] is cheap to practice, making it a better option than trying some fancy counters. When combined with [Seductive Dexterity], this difficult skill gets a significant proficiency boost, improving its success rate significantly.
After all, losing a weapon in battle is a tremendous disadvantage. With all my combat techniques based on using weapons, an opponent who loses theirs becomes just another fodder.
In the future, I aim to combine it with more debuff-imposing skills.
As I was pondering this, I sensed a faint presence behind me. So faint I would have completely missed it without the barely perceptible scent carried by the wind.
I tried shifting my body halfway to avoid – only to realize too late the presence was a feint. It had been a deliberate approach to make me notice and react, thereby restricting my options.
From a small feinting leap to the genuine leap, the presence moved to grab my neck. And then, its hands clasped around it.
“Good afternoon?”
With that, the small frame spun around using my neck as the pivot. The absence of pain was thanks to precise grip control or superior body mechanics. Two years later, Margit’s radiant smile, as blinding as ever, slid into view from behind.
“So, stop sneaking up on me normally…”
“It’s the agreement. This makes it 140 wins and 134 losses, so we managed to return a few defeats to you.”
Still dangling around my neck like a necklace, Margit rubbed her head against my chest like a cat, smiling all the while.
Our relationship remained as it always was. Growing up together, there were clear indications still present in some form. Well, if you consider the entire manor a group of childhood friends, then they are childhood friends.
Having lived for nearly forty years across incarnations, I’ve certainly had my share of relationships and understand their intricacies. As for how she sees me, it’s fairly predictable.
There can be no doubt she’s fond of me – only I get treated as her personal backpack, and only I receive her playful ambushes.
However, due to her child-like appearance combined with a mysterious allure, it’s difficult to control my emotional direction. I can’t determine the appropriate way to see her.
Before I could make sense of her, Margit, leaving me behind as ever, cheerfully spoke in fluent court language, thoroughly accustomed to it.
“Hey, did you know?”
“Know what?”
Engaging with her non-specific query…
“Your elder brother is reportedly engaged!”
I ended up choking and laughing, an unexpected response.
“Whaaat, no way!”
Margit’s speech reverted to common tongue due to her positioning, inevitably making face contact with my eruption. With her hands wrapped around my neck, there was no way to avoid direct impact. And thus, her face got buried into my chest as she wiped herself off, though complaining was impossible.
“Uh… sorry, but… Hey, Brother Heinrich’s engagement?”
I had never heard of such a thing. True, in the small manor, it’s common for families to arrange things to secure alliances as their children near adulthood. With my being eleven, Brother Heinrich was fourteen, soon to enter adulthood and the age of formal marriage, so such news wasn’t entirely out of place.
But why would she know about it before me, someone in the family?
“So, Mina’s it, right?”
Mina was one of the group’s faces we played with years ago. She had shifted focus to bridal training and household duties, ceasing our games last year, but there was no indication of her being connected romantically with my brother.
Apparently, this was a decision made between families…
“Girls always hear news like this first, don’t they?”
“Indeed. Also, Heinrich’s quite popular, you know.”
What? Popular? This was news to me. But reflecting on it, my brother does resemble our father, quite handsome. Entering his growth spurt, he’s gaining a robust build and developing a dependable aura. His becoming a topic of romantic conversation was unexpected but…
“Being the eldest son of a fairly stable family makes him attractive. Plus, we’re not exactly poor.”
There it was.
Staggering under her dangling weight, I felt the gravity of life weaken my knees.
Our family, as small-scale landowners, is fairly prosperous. Even allowing next-elder Brother Mihail to attend private school demonstrated our earnings. When I declined an opportunity to join him citing my lessons with Margit, my father hinted there could have been some financial stretch but still suggested she could come along had it been feasible. We are, arguably, rather wealthy.
The six-year-old field expansions are fertile, stable, and bountiful. With a fine carriage horse and burgeoning olive orchards reaching optimal harvesting levels…
Interestingly, father also mentioned the impressive sales of chess pieces mass-produced for experience points and a whimsical line of god statues. Could these have funded his offer too?
Still, engagement, huh…
“Something wrong?”
As I instinctively hung my head, Margit gazed up with curiosity, asking.
“I guess I need to think about my future…”
A significant challenge loomed before my eyes.
—
In the Threefold Empire of Rain, inheritance of family names, public service, and formal employment begin after reaching the age of fifteen. However, apprenticeships or assistant positions serve as workarounds.
—
Thank you for the typo reports. They are greatly appreciated, and they motivate me greatly when paired with feedback.
Currently, the character seems to possess counter-shield technique volume swordsmanship with room for growth. As a GM, it’s the type of character build that leaves one grimacing when a lucky player selects it.
In a certain R-15 version of Kemono Friends, it would be akin to a parrying specialist excelling in disarming techniques.