Chapter: 261
The darkness is gradually lifting.
The cursed sun is never late, after all.
In the past, it bothered me to see someone who couldn’t do anything hiding in the darkness trying to lift their head.
But that’s fine. That won’t last much longer.
Even if I disappear, if it means I can share hope and ruin together, then our lord shall reclaim glory.
Oh, the child who receives love from that ugly wretch.
How has it been?
Did my trickery make you chuckle because it was so easy?
It did for me.
As I checked everything you possessed, a smile came involuntarily.
You’re skilled at countering darkness.
You’ve perfectly memorized the roads to places you’ve never been before.
You even know how to deal with a sword from an opponent you’ve never faced.
Armedi surely gifted you with countless knowledge.
But you’re overly confident in your own wisdom.
Your trump cards shouldn’t be laid out so easily, right?
If you do, won’t your opponent be ready for it?
If you are the sole hope of this land…
Then my role might just be to swallow that hope.
Once everything is prepared…
I’ll be waiting.
For the moment you come.
For the moment you scream in pain.
For the moment you shed tears, begging Armedi for salvation, while it doesn’t come.
You won’t be able to look away from this.
I’ve already seen the weakness of your heart that you desperately try to hide.
*
The first thing I did after escaping the academy’s main building was to dash straight to the training grounds.
It was dawn. If it were any other day, I would have started my training as a habit.
At this hour, I’m sure they’ll be there.
“Hey!”
As expected, Frey had arrived at the training grounds before me, swinging her sword.
“Nice shield! Did you get it recently?”
‘Yeah. A little while ago.’
“Isn’t it cool? A goofball like you wouldn’t even scratch it.”
“Want to test it?”
‘Please do.’
“If you want to experience just how pathetic you are, I won’t stop you.”
I had one reason for coming to meet Frey.
To figure out what kind of performance the skill I’d never seen in the game, “Weakness Perception,” actually had.
There were no hidden skills in the game called Soul Academy.
It was a game that had seen no updates during the countless mod creations. Naturally, all hidden information has long been exposed through unpacking.
Achievements, speed runs, constraint plays, and so on. As I had been conducting all sorts of bizarre plays, I had actively utilized the information from these unpackings, leading to numerous records.
Some said it was wrong to use such underhanded methods, but I didn’t care about their opinions. I didn’t need to listen to someone whose skills were inferior to mine.
Anyway, after repeating countless studies, I obviously knew every skill existing in Soul Academy.
I had touched upon all skills that seemed possible to create optimal efficiency.
But this was a skill I was seeing for the first time.
This was a skill I had encountered since arriving in this world.
Of course, I needed to check its performance first!
Honestly, the description of Weakness Perception was vague. “You will be better at identifying weaknesses.”
If this were a game, I’d think it just increased critical hits. But this is reality.
How would the skill activate? What effects would it produce? How powerful would it be? What uses would it have?
There were countless things I need to verify.
That’s precisely why I sought out Frey.
The sword I wield was both my escort and the instructor of Soul Academy. Given that she had already wasted a day because of me, I couldn’t keep her tied up any longer.
However, Frey was different. She was solely focused on swinging her sword, oblivious to studies or anything else. I could keep her occupied indefinitely.
“Shall we go?”
‘Anytime.’
“Do what you want. I’ll try to catch you off guard when we meet again. Isn’t that right?”
“Got it. I’ll be there.”
As I watched Frey dash off at high speed, I thought this moment felt like any other.
Frey, who trains dozens of times a day, constantly facing me.
Can’t I discover something new about her sword?
“…Your shield has become sturdier. Equipment boost. So cowardly.”
As I blocked Frey’s strikes with my Ankhir shield, she whined along with her combo attacks.
Although equipment matters as much as skill, I didn’t even bother to touch on Frey’s feelings.
My recent fight against the skeleton made me doubt my own personality.
So, instead of blabbering, I focused my attention on Frey’s sword.
The differences between the first time I saw her and her sword now were many.
She still possessed her trademark speed and relentless onslaught, yet now there was a clear difference.
To put it simply, that difference was finesse. The old Frey moved her sword purely based on instinct.
She hadn’t learned much, and that was hardly her fault.
Typically, someone would feel strange and seek out someone else’s teaching, but Frey didn’t do that. Her talent was so immense that she could conquer the continent just through instinct.
But that’s not the case now. Whatever the reason, it seemed Frey had asked her father to guide her in swordsmanship, and her technique was now remarkably polished.
Retaining the advantages the old Frey possessed—quick judgment and reckless aggression—she has built upon the foundations of swordplay.
With clarity, her sword dances have increased the speed and power of her attacks.
Without excess thought processes, her strikes come down faster.
She gained significant strength just from acquiring knowledge over the vacation!
Yet still, it wasn’t enough.
Whether it was from facing off against a skeleton at its peak or the skill I gained from Weakness Perception, I could see her inadequacies.
The interval between her strikes was far too short.
Her frustration likely forced her to increase her number of strikes, but quick strikes also meant weaker attacks.
If they lack sufficient power, no matter how fast the sword is, it will simply bounce off the shield.
No particular skill is needed to deal with her.
I just need to wait passively, and she’ll self-destruct.
My judgment was accurate.
As Frey escalated her speed, she ultimately exposed a significant gap, and that moment, I noticed the imbalance in her stance.
As I slid into the gap I marked with my eye, pushing slightly against it, Frey tumbled over too easily.
Lying on the ground, Frey blinked and then raised her hand upwards.
“Again.”
I happily accepted her request.
To truly feel the power of the Weakness Perception skill.
As our spar continued, I began to understand what the Weakness Perception skill truly was.
First, this skill reveals weaknesses visually.
Just as I had seen Frey’s impatience and her unsteady balance, it naturally allows me to observe the weaknesses of my opponent.
And this skill doesn’t show everything from the very start.
During the initial spar, I couldn’t notice a few weaknesses, but with time, I could see more and more.
In moments of panic, the slight fraction of speed at which she swings her sword over stepping could create an opening.
When she gambles, there’s a slight drop in her eyebrows. Those sorts of tells.
Thanks to that, the longer the spar continued, the easier it became for me to overpower Frey.
Next, it was clear this skill was influenced by my own abilities.
Seeing the weaknesses I had roughly grasped from countless duels with Frey reveal themselves visually.
Just this alone would be enough to call Weakness Perception a broken skill.
A naturally defensive fighter like me can easily drag out fights.
As time passes, I can gauge my opponent and find ways to break them down. This weakness perception skill fit my fighting style too well.
Yet the deceptive nature of Weakness Perception didn’t end there.
Amazingly, this skill didn’t just influence combat.
I should have realized it from the vague description.
Weakness literally means the opponent’s vulnerable spots.
An area of their body they are embarrassed to show? That’s a weak spot.
Words they don’t want to hear? That’s a weakness too.
Something they never want to get caught doing? Obviously a weak spot.
Is it difficult to understand when explained this way? Umm—let me give an example. Right.
“How dirty. You can hide behind the shield since you’re small, and block everything.”
That’s the part Frey doesn’t want me to discover.
“Hey♡ You silly fighter♡ I know you want to mock me, but if your sword is this pathetic, I won’t even feel like retaliating♡”
As she keeps trying to provoke me, looking to draw out a reaction.
For some reason, this too must be her deficiency and her weakness.
Look! The moment I mention it, hesitation appears in her sword.
“Rather than wasting time chirping, shouldn’t you focus on swinging your sword instead?♡ But then again, the outcome would be the same anyway♡”
Instead of feeling frightened at her laughter, Frey’s face flushed red.
Anger? Embarrassment? I’m not sure what emotion she possessed, but the result was clear.
Blue energy gathered on Frey’s sword.
Whoa!? This is a spar! What are you doing conjuring aura here?!
Seeing this, I hurriedly wrapped my shield in divine protection.
The silver lining was that Frey’s preparation wasn’t perfect.
Thanks to her rushing in with the aura she’d been ready to unleash excessively, her strike was rather lackluster.
But if it weren’t for me blocking it and someone else had been caught in that, they might have been smashed to pieces.
No matter what, Frey’s sword is the real deal.
As I removed my shield to prepare to scold her, Frey had already dashed away into the distance.
…What kind of coward punches and runs? Was my nagging that unbearable?
Hmm. I probably wouldn’t get a warm reception if I followed her now.
We’ll meet again later, so I can nag her then.
For now, let’s check something else.
Thanks to the spar with Frey, my divine energy has greatly recovered.
Now to spread out the Divine Domain and check…
“Young Lady.”
The moment I focused on confirming, a voice came from behind me, causing me to halt my divine operation.
Standing behind me was a figure resembling a sword, but he wasn’t a sword.
It was a bit hazy to express, but how should I put it?
There was an absence of the unsettling madness usually felt from a typical sword.
If it were him, he wouldn’t show impatience even if he waited for days on end.
He would instead shout, “Thank you for your patience!”
What’s going on? What are you doing here?
As I tightened my grip on the mace, the other party hastily spoke up.
“It’s Alsetin. Young Lady.”
…Alsetin?
What’s he doing here?
If he wasn’t careful, he might get caught by the academy.
He could have sent a note and I would have naturally gone to meet him, so what’s the urgent matter that requires this?
“I apologize, Young Lady. It’s a matter of great urgency.”
‘What is it?’
“Tell me quickly.”
“It concerns what you’ve been searching for. The darkness is trying to engulf the land.”
…Wait a minute?
So, if it’s what I was looking for, it must be something related to the Burrow family.
And if it’s about darkness, that means Tariki.
The land refers to the territory.
Summarizing all of this means Tariki is trying to swallow the territory.
To spin it differently, it implies that the Apostle of Evil God is seeking to offer the Burrow territory to Tariki…
Are you kidding me?
What the hell!?
Is that guy dying to get a beatdown?!
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