It was an undeniable fact that my legs had sliced through the air.
So why the heck was Yuki flying away folded like a ‘<‘?
And why did I feel a heavy sensation in my legs?
“Hmm. Not bad.”
The answer was simple.
My attack definitely hit Yuki.
It wasn’t the opponent I hit, but the very space that the opponent occupied.
It was my first time using my legs instead of a sword, and honestly, it didn’t feel half bad.
“Not like I’ll use it much, though.”
It felt like a makeshift solution.
Calling a space-warping attack just a ‘makeshift solution’ was pretty hilarious, but hey, that’s the reality.
I’m not a swordsman or a martial artist.
Even so, I wasn’t clueless about how to move my body, so I could attack like this.
I stopped thinking and looked where Yuki had flown off to.
“Did I kill her?”
Well, I did kick her without much thought, so it’s not like I cared much.
Knowing she can respawn, there was no need to go easy on her, right?
I didn’t put all my power into it, but I also wasn’t exactly controlling my strength, so it wouldn’t be weird if she ended up dead.
Let alone, she was hit with an attack she’d never seen before, so she probably took the full damage.
“Not my problem.”
I shrugged, repeating what I said earlier.
I honestly didn’t expect her to recognize me and come back from that distance.
But that was it.
Even if she resurrected somewhere and came after me again, I would have already left this place, so I wouldn’t see Yuki again.
In time, I might bump into her randomly.
‘But that can’t be helped.’
Not like I can see the future.
Even the rookie Edel couldn’t see her own future, and she got owned by a dimensional being, so what can I do?
‘This cheeky brat…!’
I sensed Edel’s shout echoing nearby.
Of course, it was just my imagination.
“Oh snap. I can’t be standing around like this.”
I was already busy, and Yuki was making me waste more time.
I tore my gaze away from the wreckage where Yuki was buried and turned my steps.
To get back to my own tasks.
-That’s when it happened.
Thud thud…
“Ugh… that was close.”
“…!”
From behind me, the sound of debris falling accompanied a lovely woman’s voice.
And that voice was definitely someone I knew.
“It’s been a while, but that’s harsh.”
I unconsciously turned my head to look back.
A battered Yuki was walking out from the wreckage.
As she raised her hand to shake off the dust, tiny particles and bits fell away like rain.
“It really is you.”
“…How did you survive?”
I finally mustered the courage to ask Yuki, my voice trembling like a leaf.
Forget hiding my identity; my curiosity about what’s going on was too strong!
“Feeling.”
“…?”
“I got a vibe. ‘This is dangerous,’ so I blocked it.”
Too bad I realized it a bit too late, though.
Yuki, showing off her battered body, chuckled.
“You blocked it?”
I didn’t see her block anything, to be honest. It wasn’t even an attack she could defend against at her level.
I tilted my head, and she answered.
“I reinforced my body with mana.”
“Ah…?”
That made sense, but then another question popped up.
“Wasn’t that a hit?”
“If it was a hit, I’d be dead, so I blocked it.”
“…Is that so?”
That sounded right… or was it?
While I was caught up in Yuki’s logic, she took a step closer. Her eyes sparkled with interest.
“I thought you’d be alive. My master can’t just die like that. Turns out, that was just a clone.”
“That’s—”
“Ah, wait a sec.”
We were so close now we could practically touch swords. Yuki stopped at just the right distance and swung her great sword with a swoosh.
Amidst the splattering blood and dust, I could see her lips curling into a smile.
“Meeting a fellow swordsman and just talking is so boring, right? So.”
Slice.
“Let’s fight first, and then we’ll talk.”
She aimed her great sword at me, proclaiming she’d show me how much she had grown.
Seriously, she was holding a sword that was roughly the size of an adult man with just one hand.
That’s not something an average guy could do.
Let alone, it made no sense for a woman with no visible muscles to pull that off.
Of course, with the power of mana, it shouldn’t be impossible, but Yuki was wielding that great sword purely with her arm strength.
The power of a gamer…
Feeling the absurdity wash over me again, I opened my mouth.
“No thanks.”
Why should I?
“…Huh?”
With a shocked expression, she finally started moving her feet.
*
“Just one fight.”
“….”
“Just one… I promise if you fight just once, I’ll be satisfied and back off.”
Liar.
Ignoring Yuki’s whines, I thought to myself.
Ignoring the situation, I thought to myself.
This isn’t a fight; it’s just me watching, and if they were the type to back off after one little scuffle, they wouldn’t be throwing a tantrum like this.
Thinking back to the days when I used to knock on the barrier every day while living in the mountains, it was clear.
If there had been someone bothering me like this in my usual life, I would have chopped them down immediately.
But since that’s what Yuki wanted, I didn’t draw my sword.
“How did you know it was me?”
I asked Yuki instead.
How did you figure it out that it was me?
“If you fight me, I’ll tell you.”
“Then don’t say it.”
I’m curious, but not curious enough to force her to spill the beans.
Just as I sharply turned my head away, a panicked voice followed.
“Mana…! I felt your mana!”
“…You felt my mana?”
“Yeah. I had my doubts from your build and stride, but I really knew it when I got hit earlier.”
“So, you didn’t just feel mana; you felt my mana?”
“Yep. Your mana is special, isn’t it?”
I asked again in disbelief, and got the same answer.
It’s surprising she figured it out from my stride, but even more surprising was what came after.
If I had openly revealed it, that’d be one thing; but I hadn’t done that.
Just for a test, I pulled up a bit of mana, barely enough to be noticeable.
“…?”
I flinched.
Yuki’s body shrank back for a moment.
“Good grief.”
Seriously, how ridiculous.
“You… seem to…”
No, I shouldn’t say that.
Unconsciously, I almost blurted out, “You must be born into the wrong world,” but I swallowed that half-formed thought.
“…You’ve got talent.”
Is that what they call a talent-fueled existence?
Recalling a phrase I’d seen online, I said with reluctance.
“I hear that a lot.”
“That makes sense.”
Some people have one-on-one training while still floundering, and others just get it without teaching.
“I’m a bit intrigued now.”
“Really…?”
“Still, I’m not going to fight.”
Yuki’s face brightened for a moment, then fell again after my addition.
If she had a proper mentor, she would have achieved greatness by now; if she had a comrade who picked up a sword on the same day, she’d be envious and despairing over her talent.
Tap, tap.
I was tapping the fox mask with my fingers, thinking, when I opened my mouth.
“Do you want to try fighting?”
“Really?!”
“Yeah.”
Her face lit up, then clouded over.
Now, her face was completely lit up, as if the sun had risen on it.
It felt like she could melt away the snow piled up in the middle of winter with that bright expression.
She nodded toward a bright face.
“But not with just anyone; it has to be someone else.”
“…Uhh.”
“If it satisfies my eyes to see you fight… right, I’ll reward you.”
“…Oh.”
“But if you suck, I won’t associate with you anymore.”
“Don’t worry about that.”
Yuki confidently grinned as she slung the great sword over her shoulder.
“Physical stuff is what I do best.”
“Right. I’ll be looking forward to it.”
Honestly, I hadn’t even considered that I’d meet Yuki here, let alone the fact that someone named Yuki existed.
So this was a whim.
Seeing her brilliant talent, I couldn’t help but think, ‘Should I teach her something?’
Having a reliable person wouldn’t be a bad idea.
Even if the worst situation that Edel mentioned were to arise, we could respond more quickly.
“But who am I supposed to fight?”
“Just wait.”
Not like a dog sitting in front of a food bowl.
I got the feeling that Yuki, fidgeting and asking, had ears sprouting like a dog on top of her head.
While ignoring Yuki’s nagging, I scanned around for what Edel had mentioned.
“I found it.”
Finally finding what I was looking for, I poured out the holy power I received from Edel in front of the clearly distorted flow of mana—
Wooooo—
The flow of mana trembled peculiarly, revealing a hidden landscape.
It wasn’t a ruined wreckage but rather an open space.
I nodded at Yuki, who was standing there dumbly with one foot on the spot where a castle once stood.
“…A dungeon?”
“Get in quickly.”
Even if it was the capital of a kingdom that was about to fall, I didn’t think Yuki could handle a dimensional beast that took down a capital.
Still, she must have some potential.
Feeling that we had entered our territory, a giant lifted its colossal eyelids.
Two dark-purple moons rose above the ground.
What I thought were castle walls was actually its legs, and the towering pillar high in the sky was its arm.
A giant that resembled a human form, yet also didn’t.
A giant with eyes glowing with dark purple energy instead of whites slowly raised its body.
Kugugugugu!
Is that an earthquake?
The ground shook fiercely, to the point where I thought that.
“Am I supposed to fight that?”
“Are you scared?”
If you’re scared, you can give up.
I slightly taunted, and Yuki snorted as if to say, “What are you talking about?”
“Of course not.”
Then taking a step forward, she said,
“Watch closely.”
As I fight.
With a smile filled with confidence that would not fall behind anyone else’s,
Yuki stomped the ground.
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