Chapter 11: New Skills

5 DAYS AGO 2 COMMENTS

Translator: Soafp

　With the tip of the blade resting on Galeos’ throat, all movement came to a halt.

　The weapon I am using is just a wooden sword, but with my hand on the end of the hilt, I could easily crush his throat if I used forced it.

I confirmed that the light was slowly fading from his wooden sword, and finally opened my mouth.

“Just so you know, I’m a player ……, or foreigner as you call it.”

“……That, what?”

“When I came to this world, I possessed several skills from the beginning. This “Sword of Deprivation” was also obtained at that time. In other words, I did not learn it from anyone. …… Are you convinced?”

　When I said that much, Galeos slowly lowered the wooden sword he was holding at the upper level.

　The hostility that stung my skin was already gone, and he let out a big sigh.

　Apparently, the misunderstanding had been cleared up.

“…… Sorry, I was way off on my guess.”

“It’s okay. I made a rough entrance, I can’t blame you for seeing me in a negative light.”

With this I lower my sword and undo my fighting stance.

　I can say that I’m satisfied with the way the match went.

　It’s a good experience to be able to use one of the deeper techniques of Kuon “The way of walking—esoteric” in actual combat.

“Well, I guess I win, right?”

“Yeah, I lost. I didn’t expect to be defeated by an opponent of such a different level.

“By the way, I couldn’t use identifiy either. ……”

Galeos.

　Type: ????

　Level: ????

　State: ????

　Attributes: ???

　Battle position: ???

The skill level of ” Identify ” has been increased.

　The situation was even more confusing than when I had seen Hisana before, almost as if I didn’t understand anything.

　In addition, just by using it once, the skill level of the “Identify” increased.

　This must mean that there is a considerable difference in level.

　It was only natural that I would be overwhelmed by the strength of his muscles.

“I’ll follow your instructions now that I’ve lost the match. What do you intend to do with this dojo?””

“Ah?　No, I don’t intend to do anything. I’m just here to fight a strong opponent, that’s all.”

“…… Are you training to be a warrior or something?　That’s strange.”

“I’ve heard that a lot. Well, anyway, I’m not going to mess with the dojo. I’ve already accomplished what I came for.”

　When I told him that, Galeos let out a slight sigh of relief.

　It was an auspicious gesture, but he still couldn’t admit that he was giving up the dojo.

　The other students around him seemed to be overtly relieved.

　I see, this guy is well-liked as a master in his own right.

　While I was satisfied that I had found a good swordsman, I suddenly asked him a question that had been bothering me.

“By the way, you overreacted as soon as you saw the Sword of Deprivation. …… Is there anything to this skill?”

“…… I see, you are a foreigner, you wouldn’t know. The skill has a bit of a story behind it. Well, it’s a bit of a long story.”

“I don’t mind, I’m here to kill some time.”

“It’s a shame that a dojo-breaker is just killing time.…… Oh well. You guys, get back to your training!　I’ll talk to him!”

　It must have gotten to the point where it was impossible to just stand around and talk without leaving people behind.

　Galeos instructed the people around him to resume their practice.

　As for me, I don’t intend to do anything about the management of the dojo, and as long as I can hear what they have to say, that’s good enough for me.

　We moved to the wall of the dojo. It was starting to get noisy again, and we resumed our conversation.

“Then again I’m Galeos, the head instructor of this dojo.”

“I’m Quon. As I said before, the foreigner.”

“Yeah, nice to meet you. Now, you’re talking about the[ Sword of Deprivation], right?”

　Galeos crossed his arms, resting his back against the wall.

　The man’s expression didn’t change much, but I could see that he had a deep connection with it.

　It’s not as if it’s a pleasant story, since he suddenly overreacted like that.

“[The Sword of Deprivation] is part of a set of skills called the [Three Magic Swords], the prerequisite for a set of skills called the [Sword of death].”

“The ‘Three Magic Swords’?　Does that mean there are two others?”

“That’s right. [The Sword of death], [the Sword of Soul] and [the Sword of Life] that I have inherited. These three are very powerful skills that were developed by a certain sword sage – my master.”

　I nodded at Galeos’ words.

　I see, indeed. The [Sword of Life] that Galeos had just tried to use was definitely a skill that boasted considerable power.

　That’s why I had no choice but to destroy the chance. If I had tried to fight him properly, I would have definitely lost.

　And in the case of my [Sword of death], it is derived from a skill called [Sword of Deprivation].

“So you think I was taught that by the wielder of the [Sword of death]?”

“…… That’s right. But that’s impossible.”

“Impossible?　What do you mean, impossible?”

“There is only one person who can use the sword now, and that is my master, and the one disciple who inherited the sword is already dead.”

　I narrowed my eyes at those words.

　It’s not that I wondered that the user of such a powerful skill was dead.

　It’s because I could read a very bitter emotion in his words.

“…… Did something happen to him?”

“…… The man has gone mad with the sword.”

“—-!”

　As a man who lives by the sword, it is impossible not to understand the meaning of his words.

　It is clear from the current situation what the end result of those who are devoted to the way of the sword and have gone mad with battle and blood is.

“Because of its nature of siphoning the life of the opponent, the [“Sword of death”]……[“The sword of depriviation”] is accompanied by a pleasant sensation when it converts into life force and heals itself. In particular, the higher the skill level of this skill, the more life it can absorb. In other words–“

“Has it come to the point where the goal is not the battle itself, but the taking their lifes with the sword itself?”

“Yeah, he was a very capable man, and there was no one who could stop him, except for my…… master.”

“The man was killed by your master, you say?”

　Well, that’s a common end for those who are crazy about swords.

　It’s better that it was before he surpassed his master.

　However, the master is also a big deal. He had developed such powerful swordsmanship skills all by himself.

“In the beginning, he killed people as a sporadic street killer, and after the situation was discovered, he cut and sucked people to death indiscriminately. His master was able to stop him, but because he was his master, he voluntarily gave up his position as the royal family’s swordsmanship instructor and went into hiding. …… That’s why the Sword of Deprivation is recognized as a dangerous skill.”

“You mean I shouldn’t use it in public too often?”

“That’s right. But the foreigner don’t know about it, so it’s only us locals who need to worry about it.”

　Galeos chuckles as he tells me this.

　He and the man had probably interacted with each other as disciples of the same teacher.

　If he had such a bitter experience, it was understandable that he would be wary of this skill.

“Anyway, that’s the situation. I’m sorry that I overreacted to something…. that happened so long ago.”

“I won’t complain if that’s the case. Besides, I had a lot of fun with it.”

“…… Please don’t go crazy on it, okay?　Anyway, I’m sorry for the trouble I caused you. I’ll tell you one good thing to make up for it.”

　With that, Galeos backed away from the wall and held his wooden sword up to me.

　However, there was no sign of wariness in his stance.

　Apparently, he was simply trying to show me something.

　It was interesting, so I focused my attention and narrowed my gaze to see what he was doing.

“—–[The Sword of Life.]”

　At the same time, Galeos’s wooden sword was enveloped in a pale golden light.

　The pattern of the effect was very similar to the one I saw when I used the Sword of Deprivation.

　It seems that this skill is—–

“This is the skill that is the premise of the [Sword of Life]. Simply put, it is a skill that increases the power of your attacks by consuming your HP.”

“Hoo. That sounds like a good match for the [Sword of Deprivation].”

“Indeed. My master could handle all three types of magic swords, so he could reduce his HP and heal himself. To be honest, I don’t feel like I can defeat it no matter what I do.”

　I couldn’t help but chuckle at Galeos’ words as he cowered his shoulders and let the light fizzle out.

　It reduces its own HP to amplify the damage, and then restores the reduced HP by attacking the opponent.

　It’s a nasty perpetual motion machine, but it’s certainly interesting to me.

　In any case, it’s hard to train [“Sword of Deprivation”] and [“HP Auto-Recovery”] because there are not many opportunities to reduce HP.

　With this, I could increase my attack power and raise my skill level. It’s like killing two birds with one stone.

[“The requirement to acquire the “Sword of Life” skill has been met. It will be added to the list of skills you can learn.”]

“Well, it looks like I can learn it now.”

“I’m sorry it’s such a trivial thing to thank you for, but try to use it if you can. Maybe it will help you.”

　Surely, this will be enough.

　With a grin on my face, I manipulated the menu to learn the Sword of Life.

　It requires 5 skill points —- much more than the skills I’ve learned so far.

　That’s how powerful the [“Sword of Life”] skill is.

　I immediately removed [“Mining”] from my skill set and set [“Sword of Life”].

“Okay, [Sword of Life].”

　Instantly, I felt as if something was being pulled out of my body, and the wooden sword took on a light golden glow.

　I checked my status and found that about 10% of my HP had been consumed.

　It seems that I succeeded in using my skills properly.

“It looks like you used it well. When you have more time, you should also learn the “Life Force Manipulation” skill. It will allow you to consciously control the amount of HP you consume.”

“Heeh~, that’s really useful. I can conserve it or make it more powerful.”

“That’s how it works. Try to use it well.”

　Well, I don’t have any empty skill slots at the moment, so that can wait until later.

　For now, the first priority is to consciously use and develop this skill and the Sword of Deprivation.

　To be honest, it’s a bit easier to use than the [Enhanced Magic], so I expect it to be my main weapon.

　And even more so if that [“Sword of life”] is waiting for me.

“Thank you. Thank you for your help.”

“It’s an apology for the skills, don’t worry about it. Oh, you can also go to the dojo across the street if you want. He’s my younger apprentice who learned the Sword of Souls] from my master. He might be able to teach you some of the related skills.”

“Hoo, that’s it. That’s going to be a learning experience too.”

　I chuckled and bowed to Galeos.

　It was a worthwhile time. Just getting here was enough to make it worthwhile to start this game.

　Satisfied, I returned the wooden sword to Galeos and turned on my heel.

“Then, I’ll see you when I get a chance.”

Yeah, next time I won’t lose.”

“Next time, I’ll train myself to be a better fighter.”

　I waved my hand lightly and left Galeos’ dojo.

　The people around me gave me a lot of mixed looks, but I didn’t care and went back to the street.

　And then–

“Now, let’s go in the same fashion.”

　–With the same footsteps, I entered the dojo across the street and learned another skill, the [“Sword of Soul”]