Volume 6 - CH 1.2

In a corner of Adventurer City, deep into the night.

Shun walked down the street with a bottle of sake in hand. After leaving the guild, he had been trying to find clues about the boy he had seen at the coliseum, so he had been waiting in ambush near the guild for Mina, who had participated in the match at the coliseum with Reito.

However, Mina never returned to the guild.

Shun considered asking various people in the adventurer city, but there was a risk that the other Swordmasters would learn about the boy’s existence if he moved around too conspicuously.

He thought about various things and finally questioned an information broker about the existence of a “boy with a red right eye,” but only ended up paying a high fee without obtaining any useful information.

“Damn it… Where is that brat?”

Unable to hide his irritation, Shun took a big gulp of his drink.

No matter how much he drank, he couldn’t forget the sight of the coliseum during the day. Especially, the image of the boy who had bisected the Blood Bear at the end of the match sobered him up. It was his first experience being so interested in someone he had just met, and Shun tightly gripped the bottle, causing it to crack, as he couldn’t sort out his feelings.

Having emptied the bottle, he decided to go home for the day.

At that moment, he suddenly felt a presence and looked up at the sky.

He saw a person moving on the rooftops of the buildings. At first, he thought it was a nimble Beastman or an Elf moving on the roofs, but something was off.

Shun looked at the person with suspicion.

“What’s with that guy? Pretending to be a phantom thief or something?”

For some reason, the person was covered in a fur cloak, and their face was hidden by a stone mask.

Shun’s face contorted at the bizarre appearance, but he was even more surprised to realize that the masked person was approaching him.

“Hey, hey, I don’t know what this is about, but are you targeting me? Ha, perfect… saves me the trouble of looking for someone to take out my frustration on.”

Shun judged that the masked person was some sort of thief and threw the alcohol bottle away, reaching for the hilt of the Japanese sword he had at his waist.

The Japanese sword he was equipped with was a replica of a weapon brought into this world by a hero who had been summoned from Japan in the past. Although it was made using the knowledge and techniques of this world’s blacksmiths, it was undoubtedly a rare weapon. His Japanese sword was called “Kurogane,” and its blade was made of an alloy of steel and mithril. Its blue blade was a distinctive feature.

There were many people who tried to defeat the Swordmaster Shun to raise their fame. Sometimes, swordsmen who had lost to him in the past and harbored a grudge would launch a surprise attack.

Therefore, Shun was not disturbed even if the suspicious person who appeared before him was targeting him, but rather provoked them.

“Huh? What are you looking at? You wanna get killed?!”

“……”

Hearing Shun’s words, the masked person descended from the roof to the ground.

Seeing the easy landing, Shun judged the person to be a highly agile Beastman swordsman.

Convinced that the person’s target was indeed him, Shun slowly approached the masked person, hand on the hilt of his sword, and spoke.

“You’ve been watching me, haven’t you? Are you a thief? Or are you one of my stalkers?”

“……”

The masked person shook their head without saying anything.

“Don’t shake your head. Then what do you want from me? Well, you’re probably just another idiot who wants to defeat me and make a name for themselves. Fine, I’ll entertain you to pass the time!!”

“……”

At Shun’s words, the masked person bowed their head and pulled out a “wooden sword” that had been tucked into their waist, flipping their cloak.

Shun, who was about to draw his sword, was dumbfounded for a moment when he saw the weapon and immediately became furious.

“You… What’s with that weapon? A wooden sword for training?! Are you mocking me?!”

“……”

The masked person shook their head again and readied the wooden sword as if to show it off in front of him.

Shun frowned at his opponent’s actions, but then an unexpected event occurred before his eyes.

“……”

“What… What are you doing?!”

The moment the masked person pressed their right hand against the wooden blade they were holding in their left hand, the entire sword shone brightly, and eventually, the blade turned black. It had been entirely made of wood until now, but when the masked person pressed their palm against it, it seemed to Shun that it had changed into a different “metal.”

Facing the masked person who had changed the wooden sword into a metal one with a mysterious ability, Shun drew Kurogane from its scabbard. He had been showing a relaxed attitude just moments ago, but now he was paying the utmost attention to the masked person who used an unknown ability, glaring at them with a serious expression.

“Interesting… I don’t know what kind of trick you used, but you intend to challenge me with a sword?”

“……”

“Alright, bring it on!!”

As he spoke, Shun charged and swung his blade down at the masked person――

◆◆◆

――Facing the attack from Shun, the disguised and masked Reito used his Matter Transmutation skill to transform the wooden sword into adamantite and blocked the blade.

A metallic sound echoed, and Reito activated a defensive technique to repel the attack.

“「Recoil」”

“Tch!!”

The sword vibrated violently for a moment, and Shun’s blade was deflected.

It was a defensive technique that both Bal and Reito’s adventurer companion Gonzo could use, and it was useful when their blades were locked together.

As his blade was deflected, Shun immediately launched the next attack.

“「Rabid Thrust」!”

“Whoa…”

Shun activated a spear technique with the same name as the one used by the adventurer Mina, who is a lancer in the Hailstorm guild.

Shun unleashed a series of thrusts with such speed that afterimages were created.

In response to the continuous attacks, Reito calmly read the trajectory of the strikes and changed his footing to evade them.

“What…!?”

“「Whirlwind」”

“Damn!!”

Shun was taken aback as Reito evaded his thrusts.

Seizing the opportunity, Reito swung his blade horizontally.

However, Shun quickly pulled out his own scabbard to block the attack, barely avoiding a direct hit.

Judging his opponent to be no ordinary person, Shun took a defensive stance with his sword and scabbard gripped in both hands.

His arm was numb from the shock of blocking Reito’s attack. In terms of sheer strength, Reito had the advantage.

“Ugh… You’re stronger than I thought.”

“……”

“Don’t scratch your head and act embarrassed!!”

Shun was surprised by the strength that seemed impossible coming from his opponent’s small stature. He quickly scanned the area, spotting a broken piece of a sake bottle at his feet. Picking up the fragment, Shun threw it at Reito’s face.

“Take this!”

“Tch!”

Reito deflected the shard with his sword, but in doing so, a brief opening appeared. Grinning, Shun abandoned his scabbard and slashed at Reito with his sword. Reito, realizing he wouldn’t have time to swing his wooden sword, thrust the hilt forward instead.

“Hmph!”

“What!?”

The hilt of the wooden sword caught Shun’s descending blade. Astonished by Reito’s unexpected reaction speed, Shun couldn’t react to Reito’s swift kick to his abdomen. Reito wanted to continue his attack but remembered his true purpose and stopped. Struggling but determined, Shun stepped back a few paces and readied his sword once more.

“Ugh… Cough! Damn you… That was a pretty good kick.”

“……”

“Fine by me! ‘Thrust’!”

With his fighting spirit undiminished, Shun activated a technique and thrust his sword forward. The speed of this thrust was faster than his previous ‘Rabid Thrust’ technique. Seeing the incoming attack, Reito decided to jump forward.

(Now!)

Reito closed his eyes and activated his ‘Mind’s Eye’ ability, sharpening his senses as he moved forward. Faced with Shun’s blade approaching his face, Reito activated his ‘Evasion’ and ‘Counterattack’ skills. He dodged the thrust by slightly tilting his head to the left and then activated a technique with his wooden sword.

“「Spin」!”

“Guhaa!?”

Reito’s swung blade hit Shun’s side with perfect accuracy. Pouring more force into it, Reito sent Shun flying. Simultaneously, a screen appeared in his vision, notifying him that he had acquired a new skill.

〈You have acquired the Technical Skill: “Interception”〉

“Alright!”

By simultaneously activating the ‘Evasion’ and ‘Counterattack’ skills, Reito acquired the new composite skill, ‘Interception.’ ‘Interception’ is a skill that allows him to use an opponent’s attack to deliver a powerful counterattack. With Airis’s advice, Reito planned to learn new skills by utilizing Shun.

Now that his goal had been achieved, the remaining problem was that Shun wouldn’t back down. Not knowing Reito’s side of the story and that he had no reason to continue fighting, Shun launched an attack.

“You… brat!!”

“Wha!?”

Reito took a heavy blow to his side from the attack.

Shun’s ribs were likely fractured from Reito’s previous attack. A normal adventurer would have lost consciousness. Reito was surprised, but he quickly realized that Shun’s movements were slowed by his injuries. He immediately reached out and touched Shun’s body.

“「Wind Blast」!”

“Guhaa!?”

The moment he activated the technique that directly impacted his opponent’s body, the injured Shun was blown nearly five meters away. Reito observed for a while, but Shun showed no signs of getting up. It seemed that he had lost consciousness. Reito thought he might have gone too far, but he concluded that he had to go this far to knock Shun out.

He bowed his head to the fallen Shun in gratitude and apology for using him for his own purposes. Reito approached Shun and held his hand over him.

“「Recovery Boost」… This should heal you in a short while.”

“Ah… W-what are you doing… And what’s with the healing magic? Aren’t you a swordsman?”

To Reito’s surprise, Shun woke up almost immediately. Reito panicked for a moment but noticed that Shun still showed no signs of getting up, meaning the damage hadn’t fully recovered.

“I’m truly sorry… Excuse me!”

Reito quickly left the scene.

“Wait… Ow, ow, ow! It’s not completely healed!?”

Left behind, Shun tried to chase after Reito in a hurry, but as soon as he tried to move, a sharp pain struck his side. The effects of the support mage’s healing magic would not be fully realized unless given some time. In the empty nighttime Adventurer City, Shun’s protest echoed in vain.