I Obtained Sword God Level Talent

22 – 022. His Stance is Different From the Start (1)

It was a result too pathetic to even call a battle. Just one move. With that single move, everything was over.

“What kind of guts did he have to come at me like that? He looks like he’s only a 3rd or 4th tier at best?”

“T-the client! He said you couldn’t use mana! Waaah! I, I was tricked!”

“Glaire thought one of you would be enough to send?”

“Y-yes! Please, please! Just once, please spare me!”

The sudden intruder’s tone had, in an instant, reverted to that of an ordinary person.

Well, logically, it wasn’t that hard to understand.

Glaire. That b*stard must have figured my defeat was a fluke, and since the duel was barely a month ago, I still hadn’t learned to use mana.

“What am I going to do about this….”

Squatting down in front of the guy, I stroked my chin.

The unidentified assassin, as expected, had been sent by Glaire of the Dupont family.

‘His level is way too low.’

He’d appeared so confidently, only for his skills to be ridiculously pathetic. The moment we clashed, the mana enveloping my gauntlet sliced his sword technique to ribbons, and thanks to that, the assassin’s two arms had gone their separate ways.

“The best course of action is just to take care of him.”

“Take care of him? You mean kill him?”

An unexpected answer came from behind me. I glanced back to see Lancelot nodding heavily.

“Letting an assassin live is too much of a risk. They might come back at us with weapons again.”

“That’s true.”

“Please! Please, I beg of you. I won’t try anything again, just spare my life!”

I answered shortly, then looked back at the assassin. He was still sobbing and sniveling, begging for his life. Judging from the looks of it, he was likely some two-bit mercenary instead of a proper assassin.

“Fine, go. I’ll spare you.”

I spat the words at him, short and sharp.

“R-really?”

His head snapped up, his face lit with a beacon of hope. But the decision I’d made was a bit different than what he was wishing for.

“Instead.”

*Crack!* *Fzzzt!*

“Uh… uhhh?”

I pulled my mana up, drawing it to the limit. My fist, brimming with mana, I slammed it down onto his two arms sprawled on the ground.

*WHoooM!*

*SPLAT!*

Instantly, his two dismembered arms exploded in a spray of blood. The assassin’s eyes naturally widened like they were about to split.

“Tell Gler to come himself next time.”

“Ugh, UGHaaa! My arms, my arms!”

The assassin, with his back slammed against the ground, started convulsing.

Had he retrieved his two arms and rushed to the church, he could’ve received treatment. But now it was impossible. Because his arms were no longer in this world.

Leaving that scene behind, I turned away. And at the same time, I added one more thing.

“And that weird way of talking before, don’t use it.”

“I concur.”

Lancelot said softly, arms crossed.

We immediately climbed into the carriage. There was still a long way to go.

“We, we’ll depart! Masters.”

“Please.”

*Thump-thump!*

The carriage started to move again. But unlike before, Ariel was wide-eyed, unable to sleep.

“Um….”

Ariel looked like she had something to say. Her blue eyes turned to me. Because of the heavy atmosphere, Lancelot also waited silently for her to speak.

“Frey, you’ve gotten really strong… huh.”

“Well, I did awaken my blessing and even my mana, so.”

“R-really amazing…. It’s like you’re a completely different person from the old Frey.”

“……”

Actually, it’s true that it’s a different person. Even if the appearance is the same, the content has completely changed.

“Ariel.”

“Hmm?”

“I’m curious about something. You, you have a blessing, right?”

Amid the rare heavy atmosphere, I threw out a question that had always been on my mind.

Players call them ‘Traits,’ heavenly blessings. There was no way Ariel, who reached the rank of senior mage at a young age, wouldn’t have been born with one.

“Yeah, that’s right. I do have a blessing. Only two, unlike the great mages.”

“…Really? Can you tell me what kind of power those blessings have?”

“No! That’s a secret. Maybe later, if there’s a chance, I’ll tell you.”

Ariel, who had been deep in thought, finally expressed her refusal.

…It was a reply that felt like she was hiding something. Is it such a great blessing that she wouldn’t tell a friend she’s known since childhood?

‘I don’t know either.’

If she doesn’t want to reveal it, there’s nothing I can do. It feels like she has a secret, but I can’t just threaten her to find out.

“Woman. What is the magic you mainly focus on?”

Lancelot, who had been quietly observing our conversation, spoke up at that moment.

Main magic.

It meant a kind of ‘secret’ that all mages of the magic tower possessed. A good example is the current tower master of Helios, ＜The Great Sage＞ Andalf, whose main magic was ＜Thunder Calling＞, summoning lightning.

“I mainly use ice magic. Recently, I’ve been learning life magic diligently, but it’s not easy. Hehe.”

“…Life magic?”

Life magic is mostly related to darkness or blood. A good example is that a large number of black magic and blood magic fall under the category of life magic.

“N-No, not the weird kind! The life magic I’m learning is a bit brighter… Well! To make an analogy, it feels similar to ‘holy magic.'”

“Really? There’s such a thing in magic?”

It was inevitable that a somewhat puzzled reaction would come out.

Originally, the job of a ‘mage’ mainly focused on functional magic and destructive magic. That’s why it felt so unfamiliar that a mage was learning life magic.

“Unique.”

Lancelot leaned deeply against the backrest, uttering those words. And then he immediately closed his eyes, seemingly not intending to resist the drowsiness that was approaching again.

The carriage continued to move.

The chirping of birds heard from outside the window, the rhythmic sound of horse hooves, could have been boring, but Ariel was looking at the scenery outside the window with a clear face.

“Hey… Frey.”

“Yeah.”

“You said you don’t remember our promise, right?”

“……Yeah.”

I, who didn’t even have any information about someone called ‘Ariel’ at the moment, had no way of recalling a promise I didn’t even have in my memory.

In the end, I gave an honest answer. Just like I’d said before, I didn’t remember any promise I’d made with her.

“That’s a shame. If, if, let’s say… later, even in the end, you still can’t remember, I’ll tell you. Again. So you can remember.”

“……”

In a voice filled with unspeakable sadness. Ariel murmured like that and closed her eyes.

The promise I made with Ariel in the past… was it something incredibly heavy? Otherwise, she wouldn’t speak with such a painful expression.

‘……I just thought it was a childish engagement promise, something like that.’

Silence settled in the carriage once more. Feeling strangely unsettled, I turned my head to look out the window.

“……?”

Slowly but swiftly. Outside the carriage, which was smoothly gliding along the road, a slightly strange scene came into view.

By scene, I didn’t mean an ordinary natural landscape.

‘A person?’

A person, someone dressed in the style of the East Continent, was walking with slow steps.

Though not stained, the pure white long robe was completely worn, and they had a black sword scabbard at their waist, and a bamboo hat covering their entire head.

‘A warrior. And one with incredible skill.’

From the faint aura, I could feel that they were not an ordinary master. Though their build wasn’t large, it felt like a clear energy was flowing through their entire body.

For a moment, curiosity was stirred.

Even if exchanges between continents were active, it shouldn’t be easy to encounter someone from the East Continent this deep in the West Continent.

“Excuse me, sirs.”

“……What is it?”

Just as I was thinking that. The coachman’s careful voice reached my ears through the window.

“It seems that traveler would like to ride with the carriage, what should we do?”

“Hmm?”

Indeed, as the coachman said. The warrior who had been walking ahead was now waving at us. Even if the road was wide open, it was a bit much to walk, so it seemed they wanted to get a ride in the carriage.

“……Wait a moment, I’ll see their face and decide myself.”

There was no reason to be kind to this suspicious person. But in the first place, connections like these are how they’re made. Unless they were a criminal from the East Continent, this could be a big opportunity.

“Understood. I’ll stop.”

Thunk.

The carriage jolted to a stop, a soft groan accompanying the halt. Looking through the window, I was immediately met by a warrior waving a hand.

“Greetings. I am but a traveler on the road, and I ask, with no small amount of cheek, if perhaps I might hitch a ride?”

With a smooth motion, the warrior lifted his bamboo hat, inquiring cautiously.

The warrior’s face, obscured by the hat, was utterly unremarkable.

Kind eyes, striking… a small-framed old man. But the glint in his pupils proved he was no ordinary elder.

“……!”

The moment I met his gaze, it was easy to recall his information.

A master from the Wudang Sect.

A tragic genius, driven mad, who slew his Shishus, brothers in training, after being consumed by Demonic Qi, then cast himself into the Demonic Cult.

Later… he became a Sword Saint, earning the respect and awe of all Demonic Cult warriors, a teacher to all.

‘…Sword Demon (劍魔).’

And.

The nickname given to players who have completed the ＜Demonic Cult＞ route, ‘Sword-Dad’.

The Demonic Cult’s Grand Protector ＜Sword Demon＞. He had appeared.