Chapter 27: Sir Roland
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 27: Sir Roland
Below the cavern, there was a cliff path barely wide enough for a single foot.
It cleverly used a blind spot in one's vision, a path impossible to find unless you lay flat and peered over the edge. That must have been how only Hendricks found it.
“He’s a lucky one.”
The path carved along the cliff led all the way to the crystal. From a distance, it seemed to have a slight incline.
As long as the goblins didn't suddenly look up at the ceiling, it would be possible to pass over their heads and reach the crystal.
Hendricks knew this and had tried to pit me and Roland against each other to buy time.
Meanwhile, the two men were inching along the cliff path sideways like crabs, their backs pressed against the wall.
“You bastard…!”
“Sir Knight, you’d best be quiet. If you make a scene, those things will hear us and we’ll become their next meal. And don’t even think about touching me. If I’m ready to die, what’s to stop me from taking you down with me?”
Hendricks’s lips trembled slightly. It was a bluff. The problem was that Roland couldn’t ignore the slightest possibility of it being true.
“If I get my hands on you, you won’t die a clean death.”
Roland obediently lowered his voice. After all, his life was on the line.
“Oh, how scary.”
And so the chase resumed. The distance between them didn't close easily. Whenever Roland sped up, Hendricks matched his pace.
A loose stone, kicked by a foot, tumbled down the cliff, but they paid it no mind, as if the thousands of goblins below were of no concern.
Just then, a goblin that had been hit on the head by the pebble looked up.
“Kiee?”
Suddenly, the cliff path crumbled. It was another one of the developer's cruel tricks.
“Ugh!”
“What?!”
Hendricks, who was in the lead, tumbled off the cliff. Roland kicked off the wall repeatedly to absorb the shock.
I focused on Roland. But it was Hendricks, whom I thought was dead, who moved first.
Somehow, despite falling from that high cliff, he didn't seem seriously injured. The moment his feet touched the ground, he shot up and started running.
“Stop right there!”
Roland, landing a moment later, tried to chase after Hendricks, but a swarm of goblins had already gathered and blocked his path.
“This isn’t what I predicted.”
In an instant, Roland was swallowed by the goblins and disappeared from view. I raised Hendricks’s crossbow. Roland still had a role to play. It would be a problem if he died before fulfilling it.
It was then.
“Hah!”
A flash of light. After a brief silence, the heads of the goblins swarming Roland rained down.
“Kieeeek!!”
The goblins recoiled in shock. Roland seized the opportunity and broke through their encirclement. Still, he hadn't escaped unscathed; his entire body was drenched in blood.
“Shit!!!”
Hendricks, spotting Roland, thrashed his arms and legs wildly. But the distance between them was steadily closing. At this rate, it seemed Roland would catch him before he could reach the crystal.
“You don’t disappoint, Roland. Not to the very end.”
One of them would get the crystal and escape.
Having seen enough, I turned back and walked out of the passage to the exit. The refreshing scent of the forest and the rustling of leaves greeted me.
It was an endlessly idyllic scene. The intense moments inside felt like a dream. The outside was as bright as it had been when I first entered the ancient ruins.
“Has a day passed?”
The moment I registered the passage of time, exhaustion washed over me. My body, heavy as lead, demanded a bed.
But it wasn't time to rest yet. I hid behind a nearby tree with a view of the exit and nocked an arrow on Hendricks’s crossbow. I didn't have to wait long.
“Haak—”
With a ragged breath, Roland appeared, rolling once on the ground. It looked like he had thrown himself toward the exit.
Up close, his condition was even worse. His fine surcoat was in tatters, and the links of his chainmail were broken, revealing what was underneath. Blood flowed from the gaps, staining his entire body red.
A man of blood. The description fit him perfectly.
He leaned against a tree and opened his clenched fist. A glowing orange crystal was inside.
“Hah.”
How long did he stare blankly at the crystal? Suddenly, he pushed himself up, his breathing still ragged.
He must have thought I had already escaped, so he couldn't help but worry about a pursuit team.
I aimed the crossbow’s sights at Roland, but I didn't shoot. There was still a scene I wanted to see. Did he know what was on my mind? Roland, who looked ready to leave at any moment, paused and gazed in the direction of the mansion.
His trembling eyes revealed his conflict. But that moment lasted less than a minute.
‘Ha.’
I almost let out a bitter laugh. Unlike Sophia, who had bet everything on him, he valued her so little.
As Roland turned his body away from the mansion and entered my sights, I finally pulled the trigger. A shot from point-blank range was something not even Roland could block.
Shweeeek—
“Ack!”
An arrow pierced Roland’s thigh just as he was about to push off the ground. He dragged his limp leg and quickly hid behind a tree, peeking out to watch my position.
“Sir Roland. Where are you off to in such a hurry?”
I leaned the crossbow against the tree I was hiding behind and took a step forward.
“Allen…!”
Roland’s gaze darted frantically behind me. Then, with a look of utter confusion, he faced me.
“What? Surprised that I’m alone?”
“…You tricked me. This was your plan from the start.”
I smirked.
“It was a tedious play. You moved exactly as I predicted. Ah, the end was a bit unexpected. It only took you a minute to decide to abandon Sophia? It’s a real shame she couldn’t see this.”
Roland flinched, then glared at me fiercely.
“I thought we were quite close…”
“My god! They say criminals think differently! You tried to corrupt me, used me like a fool, spied on me, and on top of that, you drove me into a corner in the ancient ruins and ultimately aimed for my neck. And you say what? We were quite close? Don’t you think that’s a bit too shameless?”
“You…”
I shook my head.
“Roland, let’s stop trying to stall for time. I am, in fact, alone.”
“…What’s with the confidence? Do you think I’m easy just because I took one arrow? I’m not someone who would lose to the likes of you, who was too busy playing around to even train properly.”
“Well, we’ll have to see about that.”
Roland was covered in wounds, an arrow in his thigh restricting his mobility. Yet, I couldn't let my guard down. His skills were like an onion with endless layers to peel.
‘That’s why I want this even more.’
Roland seemed to be a powerhouse comparable to Andrei. If I could beat him, how much experience would I get? Besides, if I let this chance slip away because I was scared of someone like Roland, I would just keep retreating every time I faced a stronger enemy in the future.
‘It’s human psychology. Once you give in, you keep giving in.’
I readjusted my grip on my sword and pointed it at Roland.
“You’ll regret this.”
Roland supported himself with his good leg and aimed his sword at me. I deliberately circled toward his injured leg, looking for an opening. He seemed to struggle just to turn in place to face me. Just then, a strong gust of wind kicked up a flurry of fallen leaves.
“Hah!”
I didn't miss the moment a leaf covered Roland’s eyes. I thrust my sword—a technique I had learned from Piole and honed against goblins and trolls. My target was his neck.
“Not a chance!”
Roland’s reaction was swift. There was a flash of light, sparks flew, and my sword was knocked away. In the slowed world, his counter was so fast it was as if he alone was unaffected by time.
If that were all, I would have been lucky. Before I could even recover my sword, Roland launched an immediate counterattack. Another flash of light, and a gleaming blue point rushed toward me at terrifying speed.
Crrrack.
I put my weight on my standing foot and twisted my waist. I forced the trajectory of my deflected sword upward. A slash from below. Sparks flew again, and the blue blade that had filled my vision was knocked away.
Andrei had said the essence of his swordsmanship was the unity of offense and defense. He had even demonstrated a fluid counterattack following a defense.
Piole had emphasized posture. To flow seamlessly from attack to defense and then to counterattack, mastering one's posture was crucial. With my enhanced eyes, it wasn't a difficult task.
Just like now.
I tightened my grip on the pommel, which acted as a counterweight. The sword drew a semicircle, naturally shifting into an offensive stance. From there, I distributed more force to my upper hand and struck down.
Just as Andrei had done.
Just as Roland had done.
It was a defense and a counterattack performed in a single breath. In the slowed time, I could see Roland’s eyes gradually widening. The moment my sword completely obscured him, Roland leaned his upper body back and pulled down his own sword, which had been high in the air. Sparks flew again.
“Kuh.”
Unable to completely absorb the force of the blow, Roland fell on his rear. If his mobility hadn't been restricted by the arrow in his thigh, wouldn't he have dodged it easily? He rolled backward once and used the momentum to get back up, his body covered in leaves.
“How—!”
Roland couldn't hide the look of shock on his face.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
I felt my heart beating faster than ever. I had almost landed a successful attack on a ‘real’ knight. It was an achievement I had made in less than a week since resuming my training.
Of course, it would have been impossible if Roland hadn't been through hell in the ancient ruins for over a day, covered in wounds, and with his mobility compromised by an arrow in his thigh.
In any case, I was the one who created those penalties, so there was no need to devalue my accomplishment.
“You lied about searching the ancient ruins. You were learning the sword from Sir Andrei during that time.”
“…Even so, it hasn't even been a week!”
“It’s because I have talent. But how could my own swordsmanship teacher not know that?”
If Roland had done his job as a teacher properly, he would have known about my talent and been more cautious. If so, whether I had regained my past life’s memories or not, the outcome wouldn't have changed.
“Nonsense! What kind of trick did you use?!”
“A trick? Does that change anything about the situation?”
“You…”
Roland ground his teeth.
I calmed my rising excitement. Andrei had stressed that I should always keep a cool head, no matter the situation. I took a deep breath and aimed my sword at Roland again.
We had only exchanged a few blows, but my experience bar was already more than half full. Considering I had started from almost nothing, that was a huge amount!
“Here I come.”
Despite all the penalties, Roland was still strong. Realizing this, I cautiously engaged him. Surprisingly, Roland remained entirely on the defensive, even though he had to know time wasn't on his side.
Was it because of the struggle in the ancient ruins? Or because of the arrow in his thigh? Considering he was a ‘real’ knight with monstrous physical abilities, it was more logical to assume he had something else up his sleeve. I subtly narrowed the distance by half a step. The reaction was immediate.
“Die!!!”
Roland’s sword suddenly accelerated. Having adapted to its previous speed, my perception was slightly delayed. Still, in the slowed time, I could clearly see the blade approaching my neck.
I took another half-step back to prepare a counter. He must have thought the opening I deliberately showed was a real opportunity, as his upper body was wide open. I was about to dodge and counter simultaneously.
‘What the!’
Roland’s sword, which I thought would barely graze me, didn't stop and pushed forward even more. It felt as if the sword had magically stretched.
I hastily abandoned my counter and twisted my body. Beyond the blade, I saw Roland, his body contorted like a fencer, holding the end of his sword hilt with one hand.
This was the hidden trump card Roland had saved until the very end. There was no way I could dodge the sword that had twisted my perception.
Smirk.
Roland smiled triumphantly, his face already certain of my death. In that instant, something hot surged in my chest.
Right. If I can’t dodge it, then I might as well—
Thinking he had already won, Roland’s torso was even more exposed than before. I tilted my head back as far as I could and swung my sword like a flyswatter. It was a gamble.
If Roland continued his thrust without dodging, he would be giving flesh to take the bone. On the other hand, if he prioritized his own safety over my death, I would have a narrow escape.
Roland’s sword reached me first, and a sharp, stinging pain erupted. The world turned red, as if I were wearing red sunglasses.
But I could still smile, because beyond that, I saw Roland hastily retreating.
His body was already leaning forward due to his trump card, and it was too late. I saw the look of belated realization on his face.
He tried to pull back quickly, but how could he on just one leg? The moment he chose to retreat, the outcome was decided.
The gamble was a success.
“Keuk.”
My sword grazed Roland’s lower jaw. A red line appeared, and then blood burst forth. The amount was alarming. A major blood vessel had clearly been hit.
Roland dropped his sword, clutched the wound, and stumbled backward before collapsing.
Pressing on the wound didn't stop the bleeding. In fact, it only got worse. The blood stained his arm red, and as it reached his elbow, it began to drip to the ground. Roland looked down at the drops, then slowly raised his head. His pupils were trembling.
“Kk-euk, if you kill me, the Baron won’t let you get away with this…”
I wiped my face. I felt a stinging pain. My hand was covered in blood. It seemed I had a cut from below my eye to the corner of my mouth. If Roland had been just a little more daring, I might have lost an eye.
A chill ran down my spine at the thought.
“I don’t know. If he finds out you were fooling around with Sophia, wouldn’t he be more likely to kill you with his own hands? His little scheme would go up in smoke if my father found out. Am I wrong?”
“Kkeuuh, do you really think the Baron doesn’t know?”
I narrowed my eyes. Was he telling the truth? Or was it a bluff? Considering the skills he had hidden, the former seemed likely. But it wasn't enough to make me change my decision.
The Baron was next on my list after Sophia anyway.
“Thanks for the information. As a reward, I’ll give you a peaceful end.”
“W-wait…”
Roland couldn't finish his sentence. My sword had pierced his throat. He looked up at me with an expression of disbelief. Soon, the light in his eyes began to fade. It was the end of Sir Roland.
At the same time, a series of messages popped up. Seeing them, I knew. Roland was stronger than the troll. The bonus points, now in the double digits, blinked as if urging me to use them.
I clenched my fist. I had finally built a foundation to do something. All that was left was to move forward.
“But before that, I should collect my reward for all the hard work.”
Through the bushes, I could see the mansion on the hill.