The Duel in Jerad
“Oppa.”
Roa looked at me with slightly anxious eyes. “You can… win, right?”
Can I win? I don’t know. I’m decent at close-quarters combat myself. Or rather, I know how to fight up close. Necromancers have so few skills early on that they’re practically forced into melee. If I went head-to-head against a Level 4 knight in pure close combat, I’d be the one who ended up dead.
There was only one way I could win. Landing the first strike with Poison Arrow. Once poisoned, the target’s physical abilities would drop, making melee manageable. After that, it would all come down to luck.
“Of course I’ll win.”
I put on a brave front. Roa probably knew the truth too. This wasn’t a situation where victory was guaranteed. But she didn’t try to stop me. She trusted me.
“I believe in you. Oppa, you can do it.”
For some reason, when Roa said it, it felt believable. It wasn’t future sight or anything, but that kind of encouragement meant a lot.
Haneul walked over with her arms crossed. “If it looks like you’re about to die, just drop your weapon and lie face-down on the ground. Knights don’t attack unarmed opponents.”
“Thanks for the tip.”
I had no intention of fighting to the death anyway. If it got that bad, I’d surrender. I was an explorer, after all. I had no obsession with winning or losing. I’d just give it my all, win or lose.
“Sorry for dragging you into this.”
“If you’re really that sorry, just give me more money later.”
Maya gave a faint smile. “I will.”
And so the next day arrived.
“Ah. Fuck.”
The sun rose without fail. Morning came every single day no matter what bullshit people were dealing with. Even if that bullshit was a life-or-death duel.
Knock knock.
“Oppa?”
Roa brought me breakfast and I ate it. “Are you okay?”
I was too calm for my own good. “Yeah.”
It would be best if Seoryang didn’t show up… but that wasn’t going to happen.
“Get some rest. I’ll call you when it’s time.”
I calmly thought through how to handle Seoryang. While working as an explorer, I’d faced plenty of monsters and demi-humans. But fighting a knight armed with high-quality gear was still an unknown variable.
There was no real strategy. A Necromancer without corpses couldn’t perform at full strength in a situation like this. All I could do was fight with everything I had.
I steeled my resolve. Time flowed on mercilessly. By noon, we headed to the village hall.
Outside the hall, the lord’s party and Seoryang were already waiting for us.
“You’ve finally arrived?”
Damn it. The confident knight greeted us warmly.
“Don’t push yourself too hard. Got it?”
“I’ll only fight for about twelve hundred lons’ worth.”
“Oppa. Remember? The ground. Lie down on the ground.”
Maya and Haneul took turns encouraging me. And then there was Roa.
Roa approached without a word and gave me a light hug. Then she simply stared at me with complicated eyes.
The wide clearing in front of the village hall had been neatly swept clean by the villagers. It was almost too spacious for two people to fight in.
“Knight Seoryang!” Lord Yanggol shouted. “Do you have any intention of reversing yesterday’s decision?”
“None.”
“Necromancer Hajun. And you?”
“None at all.”
The lord nodded as if he’d expected as much, took a deep breath, and bellowed, “Very well! Warriors! Swear upon your own honor!”
Seoryang spoke first. “Upon a knight’s honor. I swear to fight honorably and justly for the sake of truth.”
I followed suit. “Upon the second index finger of every Necromancer. I swear to fight for the sake of truth.”
There was no turning back now.
“Both duelists have sworn upon their honor! No one may dispute the outcome of this duel, and only the one who speaks truth shall receive the gods’ favor!”
Lord Yanggol’s voice rang out powerfully. “Begin the duel!”
The fight had started.
Up until now, in all my time as an explorer, I had never seriously fought another human. The enemies I had to kill were big and small monsters, never people. I’d figured I’d eventually have to fight someone, but I hadn’t expected it to happen this soon.
The wide clearing in front of the village hall. With villagers packed tightly around the perimeter to watch, Seoryang and I stood facing each other.
“Unexpected,” Seoryang said as he lowered his face guard. “I thought you would have run away during the night. It seems you have more than one life.”
I drew the saw-blade from the sheath on my back. “Really? I thought you’d come crawling on your knees begging for mercy.”
Seoryang spread his legs wide and adjusted his grip so the tip of his sword pointed at me. Unfortunately, his helmet hid his expression.
“Even if you die, do not blame yourself too harshly.”
A snort escaped me. “You’ll end up killing someone talking like that.”
Seoryang began walking slowly, every ounce of his focus locked on me. Just like when he fought the goblins, he wore an iron helmet, breastplate, and leg guards. His entire body was tightly protected by plate armor. The superior defensive power unique to full plate. On top of that, he was using swordsmanship without a shield.
In contrast, I wore the chainmail I’d bought in the village yesterday and carried the saw-blade. The chainmail would block blades to some extent, but the moment it took a fatal blow it would be pierced. Plus, I didn’t have a decent helmet. Comparing the saw-blade to Seoryang’s longsword, it was hard to say which was better, but just thinking about how difficult it would be to penetrate plate armor made it clear I was at a disadvantage.
The only advantage I had over Seoryang was that I could use magic.
The newly learned spell: Poison Arrow.
I couldn’t use it multiple times. Just once. I had to weaken Seoryang with a single shot.
Winning against a knight in a straight-up fight was difficult, but Necromancers never insisted on fair fights. Weakening and debuffing were the most basic tactics for a Necromancer.
Seoryang closed the distance slowly. But surely. We were now close enough that either of us could strike the other within twenty steps. If my magic missed, I would lose without question.
I calmly prepared the Poison Arrow spell.
“Hmm?”
I let the saw-blade hang loosely in my right hand and created an arrow made of venomous liquid in my left. A sticky green light, like a will-o’-the-wisp, gathered ominously.
Just one shot. One poisoned arrow to weaken Seoryang!
“Oh dear.”
Seoryang saw the venom in my hand and immediately charged at me. It was common sense not to let a Mage class complete their spell. But after seeing me in armor, he had only prepared for close combat. It was clearly Seoryang’s mistake.
Magic or sword—Necromancers used both. Not using a scythe was already a compromise.
Seoryang rushed in quickly to disrupt me. There was no reason to wait for him.
“Poison Arrow!”
I fired the venomous arrow without error. The spine-chilling green liquid shot forward like a bolt and struck Seoryang dead-on!
“Kgh!”
Hit by the poisoned arrow, Seoryang stopped in his tracks and thrust his sword forward irritably. Poison Arrow was a skill that poisoned the enemy, lowered their physical abilities, and dealt gradual poison damage. At high skill levels it could melt muscle and organs, killing a living being in a single strike, but for me—who had just reached Level 3 and learned the spell—it was still too much to hope for that kind of power.
[This enemy appears to be suffering from severe poisoning.]
“You… cheap trick!”
Seoryang, now drenched in venom, was visibly shaken. Poison didn’t just cause pain—it also lowered physical ability. At this point, the difference in physical stats between Seoryang and me was practically nonexistent.
I gripped the saw-blade with both hands, raised the blade high above my head, and swung it down. It was the overhead strike, a stance favored by many swordsmen. It was also the same stance the Orc Warrior had used when he took Daro’s head off.
A powerful strike flew toward Seoryang. If his concentration was broken and he tried to block clumsily, he could get hurt.
“Haa!”
Please hit. With that desperate prayer, the saw-blade seemed about to split Seoryang’s head open—but.
Clang!
Even while staggering, Seoryang blocked my blade. A heavy sensation traveled through my fingertips. It felt like arm-wrestling. Seoryang’s strength flowed through the blade and into my forearm. I could feel the raw physical power of a Level 4 knight.
Fuck. Seoryang had said he had never lost to a greenskin in combat. It probably wasn’t a lie. The arm strength of a swordsman who had swung a blade his entire life far exceeded my expectations.
Seoryang tilted his sword, creating an angle. My blocked saw-blade slid smoothly along his edge. By the time I came to my senses, I was cutting through empty air while Seoryang’s sword tip was thrusting toward my throat.
Shit. I’d been had.
A single defense followed by a flowing, natural counterattack. Seoryang was a properly trained swordsman. Getting stabbed would be dangerous. Especially in the neck—there’d be no resurrection from that. I had no choice but to duck and dodge the blade. My posture collapsed sharply, leaving me in an awkward position.
“Hup—”
That was when it happened. Like lightning, Seoryang unleashed his next attack. His right leg suddenly shot forward as if stretching, turning into a sharp strike that slammed into me. My torso rang from the impact. A groan escaped me involuntarily.
“Kgh!”
A push kick. It was a simple kick, but against my already broken stance it was devastating. I couldn’t block it or dodge it. The chainmail barely helped absorb the impact of the kick. My body staggered wildly. I stumbled backward.
But Seoryang’s assault wasn’t over. A follow-up longsword thrust came flying straight at my chest. Could my armor stop that? No. If I fought assuming I’d get hit, I wouldn’t have enough lives even if I had ten. I had to either block or dodge. Since dodging was impossible, I had to block.
I awkwardly raised the saw-blade and deflected the thrust. Clang!
It had been pure luck, but it worked.
“Huff… huff…”
I barely regained my balance and moved my legs. If my stance broke, it was all over. I focused desperately. Seoryang also corrected his posture from an attacking stance back to a neutral one. We caught our breath for a moment and glared at each other. Both of us realized the other was no easy opponent.
Seoryang fought better than I’d expected. Even though I had seized the initiative and attacked while he was poisoned, he responded mechanically, blocked my strike, and delivered a clean counter. The only reason he hadn’t continued his combo was because the poison was draining his stamina.
How long could I keep blocking his attacks? Damn knight bastard.
The stalemate didn’t last long. This time Seoryang charged first.
“Haaaaah!”
With a loud battle cry, the longsword gripped in both hands drew a circle as it flew toward me. Seoryang spun the sword above his head with a whooshing sound while taking calm steps. Even though it was a simple spinning attack, it was incredibly threatening. When he attacked so aggressively, I had no choice but to retreat.
Clang!
The saw-blade and longsword collided. Then Seoryang instantly retreated. Was that really the movement of someone who had taken a Poison Arrow head-on and was poisoned? I couldn’t believe it.
Seoryang continued to rain down attacks. Clang! Clang! The clash of metal rang out loudly. He wasn’t swinging wildly, yet the speed was insane. Just keeping up with Seoryang’s attacks and blocking them was exhausting.
After swinging his sword for a while, Seoryang suddenly retreated again. I could see his strategy now. He was going to keep pressing me until I ran out of stamina and claim victory that way. Between a knight and a Necromancer, it was obvious who had the advantage in endurance. If I kept defending like this, it would never end. I needed a move to turn the situation around.
A way to annoy Seoryang. The move he was most wary of. It had to be magic. I’d use magic to make him impatient.
I took advantage of the brief pause in Seoryang’s attack to prepare Poison Arrow again.
“Poi—”
The moment green light gathered at my fingertips, Seoryang broke his combat rhythm and charged straight in. But this was a trap. A feint meant to lure out his attack.
When Seoryang committed to a fast thrust that prioritized only speed, I thrust at the same time, mirroring his exact posture.
“Hup!”
I could feel Seoryang’s alarm. The saw-blade was slightly longer than the longsword. I had the advantage in reach. Seoryang disrupted his stance to dodge my attack. I didn’t miss the opening and rammed straight into him.
“Kgh.”
Struck by the heavy impact, Seoryang tumbled across the ground. But I was sent flying too. In that brief moment, he had used the momentum to counter.
We both rolled across the dirt, weapons knocked from our hands.
Fuck. My saw-blade.
Instead of the saw-blade, I grabbed the nearby longsword. Seoryang also picked up the saw-blade and got into stance.
“At least use a decent weapon, will you?”
“Look who’s talking.”
Seoryang with the saw-blade. Me with the longsword. Without waiting to see who would move first, we clashed again.
“Haaah!”
It felt incredibly awkward using an unfamiliar weapon. My attacks were helplessly repelled by Seoryang’s plate armor. But the same was true for him. The saw-blade reached my chainmail but got tangled and stopped.
Shit. That’s not how you’re supposed to use a saw-blade!
Seoryang abandoned the tangled saw-blade and focused on me. Thud!
After discarding his weapon, he headbutted me. An iron helmet versus a soft human skull. Stars spun before my eyes.
“Fuck!”
I fell backward. My head was spinning. Taking advantage of my fall, Seoryang reached for the longsword. If I let him have that, it was truly over. I gathered every last ounce of strength and kicked the longsword away.
Clatter…
The longsword slid across the dirt. It was far enough that retrieving it would take serious effort.
For a moment, our eyes met through Seoryang’s face guard. His gaze seemed to ask, What the hell is this guy?
Seoryang tried to pull the saw-blade free from where it was tangled in my chainmail. But before he could, I moved. Something I could grab. A fist-sized rock half-buried in the ground caught my eye. I picked up the stone. Then I smashed it into the head of Seoryang, who was distracted by the saw-blade.
Bang!
“You son of a bitch!”
Seoryang fell backward. I tried to retrieve the saw-blade, but it was tangled so badly it wouldn’t come free. Shit. Now I understood why Seoryang had been hesitating. No choice then.
With the rock still in my hand, I charged at Seoryang.
“Uaaaaah!”
A rock was still a weapon. It hurt when it hit. Maybe Seoryang would surrender!
But at that exact moment, Seoryang scooped up a handful of sand from the ground and threw it into my face.
“Aagh!”
If I’d been wearing a helmet it might have been okay. But with dust in my eyes, I couldn’t see anything. As I staggered, Seoryang got to his feet. Then he came running—
Bang!
He hit me with a dropkick. I rolled across the ground. All strength left my body. Seoryang snatched the rock from my hand. Then he tried to smash it into my head the same way. Seoryang had survived thanks to his helmet, but if I took that hit I would really die!
I squeezed out my last reserves of strength and lunged at Seoryang. Punching a plate-armored knight with bare fists would do nothing. So I simply grabbed him with all my might. Seoryang, still holding the rock, swung his arm while breathing hard, but the chainmail let me endure it. I’d get one hell of a bruise, but I wouldn’t die. Neither would he.
Both of us were too exhausted to attack anymore. I kept my arms locked around Seoryang’s waist. Seoryang couldn’t shake me off. If a coach had been here, he probably would have thrown in the white towel. Seoryang hooked his leg around mine and slammed me to the ground.
“Huff… huff…”
Breathing heavily, Seoryang mounted me. He was so tired he couldn’t swing the rock right away. This was my last chance. I focused mana into my empty left hand. Slowly, venom gathered in my palm. My concentration kept slipping and the liquid kept dripping onto the ground.
“Necromancer!”
At the same time, Seoryang raised the rock above his head. Poison Arrow wasn’t complete yet, but there was no more time. I gathered every last bit of strength from the bottom of my lungs and shouted.
“Poi… Poi… Fuck!”
With a handful of venom in my fist, I smashed it into Seoryang’s face. At the same time, the rock came down on my head. My skull rang. Blood poured from the gash on my forehead. But I didn’t die. It was because my final blow had made Seoryang’s hand tremble.
“Kgh… kghk.”
Seoryang’s face turned blue. His body shook violently before he collapsed with a thud. He didn’t move again.
……
……
In the midst of a strange silence, I wiped away the blood that kept getting in my eyes and stood up. My arms and legs were shaking, but I still had to finish this.
“Ah… so, uh.”
My head kept going fuzzy. I looked at the motionless Seoryang and tried to gather my thoughts.
“In the name of the almighty god… after fighting that bastard… I fought better and was stronger than him, so…”
No. Fuck. That wasn’t it.
“In the name of the almighty god… I, Necromancer Hajun, have always spoken only justice and truth, whereas the wandering knight Seoryang… that bastard was a lying son of a bitch who spewed nothing but bullshit every time he opened his mouth! Therefore the god personally reclaimed that liar’s soul so he could never spout another lie again.”
A gust of wind swept across the empty dueling ground.
“Upon the second index finger of every Necromancer, I declare that the Necromancer who studies life and death has become the victor of this trial by combat.”
I smiled.
“Any objections?”