Chapter 39 - Otto’s Torturous Path to the Invincible Sword
Translator: Dusky90
Chapter: 39
Chapter Title: Otto’s Torturous Path to the Invincible Sword
It began with a direct blow to the crown of Otto’s head. From there, he was beaten relentlessly—so fiercely it was as though dust rose despite the rain.
*Wham!* *Thud!*
Akan pummeled the fallen Otto without a shred of mercy.
- I’m disappointed!
“Ah!”
- You can’t even mount a counterattack!
“W-Wait! Hold on a second! Let’s talk this through first... Aaagh!”
- Is this truly the full extent of someone who’s entered the sanctuary?!
“D-Don’t hit the same spot aga... Aack!”
Otto rolled left and right, desperately trying to avoid the weapon Akan was swinging, something that was called a sword, but was really closer to a club.
However, evading Akan’s blows with such crude movements was simply impossible.
*Smack!* *Whack!* *BAM!* *THUMP!* *SMACK!* *WHAACCK!* *BAANG!*
A torrent of merciless blows rained down.
Akan’s edge-less sword showed no restraint, battering Otto’s arms, legs, shoulders, waist, and head alike.
“Aaaargh! P-please! Aaaack!”
Otto wailed and begged, but it meant nothing to Akan.
Akan was not human, but something like a wraith inhabiting a suit of armor.
Existing only to teach the Invincible sword to those who entered the [Sanctuary], he possessed no concept of mercy whatsoever.
All he did was teach the Invincible sword to those who stepped into the [Sanctuary]….
“P-Please… stop… I-It hurts… I’m… I’m going to die like this… I… I’m telling you, I’ll die… it hurts so much… p-please, stooop….”
It wasn’t an exaggeration.
Akan’s sword was merciless.
Skin had already split open in places, and muscles were mangled.
Several bones were broken too, leaving him unable to even hold himself upright.
“Hck, huff, hck….”
On top of everything else, a broken rib was digging into his lung, making it difficult for him to even breathe.
‘Fuck… I had a bad feeling about this, but now it really does look like I’m going to be beaten to death….’
Otto clenched his teeth, painfully reminded once again of the difference between the game and real life.
When he encountered Akan in the game, he had learned the Invincible sword immediately, but….
‘So this is really how I die….’
Otto believed his life was finished.
His entire body was riddled with broken bones, his lung torn, leaving him barely able to breathe.
No matter that he had obtained the [Divine-Demon Body], a mere level-70 could do nothing against Akan, who was like a guardian of the [Sanctuary].
He could only be beaten to death….
- Get up! I said counterattack!
Kairos’s encouragement rang out, but Otto’s consciousness continued to fade.
- Damn it!
Kairos wanted to help Otto, but he could do nothing.
Otto had already been reduced to a battered wreck, leaving Kairos unable to fight Akan in his stead.
‘What kind of sin did I… commit… in my past life….’
At that moment.
*Glow*
A circular magic circle rose from the hall floor and began to emit a faint light.
Then, something astonishing occurred.
[Notification: The 'Sanctuary' has bestowed its blessing upon you!]
[Notification: All vitality has been restored!]
Otto’s dying life force flared back to life.
“Huh? What’s going on?”
Otto was startled when his battered body recovered.
Just a moment ago, it had been hard to tell whether he was a person or a pile of ground meat, yet now he was spotless, without a single injury.
- The Sanctuary...
Akan spoke to Otto.
- Those who enter the Sanctuary are not allowed to die.
“……!”
- At the very least, until you learn the Invincible sword from me, Akan… even if you want to die, you won’t be able to.
“R-Really…?”
Otto broke out in a cold sweat, pouring down as he let out a sigh of relief.
“Haa… that’s a relief… I really thought I was going to d... Aaagh!”
He was cut off mid-sentence when Akan swung his sword, more like a club without a blade and Otto threw himself aside with a scream.
- We will begin again.
“H-hold on! At least let me catch my breath.. Ack!”
- Learn! This sparring will continue until you learn the Invincible sword! Forever!
“F-Forever…?”
- That’s right!
With that shout, Akan started pummeling Otto again, raising clouds of dust.
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Otto came to a painfully clear understanding of what Akan had meant by those words.
‘…It means he’s going to keep beating me forever.’
There was no other explanation for the situation he now found himself in.
Akan was unbelievably fast and overwhelmingly strong.
Because of that, Otto was trapped in an endless cycle of being beaten to the brink of death, only to revive and suffer it all over again.
Forget learning the Invincible sword, he couldn’t even protect himself.
Just how many hours had passed like that?
Otto came to a painfully clear understanding of what Akan had meant by those words.
‘…It means he’s going to keep beating me forever.’
There was no other explanation for the situation he now found himself in.
Akan was unbelievably fast and overwhelmingly strong.
Because of that, Otto was trapped in an endless cycle of being beaten to the brink of death, only to revive and suffer it all over again.
Forget learning the Invincible sword, he couldn’t even protect himself.
Just how many hours had passed like that?
“The Invincible sword, my ass… this is nothing but torture….”
Having revived for the forty-ninth time, Otto muttered tearfully in frustration.
No matter how he looked at it, this was torture.
With his current abilities, Otto couldn’t spar with Akan, he couldn’t even avoid his attacks.
Which meant….
‘Am I really going to be stuck here getting beaten forever…?’
Just then.
- Hey, you Pansy.
After several hours of silence, Kairos finally addressed Otto.
“Why…?”
- Keep watching his movements.
“Huh…?”
- That walking tin can’s swordsmanship is flawless. This isn’t about strength. His technique is just too perfect.
“So?”
- Just keep taking the hits and watch that tin can’s movements carefully. Learn them with your eyes.
“What are you even saying?”
- There’s no way to explain this properly with words. If you keep taking the hits, you’ll understand on your own. This is training learned through the body—crude, but the most effective method there is.
“What are you…”
- If I had my way, I’d do it for you—but then it wouldn’t be your training. So face it head-on with your own body. You’re not going to die anyway, so what are you scared of? Pain is something you get used to if you endure it long enough. Clear your head, and just try to mimic that tin can’s movements.
“But….”
- If that walking tin can really wanted to kill you, it could have done so anytime. If that sword had an edge, you’d have died thousands of times already! Understand the purpose of this trial!
“Got it!”
Otto didn’t take Kairos’s advice lightly.
In his prime, Kairos had been a hegemon who conquered a third of the continent wielding a single mace and he had also been an emperor.
Whatever historians’ opinions might be, there was no doubt whatsoever about his martial might.
‘Let’s trust him.’
Trusting Kairos, Otto decided to face his sparring with Akan without overthinking it.
The process was grueling.
“Ghk….”
Enduring the endless cycle of being beaten to the brink of death and recovering again was never easy.
He wasn’t dying, but that didn’t make the pain any easier.
Yet just as Kairos had said, the pain gradually began to feel familiar.
Since his body recovered each time, the pain was only ever momentary.
- Imitate his movements and counterattack! That tin can isn’t fast or strong, he’s merely wielding flawless swordsmanship!
“Counterattack…?”
- You keep trying to avoid and defend, so naturally you get hit! You idiot! You have to counterattack and take control of the fight! Make him block or dodge your blows! Haven’t you ever heard that the best defense is offense?!
Otto thought carefully about Kairos’s advice.
‘Counterattack… a counterattack, huh… Well. If I attack, Akan won’t be able to just beat me however he wants. It’s a worn-out saying, but… it’s an undeniable truth.’
Heeding Kairos’s advice, Otto chose to attack rather than defend or evade.
- Hm! Have you begun to grasp the answer!
As Otto began to resist in earnest, a voice tinged with satisfaction echoed from beneath Akan’s helmet.
- But you have only just taken your first step.
“Gaaah!”
- The real learning starts now.
“Aaaargh!”
The outcome wasn’t much different.
There was no way Otto, who didn’t even know the basics of swordsmanship, could instantly learn the Invincible sword just from a few words of advice from Kairos.
Even if he had attained the [Divine-Demonic Body] and gained a 25 percent boost to his swordsmanship proficiency….
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It was the fifth day since Otto had entered the [Sanctuary].
Conrad, who had visited the [Sanctuary] on a whim, found nothing of particular note and turned his attention to Camille.
“Your name was Camille, right?”
“That’s correct.”
“I’ve heard about you. They say you have a strong code of chivalry. I’ve heard many lords sought after you.”
“You’re too kind.”
“You must have had no shortage of fine offers. Why did you reject them?”
“I have already sworn my loyalty once and received a knighthood. I have no intention of casting aside that oath for personal advancement.”
“You are indeed as admirable as I was told.”
“I don’t think it’s something that deserves praise.”
“What was that?”
“A knight exists to be loyal to his lord. Keeping an oath of loyalty isn’t exactly something to be praised for, is it?”
“You understand one thing, but fail to see the other.”
Conrad gave a wry smile.
“Chivalry is emphasized precisely because it is so rarely honored.”
"....."
“Knights who betray their lords for their own success and riches are a dime a dozen. In a world like that, isn’t it admirable that a promising knight like you stayed by the side of a mere scoundrel from a backwater territory?”
At that moment.
‘It’s only been four days?’
Camille was taken aback by Conrad’s words.
The Kuntachi family’s intelligence network was more formidable than he had expected.
They hadn’t paid the Lota domain any attention for thirty years, yet once they decided to look into it, they managed to dig up everything known about Otto in just a matter of days.
“See here”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
“If you have some time, why don’t you come out and have a cup of tea with me?”
“But….”
“This place will be fine. Even if the boy comes out of the Sanctuary while we’re gone, I promise he won’t be harmed in the slightest.”
At the moment, the area in front of the [Sanctuary] was under tight lockdown, guarded like a fortress by Conrad’s personal guard. It had become a forbidden zone that no one dared approach, not even members of the Kuntachi family.
“I’d like to hear it from you. What kind of person is that boy?”
“If that’s what you wish….”
Camille followed Conrad and moved away from the front of the [Sanctuary] for a while.
Seeing that Conrad was curious about Otto, he decided it would be best to tell him some good things….
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At some point, Otto lost all sense of time.
For the first forty-eight hours, he was at least somewhat aware of time passing, but after that, he couldn’t tell how much had gone by.
With no rest for even a single minute or second, he was beaten nonstop by Akan under the guise of sparring, until he forgot everything else and focused solely on swinging his sword.
It was strange.
Despite swinging his sword endlessly for days, he didn’t feel hungry at all.
And he didn’t feel sleepy either.
No...
He didn’t even perceive hunger or fatigue in the first place.
It was as though he had forgotten he was human, a being meant to experience basic bodily needs like hunger, sleep, and relief.
Nothing existed but the sword, again and again.
Following Kairos’s advice, he concentrated entirely on observing and learning Akan’s movements.
- Twist your waist more! What are you doing?!
‘I’m trying my best!’
- Slow! You’re too slow! If you learn this slowly, when do you expect to become strong?!
‘I could do without the nagging, you know?’
- Tsk, tsk, tsk!
Aside from the occasional brief exchange of bickering with Kairos….
Then, at a certain moment..
*Smack!*
Otto’s sword struck near Akan’s left neck.
“……!”
Otto stared in disbelief, stunned that his attack had actually landed.
It was because that strike was the first solid hit he had landed since the sparring with Akan began.
“I… did it?”
- At last, you’ve finally learned.
A voice laced with quiet amusement drifted out from beneath Akan’s helmet.
“L-learned…? I did?”
- That was indeed the case.
“It’s just one hit, though?”
- That one strike marks the beginning. You have already learned the invincible sword. You will need to continue polishing it from here on… but the foundation is complete
“Ah, come on~ there’s no way~.”
At that moment.
- Pansy! Congratulations!
Kairos’s voice rang out, offering his congratulations to Otto.
- To think you truly succeeded in learning the Invincible sword! I’m genuinely surprised!
‘M-Me? I learned it? For real?’
- Hehe! Looks like you still haven’t wrapped your head around it!
‘Does that make any sense? How long has it even been since I started?’
- Five years is hardly a short span of time. Of course, it wouldn’t be fair to say that’s sufficient to fully establish the foundations of this perfect swordsmanship... but for others, it might have taken ten years, or perhaps they would never have learned it at all.
‘Huh…?’
- You brat. You pulled it off. You built the foundation of perfect swordsmanship in just five years... by any standard, that’s fast.