Chapter 126: Power and Technique
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 126: Power and Technique
The weapon Rika held was a practice iron sword made for training.
Since the edges weren't sharpened, it was closer to a blunt instrument than a sword. Of course, being a blunt weapon didn't make it any less dangerous. A single wrong hit to the head could end someone in an instant.
Sion also picked up an unsharpened axe and a wooden shield from the martial arts hall. These were the weapons he always used, so they felt familiar—and because they were familiar, they were lethal.
The two locked eyes.
The eyes reveal a lot. Through Sion’s eyes, hidden behind his goggles, Rika could anticipate where he intended to strike. Conversely, Sion could tell from Rika’s gaze that she was currently analyzing him.
Tension filled the air.
‘Did he spend the last two weeks rolling through hell?’
The porter from two weeks ago and the porter standing before her now were two different people. What kind of experiences had he gone through in the Labyrinth to make his gaze change so drastically?
His faint murderous intent had been amplified, and an unrefined, savage momentum writhed within him. It felt as if she were facing a wild beast. The Labyrinth had completely transformed him.
He was sharp and violent. Rika swallowed hard and measured the gap between them.
‘Just how many... how many people has he killed?’
An scent of blood, which shouldn't have been there, seemed to waft from his axe. It was similar to the scent that used to linger on her father’s sword—the distinct aroma of a killer. Rika knew this scent all too well.
‘High-ranking knights always smelled like this.’
A knight was the lord’s sword. If the lord commanded it, they were the ones who would cut down anyone, man or child. Most adventurers didn't carry this scent because they fought monsters, not humans.
‘Analysis complete.’
Rika finally decided to attack.
She had a rough grasp of his capabilities and had deduced how much he must have swung that axe against human opponents over the past two weeks. While he might not be a cold-blooded killer who had mastered the craft, he was no longer a greenhorn who would hesitate to strike a person.
Rika took a step forward. Her sword, which had been aimed at his head, slowly lowered to a mid-level stance.
"Hup."
There was no conversation.
Opening one's mouth to speak during combat consumed more focus and stamina than one might think. A serious spar deserved a serious approach.
Clang—!!!
Rika lunged with a thrust of incredible speed, but Sion angled his shield to deflect it with minimal effort. Simultaneously, Sion swung his axe. It was a powerful downward strike, as if he intended to split Rika in half.
Sion’s movements were incomparable to how he had been two weeks ago.
I have to dodge. The momentum behind the strike was ominous. If that hit her, she’d be carried off to the relief station unconscious.
Rika quickly pivoted her body to avoid the axe and widened the distance. Her sword was slightly longer than his axe. There was no need to fight him within his range.
Ultimately, a melee fight where abilities and magical power were restricted was a battle of distance. If you didn't give the opponent their range and forced them into yours, you won.
Sion charged at Rika as she tried to back away. He used his shield as a weapon, swinging it while pressuring her with his axe.
‘Is it working? Rika’s expression looks strange.’
Rika’s face hardened significantly after blocking the first strike. Judging by how her arm had been knocked back, Sion held the advantage in terms of pure strength.
However, from the third attack onward, she evaded everything. It became impossible to simply crush her with power.
"Tch...!"
Sion clicked his tongue as he watched Rika, who refused to give him an opening.
In terms of physical stats, Sion was clearly superior. By consuming the Giant's Essence, he had already completely surpassed Rika in both strength and speed.
With Rika’s physical strength, having only undergone mana adaptation three times, her wrists would surely break if she tried to block Sion’s axe directly. Since he was much faster, Rika broke into a cold sweat every time Sion charged in behind his shield.
‘But it doesn't matter as long as I don't let him hit me.’
Rika decided to dodge all of Sion’s attacks entirely. No matter how strong or fast an opponent was, if you could read their movements in advance, you could avoid them. She could make a fool out of him.
Against a monster with low intelligence, one could win through sheer physical dominance, but Sion’s opponent was a female knight skilled in combat.
Because of this, the match didn't end easily.
"Dammit...!"
"Porter, you're too agitated."
"Huff... huff..."
Rika compensated for her inferior physical abilities with technique. No matter how much strength Sion used to press her or how fast he lunged, Rika maintained her pace and dismantled his attacks one by one.
Sion’s attacks were more linear than expected, and Rika had reached a level where she could predict his next move just by watching his footwork. His eyes, his breathing, and the twitching of his muscles told her everything.
‘Rika has read all my attack patterns. It feels like I’ve been completely dissected and analyzed. Is she using mind reading or something?’
Sion soon realized that every action he took was being anticipated.
Rika had already perfectly analyzed Sion’s patterns. Until two months ago, Sion had focused more on long-range combat, using a sling to crack enemies' heads rather than engaging in melee.
He simply didn't have that much experience in close-quarters combat. Above all, to him—who had only been in this world for eight months—Rika, who had received combat training since childhood, was a wall.
This wasn't a situation where he could kill her with a surprise attack, and since they were bound by the rules of a spar, he couldn't use extreme methods to create variables. He couldn't exactly throw oil bottles and start a fire during a mere practice match.
"How is it? Can you keep up?"
"My attacks aren't landing at all."
"I wouldn't say that. My wrists are screaming every time I parry you."
"You seem pretty relaxed for someone whose wrists are screaming."
"I am relaxed, actually."
"...I'm coming at you again."
"Sure. As much as you want."
Rika smirked at Sion.
In that moment, Sion felt a sudden urge to knock that woman down no matter what.
‘Crazy...! That guy...! An ability!!!’
Boom!!!!
The destructive power was enough to gouge the floor of the martial arts hall.
Sion’s eyes gleamed like a beast’s, and the remnant of the Great Warrior Shaka within him slowly began to rise.
"We agreed not to use abilities!"
"This isn't an ability. It's something else."
"It is an ability! Kyaa!"
As soon as he drew upon Shaka's Remnant, the tide of the battle turned instantly.
Rika scrambled across the floor, desperately evading Sion’s attacks.
‘I’m going to die. I’m going to die. I’m really going to die...!’
Seeing Sion’s behavior pattern change into a purely offensive one—even throwing away his shield with a crazed look in his eyes—Rika’s mind raced frantically.
His previously linear attack patterns had become like those of a wild beast, and trying to keep up with his erratic movements made it impossibly difficult to find a timing to counter.
"Come here!"
"Uwaaa! Hey, you brat!!! Eek!"
In the end, Sion only returned to his normal state after pinning the fallen Rika down.
"Huff... huff... I won, right?"
"You crazy bastard... You won, so get off me already."
Rika pushed Sion away roughly.
He was the first man to ever charge at her so recklessly and pin her down. When knights sparred, they usually obtained a surrender in a cleaner fashion, like pointing a sword at the throat.
This was her first time experiencing such a barbaric method—charging like a monster and crushing her with sheer force.
"..."
Sion apologized to Rika as she awkwardly straightened her disheveled collar.
"I'm sorry. I lost myself for a moment."
"Forget it. That can happen during a spar."
Rika took Sion’s hand and quickly stood up.
She didn't know what kind of ability Sion had used. However, she realized that his movements had become extremely varied as his reason slipped away. Furthermore, she felt that if he couldn't control it properly, the ability might consume him.
"Sion!"
"Young Lady. It looks like your lesson is over."
"Yeah! My teacher said that was enough for today."
Leah, having finished her lesson, approached the two. Her teacher had already vanished. She was such an elusive person that disappearing without a sound was a daily occurrence.
"But weren't you busy, Sion?"
"I just wanted to see you, so I came."
Leah looked incredibly happy. It was the joy of having him come to find her first, combined with the satisfaction of being able to show him how hard she was working.
"I see. Then did you see me during my lesson?"
"Yes. You were working very hard. Watching you got me so fired up that I ended up sparring with Rika."
"Heh. You got fired up and sparred with Rika?"
"Yes. Watching you and your teacher spar made my hands itch."
"Is that so?"
At the mention of being "fired up," Leah playfully poked Sion in the side.
"Won't you... spar with me?"
"Huh? A spar? Should we do it right now?"
"No. Not that kind of spar. A different kind."
"Pardon?"
Seeing Sion fail to catch her drift immediately, Leah let out a sigh. As the two began to act all lovey-dovey, Rika felt her skin crawl and was seized by the urge to leave the scene immediately.
"Ahem. I'm getting busy, so I should head out, Young Lady."
"Oh? Okay. See you back at the lodging later."
"Yes, Young Lady. Have a pleasant time..."
"Rika, are you leaving?"
"Yeah. I'm busy. I'm going ahead. I'll leave the Young Lady to you."
Rika hurried out of the martial arts hall. With Rika gone, Sion and Leah were left alone.
"Since you're here, play with me a bit more."
"Uh, yes. Let's do that. Shall we grab something to eat?"
"Yeah. Should we eat first?"
"Yes. It's my treat today."
"Really?"
"Would I lie to you? Shall we go get some meat?"
"I'd love to! Are you buying beef?"
"I'll buy you beef, horse meat, everything."
At Sion’s words, Leah smiled brightly and linked her arm with his.
‘That was natural. Good.’
The Young Lady was gradually increasing their physical contact.
Sion walked down the street with her arm in his without much thought. Leah felt a sense of stability seeing Sion walk around so naturally while being so close to her.
In her life, the only men had been her father and her older brother. Both were the type who would never tolerate Leah being involved with a man, so before coming to the Labyrinth City, she had lived in a "clean zone" completely isolated from men.
Because of that, everything she did with Sion was new and heart-fluttering.
From building a bond like this, to natural physical contact, to things others would consider an ordinary date—it was all a fresh experience for her.
"This place is delicious."
"Right? If you don't worry about the price, I think this is the best restaurant around."
"Is it... expensive?"
"Who cares? Don't worry about it. I'm at a point where I can support you now, Young Lady."
"What's with that confidence?"
"I caught a giant this time, didn't I? Once I sell all that, I'm thinking of buying a house."
"What? A house?"
"Yes. I can't keep mooching off Yuria forever. I'm thinking of just buying a big house. Do you want to live with me, Young Lady?"
"What?! Ack! Cough, cough...!!"
At the suggestion of living together, a piece of meat went down the wrong pipe. Leah coughed for quite a while before she could finally breathe properly.
"Hey, how can you say something like that so suddenly?"
"I'm sorry...?"
"No need to apologize. More importantly, about living together. Are you serious? Is it really okay for me to move into your house so shamelessly?"
"Well, if you're okay with it, Young Lady. Of course, Yuria will be there too. And Olivia and Marin might be there as well."
"I don't care about that. More than that... if we live together..."
Leah twisted her body in embarrassment. Unlike Yuria, who had already slept with Sion, she was still a virgin. To her, the suggestion of living together meant the start of cohabitation and moving halfway toward a married relationship.
Unlike Sion, who had invited her to move in as a roommate simply because he felt sorry for the financially struggling Young Lady, Leah had already finished imagining their future children.
"Sion."
"Yes, Young Lady."
"No matter how much I think about it, I don't think I'll give my heart to anyone else before the six months are up. I think... you're the only one for me."
Leah grabbed Sion’s hand firmly.
"I've already been kicked out of my house. There's no reason to hesitate anymore."
Leah reaffirmed her resolve. After living in the Labyrinth City for nearly two months, she realized that no matter how much she looked, she couldn't find a man better than him.
"Even after six months. Even after that. It'll only be you... Even though... I've been cut off from my family and have no money right now..."
"I don't really care about things like that."
"Really?"
"It's not like I'm seeing you for your money."
"I see. If you wait just a bit longer, I'll get my gold badge soon. I'll get stronger so we can... explore the Labyrinth together."
"Let's do that."
Seeing Leah confess her love and talk about the future with a consistently serious expression, Sion’s face also turned red.
Then, a thought about Leah’s situation occurred to him.
"By the way, Young Lady."
"Yes?"
"Do you still feel the call of the Labyrinth?"
"That... yeah. I feel like something from below is calling out to me."
"I see. I think... I might be able to find the answer to that call."
"What? Really?"
"Yes. I've found a clue."
"A clue?"
"Yes. Probably..."
Sion thought of the 8th floor that Helena had told him about.
The Tomb of the Roas.
The abyssal floor where the vanished ancient beings gathered.
Something calling out to Leah would surely be there.
"We'll have to descend at least to the 8th floor."
He didn't know what was calling her, but the answer would surely be on the 8th floor.