The Lake's Servant (2)
Skills that restrict an opponent's movement are far more common than one might think. From widely known abilities like Killing Intent, Intimidation, and Fighting Spirit that everyone learns early on, to Fear effects used by specific races or boss monsters. These skills all share the common trait of limiting the movements of those weaker than the user while lowering their stats.
Of course, if the gap between you and your opponent is too wide, the skill's effectiveness naturally drops. That was exactly why the Heavenly Demon's movements had barely paused earlier—her reaction to my skill was so minimal it made me wonder if it had even worked at all. The stun duration had been drastically reduced because the difference in our strength was simply too vast.
‘But the gap between this guy and me isn’t nearly that big.’
Not to mention the penalty he’d taken from having his skill canceled.
“───!!”
The Lake’s Servant struggled desperately to move his body, but the result he wanted never came.
“Ugh, this thing eats up a surprising amount of mana, huh?”
I observed the scene I’d created for a moment before frowning and checking how much mana I’d just burned through. Holy crap—nearly a third of my total mana had vanished in one go. On top of that, my throat felt a little raw. Looked like this skill wasn’t something I could spam recklessly.
Squelch. Squelch.
The moisture in the air thickened thanks to the Lake’s Servant’s mana, forming small puddles that made wet noises with every step. The dampness seeping through my shoes was far from pleasant.
“Alright, let’s wrap this up.”
As I drew closer, the faint traces of mana leaking from between the gaps in his helmet began to tremble. I raised my sword toward the motionless enemy and thrust it with all my strength toward the center of his chest, where his second core resided.
Or at least, I tried to.
Whoosh.
“...Huh?”
The Lake’s Servant, who should have been completely immobilized by my skill, had swiftly dodged my blade. What the hell was this?
“How did you break free?”
“────!”
He offered no answer to my question. All he did was let out an enraged roar and swing his spear. The one silver lining was that the duration of Lake’s Melody had finally run out, causing the skill to cancel on its own.
‘Just how did he escape it?’
I deflected the incoming spear thrust while pondering the situation. He had definitely been trapped by my skill. It hadn’t worn off even up until the moment I swung my sword. So how?
‘I need to check this properly.’
Soul Resonance
Another massive chunk of mana drained away, leaving my head slightly dizzy, but I endured it and opened my mouth.
“Stop.”
Creak.
The skill activated once more, freezing the Lake’s Servant in place. This time, to observe the change clearly, I focused on him with everything I had and swung my sword.
Clang!
“Ha, is this for real?”
The instant my sword neared him, his spear flew up and blocked it perfectly. Having witnessed the anomaly again right before my eyes, I immediately understood what was happening.
“So the skill cancels the moment I attempt an attack.”
If my sword came within a certain distance of the enemy, the skill’s effect would vanish.
“Tsk, it’d be nice if they explained these details properly.”
New World Academy had a terrible habit when describing items, skills, or traits—it never properly mentioned side effects or special quirks. You had to discover those yourself before they’d get added to the description. Because of that, quite a few people had suffered greatly from the hidden drawbacks of certain skills.
The Soul Resonance I’d used was the same. Instead of properly explaining this characteristic, the description had simply said something vague like “be careful when attacking.”
‘I wonder if the description has changed now?’
Soul Resonance lv.max
Type: Skill
A silent sound that halts the soul.
-Has a chance to freeze the target's movements.
-Halts all actions connected to the target.
-The skill's effect disappears if the user performs an attack within a certain range.
As expected, the description had changed. The third line that should have been there had been updated after this incident.
“───!”
Whoooosh.
While I was confirming the change in Soul Resonance’s description, the Lake’s Servant had already created a spear made entirely of water. Now wielding two spears, he charged straight at me. This was the dual-spear pattern that followed Lake’s Melody. And with magic circles forming behind him as well, he was practically screaming, “This is what a magic spearman looks like!”
“I’m so jealous I could die!”
Meanwhile, some people were stuck as Spiritualists with zero offensive skills.
After looking into what Spiritualists could actually do, I’d realized they weren’t a damage-dealing class at all—they were pure support. A backline job with no direct attacks, only offering assistance from behind.
Clang. Boom. Clang.
“───!”
“You really handle your weapon like it owes you money!”
But I had no desire to sit in the back throwing out debuffs. Sure, that would be safer. But what if the friendly damage dealers up front got taken out? Without any strength, they’d just die without being able to put up a fight.
Boom.
I dodged the incoming spells from behind, evaded the thrusting spears from the front, and swung my sword. As I blocked and deflected his fierce attacks, my own weapon naturally began moving with equal ferocity. If it had been an ordinary sword, the edge would have been ruined or cracked by now, but the weapons provided in simulation mode had infinite durability. No matter how roughly I handled it, the blade would neither break nor dull.
‘It’s about time for him to switch to the magic pattern.’
Taht.
‘Perfect!’
Just as I’d predicted, he canceled his water spears and retreated to change his attack pattern. This was the water bomb pattern that triggered if the close-range fight dragged on too long.
“────!!”
With his shout, large and small magic circles appeared across the ceiling.
Splash.
A single water droplet fell from one of the massive circles and burst with a bizarre sound. There was no explosion or additional magic effect, but the droplets fell with such absurd density that they were practically weapons.
Droplet Rain
Unlike Lake’s Melody, this skill’s name was perfectly on point. Dodging the large and small water droplets required intense focus and lightning reflexes.
‘I have to finish this right now.’
If I failed, the next pattern would bring out that. The thing notorious for killing newbies would be a bit too much of a hassle for me to deal with right now, so it was better to end him quickly if possible.
‘Besides, he can’t move at all right now.’
While using Droplet Rain, the Lake’s Servant remained completely defenseless in place. It was a sort of penalty, similar to Lake’s Melody. The only difference was that even if his movements were stopped, the skill itself wouldn’t cancel. The duration was ten seconds. I had to finish him within that time.
Splash. Boom. Boom. Bang!
I closed the distance while dodging the massive water droplets pouring down like a torrential downpour. However, enormous droplets were crashing around him like meteors. I had no choice but to abandon my approach while still quite far away.
‘But that’s not a problem.’
I had a skill that could cut him down from this distance.
Screeech.
Just like before, an eerie purple sword energy began to coil around my blade, spreading from my right arm like sticky sludge. I had used dual swords last time, but since the skill’s proficiency had already hit MAX, a single sword was more than enough now.
Hummm.
The moment I finished preparing for the final strike, a small water droplet fell toward the top of my head. At that size… I could just take the hit and cut through it!
Formless Slash
Splash. Slice.
A dull impact struck my head at the same time a sound like shattering glass echoed from far ahead.
-Is that spearmanship? It’s a bit sloppy in places, but the fundamentals are solid.
The Heavenly Demon watched the Lake’s Servant’s spear techniques and gave a small nod. It wasn’t outstanding, but it wasn’t particularly flawed either. It was the level of a knight who had properly trained the basics. And since he mixed in magic as well, he would certainly be a troublesome opponent for ordinary people.
However, her gaze soon shifted to the man facing that very opponent, and her eyes narrowed.
-...How strange.
It was truly bizarre.
That was the assessment she had made while evaluating Zeon.
-How is he reacting to those attacks?
Having already gauged Zeon’s skill level long ago, she felt great doubt at the abnormality before her eyes. At best, he should have barely managed to defeat a knight in his initial state. But look at the fight happening right now. He had handled Phase 1 with ease, and Phase 2 didn’t seem to be giving him much trouble either.
-It’s almost as if he already knows the opponent’s attacks in advance.
He read the smallest movements and instantly recognized what kind of attack was coming, responding accordingly. Such talent was rare even among geniuses, let alone the merely talented. Unless one possessed eyes that could see the future, of course.
-He doesn’t seem to have any connection to that side, though.
But then how was she supposed to explain Zeon? From the way he carried her own energy within his body, to how he had come to this strange place, how he accepted death so casually, and how he immediately staked his life the moment battle began. Were these things an ordinary person could do?
-And he even stopped me in my tracks.
Seeing souls was already incredibly rare, yet he could issue direct commands to them. It was an extraordinarily bizarre phenomenon that she had never witnessed even during her lifetime.
-...Is it because he manipulates souls that he can even wield yokai power?
And now he was handling the power of yokai—beings far closer to monsters than ordinary souls. That sinister energy was unmistakably the power of yokai.
The Heavenly Demon’s gaze traveled from Zeon’s arm to the ghostly qi coiling around his sword. It was a power that humans should never be able to wield. How could such a thing manifest in human hands?
Half-human, half-yokai? No, Zeon was clearly human. A pure human with not a single drop of yokai blood mixed in.
-There is no mark of a contract, either.
It was said that humans who formed contracts could wield yokai power. But there were no traces of any contract on Zeon. And the level of power she felt from him… it undoubtedly belonged to one of the top-tier beings famous even among their kind.
-...Whatever the case may be, I have seen enough.
Just as her disciple had requested, she had watched Zeon’s fight until the very end and confirmed both his vessel and his talent. And she acknowledged him.
-You are sufficient.
You have the qualifications to become my canvas.
Such a wide and clean canvas.
-You said it was fine even if I failed, didn’t you?
How dare you say such insolent words to your master. If the painting turns out poorly, just draw it again beside it? You said it was okay to make mistakes?
You are wrong. Who would ever take interest in a dirty piece of work?
-I shall create the masterpiece of my lifetime.
I have already accumulated the experience of failure by painting on the canvas that is myself. There will be no such mistakes on this pure white canvas. I will wield the brush with the utmost care and leave behind not a single flaw.
And I shall leave behind the work known as Zeon as the masterpiece of my life.