Chapter 74
Chapter 74
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 74
Chapter Title: Wall
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While exiting the cave after receiving the emergency mission,
Target Detection picked up an unfamiliar presence.
An ominous premonition hit me right away.
It was a hunch that an opponent with a stronger presence than mine was hostile toward me.
"A dog of the Lucester Empire dares to..."
The ominous premonition was spot on.
A man emerging from the direction of the fork revealed his hostility toward me.
'So it was that side.'
Lucester Empire.
The first gate I entered was in the Lucester Empire.
Mandy, who had stayed with the prophet, told me.
The man seems to have mistaken me for someone from the Lucester Empire.
Whoosh—
No time to clear up the misunderstanding.
Because the man quickly made his judgment and hurled a torch at me.
I dodge the torch flying toward my face.
'Fast.'
The man, already in front of me, swings a sharp sword.
I raise my club at an angle to block the attack.
Slice.
Surprisingly, the man's sword cleaved through my club.
The tip quarter of the club is cleanly severed.
I tried to deflect the attack but failed.
As soon as I realized the defense had failed, I twisted my body as much as possible.
"Urk...."
The man's sword slammed into my shoulder.
But it didn't cut the flesh.
It just felt like being struck with a blunt weapon.
Gritting my teeth, I grab the man's wrist.
I drive my knee into his gut.
Thud.
The opponent has impressive reflexes too.
In that brief moment, he brought one hand down to block my knee.
But my attack isn't over yet.
Combinations are a crucial element, after all.
I stomp the ground with the leg I had raised and lunge forward.
I duck my head sharply.
My forehead crashes into his face.
Boom—
At the same time, the opponent swings the hand that had blocked my knee.
His fist slams into my side.
"Keut."
We both stagger back simultaneously.
The man lets out a short pained groan and grimaces.
I keep my mouth shut, pretending it doesn't faze me.
'His stance was unstable...'
Intense pain throbs from my side where he struck.
A punch swung with just arm strength feels like a hammer blow.
Meanwhile, I had properly shifted my center of gravity for the headbutt.
I smashed his face with my solid forehead.
Yet his nose is unscathed.
'Too bad.'
In that split second, he reacted to my headbutt and jerked his head back.
If it had landed solidly, I could've seized the momentum and pressed him.
"You've got your own wall ahead of you... right?"
The man mutters something odd and loosens his stance.
I raise the club with its tip severed.
'How the hell did he cut this?'
My club is made from a monster's special part.
It's incredibly tough; I tested it thoroughly, and even an axe couldn't dent it.
That's not the only baffling thing.
I roll my shoulder.
Perfectly fine.
'The cape? Or did it lose power deflecting the club?'
The blade that sliced the club couldn't pierce the cape.
I felt the impact, but my shoulder moves normally.
For a roadside find, this cape is ridiculously durable.
"Let's do this for real."
The man sheds his sackcloth-like robe.
Revealing tattered leather armor.
Blood-soaked lining peeks through gaps in the leather.
The man grips his sword with both hands again.
I clutch my club tightly.
No more thoughts of clearing up the misunderstanding.
One of us dies here.
The opponent's presence is clearly stronger than mine.
Not by a huge margin, just a little larger.
Still, I believed I could win.
'Height around 175 cm. Long limbs for his build...'
I habitually size up the opponent.
The man is injured and exhausted.
Especially the wound on his left side looks nasty.
He moves his limbs fine, but coordinated actions are awkward—I confirmed it.
Even in our brief clash, his feet stuck to the ground.
'Gotta close the distance.'
Fighting at sword-swinging range, I can't win.
Need to drag it into a dogfight.
At least my physicality and stamina give me the edge there.
Our reflexes seem evenly matched.
'Just need to watch that weird sword...'
The man eyes me warily in a strange stance.
Body slightly turned, sword hilt pressed to his waist.
Sword tip aimed at me.
To my eyes, it screams thrust.
"Not coming?"
His question and emotions solidify my certainty.
He's feeling the pressure of this situation too.
I silently observe him with a blank expression.
Just staring like this burdens the opponent.
Time's on my side anyway.
"Hah... damn."
He knows it too.
In the end, the man steps forward first.
Not charging recklessly like before, but advancing cautiously.
I circle to the right.
"Petty bastard."
Saying that, he closes in rapidly with mincing steps.
It was a thrust.
The blade tip rushes toward my eyes in a flash.
Exactly the timing I'd gauged for the distance.
Shiiik.
Twisting my upper body, I thrust one leg out diagonally.
Swing the club at his exposed torso.
But the man counters unexpectedly.
I figured he'd retreat to keep distance—instead, he advances, slamming his sword hilt downward.
Thung.
My club clashes with his sword hilt.
He instantly spins, slashing the blade down diagonally.
As if shielding his own body.
Whoooosh.
I have no choice but to pull back.
Wish I knew a thing or two about swordplay.
Being a total amateur, all his moves feel alien.
"Kukuku. You don't know shit, do you?"
He widens the gap again, laughing smugly.
I sense his relief.
Pretending to be all relaxed.
Whatever—I rack my brain furiously.
His gaze lingers near my shoulder.
'The cape? Or this emblem?'
Probably pegged me as Lucester Empire because of this cape.
"Not a knight after all."
Once more, he charges while talking.
Not a thrust.
Hilt beside his head.
'Slash?'
A slash traces a line.
Won't dodge with just a slight twist like before.
Shiiiik.
As expected, he swings at hair's-breadth range.
Could back off a little, but I charge in again.
Thrust the club.
Judged him off-guard.
Motion bigger than before.
So my light jab hits his forearm first.
Tok.
"Shit...."
He tenses to avoid being pushed back.
Sword tip grazes my shoulder.
'Ah.'
And I realized.
This cape blocks that sword pretty damn well.
Twice isn't coincidence.
His glance at the cape was because it's bugging him.
"Huaaaap!"
The man bellows and pours strength into his arm.
I shift my weight forward, ducking my upper body out of the sword's path.
Whoooong.
Straighten my bent knee, hooking toward his side.
Opponent twists his wrist, redirecting the sword.
Sword tip spins like drawing a circle.
Pabak!
My fist sinks perfectly under his ribs.
Leather armor or not, the impact widens his eyes.
Now if his body just goes limp...
Shiiiik.
Absurdly, he follows through with the swing.
The circling blade drops toward me.
I roll sideways; he retreats with quick steps.
"Huuk... Keup."
He glares at me, face flushed red.
Hand near his waist, resuming that stance while fighting the pain.
Even so, the sword tip doesn't waver a bit.
"Huu... Didn't wanna take the L."
He quickly masks his expression and mutters.
Bluff?
"Let's finish this quick."
No.
The presence emanating from the man suddenly surges stronger.
My head's spinning.
His swung sword shears off strands of my hair as it passes.
"Block that with your cape again!"
After Target Detection registers his surging presence.
He swings without a care for distance now.
Ziiiik.
I leap back like jumping to evade his sword.
But the cape's hem snags on his blade.
Not fully severed, but a nasty tearing sound.
'What the...'
My win plan: dodge the sword, close in, brawl.
Even figured on using the cape to approach.
Plan's shot to hell.
His swordplay's tightened up massively.
Before, he swung like he'd cleave me in two.
Now it's all tiny motions.
Like the blade just needs to touch me.
'Like Hye-seon's skill?'
The sword itself isn't special.
He's using some kind of skill.
Shiiiik.
The man thrusts his sword once more.
Wall at my back.
Twist sideways to dodge—he anticipates, whipping his arm.
Sword path shifts mid-air; the tip pursues me.
Saaak—
I hurl myself aside, but a searing sting hits my side.
No time to check the wound.
Dodge his follow-up swing, retreating further.
'Not even swordsmanship anymore.'
Smaller motions let him swing freely.
Unpredictable.
His movements faster than before too.
Dodging's getting exhausting.
"Rat bastard."
But I don't lose focus.
If anything, it sharpens further.
Tracking his shoulder, wrist, fingers—I instantly sketch the scene in my mind.
All stray thoughts vanish; the world holds only the man and me.
Must read his attacks even a fraction faster.
That's how I survive.
"How long you gonna keep dodging?"
Spot the wrist twitch, react instantly.
Pa-at—
My left ear tears.
'Presence... the presence.'
Then Target Detection's range narrows; his presence sharpens vividly.
Takes on a human silhouette, not a vague circle.
'More... more.'
Focus peaks.
Like overlaying reality onto my mental image in intricate detail.
I superimpose the sensed presence onto the real him.
"Come at me! Come on!"
This time, the back of my hand.
Long gash from knuckles to elbow.
Yet I sense his growing impatience.
Mana spreading through his body becomes visible.
'No, not mana...'
Dense near the heart.
Injured areas black like painted over, dead.
'Life force?'
This is piercing intuition.
He's burning his own life force alongside mana.
"Stop running like a pussy and fight me!"
Mana courses through his body.
Mana flowing to his hand extends into the sword he grips.
Boooong.
Swing the club after ages.
Catch his lapse, smack the flat of the blade to throw off his balance.
"Yes! Come at me!"
Before he recovers for another swing, I charge headlong.
Kwadang.
We tumble across the ground together.
'I can do it too.'
I have mana too.
Narrow Target Detection even further.
Now it's like I'm the only one left in the world.
'Ah.'
Familiar sensation fades away.
Target Detection illuminates only my own presence.
I feel the mana flowing inside me.
I finally succeed at what failed last time.
'Already...'
I was the same as him.
Already wielding mana through my body.
"Die!"
I see him prop up his upper body and swing his sword.
I rise too, but a beat late.
His sword tip slashes horizontally across my chest.
'It hit.'
Burning pain flares; I slump back down.
In that instant, the mana riding his sword scatters my body's mana.
"Kukukuk."
The man rises fully.
Figures I've lost the will to fight.
He raises both hands high.
"This ends now."
The upright sword plummets toward my head.
'From hand to club.'
Unlike the blood leaking profusely, the mana lingers in my body—certainty dawns.
This is my mana.
It has to obey me.
Just like my other skills.
Grip.
I thrust the club toward the blade descending on my crown.
I see him grin brightly.
And for the first time in ages, my mother's voice rang in my ears.
Twice.