The Difference
The dull thud of a heavy blow echoed through the air.
“Keheuk!”
“That was the village fist technique. Even in close range like this, you can slam it hard into the solar plexus.”
“Gueeeeek!”
Whoa, this nymph bastard must’ve eaten a shit-ton of broccoli today. Just looking at the amount of broccoli spewing from his mouth, you could probably call him the living mother of all broccoli. If a broccoli farm got hold of a few nymphs like this and gave them a solid village fist to the solar plexus, wouldn’t they start producing broccoli on their own?
“You done puking?”
“Krrruuuugh… what?”
BAM!
His body slammed into the ground. He’d somehow managed to use a breakfall, but if he’d died quickly it would’ve been a little disappointing.
“Kuhuuuuk!”
“Ah, this is the body slam technique. They say it’s used for subduing, but if you drive someone headfirst into the ground, it’s a killing move. The power control is absolute dogshit though, so I don’t use it much.”
“This bastard, how far is he going to—”
“Watch your fucking mouth, you son of a bitch! Your tone!”
He had completely shattered my fantasy about nymphs. Like a child who realized Santa didn’t exist, like an otaku who learned the protagonist was going to die ahead of time—the heartbreak was irreversible.
“Nymphs speak in this kind of tone, sir…! You son of a bitch is learning it, sir…!”
I climbed on top of him and started hammering punches into his face. With my fists that could throw thirteen jabs per second, no less. I smashed his nose, shattered his teeth, and crushed his cheekbones.
But the bastard wasn’t just taking it. He jabbed his fingers into my thigh. Finger jabs can easily break your own fingers if done wrong, but it looked like he’d trained that part quite a bit.
“The Prison of Solitude… forbids magic and weapons… and only permits the use of the body… However, it does allow fingers coated in poison… I applied neurotoxin, so…”
“So what?”
I’d been fed neurotoxin to the point of death when I was seven. There were sweet ones, sour ones, spicy ones, and bitter ones. I’d experienced an ice cream style tasting session with thirty-one flavors all at once.
“It tingles a little, but so what?”
“That’s impossible… Even wild beasts writhe in agony from this poison…”
“Hey, did you really think I was only on the level of a wild beast?”
Even if we’re talking about wild beasts, they’re ultimately just dumb animals that don’t train and can’t even think properly. Calling this smart and Confucian me a beast? This called for a stinging punishment.
Alright, what martial art should I let him experience next?
I officially opened Werner’s Martial Arts Experience Hall exclusively for this dwarf-shit-stirring nymph bastard. The admission fee was this son of a bitch’s blood and tears since he refused to speak like a nymph. It was a massive hemorrhage sale, of course. And obviously, it was him bleeding, not me.
I stood up and decided to give my customer nymph the choice of which facility to visit next.
“Krav Maga? Silat? Kali Arnis? Boxing? Judo? MMA? Mastema? Kyokushin? Ssireum? Jeet Kune Do? Which one sounds good? I’ll let you pick.”
The nymph bastard, who had barely gotten to his feet and created some distance as if trying to run, spoke.
“What the hell has this bastard been saying since earlier…”
Ah, there are too many facilities so our valued customer is having trouble deciding which one to choose. But there’s no need to worry. The great sage known as ‘me’ from the past once said something.
If you're torn between many foods, go to a buffet. And if you can't decide which option to pick from many choices, just try them all.
I’d treat him to the full course. I had to get a perfect customer satisfaction score and win this month’s Employee of the Month award.
“There’s no need to agonize over what I’m saying. You’re going to die here anyway.”
At that, the nymph-hating nymph bastard spat blood and shouted.
“Meragius, reserve executive of the Black Round Table! I will kill you here with desperate resolve!”
Then Meragius stabbed his own chest with his left index finger. I thought it was suicide, but his skin began to glow bright red. Was it some kind of buff?
“Don’t think it’ll be the same as before… My physical abilities are now five times stronger…”
“Oh, is that so?”
Meragius charged at me with a monstrous roar.
“Die for the Black Round Table!!!”
“Hey, if the sword dies for the round table, what’s the shield supposed to do?”
It was a pretty witty joke if I do say so myself, but the bastard didn’t laugh. A nymph bastard with zero sense of humor. They say laughter brings good fortune, but fortune won’t be coming your way.
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In a room so vast it was hard to believe they were in the sewers.
One man was blocking the attacks unleashed by two heroes. The heroes’ strikes left no openings whatsoever, yet the man was deflecting every single one of them. And he was doing it with his sword still sheathed.
Ricardo thrust his spear. It was a blow powerful enough to shatter even a steel shield like an eggshell, but the man’s sword lightly blocked the attack.
“Your shield work is first-rate, but there are some holes in the way you handle a spear. Isn’t the true charm of the spear its unpredictable trajectory?”
“Shut up! Where did Werner go?!”
“I’ve said it three times already. He’s inside the Prison of Solitude. And that it would be difficult for him to survive.”
Enraged by the claim that Werner would have a hard time surviving, Camellia unleashed a slashing attack. It moved faster than the speed of sound, so fast that not even the sound of cutting wind could be heard, yet the man easily dodged the strike.
He blocked attacks that should have been impossible to block, and dodged attacks that should have been impossible to dodge. It was a kind of mockery, a provocation that showcased just how superior his own skill was while implying his opponent’s attacks were pathetic.
Of course, Camellia was angry for a different reason than that provocation.
“Just what the hell is this Prison of Solitude that you’re spouting such nonsense?”
“Those who get sucked inside cannot come out until one of the two dies.”
“Then obviously Werner will win. Do you really think there’s anyone who can stand against that guy’s magic?”
“Yes, Meragius wouldn’t stand a chance. If that person called Werner were a complete Archmage, that is.”
At those words, both Ricardo and Camellia’s brows furrowed deeply. That information was supposed to be a secret between the two of them, yet someone had figured it out. And that someone was a member of the Black Round Table, their enemy no less.
If he knew, then the information that Werner couldn’t use Grand Magic was as good as spread throughout the entire Black Round Table.
“Even so, with just normal magic…”
“Let me add one more thing. Inside the Prison of Solitude, only bare hands and feet can be used. The use of weapons or magic is strictly forbidden.”
“What?”
Everyone’s hearts sank at those words. Of course Werner could imitate the techniques used by the Heavenly Demon old man, but imitation was still just imitation in the end. Even for Ricardo, the worry was no small matter.
From the way he handled the knights or when he ambushed him from behind, his physical combat skills were certainly above average. But having seen Meragius’s movements, Ricardo knew. That man’s physical techniques were far from ordinary…
If what Werner had shown so far was the full extent of his physical combat ability, then Werner would undoubtedly be killed.
Ricardo’s face twisted hideously.
“Hey, you son of a bitch. If you lay even a single finger on my little brother, I’ll kill you.”
“Hmm… With that arm?”
The man pointed at Ricardo’s right arm with his finger. The armor on his right arm was completely shattered, and the arm itself had been brutally slashed.
“With an arm like that, you couldn’t even peel an apple.”
“Why couldn’t I?”
Ricardo wrapped the iron chain that had been lying on the sewer floor around his right arm, then bit down on the chain with his teeth to secure the arm holding the spear. With the chain still in his mouth, he charged at the man.
“At this point, you’re no different from a beast.”
Judging that he couldn’t block Ricardo’s charge, the man slightly shifted his body’s trajectory to evade the attack. However, what greeted him after dodging was Camellia’s sword. It was so fast and fierce that comparing it to her previous attacks would be an insult. He determined this attack would be difficult to avoid.
Clang!
A sword with a dark blue blade was drawn from the man’s sheath and blocked Camellia’s sword.
“To think I’d have to use a draw technique. It seems I’ve grown quite dull.”
“If you’ve grown dull, then you die. Isn’t that the fate of those who wield swords?”
Camellia, who had openly declared she would kill her opponent, radiated an extraordinary killing intent. And Ricardo was the same.
Faced with the killing intent of two heroes, the man chuckled and said,
“A white tiger holding a sword in front of me, and a bear holding a spear and shield behind me… How amusing.”
“It seems you’re finally ready to fight seriously.”
“No. I’m simply going to show the difference to you foolish youngsters.”
The man spoke only in a cold voice completely devoid of emotion.
“That wizard called Werner, and both of you, will all die here. No matter who you are.”
The man declared Werner’s death, and Camellia and Ricardo gritted their teeth as they glared at him. The tension was about to stretch taut, but it didn’t last long.
“What, you die just from taking a few river blows? How anticlimactic.”
Because Werner appeared, dragging along Meragius’s mangled corpse.