Chapter 10
Chapter 10
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: Pointy-Ears
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Pointy-ears.
‘Ha, this is annoying.’
It was the thought that hit me as Rishiel approached.
I knew this was the method that gave me the highest chance of survival.
I also knew I was the one carrying it out.
But there was no helping the fact that I'd gotten dragged into this hassle.
I couldn't run away, either.
I had to give it my all.
Still, I couldn't help the anger bubbling up.
‘What kind of idiot invades someone else's labyrinth for some bullshit reason?’
It was absurd.
The one silver lining was that I could kill them in self-defense.
I raised my sword and glared at Rishiel.
"Your stance is pretty sloppy. You look like some wild beast."
"……."
"Ignoring me? Fine by me. Makes taming you all the more fun."
These assholes were coming at me from all sides.
I calmed my mind.
‘Time to fight.’
I had to judge everything as coldly as possible.
Handling her alone was tough. Ermé might have managed, but not me.
‘But.’
Ermé would dispatch the other elves faster.
She was already pushing one back.
‘She's the one I have to take.’
It made sense for me to handle her.
Stalling for time as long as possible would be ideal.
But as if unaware of my intentions, Rishiel spoke in a leisurely tone.
"We just entered the outer edges of the labyrinth, right?"
"Yeah."
Rishiel smirked at my response and took a step forward.
What the fuck.
A silver rapier flashed past my cheek in an instant.
‘Too fast.’
Even focusing, all I caught was a blurry something.
‘No, focus.’
It's wielded by a person, after all. Focus hard enough, and I can read the trajectory...
Another strike like lightning.
This time, I saw it.
"You've got some real yellow sprouts there. I like it even more."
I tilted my head aside to dodge.
Snick.
A bit of my hair got sliced off.
‘I definitely dodged it?’
Looking closely, something was coiling around Rishiel's blade.
A faint green wind-like aura.
Sword aura.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ A power usable only by those who have reached a certain realm. A force that slices through nearly anything it touches. In this world's terms, a power unlocked at Level 5. ‘This world...?’
A question arose simultaneously.
Rishiel wasn't Level 5.
Her movements were faster than Hanul's, but still.
‘Probably some special weapon...’
My thoughts stopped there.
I couldn't continue. Because Rishiel was attacking me.
Whoosh!
The sword sliced through the air, chasing me.
I twisted my body, tracking the blade's path.
The pressure was immense.
Rishiel curled her lip as I evaded.
‘...If I can just keep dodging, it's fine.’
My goal was to buy time from the start.
Rishiel was exceptionally strong, but the elves were steadily falling.
‘But I can't stall forever.’
My mind raced nonstop.
Maybe because it was a crisis, my brain was working overtime.
Rishiel seemed to come from a fairly high-ranking house.
That usually meant reinforcements could arrive.
"Haha! How long are you gonna keep dodging?!"
Until I die. Or until you drop dead.
With that look in my eyes, Rishiel's gaze sparkled even brighter.
Like she was eyeing a toy.
I did everything I could.
The rapier was for thrusting. I had to evade frontal assaults as much as possible.
‘Too fast.’
From the speed of retracting the blade to the time it took to thrust again.
Maybe because it was a sword specialized for thrusts over other types.
"Hoo."
I breathed heavily.
I could dodge the sword somehow. And I gained one more thing.
‘I'm getting used to her movements bit by bit.’
Now, I could start seeing how she'd move next.
Not just a blurry something.
I could clearly see how she attacked.
‘Time for a gamble?’
Plunder (S)'s ability was simple.
Depending on her favorability toward me, the abilities I could steal increased, it seemed.
‘Can I steal it?’
I wondered internally.
But no response came.
Whether I could or couldn't.
‘Not some useless crap like the Villainess's Obsession—I want that sword.’
As that thought crossed my mind, Rishiel's attack came.
The moment I saw it, I knew.
‘Can't dodge this one.’
I'd wanted to hide my hand as much as possible, but now I had no choice.
‘Blood-Soaked Dagger.’
I gripped empty air and slashed downward.
A crimson dagger emerged from Hidden Space.
Clang!
It deflected the rapier's strike.
"Oh, that surprised me just now."
Her wide-eyed look was annoyingly beautiful.
Pretending to be shocked when I blocked it so easily.
‘Fucking bitch.’
Her smug tone, like she was above me, pissed me off even more.
My hand trembled slightly. I'd poured everything into deflecting the trajectory, yet this brute made my muscles quake.
I curled my lip.
I swung my sword.
Clang! Sparks flew as our blades clashed.
Maybe because the Blood-Soaked Dagger was higher grade.
Blocking that aura substitute didn't feel too taxing.
‘But.’
It's tough.
Overwhelming.
Every clash vibrated through my bones.
‘Too strong.’
Absurdly powerful force.
And speed I'd miss without total focus.
All I could do was cling to her tenaciously.
Nothing favored me.
An endlessly unfair game.
‘When was it ever fair?’
I curled my lip again as we exchanged blows.
"This is fun! Keep it up!"
Rishiel rampaged with an excited voice.
‘When the hell are they coming?’
I wanted to check my surroundings, but I had no leeway.
The moment I let my guard down, she'd ram that rapier through my throat.
But.
At some point, I started feeling a bit more at ease.
A very subtle difference.
Rishiel wasn't tiring.
Her assaults were still ferocious; I was barely blocking.
She even had energy to spare.
‘An illusion?’
No, it wasn't.
The blue line was thickening.
Less her changing.
Me.
‘Am I getting more used to it?’
I countered the rapier with the Blood-Soaked Dagger.
A tiny opening appeared.
The instant it did, I struck at her with my sword.
"Hoh?"
Simple motions.
At some point, those motions were stripping away her pressure.
All I did was block her attacks and strike any openings.
But.
‘It's getting easier.’
And beyond that.
I was acquiring her attack patterns.
The sword movements shifted.
The wild swings refined into precision.
I'd thought dual-wielding would be hard.
‘Dual swordsmanship...’
Easier than expected?
But no time to enjoy it.
My head burned.
My heart ached to the point of stiffness.
Yet.
For some reason, I felt like laughing.
*
Rishiel had no particular thoughts.
She'd just come out for a light stroll.
When she first saw Han Yuseong, it felt like picking up treasure.
So she'd swung her sword to play with him instead of killing outright.
Thus.
She swung her sword.
Attacks born of confidence that she could kill anytime.
At some point during the assault.
Her breath caught.
‘Irritating.’
That was the feeling.
Han Yuseong's sword was growing more refined.
What had been raw talent she'd never seen before.
Now felt like it could claim her life at any moment.
‘What is this.’
She saw Han Yuseong smiling.
As if this moment was pure bliss.
What chilled her was his sword evolving, chasing hers.
Swordsmanship sharpening.
Disorienting.
The blades in his dual grip attacked like masterfully crafted swords.
‘Ambidextrous?’
As if his initial movements were a feint.
His swordplay grew heavy, swift, and sharp.
‘A bit...’
Dangerous.
Beyond irritating now.
Watching this monster grow using her as XP.
‘I want it.’
And simultaneously, she had to kill him.
Conflicting emotions surged to the forefront of her mind.
Greed.
For that man. But he was a rose of thorns, laced with lethal venom.
Thus.
"What a shame."
Rishiel decided to kill Han Yuseong here.
She had to.
She dropped the playful attitude.
Rishiel assumed her stance.
"Take this."
Dark Moon's secret sword technique.
Not something for a mere Level 1, but.
‘For a man like this, I have to go all out.’
Thus.
Whoosh!
A gentle breeze stirred in the windless labyrinth.
A faint green vortex gathered at her sword tip.
‘Block this.’
Han Yuseong seemed blind to it.
The elves had the party tied down. Ermé screamed from afar, Teresa and Marcel looking frantic.
And.
‘...What.’
Han Yuseong was smiling.
As if he'd baited her action.
He slowly extended his hand.
The scene felt strangely slow, like a montage.
His hand melted into the darkness and vanished.
"Plunder."
Han Yuseong's quiet voice reached her.
*
I stole something from her.
My target was her weapon.
I saw the silver rapier.
My hand plunged into the darkness.
And at the same time.
‘Got it.’
A clear sensation of grasping something.
When was it again.
Not the bald guy's gold coins.
‘...Lucia.’
It felt just like when I stole the Villainess Lucia's Obsession.
Suddenly, a bad premonition hit.
And it proved right.
My hand wasn't holding a sword.
It clutched a pitch-black gem.
Thud.
Before I could check the gem.
Rishiel gaped at me.
"G-Give it back...!"
I wanted to confirm what this gem was.
But more urgent matters first.
Slice.
I brought the Blood-Soaked Dagger to the gem.
Instinctive.
The most powerful person here cherished it.
‘Plenty of value as a hostage.’
As if reading my eyes, Rishiel's face darkened.
Like she'd swallowed poison.
"...?"
I kept my eyes on Rishiel without relaxing. But soon.
Thump.
She collapsed.
-Wh-What's happening!! Rishiel's voice came from behind me.
I whipped around in a panic.
There was Rishiel.
But her form was off.
Like a ghost, semi-transparent.
"...?"
Only then could I see what I'd stolen from Rishiel.
⚔ ITEM ⚔ Rishiel's Soul
"... ."
What the hell do you call this.
Obviously useful, but.
I'd stolen something really weird.
*
My mind was blank, but I remembered I was still in a fight.
So I rushed straight to Rishiel's body(?).
My goal: the gleaming silver rapier.
-My Silver Eagle! The soul-state Rishiel screamed.
That wasn't important.
The moment I picked up the rapier, it began emanating faint green light.
‘Info.’
⚔ ITEM ⚔ Whisper of the Wind (B-)
A sword imbued with the blessing of the wind. ◇ Can use wind-attribute magic by consuming mana. ‘What? Lower grade than the Blood-Soaked Dagger?’
It looked better, though.
Well, the Blood-Soaked Dagger was a growth-type weapon.
Might not seem great now, but it'd improve later.
For now.
‘Time to end this fight.’
The others were wrapping up over there.
Isn't jumping in to help at times like this what leaves the least impression?
‘Fatal Constitution on.’
As I activated the constitution.
The elves' bodies stiffened.
"Your boss is dead."
She's actually still alive.
Still yapping beside me.
"If anyone wants to die, keep coming."
Truth is, I'd prefer you didn't.
Battle aftermath, maybe.
Relaxing now would make my limbs shake.
"...We surrender."
Looks like the intimidation worked. Lucky.