Chapter 253
Chapter 253
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 253
Chapter Title: Yuri vs. Black Sword Soldiers (4)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Yuri's eyebrows twisted at the ends.
He grumbled in a crooked tone.
“Hey, so I’m the one in the wrong, huh? Oh yeah, I’ve committed a huge sin here?”
Despite Yuri's sarcastic reaction—which should have been infuriating—Coco instead looked at him with genuine curiosity.
“That’s why I’m asking… how the hell did you make it all the way here?”
She knew full well that Hell difficulty was on a level that didn’t make any sense.
This went beyond whether a cadet could break it or not—it was impossible even for a Certified 6th Dan expert.
After all, breaking a Black Chain Formation that included a Certified 6th Dan Black Sword captain with another Certified 6th Dan was flat-out impossible.
‘And yet this guy pulled off the impossible?’
The situation was getting really interesting.
At first, it had just been petty revenge against the guy who’d piled more work on her desk, plus a bit of hazing.
But watching Yuri bulldoze through a difficulty she herself considered impossible changed her mind.
Coco was dying to know.
‘Just what the hell is this kid’s deal?’
What had Old Man Johan taught him?
What secrets did he have?
From the moment Yuri took fifteen steps in his first Hundred Steps Ritual up to now.
All the curiosity and intrigue she’d harbored while watching him had finally exploded today.
That’s why she’d brushed off everyone’s objections and come to the ninth floor herself.
‘Let’s see… time to take a good, hard look at you.’
The moment Coco’s gaze—thick with anticipation—landed on him.
“……?!”
Yuri’s face hardened in an instant, and he put distance between them.
His palm on the sword hilt was drenched in sweat.
Seeing Yuri on guard like that, a glint flashed in Coco’s eyes.
‘This kid’s senses are freakishly sharp?’
She’d only faintly released a bit of her intent just moments ago, and he’d picked up on it.
This wasn’t just quick wits—it was beast-like instinct.
‘This is fun.’
Her eyes gleaming with itch to fight, Yuri urgently raised his hand.
“Hold it!”
“Huh?”
“Come on, this isn’t fair!”
“What’s not?”
Yuri tilted his chin up and declared firmly.
“Player substitution!”
“……?”
“Hey, anyone there? Swap out Coco for someone else!”
“Huh?”
What the hell was going on?
Coco stared at Yuri in disbelief.
Yuri puffed out his chest proudly in response.
“I guarantee you, there’s no way I win this.”
“Win what?”
“What else? Obviously, I can’t beat you, Coco.”
“…How do you know without even trying?”
“You gotta eat shit to know it’s shit and not mud? It reeks. This is shit.”
“Feels like you’re calling me shit. That can’t be right, can it?”
“You caught that… I mean, why would you think that? It’s just a figure of speech! Anyway, I’m not fighting you. I can’t! So sub him out.”
“…You weren’t the type to give up this easily.”
If Yuri were the kind to throw in the towel and mope at the first sign of trouble, he wouldn’t have achieved what he had now.
Nor would he have earned the Sword Lord’s recognition in the Hundred Steps Ritual.
But even faced with Coco’s doubts, Yuri just fiddled with his ear.
“Depends on the situation.”
He flicked away the earwax on his fingertip with a tik.
“I’m not some reckless idiot who charges in blindly, you know?”
“You’re not?”
“Nope. I always size things up first. And right now? I can tell at a glance. Fighting you would be a total waste of time.”
“Ha? Waste of time?”
Yuri spoke calmly to Coco’s incredulous reaction.
“The skill gap between you and me is obvious just by looking. You’re the one who made the bet, so no way you’re throwing it. Plus, I’m already on the ninth floor—if I can’t beat you, the quest fails, and I walk out empty-handed.”
“…….”
“So why waste energy on a quest with zero upside? I’d just hurt myself for nothing. Who benefits?”
Of course, it wasn’t zero upside.
Fighting someone like Coco—whose level he couldn’t even gauge—would be invaluable experience.
But even so, Yuri’s attitude was starting to piss her off a little.
‘Damn, know when to quit.’
A custom difficulty designed to target him from the start?
And then sneaking in those difficulty spikes midway… no, straight-up ramping it up?
Fine, whatever.
She could accept that.
But no matter how much she tried to rationalize it, this situation was too much.
Yuri shot Coco an irritated glare.
“I could overlook the quest difficulty creeping up on me… but you stepping up as the ninth floor boss? That’s straight-up cheating.”
“Ch… cheating?”
Coco blinked, having never heard the word applied to herself like that.
Yuri snorted derisively.
“Isn’t it? Anyone can see my win rate here is 0%. Sitting down at a rigged table like this when you know it? That’s for morons.”
No matter how valuable the experience from sparring Coco might be, Yuri had zero interest in a fight with 0% odds.
More precisely, he didn’t want to play her rigged game.
Even in a scam, he’d take his own 1% win-rate table.
As long as there was something to gain, a 1% shot was worth the gamble.
‘And in a spot like this… time to flip the table.’
He didn’t like this setup, so he’d overturn it and make a new one.
With that in mind, Yuri doubled down.
“If you don’t sub someone out here… I’m done. Bet, quest, all of it. I’m going home.”
Coco’s brows furrowed at the sincerity in his voice.
But she couldn’t bring herself to respond right away.
Yuri was being a pain, but he wasn’t wrong.
After agonizing for a while, she finally spoke.
“…Here’s the deal.”
“How?”
“No substitutions.”
“That’s kinda lame?”
“But!”
Coco glared at the interrupting Yuri and pointed sharply at her cigar.
“If you so much as graze my clothes before I finish this cigar, it’s your win.”
“…What counts as ‘finished’?”
“When the ash hits that line you can see here.”
She pointed to the end of the cigar in her mouth.
It was white paper overall, but the part touching her lips was yellowish.
The line she meant was where the white met the yellow.
“…….”
Yuri stared intently at Coco’s cigar.
Then he turned his head with a smirk.
“Nope.”
“Why not!”
…Wait, seriously?!
Coco snapped in frustration.
Yuri’s sullen voice came back.
“Admit it—somebody’s prank jacked up the quest difficulty, right?”
“…So?”
“Bump up the rewards a bit?”
“You said it was fine earlier? That it happens?”
“That was then.”
Yuri turned his head the other way with a flick.
Coco let out a small sigh.
“So… what do you want?”
Straightening his head at her question, Yuri replied in a slightly haughty tone.
“Well, toss in like five extra reward boxes, and it might balance out…….”
“…….”
That pretty face saying it so smugly was infuriating enough to smack.
Coco clicked her tongue but nodded.
“Fine, deal?”
“You’re taking it? Let me recap then!”
“…Go ahead.”
“While you finish that cigar, if I touch so much as your clothes—it’s my win! So original rewards plus five more makes twenty-five, and winning the bet bumps it to thirty reward boxes total. Right?”
“Yeah.”
“Sweet!”
Seeing Coco nod reluctantly, Yuri grinned in satisfaction.
Coco lit her cigar as she spoke.
“Then let’s play.”
Chiiiik-.
At the sound of it igniting, Yuri shot his hand up again.
“Wait, hold on!”
“What now!”
“Not yet.”
“……?”
“Give me a breather, then start? I’m wiped.”
Disrupting the flow, Yuri waved his hand weakly like he was about to collapse.
Coco stared at him blankly.
Then she suddenly grinned.
‘…Huh?’
A chill ran down Yuri’s spine.
‘No way… this lady?!’
Premonitions of doom were never wrong.
“But oops—what now? Already lit it.”
Whoooosh-.
White smoke billowed from her mouth.
And from beyond it, her figure blurred, flickered, and vanished.
Yuri instinctively dodged, but Coco was already in front of him.
His face stiffened.
‘Fast!’
He’d raced plenty back in the day—starting with Teresa and others.
But lately, Yuri’s speed surpassed not just cadets but even the Black Sword Soldiers.
So feeling Coco match him instantly after all this time made his heart pound.
With that, he drew his sword.
Shiiiing-.
When the pristine white blade was half-unsheathed, Yuri locked eyes with Coco.
Her eyes rippled dangerously.
‘……?!’
Next instant, Coco’s hand shot like lightning, slapping his hilt.
Thwack-!
The blade, half-drawn, slid back into the scabbard.
One might panic after failing to draw, but…
Yuri immediately thrust the hand that had gripped the hilt toward Coco’s, trying to grab it.
Coco smirked inwardly at his reaction speed.
‘Not some old fogey—how’s he stay this calm?’
In a situation where a swordsman can’t draw, rookies freeze or fumble for the blade again.
But Yuri ditched the sword instantly to go for her hand instead.
Impressive, but…
‘Rude much? Grabbing a lady’s hand?’
Coco had no intention of letting him.
Ssslliiick-.
Her hand and arm twisted in an eerie motion, slipping from his grasp.
Yuri’s eyebrows twitched.
Realizing her movements were too bizarre and quick to catch, he gave up.
Instead, he aimed to draw again while her hand retreated.
But.
‘Not on my watch!’
Coco wasn’t about to let him draw.
Thwack-!
Her hand whipped through the air, shoving the hilt again.
The silver blade half-out slid back in once more.
Frustration boiling over, Yuri’s eyes flashed.
‘Wanna go?’
His hands blurred like lightning.
Coco’s trajectories grew even stranger in response.
Yuri clawing to draw; Coco slapping the hilt shut.
Yuri’s pale hands lunging to seize; Coco’s dark hands gliding away effortlessly.
Each motion was blindingly fast, leaving afterimages, yet their hands never touched or clashed.
A bizarre standoff.
And even more astonishing—they weren’t standing still. They dashed across the ninth floor, legs pumping.
Yuri pulling away; Coco glued to him.
As it dragged on, Yuri gritted his teeth.
‘This’ll never end.’
Truth be told, if Coco wanted, it’d be over already.
She was just toying with him now, and it’d continue until she got bored.
The problem? Her playtime was wearing him down.
‘Damn, I’m gonna drop dead!’
He’d barely survived blitzing the eighth floor.
No real rest on the ninth, dragged around by her antics—his body screamed.
‘Nngh!’
Groaning inwardly, Yuri shot a resentful glare at the grinning Coco.
‘Having a blast, huh?’
She seemed to love this game.
First time he’d seen her smile like that since meeting in the cradle.
A faint glint in his eyes sank deep into his pupils.
‘Yeah, keep having fun to the end.’
Hoping she’d stay playful, not go all-out.
And eventually show an opening.
Ignoring his protesting body, Yuri moved cautiously, biding his time.