The Strongest Samurai (Part 3)
They say humans are creatures of adaptation.
Even though less than a day had passed since I crossed over into a manga, I had acclimated remarkably well.
My awakened ability, Dimension Leap, allowed me to dive headfirst into creative works. On top of that, quests—which were supposedly exclusive to the interior of the Pacific Tower—had somehow begun popping up here as well. A moment's thought was all it took to realize just how extraordinary my awakening truly was. It meant I could grow stronger without ever setting foot inside the Tower.
Once I completed the quests and returned to reality, climbing the Tower would be a breeze. And that, in turn, meant money and prestige would naturally follow. If that was the reward, I would gladly leap back in time to ancient Japan and slaughter whoever stood in my path with a grin on my face.
"Chief. Are you ready?"
Dusk was settling over the land. Concealed within the dense brush, we peered out at the manor ahead, its grounds ablaze with lanterns.
"Damn straight."
Answering Tokiyasu, I pulled up my status window.
My avatar's stats were noticeably higher than my baseline in the real world. From what I understood, a score of 5 in Strength and Agility put someone on par with an unawakened professional athlete. In other words, I was starting in pretty decent shape.
The physique of an elite modern athlete was built on a foundation impossible to achieve in ancient Japan: relentless, high-calorie nutrition paired with daily regimens of specialized, non-productive physical training designed solely to sculpt muscle. In an era where even samurai routinely had to work the fields, maintaining that kind of physical condition was simply out of the question. Looking at it from that angle, it wasn't just 'decent'—it was an overwhelming disparity.
Come to think of it, our heights are completely different too.
I possessed the height of a slightly above-average modern man, whereas nearly everyone around here was tiny. Reaching five-foot-three was considered tall in this era. It didn't take a genius to understand why this avatar had been made the leader of the unit.
"Hey, Yasu."
"Surely you don't mean me?" Tokiyasu stared at me, dumbfounded by the nickname.
"How many do you think will survive tonight's battle?"
"...I thought you were jesting again, yet you ask such a somber question." A grave expression washed over his face as he answered, "Truth be told, it would not surprise me if every last one of us perished. Most of the men have yet to recover from their wounds, and we possess barely any proper arms or armor."
"That's a problem. I need manpower if we're going to take over the clan."
"Ha! You truly harbor no doubt of our victory, do you?" He let out a dry, hearty laugh. "I wager this much: even should the rest of us fall, you alone shall surely walk away alive."
"Well, obviously."
Backed by the genius perk granted by my status window and my superior attributes, I possessed overwhelming might. Barring some catastrophically stupid blunder, there was no way I was dying. And even if I did, it would only be this avatar meeting its end; I could always cut my losses and flee back to reality.
My subordinates, however, had no such safety net.
"Scared?"
"I would be lying if I claimed otherwise. Yet did you not say it yourself, Chief? Only those prepared to die shall live. More than anyone else, I wish to survive. And the men behind me feel the same."
Naturally, having known them for barely a day, I harbored no sentimental attachment to any of them. None of them appeared in the original work, and I was under no obligation to protect them. But luck happened to be on their side.
"Like I said, I need hands to take over and manage the clan. Relax. I'll make sure as few of you die as possible."
"I am grateful for the sentiment. But do not push yourself beyond reason, Chief. Powerful though you may be, that does not mean you can turn the impossible into reality."
We'll see about that.
I turned my gaze back toward the estate. Perched atop the hillside, its interior was laid bare to our sight. It was a sprawling estate straight out of Japanese historical dramas, bustling with figures clad in kimonos. Every time I looked upon it, I couldn't help reflecting on the power scaling of this dimension.
I had leaped into Heart-Throbbing 3D Living Together!. As the title suggested, it was a lighthearted romantic comedy. There were no Climbers or terrifying monsters running rampant here like back home. In a peaceful world like this, I was the sole Climber.
Who could possibly stand in my way?
◈ Category: Heaven-Sent Talent
◈ Domain: Swordsmanship
◈ Note: Under heaven, none wield the sword better than you.
"Behold the second coming of Lü Bu."
I rose to my feet.
"We're moving in."
Seeing no trace of hesitation in my posture, the men fell in behind me. It was harder to find someone among them who wasn't wrapped in bandages, yet their eyes burned with resolute determination.
"Follow my lead."
I said it before, but these bastards were fortunate. Because I happened to be their commander, not a single one of them would die tonight.
"*Yawn*..."
The estate's private guards patrolled the perimeter with listless expressions. Word had reached them that a band of audacious brigands had raided the noble storehouses recently, but as far as they were concerned, that was none of their business.
"I heard they had the battle won, but the whole lot turned tail because of a single man."
"What? Are you serious?"
Though they served the same master, they didn't even know the faces of the men stationed at the storehouses. It didn't matter to them how many had died. What piqued their curiosity was just how pathetically those men had been routed.
"An entire detachment retreated over just one man?"
"Aye, that's what they say."
"What a pack of fools. If it were me, I'd have pursued them to the bitter end and wiped them out to claim the glory."
"True enough. I'd have done the same."
Sneers curled across their lips. Whether in modern times or a thousand years ago, listening to tales of others' misfortune was universally entertaining. Given the absolute lack of pastimes in the ancient era, their appetite for gossip might have been even greater than that of modern folk.
"Those bastards actually crawled back alive after being humiliated like that."
"Honestly, what a laughable bunch—"
Thwack!
Right as the guard scoffed at his comrades' failure, a gleaming blade burst clean through his chest.
"Huh...?"
The sentry beside him registered the ambush instantly, but he never got the chance to shout for aid.
Fwhoosh—!
The last image his eyes ever caught was the silhouette of a towering, well-built man carving a blade through the air.
Thud.
His severed head tumbled onto the dirt.
Squelch.
The ground beneath was drenched slick with fresh blood.
"Chief, they will discover us shortly. We must breach the manor at once."
"I know."
While Tokiyasu dragged the corpses into the underbrush, I swung my sword through empty air to loosen up my shoulders.
What is this?
Something felt missing. An odd sensation lingered, as though I had yet to wield the blade to its true potential. Still, it wasn't irritating enough to distract me from the task at hand. If I kept cutting down bodies, the answer would present itself eventually.
"Who goes there?!"
"Intruders! Gha—kkh...!!"
I lunged forward, burying my blade into the throats of the guards leveling spears at me.
Thud.
Their bodies collapsed limp to the dirt like marionettes with severed strings.
"Ambush!!"
"Call for reinforcements!!"
Melding into the darkness, I sprinted ahead.
"I can't see him!"
"Where is he?!"
One by one, I sliced through them in rapid succession.
"Aaaargh!!"
"Behind us! He's behind—!"
"Damn it!! There's no one there!!!"
A swift thrust through the spine of a panicking sentry.
"Form up! Back to back, or he'll pick us off!"
"Shit! It's too dark! Where are the torches?!"
A clean stroke straight through the gut of those scrambling to light a flame.
"R-Run!"
"Wait! Hold your ground! If we scatter, we're dead!"
A decisive slash cleaving the neck of the man attempting to rally the squad.
Thrown into sheer disarray, the survivors broke into a frantic sprint to save their own skins. The men who had lost the will to fight were swiftly mopped up by my subordinates trailing behind me. Yet, given their sheer numbers, a few managed to slip past.
"Eeeek...!"
"W-We made it!"
They retreated toward the interior of the manor, screaming at the top of their lungs.
"Shut the gate!! Hurry!!"
Creeeeak—
The massive wooden gates groaned, the heavy timber grinding together in a deep resonance. The manor walls were considerably high; the moment those gates barred shut, the raid would effectively be doomed. Needless to say, I had no intention of standing by and letting that happen.
"Where do you think you're going?"
I swung my blade.
It was not aimed at any person. The distance was far too great for that. Instead, my target was the colossal wooden gate itself.
Shhhhk—!
A barricade capable of withstanding dozens of axe blows cleanly split in two under a single stroke of my sword.
"A guest arrives, and you dare shut the door in his face?"
Past the collapsing gate, the terrified faces of the remaining guards came into view.
"H-Heeek...!"
"A-A monster!"
Dozens of waiting soldiers trembled violently at the sight of my presence. In the blink of an eye, most cast aside their weapons and scrambled to flee. The only ones left standing were those whose knees had buckled so completely they couldn't take a single step.
Kicking aside anyone in my path, I forged deeper into the heart of the estate. My destination was the clan head's pavilion. But before I could reach it, a new group barred my way.
"Halt! Who are you?!"
A circle of men leveled their swords at me, their eyes dripping with murderous intent. Every last one of them wore matching blue robes, looking like a bunch of middle schoolers in identical gym uniforms. To my modern eyes, the look was dreadfully tacky.
I pointed a finger at the dimmest-looking one among them.
"You rude little bastard. Introduce yourself first."
"Insolent cur!"
Enraged, they lunged in unison.
Their martial prowess was on an entirely different level from the common guards. Unlike the levies who merely thrust their spears as drilled, these blue-robed swordsmen moved with fluid grace. Their footwork was soft rather than rigid, and their strikes carried weight while remaining blindingly fast. What was more, even as they assaulted me from multiple angles, their blades never once hindered one another. It was clear their matching uniforms weren't just for show.
"Die!"
Multiple steel edges converged on my vital points simultaneously. Against an ordinary man, the strike would have carved him into ribbons. But I was not an ordinary man.
"Too slow."
I tilted my head aside to slip the first thrust. Brought my blade across my chest to deflect the second. Sliced through the wrist of the man aiming for my eyes. And when one cheeky bastard dared aim a low slash straight at my groin, I countered instantly and took his head off. Despicable cowards who targeted a man's pride had to be put down without hesitation.
"Even working together, you're only eleven or twelve times stronger than regular grunts... You're still weak as shit!!!"
"You bastard...!"
To me, the fallen man was merely a disgrace who aimed below the belt, but to them, he was a comrade sharing the same uniform. Seeing him lose his life in an instant, their composure snapped, and they charged like rabid dogs.
Yet even when attacking with calm coordination, they hadn't managed to graze a single hair on my body. The outcome of a reckless, enraged charge was painfully obvious. This world wasn't a battle shōnen where flying into a rage gave you a power-up...!
"Vengeance for Keio!!!"
I drove my blade straight into the belly of the swordsman charging with wild, bloodshot eyes.
"Ghh-kkk...!"
His entrails spilled out as his legs gave out beneath him. Abandoning his precious sword, he desperately tried to gather his spilling guts with both hands, but it was already far too late.
"Damn it!"
"Die, you demon!!!"
The next man lunged forward with a furious roar. I severed his sword arm at the elbow, then planted a heavy kick into his chest, sending him crashing into the comrade behind him.
"Guh!"
"Aargh!"
The moment their bodies overlapped, I thrust my sword straight through them, skewering them together like meat on a spit.
Squirt—!
The front man died instantly. The one behind him, however, hadn't taken the blade deep enough to die outright; he glared up at me, gnashing his teeth through the agony.
"You... demonic monster..."
"Look at you, still running your mouth with a blade lodged in your gut. Impressive."
I wrenched the sword free to finish him off. Writhing in torment, he spat a final curse with his dying breath.
"Our senior brother... and our master... will never let you leave here alive...!"
I couldn't care less.
"I certainly hope so."
"What...?"
"Because you lot didn't even serve as a decent warm-up."
"Damn you..."
Thump.
With a light flick of my wrist, I ended his misery and continued forward.
"H-Heeek...!"
"He slaughtered the Sword Master's disciples without taking a single scratch...!"
Ignoring the useless clamor echoing around the courtyard, I fell into thought.
They really were different from common soldiers.
There had been multiple opponents, yet their blade work shared distinct, unified patterns.
Was that actual swordsmanship?
It bore no resemblance to the modern sports of kendo or fencing. It was raw, unrefined technique honed solely for the purpose of slaughtering human beings.
"Tch. It'd be nice if I had something like that too."
I cast an envious glance back at the mangled corpses strewn across the stones.
"Isn't there a Heavenly Demon Divine Art or something lying around?"
Having something like that in my arsenal would really hit the spot.