A Double-Edged Sword
How could a wooden sword be this beautiful?
It was nothing more than a dull chunk of wood without a single cutting edge, yet once it settled into Garen’s hand it stopped being a practice sword at all.
More than a blade, it looked like a meteor cutting across the pre-dawn sky. Brilliant, swift, impossible to look away from—
Not so much swung by raw power as if it might sever the air itself, the shadows, the very space around it in a single instant.
Watching it was enough to leave me momentarily stunned… It was, truly, beautiful.
Why the hell was I spouting this kind of nonsense?
Because I was about one second away from getting hit.
Thud!
“Ack!”
The wooden sword slammed solidly into my side.
My breath locked in my throat.
Damn it, fuck! This guy doesn’t know the meaning of holding back!
I clenched my teeth, took one step back, and immediately raised my sword again.
Garen watched me without so much as a hitch in his breathing.
“Speed’s improved.”
I almost felt moved for a second—then the next words, or rather the next blow, landed.
“Stance’s better than before, too.”
Crack!
This time the blades met.
Before I could twist and deflect, Garen’s wooden sword was already coming in again.
Crack!
I barely blocked it, but my wrist rang with a sharp, numbing jolt.
“The problem,” Garen said in a low voice, “is that you’re strangely fearless.”
I gasped for air and managed to ask, “Haa… haa… Is that… a compliment…?”
“No.”
Thud!
The sword cracked across my arm.
“You’re afraid of dying.”
Crack!
“But you’re not afraid of the situation itself.”
I stepped in again.
I forced a diagonal cut coming down from the upper right to glance off and drove inside.
Garen didn’t miss it.
“You were the same the first time I saw you.”
“Haa… What…?”
“You’re the first one who looked at me and answered back without a scrap of fear.”
For an instant the tip of my sword wavered. Garen’s blade tapped my thigh without missing the opening.
Thud!
“Focus.”
“Aaagh! Ahh, how am I supposed to focus when the guy I’m fighting won’t stop talking!”
Even as I said it, a flood of thoughts flashed through my mind and vanished just as fast.
Ever since I’d gotten the Dimensional Archive, I’d seen far too many truly terrible things.
Strange, grotesque landscapes. Things that weren’t human. Places where one wrong step meant instantaneous, brutal death.
After walking through enough of those, either I’d simply gotten used to most situations… or some mental protection passive was holding my mind together. I still wasn’t sure.
But Garen’s words didn’t feel wrong.
Only after several more exchanges did Garen finally lower his sword.
I exhaled roughly and planted the tip of my wooden sword against the ground. Once again my entire body was soaked through with sweat.
“Having no fear… is a double-edged sword,” Garen said as he picked up a water bottle. “Used well, it can save your allies. Used poorly, you die first.”
“…I’ll keep that in mind.”
“If you want to learn Aura, all the more so.”
My heart gave a small leap at those words.
“Don’t die before the month is up.”
“Heh, how kind of you. I’m definitely not dying~”
“I’m not joking.”
I let out a short laugh.
“Understood.”
I thanked Garen and put the wooden sword away.
When I reached the guild, Mari and Kaya were already there.
Mari glanced at me and said, “You look like a rag again today.”
“…The training was extremely beautiful, you know.”
“Getting beaten?”
“Correct~”
Kaya let out a dry laugh, gave me a quick healing, and jerked her chin toward the guild doors.
“Let’s go in.”
“…Yes, ma’am.”
We stopped in front of the request board.
“Let’s go with clearing a goblin den this time.”
I looked up. Mari read it over once as well, then tore the request slip free without comment.
“Not bad. Emptying one cave shouldn’t take long.”
Not take long, my ass.
It was obviously going to take forever, but I didn’t let it show.
When we approached the counter, Luce lifted her head.
“Good morning.”
“Yes, good morning, Miss Luce.”
“Have you chosen a request?”
“Yes.”
Luce took the request form and unfolded it.
“You’re going a bit far today.”
“Yes. We’re going to clear out one den and come back.”
“This looks like it might take quite a while… You should pack lunch.”
Mari spoke shortly from beside me.
“We’ll pack something simple.”
“That’s a relief, then.”
Luce set down her pen, finished processing the form, and held it out.
“Confirmed. Please be careful out there.”
“Yes. You be careful at work too, Miss Luce.”
Luce’s gaze lingered on me for a moment before she smiled softly.
“Yes. Come back safely.”
“We’ll be back!”
We left the guild and headed straight for Sunset Hearth.
When we opened the door, the familiar smell rolled out to meet us.
From further inside, Nia spotted us and waved.
“Oh! You’re here really early today?”
“Yes. We’re heading into the forest to clear out a goblin den.”
“Is that so?”
At my words Nia’s expression tightened slightly, then she quickly nodded.
“Wait just a second.”
A moment later Nia brought over several loaves of bread, some dried jerky, and a water skin. She hesitated briefly, then held out one more small cloth pouch.
“This one’s on the house. Meat dried with salt—it should taste good.”
With that she half-forced it into my hand. Kaya smiled gently beside me.
“Thank you!”
Mari took a loaf of bread and muttered, “Why is this guy so good at making friends…”
“Huh? What was that?”
“Nothing.”
“I do have pretty amazing social skills, don’t I? Heheh.”
Mari looked at me with pure disgust and said shortly, “Whatever. Let’s just go.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
We entered the forest right away.
Nothing much happened near the entrance.
We handled three ordinary goblins loafing around the path, and a little deeper in, an Iron-Tusk mother and her cub burst out—both of which we turned into excellent roast meat.
In the past even a short fight like that would have left me breathing hard, but now my body was already preparing the next movement on its own.
As we pushed deeper into the forest, the trees and grass gradually disappeared, giving way to rocky terrain full of stone and boulders.
Still nothing in sight around us.
By the time we reached the cave entrance, a familiar smell rose first.
Damp earth, rotting hide, and the lingering scent of old blood mixed in the air.
The first time I’d entered a place like this, the back of my throat had felt like it was burning; now it was different.
Mari conjured a small flame on her palm. The round bead of fire rose quietly in front of us.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes.”
The passage inside the cave was narrow and slippery.
Every time the little flame wavered, the shadows on the walls danced wildly.
Just before we rounded a corner, Mari flicked her fingertips and a thin line of flame skimmed along the floor of the passage.
In the next instant a single shadow flinched and leapt out.
A scout goblin.
I didn’t hesitate. I stepped forward.
Thrust!
I drove through its heart; the thing collapsed without even managing a scream.
We cleared them one by one—two by two—and stepped into the empty chamber beyond.
No sound. No presence. Even the Dimensional Archive stayed silent.
“Hmm… there’s nothing here?”
Mari answered shortly.
“…No.”
In that moment, footsteps rushed in from every direction.
“They’re coming!”
Kaya’s voice rang out at the same time a pack of goblins burst into the open all at once.
Three ordinary goblins, two warrior types, two archer types up on the high rocks behind them, and further back a shaman type gripping a bone staff, sneering as it stood waiting.
“I’ll take the archers first!”
Mari thrust out her hand.
Two fireballs formed in the air in an instant and shot upward at the same time. One seared an archer’s face; the other set the lower half of the second ablaze, drawing a raw scream.
At the same moment I slammed into the main group in front.
I deflected an ordinary goblin’s club with my sword and immediately cut the leg of the warrior type beside it. While it staggered I stabbed its throat and twisted the blade free.
I twisted my body to dodge a rusted blade coming from the right and carved a wide cut across another ordinary goblin’s torso.
Blood sprayed. The inside of the cave grew even louder.
“Left!”
My body reacted to Kaya’s call before I thought.
I stepped half a pace back to avoid an ordinary goblin lunging in with a dagger, then drove my iron sword through its left eye.
Thrust!
In that instant one of the remaining archer’s arrows grazed my shoulder.
“Ghh…”
Boom!
Mari’s flame exploded against the upper rocks. The last archer, still alive, went up in fire, screamed, and fell.
At the same time Mari raised her palm and raised a short wall of fire in front of the shaman.
The shaman mid-curse flinched and stopped.
“I’ve got the shaman!”
Mari gritted her teeth and shouted.
The moment I heard her I moved.
The remaining warrior and one ordinary goblin charged again. I caught one blade and kicked the other in the shoulder, shoving it back.
My body moved with unnatural smoothness.
I cut down the warrior type immediately and slashed the last ordinary goblin’s throat sideways, dropping it.
“Now!”
Kaya called out shortly.
In that instant the fireball that burst from Mari’s fingertips flew over the wall of flame and struck the shaman square in the face. It toppled backward with a scream.
That was the last of them.
Mari lowered her hand and the wall of fire died away.
Silence returned.
All that could be heard was the rough breathing of the three of us.
“Haa… It’s over.”
Mari spoke like a sigh. The moment the words left her mouth she leaned her shoulder against the wall and dragged in deep breaths. The flame at her fingertips slowly went out.
“Miss Mari, are you okay?”
When I asked, Mari shot me a sideways look.
“Do I look like I’m not okay?”
“Need a hand?”
Mari’s face immediately twisted.
“No. Don’t need it.”
“Huh? Really? Then that’s fine by me.”
I turned away without a second thought. Behind me Mari muttered in an irritated voice.
“What the hell…”
Just then Kaya scanned the deeper part of the cave once more and walked quickly over to me.
“It looked like you got hit in the shoulder earlier. Let me see.”
“Ah, it just grazed me a little. It’s nothing.”
Mari pushed off the wall and looked this way.
“Where’d you get hit?”
“Uh… just a little.”
Mari looked at my shoulder and her eyebrows shot up.
“You’re bleeding.”
“Come on, this much is fine.”
“It’s not fine!”
Mari’s voice rose higher than usual. The sight was a little unexpected; I blanked out for a second.
Kaya didn’t hesitate. She grabbed my shoulder and pulled the collar of my clothes away from the wound.
“Eek, this is a bit embarrassing.”
“Quiet.”
The arrow had torn a long, deep gash through the flesh, and more blood was flowing than I’d expected.
Kaya’s expression hardened at once.
“Don’t move. Stay still.”
“…Yes.”
Her voice was low and firm.
Soon a faint golden light bloomed at Kaya’s fingertips. As Holy Power seeped into the wound, the burning pain began to be pressed down little by little.
The flesh that had been hot and open slowly drew together, and the throbbing sensation settled layer by layer.
I clenched my teeth and regulated my breathing.
“Holy Power… is the best…”
“You’ve still got the energy to talk nonsense. It’s not finished yet.”
Kaya took a white bandage from her leather pouch. With practiced hands she checked the wound once more, then wrapped it firmly from my shoulder down under my armpit.
When the bandage tightened, the wound throbbed, but the feeling of blood seeping out lessened considerably.
“Don’t use your right arm too hard today.”
“Yes… thank you.”
Mari frowned beside us.
“You should’ve been more careful.”
“Hey, the situation was—”
“Situation my ass. You couldn’t even see an arrow coming.”
“How was I supposed to see that…”
“Shut up.”
She said it that way, but Mari’s eyes never left my shoulder.
Only after Kaya pressed the bandage down one last time to secure it did she let go.
“This should hold for now. We’ll look at it again once we’re back.”
“Yes.”
I carefully moved my shoulder. It still hurt, but the hot flow of blood from moments ago was gone.
“Mm… Miss Kaya, are you hurt anywhere?”
When I asked, Kaya looked at me strangely for a moment, then nodded.
“Yeah. I’m fine.”
“That’s a relief!”
At that, Kaya smiled with a very odd expression.
Mari saw it and spoke as if sighing.
“You really are high-maintenance.”
Leaving Mari’s grumbling behind us, we searched the cave one more time. Nothing living remained.
We’d really cleaned house this time.
We pulled the mana stones one by one, and by the time we stepped out of the cave the sun had already sunk far down.
Beyond the forest the sky was darkening, and a cool wind slipped between the rocks.
Thanks to Kaya’s emergency treatment the bleeding had mostly stopped, but the wound hadn’t fully settled.
We sat for a while on the rocks near the cave mouth and had a late lunch.
The bread was dry and the jerky was salty, but for some reason it tasted fantastic—like the side dishes you eat after finishing an absolutely brutal training session.
Maybe it was because we’d emptied an entire goblin den; even swallowing a mouthful of water felt good.
Mari sat with her back against the wall, catching her breath, while Kaya closed her water bottle and checked my shoulder once more.
“Come on, staring at it like that won’t change anything. I’m fine~ You treated it so well.”
“…You still need proper treatment when we get back.”
Even as she said it, a faint smile hung at the corners of Kaya’s mouth.
The road back to Bresen wasn’t completely smooth either. There were a few more short fights, but because I was injured, Mari and Kaya seemed to push a little harder.
Everyone looked tired, yet the leather pouches were stuffed full. My shoulder throbbed lightly, but my steps felt light.