Chapter 63: The Tessing Underground Auction (6)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 63: The Tessing Underground Auction (6)
“Dodging my sword energy? Impressive moves for a mage. Or was that just luck?”
Alu assumed Jin was a mage. It was only natural, considering Jin had impersonated Veradin Zipple and displayed 5-star mana.
Clang!
Alu closed the distance in an instant and struck. When Jin managed to parry even that, Alu’s eyes flashed.
“So, you weren’t a mage after all?”
Bradamante, locked against Alu’s blade, glowed with aura.
Jin had merely blocked a downward strike, yet he felt as if every bone in his body was rattling. He quickly pulled back.
However, every time he thought he had created some distance, he would turn his head to find Alu right there. From the moment the battle began, Alu had been perfectly predicting Jin’s movements—like a cat anticipating the path of a mouse.
“This is absurd.”
Swish! A follow-up horizontal slash tore a long rent through the center of Jin’s coat. A spray of blood followed, but the wound wasn’t deep.
He’s fast. He probably hasn't even shown his full strength, and I’m already struggling.
Alu completely controlled the flow of the battle.
Though he was merely the man running an underworld syndicate in Akin, his 7-star skill was nothing to scoff at. Jin had no choice but to keep retreating, forced into a purely defensive stance.
Alu now recognized Jin as a warrior, not a mage.
The magic he showed at the auction house must have been a fake using an artifact. Dammit, to think I fell for such a simple trick and ended up like this!
He felt like he would go mad with rage.
However, Alu knew that the more frustrated he felt, the more cautiously he had to wield his sword. In the world of warriors, a single moment of carelessness could lead to defeat, even if the opponent was only 5-star.
Furthermore, Alu was more concerned about Murakan, who was standing off to the side with a smirk, than he was about Jin.
I thought that guy was a subordinate, so why is he just watching?
After smashing dozens of his men with incredible martial arts, Murakan had suddenly stepped back from the fight. Alu couldn’t fathom his intentions, but he figured he could just finish Jin off first and then deal with him.
Murakan, for his part, was simply enjoying the sight of Jin being pushed into a corner.
No matter how great you are, to think you’d already try to take on a 7-star knight. I hope you learn a lesson today, you brat. Hehe.
A grin spread across Murakan’s face. Clang, clang! The sound of Jin and Alu’s swords clashing was like pleasant music to his ears.
“Lord Murakan. Are you really not going to help him? Even if it’s the Young Master’s wish, it’s too early for him to face a 7-star warrior.”
Just as Gilly said, Jin looked like he could collapse at any moment. His evasive movements were almost acrobatic, which meant his posture was far from stable.
“It’s fine, Strawberry Pie. That kid needs to learn the value of his own life.”
“That may be true, but…”
“And Strawberry Pie, you’re assuming the kid is going to lose.”
“Pardon?”
Murakan smirked.
While he was enjoying Jin’s struggle, it was only because he had already predicted the outcome.
“Back in the days when the Runcandel magic swordsmen were in their prime…”
Before Murakan could finish his sentence, Alu recoiled in shock and leaped back.
Whoosh! A sudden pillar of fire erupted from Jin’s palm. It was the 5-star fire magic, Fire Pillar. A flame nearly three meters high surged from the dirt ground.
“A 7-star warrior was nothing to them.”
This was the first time Alu had retreated since the fight began. His eyes were wide, looking as if they might pop out of his head.
A-a magic swordsman!?
He scrambled to beat back the encroaching flames. Unlike natural fire, magically formed flames didn’t extinguish easily, and once they latched on, they were difficult to shake off.
There wasn't even a hint of a chant. How could this be…!
Ordinary mages required a preparation period to complete a spell. They needed to gather mana, organize it into a formula, and then vocalize the incantation.
But geniuses were different. For them, the entire process flowed as one, and their casting speed was incomparable.
Moreover, since Jin was a user of ‘Simultaneous Casting,’ he could secretly prepare a spell whenever he wished.
This always works like a charm.
The momentum had shifted. Had Alu known from the start that his opponent was a magic swordsman, it might have been different, but a surprise magical assault was bound to fluster even a 7-star warrior.
“You cheating bastard!” Alu shouted as he finally managed to shake off the flames.
Jin had already finished chanting his next spell, but he didn’t expect the same trick to work twice.
I’ll use this next spell to rattle him once more, then I’ll finish it.
It didn’t matter how much stronger the opponent was.
When you held daggers your opponent never saw coming, any fight became a fifty-fifty gamble.
You either win, or you lose.
In that sense, Jin could always give himself even odds against powerful foes—at least until the fact that he was a magic swordsman became known to the world.
It was because he possessed both magic and spiritual energy. Magic alone could create an opening against a 7-star knight. If spiritual energy were added to the mix…
However, Jin had no intention of using spiritual energy today.
Crackle!
This time, it was lightning magic. As the chant for Lightning Call—the same spell used during the terror attack on the Moonlight Fountain—was completed, electricity surged at the location Jin designated.
Alu immediately sensed the impending strike and threw himself aside. For a split second, the night sky flashed as a bolt of lightning struck down. As it did, Alu lunged horizontally, firing off a burst of sword energy.
Zip. The moment Alu’s sword energy grazed Jin’s shoulder, Alu believed this was his chance to kill him.
Jin had lowered his stance to avoid the follow-up attack. Warriors who could use sword energy loved this exact scenario when facing those who couldn’t. The moment their opponent ducked to dodge the relentless barrage, they would rush in like an arrow and take their head.
It was the perfect opportunity.
“It’s over!”
In an instant, Alu’s thighs bulged as if they were about to burst. As the swollen muscles transferred force into the ground, a heavy thud echoed like an explosion.
The ground was gouged out. Alu’s sword, flying in a straight line, was aimed precisely at Jin’s head. Whether he chose to thrust or slash, Alu was certain the boy was a dead man.
He had no idea that this textbook situation was a trap Jin had laid.
He probably couldn't even imagine that I gave up the low stance so easily.
Under normal circumstances, Alu would have noticed. A 7-star rank wasn’t something one obtained for free.
But he was facing a man who used a sword when thought to be a mage, and used magic when confirmed to be a swordsman. Since he had never encountered a magic swordsman before, Alu’s judgment was clouded; he felt he had to end it the moment an opportunity arose. He feared that if the fight dragged on, he would be at the mercy of even more variables.
The moment Alu’s sword reached Jin’s face, Gilly gasped. Murakan and Jin, however, were certain of victory.
“Helmet Release.”
Clang!
The blade that should have sliced cleanly through Jin’s neck struck something hard. The newly acquired artifact, the Rune of Mul-ta, had activated, forming a black helmet.
This was exactly why the Rune of Mul-ta was the dream of every warrior. There was only one helmet in the world that could block a 7-star knight’s strike without transferring any of the shock.
Alu, losing his balance from the recoil, staggered. Jin did not miss the opening.
Slash!
Bradamante cut through Alu’s shoulder. But the blade didn’t stop there; it continued down through his chest.
“It’s over,” Murakan said with a shrug. Gilly’s eyes went wide, as if she couldn’t believe what she had just seen.
“Guh… hhh…”
Jin could have pierced his heart, but he deliberately stopped the blade. Thanks to that, Alu collapsed, barely clinging to life.
Gurgle, wheeze.
Jin looked down at Alu, who was choking on his own blood.
“I’ll ask you one thing before you go, Alu. I heard a rumor that you have ties to the Runcandels.”
“Heh… heh, hehehe.”
Alu flashed a strange smile. His gaze seemed to say: So, you were a Runcandel?
“Tell me. Do you know someone in the Runcandel family?”
“Hey, hey, kid. You’re doing this backward. You should have subdued him first and then asked. How is a dying man supposed to answer?” Murakan clicked his tongue as he approached. Jin couldn’t really argue.
However, for the current Jin, simply subduing a 7-star knight had been an impossible task to begin with.
“I… see. Now I know. Jin… you. You were… Jin Runcandel.”
“I’ve been going by the name Jin Gray lately. Well, I suppose there’s no point in telling a dead man.”
“Pffft.”
Alu coughed, spitting up a spray of bloody foam. Yet, the corners of his mouth were strangely curled upward. For a while, Alu just laughed, his breath coming in ragged gasps.
Then, he said, “In the end… you cannot stop that person.”
“What?”
“Even if it failed back then…”
That was the end. Alu’s eyelids closed, and he breathed no more.
“What was he babbling about?”
“Young Master, are you alright?”
Murakan and Gilly spoke at the same time.
Jin nodded lightly, pondering the meaning of Alu’s final words.
Even if it failed back then, I won't be able to stop that person…?
Of course, these were just the dying words of a low-life thug. Though he hinted at a connection to the Runcandels, his words couldn’t be fully trusted.
However, if one assumed he did have a tie to the family, then the ‘failure back then’ referred to the ‘Delusion of the Blade,’ and the one he ‘cannot stop’ would be…
No way.
One name immediately came to mind.
The next successor of the Runcandels, Joshua Runcandel.
Alu spoke as if I could never stop ‘that person.’ The only one a pure-blood like me could never hope to stop is the person who will one day lead the Runcandels.
Everyone in the world knew Joshua was the successor.
It might have been a huge leap in logic, but he couldn’t shake the unsettling feeling.
“Spider-Hand Alu. That name… it probably isn’t his real one, is it?”
That was a question he hadn’t considered even in his past life.
“Young Master, why the sudden interest?”
“I need to look into it. It seems he really did have some connection to the Runcandels. A 7-star warrior running an underworld syndicate in a place like this is suspicious enough.”
“Kid, there are 9-star warriors out there who spend their lives running taverns. I’ve seen plenty of them. There was even one among your ancestors.”
“This is the clan I’ll be leading in the future. It’s better to clean up any messes in advance. Let’s go. I think I need to find more informants like Jet.”
The three of them left the capital of Akin.