Chapter 156: The Educating Guard (11)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 156: The Educating Guard (11)
The ninjas remained silent despite Sma’s spirited shout. Even if they weren't going to say something like, "Domo, Guard-san. I am a ninja!", they could have at least introduced themselves.
Ninjas in this eroge world really lacked romance.
‘Still, I don’t get why these bastards are attacking me. My reputation is too good for this to be a hit put out by some disgruntled hunter.’
Whoops. While he was distracted, more shuriken came flying. Since there were ten people and twenty hands, all sorts of throwing weapons were raining down on him.
The sharp shuriken and blades were clearly meant to pierce through his uniform and sink into his flesh. It was a relief the alleyway was wide; if it had been narrow, there would have been no room to dodge.
Actually, if it were narrow, ten people wouldn't have had the space to attack at once. Regardless, Sma performed evasive maneuvers, trying to close the distance with the nearest one.
His target was a small fry at the level of a Low-Rank Aura User. For convenience, let’s call him a Low-Rank Ninja. As Sma advanced using his footwork, the Low-Rank Ninja calmly threw a shuriken.
Sma tried to dodge by just tilting his head, but then he spotted a bead attached to the shuriken. It gave off the scent of mana, similar to when Iruna used magic.
Abandoning the idea of a simple dodge, Sma activated his footwork. As he injected Aura, Sma’s form shimmered like a heat haze.
“Illusion Walk?”
The Mid-Rank Ninja broke his silence in surprise. He barked orders to his subordinates.
“The opponent is at least a Mid-Rank Aura User! Do not think of him as an ordinary guard!”
It was a warning meant to sharpen their senses, but it felt a bit too late. An explosive tag went off, and the resulting dust obscured their vision.
Sma seized the split-second moment when the ninjas lost sight of him. He used the footwork meant for transitioning from defense to offense, and his form stretched out as if someone had grabbed and pulled it.
The throwing weapons the ninjas had hurled with Aura only sliced through afterimages. The moment a Low-Rank Ninja hurriedly pulled back and blinked, Sma appeared right in front of him.
“That’s one.”
Slash—
As the sword flashed, a head went flying. He didn't have the luxury of holding back.
‘One person is enough to tell me why they attacked me. If I try to suppress them half-heartedly, I might be the one who dies.’
There was no shock from his first kill. They were just NPCs in a game anyway. The tools had simply changed from a keyboard and mouse to a sword.
Because it happened in an instant, the Low-Rank Ninjas couldn't react. At the very least, the Mid-Rank Ninjas threw miniaturized bombs to stop Sma.
Sma felt the intense mana embedded within the small beads and leaped into the air. The leader, a Mid-Rank Ninja, his eyes gleaming.
“Now’s the chance!”
He knew well that a person suspended in mid-air couldn't move. A ninja might have been able to move by hooking a rope to a wall, but the guard he knew had no such means.
Throwing weapons infused with Aura flew toward Sma in the air. Below him, an explosion was about to occur. In this desperate situation, Sma recalled a martial arts novel he had read in the past.
‘When a master runs on water, it’s the Water-Gliding Step. When they step on the sky, it’s Void Stepping.’
He had already performed "Water Sex," which was much harder than the Water-Gliding Step, so walking on air was nothing. The moment Sma took another leap by stepping on the void, the explosion went off, pushing his body upward.
Using the counterforce, he performed Void Stepping again. The shuriken aimed at him grazed past his feet. Reaching the top of a wall, Sma began to run, injecting as much Aura as possible into his sword.
The faint Aura clinging to the blade began to lengthen. Surpassing centimeters and reaching a full meter, the Aura hummed, vibrating the atmosphere.
Sma fired this toward the Low-Rank Ninjas on the other walls.
Seeing this, the Mid-Rank Ninja’s face paled.
“Aura Bullets! Damn it! He’s a High-Rank Aura User!”
The Aura, which had looked like a blunt club, split into five streaks in mid-air. The five orbs tore through the bodies of four Low-Rank Ninjas.
‘The Mid-Rank Ninja dodged it, huh.’
It was a shame, but he had already cut their numbers in half. Since he had dealt with everyone on the walls, it was time to head back down to the ground.
Kicking off the wall, Sma’s body flew through the air like a wire-action scene from a movie. His target was a dazed Low-Rank Ninja.
“I’ll take him! You guys support me!”
However, a Mid-Rank Ninja intervened, preventing Sma from reaching his goal. Sma’s Aura Sword clashed with the ninja’s kunai.
Compared to the longsword favored by guards and knights, the kunai was too small. A weapon barely a span long couldn't properly carry a person's weight, whereas a longsword could deliver a heavy blow by adding acceleration to that weight.
With the difference in skill on top of that, the Mid-Rank Ninja couldn't even withstand a single exchange and was forced back. The moment Sma slashed at his throat to finish him off, smoke billowed out, and the ninja was replaced by a log.
At the same time, he felt a murderous intent from behind. As Sma spun his body, a shuriken grazed his waist, tearing his coat.
“Ah.”
Sma grew furious as he checked his tattered coat.
“This was my favorite coat...”
It was the coat he had worn on his very first day of duty, and he still wore it even though summer had arrived. It was a bit hot, but a High-Rank Aura User was immune to heat and cold, so it was fine.
Without giving him time to say goodbye to his beloved coat, the ninjas' fierce assault continued. Two Mid-Rank Ninjas took positions in front of and behind Sma, wielding their kunai.
The daggers, held in reverse grips, aimed for vital areas like the neck or wrist ligaments. Every time Sma tried to break out of the pincer maneuver, all sorts of weapons flew at him, and the Mid-Rank Ninjas sidestepped to maintain their formation.
It was a more dangerous situation than when they were haphazardly throwing shuriken. Sma’s brain worked at high speed.
‘The frontal attack is for the wrist. The killing intent from the side is aiming for the neck. Shuriken from the flank. A net from above?’
The net looked sturdy enough that it couldn't be cut in one go. It was clearly a tool designed to restrain Aura Users.
Perhaps it was their trump card, as the ninjas did their utmost to prevent him from moving elsewhere. Even though the two remaining Low-Rank Ninjas knew they were no match, they took the flanks and blocked his path with their bodies.
However, they had only covered the four cardinal directions. Due to their lack of numbers, they couldn't block all eight directions. Sma moved diagonally, dodging the shuriken thrusting from front and back, and pivoted his direction by twisting his ankles ninety degrees.
A Low-Rank Ninja, who had hurriedly reached out to stop Sma’s escape, swung his kunai in a panic. Sma ducked under the arm, grabbed the man by the scruff of the neck, and threw him toward the net.
As soon as the net detected the Low-Rank Ninja, it snapped shut, binding him. The ninja struggled, but the net wouldn't loosen.
‘That leaves four ninjas.’
Two Low-ranks and two Mid-ranks. Having escaped the encirclement, Sma fired his Aura Bullets again. Not only the Mid-Rank Ninjas, who were prepared, but even the Low-Rank Ninjas narrowly dodged the Aura Bullets.
But the Aura Bullets weren't the real aim. Sma moved swiftly, targeting the heart of a Low-Rank Ninja who had lost his balance.
“Not so fast!”
With a roar, a Mid-Rank Ninja went for Sma’s back. Sma, who had been swinging his sword at the Low-Rank Ninja, abruptly twisted his body and came face-to-face with the Mid-Rank Ninja.
“Got you.”
The Hugo Kingdom's 2nd Sword Art that Rainie had taught him was an Advanced Swordsmanship. Specifically, it was a counter-style swordsmanship that excelled at finding openings while defending.
As expected of Advanced Swordsmanship, it included techniques for dealing with being surrounded, and the move Sma had fully mastered now shone brilliantly.
Utilizing rotational force, the longsword drew a diagonal line. His wrist, strengthened by Aura in a way impossible for an ordinary human, bent at a bizarre angle, causing the longsword to curve.
The hand of the ninja holding the kunai was severed. Just as Sma was about to deliver the finishing blow, he hurriedly ducked. Flames grazed over his head.
He didn't even need to look to know what technique it was.
‘Of course. If it’s a ninja, they have to breathe fire!’
It was the Fire Release that appeared as a staple in ninja manga. Sma stepped forward and stomped the ground. The earth vibrated, breaking the balance of the Mid-Rank Ninja who was trying to retreat in haste.
Among swordsmen of equal skill, losing one's balance meant death. With the center of gravity destroyed, one couldn't put proper power into their weapon, and their footwork became clumsy.
If that was true for an equal match, it was even more so since Sma was stronger than the Mid-Rank Ninja. Sma did not miss the opening.
“Bonato!”
As the Mid-Rank Ninja died, a cry filled with resentment rang out. Sma rolled across the ground, dodging a shuriken thrown by the last Mid-Rank Ninja.
‘That was close.’
The shuriken was embedded so deeply that only the handle was visible. Rolling a couple more times to gain momentum, Sma’s form shot forward like a bullet.
A Low-Rank Ninja clasped his hands together and opened his mouth. In that moment, Sma had a strange experience.
The flow of Aura within another person's body became visible to his eyes. Starting from the heart, the Aura that strengthened the throat was being exhaled.
Then, the intangible Aura turned into flames. Sma swung his sword at the fire dominating the space in front of him.
‘It’s called fire, but it’s a phenomenon created by Aura. This isn't a battle between a natural phenomenon and a human; it’s Aura versus Aura.’
If that was the case, there was no way he would lose to a mere Low-Rank. The sword that sliced through the flames split the Low-Rank Ninja in half.
As soon as he killed him, he spun halfway around to see the enraged Mid-Rank Ninja charging at him, and he also spotted a Low-Rank Ninja trying to turn and flee.
“Where do you think you’re going!”
Sma fired an Aura Bullet to block the Low-Rank Ninja’s escape route. Then, he rolled on the ground to dodge the Mid-Rank Ninja’s kunai. Picking up a fallen shuriken as he stood, Sma whipped his arm.
The shuriken, heavily infused with Aura, struck the Low-Rank Ninja who was frantically dodging the Aura Bullet. After confirming the man was dead, Sma assessed the situation.
‘The guy caught in the net is still flailing. He hasn't committed suicide yet.’
That net really was an incredible item. He was worried he might lose him, but this was a relief. Having confirmed that the witness who would explain the reason for the ambush was intact, Sma found some peace of mind.
So, he threw a joke at the Mid-Rank Ninja.
“Why can't you guys use the Clone Technique?”
“Are you insulting me because I am merely a Mid-Rank Ninja?!”
So High-Rank Ninjas could use the Clone Technique. Suddenly, he felt a sense of regret. Seeing the Low-Rank Ninja’s Fire Release, he felt like he could copy it. If there had been a High-Rank Ninja among the attackers, he could have copied the Clone Technique too.
“Since it has come to this, I will give my life to kill you!”
The enraged Mid-Rank Ninja gripped kunai in both hands and prepared to charge. Just as Sma raised his longsword diagonally to intercept, the Mid-Rank Ninja performed the Substitution Technique again, moving to the Low-Rank Ninja trapped in the net.
“Huh?”
“Got you.”
Without a moment’s hesitation, the Mid-Rank Ninja killed the Low-Rank Ninja. His face was hidden by a mask, but Sma felt like he knew exactly what expression he was making.
“Now, only I remain. No matter how strong you are, you won't be able to suppress me without killing me. Though I will die, the secret will be kept.”
In that moment, Sma recalled the methods of assassins depicted in various media. They carried suicide poison pills to prevent being captured and tortured.
Was it the same in this eroge world? Watching closely, he saw the ninja preparing to bite down on something.
‘He has a poison pill!’
It would be too late to close the distance with footwork. He wouldn't be able to suppress him before he bit the pill. But what if he used the Substitution Technique the Mid-Rank Ninja had shown him twice?
The Aura flow path: eject three streaks from the heart, send one to the head, and two to the legs. And then, a medium.
When the ninja used the substitution, he didn't use a shuriken, but a log he was carrying. The body Sma inhabited was a genius, so he understood the principle immediately.
One must use an object imbued with their own Aura or an object mentally linked through a mark to swap positions.
As it happened, a piece of his beloved coat was lying at the ninja’s feet.
‘I’ve worn it for months, so the conditions are met.’
It was a thought the ninja would have scoffed at if he had heard it. It was something impossible according to the common sense he knew. But a genius transcends the common sense of ordinary people.
Having created a faint but firm link, Sma swapped positions in an instant. The ninja, who was about to bite the poison pill, was horrified to taste a finger that had entered his mouth.
“How... the substitution...”
“I’m a Copy Ninja, you see.”
Though I can't cut lightning, that is. After jamming a few fingers in to prevent the ninja’s suicide, Sma slammed the hilt of his sword into the man’s head.
“Crazy...”
That was the last word the ninja uttered before losing consciousness.