The Half-Baked Swordsman Elsid
"Well... let's give it a try."
Having come up with a plan, Elsid kept his eyes on the orc before him and waited for an opening. The creature seemed displeased with the current stalemate and began moving even more violently.
"Krara!"
As if it had forgotten the counter it took earlier that had swollen its nose, the orc charged at him like a madman, swinging its halberd with increasing speed.
'This is almost too easy...'
The orc was moving exactly as Elsid had hoped, without even being asked. As the beast drew closer, Elsid steadily backed away until he found himself near the gate supported by its wooden props.
"What are you doing? You really think that slow attack is going to work on me?"
"Kraaak!"
The next moment, Elsid provoked the orc right in front of him. Just as planned, the creature swung its halberd vertically to cleave him in two. Elsid dodged by rolling sideways a beat faster than the attack.
BOOM!
Thanks to that, the orc's halberd only managed to smash one of the two props holding up the gate.
"Want to try again? You might actually hit me next time."
Elsid provoked the orc once more and continued backing up, drawing even closer to the gate.
"Kwaaaah!"
The orc, looking ready to explode with rage, struck its own chest with its free hand. Whoosh! It swung the halberd again, but to no avail.
Aura—the fighting spirit of humans, their will to battle, converted into fighting energy. Those who could raise their Aura to strengthen their bodies or wield Aura blades were called Aura Swordsmen. The multiplier from body reinforcement ranged from a minimum of 1.5 times to as much as dozens of times, depending on the swordsman's level.
Elsid's own reinforcement multiplier was 2 times. Because he possessed a naturally small amount of Aura, prolonged battles were disadvantageous for him. However, the lumbering mass in front of him was nothing more than an ordinary orc, perhaps slightly stronger at best. Allowing an attack from something so pathetic would be nothing short of negligence—unless he did it on purpose.
He dodged the swinging halberd by bending his waist as if performing the limbo.
'Just as planned.'
The halberd, having missed, could not defy the law of inertia and continued forward past him...
CRASH!
It smashed the remaining prop supporting the gate.
Whoosh.
Watching the prop shatter, Elsid slid between the orc's thick legs and sprinted away without looking back.
"Watch your back!!"
After putting a considerable distance between them, Elsid finally turned his head and shouted at the orc.
Creaaak!
"Kwo?"
At the same time, a strange sound rang out. The orc forgot about fighting and turned its head around. A moment later—
"Kwaaaah?!"
Letting out a scream filled with confusion and terror...
"Well, I guess it's already too late..."
THUD!
The orc was crushed beneath the massive weight of the falling gate, reduced to a green meat paste. A filthy paste that looked like it would cause food poisoning.
"Phew, it's over. It's finally over."
Having dealt with the orc, Elsid released his Aura. As expected, using it after nearly a year felt a bit draining.
Just as he finished, Beth came down from the wall and approached him.
"Hey, you..."
Thinking Beth was about to ask if he was alright, Elsid prepared the answer "I'm perfectly fine."
"You can't cut anymore, can you?"
"..."
But the question that came out of Beth's mouth was completely different from what he expected. Ah, so it had been discovered this quickly.
"How did you figure it out?"
Elsid decided not to bother feigning ignorance. Beth had asked the question with unwavering eyes full of certainty.
"You suddenly asked for arrows, then broke off the arrowheads and used them like whips. It was obvious something was wrong at a glance."
Well, it had been far too obvious. There was no way it wouldn't show.
"Back when you got caught at the slave market, you didn't hesitate to snatch an enemy's weapon and drive it into their head. But the fight you showed earlier felt like you were deliberately holding back your attacks."
"Haha, for an archer, your intuition is on another level."
While they were talking, another person joined the conversation.
"Can't cut, huh... Elsid, are you afraid of blood now?"
"Seriously, Uncle Tom. What's with the bad habit of asking questions when you already know everything?"
Uncle Tom followed up with a surprised look, questioning him directly. Elsid gave an answer that was close to confirmation.
"Then, the sword I gave you—you can still hold it, right?"
"Real swords are still too much for me... Thanks to that, the sword you gave me as payment probably won't see the light of day anytime soon. Sorry about that."
"Forget it. I don't do petty things like giving something only to take it back. Rather than letting it rust in storage, it'd be better if someone had it—even if that someone is a swordsman who's afraid of seeing blood."
Uncle Tom ended the conversation there.
"Elsid, you... don't tell me it's because of what happened ten years ago..."
"Shut your mouth."
Beth still seemed unconvinced and tried to press further, but Elsid cut him off before he could finish.
"...If you keep talking, I don't know what I'll do."
"I'm sorry."
Realizing his slip of the tongue, Beth apologized and fell silent. Thinking that continuing would only worsen the mood, Elsid changed the subject.
"More importantly, I'm sorry, Uncle Tom. I ended up making the gate unusable..."
"Tch, still as stubborn as ever, making more work for this old man... That part of you hasn't changed one bit, then or now."
Thankfully, Uncle Tom accepted the topic change and tried to steer the conversation back to normal.
"Is everyone alright?!"
Just then, someone appeared who could completely shift the atmosphere. Perhaps drawn by the sound of the gate breaking, Bernard, the lord of Ragna Castle, arrived with his soldiers in tow. Bernard immediately asked about everyone's safety and listened to a brief explanation of the situation. Then, upon seeing the orc reduced to meat paste beneath the gate, he turned to Elsid.
"Elsid. Could you come with me for a moment?"
The lord urged him to follow with a serious expression. Surely he wasn't about to demand compensation for the gate?
'How much money do I have left in my bag?'
After that mundane thought briefly crossed his mind, Elsid quietly followed Bernard.
***
The lord's office.
For reasons unknown, after the incident at the gate, Bernard had suddenly brought Elsid here to the center of the lord's castle.
"I heard from the two of them. You can use Aura, they said?"
"Well, a little bit."
"If you can coat a wooden arrow with Aura, it doesn't sound like 'a little.'"
Bernard was referring to the fact that the difficulty of coating objects with Aura varied. It was about delicate control rather than the quantity or intensity of Aura. The order of difficulty went weapons → armor → objects → living beings. That was why there were fewer archers who used Aura compared to swordsmen.
"Well, as you heard from them, I'm a swordsman who can't even be called one—afraid of blood and unable to cut."
"Hah, you're being overly modest."
"I'm a realist."
Elsid shrugged with a rather negative attitude.
"How long do you plan on staying here?"
"That sounds like you're telling me to leave quickly."
"No, it's the opposite. Truthfully, I'd prefer it if you stayed here as long as possible."
Bernard shook his head, denying Elsid's words.
"But I know you're that person's grandson, and not the type to stay quietly in one place. That's why I'm saying this."
"...You're right. I'll be leaving soon."
Elsid affirmed Bernard's following words.
"I plan to leave within a week at the latest. The reason I haven't left until now is because there's still someone I need to meet."
"As expected..."
Bernard let out a sigh with a regretful face.
"I expected as much, but it can't be helped. Then, Elsid, before you leave, would you do a job with me?"
"What kind of job?"
Naturally, not knowing what it was, Elsid tilted his head.
"Dealing with the leader of those disgusting pig bastards."
"..."
Elsid fell silent for a moment at Bernard's words. It wasn't because he didn't understand. Combining this with what had happened earlier, he could guess exactly what the job was.
"Why did you choose me specifically?"
More than anything, he was genuinely curious why it had to be him.
"The forest is like their stronghold. So I assume the plan is to take down the orc leader with a small elite force..."
He was truly curious why Bernard had chosen him when there were other options.
"Wouldn't it be better to take Beth, who can provide rear support, instead of me?"
"If that creature were just an ordinary orc leader, I would have done so without you needing to say anything."
As expected, there was a special reason.
"That one can also use Aura."
"An orc can?"
"It's surprising, but not particularly unusual. In ancient times, orc chieftains and their groups could all use Aura."
Bernard began explaining calmly.
"About a year ago, I fought that creature exactly once. The result was a crushing defeat—I barely managed to escape."
Even though it must have been embarrassing, he continued recounting his loss without hesitation.
"Even special-made armor-piercing arrows that can penetrate thick hides don't work on it. That creature is..."
And the next moment, Elsid heard something shocking.
"...an orc that can coat its entire body with Aura like armor—using Tugap."
The story of an orc who had reached a level that even Aura Swordsmen had yet to attain...