The Knight of the Middle

Lux couldn’t bring herself to cut Amel.

Neither technically.

Nor emotionally.

During their spars, she would only match swords.

To cut and kill.

She still lacked the resolve for that.

Look at that frail, slender body. How could she put a blade to such a form? No matter how strong Amel was, her appearance naturally made others want to protect her.

The people a knight should protect. Weren’t women who stirred such protective instincts among them?

To cut such a person with a sword.

Even if she wouldn’t die, how could she possibly do that?

She’d rather be cut herself.

“….”

But it was an insult.

Raymond had said so.

He taught her that her thoughts and passive attitude were insulting to Amel.

Insulting was not good.

For a knight who lived by honor, insult was perhaps more shameful than death.

Even if someone was a savior, if they stole one’s burial plot and lived on wretchedly, they would be no different from an enemy.

“Hoo…”

Lux adjusted her grip on her sword.

“Looks like you’ve made up your mind.”

“Yes…”

She infused the sword with Magical Power, creating [Sword Aura], and focused solely on maximizing it, without considering efficiency, intending to cut her down in one blow.

The [Sword Aura], growing in size, engulfed the surface of the sword in a blue light.

Three minutes?

This one blow would be enough.

Raymond had shown her that half-hearted attacks wouldn’t work.

Seeing how she dodged Basle’s hands so skillfully, such a large Skill wouldn’t even touch her. So now, with her having given up on evasion, was her chance.

Lux overcharged the [Sword Aura] and raised it high.

“You might die, you know.”

“Then the prize is yours.”

Amel was completely underestimating her.

───She swung down.

Amel, with her arms and legs spread, didn’t avoid the [Sword Aura] and took it with her body.

She struck the [Sword Aura] with her shoulder.

Pseudo-[Sword Aura].

A strike that ignored efficiency, shameful to even call a Skill, that any upper-level Sword Expert could perform.

That strike passed over Amel’s shoulder.

“….”

“….”

The [Sword Aura] headed towards the ground,

And the Blade fell to the floor.

Lux closed her eyes.

She couldn’t cut her.

Amel picked up the broken Blade.

“Well, you’re putting all your effort into defense. But you can’t look at me with eyes that say you might kill me while not even being able to scratch me.”

“…I’m sorry.”

Amel spread her arms again.

“There’s still time left in the three minutes.”

“….”

The absolute confidence that she would never be cut.

Having sensed that, Lux no longer hesitated.

“May I ask one question?”

“What is it?”

“The day I can cut Amel, what will I be able to cut?”

“If you can cut me…”

Amel pondered.

She tried to recall a Monster with similar physical Strength.

Nothing immediately came to mind.

Even if she encountered a Monster with similar physical Strength, it would be difficult to know if they were truly similar without directly comparing them.

If she had to compare,

“Ultra Iron Golem?”

She would probably be able to cut it in one blow.

───Uwoooooo.

“It’s noisy outside.”

“It seems Amel is having some fun with the knights.”

“What about Americano…”

Beogeureo coughed.

“What kind of person is she?”

“Are you curious?”

“Her martial prowess is worthy of a Sword Master. I could believe she’s among the top of them.”

“She actually has that level of skill.”

If she was facing a large Monster, she’d show even more.

Jang Yu-ha had seen the combat videos Amel had given her.

‘It was amazing.’

“I’ve heard that there are many Hero with that much Strength, but I’ve also heard that they still lack a lot in terms of one-on-one combat ability.”

Hero automatically become stronger as they level up.

But that only meant the total amount of Strength increased.

It was like giving a sniper rifle to a complete beginner, even if they could use Sword Aura.

Sword Aura wasn’t a Skill that anyone could use just because their total Strength had increased.

Even if they acquired it through a Skill Book, they needed the skill and proficiency to handle it properly, but the Hero, who had become easily strong by leveling up in parties, neglected solo climbs.

Jang Yu-ha was one of them.

Even though she had overflowing Strength, she barely managed to clear the 30th Floor solo.

No matter how much of a resource Stats were, if you didn’t have the skill to handle them, you were just wasting resources.

That’s why most of those who cleared the 80th Floor in parties had acquired Skills that released large amounts of Magical Power.

Sword Aura was a representative Skill.

Some even had Magic.

Awakened Ability users, well, they had it easier because they had Awakened Abilities, but they still struggled with solo climbs.

“What you know is usually the case. Amel is special. Even at level 1, she was much weaker than me, but somehow she’s become like that. If you looked at the date the 1st Floor video was uploaded, you couldn’t even imagine the current Amel.”

That’s how much the difference was.

Difference? It was on a different level.

A growth that could only be explained by something beyond the realm of talent.

“More importantly, about the Seal.”

“Yes…”

“Don’t worry too much.”

“How can I not worry? Our knight order has been protecting that Seal since long before the empire was founded.”

And she had ruined it in her generation.

Could there be anything more dishonorable than this?

Beyond that, some unknown monster would awaken and bring chaos to the world.

Beogeureo gritted his teeth.

“You don’t have to worry. Shall I make a Prediction?”

“You said a Prediction?”

“Just listen to it for fun.”

“Alright…”

Jang Yu-ha chuckled.

She spoke with the feeling of [Premonition].

She stretched her arm high into the sky and raised her index finger.

“Amel will take care of the other parts of the Seal too!”

“That’s…”

Beogeureo laughed hollowly.

His mind was filled with what Amel had done.

They said that someone who could easily do difficult things was amazing.

“The Sword Master-level Hero is actively working, so the progress is certainly very fast. Although it failed… since there were two Death Knight, if we had proceeded with the operation as planned, we would have been annihilated instead.”

So Beogeureo said that he wouldn’t resent or regret it.

He couldn’t afford to.

“But what are you planning to do now? From what I can see, Americano seems to possess the power of divinity as well. How about waiting and meeting the Holy Knight Order that the Temple will send as reinforcements?”

“Holy Knight Order…”

“Isn’t this fate?”

Either way, they had to wait for the meeting with the Emperor.

The response had come back.

The Emperor seemed to have been interested in Anonymous for some time.

So until the answer came back saying they could come anytime, while they were staying at the fortress, the Holy Knight Order would come, and they should have a meeting.

Beogeureo said so.

“Even if the blood-craving dead aren’t appearing, the Holy Knight Order must come to purify the land defiled by the Undead. You’ll end up meeting them during your stay.”

So let’s have a proper meeting in a proper place.

She understood Beogeureo’s thoughts.

He probably thought he was doing something good.

“….”

But meetings with new relationships don’t always lead to good things.

So she always made it a habit.

Jang Yu-ha had always been wary with [Premonition] when she was about to meet someone.

It was better to avoid relationships that could be avoided.

“….”

First of all,

‘There’s no reaction.’

According to [Premonition], there didn’t seem to be any problems.

There was no reaction.

But that didn’t mean there wouldn’t be any effects in the future.

She had realized something when she was able to use Awakened Abilities a few months after logging into the game, and [Foresight] was downgraded to [Prediction].

[Foresight] was like that too, but [Premonition] was the sensation her future self experienced.

The sensation her future self experienced became [Premonition] and came to her current self.

That meant that if she didn’t know how far into the future [Premonition] extended, she wouldn’t know the effects that would be known in the more distant future.

A small decision now could lead to irreversible consequences later.

But,

‘It’s a bit much to worry about such minor things one by one.’

“I’ll let Amel know.”

“Thank you.”

But later.

She would regret this decision.

Beogeureo said, “Oh, right.”

“And the Vice Temple Head wants to meet Americano.”

“Vice Temple Head?”

“Yes.”

“The grumpy one?”

“The Vice Temple Head is very old and doesn’t have the Vitality… that’s an excuse. I’d rather you didn’t meet him if possible.”

“He didn’t seem to have a good personality.”

“Haha. You have an eye for people. He’s someone who caused problems in the capital and was demoted, which is also why our Temple doesn’t have a female Priest.”

Beogeureo shook his head.

The training grounds where the knights had fallen, trembling in their hands and feet.

A beautiful woman stood alone.

Amel sighed, “Hoo…”

No matter what, it was difficult for her to avoid and counter all the knights if they ganged up on her.

She kept her nerves on edge and avoided attacks coming from blind spots,

If she hadn’t decided not to use all her Magical Power, Skills, and Abilities on attacking, the battle would have ended in the knights’ victory.

She didn’t use Magical Power.

She only used it for defense.

Her punches were weak.

But there was damage.

She didn’t have enough time to use Skills like Raymond and Basle. The knights had rushed in when Lux fell,

Because they helped and covered each other, she couldn’t do anything but strike.

She desperately repeated giving very slight damage, dodging, hitting, and dodging, with the determination that it would be over if she was caught even once.

There were 10 knights who rushed in. Not all the spectators had come in, but 10 was enough to surround her.

Some pride.

The thought that it was cowardly.

She barely managed to avoid them because of those gaps,

‘I’ll get caught if I do the same thing again.’

“Next time, I’ll have to take out the grabbing.”

The purpose of this battle was to kill her.

To be exact, to be able to cut her.

It was somewhat reckless, but,

She had a little fun.

From the start, she had no intention of dying at all.

‘Because if I die, I’ll become a seed.’

The curse of the [Death Knight] remained in her heart.

She couldn’t die as easily as before.

Come to think of it…

‘What number is that Death Knight?’

Chocolat later answered that it was 9.

Anyway, it was over.

It’s been 10 seconds.

“So weak. How can they collapse from just that?”

If a middle-ranking knight was converted to a level, what level would they be?

Eyeballing it, it looked like around level 40.

Then, if it’s level 40, what can I compare it to among the guys I met in the Tower?

Crimson was level 20.

Black was level 25.

Ominous black was level 30.

She had said that there was that much of a level difference.

‘Most of them were crimson, black, or ominous black.’

So at least the 21st Floor.

Excluding before the 20th Floor. That place was like a tutorial.

If it’s the 21st Floor…

‘Chris.’

It’s Christopher.

21st Floor [Human Knight Chris]

Crimson letters.

22nd Floor [Basilisk]

Black letters.

23rd Floor [Orc Elite Warrior]

Crimson and red letters.

24th Floor [Mountain King Ogre]

Crimson letters.

25th Floor [Witch Win]

Black letters.

Ah, not Win.

If it’s black letters on the 25th Floor, it’s level 50.

Then…

“At least Christopher-level?”

Hmm…

I understand after comparing.

‘They were very weak.’

Since they were called middle-ranking knights, they sounded like quite skilled knights, but the perception was vague.

‘Christopher-level.’

“….”

I feel sorry for beating them up.

They didn’t get broken, did they?

‘It’s better not to tell them when I started wielding a sword.’

Amel patted the backs of the knights next to her and praised them, mentioning the good points.

Your Thrust is strong.

You’re good at finding openings.

You were honest, so you lasted the longest.

Etc.

The knights who heard the praise cheered up a bit.

In the meantime.

“It seems it’s finally over. Hehe.”

An old man approached.

Black and white Priest robes.

He smiled kindly.