episode_0209

Kuwagagagagak-!

“Huh!”

All nerves were on edge at the heavy first blow.

I somehow managed to store the mana in the weapon and let it flow out… but the clothes on one shoulder that I couldn’t avoid became tattered.

Plus, the back is even more spectacular.

“…”

Sword energy spread out in three directions.

The ground was broken up by black energy as if it had been scraped with an excavator.

Cold sweat flows naturally.

‘…I think this isn’t just words, it’s sincere.’

It’s a shame that it was spilled. If it had been hit squarely, it’s so powerful that I can’t guarantee that it would be standing like it is now.

Was the statement that you would die if you didn’t fight ready to die meant as a warning?

‘Shit. At first, I thought it was just a threat.’

I finally came to my senses.

That thing I saw was not the spear of someone making a trivial threat.

▶You must obtain an achievement level of 80% or higher in the fight against Talpon.◀

▶If failed, the player dies.◀

[Talphone]

[Lv. ??? ]

[HP: ■■■■■■■■■■]

This UI including level and HP.

This was a window indicating an enemy entity.

After taking a deep breath, I adjusted my posture and breathing and rolled my head.

The final condition for hiring Talpon as an agent for Chatrene.

That’s a condition I’ve never seen before in a game, and I didn’t even expect it to be like this.

If you think about it normally, you could dismiss it as sparring.

However, did that really mean sparring?

no.

I can assure you that this will never be the case.

All information was already given to me.

The status window that appeared when he first appeared was like that, but I could already feel that his spirit was ready to deal with me.

An unimaginable energy weighed down my entire body.

The pressure-filled air vibrated with Talpon’s mana and pressed against my skin.

Just as the system message opened that window for me, what he was emitting was closer to survival than speculation.

And last.

For me, the achievement window is currently displayed as 0%.

‘okay. It wasn’t a test or sparring to begin with.’

Now I can make the right decisions.

When was this game so easy?

This may be a distraction or trigger that was created to stop the player.

In that case, from my point of view, I have no choice but to destroy myself so as not to face a bad ending.

-Kaang!

“…!”

I will never die here.

***

After throwing away the first blow, his confused eyes became clear, and as he was about to attack the second, the first hit was met properly.

Boldly, Carcein made a move to dig into this side’s arms and fight.

‘Do you finally feel like fighting properly?’

I know that Karssein is a completely different person from the weak imperial people who lose their minds and faint under the pressure of their own spirit.

Just by touching the swords with both legs upright like that, it proves that catching the Scorpion King was no accident.

But this isn’t enough.

-Knock!

“…!”

The two swords that were clearly touching diagonally are about to change into a straight line. This is because more power was added to Talpon’s sword.

Karssein noticed this, but the sword he had already struck fell.

Talpon’s sword thrusts in at an incredible speed.

The blade tries to aim precisely at Carcein’s neck.

Patchoux!

‘hmm?!’

Although he was a step late, he immediately changed his entire body direction and retreated.

‘But if you think you’ve avoided it, you’re mistaken.’

Talpon released one of his two hands that were holding the sword.

And the hand, which is nothing but a bare fist, is loaded with mana and descends.

-Kwaang!!

A cloud of dust rose from the ground along with a loud sound.

The hollow ground tells the story. If this is also orthodox, the body will not flourish.

Nevertheless, there was no feeling of impact in Talpon’s hands.

“…Swift. I mean, I got through it.”

Talpon raised his upper body again, shaking off his hands where only the broken pieces of stone remained.

Karssein stopped about four steps away and was catching his breath.

It’s not that I can’t guess at all.

I was quite taken aback by the force of the straight push, but instead of hitting it with force, I backed away and used my strength to pull my body to the side.

There was an unfortunate incident where the sword bounced, but even that was done to lower the center of gravity in preparation for the next attack.

The body that was on the verge of being hit directly was pulled out at exactly the right time.

‘It’s fascinating. ‘It’s as if you did some calculation?’

It’s been a while since I found someone I can enjoy.

Talpon smiled contentedly to himself.

However, we cannot be satisfied with this alone.

Just smile for a moment.

Talpon asked, holding his sword again.

“Why did you choose to avoid using mana?”

“…”

“The power gap would not have been that wide. Couldn’t he have stopped and fought?”

Carcein, who had been silent, answered in a low voice.

“In the first place, I have to save everything I have, even the smallest thing.”

“Hmm?”

Should we save?

What does that mean? Are you saying we should save our strength here?

But Carcein didn’t answer any further.

Rather, I raised my head sharply and took a stance that I had never seen before.

‘…It’s not the imperial swordsmanship.’

No matter which family you look at, there is no such strange attitude.

But conversely, even if you look to the west or other kingdoms, such an attitude does not exist. It wasn’t even the sword of the kingdom of Wederos, which had already disappeared.

In that state, Carcein swung his sword like a hummingbird.

-Kaang! Kaang!

Mana is still not loaded.

However, while the blow is heavy, it is not. but…

-Kaang! Kaang! Sigh!

I get a feel for it after combining it a few times.

‘…That’s annoying.’

Even if it was a shallow attack, the continuous attack led by a quick attack and a nimble body had a knack for making people sneak into a reverse action.

If you just keep blocking like this, you might find yourself in a really annoying situation. If you don’t want to lose without using your strength in an unsightly way, you have to kick it out.

-Tsk! Pop!

When I parried the big attack, this time I took advantage of the recoil and got hit on the side. If I hadn’t blocked it with my arm… it would have seemed like quite a bit of damage.

However, with that attack, Talpon finally smelled it.

Talpon immediately plunged his sword into the ground and pushed him away with a shock wave.

‘What. This unpleasant smell.’

Karsein has excellent mana as well as basic martial arts skills. It seems that he has grown solidly and gained experience, so even if he were to choose the Lilpeten tribesmen to fight, he would not be inferior at all.

However, this smell carries a very strong chill.

The smell starts with an attack measured with a protractor and continues to walk a tightrope of precariousness. Isn’t this the smell of someone who is cornered?

Why on earth does this smell come from Karsein, who was clearly in a pushy position?

I met a happy partner for the first time in a while, but I don’t have time to enjoy it.

In order to find out the source of this contradictory behavior, Talpon attacked Karssein with all his might.

Clouds of dust rose again and again. The ground cracked and cracked, and the shattered rocks flew into fragments in all directions.

‘I got away with it pretty well, but I won’t be able to avoid it this time.’

If you don’t use mana, you will be caught in a perfect reverse action.

Now try it out. Karsein. Your mana!

At that time, Talpon’s blade split Karssein’s left shoulder in two and cut off one of his arms.

Karssein’s mana was finally put into the sword.

Saying that it is right, Talpon strikes the sword head-on, creating some reverberations.

and…

‘This… what is this…’

Talpon, who smelled that scent, was filled with astonishment.

***

All humans have mana, even if they are not aware of it. And just as no two humans have the exact same smell, mana also has unique properties.

The reason is quite simple.

This is because mana contains the life and memories of the object.

No matter what life you live in, it may be similar or highly consistent, but it can never be the same.

The same goes for memory. Even if the memories are the same, they often remain different.

It is for this reason that mana becomes a unique distinguishing feature between people. Mana, which contains all kinds of information such as personality, values, and beliefs, can never overlap.

However, the greatest information among them is none other than human emotions.

The most intense emotions in life create a part of a person and leave behind the most intense memories in one’s mind. Therefore, it is no exaggeration to say that emotions make up most of mana.

Lilpeten has an excellent sense of smell and can smell almost any smell, but what stands out most is the smell of mana. In other words, it was possible to smell strong emotions.

however.

Karssein’s mana was emitting a strange smell.

Clearly, this is the scent of someone who has lived a life of loneliness and pain.

The scent of blood, the salty smell of flesh being torn by a needle. I can also sense something that smells so strange that it makes me feel sick, and the smell of some kind of fruit is also full of it. No, it’s sour… Is this the smell of digestive juices?

Alienation from the group. Isolation from another group. This smell of false accusations is also familiar to Talpon, a member of the Lilpeten tribe.

He had a very chilly background, as if he had entered an icy abyss.

Judging by the time period, it was clear that he had been subjected to such bullying since childhood.

okay. I can understand up to that point.

A life full of loneliness and pain. It can be said that unhappiness existed in him too.

However, why on earth is there no scent of emotion to respond to this anywhere?

If this level of loneliness and pain follows, other emotions must follow.

For example, things like the desire not to be lonely or the sense of liberation from not wanting to be in pain.

But, to my horror, I didn’t feel any of that from Karssein.

Are you saying that the emotions have disappeared altogether?

Nonsense!

Humans inherently live with emotions.

That can’t be possible.

But… that was all I could smell in this mana of loneliness and pain.

Even though I clashed with my sword several times and carried mana through my body and collided with him head-on, there was nothing I should have done.

Is this your smell?

Are these fragments of your life and memories?

Are you living a life so dull that you can’t even feel pain and loneliness?

It’s ominous.

He had an ominous feeling, as if he was being eaten by something.

“…!”

-Okay.

The fight was continuing even while they were smelling Mana.

Karssein continued to counter Talpon’s attacks, sometimes making him hesitate due to his threatening attacks.

Even so, they were barely able to counterattack, but it was all like a plan.

Talpon, who had lost his breath during the sword fight, allowed the last attack and was pushed to the back.

Before we knew it, Karssein’s sword was placed around Talpon’s neck.

“This is the end, right?”

He asks, sweating profusely and exhausted.

“…Okay. It’s my defeat.”

It was a clear defeat that left nothing to argue about.

Talpon, who had never been defeated by an imperialist before, suffered his first defeat at the hands of Karssein.

However, there was no thought of being happy and competitive or shaking hands in recognition of the other person. No, I couldn’t hear it.

“I think I have enough qualifications to follow you. No, it has become a position that we have to follow. Because of my defeat.”

but.

“I have one question. Karsein. Why on earth is nothing wrong?”

It is true that mana contains such information, but it is impossible to know specifically what happened.

The only way to do this is to ask the person involved.

Why on earth do you feel okay even after experiencing such terrible things?

However, Carcein soon collapsed on the spot.

“…”

In the end, I didn’t hear the answer.

no. Maybe I wasn’t planning on answering in the first place.

“Carcein! No way, he was seriously injured…!”

Harnier rushed over. Maybe he was very worried, but his expression seemed a bit frightened.

“It’s okay. Because I just collapsed from exhaustion. If you take me and get some rest, it will be okay.”

“…Is that so.”

“Don’t look at me like that. In this case, we just had to determine if this guy was a survivor of the Kingdom of Wederos.”

“Wederos Kingdom…?”

“I’ll tell you about that later. First, I will move him to the bedroom.”

“Ah, yes. That’s right.”

There is no disagreement that Karssein is a survivor of the Kingdom of Wederos. The swordsmanship he demonstrated using mana in earnest was undoubtedly Wederos Kingdom-style magic swordsmanship.

No matter who you bring to the West, they will not be able to deny that Karssein is related to the Kingdom of Wederos.

However, there is one thing that bothers me.

‘It’s very strange that you are not aware of it.’

If you are a survivor of the Kingdom of Wederos, you will know best what kind of connection you had with the Bagland Dukes. However, there was no sign of Karssein at all.

That’s not all. I felt it while fighting Karssein, but even though it was Wederos Kingdom-style swordsmanship, there were many strange differences.

Calculated movement through adjusting the distance as if measuring with a protractor and tape measure, and through reaction and imbalance of balance. In fact, it uses the body and martial arts rather than mana, so it is difficult to call it Wederos Kingdom-style swordsmanship.

This is what I felt while dealing with Karssein, but it is safe to say that he only learned how to use mana based on his perfect sword skills.

‘There won’t be an answer one way or another, so I’ll have to meet Pollux sooner or later.’

However, there is no disagreement that he is the man they should follow in the future.

All major misunderstandings have been resolved. The regrets of the past must be left in the past. Carcein may be a great help to Lilpeten, who is in a difficult situation.

If someone like this is going to rule a territory… that territory will definitely take off like Ruthmire.

‘They say Shatlaine is a blessed land. ‘Really.’

I don’t know what the problem is, but it’s undeniably lucky to have a lord like this.

We’ll have to take a closer look at what we can do to help since we’re there together.

-Tiring!

▶The current achievement level is 92%.◀

▶All conditions have been cleared. Talpon is registered as the third agent.◀

▶Due to the achievement being exceeded, Talpon’s intimacy has increased by the excess value!◀

[Current figure: 28%]

▶If the conditions are met, the trigger will activate.◀

▶The Lilpeten tribesmen, including Talpon, become aware of the true condition of the Shatren Territory.◀