Ch.108The End of the Match

~ ~ ~ Third-Person Perspective ~ ~ ~

Moonlight shone down on the northern forest of Riverside.

There stood two men who had just finished their duel.

The man collapsed on the ground was named William J. Kim, an E-rank adventurer who had drifted over from Earth.

Standing opposite him, smiling as if he owned the entire world, was an outlaw named Kreis Orban Winner.

He was an undefeated duel maniac who had taken down countless opponents with his skill called “Pressure,” which amplified killing intent to momentarily freeze his opponent’s movements.

“Hehehe… good, very good.”

The two men first met at Cotton Tail Trading Post, an oasis for outlaws.

When Crow witnessed Will take down a hulking man who had been harassing the women in his party with lightning-fast gunmanship, he felt an exhilaration he had never experienced before.

Since mastering Pressure, dueling had become nothing more than a simple task of activating his skill at the optimal timing to claim victory, rather than a true confrontation with an opponent.

But this man, this dark-haired gunslinger who could draw and fire his gun at speeds invisible to the eye, might just be able to put a white magic bullet through his head faster than his skill could activate.

A real match with life at stake, not a predetermined play.

Regardless of the outcome, a duel with this man would deliver the thrilling sensation of dancing between life and death.

That’s what Kreis Orban Winner—Crow—had expected, and his expectations were splendidly fulfilled.

‘This is the best.’

That single thought was all that occupied his mind.

Having lived his life avoiding study and culture, his vocabulary lacked the words to express the emotion he felt now and the respect he had for his opponent.

He wondered if he should cultivate some literary knowledge from now on, so that he might offer more eloquent praise to the next worthy opponent he encountered.

But Crow soon shook his head internally at the thought.

The chance to meet a worthy opponent like William J. Kim, a man who had given him his greatest moment, would never come again.

And for good reason,

This man had accomplished the remarkable feat of overcoming even the binding of killing intent used at the perfect timing,

And had managed to blow away Crow’s right arm and side in the process.

“Truly… you were the best.”

This man’s rapid-fire was so fast it even blew away the pain.

Only after deeply thanking his fortune for witnessing such a miracle at the end of his life did Crow’s robust body slowly collapse toward the cold earth.

*Thud*

It was the moment when the duel between two men under the moonlight truly came to its final curtain.

~ ~ ~ Protagonist’s Perspective ~ ~ ~

“Truly… you were the best.”

Leaving these final words in my ears as I lay unable to move a finger due to mana depletion, Crow collapsed.

I couldn’t turn my head to see his expression, but just from his voice, I could tell how much satisfaction he had gained from this duel.

‘If you were going to be satisfied all by yourself, you should have just shot at empty cans from the beginning, you crazy psychopathic duel-fetishist bastard…’

I had no intention of indulging the madman Crow’s sentiments, but I was feeling a satisfaction and sense of achievement no less than his.

I had successfully recreated that miraculous rapid-fire technique, my final gamble to overturn a desperate situation.

It wasn’t simply about drawing a gun quickly.

Quick Draw, First Bullet, Fanning Shot.

Even the time it took for the fired magic bullet to hit its target had been reduced to nearly zero.

“So this… is the skill I possess.”

Danger Detection skill.

When it first activated during the Strike Falcon’s attack, I thought it was just an ability to sense threats from unseen places.

But if it were merely a skill that made me aware of approaching threats, there would be no reason for it to slow down my perception of time.

Moreover, the ability to read an enemy’s attack, especially the trajectory of bullets not yet fired, was closer to future prediction than danger detection.

I began to feel a decisive sense of incongruity in the Plague Demon’s dungeon.

The effect of detecting hostility transmitted indirectly from a distant place and shooting accurately was completely beyond the scope of “Danger Detection.”

From that moment, I suspected that the essence of my skill wasn’t danger detection but something more comprehensive, and from the moment I harbored that doubt, I felt my Quick Draw technique gradually improving.

What exactly was my ability, and what awaited at the end of its growth?

Having found a hint during my fight with the Minotaur, I finally grasped the answer in my duel with Crow.

“Haha… hahaha, what the hell. I had a cheat ability all along.”

I could instinctively understand without anyone teaching me.

The power to detect threats from unseen places and hit enemies without physical form was an interference with space.

The power to predict attack trajectories and reduce the time of rapid-fire to nearly zero was an interference with time.

Transcending the absolute laws of time and space was the essence of my skill.

The fact that it manifested through the act of shooting was because I had the identity of a gunman.

In other words, my very identity as a drifter and gunslinger—an “isekai gunman”—had taken the form of a skill.

‘Though I’ll need to find a solution to the problem of depleting all my mana and collapsing as a result.’

There’s no need to rush.

As they say, even straw sandals come in pairs, and even dog dung has its uses—no matter how difficult and impractical a skill might be, there will be opportunities like this one where it proves helpful.

If I consult with Jessica or Phyllis, who are well-versed in magic, they might find a way to solve the mana depletion problem.

Or perhaps I could ask Mina to create a tool that could substitute for mana consumption.

Anticipating another phase of growth someday, I remained lying face down in the weakness brought on by mana depletion.

Until someone who noticed the end of the duel came to get me.

“Here. Drink it slowly, all the way down.”

“Gulp, gulp… WHAT!?”

After finishing the fight with Crow and being supported back by Seti and Phyllis, I was handed a green liquid by an old woman who served as both the shaman and chief of the village.

It was apparently a secret decoction of the cat-folk that helps with mana recovery, but its taste was, well… like adding spiciness to ssanghwa-tang or Activis.

“Ughhhh… my tongueeee…”

“Heh heh heh, such exaggeration, young man.”

As I gulped down water placed beside me to relieve the pain that felt like wasabi spread on my tongue, the white-haired cat-folk elder laughed cheerfully, then placed her hand on my forehead, waited a moment, and said:

“Hmm. I can feel your mana recovering quickly. There don’t seem to be any aftereffects, so you should be fine after a good night’s sleep.”

“Thank you, Grandma Yena.”

“Kekeke! This girl, she’s got the face of a woman completely in love! Were you that worried about this man?”

“…Yes.”

“Heh heh heh heh… what a joyous occasion. If things go well, might I see a grandchild next year?”

“Ahem.”

Ellem responded with a cough to Grandma Yena, who kept poking her side while speaking. While Ellem was understandably wary of a settler son-in-law, the village men still hadn’t dropped their guarded looks toward me despite my defeating Crow and saving the village from crisis.

Relatively speaking, the women were treating me more warmly, suggesting there was a temperature difference in attitudes toward settlers based on gender.

“Well, I’ll be going now, so let him rest well tonight and feed him properly in the morning. We may not be able to throw a feast, but we can’t send off the village’s benefactor with poor hospitality, can we?”

“Yes. I’ll make sure he’s well-fed before he leaves, so don’t worry.”

After giving me a meaningful smile, Grandma Yena left Seti’s house, and Lu and Rona took the women of the party upstairs to prepare sleeping arrangements in the attic.

That left only the exhausted me and the injured Ellem in the reception room.

Just as I was thinking I should break the awkward silence with some topic, Ellem spoke to me.

“…William, was it?”

“Ah, yes. Please call me Will, it’s easier.”

“Alright, Will. Do you know about the special power that cat-folk women possess?”

“You mean the scent that seduces men? Of course I know.”

“Oh? So… you’re close enough to know about that.”

Crack.

I felt like I could hear a blood vessel popping up on Ellem’s forehead.

Come to think of it, my knowing about Seti’s scent was tantamount to saying we had that kind of deep relationship, so it’s understandable that a father would be angry.

“How did you find it, experiencing it firsthand? It must have felt incredibly good, right?”

“Hahaha, even so, discussing my night affairs with Seti in front of her father is a bit…”

“Did you develop feelings for Seti simply because you were intoxicated by her scent?”

Ellem stared at me with sharp eyes.

I was wondering why a father would ask about bedroom matters with his daughter’s boyfriend, but then this unexpected topic came up.

“A cat-folk woman’s scent is fatal to men. Most relationships among cat-folk begin with girls of marriageable age enticing boys they like with their scent, to the point of entrapping them.”

“Th-that’s quite aggressive…”

“But cat-folk women don’t possess that fatal scent their entire lives. When they conceive a child, the scent gradually fades, and by the time birth approaches, it disappears completely. It’s a natural physical change since there’s no longer any need to seduce men.”

“So you’re saying you think I’m attracted to Seti because I’m addicted to her pheromones, and that when we marry and have children and that power disappears, my feelings for Seti will cool off?”

“Because I’ve seen it countless times. Women who followed men from other tribes or races, only to be abandoned and return after losing their scent.”

Having said that much, Ellem relaxed his expression, sighed deeply, and continued:

“I don’t want to speak this way to the man my daughter has chosen, a warrior who saved our village from crisis. But at the same time, I want to prevent a disaster that I can clearly foresee.”

“All I can say is that if you’re willing to trust me, even if it means taking a chance, I’ll prove it to you through my actions.”

“Can’t you reconsider? If you’re merely intoxicated by Seti’s scent, and when that scent disappears, you degenerate like other men, no other woman will be able to comfort you. You’ll face disaster with all the women around you, including that Jessica girl. I’m asking if you really need to take such a risk to have a cat-folk woman.”

“No, it doesn’t necessarily have to be a cat-folk woman.”

Ellem looked taken aback by my straightforward answer, but I looked him directly in the eyes as I spoke:

“However, it does need to be Seti specifically. I can’t coldly reject a girl who approached me saying she would devote everything to me for fulfilling her dream.”

“…You answer so decisively, without a moment’s hesitation.”

“Would you believe a man who couldn’t even give a decisive answer here when he says he’ll love Seti until the end?”

“Your words would carry more weight if you didn’t have another lover besides Seti.”

“That’s rich coming from a man who also has two partners, asking for understanding.”

“Hmph, you certainly don’t lack for quick wit, do you?”

With those final words, Ellem looked up at the night sky visible through the window and said nothing more until the women returned to the reception room.

I want to believe it wasn’t just my imagination that his profile seemed somewhat more relaxed.