Ch.11The Night of the Decisive Battle (2)

“KIEEEEEEEEEEEK!!!!”

I remembered only one thing from my kendo training: if you enter a fight with a weaker spirit, you’ve already lost. I let out a monstrous scream with all my might and swung the metal pipe.

No. This wasn’t just a metal pipe. This was my “sword.” An industrial metal pipe infused with the rage of the Luddites during the Industrial Revolution—the “Industrial Slayer,” if you will. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call it a modern art piece criticizing civilization.

CLAAAAAANG-!!!

My sword collided with the creature’s blade.

KEEEEEK-!!!

What followed was a deadlock of crossed swords. In kendo terms, it was a battle of pressure. If you give way in such a confrontation, you allow the enemy to strike. This was a fight I couldn’t afford to lose.

“UOOOOOOOH!!!”

My strength stat was a solid 20—the result of my hustle during spring break. I concentrated all my muscular power to push away the creature’s sword.

KWAAANG-!!

I won the power struggle. The Slime Warrior’s body was pushed far back.

THUD-!

When an enemy shows an opening, going in for the kill is the golden rule. I gripped my sword with both hands and activated my active skill.

“SMITE!!!”

Channeling the fury of a top laner who wants to eat the rock crab because the jungler hasn’t ganked once, I charged my anger. Enemy jungler? Go ahead and take the rock crab. I won’t be upset if they steal it. But when an ally steals it? That’s infuriating. I transformed that frustration into pure power.

BWOOOOOOM-!!!!!

My smite landed cleanly on the Slime Warrior’s head.

“GURRRRRK!!!”

It clearly dealt effective damage. The Slime Warrior staggered backward.

I had to press the advantage.

THWACK-! THUD-! THWACK-!

I swung my sword with all my might.

“GERRRK!!”

The Slime Warrior’s stance crumbled significantly.

However, its recovery was quick. The Slime Warrior regained its grip on the sword and reassumed its stance.

“Hah. Confident in your endurance, are you?”

I smiled as I raised my sword.

I’m pretty confident in my endurance too.

FWAAASH-!!

The Slime Warrior charged forward, swinging its sword without showing any signs of fatigue.

CLANG-!! CLASH-!! CLAAANG-!

Our swords crossed in a battle where neither man would yield an inch.

The Slime Warrior lived up to its higher level.

SWOOSH-! SWIIISH-!!!

The Slime Warrior’s blade grazed my skin slightly. As I felt the sharp pain, I gritted my teeth.

But it wasn’t a critical hit.

SWOOSH-!

I created distance and regained my stance. It was just a scratch that drew blood.

“Gerrrrrk….”

The Slime Warrior muttered quietly. Was it… acknowledging my strength?

FWAP-!!

No words were necessary. Right now, we were communicating through our swords.

CLANG-! CLASH-! CLAAANG-!!

A fierce exchange of attacks and defenses ensued.

It reminded me of my kendo matches. During sparring, there would be moments when everything slowed down—like lightning flashing before my eyes. I could anticipate my opponent’s moves and see the optimal response. In those moments, I always secured a point.

WHOOSH-!!

I lightly blocked and deflected the Slime Warrior’s sword strike. Then I executed the kendo follow-up technique: a wrist strike.

THWACK-!!

My metal pipe shattered the sword in the Slime Warrior’s hand.

“Gerrrrrk…!”

With one arm completely destroyed, the Slime Warrior staggered backward.

With its arm disabled, the outcome was obvious.

THUD-!! THWACK-! THUD-!!!!

I delivered a clean three-hit combo targeting its vital points.

And for the final blow, I concentrated all my mental energy.

“KIEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!!!!!”

My vertically plunging metal pipe shattered the Slime Warrior’s head as it passed through.

“Gurrrrrrrk….!”

The Slime Warrior staggered backward.

Could it be… would it regain its stance and charge again? That possibility honestly made me nervous. That would be truly unfair.

Fortunately, no such unfair development occurred.

THUD-!!!

The Slime Warrior collapsed face-first onto the ground.

HISSSSSS-!!!

The Slime Warrior’s body slowly began to melt away.

“GERRK!!”

“GERRK!!!”

Perhaps enraged by the death of their superior, the lower slimes tried to attack me.

“GERRRRRK!!!!”

The Slime Warrior immediately restrained the other slimes with what sounded like a command. They stopped at his words.

“Gerrrrrk…gerrk….gerrrk.”

The Slime Warrior uttered his final words to me.

Of course, I had no idea what the monster was saying, but I understood it in my soul. There exists something called “the language of men.”

“Gerrrrrr…..”

(Translation: You have defeated me fair and square.)

“Gerrk…..”

(Translation: I lost… but I feel satisfied… it was the best fight.)

“Gerrrrrk…..”

(Translation: Stand back, all of you. Show respect to this great warrior.)

“You bastard…..”

Despite being able to gang up on me with his subordinates, he didn’t. He was respecting me as a fellow warrior.

“You. What’s your name?”

I asked the Slime Warrior.

“Gerrk.”

“Hmph. Gerrk, is it? A fine name. I won’t forget it, Gerrk.”

I looked up at the sky and wiped away a tear.

“Gerrrrrk….”

Being a slime, he didn’t have a face, but I was certain he was wearing a satisfied smile. I could tell. Because I’m a man.

“Gerrk….. like melting jelly, fleeting yet magnificent man…..”

I muttered, looking at Gerrk.

HISSSSSS-!!

Shortly after, Gerrk’s body completely melted away.

DING-!!

Soon, my status window began to fluctuate.

‘Level 5’

I leveled up from defeating a powerful enemy. Only level 5 now… it’s slow, but this level-up was significant.

“I have inherited your will.”

I muttered, looking at the remains of the Slime Warrior. This wasn’t just my level-up. It was clear evidence that the Slime Warrior’s spirit lived on within me.

Anyway, with the level-up, I opened my status window.

‘Strength: 23’

‘Speed: 19’

‘Endurance: 12’

‘Luck: 1’

‘Magic Power: 0’

Strength and speed increased by the maximum of 3 points each, but the rest remained the same.

Still, I tried to take comfort in the fact that I had definitely become stronger.

———

Anyway, I had defeated the monster that would have killed Arigiri Shota. This should have avoided the death event, but I preferred certainty.

The current time was 1:30 AM. If I waited just 30 minutes, the hidden world would disappear again, and the world would return to its original form. Then the event of the first week of March would be completely avoided.

I decided to wait out the remaining 30 minutes standing under a streetlight.

Soon, it became 2 o’clock.

SWOOOSH-!!

The slimes roaming nearby and the red moon—the distinctive sign of the hidden world’s encroachment—disappeared.

The world returned to normal.

“I did it… I DID IT!!!!!”

I had completely avoided the event of the first week of March. I had escaped death.

“Have I even overcome death itself….”

What on earth couldn’t I overcome? I fell into the immortal’s dilemma.

Well, enough with the self-indulgence. I should head home now.

I quickly gathered my upper garments and was about to head home.

That’s when it happened.

“Hey, student.”

Police officers addressed me.

“Me?”

Too late to avoid the embarrassment of being half-naked. The police officers immediately surrounded me without leaving any gaps.

“What are you doing shirtless?”

“And… carrying a metal pipe. Put it down first.”

“No, I….”

I tried to make excuses. Someone wandering around half-naked would certainly look like a dangerous individual.

“Let’s go to the station first.”

The police officers immediately escorted me to the police box.

——–

Thanks to always carrying my student ID in my wallet, identity verification was completed quickly.

“Why on earth were you doing that?”

The officer asked.

“Well… I thought I might get stronger if I practiced kendo shirtless under the moonlight….”

I made up that excuse.

“……..”

The police officers looked at me like I was insane. Yeah, fair enough.

“We’ll contact your school and home for now.”

The officers said. Right… they would. Feeling deeply embarrassed, I let out a long sigh.

However, thanks to my desperate pleas, they didn’t confiscate my metal pipe. I decided to take comfort in the fact that I had protected my beloved sword.

———

A short while before all this happened.

Someone had been watching Shota’s life-or-death battle.

It was Natsukawa Taiga, a heroine who was originally supposed to appear in April.

‘He… definitely fought monsters.’

She had accidentally witnessed Shota fighting while on her way to a convenience store.

‘Those monsters… I’m not the only one who can see them.’

Natsukawa Taiga was surprised by this. At the same time, she felt relief. She had even thought it might be her own delusional disorder.

‘But still… getting dragged away by the police after posing shirtless….’

Thinking about it made her laugh.

“PFFT!!!!”

Natsukawa Taiga burst into laughter, her body shaking.

“Puhehehehe. What is this, some yakuza movie from the ’80s… suddenly taking off his shirt… and then the police… puhehehehe!!”

Natsukawa Taiga’s laughter wouldn’t stop.

‘Someone who can see monsters just like me…’

Soon, Natsukawa Taiga made a decision.

‘I was planning to drop out… but maybe I’ll go to school.’

Natsukawa Taiga suddenly decided to attend school. She had become interested in Arigiri Shota.

And so, the situation diverged dramatically from the original storyline.