episode_0038

38. John’s Preparation.

“Before dying, I was going to give you at least a sip of cold water.”

By the time John had said “was,” the knight’s sword was already drawn.

If the target noticed the anomaly, the assassin has two options.

Escape, or…

“Heup!”

A quick decision and swift action.

A translucent diagonal line is drawn in the air. Even the culprit’s eyes barely identified it.

However, John’s spell was already being built before the knight’s sword appeared.

Freeze.

Shield.

The water droplet that was acting as John’s water bottle instantly freezes.

Since the temperature was lowered in advance, the activation was rapid. Even adding a shield on top.

Clang!

The blade is helplessly stopped. John muttered softly.

“You should have run away.”

The knight was already caught in John’s web.

“Eeek!”

The knight gritted his teeth and took a step back. But it was too late.

Didn’t I say it was a web?

Thud, the knight’s retreat quickly stopped. Because a translucent barrier was blocking him.

Shield.

[Extraneous Implementation]

The knight panicked for a moment, but regained his composure skillfully.

‘Shield! With just this kind of trick!’

He violently swings his sword to smash it. And he was surprised.

Because the recoil felt in his hand was weaker than he thought. It was clear that the shield was made with less magic power.

“What!”

Thanks to that, the knight’s chest was wide open towards John, and the magician was in a perfect state.

Magic Missile.

Fire Arrow.

Dozens of magical projectiles seemed to explode on the knight.

Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!!!

[Acquired 9 Karma.]

“Hoo…”

The familiar blue window appeared. But John’s attention was not focused there at all.

Soon…

Kwang!

A familiar-feeling sword strike from a burly knight. John blocked it with a shield and freeze, and looked at the owner of the sword.

“I heard he was just a spell caster, but his combat skills are at the Elder level. I should have taken that pointy-nosed guy’s skill…”

“Huh.”

Similar, but slightly different word choice. The head swordsmanship instructor of the family. Sir Robin.

However, John had no intention of fighting similarly to before.

He immediately turned around and entered the tent. Sir Robin snorted.

“Hmph! So, the place you’re running away to is just there! Foolish!”

Kwang! Thwack!

He swings his sword with all his might. The sword strike that shattered the shield and ice eventually reached the barracks.

A clean straight line cut off the upper part of the tent. A cloud of white dust rises behind it.

Sir Robin immediately kicked off the floor and went inside.

“……!”

“I knew you’d follow me in.”

The steel man’s eyes widened.

The sight that entered the knight’s eyes was truly surreal. A huge water droplet floating in the air, filling the tent.

“From the beginning, aiming for this…!”

“Freeze.”

Whoosh─

“Keuk!”

The water droplet slowly freezes. Sir Robin lunges at John with snake-like speed.

‘Escaping here is for amateurs! Kill the sorcerer!’

The distance between the two quickly closes. John laughed inwardly.

Since the enemy is going to approach him anyway, that means…

Swoosh!

Predicting the opponent’s path and digging a pit was too easy for John.

The carpet collapses like a snake’s mouth, and a pit that appears to be at least 4 meters deep appears.

“When did you! You knew about the attack…”

Sir Robin reflexively flailed his arms. However, John had already ‘remembered’ his physical conditions.

“You absolutely won’t reach.”

And in this confined condition, there was magic that could be used.

John didn’t freeze all the water droplets.

Rough Waves.

Ice Awl.

Thwack, thwack, thwack, thwack, thwack, thwack, thwack!!

The sound of a dam bursting drowns out the noise of the awls. Waves and icicles fell on Sir Robin like a waterfall.

That majestic sight seemed like something no human could ever resist.

“───!”

A beast-like cry is heard from below. Immediately afterward, a majestic vibration was transmitted to John.

Sir Robin’s figure was not visible, obscured by the ice waterfall.

‘What is he trying to do?’

Is he perhaps trying to dig the ground again and attack? John flinched and took a step back.

“……”

But nothing happened, and it was just quiet.

That means…

‘The Karma acquisition notification isn’t popping up.’

Swish─

He immediately draws up all the magic power in his body and tenses his body.

He couldn’t bring himself to look at the pit. At that moment─

Rumble, rumble, rumble!

Along with the sound of something grinding, a blue sword blade popped out from the floor.

Clang, the shield and sword collided, making a cheerful noise. John twitched his eyebrows.

‘There’s a sword, but no person…’

Kwang!

Bricks forming a wall popped out from John’s heel. Clouds of dust billow up, and in that cloud, there was a dark silhouette.

The shadow rotated his entire body in the order of ankle, knee, waist, and chest.

Thwack! Crash!

Sir Robin’s middle kick made contact with the shield. John’s shield immediately burst.

His kick had lost its momentum, but the speed of the follow-up attack was overwhelming for the knight.

Suddenly, his right arm grips John’s neck. The magician quickly prepared a shield and ice awls, but it was too late.

“Die…”

Sir Robin glimpsed hope with his bloodied body. Finally, the neck of that cunning magician…

Thwack!

“……!”

The grip that was surrounding John’s windpipe instantly loosened. Sir Robin’s right arm was seen cutting through the air.

Sir Robin momentarily lost his sense of reality.

Why? Why? Wasn’t the knight-level supposed to go against the medium-sized undead?

This sword strike was definitely the power of a regular knight-level. In what gap…

“Where did the information leak from…”

Clang.

And so, Sir Robin’s head fell in vain. A battered body, damaged armor, a skilled swordsman.

Numerous factors disadvantageous to him combined, and this brought about the knight’s demise.

Sarah said to John as she sheathed the sword back into its scabbard.

“I almost died. Do you know that?”

“……”

John smiled.

“Didn’t we succeed? Haha.”

“……”

Sarah was overcome with the urge to break John’s legs.

“What is his heart made of…”

Sometimes it seemed like John, not her, was the infinite regressor.

That’s how unconventional John’s actions were.

A plan to only catch about two medium-sized undead and return to the castle walls.

It was truly a move that took the assassins by surprise.

“You came at the right timing. Thank you for your hard work.”

“It’s nothing, it’s just that John ‘remembered’ the battle scenes from the previous rounds vividly.”

“……Haha. I was lucky.”

Suddenly, Sarah narrowed her eyes and said.

“Aren’t you remembering more and more scenes? The timing is good.”

It was a question with a hidden meaning. John accepted it gently.

“Certainly, it seems that the more I use the trait, the more skilled I become. There’s potential.”

“Hmm……”

It was an uncomfortable topic of conversation for John. Just then, the knight who had succeeded in the victory was returning.

Heavy footsteps thumping, it was Sir Jackison.

“No! What’s going on! John, Miss Sarah! Are you guys okay?”

Sir Jackison jumped over and stood in front of them. He cut off the giant zombie’s head and came back in a good mood, but the barracks were in this shape?

For him, who was trying to relax on a hammock in the barracks, it was a bolt from the blue.

He eventually saw the bodies of two knights rolling on the ground.

Sir Robin and the knight in steel armor.

“Robin?! I heard he retired from the front lines!”

John took his words naturally.

“Do you know him? He’s the one who came to assassinate me.”

“What? Assassination? Could it be…”

Sir Jackison immediately fell into his own world.

His head seemed to be buzzing with thoughts about the family.

John waited patiently. Eventually, Sir Jackison, who had sorted out his thoughts, opened his mouth heavily.

“Later, come to the mansion and talk. Let’s finish here today.”

He was about to return to the mansion immediately. Right now, the wave wasn’t important at all.

The shock to John and Sarah must be enormous as well. Sir Jackison’s judgment was truly reasonable.

However, John was not a normal human being.

“Sir Jackison. The wave hasn’t ended yet.”

“……Huh? Are you out of your mind?”

“Yes. The lord will not look favorably on us dropping out either.”

Sir Jackison’s forces were in charge of one axis of the city, and naturally had a high stake in the wave battle.

If they drop out, the burden on other places will increase.

In fact, Sir Jackison didn’t want to go back if he could help it. As someone aiming for the position of head of the family, he was more desperate for achievements than anyone else.

John touched the mark on his neck and said.

“I have enough magic power. It’ll be over in two more times anyway. Let’s stay a little longer.”

“……”