episode_0314

According to what many people had pointed out, our Violet was excessively reckless.

“The habit of throwing yourself into danger can be a hindrance to you in the long run. You need to fight while preserving your body more. Distributing pain and reviving eliminates your opportunity to exert your individual combat prowess. Even in large-scale battles where numbers overwhelm, the qualitative superiority of individuals cannot be ignored.”

As Instructor Frederick-nim pointed out, I was too used to fighting by throwing myself into danger.

While throwing ten Violets to subdue a single opponent isn’t bad, a one-on-one exchange would ideally be better.

So, we decided to use that bandit fellow as a practice dummy.

Interestingly, the training bio-doll in front of us was wearing armored plating.

And it was a fully enclosed armored suit that covered its entire body.

“It reminds me of the day we dueled.”

“Sebastian!”

Although there were many companies besides Lestrade that manufactured such things, it was clearly a typical armored knight’s equipment, both from its appearance and the bandit’s words.

“Let’s fight!”

“What?! You! You clearly died!”

“The will continues!”

The fellow shouted something, then swung his sword again.

A loud metallic clang echoed with a ringing sound.

The armored bandit charged right up to the third Violet. Its speed was definitely fast.

It was only natural that the power would be doubled by equipping an Awakened One with powered armor.

“But he’s not as good as Sebastian!”

Indeed, the armored suit was as old-fashioned as its appearance suggested. There were no auxiliary propulsion devices for acceleration.

Its current speed relied solely on leg strength.

Perhaps because it was an old-model reinforced suit, its flexibility was also relatively poor.

“It’s coming! Focus!”

So, as long as we weren’t careless, it was fully avoidable.

Number 221 stepped backward, evading the diagonal slash that plunged down with the charge.

A sword strike that cut down from the upper left.

The opponent didn’t lose momentum in the swing, rotating their arm and body to cut upwards again to the upper right.

A trajectory that surged upwards, skillfully aiming for the legs.

“That’s the same trick as before!”

-Thud!

It stepped back. Immediately, a sword strike flew towards its waist.

It was a continuous attack using overwhelming output.

It was impossible to block that with a shield here. It dodged by plunging to the left.

“Aargh!”

Oh, it was a trap. It aimed for the lower body again.

“You rat-like wench!”

As it quickly leaped up, the sword rushed to where its calf had been.

Dust scattered on the ground.

The ground and its surroundings were already scorched from the continuous slashes and sword energy.

Now, it could understand why he called himself Levine the Leg-Slicer.

The fellow mainly used techniques targeting the lower body.

It seemed his characteristic was to continuously unleash a fierce assault if the opponent flinched and retreated.

If it were to counterattack here.

-Clang!

It was blocked by armor imbued with magic. The first strike, blocked.

It increased the output and density of the magic around the sword and struck again.

As it hit the armor, its grip tightened involuntarily. It almost dropped the sword from the impact.

Even if it was old, its durability couldn’t be ignored.

“No wonder the clan members we saw earlier were defeated.”

“Haha, you idiot! I told you, this is Lestrade-made armor!”

“Looks like it wasn’t a bluff, huh?”

It knew how to deal with the armored suit.

Because it had fought and won against Sebastian, who wore a newer, more agile, and faster reinforced suit than that.

Its weakness was clear.

“We’re practicing swordsmanship right now. We can’t use heavy weapons, can we?”

“Aim for the joints!”

I swung my sword incessantly.

Stepping back once to slash vertically. Advancing two steps and slashing horizontally three times in a row.

Advance, retreat, attack, defend, repeat.

In its pounding heart, its mind felt distant, as if dreaming.

Thoughts floated up as if intoxicated.

“Huh?”

Thought diverged.

All information a single Violet received and integrated split into thousands of units and scattered.

From sight to sound, touch, the sensation of wind on its skin, and even its heartbeat.

“Left! Diagonally! Calm steps!”

The fellow, deeming merely swinging his sword insufficient, attempted another attack.

His right foot plunged down, aiming for the shin.

As it slipped its left foot back, the artificial muscles screamed.

The alloy sabaton slammed into the ground.

The ground deeply indented. Sand flew.

“Ha! Did you see the flame? He infused magic into his leg! If it had hit, it would’ve shattered.”

The dust from the ground obscured its vision. It must have been intentional.

It half-closed its eyes and retreated, hearing a whirring sound.

What flashed was the left arm’s gauntlet, swinging inward.

It tried to block with its sword, but it was too close.

-Bang!

Instinctively, its neck moved. Aether accelerated along its shoulders and waist.

In a fleeting moment, it ducked. It slightly increased the amount of magic directed to its eyes.

Dodge, dodge. As the third strike came, it turned its body to the right to slip away, but the magic gathered on the enemy’s sword suddenly flared up like a flame.

Sword energy that temporarily extended beyond the sword itself.

“Stinging!”

It made a mistake. What grazed its body was a trick technique that the instructor often demonstrated and warned against.

It neglected distance control. A part of its shoulder was cut away.

It distributed the pain to random individuals through pain dispersion.

The pain subsided. It intentionally channeled magic and regulated its breathing to suppress bleeding.

Its movements became a little sluggish.

It would be hard to train for long with this body.

This time, let’s utilize the Aegis Sword Style.

It tried to bring out the essence of defense and counterattack.

“What did Professor Masus say to do in the last class?”

He said the correct way to use a shield was to push back as if opposing, but also to deflect.

Red magic and white magic clashed. The enemy’s sword energy bent under the repulsion. A gap was revealed.

It thrust.

-Clang!

Good, a scratch on the heart area. It was an excellent strike.

It could see the bandit in front of it becoming impatient.

“No head-on power struggle! Deflect the flow!”

It barely parried the sword. It was its turn to counterattack again.

Here, let’s use the Polaris Sword Style.

-Crash!

A large, curved trajectory to subdue powerful and massive demon beasts.

Couldn’t a villain wearing armored plating be sufficiently considered a demon beast?

One scratch on the shoulder armor. Two stabs to the neck guard.

“Ugh! I thought you were just a kid… why are you so fast?!”

It ignored the opponent’s agitation. What they wanted to hear wasn’t idle chatter, but the scream of defeat.

Amidst the ceaseless self-hypnosis, I wielded myself.

Was Number 772, currently swinging its sword and sweating, an individual, or the culmination of thousands of Violets?

A sliver of doubt was buried in the wave of information and commands.

Tactics and strategies pouring out strand by strand, swordsmanship and techniques imprinted in the network.

All of it was embodied and manifested as defense and evasion.

With the boundary between individual and collective blurred, Violet simply moved as if possessed.

We control ourselves.

“How was it this time?”

“Seven minutes! Not bad. He seems to be starting to struggle.”

Good, it was a sufficiently valuable practice for sword and shield operation.

We’ve done enough, let’s finish it here.

“…What?! What are you doing, you bastard?!”

The fellow, Levine, seemed to gradually sense something suspicious about my actions and asked again.

It was understandable. It had been dodging for several minutes without taking any damage.

I offered my neck to the clumsy sword trajectory.

My vision spun around, then I fell to the ground.

“You bitch! Got her!”

Logout.

“Alright, next time let’s try with dual swords.”

Catching our breath, we changed weapons and deployed the next Violet.

Four, five, six…

**

The seventh Violet fell.

Levine was breathing heavily. As if protesting the long hours of intense movement, the sub-motors clanked and the artificial muscles made tearing noises.

The leg’s hydraulic system also made faint clicking sounds.

The air around them, ravaged by countless sword energies, reeked of ozone.

“Haa… you damn bitch… I finally got you! Aaaah!”

The bandit leader plunged the sword he was holding into the ground with a shout.

How much suffering had he endured, entangled with this bizarre being? Every time he killed one and moved forward, another appeared.

The girl persistently charged with different weapons one after another, ignoring death and continuously returning to life.

As soon as its breath ceased, the being exploded, and a new one appeared from somewhere to block his path.

‘Is that really the same person?’

A more serious problem was that the girl was unexpectedly powerful.

He belatedly examined his armor and sighed inwardly.

“…Damn it. How much did this cost?”

As the paint peeled off, the characteristic grayish color of carbonite armor became visible through the gaps.

The armor was covered in countless scars.

“Boss! Are you alright?”

Subordinates rushed over the chaotic ground. The surroundings were tangled with traces of battle, and all rocks and trees taller than waist-height had long since been shattered without exception.

Levine spat, then smacked the back of the head of the first subordinate who approached him.

“You tactless bastard. Where’s the water?”

“Aargh! H-here it is!”

Levine snatched the water bottle and poured it over his face. The inside of his armor might get a bit damp, but cooling his face was the priority.

“Y-you worked hard! You’re the boss, as expected!”

“We believed in you! As expected, Levine the Leg-Slicer!”

Levine clicked his tongue, looking at his fawning subordinates.

He couldn’t say it due to his pride and prestige as a leader, but honestly, he had a tough time. From the third one onwards, it became maddeningly difficult, as if it had awakened to fighting.

To the point where even if all his subordinates genuinely attacked, they wouldn’t be able to stand a chance.

There was no one else he could entrust this to but himself.

‘Damn it… how does she keep reviving? No, are there multiple of them? What kind of unique ability is this? It might be an artifact.’

His mind became complicated, but no answer emerged.

In frustration, he shouted at his subordinates.

“It’s not worth fighting anymore. If she comes again, just shoot her! Got it?”

“Yes!”

The subordinates, hastily gathering their belongings, pulled out their guns and crossbows.

As soon as they prepared to move forward again, the usual girl appeared once more.

“Let’s fight!”

“Aargh! That bastard! Shoot her now! Right now—”

-Bang!

Immediately after he spoke, the bandits’ heads shattered like bursting watermelons.

By the time he realized it was a sniper shot, the girl was already right in front of him.

“Let’s fight!”

The eighth girl, unusually, held a grayish two-handed sword.

“You! Who are you?! How dare you do this to us?!”

The bandit’s sword, swung wildly as if struggling, was full of countless openings.

Violet, familiar with the attack pattern, stabbed lightly as if poking fruit with a fork.

An even sharper strike flew towards the armored suit’s chest.

-Crunch!

The boss, shocked, stumbled backward. Levine gasped in shock, unable to conceal his astonishment.

The hit area was deeply dented.

“Wow, this is definitely powerful. Though cutting through the armor entirely like a witch would still be impossible. No, even she couldn’t cut through the breastplate in the main story. Did she cut off the relatively weaker limbs? Hmm…”

The girl casually examined her weapon and mumbled. The girl looked at Levine indifferently.

In those crimson eyes, there was neither hostility nor greed.

“What… what are you, really? Huh?”

“…?”

The girl showed no interest in that question.

“Well, anyway, I’ve gained enlightenment, so that’s enough. Let’s end this!”

It was clearly a condescending attitude.

“This bastard… end what? Don’t make me laugh!”

The armored suit’s small power core vibrated furiously.

A desperate charge that shook the earth.

-Crunch!

“Aaaaaargh!”

Levine stumbled in pain. All the joints of his limbs were deeply cut, and blood was pouring out.

The girl tilted her head and looked around.

“Hmm, next time, with armored suits, I should aim for the joints right away, like this time. So, I just need to move exactly as I imagine in my head!”

Levine let out a groan at the absurd remark.

Then, what had he been fighting until now?

The bandit leader suddenly realized.

That child could have killed them at any time.

The opponent was toying with them, like a cat toying with small prey.

It was a monster.

Humans couldn’t stand against monsters.

He should have run away. He shouldn’t have fought.

“Who are you… who are you, really… what are you?!”

Ignoring the question, the girl plodded closer and aimed her dual swords.

“Thanks for the good practice. Goodbye!”

“Aaaaaargh!”

**

After annihilating the bandits, we reflected on this battle.

“We realized a lot!”

“Indeed, practical combat is important!”

In a real fight, we learned how to apply the power of collective intelligence in combat.

Last time, when we sparred with Professor Masus, we mobilized collective intelligence to predict and imitate the opponent’s movements.

This time, conversely, we focused that intelligence on controlling my body and actions, moving more precisely.

Focusing thought was effective.

From now on, let’s call this technique ‘Tactical Immersion’. While we’re at it, imitating the opponent’s actions should also be named ‘Tactical Mimicry’.

“The problem is how to use this in group combat!”

The inner monologue was valid. When falling into this state of Tactical Immersion, one’s mind becomes distant, as if dreaming or intoxicated.

To compare it to everyday life, it’s like that moment of ecstasy in a rhythm game where you unconsciously mash the notes pouring down, clearing them all.

Can this be applied to each and every one of us in a team battle?

“There might be confusion!”

“Our minds will get tangled!”

Scanning and imitating the opponent’s movements is actually easier.

Nevertheless, today we learned a valuable lesson. All of this was thanks to those hunter bandits.

One Violet mumbled casually.

“These guys, since they taught us, aren’t they our one-day teachers?”

“One-day teachers!”

Confucius said not to be ashamed to ask questions of one’s subordinates.

Following the spirit of `Bulchiha-mun` [a Confucian principle emphasizing humility in seeking knowledge, even from those considered beneath oneself], we sought learning even from villains and gained enlightenment.

Therefore, that armored thug will be our dead teacher.

However, to refine and use what was learned anew, simply learning was not enough.

Which sage said it? If you meet the Buddha on the path of training, cut him down without hesitation [a Zen Buddhist saying meaning one should not be overly attached to the teachings or even the teacher, but rather seek enlightenment for oneself].

I never knew why before, but now I understand.

“Right! We shouldn’t be trapped by knowledge itself! How to utilize it is what’s important.”

Only by moving freely without being confined by existing frameworks can one reach the truth.

Therefore, we had to kill our teacher.

King, teacher, and father are one [a traditional Confucian concept emphasizing the absolute authority and respect due to these figures]. Therefore, we are no different from having killed our father.

“Gasp! Did we commit patricide [unfilial conduct]?”

Just as Oedipus murdered his father, we had to execute the bandit.

Patricide [unfilial conduct], how tragic.

But we are parentless orphan experiments.

Therefore, we can commit patricide [unfilial conduct] without burden. Is ‘Patricide Violet’ our destiny?

At that moment, starlight flashed before their eyes.

“All of this was destiny!”

“Yes, we must perform righteous slaughter!”

That’s right. All of this is destiny, blocking our Violets’ path of training to attain ultimate truth.

To advance beyond destiny, one must become Buddha through slaughter.

“Truth! Freedom! Democracy!”

By following the path of righteous slaughter and executing all obstacles, our Violets will someday reach the side of Buddha.

Beyond the horizon, the faintly shimmering figures of the smiling bandits flickered.

The Violets waved their hands with gratitude.

“Thank you, bandits!”

With joyful and clear hearts, we collected the bandit group’s spoils and advanced beyond the wilderness.