The Dance of the Phantom Sword

[Plum Blossom Sword Technique Lv.2]

• [Phantom Sword Lv.1]

A lower Skill has been created.

“Gob?!”

She immediately used it on a goblin.

The first thing she encountered after leaving the village was a goblin.

She swung her sword.

One Phantom Sword was created.

A residual image effect appeared every time she moved the sword.

When she tried to slash with the sword, the Phantom Sword flew towards the goblin simultaneously, slashing it.

Two hits.

Two hits.

Two hits.

“Gobuuul?!?!!”

The goblins fell.

Leaving two wounds with one attack.

Americano’s advance did not stop.

She drew a large circle.

The distance between the sword and the Phantom Sword increased.

As the distance increased, it became almost 180 degrees.

Right.

Left.

Two swords positioned at opposite extremes struck the orc.

It blocked one, but,

“Orc?!!”

It couldn’t block the other.

The orc, taking the sword with its body, was deeply slashed by the Phantom Sword, piercing its knee.

“Is the power insufficient?”

The Phantom Sword stopped mid-slash.

No, it would be more accurate to say it shattered.

It was still insufficient for practical use.

It was necessary to reinforce the Magical Power properties of the Phantom Sword and solidify it further.

‘As expected, there’s no practice like real combat.’

“No, that’s not it.”

She corrected herself.

This wasn’t just like real combat anymore.

The orc gripped its wounded area and glared fiercely at Americano.

[Slash]

The orc’s head flew off.

Americano was in the hunting grounds to test the [Plum Blossom Sword Technique].

She created [Phantom Sword] and unleashed a two-hit attack, massacring low-level monsters.

Goblins.

Orcs.

She hadn’t encountered a Demon Beast yet.

Their numbers were so small, and they were treated as boss monsters, so they were usually caught as soon as they respawned, making them difficult to encounter.

Hmm…

Although [Phantom Sword] lacked proficiency, she gradually got a feel for using it.

For reference, the original name was [Plum Blossom Old Style].

It was renamed to [Phantom Sword] because it sounded old-fashioned.

[Phantom Sword]

[Slash]

Two attacks became scissors, cutting the orc’s neck.

The orc, unsure which to block, failed to block either.

A two-hit attack created by linking two Skills was almost impossible to defend against.

But,

“Haa…”

Breath.

Cold.

“It consumes quite a bit of Magical Power?”

She had only used it a few times and was already in this state.

The time it took to create [Phantom Sword] triggered the [Nine Yin Severed Meridians].

Magical Power was consumed while implementing [Phantom Sword]. That consumption remained as Chill, which was the source of this terrible combat endurance.

Practicality?

Well…

“I can’t use it unless I can make it faster.”

Currently, the implementation speed of [Phantom Sword] was 10 seconds.

It required a 10-second preparation time.

In close combat where victory or defeat could be decided in 0.1 seconds, 10 seconds was a long time.

If she prepared in advance, she could use it immediately, but she had to maintain that much Magical Power.

With a body possessing the constitution of [Nine Yin Severed Meridians], the efficiency was poor.

Hoo…

Breath.

Americano blew out a breath and decided to stay in the hunting grounds a little longer.

Regardless of its practicality, the new Skill was a new toy.

‘I’ll get faster as I use it.’

[Plum Blossom Sword Technique] had many unnecessary movements.

She corrected herself.

It wasn’t unnecessary.

Rather, it was optimized for [Phantom Sword]!

“Kueu… Orcs…”

“Haa… Haa…”

[Orc Chieftain]

Red text.

She fought while suppressing [Berserk] and only used [Phantom Sword] and [Basic Attacks].

Americano, who had said that massacre wasn’t her thing, was chasing and slaughtering orcs, covering her entire body in orc blood.

Her massacre started with chasing and finding orcs.

Chasing orcs.

Slashing.

Finding.

Slashing.

But at some point, the orcs started finding her first.

Then, she was able to meet an opponent worth enjoying.

Clang!

[Orc Chieftain] used twin axes.

The sword and [Phantom Sword] were blocked by the twin axes.

It took 10 seconds to create [Phantom Sword].

Americano threw her sword.

[Slash]

[Slash]

[Slash]

[Orc Chieftain] deflected [Slash] with his axes.

“..?”

She felt a sense of unease.

Americano pressed [Orc Chieftain].

[Slash]

If she kept slashing, she would know what the source of the unease was.

Or she could just kill it and eliminate the unease altogether.

[Slash]

[Slash]

[Thrust]

[Orc Chieftain] parried the fiercely thrusting sword tip by pulling his body back.

“….”

She kicked off the ground.

She charged in.

[Phantom Sword]

[Thrust]

Clangaeng.

Deflected by the twin axes.

It was a pity that [Phantom Sword] was broken,

But thanks to that, she was able to charge in deeply.

“….”

“….”

In a brief moment where it was difficult to even take a breath, [Orc Chieftain]’s judgment was divided.

“Haa…”

Breath.

She exuded Chill and questioned.

‘Did he dodge it?’

He’s not attacking?

[Orc Chieftain] didn’t attack at that moment and pulled his body back to dodge.

Since the opponent was using a strange trick called [Phantom Sword], it wasn’t strange to assume that there was a hidden trap if she approached defenselessly.

In fact, Americano had a lightning-fast counterattack hidden despite appearing defenseless.

It was an understandable judgment, but,

‘An orc is doing that?’

The corners of her lips rose.

‘What, he was the type to fight while thinking?’

Americano picked up her sword again.

5 seconds out of 10 had passed.

[Slash]

[Slash]

[Slash]

‘Come to think of it…’

She almost forgot about [Plum Blossom Sword Technique].

Feint.

Pulling back as if to slash.

Slashing as if to pull back.

She cut [Orc Chieftain]’s right shoulder.

Shallow.

“Tch.”

[Orc Chieftain] panted roughly.

“Haa…”

Breath.

It became thicker.

She was getting a little tired.

The air filled her lungs.

Each alveolus contracted with Chill, causing a pain as if they were being torn apart.

Was [Orc Chieftain] an opponent worth fighting while enduring this pain? It didn’t seem like it would give her a great sense of accomplishment like a boss monster in the Tower.

This pain would have been bearable if she had used her full power,

But if she had, it would have ended as soon as it started.

Was that better?

She began to feel a sense of futility,

And shook her head.

‘As expected, mobs don’t suit me.’

It’s cold.

That’s when it happened.

[Orc Chieftain] bolted.

What?

Huh?

“What?”

She chased after him.

“Where do you think you’re..!”

[Orc Chieftain] was,

“Run away..!”

Running away.

An orc was running away?!

Well, anyone can run away.

It was just that she was flustered because it was the first time she had experienced someone running away during a battle.

But soon, she could guess [Orc Chieftain]’s intentions.

That look in his eyes.

That look in [Orc Chieftain]’s eyes was definitely not a look of giving up on victory or defeat.

‘Trap.’

An exciting word.

Americano was falling into the orc’s trap.

She was going to use [Leap].

She could catch up with that.

‘I can use it later, right?’

She could die in the trap.

What was the Death Penalty at level 3?

But she had no intention of dying.

Whether it was an orc’s trap or whatever.

“I’ll crush it all.”

She snorted excitedly.

Water flowed.

She entered a valley.

Splash.

It was a deep canyon with high cliffs on both sides, but only a small stream flowed through the gravel field.

She stepped on the gravel.

She chased [Orc Chieftain].

She took out an orc axe.

She used [Enhancement] and threw it.

Drawing a blue trajectory, the orc axe flew towards [Orc Chieftain].

Clang!!

Clang!!

Orc axes thrown in succession.

[Orc Chieftain] spun his body around once and deflected both with his twin axes.

Americano snatched the orc axes that had bounced into the air and threw them again.

What if she missed?

She would take out a new orc axe.

There were many orc axes.

But this time, she added Magical Power and ignited blue flames on the orc axes.

Gumiho. Was it Miho? The orc axes made by Miho were primitive Magic Swords in themselves. The thrown Magic Swords spewed flames and became wheels of fire.

[Orc Chieftain] barely dodged.

Did he know that he shouldn’t deflect them?

Two orc axes overtook [Orc Chieftain] and were embedded in the gravel field.

When [Orc Chieftain] turned to look at Americano,

“Tada.”

New orc axes.

Six of them stuck between her fingers.

She threw all of them.

───She was going to throw them.

That’s when [Orc Chieftain] made a U-turn.

He suddenly turned around and charged at her, wielding his twin axes.

Americano discarded the orc axes.

She grabbed the sword that was floating in the air with her magnetic field again.

She drew [Phantom Sword].

She rotated her body through the gap as [Orc Chieftain] approached, increasing the distance between the sword and [Phantom Sword].

[Phantom Sword]

[Slash]

The horizontally slashing sword strike collided with [Orc Chieftain]’s twin axes.

Flash.

Huh?

‘Look at this?’

[Orc Chieftain]’s axes were imbued with blue flames.

[Phantom Sword] shattered.

The sword shattered.

Americano released the sword from her hand and extended her hand instead.

Crackle.

Crackle.

Awakened Ability.

Lightning gathered in her hand.

As soon as she saw the flames, Americano prepared [Leap] and jumped back.

She used [Leap] to offset the inertia and stopped in place, discharging the lightning gathered in her hand right in front of [Orc Chieftain]’s face.

Bang, the lightning struck.

“Kreo…”

[Orc Chieftain]’s legs lost strength, and he collapsed powerlessly.

As a chieftain, he knelt, but he didn’t completely collapse by supporting himself on the ground with his hands.

It was the perfect posture to gain momentum.

[Orc Chieftain] kicked off the gravel field.

Faster than that,

Bang, the lightning struck.

“OR!!!!C!!!”

“Keup..?!”

His eyes rolled back as he was struck by lightning,

But he threw his body and grabbed Americano’s waist, knocking her over.

“Uselessly resisting.”

[Orc Chieftain] fainted.

She tried to push away his muscular body and pull herself out, but her butt was stuck and she couldn’t get out.

Just as she was about to take out a sword from her Inventory and carve up [Orc Chieftain]’s body.

Rumble.

A vibration rang out.

Shaking the entire gravel field.

From afar.

A sound was heard.

───Swish.

───Swish.

Swish.

The sound of water.

Kwaaaaa.

And it was a tremendous sound of water.

When she cast her gaze beyond the valley, water began to splash there.

A huge muddy water mixed with trees and rocks was heading towards them along the valley.

It was fast.

It was too late.

“Wow, seriously.”

This was too much.

She was swept away.

Rocks.

Trees.

Suffocating.

Eyes.

Nose.

Mouth.

Ears.

Head.

Waist.

Rocks.

A tree hit her head and passed by.

She lost consciousness.

When she regained consciousness.

“Cough cough..!”

Americano woke up on a gravel field where the river was flowing gently.

“Uweeaaack.”

She vomited water.

She spat out dirt.

“Cough cough. Ptooey.”

She barely straightened her dazed and swaying vision and raised her staggering body.

Soaked in water.

Stagger.

Stagger.

Thud.

She fell.

Her vision spun.

Drops of blood fell.

It was a nosebleed.

Was it because she saw blood?

As if her mind was ejected,

She collapsed again.

“Myaang.”

A black cat appears.