Chapter 10

"Speaking of the southern district... this area, right?"

Suppressing my presence and avoiding drawing attention, I wandered through the streets and stepped into the sparsely populated southern district. There are hardly any people around here, except for those heading to the fields on the south side of the city. The groups that seem to be paying attention to me are concentrated on the strong northern side, so I don't stand out much in this area. Still, I can't let my guard down completely.

"Well, a dojo... I wonder how a dojo fits into this Western-style world."

I'm not sure about the specifics, but I don't often hear about dojos in this kind of setting. It might be more like a private school or a more closed master-disciple relationship. But since this isn't the real world, there's no point in worrying too much about it. Anyway, if it's a dojo, it should be a bit larger than the average house. With that in mind, I focused on the larger buildings and found two of them.

"...Across the street from each other, huh? That's a bit much, isn't it?"

It's obvious that they are aware of each other's presence. Moreover, the buildings are identical in shape. It might be hard to tell which is which when you're not used to it. Still, I intended to visit both, so it doesn't matter which one I go to first.

(If I get too involved, it might turn into a territorial dispute. That kind of thing happens everywhere.)

In the real world, the Kugeno family has been influential for a long time, so there are no dojos around. Occasionally, a dojo breaker might show up, but they are welcomed politely. Usually, they are dealt with by the students before I even get involved.

"Let's see what kind of place this dojo is."

In this fantasy world, where swordsmanship and battles with enemies are part of daily life, I wonder what kind of skilled individuals are here. With a bit of anticipation, I stepped into the dojo on the right side. Opening the rare sliding door, I winced at the creaking sound of the floorboards and loudly announced my presence.

"Trust me!"

At that moment, the sounds of footsteps, which had been echoing, stopped abruptly. As I stepped in without hesitation, the atmosphere inside suddenly became tense. It seems the situation is unfolding as expected. Smirking, I moved in the direction of the presence I sensed. Walking down the wooden corridor, I opened the door to a spacious room. Inside, a variety of people, from young boys to adults, were holding wooden swords. Among them, one presence stood out.

"Hmm."

My smile didn't fade as I narrowed my eyes slightly. A calm and composed presence. Short golden hair, a well-built and large physique. Most importantly, his vibrant appearance was a clear sign of rigorous training. While he doesn't pose a threat like an old master, he is undoubtedly a skilled individual. He would be a worthy opponent to satisfy my desire for battle.

"Damn, another dojo breaker!"

"You persistent foreigners! Stop, I'll take you on!"

As I moved towards the man in the back, a young man stepped in front of me, holding a wooden sword. He certainly looks the part. If the students are this well-trained, the master must be even better. However—

Slash technique—soft form, flowing water, no sword.

—Unfortunately, his skill is not much different from our students. I deflected his downward strike with the back of my gauntlet, then used the armor to slide the blade and grabbed his wrist. Pulling him towards me without letting go—

"Out of the way. I'll borrow this."

—Strike technique—flowing.

I swept his feet, causing his body to spin in the air and land on his back. Normally, this technique would drop him headfirst, but I can't kill him. This is a match, after all. That's why I took his wooden sword. With the weapon in my hand, the tension in the room increased. Some seemed relieved that I didn't draw my real sword, but to me, a wooden sword is just as deadly as a real one. It's only slightly safer.

"What!? Damn, stop!"

Students from both sides attacked me. But compared to our senior students, they are quite inexperienced. Without changing my pace, I deflected their attacks with the wooden sword and slightly altered my trajectory to avoid them. I then slammed one of them to the ground and dodged an attack from behind. Grabbing the wooden sword with my left hand, I pulled it slightly to create a moment of resistance, then released it. The man, naturally trying to pull the sword back, lost his balance, and I delivered a back kick to his stomach. He fell to the ground, helpless.

Without waiting to see the result, I called out to the man I had been heading towards.

"Maybe you could teach me a bit, Mr. Master. Or is this part of the training?"

"I knew you didn't intend to kill. But this isn't really educational, is it?"

Galeos, the man called, sighed and slowly raised his wooden sword. The lack of openings in his stance made me smile. It's been a while since I've faced a worthy opponent. Here—

"I'll enjoy this!"

I raised my wooden sword and charged at Galeos. At that moment, Galeos' eyes widened slightly. It seems my movement was more than he expected, but I have no intention of holding back.

"Here it comes!"

"Ugh!?"

After repeated training with the old master, I don't know the meaning of holding back against a new opponent. I swung a diagonal strike. However, Galeos quickly raised his sword to block my attack. If he had been hit, it would have been anticlimactic. From the feel of the impact, his strength is superior. Probably due to the level difference. That's why I didn't persist in a blade lock and immediately reversed my sword for an upward strike. But his reaction speed is impressive, and he blocked it with a cross guard.

(Is this the difference in stats?)

This time, he didn't hesitate and deflected my attack. While my sword wasn't knocked out of my hand, the impact was strong due to the difference in strength. Given that he can react to my attacks, a straightforward approach would be disadvantageous. I took a few steps back, but he didn't intend to let me off. He closed the distance and attacked.

"Oooh!"

"!"

The powerful sword swung down. The speed of the strike was comparable to the old master's. I couldn't block it; I would be crushed.

Slash technique—soft form, flowing water.

Therefore, I deflected the strike. There are several variations of this technique, but given his strength, only the basic form would work. If our strength had been more evenly matched, I could have countered and finished him off. The wooden sword, after striking the ground, immediately transitioned into a raised strike. But I had no intention of engaging it directly and took a half-step back to avoid the attack.

"Unbelievable."

"Huh?"

Instead of following up, Galeos took a step back and maintained his distance. He seemed to be on guard. I have a few techniques up my sleeve, so his choice isn't wrong—

"Why don't you use your skills? Are you holding back?"

"Why would I? I'm not holding back."

Simply put, my stats are weak, and I don't have many skills to use. I can consciously use only "Enhancement Magic" and "Deprivation Sword." "Enhancement Magic" only increases the weapon's power, not my strength, so it's almost useless in a wooden sword match.

"I can only do this much."

With a wry smile, I activated "Deprivation Sword." There's no real need to use it since my HP isn't low, but—

But when he saw the wooden sword enveloped in a black mist, Galeos reacted unexpectedly.

"That...!"

"Whoa!?"

Slash technique—soft form, flowing water.

I deflected his sudden strike and countered. Galeos half-turned to dodge, but my strike grazed his shoulder, and the effect of "Deprivation Sword" ended. However, Galeos' intensity increased even more.

"So, it's "Deprivation Sword"! Where and from whom did you learn this?"

"What are you talking about?—Wait."

I dodged a horizontal strike by crouching and aimed a thrust at his lungs from below. My left hand was on the pommel, ready to use "Piercing," but unfortunately, Galeos blocked the thrust with his extended elbow. Since my left hand deflected his strike, his right hand, which held the sword, must be swinging at me. Without even glancing at it, I deflected it with my left gauntlet and immediately delivered a low strike with my wooden sword. The counter strike grazed his abdomen—shallowly. He had taken a quick step back at the last moment.

"No... I saw a flash of light. Is it an evasion skill?"

"...You're not going to answer, are you?"

"Well, what do you plan to do?"

It seems he has some misconceptions, but that makes it more interesting. As I repositioned my sword and asked, Galeos declared with a determined expression.

"Then, I'll force it out of you! "Training Life Sword"!"

"—!"

With that declaration, the wooden sword in Galeos' hand was enveloped in a powerful golden glow. This is bad. That strike is unblockable. I can't even deflect it. That glowing strike is probably on par with the old master's hard form—

—Then.

"If you had used it immediately, you would have won—already, I've stolen your breath."

Footwork—secret technique—■■·■■.

—Before his strike could be released, my wooden sword was already at his throat.

The second volume of Magi Catechnica, to be released on September 19th! Please check for updates on my activity reports and Twitter.

■Avatar Name: Quon

■Gender: Male

■Race: Human

■Level: 8

■Status (Remaining Status Points: 0)

STR: 14

VIT: 12

INT: 14

MND: 12

AGI: 11

DEX: 11

■Skills

Weapon Skill: "Sword: Lv.8"

Magic Skill: "Enhancement Magic: Lv.5"

Set Skill: "Dead Point Strike: Lv.7"

"HP Auto Recovery: Lv.2"

"MP Auto Recovery: Lv.3"

"Deprivation Sword: Lv.3"

"Identification: Lv.5"

"Mining: Lv.1"

Sub Skill: None

■Current SP: 12