Chapter 20

《The Skill Level of the Sword of Life has increased.》

"Hmm, not much of a change, really."

While casually kicking away the Stepwolves that attacked, I walked along the road leading to the western village. Since I was walking along the road, not many monsters appeared here. I considered veering off the road, but getting lost would be counterproductive. I sighed lightly as I walked along the well-trodden dirt path.

"The levels are hard to increase, it seems. Did Hi-ma train in the eastern dungeon?"

His level was definitely 17. It wouldn't be strange if it had risen to 18 by now. However, I don't think I can catch up to that level by defeating the enemies around here. I don't know how many enemies appear in the dungeon, but if my growth stagnates, I might as well go there. Although, a place with too many people would be a bit troublesome.

(But, how far is the western village, anyway?)

In this game world, the concept of distance is quite realistic. In other words, the distance between towns is quite far, and it takes a considerable amount of time to walk. Apparently, there are carriages available along the road, and players who have defeated bosses can move quickly. However, using a stone monument to move would be more efficient.

In any case, moving on foot is a time-consuming task. But, at first, there's no choice but to do so, so it can't be helped.

(However, considering that the western village is said to have something, it's strange that I haven't seen other players...)

If it's as famous as the rumors suggest, I should have seen more of the others. Perhaps it has already been thoroughly explored, or there might be another reason. As I pondered this, I suddenly heard a high-pitched metallic sound.

There's no mistaking it; this is the sound of metal clashing. It seems there's a battle ahead. However, there shouldn't be any monsters around here that wear metal.

"Is it a monster I haven't seen before? If so, I'll take a look."

I smiled and started running. Along with the metallic sound, I could hear shouts and screams. However, the number of people seemed unusually high. A party can have up to six members, but I could hear more than that. As I frowned and continued down the road, I saw ten players. The strange thing was that they were divided into six and four, engaged in battle.

What are they doing? I cast "Identification" on the nearest player.

■Gara

Species: Beastman, Player Killer

Level: 14

Status: Normal

Attribute: Earth

Battle Position: Ground

"Player Killer? Players who attack other players, huh?"

I tilted my head at the displayed information. I don't know what the purpose is, but it's probably something like a bounty hunter. I cast "Identification" on the players being attacked, but they didn't have the "Player Killer" label. So, the four over there must have been attacked by these Player Killers. As I nodded and ran closer, one of the Player Killers noticed me and shouted.

"Damn, reinforcements! I'll hold them off, so you four take care of them quickly!"

"Haha, it's a feeding frenzy!"

Indeed, they seem eager. I smiled and readied my sword in a side grip. I lowered my center of gravity slightly and gathered strength in my legs.

Footwork — Shukuchi.

Then, without moving my torso or upper body, I glided towards the opponent. This footwork, which looks like a slide from the side, makes it seem as if the opponent suddenly appears in front of you when viewed from the front. For an inexperienced person, it's difficult to judge this movement. I swung my blade horizontally at the man who was frozen in surprise.

"Gah!?"

The blade slipped precisely into the gap between his armor and helmet, cutting off his head. Without paying attention to the head that fell, I targeted the next opponent. The man with two daggers was greatly startled by the sight of Gara collapsing.

"What!?! No, no way!?"

"—Your reaction is slow."

Footwork — Retsushin.

I immediately accelerated and charged at the man with the daggers. The distance was about seven meters, which I could cover in less than a second. However, he showed a decent reaction and activated a skill while panicking.

"Step!"

At that moment, the man's body leaped backward. My horizontal swing narrowly missed him, slicing the air. The distance widened again, but it was meaningless. In two more steps, I closed the gap.

"Parry!"

As I was about to swing my sword, his daggers glowed blue. It was a skill to deflect attacks. Not a bad judgment, but not against me.

Sword Technique — Rigid Form: Bamboo Split.

My sword was slammed into his weapon, which was trying to deflect my attack. Bamboo Split is a rigid sword technique developed to counter flowing water, designed to crush the deflecting motion. It requires a precise strike to split bamboo in half, but it's a nightmare for those who excel at deflecting. Naturally, my single strike was not something he could handle with one hand. The blade broke through his dagger and ripped open his abdomen.

"Gah!? You just used a skill—"

"Your reaction wasn't bad, but I'll correct my earlier words—see you."

Even though it was skill-dependent, his ability to activate a skill in response to my strike was a good reaction. I praised him with a few words and cut off his head. The Player Killer collapsed like the previous one. The remaining four Player Killers finally recognized me as a threat.

"Damn, attack him!"

"Ah, ah! Fireball!"

A Player Killer in a robe, standing at the back, cast a basketball-sized fireball from his staff. This was the first time I had faced a magical attack, but it was a good opportunity.

"—Sword of Demon Slaying"

With the skill activated, my sword glowed blue. I cleaved the incoming fireball head-on. With a light sensation, the fireball split in two and vanished. I had never had a chance to use this skill before, but now I understood its effect. I nodded in satisfaction and then heard a voice from the side.

"Ah, you... I think you're the teacher of the Sword Maiden..."

"I'm Kuon. Sorry for intruding from the side."

"No, no. Thank you."

The one who spoke was one of the four players who had been attacked. A human player with blonde hair, holding an empty potion bottle, bowed to me. This group of four was all female, a rare combination. They were probably friends. Despite being outnumbered, they had good teamwork. I nodded at the blonde, who seemed to be the leader, and pointed at the Player Killers.

"Hmm. I'll take care of the mage. Can you handle the others?"

"Yes! Please do!"

I smiled at the woman who bowed and approached the robed mage. The others didn't seem to want to fight me and were backing away. The targeted mage faced me with a tense expression. I appreciated his resolve to not run. As I slowly approached, he seemed to have made up his mind and pointed his staff at me. At the same time, a smaller fireball converged at the tip of his staff.

"Fire Arrow!"

"Sword of Demon Slaying"

The spell cast by the man was a flame-shaped arrow, faster than the previous fireball. However, it was still within my range to intercept. I easily cleaved the incoming flame arrow. The sensation was light, but being able to handle magic was quite convenient.

"Flame Wall!"

As I tried to close the distance again, the man cast a wall of fire between us. It would be effective if it appeared in front of a running opponent, but it seemed to have low physical defense. If he had seen what I had been doing, he would know it wouldn't be effective. So, the purpose was probably to buy time—though it wouldn't change what I had to do.

"Sword of Demon Slaying"

I activated the skill and struck the wall of fire. It split like tofu and dissipated. It seems the Sword of Demon Slaying is effective against set magic. It could also be used to break through defensive magic. I was satisfied with this and saw the man preparing a new spell.

"Let's see how you handle this, Flame Blast!"

As the man thrust his staff forward, flames converged around it. In the next moment, it exploded towards me with a shockwave. It was a spell with a wide area of effect, but—

"Sword of Demon Slaying!"

I reacted instantly and swung my sword. The moment my blade touched the approaching explosion, it split in two and passed by my sides. This required a quick reaction. I should be careful with area-of-effect spells. The flames that scorched my sides quickly dissipated, and the man stood there, stunned.

"What... what..."

His options were exhausted. It would be cruel to prolong this. I judged and silently approached the man, piercing his heart with my blade. Whether the "Vital Point Strike" skill was effective or not, piercing the heart would drain his HP. The mage collapsed helplessly—

《The Skill Level of Vital Point Strike has increased.》

《The Skill Level of Sword of Demon Slaying has increased.》

—The announcements reached my ears. It seems the four female players had also successfully defeated the Player Killers. I sheathed my sword and turned to face them.

■Avatar Name: Kuon

■Gender: Male

■Race: Human

■Level: 11

■Status (Remaining Status Points: 0)

STR: 16

VIT: 13

INT: 16

MND: 13

AGI: 11

DEX: 11

■Skills

Weapon Skills: Sword: Lv.11

Magic Skills: Enhancement Magic: Lv.8

Set Skills: Vital Point Strike: Lv.10

HP Auto Recovery: Lv.4

MP Auto Recovery: Lv.3

Plundering Sword: Lv.6

Identification: Lv.8

Sword of Life: Lv.7

Sword of Demon Slaying: Lv.2

Sub Skills: Mining: Lv.1

■Current SP: 8