Chapter 8

The oak, with its tough skin and powerful muscles, is a monster that excels in both offensive and defensive capabilities.

On the other hand, its movements are relatively sluggish, and its intelligence is low, so if you can maneuver well, it’s not such a formidable opponent.

However, that’s only if the number of them is small.

“Whoa, there are more than twenty of them!?”

Moreover, the one in the back… could it be, a King Oak…!?

Unlike the usual oaks with their reddish-brown skin, a figure with lead-gray skin was confirmed.

The King Oak is a higher-level variant of the oak.

It has a much larger body than regular oaks, and its power is in a different league.

It leads oaks to form a pack and sometimes attacks villages and towns, so when it appears, a large-scale hunting party is immediately formed.

“Grrrrrrrrr!!”

As soon as the King Oak roared, the oaks rushed over en masse.

The ground shook around them.

“Eeeek! S-Sir Swordsman… please help me!”

A passenger clung to the male *Gladiator*.

The man shook her off.

“N-No way! I can’t fight a King Oak leading that many oaks!”

He jumped off the carriage and fled, leaving the other passengers behind.

“I’m out too! I won’t risk my life for strangers!”

A female *Dual Wielder* also abandoned them and left.

“Hmm. Quite a heartless bunch.”

I jumped off the carriage.

I walked towards the approaching group of oaks.

“Hey, sir! A *Jobless* customer can’t handle this!”

Ignoring the driver’s voice, I kicked off the ground.

The distance to the leading oak closed in an instant.

“Buh!?!”

My sword split the oak’s skull, and its massive body collapsed.

“What!? What was that speed…!?”

“Could it be… the *Dash* skill!?”

Impressive. To see through it with just one glance.

Though it’s not the *Dash* skill, but a reproduction of it, *Dash*.

The sudden loss of one of their own threw the oaks into confusion.

But they quickly overcame it with anger, roaring and charging at me.

I was quickly swallowed up.

The oaks swung their primitive axes and clubs, attacking me.

But none of their attacks reached me.

“He’s… dancing?”

“It’s true! That boy is dodging their attacks while dancing!?”

“No, it’s more than that! Look closely! The oaks are falling one after another…!”

Like a butterfly flitting about, I weaved through the gaps, evading all attacks.

At the same time, I swung my sword, cutting down the oaks.

“That’s *Blade Dance*… It’s the *Blade Dance*! The defensive and offensive skill that only *Blade Maidens* of the *Top Rank* can use…! But why can he, a man, use it…?”

The old driver knows a lot.

Of course, this is not a skill but a *Blade Dance* I learned on my own.

Before I knew it, all the oaks were wiped out.

No, some were still barely alive and trying to attack me from behind.

“Buh…”

Without turning around, I swung my sword and finished them off.

“Even the *Presence Detection* skill…!?”

Now, only that one remains.

“Grrrrrrrrr!!”

He’s quite angry about losing all his subordinates.

He approached with a massive club in hand.

As soon as we were close, he raised the club high and brought it down with a powerful strike.

“Watch out!?”

The ground was gouged out with a loud noise, and dirt and rocks flew up.

“Oaaaaaaaah!”

The King Oak let out a victorious roar, thinking he had me.

“Unfortunately, such a wide swing won’t hit me.”

“Ahh!?”

I had leaped behind the King Oak, even above its head.

I raised my sword as high as I could.

“A decisive blow should be delivered in a situation as certain as this.”

I swung my sword down with all my might onto the King Oak’s skull.

The blade shattered the skull and reached the brain.

The massive body fell with a thud.

The King Oak was dead.

“““Ohhhhhhhhhhhh!!”””

The passengers, who had forgotten to run and watched my battle, erupted in cheers.

“Amazing! He took down a King Oak and all those oaks by himself!”

“What a boy!”

“Haha, calling himself *Jobless*—what a liar!”

It’s not a lie, but whatever.

The carriage started moving again towards the destination.

Fortunately, there were no casualties or injuries.

However, the two who were supposed to be heading to the “City of Swords” were nowhere to be seen.

They had fled before I defeated the oaks.

“No, a swordsman who runs away at that level won’t make it in that city.”

The driver said firmly.

“They’re probably the type who are satisfied with just reaching *Advanced Rank*. In that city, *Advanced Rank* is just the starting point. What matters is how you aim higher from there. You must be willing to become even stronger, even if it means dying. Without that spirit, you can’t progress further.”

Quite harsh, but true.

After that, we weren’t attacked by any more monsters, and after passing through several towns and villages, we finally saw a massive wall in the distance.

“That’s the ‘City of Swords’?”