Sword Master With One Strike Kill - Chapter 12

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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One-Strike Kill Swordmaster Episode 12

Episode 12. Revelation and Trial (3)

Adelia witnessed it clearly.

The entire process of that man passing through the ancient god’s trial.

Kwaaaaaa-!

The moment he shattered the crystal, ominous energy poured out like a tidal wave.

A force so powerful it shook the entire dungeon.

As it condensed, it began to press down on the man’s entire body.

“…!”

Adelia’s eyes widened in shock. Alarm bells began ringing in her head.

Dangerous.

A trial this powerful would obviously bring death even to most strong warriors.

However….

─That’s enough. Such crude illusions won’t work on me.

…Contrary to her concerns, the man passed through the trial as if it were nothing.

Whoooosh-!

As soon as the man finished speaking, the ominous aura instantly dissipated.

‘What?’

Adelia, who had been watching from a step away, fell into great shock.

‘Th-that’s impossible….’

The trial’s pressure had been threatening enough to freeze even Adelia.

Yet the man had overcome this trial far too easily.

“….”

Throughout it all, his expression remained perfectly calm.

So much so that it was hard to believe he was someone who had just passed through such a terrifying trial.

Eventually, the man who had been blankly staring up at the dungeon ceiling opened his mouth.

“My business here is finished. Let’s head outside now.”

Step, step-.

The man casually retraced his steps back the way he came.

Watching his retreating figure, Adelia couldn’t hide her bewilderment.

‘Just who is that person…?’

Adelia’s pupils began to shake.

Swordmaster.

A seeker who moves according to the Elders’ will, and a genius who has grasped the ultimate essence of the sword.

She knew they were beings of a completely different caliber, but she had never imagined they possessed such mysteriously powerful abilities.

…Or perhaps this particular individual was uniquely special.

Pause-.

At that very moment, the man walking ahead stopped in his tracks.

He turned around and spoke in a dry voice.

“What are you doing, not following?”

“I-I’m coming right now…!”

Snapping back to her senses, Adelia hurriedly followed behind the man.

* * *

Step-.

Having finished all our business, we walked out of the abandoned factory.

In the pitch-black night, a cool breeze began to blow.

I had never once thought the air in Dungarrd, the Dark City was good, but after being in that stuffy underground space, coming outside made my chest feel refreshingly open.

After briefly observing Adelia’s expression, I spoke up.

“Does it bother you?”

“…Pardon?”

Adelia, who had been looking at the abandoned factory with a complicated expression, quickly raised her head.

Having heard the factory’s dark secrets from me, she hadn’t been able to shake off her uncomfortable feelings since earlier.

She was probably sympathizing with the children and spirits who had been sacrificed in the experiments.

As expected of a character with good alignment, she was quite concerned about such matters.

“If it truly bothers you that much, prepare a memorial service.”

Adelia hesitated for a moment.

“Would that be alright? It will take some time….”

“It’s fine.”

“….”

“Our next schedule isn’t that urgent anyway.”

Memorial service.

A ritual to comfort the souls of the dead.

This was a skill that only a chosen few characters, like those from sacred families, could perform.

‘The spirits of the victims are still trapped inside the factory.’

Of course, having passed the trial, nothing particular would happen if we left this place as is, but….

I know.

I know that Adelia, with her naturally good heart, wouldn’t be able to let go of her attachment to this abandoned factory for days and nights.

Rather than having her distracted by the past, it would be better to quickly deal with it and move on.

That way Adelia could focus on the present too.

‘More importantly….’

…There was something I wanted to confirm, even if it meant spending precious time on it.

“Thank you for your consideration.”

Just then, Adelia bowed deeply and expressed her gratitude to me.

She immediately began preparing a memorial service to honor the factory’s victims.

Woong, woooong-.

Whoosh-!

Blue-green flames rising from Adelia’s body transferred to the factory. The sacred aura soon began to consume everything before our eyes.

Murmur murmur-.

Adelia closed her eyes and began praying, whispering something under her breath.

Hazy smoke rose above the brilliantly burning abandoned factory. The shimmering air ascending toward the high night sky looked like the souls of the victims scattering.

…No, it wasn’t just that the souls ‘looked like’ they were scattering.

[Thank you.]

[Thank you.]

[Thank you.]

The widely spread smoke began to take the forms of children, one by one.

The ash-colored boys and girls floating through the night sky looked down at us one by one and gave us warm smiles.

The very next moment, a new notification began to appear before my eyes.

Ding-!

〔You have comforted the vengeful spirits trapped in the abandoned factory.〕

〔The spirits express their gratitude to you and your companion.〕

Whoosh, whoooosh-!

All around was covered in blue-green flames.

The factory where the most horrific experiments in Dawnguard had once been conducted began to slowly drive away the darkness of oblivion.

It was a sight I had never seen once in 200 playthroughs.

That made sense, since by the time ordinary players arrived at Dungarrd, the Dark City, all the members of the Noble Families who could perform “Soul Pacification” had already been massacred.

To make matters worse, the only survivor, Adelia von Goldhart, had long ago been excommunicated from her family and lost her sacred power.

That’s why I had never once seen soul pacification performed in Dawnguard’s Hidden Dungeon II.

I felt sorry for the children who had been unjustly sacrificed, but there was no way to comfort them.

[…Thank you so much for not abandoning us and comforting us.]

But now it was different.

The world line had changed, and the predetermined ominous future would gradually begin to change.

‘I’ve fallen into the world inside the game.’

The open-world dark fantasy RPG, Lost Elder.

I knew this game very well.

I had memorized dungeon strategies, monster patterns, and even the background stories of important NPCs.

‘But I must not blindly trust all the information I know.’

This world had already undergone tremendous changes.

The player who should have died by Barbarian the Slayer of Men was walking around Dungarrd, the Dark City, alive and well with a 12-star mythic skill.

With help from Lea de Karayan, an NPC who should never have been encountered at this point, and under the protection of Adelia von Goldhart.

‘No one knows what butterfly effect my actions might cause.’

It was obvious.

As I’d said ad nauseam, this was something I had never experienced once in 200 playthroughs.

Whoooosh, whoosh-!

Perhaps the abandoned factory blazing before my eyes could also be considered part of that anomaly.

‘Of course…’

…anomalies didn’t always bring only negative results, like now.

I read through the notification window that appeared before my eyes with a faint smile.

Ding-!

〔’Master of Seconds and Instants’ expresses gratitude for your good deed.〕

〔The reward has been enhanced.〕

〔Authority Skill [Ritardando True] has been unlocked.〕

I had received a special reward.

The ‘True form’ of [Ritardando] that no one had obtained in 200 playthroughs had come into my hands.

…That wasn’t all I had gained.

Resolution.

Watching the souls laughing cheerfully and flying freely through the night sky, a certain resolution suddenly took root in my heart.

‘I’ll change everything with my own hands.’

An anomaly had occurred in the world I had observed for 200 playthroughs.

As the subject of that anomaly, I would correct everything properly.

So this world wouldn’t face that damn bad ending.

And thus finally… reach the true ending that no one had seen in the past 12 years.

* * *

I had finished everything that could be done in Dungarrd, the Dark City, at this point.

So now it was time to head to the next destination.

To a place where I could accomplish more and obtain more.

“Adelia.”

On the path leading out of Dungarrd, the Dark City. I asked a question to Adelia walking alongside me.

“My next destination is Bertas, the Free City.”

“…”

“It will be a long and tedious journey. Do you still plan to follow me?”

Adelia nodded without a moment’s hesitation.

“Yes. As I said before, I can do anything as long as I can gain enlightenment.”

Good.

That was exactly the answer I wanted.

Having extended my contract with the bus driver, I smiled inwardly.

It might be my imagination, but my steps felt much lighter.

‘Well, that aside…’

A certain thought suddenly crossed my mind.

‘…The Undead.’

My originally predetermined future.

As a player, I was destined to be killed by Barbarian the Slayer of Men, then reborn as an undead by the Necromancer.

In other words, that’s what would have happened if I hadn’t had the Soul of the Sword Master.

‘But I survived the Underworld Arena.’

Then now that the future had changed, what action would the Necromancer take?

Would they just do nothing and leave the Corpse Pit?

Or would they create another undead?

‘If someone completely unexpected were to be reborn as an undead…’

…That would be a big problem in its own way. An undead’s very existence poses a threat to this world.

The destruction of life and death causes great harm to the balance of this world.

If an undead were born, the apocalypse would be accelerated even more. This was also why I had gritted my teeth and tried to survive against Barbarian the Slayer of Men.

‘I should prepare just in case.’

Fortunately, Bertas, the Free City, had hidden abilities that could counter the undead.

I needed to obtain that quickly. And prepare for any possible danger.

To survive in this damn world, I had to eliminate these minor risk factors one by one.

‘Most importantly…’

I might someday encounter that ‘insane Sword Master.’

I absolutely had to obtain the ability hidden in Bertas.

* * *

“Hmm, hm hm!”

Hop, hop-!

The Hooded Girl was bouncing around the dark space, humming cheerfully.

All around were abandoned corpses, bones, and various waste materials piled up like mountains.

“Hm?”

Stop-.

That’s when it happened.

The Girl stopped walking. Her face, which had worn a bright smile, instantly became expressionless.

“Fate has… changed…?”

Tsk-.

Having instantly lost interest, The Girl clicked her tongue and then kicked an innocent skull with a thud.

Bang-! Clatter clatter-.

The skull that had flown vigorously through the air hit a pile of corpses. The precariously stacked tower came tumbling down.

“…Huh?”

At that moment, one fresh ingredient revealed itself among the collapsed pile of corpses.

Seeing this, the girl’s eyes began to gleam once again.

“Hmm… Well, there’s still at least one useful toy left.”

The girl hopped over toward the corpse. Soon she poked at the body a few times and grinned wickedly.

“Hey, what’s your name?”

Grooooan, groooooan-!

New life began to sprout from the cleanly severed cross-section of the neck. Muscles, bones, and flesh writhed as they began forming a new ‘head’.

How much more time had passed? Finally, the body that had regained its lost head slowly opened its mouth.

“Barba…”

His completely parched voice was cracked and raspy.

“…Human Butcher, Barba.”

The girl asked once more.

“What do you want to do?”

Barba’s eyes flashed. His crimson-stained eyes burned with sinister hostility. From the moment he gained new life, there was only one thing he desired.

“Revenge.”

* * *

Ding-!

〔Hidden Message: Twisted causality has given birth to ‘The Undying Barba’.〕

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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