Sword Master With One Strike Kill - Chapter 146

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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 146

 

Episode 146. Trial of Tarosk (4)

 

* * *

 

‘Simpler than I thought.’

 

Thud, thud-.

 

Pean walked out of the first room with leisurely steps, thinking to himself.

 

The structure of the trial he had grasped was simple.

 

Each time they entered a room, specific restrictions were imposed, and they had to face enemies in that state.

 

[1. Among those who chose the right path, seal the ‘mana’ of the ‘designated person’ for 3 hours.]

 

[2. Among those who chose the left path, seal the ‘mana’ of ‘one random person’ for 3 hours.]

 

The restriction of the first room they had just passed was ‘mana sealing’.

 

The party had sealed the mana of Taragon, a 2nd-tier mage, and positioned him in the rear for protection.

 

The level of enemies wasn’t very high. Just skeleton knights and soldiers wearing rotting armor.

 

Pean didn’t even need to step forward.

 

Selena Servich’s magic alone was sufficient to handle them.

 

‘By the way…’

 

Swoosh-.

 

Pean turned his head toward Natalia.

 

Though he couldn’t see directly with his eyes, everything he sensed from her had changed dramatically.

 

The spacing of her steps. The depth of her breathing. Even the rhythm of her heartbeat.

 

It was as if she had become a completely different person.

 

─…Since this is a combat situation, I will temporarily release the restraints.

 

That’s right.

 

Natalia had temporarily released her restraints for a trial that would be difficult to handle with a child’s body.

 

Thanks to that, her combat power had increased several times over, and they were able to break through the first room much more easily.

 

“…?”

 

Pause-.

 

Right at that moment.

 

Pean felt a strange sensation as if part of his super-senses were being sharply cut away.

 

The abnormal phenomenon he had first felt in the Uncharted Wilderness a few days ago.

 

It was a signal that Gaon had activated his super-senses.

 

‘Ah.’

 

A faint smile spread across Pean’s lips.

 

‘So he’s planning to break through the trial’s restrictions with super-senses.’

 

He was extremely curious.

 

Unlike himself, who had adapted to super-senses over hundreds of years…

 

Would Gaon truly be able to properly utilize that ability in actual combat?

 

* * *

 

Ding, ding, ding-!

 

Several messages appeared before my eyes, but I ignored them for now.

 

I would use this ‘ability’ later anyway.

 

Right now, I had to focus solely on surviving the first phase of the 「Quiet Ball」.

 

“…”

 

Of course, there was a reason why I was dancing with a mannequin.

 

Our group consisted of five people in total.

 

In other words, an odd number.

 

So one person would inevitably be without a partner, and someone had to take on that isolated role.

 

‘Of course, it wouldn’t have mattered if I chose any of Adelia, Biyolf, Markus Koshate, or Isaac Berillov…’

 

But was there really a need for that?

 

When there was someone familiar with this trial.

 

The patterns and traps of the Quiet Ball, and even unexpected variables. I understood all of this.

 

‘Then naturally, I should take on the role that requires improvisation.’

 

Quickly finding the remaining mannequin, taking its hand, and responding flexibly according to the situation.

 

There was no reason to burden others with such responsibility.

 

But was it okay to take on such a role even though I had lost my hearing?

 

Of course.

 

Though my ears were closed, I could still ‘hear’ all the sounds of the world.

 

No.

 

Even the expression ‘hearing’ was inaccurate to begin with.

 

I was now perceiving the world in a much more fundamental and primitive way.

 

Boom─! Boom boom─!

 

Vibrations in the air seeped through my skin. The minute impacts of footsteps on the floor traveled up through my bones.

 

I could even detect my companions’ heartbeats as subtle changes in pressure spreading through the atmosphere.

 

Even my own exhaled breath felt like a fierce gust of wind.

 

‘Wow…’

 

This was the world of super-senses.

 

The ability that Pean had to adapt to for hundreds of years.

 

‘…This really is an absurd power.’

 

Just looking at the enhanced ‘vision’ alone.

 

Everything in the world appeared unbelievably clear.

 

Dust floating in the air. The stitching on the dresses worn by the mannequins. Even every single joint movement.

 

Every moment, everything was as detailed as looking through a microscope.

 

The sense of touch was the same.

 

The rough, cold texture of marble transmitted through my soles was vividly chilling.

 

Even the sensation of my collar brushing against my neck felt excessively sharp and clear.

 

What about smell?

 

The smell of thousand-year-old dust, the musty stench rising from rotted fabric, and the smell of blood seeping through the gaps…

 

‘Ugh!’

 

…However, that was the problem.

 

While enhanced senses compensating for lost hearing was definitely an advantage.

 

The fact that all senses had become extremely sensitive also meant receiving all stimuli excessively.

 

Even at this moment, my head was throbbing.

 

My brain was overloading from the endless flood of information.

 

─I’m just worried whether you’ll be able to properly use the ‘senses’ that took even me hundreds of years to adapt to.

 

I could understand why Pean had said such things.

 

The task of quickly selecting only what was truly necessary from the flood of information.

 

That was the core of handling super-senses, and also the most difficult part.

 

If you fail to do this properly?

 

The user had to pay a harsh price accordingly.

 

〔Consumption Rate: @̴̨̨͎̺̬͎̭̠̞̽͆̓̀̒͘͝#̷̨̨͖͎̩̓̓͛̽̓͌̀̕͝!̸̢̨̖͍͓̳̻̎̌̊$̷̘̘̱̝͈̈̕%̷̮͛͒̽̈́͊̀͝͠ Mental Power per second〕

 

Even ‘MAX’ mental power couldn’t completely block the pain created by the waves of sensation.

 

A fact that could be understood just by looking at the consumption rate and skill description tangled with errors.

 

━━━━━━━━━━━━

 

No matter how strong one’s mental power may be, they cannot escape from its aftermath.

 

━━━━━━━━━━━━

 

Right.

 

No matter how maxed out the mental power stat was, it couldn’t serve as a breakwater.

 

This authority wasn’t designed to work that way from the beginning.

 

The system itself was created to force inevitable pain upon the user.

 

‘But…’

 

Gritting-!

 

Right now, I had to endure such pain. To break through this trial, I needed the power of super senses.

 

‘…Let’s focus.’

 

A sensation I had already experienced once at Danhwa’s Anvil.

 

Recalling the pain I felt then, I suppressed the scattered stimuli one by one.

 

The rhythm transmitted through my toes. The waves of music carried through the air. The minute tremors created by the skeleton musicians’ bones colliding.

 

I detected all of those things.

 

Snap-.

 

Right then, the central waveform that had been vibrating through the air suddenly cut off.

 

At the same time, the footsteps of four people I had been sensing from somewhere also froze identically.

 

Although the remaining mannequins were still dancing…

 

Smack-!

 

…I immediately shook off the hand of the one holding mine and stood still in a daze.

 

─…

 

─…

 

─…

 

A moment of silence.

 

And again, vibrations began to spread through the space.

 

…The music had resumed.

 

Haa-.

 

I let out the breath I had been holding.

 

‘I did it…’

 

I had accurately broken through the first stage’s gimmick with super senses.

 

Even without hearing, I had perfectly detected the skeleton orchestra’s performance.

 

Now there was only one thing left.

 

I just needed to endure this pain to the end until the first phase ended, while moving to the rhythm of the ball.

 

‘It won’t be difficult.’

 

Ding-!

 

〔Passive Skill 【Low-Mid Grade Pain Resistance】 is enhanced to 【Mid Grade Pain Resistance】.〕

 

…Well, enduring pain was something far too familiar to me.

 

“──!”

 

Right then it happened.

 

I could see Biyolf shouting something between the mannequins.

 

Although my hearing didn’t reach, I could roughly grasp the meaning by reading his lip movements with my enhanced vision.

 

Lord Gaon!

 

“───! ──! ───!”

 

Why are you going along with these guys’ childish games!

 

I’ll just blow them all away with magic! Just give me permission!

 

…That’s what he seemed to be saying.

 

‘No, Biyolf.’

 

Did you already forget that I can’t hear?

 

‘It’s fortunate I have super senses, but otherwise how were you planning to communicate?’

 

Well, I understand though.

 

Considering that chihuahua-like personality, he’s actually endured quite long.

 

And actually, Biyolf’s words weren’t wrong either.

 

The option of fighting the enemies in this situation certainly existed.

 

‘Actually, with this group composition… we have enough ability to sweep away steel mannequins.’

 

But the real problem was something else.

 

Moving when the music stops results in instant death. Just like how the mannequin’s head shattered and exploded earlier.

 

So what if.

 

In a situation where combat starts after launching a preemptive strike, the music suddenly cuts off?

 

The mannequins would pour out attacks relentlessly, while we’d have to stand still like statues.

 

The result is obvious.

 

A truly one-sided massacre would unfold.

 

‘Of course, Biyolf might blow away all the mannequins with one magic spell, but…’

 

That also had many variables.

 

I didn’t like such uncertainty from the start. Options with remaining risk factors weren’t even under consideration.

 

Therefore, I had to pursue a standard strategy by breaking through the gimmick whenever possible.

 

‘Most importantly…’

 

There was a separate, most important reason.

 

Unlike the Corpse Exhibition where I blatantly ignored Camillo von Taribas’s intentions, the situation was different. In Rashutku Imperial Palace, following Tarosk’s intentions was much more advantageous.

 

That way, when I faced him later in the audience chamber, the conversation would flow smoothly.

 

To complete the big picture I had drawn, clearing all stages in the standard way was the wise choice for now.

 

Having organized my thoughts to that point, I opened my mouth toward Biyolf.

 

─Wait quietly for my instructions. Don’t make any more noise.

 

─Yes! I understand… Huh? Wait a minute!

 

Biyolf shouted.

 

─No, how did you hear what I said again? You clearly said your hearing would be sealed for 3 hours…

 

[Quiet! Please be quiet! Isn’t a song being performed! This is the final warning!]

 

The “Announcer’s” voice suddenly rang out, breaking through the restrictions.

 

Biyolf clicked his tongue with a “tch” and turned his head away sharply.

 

‘No…’

 

Snicker-.

 

I let out a hollow laugh from disbelief.

 

‘…That guy was chattering away knowing full well that I couldn’t hear?’

 

What the hell is he doing, really.

 

I’d encountered him multiple times in the game, but his personality was absurd every time I saw it.

 

Well.

 

He’s still a 212-year-old brat who’s wet behind the ears.

 

I should understand, I guess.

 

‘That aside….’

 

His chihuahua-like personality seems to have gotten even stronger in this playthrough.

 

‘Don’t tell me it’s because of me.’

 

Is he growling more because he’s in front of a Sword Master?

 

Like a chihuahua growling in front of its owner?

 

‘…Ah, I don’t know.’

 

I stopped thinking about useless things.

 

Let me focus on finishing the first phase for now.

 

* * *

 

“Phew.”

 

The first phase ended safely, and the second phase began.

 

And finally….

 

Ding-!

 

〔Sword (-Sword) ‘MAX’ and Sense ‘MAX’ are fusing.〕

 

…The time had come to test the new talent I’d awakened through super-sense.

—————
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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