Sword Master With One Strike Kill - Chapter 254

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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 254

Episode 254. Descent (5)

* * *

“…?”

Hesitation-.

Arriving at Vilopozy with Muwolcha, I couldn’t help but be flustered.

Everyone gathered at the entrance to the dungeon town had drawn their weapons and were on high alert.

Adelia with her sword drawn.

Dwarven archers aiming their crossbows.

Even the blacksmith who had rushed out hastily with the hammer he used at the forge.

“Th-that thing…!”

“It’s a monster!”

“But why is it walking calmly next to the Sword Masters?”

Murmur murmur-.

Low, tense voices.

It was their reaction to Muwolcha standing beside me.

Her appearance with fluorescent purple skin and fifteen eyeballs was certainly shocking.

“Lord Gaon.”

Adelia cautiously stepped forward.

Her hand was gripping her sword hilt tightly.

A stance ready to draw and swing at any moment.

“Even though there are three Sword Masters here, isn’t it dangerous to capture and bring around a new type of monster without any restraints….”

I closed my eyes tightly for a moment.

Then I suppressed a sigh and spoke.

“Show proper respect.”

“Pardon?”

“She’s a hero who came to save the world from its end.”

“….”

Adelia’s face hardened.

The surrounding dwarves also fell silent in unison.

I spoke clearly once more.

“A hero, I said.”

“….”

“….”

Silence flowed.

Adelia looked back and forth between Muwolcha, me, and Muwolcha again.

Her expression showed disbelief.

‘Haah.’

Why was it?

I had a feeling this kind of thing would happen often in the future.

* * *

“Such heinous…!”

Adelia raised her voice after hearing the full story.

Her hands were trembling.

Was it from anger? Or from shock? It was probably both.

Adelia clenched her fists and growled with an agitated voice.

“How dare they…! To kidnap a monk on pilgrimage and conduct such inhumane experiments!”

Adelia’s face flushed red with anger.

“This is an insult to the Great Ones!”

Thud-!

Unable to contain her anger, Adelia struck the table, and the sound of the wooden surface cracking echoed through the room.

Looking around, I noticed the expressions of the dwarves who had initially been horrified at seeing Muwolcha were gradually changing.

The fear of facing a monster slowly disappeared, replaced by pity and sympathy.

“Poor soul.”

“To suffer such terrible things….”

Murmur murmur-.

Low whispers.

Throughout all this, Muwolcha just stood there silently with a stoic expression.

Because.

‘This is all something she brought upon herself.’

That’s right.

This current situation had nothing to do with Hodupayi.

That bizarre appearance wasn’t the product of a black mage’s inhumane experiments, but a work that Muwolcha had carefully crafted in the customization window herself.

But Adelia, who had no way of knowing this, declared loudly.

“As soon as we return to Middletemple, the Holy City, I’ll put the black mage Hodupayi on the dangerous persons list!”

“Of course you should.”

Nod nod-.

Tyrant Dragon beside her also bobbed his head in agreement.

“While we’re at it, he should be included on the elimination list too. I’ve lived for hundreds of years, but this is the first time I’ve seen someone with such vile tastes.”

“….”

“Same level as Camillo von Taribas… no, maybe even worse. To leave his test subject to live the rest of her life in that state? Damn it.”

Tyrant Dragon reacted particularly sensitively to this incident.

He had no choice.

A creature who had lived his entire life being called ‘half-wit’ and suffering severe discrimination.

Therefore, he would understand better than anyone the weight of contempt and pain Muwolcha would face because of her appearance.

“Don’t worry, Hero.”

Swish-.

Adelia tried to look at Muwolcha… but then lowered her eyes and continued speaking carefully.

It seemed she still found it difficult to look directly at Muwolcha.

“At least in Middletemple, there will absolutely be no one who discriminates against you because of your appearance.”

Adelia’s voice carried firm determination.

“And I will definitely catch the black mage Hodupayi and turn him over to the Sacred Inquisition. I’ll make sure he receives the maximum penalty.”

* * *

After finishing a brief conversation with the group.

I left Vilopozy, the dungeon town, with Muwolcha and walked through the Uncharted Wilderness for a while.

Trudge, trudge-.

The sound of rough stones being stepped on underfoot broke the silence.

The surroundings were desolate. Traces of red lava flows were carved throughout the earth, and barren land stretched endlessly.

“….”

Whoooosh-.

The night wind blew. Dry air brushed against my skin.

I raised my head to look up at the sky.

The pitch-black night sky. Stars were densely embedded in that darkness, twinkling. The sight of the Milky Way flowing across the center of the sky was spectacular.

‘Someday….’

Won’t there come a day when Adelia’s Meteor Sword holds that many stars as well?

I was lost in such thoughts when it happened.

“This is a bit awkward with Hodupayi.”

Muwolcha let out an embarrassed laugh.

“Because of me, he’s going to be treated like a completely heinous criminal.”

The sight of a monster with fluorescent purple skin laughing was still grotesque, but I had gotten somewhat used to it by now.

“Well, so what.”

I shrugged my shoulders as I replied.

“He’s an executive of Ataraxy anyway, so he’ll become a target for elimination later.”

“That’s true, but….”

Muwolcha looked at me and continued speaking.

“You know too, right? That Hodupayi isn’t entirely a bad kid.”

“….”

Pause-.

At those words, I stopped walking for a moment.

She was right.

‘Hodupayi.’

Like all Black Mages, he too was a character with chaotic tendencies mixed in.

But he didn’t possess evil tendencies.

Most of Hodupayi’s experiments focused on creating chimeras using monster corpses. Most of his human experiments were conducted on his own body, or only on criminals or dying vagrants.

That was how it was in the game story too.

The martial artist character is discovered by Hodupayi just before dying while on a pilgrimage. And Hodupayi barely manages to save their life through experiments.

But with his research funds depleted, Hodupayi eventually ends up selling the test subject to the human trafficker Franky….

‘That’s how the player gets transferred to the Underground Fighting Arena.’

Getting executed there by Barbarian the Slayer of Men was the opening of the martial artist class.

“Ppakgyu.”

While I was having such thoughts, Muwolcha called me again.

I always feel this way, but when I’m with a fellow Possessed One, I feel relatively at ease.

There’s no need to lie, and no need to maintain a concept.

“You sent me that note earlier. Saying we need to adapt to things like this from now on.”

Muwolcha said while looking up at the night sky.

“To be honest, it’s still difficult for me.”

Her voice became a bit lower.

“Having lived in 21st century South Korea where law and ethics were important… when you killed the human trafficker Franky with a single stroke, I was slightly startled.”

“….”

“Ah, of course if it were when playing the game, I would have acted like you too, but….”

“I understand what you mean. I think that’s perfectly understandable too.”

I answered calmly.

Muwolcha was silent for a moment, then opened her mouth again.

“I heard everything from Strawberry Latte through notes.”

“….”

“The time ratio is different, so four months have passed here? You seem to have adapted to this world in the meantime. She also said you achieved tremendous Achievements.”

Swoosh-.

I too looked up at the night sky, following Muwolcha.

A neutral voice that was slightly confusing whether it belonged to a man or woman when just listening to it.

It was exactly the same as Muwolcha’s voice I used to hear in reality.

Was that why?

Before I knew it, the person next to me felt not like a monster with fluorescent purple skin, but like Muwolcha the office worker from Pangyo.

“If it were a game, I’d understand working that hard. Aiming for 1st place in rankings, running like crazy to see the best ending. I could fully empathize with that kind of thing.”

“….”

“But now that the game has become reality, I became curious about why you’re going this far.”

Muwolcha’s voice contained sincere doubt.

“Frankly speaking, with the information you have now, you could just live comfortably. Buy a house in a place like Bertas, the Free City, and live peacefully, couldn’t you?”

She continued speaking.

“The end of the world? That’s… something for the distant future. By that time, you could just think of it as meeting an unexpected accident and accept it.”

“….”

“If you’ve played 200 rounds, you’d know how to live comfortably until the end comes. Is there really a need to become a Sword Master and jump into all sorts of dangerous situations?”

Once again, nothing Muwolcha said was wrong.

Sword Master? Savior of the world?

Even without taking on such roles, I could have lived a sufficiently comfortable life. I had the ability to do so.

Since I knew the locations of major events, I could just avoid them.

I could moderately raise my stats just enough to not die from natural causes, and as Muwolcha said, buy a small house in a place like Bertas, the Free City, and spend the rest of my life there.

I could live comfortably like that and just resign myself when the end came.

Thinking, “So it has come.”

That might have been the wiser choice.

Most Possessed Ones would probably choose such a life.

Yet why did I take on such a big responsibility?

“Just….”

I slowly opened my mouth while looking up at the night sky.

“I experienced this world for 200 rounds.”

“….”

“During that time, this world gave me so many things. Joy, and meaning too.”

I continued speaking.

“You could say it was just a game after all. Actually, I used to think that way too. But even knowing that, we devoted 12 years of our lives to this place.”

“….”

“But now that the game has become reality, I can’t just turn away and ignore it. That would be….”

I paused for a moment.

“Too cowardly.”

Silence flowed.

Of course, I hadn’t been thinking this way and acting from the beginning.

Until I made the Sacred Covenant, I was just desperately struggling to survive each moment.

Through repeated improvisations, I had become the Thirteenth Sword Master who prevents destruction.

But in that process, I became entangled with many people.

Adelia, Sikan Bauer, Tyrant Dragon, Heukgol, Arwen, Almond, Pean.

And countless others who are living and breathing somewhere in this world even at this moment.

“I couldn’t pretend not to know anymore.”

My voice became lower.

“Knowing that they would face destruction, I couldn’t just leave them alone.”

“….”

“Since I can’t go back anyway, I wanted to live doing something meaningful.”

I was still looking at the night sky.

“Just….”

The endlessly spread universe. Countless stars twinkling within it.

“This seemed like the most meaningful thing I could do.”

After hesitating for a long while, I opened my mouth.

“That’s why I’m doing it, noona.”

Swoosh-.

After finishing my words, I turned to look beside me.

There was.

A fluorescent purple monster with 15 eyeballs was looking at me with deep, meaningful eyes.

‘Ah, aaaaah.’

…Should I just give up on everything and hurry to find the Kerma frontier territory first?

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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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