Sword Master With One Strike Kill - Chapter 28

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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 28

Episode 28. Earth Dragon Subjugation (5)

I froze.

I stared blankly at the system windows that appeared before my eyes.

These were messages I had never seen before, even after repeating the game nearly 200 times.

‘What… what the hell is this situation…?’

Hidden message? Distortion of causality?

Messages I had never seen once during 12 years of playing Roel came pouring out one after another.

…But what made me panic right now was something else entirely.

【Lv. 100】

Sword Master of the Raging Dragon.

A madman who travels across the entire continent picking fights with the strong.

A monster who acknowledges opponents he likes and grants death to those he doesn’t.

‘…Why the hell did that bastard suddenly appear?’

To begin with, it made no sense for him to appear at this point in time.

The Sword Master of the Raging Dragon was a named character who only appeared in the mid-game.

Even then, he was an NPC you could only encounter after the player’s reputation exceeded a certain threshold.

‘But…’

He’s showing himself from the early stages?

And not in some other location, but in the deepest layer of Labyrinth Village?

‘…This is strange.’

Every situation was far too abnormal.

The game’s procedures, order, everything had been twisted.

As if causality itself had been turned upside down.

‘Ah.’

Suddenly, my gaze turned back to the System Message.

Ding-!

〔Causality is being distorted.〕

‘Could that message have meant this?’

The butterfly effect.

Just like how a small wind from a wing flutter creates a massive storm.

It seemed my actions had completely overturned the flow of the original story.

“Why isn’t this guy answering? Is he dumbstruck?”

That’s when it happened.

The Sword Master of the Raging Dragon growled with an irritated voice.

…Damn, the silence had gone on too long.

“I’ll ask once more. Are you the newly chosen seeker?”

“That’s…”

Tsk-.

Just as I was about to answer something.

The Raging Dragon clicked his tongue with displeasure. He began looking me up and down with vertically slit pupils.

Soon after, the guy let out a scoff as if finding it absurd and growled.

“Fuck, this bastard isn’t the one.”

KWAAAAAAANG──!

Suddenly, the world became dark with an ear-splitting roar.

Wind and dust that came out of nowhere instantly blocked my vision.

‘Ugh!’

Zing-!

A tingling sensation wrapping around my palms.

…Belatedly, I realized my posture had changed.

Both arms stretched straight forward.

And legs stretched back to support the weight.

Turns out the 【Ultimate Auto Parry】 skill had been automatically activated.

━━━━━━━━━━━━

[Usage Effect]

Automatically defends against fatal attacks regardless of perception stats.

━━━━━━━━━━━━

Whoooosh-.

As the dust settled, I could finally see the situation.

…The Feather Sword was blocking the Raging Dragon’s straight punch.

And his fist touching the blade surface was trembling.

‘Crazy.’

That’s right.

I had perfectly defended against the punch the Raging Dragon threw.

That Sword Master’s strike that even level 80 Adelia couldn’t react to and got hit by.

“…?”

Suddenly, interest began to settle in the Raging Dragon’s eyes.

“Ha, look at this?”

Grin-.

The smile on the Raging Dragon’s lips became even more sinister.

The eyes that had been filled with boredom just moments ago were instantly dyed with madness.

I tried to maintain a calm expression, but inwardly I couldn’t hide my bewilderment.

‘This is driving me crazy.’

That lunatic had seriously tried to kill me.

He could have tried more conversation, but he threw a punch first.

It was exactly like what I saw in the game.

Indeed, there was a reason he was called Roel’s representative battle maniac.

“I don’t understand. I definitely didn’t sense any aura, so how did you block my attack…?”

Regardless, the Raging Dragon muttered to himself.

Soon he looked at me and growled.

With an aggressive momentum as if he would charge again at any moment.

“Answer me if you don’t want to die. How did you do that just now?”

Think, think.

I widened my eyes and frantically turned my brain.

I had blocked the first strike with 【Ultimate Auto Parry】, but that was all.

The skill’s cooldown was 24 hours. If the next attack came, I’d be helplessly beaten.

〔MP : 1/1〕

I glanced at the MP window.

The mana I had saved for a single opportunity in a moment of life and death.

Though it lasted only 0.01 seconds, this was the only means I had to face that level 100 monster.

‘…Still, I can’t just recklessly use 【Soul of the Sword Master】.’

The Sword Master of the Raging Dragon.

He was destined to become a crucial ally to the player in the future.

If I killed him here and now, it could cause major problems later.

‘In the first place, all Twelve Sword Masters are on humanity’s side.’

All Sword Masters were seekers who followed the will of the ancient god Elder.

They might seem like madmen, but from a broader perspective, they were beings who moved for the greater good of this world.

So if I killed the Tyrant Dragon here, all the scenarios I had planned would go awry.

‘But…’

The problem was that in a situation where my life was in danger, I had no luxury to consider future matters.

‘…For now, surviving comes first.’

If I died here, plans and everything else would become meaningless.

Having finished that thought, I spat out a warning in a cold voice.

“As expected of a lizard’s descendant, you know nothing of manners.”

“…What?”

“How long do you plan to continue this vulgar display, Tyrant Dragon?”

Flinch-.

The Tyrant Dragon’s expression changed instantly upon hearing those words.

His vertically slit pupils narrowed dangerously like a predator before a hunt.

“…Lizard?”

Hissss-.

Hot breath leaked from the Tyrant Dragon’s mouth.

His eyes that had been brimming with interest instantly flashed with killing intent.

It was understandable. ‘Lizard’ was the most insulting slur the Dragon Clan could feel.

“It’s been a really long time since I’ve seen a lunatic who dares to utter ‘that word’ in front of a dragon… Are you so desperate to die?”

Rumble rumble rumble-!

The entire temple began to shake.

At the same time, the killing intent emanating from the Tyrant Dragon constricted my entire body.

“Dragon Clan.”

But I didn’t back down. Rather, I became even more aggressive.

“These days, even half-breeds are considered part of the Dragon Clan, I see.”

Upon hearing that, the Tyrant Dragon burst into a hollow laugh as if dumbfounded.

“You’ve lost your mind. How dare a human brat inferior to a bug…”

“I clearly told you.”

Step-.

I took a step forward and muttered quietly.

Though it was an infinitely small voice compared to the Tyrant Dragon’s thunderous roar, it spread low throughout the entire deepest layer.

“Rudeness is enough just once.”

Strength entered both my hands. The sharp sword tip began to aim at the Tyrant Dragon’s throat.

Woom, woong-!

The feather sword cried out according to its master’s will.

The fierce sword cry produced a threatening sound as if it would kill the enemy before it at any moment.

“Were you curious about how I blocked your attack?”

I took my stance.

Putting weight on my lower body, as if I would swing my sword at any moment.

It was an imitation of Adelia’s attack preparation stance I had seen before.

…Of course, all of this was nothing but bravado.

A level 1 putting on airs before level 100.

My current state was no different from an ant showing courage before an elephant.

‘But…’

I knew.

The fact that the Sword Master of the Raging Dragon absolutely wouldn’t attack.

He was wary of me. From the moment 【Ultimate Auto Parrying】 blocked his attack until now, continuously.

The Tyrant Dragon’s fist trembling right after the impact proved this.

That’s why I could be even more aggressive.

“If you’re truly curious, try being rude once more.”

Sincerity was contained in my voice.

Perhaps this wasn’t just simple ‘bravado.’

As I said before, the Sword Master of the Raging Dragon would be of great help to the player in the future.

His very existence was directly connected to survival, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say.

“However.”

But that was only a story for ‘later.’

If right now, at this moment, he threatened my life…

“The price of that enlightenment will be your life.”

…I was prepared to use 【Soul of the Sword Master】 to definitively cut off his breath.

* * *

‘What is this…?’

The Tyrant Dragon couldn’t understand the current situation at all.

Wandering the continent and fighting with strong opponents.

That was his very identity and the true reason for his existence.

…In that sense, upon hearing the 「Revelation」, he had no choice but to abandon everything and rush to Labyrinth Village.

─A seeker of ■̓̉̊̑̈͡■͐͑̍̀͞■́̔̓̉͠ who has newly set foot in this world… is now heading to the deepest layer of Labyrinth Village.

A seeker who had newly set foot.

This surely meant someone who had newly ascended to the realm of Sword Master.

He wanted to fight that person immediately. That’s why he had rushed to the deepest layer of Labyrinth Village in one breath.

But even to the Tyrant Dragon, who had met countless strong opponents, the man before his eyes was still full of mysteries.

‘No matter how I look, I can’t sense any special aura.’

The opponent was clearly an ordinary human.

A being inferior to even an ant that he could kill anytime if he put his mind to it.

He couldn’t sense anything more than that from this man.

‘And yet…’

Nevertheless, that man had perfectly blocked his attack.

That alone was surprising, but the guy was threatening as if he would kill him at any moment.

Look.

Even now, wasn’t he speaking with a confident voice like this?

Telling him to attack all he wanted.

But in return, the price of that attack would be his life.

“Kahahat, interesting!”

It was certain.

That man was different from the idiots who were all talk.

Like the tip of an iceberg, he must be hiding something that wasn’t visible on the surface.

To confirm that, there was no choice but to clash directly.

“Life? I’ll give that trivial thing a hundred times over!”

“…”

“If only you can make this battle interesting for me!”

Kugugugu-!

His blood boiled.

His fighting spirit began to surge at this first encounter with this type of opponent.

Just as the Tyrant Dragon was about to charge forward recklessly and clash with his opponent before him.

…Right then, the man uttered words he never expected.

“If you want something interesting, I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed.”

He froze-.

The Tyrant Dragon, who was about to charge immediately, froze in place.

He frowned slightly and asked back.

“…What do you mean by that?”

The excitement deflated.

The moment he spouted some pathetic excuse, he planned to pounce on the man immediately.

But unexpectedly, his opponent began making surprisingly persuasive arguments.

“A duel is always welcome. However…”

Swoosh-.

The man who briefly trailed off pointed somewhere.

Specifically, at the Tyrant Dragon’s two fists.

His utterly empty hands held no weapons whatsoever.

He had rushed to the Deepest Layer of Labyrinth Village immediately upon receiving the revelation, without time to grab a sword.

“You’re bare-handed. And I too am currently in a situation where it’s difficult to display my full power.”

“…”

“When neither of us is in peak condition, I wonder if we could truly have an interesting duel.”

The Tyrant Dragon’s expression changed subtly. He had caught a hint from the man’s words just now.

‘It’s difficult to display his full power right now?’

Suddenly, one possibility came to mind.

It felt like the puzzle pieces were finally fitting together.

‘…Could that be why I can’t sense any aura from him at all?’

Numerous hypotheses flashed through his mind.

Perhaps he was under some temporary「restriction」for some reason.

Or maybe he was suffering aftereffects from battle with someone else.

Just then, the man continued speaking.

“If we’re going to have a life-or-death battle anyway, it would be better to do it when we’re both in peak condition.”

“Hmm.”

At the man’s continued words, the Tyrant Dragon fell into deep thought.

The opponent who had easily blocked his strike had revealed he wasn’t in optimal condition right now.

If so, then indeed…

What kind of display would he show when unleashing his full power?

‘That’s quite reasonable.’

His excitement gradually cooled.

It didn’t feel deflated, but rather like his temporarily departed reason was returning.

For a true match, naturally both sides had to stake everything.

Wasn’t that the proper courtesy one should maintain as a seeker of the sword?

That man too was a ‘true swordsman’ who understood such principles.

“Right.”

Nod-.

After pondering briefly, the Tyrant Dragon nodded as if he had decided something.

Then he looked at the man and promised their next meeting.

“As you say, let’s postpone the duel. I also happened to leave my sword behind.”

“…”

“Then… when will your body recover?”

* * *

Watching the Tyrant Dragon step back, I let out a sigh of relief inwardly.

‘Haah… Simple-minded fellow.’

…It seems I’ve gotten past the crisis for now.

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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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