Sword Master With One Strike Kill - Chapter 290

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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 290

Episode 290. Ruins of Rashutku (8)

Pean waved his hands frantically and protested with an urgent voice.

“That was just something I said to psychologically pressure that fake!”

“….”

“I respect Lord Gaon more than anyone else, so how could I dare utter such nonsense!”

Meanwhile.

The Bifurcated Siblings watching Pean’s behavior wore expressions of bewilderment.

The twins’ faces seemed to be saying:

─…But he’s right though?

“….”

Hmm.

Honestly, I felt a bit guilty too.

In fact, Pean’s criticism wasn’t wrong at all.

It wasn’t just once or twice that I’d resorted to brute force when words didn’t work.

‘Anyway.’

That was something to think about later.

Right now, there was a dangerous enemy before us that we absolutely couldn’t let our guard down against.

【Lv. 52】

Swoosh-.

I turned my gaze.

Dark blue hair and golden eyes. A face I encountered every time I looked in a mirror.

Yes.

It was unmistakably ‘me’.

Even the level was identical.

Authorities, skills, stats – everything perfectly copied. Truly a being no different from a disaster.

The party must have realized it too. The fact that this doppelganger possessed the exact same specs as me.

Since it was separated through Avatar Manifestation, it was essentially the same being, which is why the aura it emanated was identical.

“Lord Gaon.”

Perhaps that’s why?

Tension filled Pean’s voice as he looked at the doppelganger.

He who had been wearing a flustered expression just moments ago returned to his calm demeanor and stared at the enemy.

“Just give the signal and I’ll immediately begin combat.”

Psshhhh-.

At the same time, the sound of Jeungmu’s steam came from behind.

The Bifurcated Siblings also took combat stances while gripping Baekya and Heukya tightly.

Everyone was waiting for that hair-trigger moment.

But….

“No.”

I shook my head and declared.

“I’ll face that bastard alone.”

“Pardon?”

Pause-.

Instantly, Pean asked back with a bewildered voice.

Jeungmu, Balhwan, and Adelia all looked at me with expressions of disbelief.

‘It’s a natural reaction.’

When fighting an opponent with identical abilities, at best you could only achieve a draw.

And that wasn’t all.

My specs were ridiculously strong.

It wasn’t boasting – if I used every means at my disposal, I could take on half the Sword Masters alone.

Naturally, the doppelganger before us would be the same.

Of course.

‘The trap is that even being that strong, one mistake could get me killed by someone in their 70s or 80s.’

I was an extreme glass cannon.

All my skills depended on how I used them.

Only by utilizing them to the absolute extreme and distributing abilities and authorities through meticulous calculation could I become a ‘conditional overpowered character’.

A tightrope walk where not a single mistake was tolerated.

That was the essence of my combat style.

But.

‘Could a doppelganger that just stole my body do such things?’

Even with the same specs and abilities, the question was how to use them.

It would essentially be a pure battle of wits, and in that case, the fight would naturally favor me.

Experience.

Proficiency.

And confidence.

There was an overwhelming difference in all of those.

‘Of course, there is one variable.’

The 12-star mythic skill with absurd performance.

【Soul of the Sword Master】

Even I wasn’t confident I could stop a doppelganger wielding that skill.

It was an ability that transcended common sense.

But there was nothing to worry about.

Before being invaded by the doppelganger.

I had already sealed off even that aspect completely.

‘I just burned through the remaining 9 MP while dealing with the Intruder.’

Right after descending the tower completely, I activated the skill for 0.09 seconds and just stood there blankly. Without doing anything.

〔MP : 0/10〕

Thanks to that, my MP was completely depleted.

The doppelganger that obtained my body would be the same.

In other words, no matter how much it struggled, it absolutely couldn’t use that skill.

‘Now I need to drag this into a pure one-on-one fight.’

If Pean, Jeungmu, Adelia, or Balhwan stepped in, unexpected variables I couldn’t predict might arise.

In the worst case, one of them might get injured.

Rather than that, it was better to create a one-on-one situation I could completely control.

“Watch closely.”

Having finished my thoughts, I spoke to the party.

“A scene of two Sword Masters at the pinnacle crossing swords isn’t something you can easily witness.”

Shing-!

As I drew the Feather Sword, the silver blade glowed faintly.

Ssssssh-.

Soon after, light began gathering in the Doppelganger’s hands as well, and the shape of a sword identical to the Feather Sword began to form.

‘It even copies weapons.’

It seemed the Evil Deities’ curse was trying to recreate even the Feather Sword as similarly as possible.

Of course, it wouldn’t be able to copy the Feather Sword’s authority or the supersenses of Silent Trajectory.

It was the same in the game.

Just before engaging in battle with the Doppelganger, I turned around and spoke to all my companions, including Adelia.

“Take this opportunity.”

“….”

“To gain some enlightenment.”

You all need to get stronger so I can have an easier time ahead.

Got it?

* * *

Thousands of years after the end of the ancient era.

It wasn’t as if no adventurers had ever visited the Imperial Palace of Rashutku.

Those who stumbled upon it by chance. Those who arrived here seeking records. There were easily dozens of them.

But there was one reason why information about this place never leaked to the outside.

‘Because they all died.’

And I had been possessing the bodies of those dozens of people.

That’s why, no matter how new the body I obtained, I was accustomed to handling it.

However.

‘…What is this?’

Facing an unexpected battle situation.

Until then, I had been so focused on breaking through the mental barrier that I began to observe the ‘body’ I hadn’t noticed at all.

Only then was I forced to panic at the sense of discomfort that came flooding in.

‘This bastard, what the….’

The body’s level wasn’t that high.

If I had to compare, it was about the level of a somewhat skilled mercenary. But there were tremendous characteristics and authorities sleeping within that didn’t match the ‘vessel.’

Was that all?

I synchronize with the body owner’s mind. It’s because of my trait of trying to copy their habits exactly. Even with high mental barriers, I can imitate this to some degree.

But as battle approached, the body’s sensitivity began to heighten.

At the same time.

The body owner’s habits began to reveal themselves more clearly.

‘…Ugh.’

I felt nauseous.

Because this situation itself was unbearably suffocating.

‘What the hell is this….’

The body was definitely mine.

But the habits that had seeped into it constantly pressed down on me.

The compulsion to calculate, predict, and control everything.

It was carved deep into the body like an instinct.

The problem was right now.

‘…I can’t control it.’

This body was new. I wasn’t completely used to it yet, and even moving a fingertip was subtly off.

It was a very minute error.

However, the habits carved into the body kept demanding.

Control it perfectly.

Calculate without a single error.

A body commanding me to do the impossible. That sense of disconnect caused an instinctive rejection reaction, eventually reaching the point where the world was spinning.

Buuuung-!

But at that very moment.

Gray afterimages began flickering before my eyes.

‘What, what is…!’

It was the authority called 【Hyper Intuition】 engraved in this body.

I had fully understood the content of all characteristics while stealing the body. A fraudulent ability that shows a few seconds into the future.

But knowing it as dictionary information and actually using it were worlds apart.

Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh-!

Gray afterimages overlapped chaotically.

The real sword and the future sword mixed together, confusing my vision.

I was already nauseous from the body’s compulsive nature, and with the silver afterimages flickering around, my mind was going wild to the point of madness.

‘Damn it, damn it, damn it!’

In the midst of all this.

Buuuung-!

I felt killing intent from somewhere.

Chaeaeaeaeaeaeaeng──!

…That was dangerous.

A strike that came while I was buried in a flood of information and couldn’t gather my wits. It was an attack aimed precisely at a vital point.

I barely managed to block it.

No.

To be precise….

‘I didn’t block it, my body instinctively reacted.’

I realized belatedly.

That another ability engraved in this body had activated.

【Ultimate Auto Parry】.

The body blocked the attack on its own. Without being conscious of it, without thinking about it, just instinctively.

Having exchanged just one bout.

My head felt like it would explode.

The gray afterimages shown by Hyper Intuition. The arm forcibly moved by Auto Parry. The body that wouldn’t move as I wished.

And the compulsion that urged me to shake off all of this and constantly maintain control.

Even a flood of information and sensory overload.

‘Fuck.’

Why did I choose this body?

It was because I found it annoying that someone was trying to circumvent the Rashutku Empire’s rules using Tristan’s cloak.

So I just stole the body.

But….

‘…I chose wrong.’

I never dreamed that the body’s owner had lived in such a harsh environment.

* * *

Ttiring-!

〔You have used Active Skill: Formless Sword .〕

Buung-!

An Intangible Sword materialized in mid-air.

The transparent blade cut through the air, extending toward the Doppelganger’s vital point.

An invisible strike. An unavoidable angle.

However.

Claaaang-!

The Doppelganger’s body reacted instinctively.

The fake Feather Sword flashed and precisely blocked the Intangible Sword’s trajectory. 【Ultimate Auto-Parry】 had activated.

Amid the ringing metallic sound, the Intangible Sword was deflected powerlessly and flew into the air.

‘As expected.’

I chuckled inwardly.

I had attacked with the Intangible Sword from the start, aiming to trigger that skill.

‘Now that the auto-parry is used up too….’

It was time to properly corner the enemy.

Whooom-!

I dismissed the Intangible Sword while simultaneously swinging the Feather Sword.

A skill that had evolved to 10-star and become closer to a disarming technique than parrying. The moment its effect activated.

Claaaang-!

Sparks flew in all directions.

The Feather Sword slipped from the Doppelganger’s hand. It flew far away in a black parabola and clattered to the floor.

An opponent who had lost their weapon.

I launched my next strike without hesitation toward the Doppelganger, now full of openings.

My sword tip extended toward the opponent’s neck.

But at that very moment.

Clang clang clang-!

Sparks flew as my sword’s trajectory was twisted.

Something had blocked my blade in mid-air. An invisible sword. The Doppelganger had also summoned an Intangible Sword.

That was the moment.

A hollow laugh escaped my lips without me realizing it.

Because a truly absurd notification window had appeared before my eyes.

Ding-!

〔Skill: 【Intangible Sword 】 proficiency has increased. (14%→15%)〕

“…I really didn’t know about this.”

I never imagined that my proficiency would increase every time the Doppelganger used the Intangible Sword.

So the skills are shared, is that it?

‘Not bad?’

Heh-.

A smile spread across my face.

‘Since it’s come to this.’

I should play around with this guy and farm some proficiency.

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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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