Sword Master With One Strike Kill - Chapter 81

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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 81

Episode 81. The Adversary (3)

* * *

‘A, a Sword Master!’

Professor Biyolf’s eyes widened in shock.

Having learned his opponent’s true identity, he immediately tucked his tail between his legs.

No matter how fiery Professor Biyolf’s temperament was, he had no choice but to be careful with his words and actions in front of a psychopath acknowledged by the entire continent… that is, a Sword Master.

This was a fact that could be understood just by looking back at the history of Wintershield Magic Academy.

There had been as many as three chancellors who had lost their heads for crossing a Sword Master.

Professor Biyolf, who didn’t want to meet the same futile end as them, hesitantly read the room before carefully posing a question to his opponent.

“M, might I ask your honored name…?”

“It’s Gaon.”

“…”

Gaon?

It was a name he had never heard in his entire life.

But there was nothing particularly strange about that.

Sword Masters rarely showed themselves to the world. They mainly secluded themselves somewhere and quietly trained with their swords.

Perhaps for this reason, except for those like the Tyrant Dragon who actively traveled around the continent, the information known to the public about their true nature was extremely limited.

‘Then…’

Professor Biyolf glanced at Gaon and thought.

‘…he must be one of the Sword Masters who chose seclusion.’

Having not yet heard the news that a Thirteenth Sword Master had been born, he naturally had to reach such a conclusion.

“So, what brings your honor to this place…?”

“I’m sure I told you. I came to eliminate a ‘monster.'”

“…A, a monster?”

Whoosh-.

Gaon let out a sigh as if frustrated and began his explanation.

“Professor Selena Servich and I have known each other for a long time.”

Pause-.

Professor Biyolf’s eyes widened upon hearing those words.

With a shocked expression, he carefully examined the 「Sword Master’s Mark」 carved on Selena’s hand.

“Then could that seal also be…?”

“It was formed easily dozens of years ago.”

“…”

It was naturally a blatant lie.

But since Professor Biyolf had no way to discern the truth, Gaon shamelessly continued his lie to the end.

“A few years ago, Professor Selena discovered ‘abnormal phenomena’ at the Magic Academy.”

“…”

“In the process of collecting related evidence, she learned of the existence of the underground prison. And also the fact that the facility was as old as the Magic Academy’s history.”

Professor Biyolf’s expression grew increasingly confused.

Regardless, Gaon paid no mind and continued his lie with appropriate embellishments.

“After a long investigation, Selena realized that a monster comparable to the 「Five Nightmares」 was sleeping beneath the Magic Academy. The creature had been conducting rituals that periodically massacred innocent lives.”

“S, such a thing…!”

“Professor Selena instinctively knew it was impossible to face this monster with her power alone. So she requested my help.”

“…”

“However, if a Sword Master moved openly, we were concerned that the Magic Academy’s chaos would reach its peak, so I suggested investigating secretly.”

“…”

“That is precisely why I came to the Magic Academy disguised as an adventurer who cleared the 「Tolong Subjugation」 Quest.”

Nod nod-.

Selena quickly bobbed her head up and down.

As if agreeing that everything Sword Master Gaon said was true.

“Our real mission is to eliminate the monster hiding underground. To prevent any more innocent victims from occurring.”

“W, wait a moment.”

Professor Biyolf interjected.

“But why didn’t Professor Servich inform the other professors about this matter?”

“That was…”

Gaon caught his breath for a moment before answering.

“It was due to concerns that there might be forces within the Magic Academy connected to that monster. We judged it wise not to inform anyone before securing sufficient evidence.”

“…!”

Professor Biyolf was momentarily speechless.

A secret prison as old as the Magic Academy’s history. A monster hiding there. And even the secret alliance between a Sword Master and Professor Selena trying to eliminate it.

The puzzle seemed to be coming together. Professor Selena’s suspicious behavior and the outsiders who had suddenly arrived. Finally, all of this began to be understood within a clear context.

“T, to think you had to bear such a terrible secret alone…”

Professor Biyolf’s voice trembled.

Turning his gaze to Selena, he bowed deeply and apologized.

“I’m truly sorry! I had no idea you were carrying such a heavy burden all this time!”

* * *

‘This actually worked.’

To be honest, my lie had many contradictions. Enough that it could easily be refuted if challenged logically.

But Professor Biyolf didn’t doubt my words at all.

The reason was simple.

What stood before his eyes was none other than a ‘Sword Master.’

He probably couldn’t even imagine that a seeker who moved according to the will of the Great Ones would commit fraud.

It was like a kind of authority bias effect.

‘Well, Professor Biyolf was originally someone who was easily swayed by others’ words anyway.’

The reason he had been particularly hostile toward Selena Servich was also due to another professor’s instigation.

Of course, there was also the fact that she had intercepted Professor Biyolf’s achievements several times…

But that’s not important right now, so let’s move on for the moment.

“Um, your honor?”

Just then, Professor Biyolf looked at me and spoke with a resolute voice.

“I, I sincerely apologize for my earlier rudeness. Is there any way I can help…”

“Help us eliminate the monster. I sent the divine beast intending to borrow your power from the beginning.”

[Pyororok!]

“…Ah!”

Professor Biyolf let out an exclamation and nodded vigorously.

“Yes! I’ll help you with all my might! Of course! That’s what I should do!”

Watching Professor Biyolf eagerly accept the proposal, I smiled inwardly.

‘Perfect.’

9th Circle mage, Selena Servich.

8th Circle mage, Professor Oren Biyolf.

7th Circle mage, Isaac Berillov.

And finally, Adelia, who had grown to level 85 in the Heavenly Sea Forest.

With this, the perfect party members to subjugate The Adversary had been assembled.

〔MP: 0/1〕

Of course, if I used 【Soul of the Sword Master】, I could eliminate the Adversary in one strike.

A 12-star mythic skill would kill anyone in a single blow, no matter who they were.

‘But…’

I had no intention of using this skill from the beginning.

If I had planned to kill the Adversary with this technique from the start, I wouldn’t have wasted the skill to threaten Selena.

‘Even cheating requires choosing the right time and place.’

This time, I intended to take the difficult path.

That way, I could obtain a much greater ‘reward.’

High risk, high return.

The playstyle I had always pursued.

I needed to maintain this principle to the end and keep the snowball rolling.

Only then could I finally reach the ‘true ending’ that I hadn’t seen once in 200 playthroughs.

“Then let’s move right away. We don’t have time.”

Thud, thud-.

Having finished my thoughts, I immediately took the lead.

Four powerful allies began following behind me.

We descended the spiral staircase connected to the underground prison, heading toward the 「Abyss」 where the Adversary lurked.

‘Just wait a little longer, Strawberry Latte.’

The time to rescue him was approaching.

* * *

“Wh-what in the world is…?”

Professor Biyolf looked around with eyes filled with horror.

“…Damn. Something this terrible was hidden beneath the Magic Academy?”

The Abyss.

A massive underground labyrinth with no visible end.

The walls and ceiling were covered with black moss and blood-red fungi, while damp liquid seeping from somewhere was soaking the floor.

Krwaaaaar-!

From beyond the maze-like intersections, the chilling howls of monsters echoed and reverberated.

“…”

This was a place all too familiar to me.

After all, this was the tutorial point for mage characters.

Players had to avoid dangerous traps and monsters while navigating the maze, then face the Adversary waiting at the end.

‘That process is never easy.’

Beginners could only clear the tutorial after dozens of attempts on average.

According to the game platform’s statistics, over half of all players quit the game at this stage.

But…

‘I know all the paths.’

…Having played Roel nearly 200 times, I could see through this complex maze’s routes clearly.

“It’s a fork in the road.”

Pause-.

Just then, Professor Biyolf, who had been leading the way, stopped walking.

Five branching paths stretched endlessly into the darkness.

“Please wait a moment. I’ll use pathfinding to…”

“The second path from the left.”

“…?”

Professor Biyolf, who was about to cast magic, looked back at me with a confused expression.

Of course, Selena was equally startled.

“Wh-what did you just say…?”

“I said the second path from the left.”

“…Ah, y-yes.”

Professor Biyolf moved along the path I indicated with a slightly suspicious look.

Naturally, that passage was completely empty.

Not a single trap or monster was visible anywhere.

“Huh?”

Thud, thud-.

And my ‘choices’ like this were never wrong, not even once.

“The leftmost path.”

“Move to the center path.”

“Second from the right.”

Throughout our journey toward the Adversary, we didn’t encounter a single threat.

“Th-this can’t be…”

Selena looked back at me with an expression of shock. The 「Absolute Command」 I had placed on her had been lifted long ago.

“…How do you find the right path so quickly every time? And without using pathfinding?”

Well, there’s a pattern only veteran gamers would know.

The Abyss Maze appears random, but it actually changes according to certain rules.

Of course, finding it too bothersome to explain all this, I gave Selena a vague answer.

“There are ways.”

I felt Adelia’s gaze change once again beside me, but I ignored it as usual.

“…”

Hearing my halfhearted answer, Selena pressed her lips together and walked silently.

Thud, thud-.

After descending deeper for quite some time.

Our party finally arrived at our destination.

“This place is…”

Pause-.

A vast ritual chamber like an altar.

With each step forward, the scene of a ritual steeped in madness became clearer.

Hazy blood mist covered our vision.

Amidst it all, a scene of dark red blood flowing like a river and rotting corpses forming mountains gradually unfolded before our eyes.

“…Dear God.”

Professor Biyolf couldn’t help but be horrified by that gruesome sight.

Adelia and Isaac Berillov also grimaced.

The corpses of assistant mages and slaves were piled up in disorder, with parts of their bodies already damaged beyond recognition.

And…

Hissssss──.

At the end of the chamber.

At its highest point, a massive jade throne made of bones was placed.

An ‘entity’ of indescribable dark red form sat on the throne, gazing down at us intently.

【҉҈̶̸̷L҈̷̸v̴̶̵.̸҈̷̶̴ ■̸̷҉̷̵■҈҉҈̵҈】

A noise-processed level window, just like other immortals.

The eyes of the ‘entity’ looking down at us were like an abyss.

In those pupils of unfathomable depth, I could see dense malice and interest writhing simultaneously.

Hiss-.

A sinister smile crept across The Adversary’s lips.

As if he had been eagerly awaiting this moment for a very long time.

“You must have suffered much coming such a long way.”

A low, resonating voice filled the crypt completely.

It was a disorienting voice that sounded like multiple people speaking simultaneously.

“I have been waiting for you all to arrive here…”

“Shut up! Die, you monster!”

Kwaaaaang-!

Professor Biyolf launched an attack without hesitation.

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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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