Sword Master With One Strike Kill - Chapter 91

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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 91

Episode 91. Demarion’s Test (1)

Flinch-.

The moment Gaon’s final declaration echoed through the conference hall, the eyes of the Shadow Sect mages wavered greatly.

The shock from having their long-hidden identities exposed in an instant.

The fear from learning that the “seal” given to the Shadow Sect’s leader had passed to the Sword Master.

And…

In this situation, even receiving a promise of ‘cooperation’ that they hadn’t expected at all.

It was all too confusing.

Several mages kept closing and opening their eyes as if trying to confirm whether this was a dream or reality.

‘The Sword Master is defending the Shadow Sect…?’

For the Shadow Sect, which had operated in the shadows for hundreds of years avoiding Middle Temple’s eyes, the seeker’s helping hand felt like sweet temptation.

Of course, on the other hand, this goodwill also felt like a trap.

Indeed, the declaration to unify forces even if it meant expelling the traditionalist faction sounded somewhat unrealistic.

A situation where no one could fathom what Gaon was thinking with such words.

“…”

“…”

“…”

A suffocating silence flowed around the round table.

It was when everyone was looking at Gaon with confused eyes, trying to understand his intentions.

Swoosh-.

At that very moment, Gaon rose from his seat.

“Well, that concludes my business here.”

Thud, thud-.

With those words, Gaon left the conference hall without a moment’s hesitation.

The female knight who appeared to be his retainer silently followed behind him.

“W-wait a moment! Lord Gaon…!”

Selena, who had suddenly come to her senses, hurriedly followed after him.

* * *

“Haa, ha.”

Stop-.

It was the moment I stepped outside the conference hall.

Selena, who had stopped me, was breathing heavily with her upper body bent forward.

As I stared at her for a moment, Selena continued speaking in an urgent voice.

“I’ll guide you to my professor’s office. I have something to discuss with you…”

“Let’s do that.”

I followed Selena’s guidance and moved to her professor’s office.

While walking, I organized the situation from the emergency strategy meeting earlier.

‘The purpose of this meeting was simple.’

Though they presented plausible justifications on the surface, in reality it was nothing more than a kind of witch hunt to determine who would be responsible for the incident.

A monster had been living underground for hundreds of years? And they had to offer dozens of people as sacrifices every month?

But why didn’t anyone know about this until now?

Well, someone has to take responsibility, right?

They had convened the emergency strategy meeting to pin the blame for this incident on someone.

‘Originally, the chancellor and high-ranking mages should have been responsible for this incident.’

The higher the position, the greater the responsibility that comes with it.

The Magic Academy’s chancellor and high-ranking mages had no choice but to become scapegoats for this incident.

‘But Selena didn’t want that situation.’

Why?

Because most of Wintershield’s high-ranking officials were loyal members of the Shadow Sect, and it would be troublesome if they were replaced.

That’s why Selena brought in the external factor of the ‘Sword Master.’ To somehow divert the topic elsewhere.

Tordham’s forced provocation was an extension of that.

The reason he attacked me while bringing up the treaty was ultimately because his own position was precarious.

If he couldn’t shift the blame to someone else, he would eventually become the scapegoat himself.

‘Of course, it was an obvious ploy.’

Instead, I presented a clear culprit for this incident by mentioning the existence of the Shadow Sect.

Wintershield had tried to proceed with the meeting while somehow concealing the existence of the secret society, but now that was no longer possible.

…Of course, my ‘warning’ went only that far.

I merely brought the Shadow Sect’s identity to the surface without condemning them.

Rather, I used the Sword Master’s authority to defend them. By revealing the justification that all forces must unite to prevent the apocalypse.

The reason I didn’t suppress the Shadow Sect but took a protective stance was simple.

‘First, I need to build trust with the Shadow Sect members.’

To unite the major forces, gaining trust was the top priority.

So for now, I chose to offer a carrot to the Shadow Sect.

Mentioning Middle Temple’s traditionalist faction, which had been their long-standing headache, was for the same reason.

‘Of course, they’ll be confused for now.’

From the Shadow Sect’s perspective, this would be a bewildering situation.

They’ll suspect my intentions for a while.

But that’s fine. You can’t get full from the first spoonful anyway.

Trust relationships must be built slowly and solidly.

“Please come in, Lord Gaon.”

Creak-.

While I was continuing these various thoughts, we were able to arrive at the professor’s office.

It was the moment I took my first step into the room following Selena.

“I have committed a mortal sin…!”

“…?”

Thud-!

A loud sound suddenly rang out.

When I turned around, Selena was prostrated flat on the floor. Bowing her head deeply while performing a full prostration.

While Adelia, who had been following behind, was slightly flustered, Selena continued speaking.

“Not only did I have a sect member tail Lord Gaon, but I also doubted the seeker’s profound intentions even in a situation where I should have shown proper respect.”

“…”

“Moreover, after you dealt with The Adversary, I even pushed the cleanup onto you. These are sins insufficient to dare ask forgiveness for… but even so, I apologize like this hoping for Lord Gaon’s mercy.”

No.

What’s this about now?

Honestly, I was a bit flustered.

I hadn’t expected Selena to suddenly throw out an apology like this.

‘…Well, at least she knows her own faults.’

Honestly, Selena’s behavior had been utterly scheming.

She had only tried to use me from beginning to end.

But that didn’t make this situation particularly unpleasant.

No.

Rather, I was even grateful to her for moving according to my ‘intentions’ from start to finish.

From sending Isaac Beriloff to tail me, to putting me at the forefront to shift responsibility after The Adversary incident.

All these situations had worked in my favor.

‘For example…’

Thanks to Isaac Beriloff tailing me, I was able to get my hands on “Tristan’s Cloak.”

That’s how I got the opportunity to have a private meeting with Dorico Shiro in the Forest of the Heavenly Sea.

This emergency strategy meeting was the same.

Thanks to Selena putting me at the forefront, I was able to express my intentions before the key figures of Wintershield Magic Academy.

While it would be a stretch to say I had completely taken control of the Shadow Sanctuary, I had at least succeeded in laying the foundation for it.

So there was no reason to feel bad. If anything, I should be happy that everything was proceeding smoothly according to plan.

‘Well, there’s no way Selena could know that.’

Selena would continue to think she had been using me.

So naturally, she would assume my mood was unpleasant.

‘When in reality, she’s the one who was being used.’

Well, maybe this worked out better?

Since Selena was volunteering to become the guilty party, there was no reason to refuse.

It meant I had gained an opportunity to extract even more from her.

Having finished that thought, I opened my mouth with a deliberately cold expression.

“What meaning is there in repentance with just words.”

Flinch-.

In an instant, Selena’s face turned pale.

Considering the temperament of other Sword Masters, it wouldn’t be strange at all to be killed on the spot in this situation.

The reason she could maintain her composure was because of the existence of the “Sword Master’s Seal.”

As long as the oath guaranteeing protection was engraved, I couldn’t directly harm her with my own hands.

“You speak truly.”

Selena carefully nodded and answered with a trembling voice.

“I don’t mean to try to buy The Protagonist’s heart with mere material things, but I will prepare a precious gift as an apology for my oversight. It will also serve as repayment for the grace of eliminating The Adversary.”

Hearing those words, I fell into thought for a moment.

If Crimson Empress Selena was saying that much, she must have some decent compensation in mind.

Various possibilities came to my mind.

Elixirs and mana crystals that the Shadow Sanctuary had collected over decades. Or various artifacts developed for experimental purposes, secret magic books, and research materials.

Actually, any of those would be decent choices.

For someone like me who needed to increase stats related to ‘mana’ in the long term to boost MP, these rewards would be quite useful.

But…

“The reward I want is not some gift.”

“…Pardon?”

I needed to see the bigger picture.

This was still just the very beginning of the main scenario.

Rather than being desperate to increase my meager MP, it was more important to establish a foundation that could solidify my influence.

Creating a ‘starting point’ to snowball from a long-term perspective rather than being buried in short-term gains before my eyes.

That was the true weapon I possessed as a 200th playthrough veteran gamer.

‘Building a foundation for the future is much more efficient than immediate stat increases.’

If that happened, my abilities would naturally rise anyway.

To see the true ending, I needed to lead the relationships between factions and the macroscopic flow in the direction I wanted.

In that sense, what I needed now wasn’t precious gifts but…

‘…People.’

Human resources.

In other words, the existence of NPCs who would form friendly relationships with me was much more urgent.

That had been the top priority among the various purposes for visiting Wintershield Magic Academy in the first place.

It wasn’t simply to eliminate The Adversary and save Strawberry Latte, but to find companions who would follow my plans.

Among them, the first priority person I had in mind was…

“Grand Sage Demarion.”

“…!”

“Guide me to his dwelling. Then I’ll overlook the mistake you made.”

Demarion.

The only 10th-tier Grand Mage of the current era, and a level 100 transcendent.

Known as one of the founding members of Wintershield Magic Academy, he had long ago left the secular world and confined himself to the top floor of the Magic Tower.

The last time Demarion had shown himself was hundreds of years ago. Because of this, the world regarded him as a figure of legend.

“…”

That was why Selena was showing reluctance.

Grand Sage Demarion wasn’t someone you could meet just because you wanted to.

“Grand Sage Demarion is on the top floor of the university. I can guide you there, but I cannot guarantee that the door will open.”

Selena continued carefully.

“His dwelling is sealed with various enchantments. The last time the door opened was hundreds of years ago… In fact, we’re not even certain if he’s still on the top floor, or even if he’s still alive.”

Nothing she said was wrong.

Even in the game, the methods to meet Demarion were extremely limited.

Getting his direct help was nearly impossible.

You had to complete complex quest chains and meet precise conditions at specific times.

During my 200 playthroughs, I had only managed to meet Demarion exactly ten times, so that said it all.

‘But the situation is different now.’

The anomaly created by my existence. And the completely changed flow of the world.

All these variables were opening new possibilities that transcended the game’s rules.

‘More than anything…’

I was confident.

Having achieved ‘that Achievement’ early on, I was certain I could meet Grand Sage Demarion this time.

Having finished that thought, I looked at Selena and said.

“That’s for me to figure out.”

“…”

After hesitating for a moment, Selena nodded briefly.

“Yes. Then I’ll guide you right away. To the top floor of the university.”

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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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