Former Hero, Solo Play Oriented

After the start of Eleonora’s Phase 2, Deathly Death couldn’t hold on for long.

Shoooosh, pffft!

“Ugh!”

Ultimately, Deathly Death allowed a sword strike to his shoulder and knelt from the impact. Gritting his teeth, he tried to rise again, but suddenly Eleonora’s sword point was at his throat.

Eleonora appeared a bit surprised.

“Impressive. That was a sharp thrust technique. Is that a martial art from your world? And some of those moves are accompanied by mana. It seems you call them skills. You don’t look like you’ve gone through internal training, but it seems you have techniques that deviate from this world’s laws.”

She sheathed her sword and turned her body, saying, “Good. The Demon Race are beings from another realm, so to counter them, abilities that violate such laws might be necessary. As adventurers from another star, I’ve understood your powers and their nature to some extent. I believe you can help in the battle in Eastern Erin’s Canyon.”

Ding!

[You have been acknowledged by Eleonora.]

[‘House of Roede’ Favorability +20]

[‘House of Roede’ Crafting Workshop Opened]

[‘House of Roede’ Sub Quest Opened]

Oooh-!

The faces of the selected user group gathered here lit up. Thanks to their efforts, activities at the next expansion point, House of Roede, gained traction.

Deathly Death descended from the training ground, greeted by cheers from the Hong Baek guild members. However, he just scratched his head with a dissatisfied look.

Chris chuckled and patted Deathly Death on the back.

“Good job! You’ve been recognized, so it’s a quest clear. Isn’t that the same? An event battle with a predetermined loss.”

“I think I could adapt after a few more tries.”

“Well, there will be other opportunities. It seems the area we will operate in is that knight’s land. Rain, we should start to… oh?”

Chris’s voice came from behind as I was heading toward the training ground.

Tsk.

As I stepped onto the training ground, I called out to Eleonora’s back as she was about to go report to the Emperor.

“Hey, where are you going?”

“Hmm? What’s up?”

Eleonora turned to look at me.

“It’s not over yet. We had a match with the tanks of two raid groups, so I should fight you too, right?”

“Girl.”

Eleonora looked straight at me.

“You’ve already been acknowledged by me. I think further sparring is meaningless.”

Why is it meaningless?

“I want to point out some issues with your swordsmanship. It seems there’s a problem.”

Eleonora’s eyebrows twitched.

She turned to face me directly.

“You say there’s a problem with my swordsmanship? My swordsmanship is that of the House of Roede, meaning your words imply there’s a problem with the swordsmanship of my house.”

Clang.

And she drew her sword.

“Can you take responsibility for that remark?”

“Of course.”

“I’ve heard that adventurers from another star cannot be judged by their appearance. You may look like a little girl, but you certainly aren’t weak.”

Crack!

Eleonora raised her sword, taking a guard position.

“Let’s see if you have the skill to make such reckless statements.”

Ching-ching-ching!

The quick slashes dazzled before my eyes. I deflected each one, not through skills but by moving my sword to meet the path of her strikes.

It’s been a while since I’ve fought like this.

In Astria Online, the “system” required using skills to inflict proper damage. I had never had a pure sword duel like this before. Perhaps only using makeshift tactics against the ancient hero.

Now that I’ve reached level 50, my stats are evenly distributed. The bonus numbers from my accessories are also quite substantial. Given my current stats, while I’m ‘just’ a hero, I can mimic the swordplay from my hero days.

If I add mana in here, I could definitely fight back. That is, if I burst my instant-death prevention belt and used the Hero’s Power.

I glanced back. Chris was looking at me with her hands clasped in front of her chest, a nervous expression on her face.

Of course, I wouldn’t think of using it here. If my body got skewered like a candied fruit, it wouldn’t be good for Chris’s mental health.

Whaaam!

Eleonora swung her sword down hard from above. Clank! The metallic sound echoed as it struck. She pushed me back a little.

She seemed a bit surprised. With a widened gaze, she maintained distance from me.

“You handle a sword well. You’re certainly different from the others.”

“Well, I can do a bit.”

“A bit? No, you’re on a considerable level. And somehow familiar.”

Clack!

“Girl. Show me your true potential.”

Swish!

This time, Eleonora charged forward.

Ching-ching-ching! The clash of swords resulted in dozens of exchanges, and at one moment, Eleonora’s eyes sparkled as she pulled back her sword. A thrust. I tilted my sword diagonally. Clang! And with the straight path of her thrust, I managed to intercept it with a kacha!

Whirl!

Then, I followed through, drawing a semicircle and unleashed it downward.

“!?”

In an instant, surprise filled Eleonora’s eyes as her sword dropped uncharacteristically low, as if her will had betrayed her. I took the sword that had been swinging in a semicircle and natured it to finish the circle, driving it toward Eleonora’s side. Shoooosh! Clank! However, she quickly regained her footing and positioned her sword to block my strike.

Stepping back slightly, Eleonora stared at me with wide eyes once more, but this time, it was genuine shock.

After a brief moment of silence and a standoff, a question slipped from Eleonora’s lips.

“…Girl, what’s your name?”

“It’s Rain.”

“What’s your family name?”

“Hmm, family name?”

I tilted my head in confusion.

What was my last name again?

My full name on the Continent of Astria is ‘Drizzle Rain,’ but Drizzle isn’t a last name. In this world, surnames come after the first name. ‘Drizzle’ means light rain or drizzle, as in the gentle rain of the mountain valley. It has that kind of descriptor vibe.

What about in Korea? There’s the name Lee Seulbi.

What was the family registry of Lee Seulbi again?

“Um… Lee from Jeonju?”

From behind, I heard a chuckle coming from the spirit master of the Hong Baek guild, Cherni. Right, Cherni’s real name is ‘Jaewook Lee.’

“That technique is one of the sword techniques of the House of Roede. You learn it when you enter the advanced study of mana handling. How does a being from a different world with no relation to the House of Roede know this technique?”

I pouted.

“Why does the technique for deflecting attacks belong to you? Anyone who has learned to a certain level can use it.”

“Still, that sword movement…!”

“Ah, be quiet.”

Clack!

I raised my sword, aiming at Eleonora.

“Is that all you’ve got? I’ve seen enough basic sword techniques, so why not use that move you did against Deathly Death again? Proper guidance should start from there.”

A blatant provocation.

Eleonora’s expression turned cold.

Thrum!

Up close, it was evident. An unusual aura wafted around Eleonora, indicating she was indeed channeling mana.

“I’ve heard that adventurers from another star heal quickly from injuries, and that death doesn’t signify complete rest.”

“Uh-huh?”

I do feel pain, though.

“Then, would it be fine to engage you somewhat seriously? I might even cut off a limb and make you feel that.”

Whoa, what a chilling statement.

Thump thump.

My heart raced. Excitement for the fight consumed my body.

I must truly be a born fighter.

Perhaps I was destined to live by the sword.

Shoooosh! Bam!

Eleonora’s sword traced bizarre trajectories aimed at me from all sides. It seemed she would thrust to the left, then swing from the right. But my sword moved naturally to block her strikes.

The speed intensified dramatically. But if Eleonora was using mana, I could counter with my ‘skills.’ If I deploy the Hero’s Power, I’m confident my swordsmanship and speed alone would be overwhelming, but I have the system at my side.

Even with the evasive skills targeting vulnerable areas, and skills to block a full 180 degrees ahead, it wouldn’t cover everything. But if I can visually track the real strikes, it won’t be a problem.

A sword aimed at my left shoulder faltered. A feint. The real thrust was at my right waist. I placed my sword lightly against it. Clang! Next was the left thigh. The sword wobbled, but it was a feint hidden among the real attacks. I blocked it as I brought my sword down. Clang!

Clang-clang-clang!

It seemed I was on the defensive, but in reality, Eleonora was the one in a bad position. Even her mana-infused attacks couldn’t land a blow on me.

Eleonora, relentless, exclaimed, “Can you see everything!?”

Clang! Clang!

I deflected her sword and pushed her back hard. Yet Eleonora, not flustered, immediately pressed her assault. The interval between plucking back her sword and driving it forward was under 0.1 seconds. I watched closely as the sword came down toward my left chest, just under my armpit. Swish. In that instant, my body blinked out of that space.

After doing a backward evasion into a thrust, slowly my distance grew to about 8 meters, allowing me to instantly reposition. However, if executed simultaneously, it grants me a brief 0.5-second period of invincibility. And in such a high-speed sword fight, 0.5 seconds of absolute invincibility meant an enormous advantage.

Shoooosh! Clang!

“Ugh!”

There was surprise in Eleonora’s eyes. She must have thought she sliced through me, but my body was safely positioned beyond that space, untouched. It’s understandable for her to be rattled; she thought I was stationary, yet I was untouchable.

Eleonora quickly found herself on the defensive. No matter how fast the attack was, if it couldn’t land, it was for naught. Mixing feints in her sword technique wouldn’t help in high-level fighting. The more rapid the attack, the less surely it would connect, resulting in wasted movements.

Crash!

Her sword, toting starlight, swung hard against mine. Just barely, I managed to block, causing Eleonora to slide back. The fact that she was being pushed back despite channeling mana left her in disbelief, as if processing an unreal scenario, her face dazed.

I spoke in a calm voice.

“As a Master, why rely on tricks? What’s the essence of the sword?”

“The essence of the sword…?”

“Block, thrust, and cut. And if your opponent is strong?”

“…Block definitively, thrust quickly, and cut strongly.”

“You know it well. Since you know, why do you act this way?”

Having reaffirmed her knowledge, Eleonora trembled as if struck by lightning.

“B-but those words mean, the techniques of our clan…!”

I glared at her coldly.

“Right now, you don’t have the qualifications to bear the title of Master.”

---