Chapter 30
Translator: Kell Editor: Weasalopes
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Stealth vs Master Swordsman (Main Battle)
「No answer… Then can you at least tell me what you’re after? If you don’t, I’ll have to cut you down . 」Lawrence said .
He didn’t use the more direct term “kill”, which sent a chill down to Hikaru’s bones . He had never experienced a matter of life and death quite like this . He had to make himself believe that the captain didn’t know his exact location or he wouldn’t even be able to move at all . Hikaru ignored the girl for now . His target this time was the captain .
Was there a point in attacking the captain?
That question had been clawing at the corner of his mind ever since he stepped foot in the training facility . The answer was clear . Not much .
The captain thought Hikaru wanted to test his abilities . His goal of preventing the death of East was already fulfilled . It was nothing more than speculation, however .
Was there any benefit in attacking the captain then?
The answer was clear . He could turn that speculation into reality . Put it another way, that was all the benefit there was . Nothing more . Compare that to the risk of attacking the captain who was in a whole different league than the other commanders, it just wasn’t worth it .
Still…
Hikaru’s bad habit – his curiosity – was aching . He could find out how effective his Stealth really was . There hadn’t been anyone who he could use a hundred percent of his abilities on . Not until now .
He could go all out with the captain . After all, he had 8 points on Natural Recovery . The max points allowed for it was twenty, but eight was plenty enough . He wouldn’t die that easily .
It’s strange .
The old him – the one back in Japan – wouldn’t take a risk like this . He stayed away from violence as much as possible . He never thought of testing his own strength . His life was peaceful .
In this world, life is valued lightly . Am I slowly conforming to that notion as well? Yikes… But it can’t be all that bad . One day, I’ll eventually learn of the limits of my Stealth and job class . This is my chance to find out sooner, rather than later .
In essence, this fight would be a safety measure .
Hikaru gripped the pebbles from his pockets tightly . He was behind the captain, about ten meters away and at an angle . A complete blindspot .
Here goes nothing!!
Mustering every ounce of his strength, Hikaru threw the pebble straight at the back of the captain’s head, which was exposed without any sort of protection . 0 . 3 second until the pebble would land .
I got him—
In the blink of an eye, the captain’s body rotated like a tornado . With his great sword, he smashed the pebble to pieces .
「Wha…?」
Hikaru accidentally let out a sound . How could he move like that?! How did he sense my attack even? By sound?
A flying pebble would make a sound as it cut through the wind . The speed of sound is 340 meters per second . The pebble would only make a sound once it was out of range of Hikaru’s Stealth . Yet the captain was able to hear it and then react quickly .
Impossible… No, maybe it is . That’s why he’s called the kingdom’s strongest .
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Hairs stood all over Hikaru’s body . Lawrence’s eyes were fixed towards his direction .
「There you are . 」
Oh, shit . This would be the second time he was face to face with death . The first was during his fatal traffic accident .
「You were promising, but this is the end for you!」
The captain brandished his large sword effortlessly, exposing the jet-black blade, its width uniform from base to tip .
「Hiyaaaaa!」
The captain caught a glimpse of a black cloak behind a pillar . He brought the sword down with a flash, destroying the post along with the figure in black . Air pushed forward . The shockwave from the swing struck the wall of the building and burst outside . It wasn’t magic . Lawrence had zero knowledge about spells . He caused the shockwave by sheer power from him swinging his sword .
「…What a letdown . 」
The cloud of dust settled . Under the rubble of the broken pillar was a black cloak .
「Hmm?」
Lawrence’s eyes widened . There was no body . Only the cloak was pinned underneath .
Holy crap! What the hell was that?! The guy’s not human!
Hikaru’s heart pounded in his chest . The trap he set earlier did its job . He hung his cloak on a spot where it could be seen for just a little . He then threw the pebble from that direction . Once the enemy followed the trajectory, the first thing he’d see would be the cloak, making it look like someone was hiding behind the pillar .
Hikaru set it up for insurance . He was actually optimistic, thinking he might not need it . Without any plate armor, he assumed the captain was an easy target for his pebbles .
That was way unexpected . What’s with that reaction time?
Hikaru was on the walkway on the second floor and threw the stone from there . Lawrence had an idea of the general direction where the attack came from, but he didn’t know the exact location of his foe . As proof, the captain was looking around restlessly, searching for him .
What ridiculous strength . That was probably the reason why the princess could come watch alone . The captain wouldn’t lose . That doesn’t answer the question of what she was doing here, however .
Should I get closer? But if do that I’d lose all the benefit of my Throwing skill .
One of the advantages of Throwing was he could attack his target while hiding . If he got close and his attack got blocked, or the captain recovered quickly thanks to his high Natural Recovery and then counterattacked, all would be for naught .
Should I retreat, then?
He considered it for a bit .
…Nah . Hikaru grinned while covered in cold sweat . I haven’t tried giving it my all yet .
He opened up his Soul Board and used the one point he had saved . Quietly, he got down from the walkway to the ground . With Hikaru’s Stealth fully activated, Lawrence didn’t notice him at all .
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…Time for round two .
He tried desperately to stop his legs from shaking . Gripping his Dagger of Strength tight on his right hand, he walked towards Lawrence .
Hikaru was planning on engaging in close combat . Or rather, he just wanted to get close – he had no intention of fighting .
One-hit instant kill .
The captain attacked earlier with the intent to kill . This wasn’t an opponent that Hikaru could go easy on .
Time to take down this kingdom’s strongest .
「………?」
For a moment, it looked like Lawrence felt something . But what it was, he had no idea . Perhaps he was busy thinking that maybe his foe was already gone, because for a second, he let his guard down . Sharp pain ran through his neck .
「Huh?」
In an instant, he was overwhelmed by the smell of blood . Lawrence didn’t know it was his own blood at first .
「Wha… . What?」
Blood spewed out from his jugular . The neck . A defenseless part of the body with no muscles . But slicing the spot just right down one’s face was not something that could be done easily . That goes double for someone as strong as Lawrence . And yet, his neck was slashed, no doubt, although he had no idea how .
His confusion didn’t last long . Beyond the gushing blood, Lawrence spotted the figure slipping right by his flank .
With a grunt, the captain swung his sword . Its power was a lot weaker than the one earlier, but it was enough to cut a man in half . Given the distance, he was sure the tip of his sword would hit .
「Tch!!」
Hikaru quickly leapt back with enormous force . It was a jump that far exceeded his physical abilities, allowing him to evade the tip of Lawrence’s sword .
Damn, two points on Power Burst is freakin’ quick!
When Hikaru opened up his Soul Board, he used his one point on Power Burst . He did so just to be safe, and yet he still almost got killed .
Lawrence probably didn’t expect to be attacked from the front . Hikaru cut his artery, then in the cover of the gushing blood, moved quickly behind the captain .
The princess was behind Hikaru . If Lawrence swung his sword in his direction, a shockwave would be produced, possibly harming the princess . Which is exactly why Hikaru thought the captain wouldn’t strike .
But he did . The shockwave destroyed the wall right under where the princess was . It was a close call . Hikaru wouldn’t have been able to dodge without his Power Burst 2 . He realized that there was no such thing as too much insurance when fighting against someone as strong as the captain .
The wall collapsed . The training facility might be firmly built, but if the walls collapsed in two different spots — they were close as well — that whole section would come crumbling down .
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The princess was on the walkway . With his Mana Detection, Hikaru saw her getting up on her foot in a panic . She would surely fall . Lawrence should be running towards her right about now…
「…What?」
「There you are!」
Lawrence charged straight at Hikaru . He had seen the boy for a moment which weakened the effects of Stealth .
W-W-Wait a sec! Aren’t you going to save the princess?! I saw her stats! There’s no way she’ll get out of that unscathed!
Lawrence swung his sword downward at an incredible speed . Hikaru frantically tried to escape . His Power Burst was doing wonders, but it drained too much stamina when used multiple times . The shockwave was destroying the wall even more .
I have to somehow get out of his sight to reactivate my Stealth .
His cloak, which would’ve been perfect for blocking Lawrence’s field of vision, had been sacrificed earlier . All he had on his hands were pebbles, but they weren’t enough for the task .
No, wait . There’s one more thing .
There was a way he could block the captain’s vision for a second . More specifically, a “thing” .
I’ll have to retreat afterwards .
「What a strange art . Is it magic? Are you done now that I know where you are?」
「Not necessarily . 」
「What?!」
Hikaru removed his mask and threw it at Lawrence’s face . A moment — a split-second — was all he needed . Having lost sight of Hikaru momentarily, the captain couldn’t perceive him any longer, even though he was still standing on the same spot .
The fact that it was dark inside helped as well, and that Hikaru had black hair and was wearing black clothes . The effects of Stealth wouldn’t have been restored if they were out in broad daylight .
「Where are you?!」
Lawrence crushed the mask in his hand .
How can you even move when your jugular is cut?!
Lawrence’s face was growing pale, the blood still flowing from the cut on his neck . The wound was deep enough that his Natural Recovery couldn’t heal him up quickly . With that much blood loss, a normal human being would’ve fainted a while ago, or even died .
「Kyaaaaa! 」
The spot the princess was standing on tilted to one side . She was about to fall . Perhaps due to the magic item, Lawrence couldn’t discern the her exact location .
「That voice… Is that you, Princess Kudyastoria?! What are you doing here?!」
Wait, what?! He didn’t know the princess was here?!
「Ah—」
Then, the princess was in the air, falling . Directly under here were bits and pieces of wood, with sharp edges . If she fell on them, she’d be heavily injured . What’s worse, the ceiling was making a sound . She wouldn’t be able to walk right away if she sprained her ankles from the fall . If the ceiling collapses on her…
「Damn it!」
Ignoring Lawrence who still had no idea where the princess was exactly, Hikaru dashed towards her . She wasn’t that far away . It was a good thing that he steadily distanced himself from Lawrence .
He didn’t have a reason to save her, but he wouldn’t be able to sleep at night if she died here . Although given that the royal castle was close, someone with healing magic should be able to help her right away . But they wouldn’t be able to bring the dead back to life .
「Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!」
「Ugh…」
Catching someone falling with both arms was a lot tougher than expected . Pain ran through his knees and hips like an electric current . But he couldn’t stay there for a second longer for the ceiling was crumbling down .
「Damn nice timing!」
「Kyaaa?!」
Hikaru quite literally carried the girl in both arms like a princess . He jumped outside through a hole in the wall . A loud crash came from behind them . The ceiling had fallen .
「Your Highness! Are you okay?!」
Lawrence was shouting, unable to see exactly where they were . After all the ruckus, the guards would surely notice . A whistle pealed, setting the whole area abuzz .
「Are you the assailant?」Kudyastoria asked as Hikaru stood still .
Hikaru wanted to click his tongue in annoyance . He threw his mask so she saw his face . Up close, at that .
I guess it’s fine . I doubt I’ll see her again anyway .
Hikaru saw the face hidden under her hood . She was beautiful, with an air of sagacity . Though considering she snuck into the training facility at night, she might be quite reckless as well . Hikaru let her down right away .
「You’re fine, right? No sprains or anything?」
「What? Ah, yes, I’m fine . 」
「Good . The captain might die from blood loss… Actually, I highly doubt that . That guy’s extremely jacked . Guards should be here soon . Just ask them to pick you up . 」
Hikaru turned his back to the princess .
「W-W-Wait a second!」
「Why should I?」
Hikaru started running .
「…Roland…?」the princess muttered as she watched his back growing farther and farther away .