“Thank you for indulging me Hyon Hyung-ssi for this rematch.” Rachel brandishes her sword in an orthodox fencer stance.
I agree that this is a rematch, but we are using our real weapons here. That means Rachel will be using her weapon [Lionheart] and I will be using my dual-wielding daggers [Wolf Fang] and [Hunter’s Dagger].
“Please go easy on me…” I kindly request her. Rather than just a rematch, I imagine this to be a revenge match for Rachel. And she seems to be more at it than I realize.
It only takes a single breath for Rachel to cross the distance between me and her. “Damn, she is playing dirty…” And here I am waiting for a signal to start the match, only for Rachel to explosively lunge at me with feral speed.
A little bit of my hair is cut, but I manage thanks to my [AI System] moving me through my instincts. I make a minimal movement to dodge Rachel’s attacks. The [Lionheart] is a traditional epee for duels that focuses on agility but is lesser in precision in comparison to a rapier. I study her attacks trying to see a pattern using my [AI System].
Rachel is a hard worker, and it is quite pronounced in her martial ability. However, that is not where her true brilliance shines. It is Rachel’s ability to use every skill in her arsenal. My Hyon-tingle AKA [AI System] warns me of an invisible attack. I behind Rachel making an instantaneous dodge. I see from where I stand a wide trench.
I strike Rachel from behind. Rachel marvelously dodges my attack, already anticipating it a mile away. I am awestruck as she flies into the air. Flying might be too much as Rachel is actually using a combination of wind and ice elements to make temporary footholds so that she can rise higher and higher into the air.
It finally registers to me. The current Rachel is now capable of Elemental Magic and it has caught me off guard. From 360 degrees, I feel the stirring of spiritual power only visible through my [Wisdom] Ability thanks to [Witch King].
I dodge crazily as invisible winds rush at me with murderous intent. By this point, the [Witch King] is already adorning my head, giving me its best assistance. The [Witch King] can protect me from most attacks, yet I have to put effort into dodge all of them.
Rachel continues darting in the air far from my range while she rains me with a bombardment of elemental attacks. Rachel’s Elemental Magic’s foundation is spirit power. However, different from TNE’s Hajin, Rachel’s usage of spirit power is closer to nature.
I start sweating realizing Rachel has become more trouble than I realize. It has been only three days since I did my errand, and she is already this strong! Ugh…
It mollifies me, but at the same time fills me with joy. The Rachel in front of me is so amazing. After a few more struggles, I firm my resolve to win this. There should be something I can do. Most of my abilities won’t reach Rachel.
The moment Rachel establishes her aerial superiority, my loss becomes inevitable, but I am not a man if I give up now. I roll to the ground, trying my best to get away as fast as possible from the almost invisible wind cutters. There are also the occasional ice projectiles which I have to be careful for.
Judging by the way Rachel is fighting, she at least has contract with two kinds of spirits which is baffling. The moment Rachel experiences a reawakening, all kinds of spirits have gathered to her allowing her access to every element as an Elementalist.
Is she preserving the usage of other elements to surprise me? I doubt it. If she could wield them, she would already have. I can sense the lack of other elements accurately though her power over wind and ice is uncannily powerful. As if Rachel is packing more magic power than she usually does.
My [AI System] warns me of the sudden changes in the wind current. I activate and run as far as I can from where I stand. A whirlwind of sharp blades almost minces me into pieces.
Rachel anticipates my move with ease. She rockets down like a meteor with [Lionheart] at the front. Turbulent winds cover her as she descends with speed.
I see my chance. I cast on Rachel causing her to veer off-path albeit slightly. I lunge at her with my dual daggers, aiming for her throat. I see Rachel smile. “It is a trap!” I inwardly cry as Rachel plunges [Lionheart] to the ground.
Cold ice spreads outwards Rachel’s and it immobilizes me in place. I cannot move anymore, but so can Rachel. I find my mouth to be unhindered so I tease her. “It looks like this is going to be a tie, Rachel-ssi.” I relish the thought of still one-upping Rachel.
“I don’t think about that.” Rachel smugly replies.
I feel a breath of something behind my back.
“It is ‘Fenrir’ from the mythology, and I have contracted its Spirit.” Rachel enlightens me about what the hell is that enormous two-meter-tall wolf. The real deal Fenrir opens its maw and crushes my skull.
We are inside the Little Blue Tower’s ground floor where sparring and training occur, and one of the few effects the Tower has is that real death has been limited. Once a ‘player’ is killed inside, they will simply respawn.
Rachel watches with a victorious smile at the fading Hyon Hyung. Slowly, she realizes that something is wrong. The ‘Hyon Hyung’ her Fenrir has killed recedes into a shadowy mirage.
“Sorry, Rachel… That was my afterimage.” I mercilessly tell Rachel while I place my [Wolf Fang] on her neck from behind. It is bitter, but Rachel has been fighting my all along.
It is not only Rachel who is making steady progress. My maximum afterimage is still four, however by focusing on a single afterimage, I can make an almost believable substitute clone when I am in danger.
“Sigh…” Rachel seems to be bummed by her defeat. “Do it…”
This is the last testing of the tower’s functions. The Little Blue Tower has a total of three floors open currently. The ground floor is where spars are facilitated. The second floor is where a person can make select enemies against multiple opponents with differing terrains. The third floor is where a person can fight a boss-level character in any environment. Each floor has been meticulously tested already.
That leaves the testing of Respawn function which removes the consequences of having life and death spars. I press my [Wolf Fang] on Rachel’s neck and behead her. I had enough strength to behead someone even with a dagger, so I did.
Rachel is reduced into glimmering light particles.
I wretch with disgust at my having to do it. If only Rachel had not insisted that we try it in an environment where the Respawn must be tested while having the spar. I have a choice of being cavalier about it. I can just not kill Rachel by being gentlemanly driving the dagger to my own heart to see whether the Respawn works, but I didn’t. I fear Rachel might be insulted.
I wait with anxiety. I trust Hajin’s abilities, but it relieves me more after I see Rachel respawning in front of me. “How does death feel for the first time?” I ask her, worried.
“Eh? It doesn’t feel painful at all…” Rachel appears to be not making a big deal out of it.
“There is pain suppression and a kind of barrier to make it less psychologically compelling. Take note there is not even a drop of bloodshed in sparring. It is like being in a VR game, but more immersive. Still, I will enter to check up on Rachel to see if something is wrong.”
We hear Hajin’s voice from out of nowhere. He must be at the Tower’s top where the Dungeon Core rests. Rachel and I wait for Hajin’s arrival. While at it, I interviewed Rachel a bit.
“How did you get so strong? Your evolution is nothing but explosive.” I am curious about Rachel’s progress and how she did it. She shouldn’t be this monstrously strong. Unlike in the novel, the Rachel in front of me is integrating her swordsmanship into her elemental abilities.
Rather than being an Elemental Spiritualist and a Swordswoman at the same time, Rachel has become an Elemental Swordswoman instead!
Rachel shyly covers her mouth, maybe hiding her own excitement at being praised. “Everyone helped a lot. Hajin-ssi gave me a powder that could awaken me. Nayun-ssi clued me to places where strong Spirits are hiding. Suho-ssi helped me to get to these places and gain their contracts. After that, Suho-ssi helped me improve my combat abilities by integrating my swordsmanship into Elemental Spirits.”
In other words, Rachel is thankful for her seniors. It is a surprise to me though that Nayun knows these Spirits and stuff, and even going as far as to help Rachel. “Can you tell me more about Nayun and this Spirit Contracts?”
“According to her, her knowledge of these Spirits comes from searching Hajin-ssi when Hain-ssi is still acting as Fenrir.”
“Thank you for indulging me Hyon Hyung-ssi for this rematch.” Rachel brandishes her sword in an orthodox fencer stance.
I agree that this is a rematch, but we are using our real weapons here. That means Rachel will be using her weapon [Lionheart] and I will be using my dual-wielding daggers [Wolf Fang] and [Hunter’s Dagger].
“Please go easy on me…” I kindly request her. Rather than just a rematch, I imagine this to be a revenge match for Rachel. And she seems to be more at it than I realize.
It only takes a single breath for Rachel to cross the distance between me and her. “Damn, she is playing dirty…” And here I am waiting for a signal to start the match, only for Rachel to explosively lunge at me with feral speed.
A little bit of my hair is cut, but I manage thanks to my [AI System] moving me through my instincts. I make a minimal movement to dodge Rachel’s attacks. The [Lionheart] is a traditional epee for duels that focuses on agility but is lesser in precision in comparison to a rapier. I study her attacks trying to see a pattern using my [AI System].
Rachel is a hard worker, and it is quite pronounced in her martial ability. However, that is not where her true brilliance shines. It is Rachel’s ability to use every skill in her arsenal. My Hyon-tingle AKA [AI System] warns me of an invisible attack. I behind Rachel making an instantaneous dodge. I see from where I stand a wide trench.
I strike Rachel from behind. Rachel marvelously dodges my attack, already anticipating it a mile away. I am awestruck as she flies into the air. Flying might be too much as Rachel is actually using a combination of wind and ice elements to make temporary footholds so that she can rise higher and higher into the air.
It finally registers to me. The current Rachel is now capable of Elemental Magic and it has caught me off guard. From 360 degrees, I feel the stirring of spiritual power only visible through my [Wisdom] Ability thanks to [Witch King].
I dodge crazily as invisible winds rush at me with murderous intent. By this point, the [Witch King] is already adorning my head, giving me its best assistance. The [Witch King] can protect me from most attacks, yet I have to put effort into dodge all of them.
Rachel continues darting in the air far from my range while she rains me with a bombardment of elemental attacks. Rachel’s Elemental Magic’s foundation is spirit power. However, different from TNE’s Hajin, Rachel’s usage of spirit power is closer to nature.
I start sweating realizing Rachel has become more trouble than I realize. It has been only three days since I did my errand, and she is already this strong! Ugh…
It mollifies me, but at the same time fills me with joy. The Rachel in front of me is so amazing. After a few more struggles, I firm my resolve to win this. There should be something I can do. Most of my abilities won’t reach Rachel.
The moment Rachel establishes her aerial superiority, my loss becomes inevitable, but I am not a man if I give up now. I roll to the ground, trying my best to get away as fast as possible from the almost invisible wind cutters. There are also the occasional ice projectiles which I have to be careful for.
Judging by the way Rachel is fighting, she at least has contract with two kinds of spirits which is baffling. The moment Rachel experiences a reawakening, all kinds of spirits have gathered to her allowing her access to every element as an Elementalist.
Is she preserving the usage of other elements to surprise me? I doubt it. If she could wield them, she would already have. I can sense the lack of other elements accurately though her power over wind and ice is uncannily powerful. As if Rachel is packing more magic power than she usually does.
My [AI System] warns me of the sudden changes in the wind current. I activate and run as far as I can from where I stand. A whirlwind of sharp blades almost minces me into pieces.
Rachel anticipates my move with ease. She rockets down like a meteor with [Lionheart] at the front. Turbulent winds cover her as she descends with speed.
I see my chance. I cast on Rachel causing her to veer off-path albeit slightly. I lunge at her with my dual daggers, aiming for her throat. I see Rachel smile. “It is a trap!” I inwardly cry as Rachel plunges [Lionheart] to the ground.
Cold ice spreads outwards Rachel’s and it immobilizes me in place. I cannot move anymore, but so can Rachel. I find my mouth to be unhindered so I tease her. “It looks like this is going to be a tie, Rachel-ssi.” I relish the thought of still one-upping Rachel.
“I don’t think about that.” Rachel smugly replies.
I feel a breath of something behind my back.
“It is ‘Fenrir’ from the mythology, and I have contracted its Spirit.” Rachel enlightens me about what the hell is that enormous two-meter-tall wolf. The real deal Fenrir opens its maw and crushes my skull.
We are inside the Little Blue Tower’s ground floor where sparring and training occur, and one of the few effects the Tower has is that real death has been limited. Once a ‘player’ is killed inside, they will simply respawn.
Rachel watches with a victorious smile at the fading Hyon Hyung. Slowly, she realizes that something is wrong. The ‘Hyon Hyung’ her Fenrir has killed recedes into a shadowy mirage.
“Sorry, Rachel… That was my afterimage.” I mercilessly tell Rachel while I place my [Wolf Fang] on her neck from behind. It is bitter, but Rachel has been fighting my all along.
It is not only Rachel who is making steady progress. My maximum afterimage is still four, however by focusing on a single afterimage, I can make an almost believable substitute clone when I am in danger.
“Sigh…” Rachel seems to be bummed by her defeat. “Do it…”
This is the last testing of the tower’s functions. The Little Blue Tower has a total of three floors open currently. The ground floor is where spars are facilitated. The second floor is where a person can make select enemies against multiple opponents with differing terrains. The third floor is where a person can fight a boss-level character in any environment. Each floor has been meticulously tested already.
That leaves the testing of Respawn function which removes the consequences of having life and death spars. I press my [Wolf Fang] on Rachel’s neck and behead her. I had enough strength to behead someone even with a dagger, so I did.
Rachel is reduced into glimmering light particles.
I wretch with disgust at my having to do it. If only Rachel had not insisted that we try it in an environment where the Respawn must be tested while having the spar. I have a choice of being cavalier about it. I can just not kill Rachel by being gentlemanly driving the dagger to my own heart to see whether the Respawn works, but I didn’t. I fear Rachel might be insulted.
I wait with anxiety. I trust Hajin’s abilities, but it relieves me more after I see Rachel respawning in front of me. “How does death feel for the first time?” I ask her, worried.
“Eh? It doesn’t feel painful at all…” Rachel appears to be not making a big deal out of it.
“There is pain suppression and a kind of barrier to make it less psychologically compelling. Take note there is not even a drop of bloodshed in sparring. It is like being in a VR game, but more immersive. Still, I will enter to check up on Rachel to see if something is wrong.”
We hear Hajin’s voice from out of nowhere. He must be at the Tower’s top where the Dungeon Core rests. Rachel and I wait for Hajin’s arrival. While at it, I interviewed Rachel a bit.
“How did you get so strong? Your evolution is nothing but explosive.” I am curious about Rachel’s progress and how she did it. She shouldn’t be this monstrously strong. Unlike in the novel, the Rachel in front of me is integrating her swordsmanship into her elemental abilities.
Rather than being an Elemental Spiritualist and a Swordswoman at the same time, Rachel has become an Elemental Swordswoman instead!
Rachel shyly covers her mouth, maybe hiding her own excitement at being praised. “Everyone helped a lot. Hajin-ssi gave me a powder that could awaken me. Nayun-ssi clued me to places where strong Spirits are hiding. Suho-ssi helped me to get to these places and gain their contracts. After that, Suho-ssi helped me improve my combat abilities by integrating my swordsmanship into Elemental Spirits.”
In other words, Rachel is thankful for her seniors. It is a surprise to me though that Nayun knows these Spirits and stuff, and even going as far as to help Rachel. “Can you tell me more about Nayun and this Spirit Contracts?”
“According to her, her knowledge of these Spirits comes from searching Hajin-ssi when Hain-ssi is still acting as Fenrir.”
