Chapter 28

The next day.

The quarterfinal matches of the swordsmanship tournament had begun.

From the quarterfinals onward, things got a bit tougher, but none of my opponents could properly deal with my afterimages.

Thanks to that, I’d made it to the finals far more smoothly than expected for someone who’d been a total scrub civilian just a short while ago.

And before long.

“The final match of the day: Lady Luril of House Carlenta versus Lady Sennia of House Forlang!”

The sharp sound of a sword being drawn rang out. The duel had started.

“I look forward to a good fight, Lady Sennia.”

Lady Luril de Carlenta’s eyes sparkled with seriousness. It was a world away from the sleazy expression she’d worn yesterday.

She was A-rank, so she should have been able to sense my stats at least vaguely, yet she showed no complacency even against an opponent who looked weak.

“I look forward to a good fight, Lady Luril!”

Against an opponent like this, even I felt excited.

Unlike yesterday, I was motivated to give it my all. I tightened my grip on my sword.

Mana drain had become familiar by now.

The moment Lady Luril bowed her head in greeting, she charged straight at me.

“Haa!”

It was a swift thrust.

Diving into the opponent’s range with a thrust and unleashing rapid swordplay in an instant—that was Lady Luril’s style, as I’d seen yesterday.

But I wasn’t any slower.

Just lightly grazing her sword a few times shaved off her HP in chunks.

But with my temporary 45,000 HP boost from the item, plus the incremental gains from the tournament, this level of damage was manageable.

I checked my status window.

With over 120,000 HP, a few thousand damage was nothing.

As I kept parrying her attacks, Lady Carlenta’s eyes lit up.

She feinted a thrust, then suddenly swung horizontally with great force.

I’d seen the tension in her grip signaling a thrust, so this unexpected attack caught me off guard.

“!”

If my eyes weren’t accustomed to afterimages, I’d have taken a serious wound.

I leaped back, but the sword wind still tore through.

Luril tried to press the advantage.

But if I were the type to just take it lying down, I’d have been monster chow in the gate already!

Layering afterimage upon afterimage.

My Afterimage skill could deal damage.

Not as much as the real sword, of course, but the people of this world had no way of knowing that.

A single sword produced three or four afterimages; layering again on those would make my sword look like sixteen to Lady Carlenta.

“…!”

Sure enough, her sword trajectory bent sharply.

Thrusting, then swinging, then changing paths mid-motion—it was impossible without exceptional training and reflexes.

Even I, an S-rank, had to admire it.

“How can she move that fast…!”

I could see the spectators behind Lady Carlenta murmuring and craning their necks forward.

But I had no time to glance at the stands.

The momentum had shifted my way—it was time to attack.

Pair it with a thrust, and…

Shouting ‘I Want to Eat Butter Scallops!’ would have added extra bonus damage, but I couldn’t bring myself to say it.

Besides, if Sennia started craving butter scallops here, I’d get hit with a penalty for sure!

Low skill ranks meant they were easy to overlap.

The corners of my mouth curved into a grin without me realizing it.

It had been ages since I’d faced a worthy opponent, and my dealer instincts were kicking in hard.

My mood had completely shifted.

My sword tip danced through dozens of arcs, feeling light and joyful.

That’s when a blue status window popped up in front of me.

Ugh, don’t pop up status windows mid-fight!

I selected Y without hesitation. It wasn’t an unknown skill.

It let Hunter So Yeri share my vision and hearing.

Right now, it was purely for spectatorship.

The moment I approved, system notifications poured in.

They must have requested sharing at lightning speed—both names popped up immediately.

Lady Carlenta, unable to see my status window, deflected my sword strikes one by one despite taking minor wounds.

Unable to distinguish real from afterimage, she blocked them all.

Impressive speed.

You guys look like you’re enjoying it more?

Can’t help in the fight, but blocking my view with chat spam?

“Haat!”

At that moment, Lady Carlenta gritted her teeth.

She shifted instantly from defense to offense.

At the same time, she swung her left hand to swat away my afterimages.

Even with armor, the damage went through. But ignoring her wounds, she lunged at me.

“!”

Our eyes met in that instant. Hers burned with determination.

Eyes that said she would win no matter what.

She’d endured the wound on her left arm to close the distance.

In that moment, I saw someone else in Lady Carlenta’s eyes.

Eyes of someone willing to give flesh to take bone. Eyes of someone who had something vital to gain, even at great risk.

“Haa!”

A shout escaped me unbidden.

I hadn’t planned to clash swords head-on with an A-rank dealer, but her sudden move left no time to react.

If those dozen-plus afterimages hadn’t shared the damage, I’d be down already.

My HP was dropping, vision blurring, but instinctively I knew.

This was the chance—her all-or-nothing attack had failed.

Risking injury to close in wasn’t something only Lady Carlenta could do.

I charged at her boldly.

Lady Carlenta’s sword, trying to block me, futilely pierced my afterimage.

And behind it, I thrust my sword forward.

E-rank fast, but it stopped right at her throat.

“Hold!”

The match was decided. My victory.

Amid the flood of hunter chat, a blue system window intruded.

Only then did my body feel light again.

Before typing thanks in hunter chat, I looked at Lady Carlenta’s face.

She looked relieved yet regretful.

“That was a great duel.”

I offered my hand, and unlike some sniveling noble from another house, she took it with a pleasant smile and stood.

“Someday, I’d love to discuss afterimages with you, Lady Sennia.”

She wiped her sweat, eyes sparkling.

Eyes that sought to advance even in defeat.

Rare eyes among high-rank hunters.

Looking into them, a memory from my past surfaced.

Ah.

I’d seen eyes like these before.

Someone who always stood back up, no matter how many times they fell and rolled on the ground. Someone looking not at what’s in front, but far ahead.

“You’ll definitely grow stronger, Lady Carlenta.”

I gripped her hand tightly. This lady could reach S-rank someday. Those were eyes full of passion.

I knew. I knew it well.

Because I’d known someone like that.

Our gazes met.

“Sennia de Forlang, victorious!”

With the knight’s shout, system windows scrolled up.

D-rank. I’d ranked up.