When dealing with ordinary people, the most important thing is knowing how to make a graceful exit. When facing someone who’s naturally overpowered, the key is to show your strength and teach them a lesson.
Best if you can make them taste what it’s like to lose, so they understand deep down that having power doesn’t solve everything. If you can’t learn to wield it with balance, then aside from erasing the root of the problem, it’s pretty much useless…
I should stop rambling on like this.
Standing there, I muttered to myself while swinging the Flowing Wind Sword in all directions.
The ripple-bladed hunting knives came at me from both sides with lightning speed—but after all, they were hunting knives, so their attack range was limited by their length. That said, if she got too close to me, she’d probably be in for some serious danger.
She’d probably considered that too. If she’d read my wanted poster and had been running around town, she’d definitely have picked up quite a bit of info about me.
Our fight was intense, but the crowd on the outskirts wasn’t satisfied. They roared with shouts like rolling thunder, drowning out the rest of the onlookers in the inner circle—
Arguments flared up here and there, and scuffles and trampling incidents broke out all over the place.
But right now, I should’ve been focused on fending off the white-clad girl’s fierce attacks—instead, I was standing here watching the crowd brawl among themselves like a bunch of clowns.
“Hey, pay a little attention to me, kid.”
For some reason, her tone had shifted strangely—half pleading, half commanding. Either way, I finally snapped my focus back to her.
Her speed was EX-rank, already at the level of a top-tier assassin. Her combat skills and wealth of experience were things an average person could never hope to attain… but in my eyes, she was still too slow.
Maybe [Serious Mode] was just too unfair? Eh, not my problem.
“Ultraspeed!” the girl chanted, and in an instant, she’d put a massive distance between us.
I couldn’t help but grin at that, gripping the Flowing Wind Sword even tighter. And then—visible energy began radiating from the outline of her form… if you could even call it energy. It was more like something akin to battle aura.
Battle aura—something high-level martial artists obtain after training to a certain point. I never had the desire to acquire it myself, so I didn’t know much about it…
Anyway, it consumes mental energy, and it’s pretty effective against close-range opponents.
I ignored the battle aura entirely, keeping my eyes locked on the girl’s movements. Her figure blurred, then split into four, darting rapidly to both sides… As for the extra three “girls,” my [Soul Sight] told me they were just shadow clones—same as the ones I’d seen a few minutes ago.
They surrounded me, forming a tight encirclement. You could picture it as a constantly spinning ring…
Just as that thought crossed my mind, the Flowing Wind Sword naturally shifted to block my left side. The next instant, sparks erupted as blades clashed right before my eyes.
Sure enough—rather than attacking my stronger right side, she went for my more vulnerable left to gain the upper hand. If she’d followed up with a combo, it might’ve worked.
Too bad for her, though—that path was a dead end against me.
Then came another afterimage. I spun the Flowing Wind Sword and thrust it behind me, missed, then quickly flicked it upward—
With a swish, I struck one of the clones. Not bad.
Seeming to take advantage of the recovery time after my upward slash, another white figure appeared before me. In the moonlight, her ripple-bladed hunting knives reflected her triumphant expression.
“Got you!”
I chuckled softly and spread my arms wide, as if welcoming her in—though really, I couldn’t have cared less.
Rushing in recklessly against your opponent is one of the biggest taboos in a duel. If she didn’t know that by now, she had no business challenging anyone in the first place.
Clang—I knew exactly what that sound meant. She’d struck, all right, but her hunting knives had slammed into a shimmering violet barrier. Then the girl went flying backward… well, “flying” might be generous—it was more like she was being forced back by some immense pressure.
She crashed into the natural wall formed by the crowd that the duel had drawn in. Before she could even catch her breath, she’d taken several hits.
I raised the Flowing Wind Sword once more, claimed victory once again, and tossed the blade aside once more…
And only when the sword clattered to the ground did I realise the crowd had fallen silent. After all that chaotic noise, the sudden quiet felt almost unsettling.
“You made a mistake, big sister. You shouldn’t have attacked so rashly.”
“Is that so? Mm… you’re really amazing…”
Somewhere along the way, the damage system for players had become just as realistic as the real thing. Just a few days ago, it was all pixelated shattering. Guess that’s what daily updates get you? Gotta love the devs.
After that eerie silence, the crowd burst into chatter again, and my name was on everyone’s lips… “No one is born knowing everything; who can be without doubts?”—that saying’s spot on, because I genuinely had no idea why they were so shocked. So a little girl beat a player? Sure, that alone is pretty surprising, but still—
“Wait, that Anlisa actually lost?”
“Of course! I saw it with my own eyes—that’s definitely Anlisa!”
“Didn’t she place pretty high in the Immortal Cup? She even wiped the floor with our guild leader!” So this girl was no pushover after all?
“She’s crazy fast—faster than sound! That’s way too fake. Is she just doing this for views?”
“Or maybe her opponent really is that strong?” Nice pivot—now all the attention’s on me…
“What’s the big deal? She’s just a girl. Probably just an actress putting on a show.”
“No, look closely at her—doesn’t she seem kind of familiar?” Oh great, a prophet. You’re getting voted off tonight.
Another stretch of silence passed. When nobody made a move, I finally relaxed a little, ready to talk to the girl and get out of there—
But things didn’t go as planned.
“Oh! I remember now!”
“Yeah! Now that you mention it, I remember too!” I’m doomed…
“She’s that girl on the wanted board, isn’t she?” Ha. Ha.
This tired old routine—I hate it so much.
The whole place ignited. A greedy, restless energy hung in the air as they edged closer, step by step, just like this morning… like an animal on display.
And just like this morning, they wanted to rush me but were held back by fear of what I might do. So instead, they slowly tightened the circle around me.
Honestly, you’d think the bloodbath this morning would’ve made them realise how dangerous I am. But no—people never learn.
Looks like I’ll have to make a move again… Huh? Those two girls were gone again. They sure came and went fast.
But if I wanted to rescue Elve and the others, I’d have to find another way. Maybe getting some allies would help…
Completely ignoring the crowd around me, I ran through every possible resource in my head… The vampire should still be in the city; Clytie and her people were an option, though risky; what about those two girls from earlier? Probably not feasible.
I went back and forth, but couldn’t settle on anything. With a helpless stomp of my foot, I started figuring out how to handle this greedy crowd in front of me… They’d probably already resigned themselves to bloodshed, but catching me was still their top priority…
Heh, not gonna lie—if I were in their shoes, I’d do the same.
Just as I was about to make my move, I heard a commanding shout from the direction I’d come from—
“That’s enough!”
I can say with absolute certainty that there isn’t a single voice I can’t recognise—and that’s precisely what bothers me so much… If I could, I’d rather forget everything and just live out my days in peace. But things never go the way I want. Everything always comes down to one word: difficult.
