“Please! Haaah!”
“Now that’s nostalgic…”
Back in the Swordsmanship Club, the juniors would unilaterally declare “Please!” to me and attack without any regard for my readiness. The mastermind behind this training method was the advisor, Gouketu.
In the beginning, it was manageable because all the juniors were equally hopeless, but I remembered how tough it became near my graduation when some of them had grown considerably.
Among them, Claire, who didn’t have much talent, never improved from Sword Skill Level 2, and the only techniques she could use were ‘Double Slash’ and ‘Slashing Airwave.’
I had constantly told her that “‘Double Slash’ and ‘Spinning Slash’ are lame, so don’t use them,” so naturally, Claire only used ‘Slashing Airwave’—
“Heavy…!”
I intercepted the ‘Slashing Airwave’ she unleashed at the start with my sword, but the impact was incomparably heavier than before.
Sparring with Claire used to be like a break during the continuous battles with troublesome juniors. I would lightly parry the incoming ‘Slashing Airwave,’ exchange blows at Claire’s pace for about a minute, and then easily score a point to end it.
However, it seemed I couldn’t afford to be so careless anymore. I hesitated to attack Claire with the sword I received from her, so I brought the Namakura that was left in the waiting room instead, but perhaps I had underestimated Claire too much.
“Hah! Yah!”
Claire, who had jumped in at the same time as firing ‘Slashing Airwave,’ directly crossed swords with me. It was far sharper and heavier than during our Swordsmanship Club days, and even more so than when we had a match here before.
She must have been constantly, constantly honing her skills.
Even so, her swordsmanship was still as straightforward and honest as Claire, but the strange movements she occasionally inserted made it extremely difficult to deal with.
“This is… Gouketu’s technique!”
“That’s right! I’ve asked him to take me as a disciple many times!”
No matter how heavy or sharp the strikes were, it would be easy to handle if it were just textbook swordsmanship. However, Claire, having absorbed Gouketu’s practical techniques, was now fighting in a way that exploited the opponent’s weaknesses by inserting tricky footwork between the forms.
“I see. But…”
Did Claire know? That Gouketu was soft on girls.
And that he was incredibly strict with me, who was thought to be one step away from being a sex offender due to some misunderstanding. Before Claire and the others joined, I was beaten black and blue by Gouketu in one-on-one sessions for hours every day.
“Haaah! Daah!”
“Too soft.”
Unpredictable footwork inevitably leads to an unstable center of gravity and posture. If I could discern that and close the distance to the point where footwork didn’t matter, it would create a situation where I, in perfect condition, would face Claire, who was caught off guard in an unstable posture, at close range.
The difficult part was discerning this footwork, but unfortunately, my countermeasures against Gouketu were already perfect.
“Hoh.”
“Kuh…!”
First, I lowered my stance and forced a sword lock, then lifted Claire’s waist. If I then feinted a sweep at Claire’s feet, she would have to react. She was wide open.
“Alright, that’s one point… Ah.”
I thought I would lightly tap Claire’s shoulder, which was wide open, for a point, but this was a match in the Fighting Tournament, not practice. Nostalgic for the old days, I tapped her as I used to do in practice, but in a match, I needed to inflict proper damage and incapacitate her.
This would leave me wide open, but from Claire’s current posture, there were only limited angles from which she could launch an effective attack. If I could just focus on defending against those, I could manage.
“Hmm?”
However, Claire’s attack came from a completely unexpected angle from below.
“‘Dragon Flight Slash’!”
“What, guwaaaaaaaah!”
‘Dragon Flight Slash,’ a super cool technique where a translucent dragon springs out from the ground.
Having been hit directly by this, I was launched over ten meters into the air, and then, as I fell, I was greeted by an equally cool technique called ‘Ground Fissure Shatter,’ which shattered the ground. What a stylish combo.
“Guhah! Im, impossible! ‘Dragon Flight Slash’ was supposed to be a demonstration technique…?”
“You kept saying that, didn’t you? ‘Double Slash’ and ‘Spinning Slash’ are lame, so don’t use them, and ‘Dragon Flight Slash’ is just for show, so don’t use it. Was that it?”
“Kuh…!”
It would be pathetic if I were defeated by a technique I had dismissed. I had intended to give her some practice, but instead, I was the one being taught a lesson.
I had never seen a combo of techniques before, and to be perfectly hit by one… the damage was immense.
“Ouch, ouch, ouch…”
“Even after taking two consecutive hits of serious techniques, that’s all…? As expected of you, Senpai, you’re really something.”
As she said that, Claire jumped back to create distance and activated ‘Sword Aura Release.’ A purple aura rose from her body. So, this was her getting serious.
But I wondered about the “as expected of you, Senpai” part. After returning to Japan once, I learned that ‘Sword Aura Release’ had the effect of boosting attacks, but before that, I had thought it was just a technique for lighting up the area and never used it.
“Here I come. ‘Thousand Sword Dance.'”
“Huh?”
Around Claire, who had activated ‘Thousand Sword Dance,’ ten reddish-black, translucent swords appeared.
She could really use it. A Skill Level 8 technique. Claire, who hadn’t been able to raise her Skill Level from 2 even after two years of desperate effort.
“Claire, you… how much…”
Up to six, I could understand. But seven was tough. Eight would have been incredibly difficult for Claire.
“I’ve finally, finally caught up. Now, Senpai. You too.”
“…No, I’m good.”
“Eh?”
Due to the sheer number of attacks, ‘Thousand Sword Dance’ can only be countered with ‘Thousand Sword Dance.’
Even Gouketu, who used to look down on me, would reluctantly counter with ‘Thousand Sword Dance’ when I activated it.
But I was defenseless against Claire’s ‘Thousand Sword Dance,’ just waiting. That must have been incomprehensible to Claire.
“Se, Senpai? You should use it too. It’s dangerous, you know?”
“Just come at me. Who do you think I am? I’m Lord Geld, the founding president of the Swordsmanship Club.”
“I’m the founding president now, okay? Right?”
Due to the nature of ‘Thousand Sword Dance,’ which creates and launches swords, it doesn’t matter how dull the sword in hand is; if all the swords hit, it’s a dangerous technique that would likely be fatal. In the game, it was a technique that dealt fixed damage, and spamming it was the key to defeating bosses in low-level playthroughs.
Claire probably thought that I would die if I couldn’t handle ‘Thousand Sword Dance,’ but there was no way I would let myself be killed by the hopeless Claire.
It seemed that this mischievous junior had become completely cocky after learning ‘Thousand Sword Dance.’ I needed to make her understand the reality of the situation immediately.
“Uu… I’m going to fire them, okay!? Please do something about it!”
The swords floating around Claire simultaneously flew towards me at high speed. No matter how fast I swung my sword, it would be impossible to knock them all down. Normally, this would result in serious injuries, or even death in the worst case.
…What did Claire think when she learned ‘Thousand Sword Dance’? Raising Skill Level from seven to eight was a long and tedious journey, even for me, who was blessed with talent. That’s why you feel it when you learn ‘Thousand Sword Dance.’ That you’ve reached the top.
As her senior, I’ll teach her. The place where she’s sitting so smugly isn’t the summit yet.
“‘Issen.'”
“Eh?”
‘Issen,’ learned at Sword Skill Level 9. In the game, it was a powerful area-of-effect technique that could knock down ten swords with a single strike.
Furthermore, since ‘Issen’ is an area-of-effect technique, it’s effective not only against the flying swords but also against Claire herself. Having received it undefended, Claire collapsed on the spot.
“Su, such…”
“Now you understand. I am the true founder.”
Since ‘Issen’ is a technique that is greatly affected by the weapon’s attack power, Claire probably only fainted without any serious injuries.
By the way, the highest Skill Level is ten, which even I haven’t reached yet. Unlike in a game where you can manage by mashing buttons, it’s an extremely difficult path in reality.
“Th, th-th-the match is decided! The winner, Geld Waslein!”
The referee shouted loudly, and in response, a large crowd of spectators erupted in cheers. The applause celebrating the birth of a new champion didn’t seem like it would stop anytime soon.
“Was my victory a little too cool?”
I raised my hand in response to the cheers and left the scene with dignity. From today on, I’m the hero of the Royal Capital.
I taught that cheeky junior a lesson, and I was able to defend my position as the first club president.
I also achieved the championship that I couldn’t before, so it’s safe to say that my objective is complete. I got the prize money and prizes perfectly.
Millie and Shell’s fight should be over soon, so I guess I’ll go home and tell them about my brave figure.
While thinking about that and leaving the venue with my chest puffed out, I remembered that my purpose was to talk to Claire-san, and I hurriedly turned back.