Chapter 30 (1/2)

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 j.a.pan - 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 cla.s.s. 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.

Hairs stood all over Hikaru's body. Lawrence's eyes were fixed towards his direction.

「There you are.」

Oh, s.h.i.+t. 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 c.r.a.p! What the h.e.l.l 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 a.s.sumed 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.

…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 gus.h.i.+ng blood, Lawrence spotted the figure slipping right by his flank.