Chapter 138 - Her Way of Being
About thirty minutes had passed since I surrendered to the Sword Saint's smile and our duel resumed.
In terms of sheer density, it was an incredibly intense period of time… but she seemed to be satisfied surprisingly quickly, and thankfully, it didn't turn into an all-day affair.
With Ui-san's words, "Let's stop here for today," as she sheathed her blade, our introductory match came to a close without further incident (maybe?). Irori also left nonchalantly, saying, "I've got things to do, so I'm heading out."
We quickly exchanged friend requests then, and seeing this, Ui-san said, "Then I shall as well," and sent me a request of her own… which was followed by an invitation to the Round Table chat room. The sheer chaos there made me feel like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders. That was just a few minutes ago.
As for the extended match, the fundamental fact remained that I couldn't lay a hand on her. This time I tried to go on the offensive, but it was mostly just me desperately running away from her blade again.
True to her word, she refrained from unleashing the same kind of ferocious onslaught as the first time—but it was as if that hardly mattered.
What she demonstrated, with utter finality, was the overwhelming gap in our power.
To be honest, in my current state, I can't even begin to envision landing a single effective blow, let alone achieving victory. The difference in our abilities was truly on another level.
At Ui-san's invitation, I now find myself enjoying a peaceful cup of tea with her on the veranda again.
Her calm demeanor is a world away from the dignified figure she cut in battle. I glance at her as she sits primly beside me in seiza, cradling a teacup.
We just crossed swords—or rather, I was just thoroughly and utterly thrashed by her. For better or for worse, I think I've grown a little more accustomed to her presence.
When I look at her, she is, as ever, a beautiful person in every respect, from her aura to her mannerisms. I can't help but feel a little nervous about that—but when I recall her figure, blade in hand, a strange sense of kinship begins to form within me.
She probably doesn't just like to fight. I think she loves the martial arts themselves.
What I sensed from her earnest eyes as we clashed was not the thrill of battle, but something else—yes, it was almost like a thirst for knowledge.
The proof was in her words, how her heart leaped at the chance to face me, a player who exists so far outside the standard mold.
I could feel it in the midst of our desperate struggle; she wanted to observe, to learn, and to understand my every move.
So, what I'm trying to say is... I don't think Ui-san is necessarily pursuing strength as a combat player.
She loves the martial arts, and she just loses herself in the joy of swinging her sword.
In other words, wouldn't her category be a casual player?
Our directions may be a little different—but her stance as a player, completely engrossed in and enjoying the virtual world itself, feels the same as mine.
And that's where this feeling of kinship comes from.
I still feel a sense of reserve before her aura of a perfect Japanese lady, but... before I knew it, that initial feeling of her being unapproachable had vanished completely.
"Anyway—that teleportation thing of yours is just unfair."
"Fufu… Would you like to practice it as well, Haru-kun?"
And so our conversation went as we sipped our tea.
I should be able to make small talk now, I thought, and when I voiced my honest impression, Ui-san simply smiled and said, "I would be happy to teach you."
—But having already heard a rough explanation at the end of our match, all I could do was force a strained smile.
Sure, if it's something that can actually be learned by being taught, I'd love to learn it...
"................Could I hear the logic behind it one more time?"
"Of course. That footwork technique is..."
[Shukuchi]—a name widely known in both reality and folklore, and one of the unique techniques that makes her the Sword Saint.
Of course, it wasn't some supernatural phenomenon like "distorting the earth's ley lines to shorten the distance."
Nor was it a simple technique passed down through ancient Japanese martial arts.
It was something she could only achieve because she had been given an avatar in this virtual world—a vessel that far surpasses the limits of a human body.
According to her—when we players move our bodies (avatars) in this world, we are explicitly using two distinct forces.
Simply put, it's the idea that we control our avatars by referencing both our Strength (STR) and Agility (AGI) stats. That much is obvious, and something that all players, including myself, probably understand on a vague level.
However, she took it one step further.
It's easy to understand that STR affects an avatar's speed. In the real world, too, the power of our muscles is the fundamental output for movement.
But what about AGI?
Unlike STR, which represents something tangible—muscle—as a numerical value, what kind of 'force' does this stat, representing the intangible concept of agility, exert on a player's avatar?
She, as it turned out, defined this ambiguous force as "another, invisible set of muscles."
This is the very foundation of her [Shukuchi]—and the single greatest factor that elevates the Sword Saint's avatar into a superhuman being, leagues apart from other players.
In conclusion, Ui-san has these two separate power systems under her complete control.
It's like having a second set of muscles, or a second engine—no, every player has it, but the difference between being able to control it freely and not is like night and day.
She is, quite literally, standing on a different stage from those of us who use our stats based on instinct.
—Now, when I first heard this explanation, I understood, but I also had a question.
Even with her careful explanation, it was difficult to grasp intuitively, but the gist was that she was drawing out more power from her avatar than it was originally designed for.
That certainly explained her incredible movements—but wait, weren't those movements the result of a skill or something?
And speaking of which... come to think of it, did her avatar or weapon ever display any skill effects?
Be it an attack skill or a support skill, active skills in Arcadia are generally accompanied by various effects in the form of 'light'.
A good example for me would be [Ignition] or [Exchange Voltate]. Even [Tremble Slide] makes my feet glow faintly, and if you look really, really closely, [Floating Leaf] covers my entire body in a faint, light green effect.
...But no matter how hard I replayed our intense duel in my mind, I had no memory of seeing any light like that.
And so, I asked her, half-jokingly—"That's a skill, right?"
To which Ui-san, smiling faintly, replied, "I get that a lot..."
――――――――――――――――――
◇Status◇
Title: Sword Saint
Name: Ui
Lv: 100
STR (Strength): 628
AGI (Agility): 200
DEX (Dexterity): 500
VIT (Vitality): 300 (+100)
MID (Mind): 200
LUC (Luck): 0
◇Skill◇
None Skill
◇Arts◇
【Kesshiki Ittoryu】
《Flying Water》
《Striking Iron》
《Mist-Cleaver》
《Heavenly Snow》
《Withered Flame》
《Heavy Light》
―――――――――
――――――
―――
――
――
―
―
――――――――――――――――――
...And she showed me this status screen, which was nothing but things to question.
Her stats are equivalent to over level 180, which is baffling enough, but "None Skill"? What do you mean? Why doesn't she have a single skill???
As for Arts, I can sort of guess what they are.
The name she mentioned herself, [Kesshiki Itto], must refer to her style of swordsmanship. And it's not hard to imagine that the long list of names below it are the 'forms' of that style.
Though the number is insane. Does that mean she has over twenty special moves???
Seeing all these completely ridiculous entries, I was, as you'd expect, utterly confused.
For her, perhaps, this was a familiar reaction. Ui-san herself just smiled serenely and gave me a piece-by-piece explanation...
First, regarding her stats and skills, the two mysteries are, in fact, linked.
It feels like a long time ago now, but it was back when Sora and I cleared the tutorial map, the [Trial Spheres of Partition].
I hadn't paid it any attention—or to be honest, I'd completely forgotten about it—but a 'Skill Delete' system had been unlocked.
Simply put, it's a special build system that allows you to permanently delete unneeded skills in exchange for a small number of status points.
It might sound like a win-win system, getting rid of junk for extra points, but if it were that obviously beneficial, I'd be using it too.
For example, what's the exchange rate for my own skills?
[Blink Switch] ⇒ +1 Status Point
[Exchange Voltate] ⇒ +1 Status Point
[Floating Leaf] ⇒ +2 Status Points
[Adamant Sky Dash] ⇒ +3 Status Points
[Rabbit Run] ⇒ +3 Status Points
[Foreknowledge Eye] ⇒ +1 Status Point
[Telepathy] ⇒ +20 Status Points
—And that's the reality of it. Haha, it's hilarious.
I picked out some of what I thought were my more unique and high-performance skills, but this is the result.
Ten status points are equivalent to one level. Just how many skills would I have to sacrifice to stack up eighty levels' worth...
The high rate for Telepathy seems odd, but when you consider that it means erasing our bond forever, I suppose it's an unbelievably steep price to pay.
As you can easily guess, any skill deleted through this system can never be obtained again. No amount of crying or begging later will bring it back; it's a final farewell to that skill and its entire evolutionary path.
No way, that's too terrifying to use.
And yet, this Sword Saint—
'Skills are wonderful, but I want to swing my sword with my own power.'
...with that one, incredibly cool conviction, she has apparently been using it as a helpful feature ever since hitting the level cap.
As far as I know, there was no way to remove skills from your status page other than switching your aptitude skill tree—so when I asked her about that, she told me she uses a title specifically for that purpose.
[Single-Minded Devotion]—It un-equips all skills and renders them unusable. It's a debuffing title of a level unlike any other.
However, for Ui-san, who dismisses anything other than her own power as unnecessary, it's undoubtedly the most convenient title imaginable...
Just as my own skills, which I had equipped but never used, have evolved from time to time, it seems that skills moved to the reserve bench also undergo growth checks, albeit at a reduced rate.
And so, for three years, she un-equipped all her skills, let them grow a bit on the bench, and then deleted them one after another—this is the state she has arrived at today.
I mean, isn't the only proper response to fall to my knees in silent awe?
Her will, her way of being, and the strength she has gained as a result.
Everything about her is just too damn strong.
Next, about Arts. At first, I had a theory that they were something like skills that players could create themselves.
As it turns out, I was half right and half wrong.
Arts are legitimate 'techniques' that a player creates, which are then recognized by the system as being on par with skills.
So what does that mean? It means they possess the power and effects of skills, but are completely unbound by the shackles of the skill system.
Preparatory motions and forced animations—none.
Forced recovery frames after executing a technique—none.
System-defined cooldown time—none.
There's no way I can win if you can use something like that whenever you want! Are you kidding me!
...is what some might angrily protest.
However, the reality is this:
—There's no way anyone can actually do that! Are you kidding me!!
Take that [Unending Sword of the Void] Irori used in the selection match, right? That absurd assault skill that hits twenty-two times in a few seconds.
Simply put, it's like being told to replicate something like that with pure skill alone, without relying on system assistance.
It's not just about swinging your weapon fast and flashy.
It's about being fast, powerful—and having the proper form and logic to establish it as a technique.
Once a 'technique' is recognized by the system as an Art, it's given a damage bonus similar to a skill and is engraved on the status page.
And that moment, she said, is when a 'Style' is born—
"—So, in essence, you move your muscles while simultaneously propelling your body with another force from the outside. It creates a synergistic effect, not a simple addition, so you can move much faster than if you just operate your body without thinking."
"............S-So, that other force from the outside, how do you move it?"
"That's the tricky part. It's something you have to grasp intuitively for yourself... I can put it into words, but I've had to accept that the meaning won't be conveyed."
"Ah... well, could I hear the words themselves, just in case?"
"Let me see... —First, you assume you have two bodies."
"—...........................R-Right."
"Not in separate locations, but two bodies, overlapping and slightly offset from each other."
"Right."
"And then, you see. You can feel it. Your own body, and another body slightly outside of it—two separate sources of power."
"I think you skipped a few steps—... no, Right."
"You control that power in a single breath. The image is channeling inward, and grasping outward."
"I see."
"That's all there is to it... Did you understand?"
"Suuuu... —I... under... stood."
That I absolutely did not understand a thing.
She must have read the full meaning behind my words from my indescribable expression. Ui-san's eyebrows drooped just a little as she smiled and said, "That's a shame."
This turned into an explanation chapter.
I wrote this while thinking, What is this person even talking about? so that you would think, What is this person even talking about? so please, feel free to tilt your head in confusion and think, What the heck is this person talking about?
Uiuishii.