Chapter 229 - The Sword That Wishes, The Sword That Hopes, The One Awaited is Here, Part One
[Trickster of Zenith]—an evolution of the simple, convenient support skill, [Trickery's Precept], that blossomed during my training with my master.
...No, calling it a simple evolution would be an understatement, given its blatant peculiarity. After all, it's a passive skill that contains an active component, one that can only be triggered under a certain pact.
Leaving aside the details of that hopeless pact, which is a mess in so many ways, its effect is, well... to put it bluntly, it's picking a fight with the system.
The fundamental abilities are the same as [Trickery's Precept]—suppression of self-inflicted damage sensation, increased DEX compensation, and stagger resistance—but the latter two have been significantly boosted.
If that were all, it would just be simple growth. What's truly noteworthy is the enhancement effect of its active trigger.
That is [Trickster of Zenith]. The true nature of the glowing blue mana threads that emerge from the void and bind to my avatar—its effect is a change in the control scheme.
The mana threads connected to my body like a marionette do just that, turning the user into a puppet on strings. And the one pulling those strings is none other than the user's own mind.
In other words, thought-based control.
When I first acquired this skill, I was confused. A change in control scheme was nothing new to me.
By that time, I had moved beyond just switching between 'inner' and 'outer' and had even mastered [Matoi]. I could already manipulate my avatar through thought without relying on skills... what the [Sword Saint] would call 'outer' output.
So, at the time, as I tilted my head in confusion alongside Ui-san and activated [Trickster of Zenith], I—became a stain on the dojo wall with my very first step.
If I had thought about it for just ten more seconds, I would have realized.
The 'change in control scheme' doesn't affect the 'outer' side, which players normally can't even touch, but the 'inner' side.
I can't use [Shukuchi].
The reason is that I can't perfectly synchronize and handle the two types of output like my master can. That's why my technique is incomplete, and why it's [Matoi].
So, what if I could switch the control method of one of those two outputs?
What if I could switch the output for moving the body by moving the body—which is normally intuitive—to the more difficult thought-based control?
And what if the one who obtained this method was a peculiar individual who had, without realizing, been performing all their actions with 'outer' output?
The controls for 'inner' and 'outer' would be unified. The two types of output would become one.
And that is—the realm of [Shukuchi].
For a duration of three hundred and thirty-three seconds—for that brief five minutes and change, and only then,
"First Strike—"
I can truly embody the successor to the [Kesshiki Ittoryu].
"[Flying Water]!"
"—"
Activation of [Shukuchi], execution of the technique.
In a single step that left even a blink behind, I closed the distance and appeared before her. Iris, whose eyes finally widened in unmistakable surprise, still reacted as if it were a matter of course.
A surprise attack with no opening motion—but if she knows about it... and has the reaction speed to keep up with it,
"Ha, as expected!"
"—!"
I knew it would be knocked away.
And I knew the [Sword Queen] wouldn't be this easy.
An instant counterattack—and a roar.
A normal attack, without any skill effect—and yet the sky warped, the water was sundered, and the supposedly indestructible barrier trembled.
What shook the ten-meter distant wall of the Forced Combat (Engage) wasn't the slash itself, but merely its sword pressure.
A direct hit would mean certain death. A graze would be fatal. Just being caught in the pressure would crush me. Seeing it in person, she's such a monster that all prior information is useless—but,
On this point, there's no return to basics.
My style has been the same since the day I started adventuring with my partner—
If I dodge everything, I can never lose.
Silver-blue hair flying, the girl turned to look behind her.
Tracing the footwork of the [Sword Saint], I had dodged her flash-like strike with godlike speed, and
"—Seventh Strike."
I was there, a step before you were—!
"Wha—"
Iris finally let out a cry of surprise at the voice from above her, but I knew full well she wasn't the kind of girl to just be surprised.
Her reaction was terrifyingly instantaneous. But once again—however,
Did you finally recognize that I am of the [Sword Saint]'s lineage?
Excellent. Then let's move on to the next step.
I've already introduced myself, haven't I? My title is—the Acrobat.
"—[Seven Stars]!"
[Blink Switch]—summoning a weapon to replace my sheath, I used it as a foothold, kicking off logic and leaping through the air.
A step my master cannot take, one that soars through the sky.
Yes, I am not the [Sword Saint].
I am her disciple, but I am not a copy.
Just as my master wishes,
Just as my friend and rival wishes,
And just as I myself wish—
I'll seize everything and run as far ahead as I possibly can!
I stepped on the ground, kicked off the wall, launched off my weapon—surpassing the Sword Saint's art (the original), I unleashed seven flashes that raced across the sky. And the final strike,
"—Kuh!"
—found its mark on the girl who had knocked down the previous six strikes with a reaction speed that was beyond phenomenal... it was simply incomprehensible.
Deflected at the last second by the tip of her blade, my jade sword was slightly diverted—but it still, surely, reached the body of the one who bore the title of King.