kscans

Chapter 19 - The Trump Card Is Ready

The Death Match with the Orc King

Having activated his 'Berserk' skill, Bardos launched a reckless charge. The Orc King blocked Bardos's attack with the great axe in its hand. It looked as though they would be locked in a stalemate, but Bardos shifted his body diagonally, angling his own great axe to slide along the Orc King's.

Bardos had sensed that he would be overpowered in a direct clash of strength, so he had chosen to deflect the blow instead. The Orc King immediately raised its great axe again and swung it horizontally in pursuit of Bardos. In response, Bardos held his own great axe like a shield, close to his body, and braced for the impact. He was sent flying back a short distance but managed to stay on his feet, his arms merely numb.

Bardos shouted, "Hahaha! As expected of the brute who rules the other monsters by force! This is incredible!"

With that cry, he raised his great axe and clashed with the Orc King once more.

The battle that followed could only be described as a tempest of fury.

Bardos unleashed a relentless barrage of attacks, and the Orc King responded in kind. Blade met blade in a flurry of blows. There were no defensive maneuvers, no evasions; they simply stood their ground, continuing to swing their weapons. And through this storm of attacks, wounds gradually began to appear on both of their bodies.

However, while Bardos bled from the parts of his body not covered by armor, the Orc King's wounds regenerated almost instantly, returning it to an undamaged state. At this rate, Bardos would be overwhelmed and defeated. He himself could feel it. But he couldn't back down.

Half of him wanted to enjoy the battle. The other half was focused on buying time until Shinsuke's ultimate technique was ready. His old self would have fought simply for his own enjoyment, but as he continued to hunt monsters as part of a team, the thought that having someone to watch his back wasn't so bad had begun to take root. Though their partnership was short, Shinsuke was an interesting and strong guy, enough to make him feel that way. As he was fighting with these thoughts in his mind, from behind the Orc King, from the spot where he had first stood, a loud voice rang out.

"Sorry to keep you waiting! Get back!"

Along with those words, Bardos swung his great axe with all his might. The Orc King staggered slightly, and in that opening, Bardos retreated.

The Orc King tried to pursue, but it sensed a killing intent from behind. It turned around to see Shinsuke, holding a longsword forged from a condensed, scorching flame.

When Bardos began his fight with the Orc King, Shinsuke had channeled his magic into his katana.

"Skill, 'Matter Conversion'!"

He activated the skill and changed the properties of his blade.

While keeping the base material as iron, he incorporated cerium, mixing it in. This created an alloy called Ferrocerium.

Ferrocerium is the flint used in lighters and fire starters. When struck at high speed, it produces sparks of three thousand degrees Celsius, which can ignite flammable gas to create fire.

In the two years since I came to this world, during a period of trial and error to see what kinds of metals I could create with my skill, I found something called an ignition alloy online. I thought it could be useful, but the required materials—mischmetal, nickel, iron, copper, lanthanum, magnesium, lead, and tin—were difficult to obtain. While iron, copper, and lead were available, the others were only found in foreign countries or at Japanese steel mills and were not on the market. But as I searched for something similar, I found lighter flints.

I learned that they were essentially the same thing, used in oil lighters. I bought one, used my 'Analysis' skill on it, and learned about the metal cerium.

I changed fifty percent of the blade to Ferrocerium, and the other fifty percent to Tamahagane, a steel known for its superior strength.

Tamahagane is a metal often used in the production of Japanese swords, and its strength was guaranteed. Of course, this was not something available on the market. The only way for me to analyze it was to go to a history museum. I searched online and found a museum in Shimane Prefecture where Tamahagane was on display.

It was far, and it would take time, so I asked my master for a day off and got permission to stay in my cabin. At the time, I thought it was an unreasonable request, but in retrospect, my master must have sensed that I was going to do something on Earth and gave me permission. I was truly grateful to have been blessed with such a good teacher.

Well, for now, I put those thoughts aside to focus on defeating the Orc King before me. Normally, fusing metals is a process that requires special methods and a great deal of time, but I used the power of my skill to force it.

The resulting katana looked and felt no different, but its structure was now completely changed. Next, I used lightning magic to scrape its surface, creating sparks. I then added fire magic to those sparks, and their intensity grew even more. I controlled the resulting giant flame, condensing it to create a blade of high-temperature fire. It was twice the length of a normal sword, a shape worthy of being called a longsword.

Once it was complete, I shouted, "Sorry to keep you waiting! Get back!"

Hearing me, he made the Orc King stagger and fell back. The Orc King turned to me, and instead of charging, it raised its great axe, on guard.

Seeing this, I thought, "So you're being cautious. You really are a formidable opponent. But now that I've made this, I will hunt you down for sure. With my ultimate technique—Flame Fang."

I named this fiery longsword 'Flame Fang'.

We glared at each other, and then, as if to seize the initiative, I charged from a low, diagonal stance. The Orc King stood its ground, raising its great axe in its right hand, and our weapons clashed.

At that moment, the part of the Orc King's great axe that touched my blade melted, and finally, the axe's head split in half.

The temperature of the sparks I created was three thousand degrees Celsius. My 'Flame Fang', a condensation of that sustained temperature, was like a gas burner extended into a beam saber. It was only natural that anything it touched would melt before it could be cut.

The Orc King's face was one of pure shock at the destruction of its weapon, but it immediately tried to counterattack with its left fist. I gave it no such chance, following up with a full, overhead diagonal slash.

"CHEEEST!"

With that roar, the longsword struck the Orc King's left shoulder and, without stopping, melted its way through its body, splitting it in two diagonally.

From the wound, flames spread throughout its entire body. The temperature was incomparably hotter than the 'Flame Demon Thrust' I had used earlier, and it burned through fur and flesh faster than the Orc King's regeneration. After the flames subsided, all that remained were bones.

The battle was decided. It was my victory.

But it wasn't my strength alone. It was thanks to Bardos buying me time and the leader of 'Beautiful Sword' providing me with information. To succeed at a difficult task with the help of others… This was the first time I truly understood that this is what cooperation is, what human relationships should be. Especially without her words, who knows what would have happened. I had yelled at her earlier because I was frustrated, but now that I've cooled down, I realize I was a bit rude. It's probably too late to apologize now. I see them gathered in one spot, watching how things played out.

They had expressions of complete astonishment. It's too late to apologize now. I basically stole their kill. They must be furious inside.

With that thought, I headed toward Bardos.

"That was incredible, Shinsuke! I've never seen a move like that! Where'd you learn it?!"

To his question, I replied, "…It's my own style. Of course you don't know it. I haven't shown it to anyone."

To this answer, Bardos nodded repeatedly, as if to say, "I see."

Well, we had defeated the boss, so all that was left was to hunt down the rabble, but both of our stamina was severely depleted. With that in mind, I took two potion bottles from the pouch at my waist.

"This is a medicine made by an acquaintance of mine, called Ribolin Z. It's perfect for fatigue recovery. Let's drink this and get back to work."

I said, handing one to Bardos.

Bardos took it and, with a look of curiosity, uncorked the bottle and drank it. I followed suit.

This drink was just something I bought on Earth and transferred into a potion bottle.

I felt a slight pang of guilt for lying, but I couldn't tell him the truth, so I felt apologetic.

After finishing his drink, Bardos said, "Whoa, this is amazing! I can feel it seeping into my tired body! It makes me feel like I can still keep going! This is good stuff! Thanks, Shinsuke! This is really something else!"

Bardos said this as he swung his arms around.

Isn't the effect of the medicine too fast? Normally, it should take a few hours. I wondered if he was just highly susceptible to it. As for me, I only felt a slight easing of my fatigue; I was still tired, but not so much that I couldn't move.

I carefully sheathed my katana, drew my sword, and said to Bardos, "Alright then, shall we go hunt the remaining monsters?"

To my words, Bardos replied, "Yeah!" and took his great axe in hand.

I glanced over at 'Beautiful Sword'. They were tending to their wounds while watching us. Their eyes seemed to want to say something. They were probably angry that I had stolen their kill. Normally, if the first person to fight a monster is injured and unable to continue, it's not a rule violation for the next person to kill it; it's the fault of the one who was too weak to finish the job. However, my opponents were A-rank adventurers. Such logic might not apply to them.

With that thought, Bardos and I quickly left the area.

As we moved, I had a premonition of the trouble that was to come, and a certain idea came to mind.

'Beautiful Sword' was in shock.

An adventurer who had defeated an Orc King that regenerated at an impossible speed with a sword imbued with an impossibly powerful flame. The only question in the minds of the four who had witnessed this spectacle was, 'Who is he?' At first, the Guild Master had told them he was teaming up with Bardos, and when they saw him, he didn't look particularly strong. Their perception was that he was just a rookie who had begged Bardos to team up with him, and they had quickly lost interest.

But that perception was wrong. The man who had defeated the Orc King that even Bardos had struggled with in a single blow—who was he? The interest that had faded now came rushing back.

They wanted to ask him right away, but their injuries were too severe, and they couldn't move properly. He noticed their stares and quickly left the area. The three of them assumed he had gone to hunt other monsters and decided to ask him later. The other one, their leader Tina, had a slightly different thought. The question of who that adventurer was was the same as the other three, but more than that, she was surprised by his choice of words toward her and was thinking about it.

Tina's constant skill, 'All-Round Perfection', forcibly put men into a state of affection for her.

Up until now, whenever she told male adventurers, "It's dangerous, so stay back," they would obediently comply, and each time, she would hear words like, "We wouldn't want to get in the way of someone so beautiful," until she was sick of it.

But he was different. He hadn't obeyed her words; instead, he had shouted such insults at her, which had shocked her to the core. Normally, she would have been angry, but far from being angry, she felt a strange sense of happiness. This was because no one had ever hurled insults at her before. For her, it was a completely new and fresh feeling.

As Tina thought this, she happened to look at the iris flower tattooed on her chest. The flower's meaning was 'happiness will surely come'. As she remembered those words, she felt a warmth spreading in her chest.

She was certain of it. She had met her destined partner.