Chapter 20: player killer

[The skill level of the [“Sword of Life”] has been increased.]

“Fumu, nothing much has changed.”

　Kicking away the steppe wolves that attacked me at random, I walk along the road leading to the village to the west.

　Perhaps it is because I am following the road, but not many demons seem to appear even here.

　I thought about going off the road, but it would be pointless if I got lost in the process.

　Walking along the well-trodden dirt path, I let out a light sigh.

“It’s hard to raise my level, this way. Did Hisana train in the dungeon at the east side?”

　As I recall, her level was 17. It would not be surprising if she is now at 18.

　However, I don’t think I could ever catch up to that level, even if I were to defeat the enemies around here.

　I don’t know how many enemies there will be in the dungeon or whatever, but if I feel stuck in my growth, it might be a good time to go there.

　Well, it is a little troublesome to be in a place where there are too many other people.

(But how far is the village to the west?)

　Although this is the world of the game, it is quite realistic in terms of distance concepts.

　In short, the distances between towns are moderately far apart, and it takes some time to get there on foot.

　In the meantime, it seems that there are horse-drawn carriages along the streets, and players who have defeated the bosses can travel at high speed.

　Well, it would be quicker to use the stone monument than to do that.

　At any rate, moving on foot in this way is a time-consuming activity.

　But, it is unavoidable at the beginning, so to speak.

(But for all the talk of something going on in the western village, I don’t see any other players. ……)

　If there were enough rumors, I would have seen a few more of these other guys.

　I was vaguely exploring this possibility, when I suddenly became aware of a high-pitched metallic sound reaching my ears.

　There was no way I could have misheard it, it was the sound of metal hitting metal.

　Apparently, there was a battle going on up ahead. However, I was sure that none of the demons in this area wore metal.

“Is this a demon I have never seen before?　Then let’s take a peek.”

　With a small laugh, I run out of the place.

　Following the echoing metallic sound, all I hear are angry shouts and screams.

　But the number of people is strangely large. A party is limited to six people, but I hear more than that.

　I raise my eyebrows at the unnatural situation, but as I continue down the road, I see ten players.

　The strange thing was that these players were fighting a battle divided into six and four players.

　I wondered what on earth they were doing, and cast 《identify》 on the player who was closest to me.

■Gala

　Type：Half-beast, player-killer

　Level: 14

　Condition: Normal

　Attributes: earth

　Combat location: on the ground

“Player killer?　A player who attacks other players, huh?”

　The contents of the display made me tilt my head back.

　I don’t know what the heck it means, but, well, it’s like a chasing off.

　I tried to “identify” the players who were being attacked by them, but there was no indication of a player-killer there.

　So, the four players over there were attacked by these player-killers.

　As I ran toward them, one of the player-killers noticed me and shouted.

“Damn, a newcomer!　I’ll hold him down, you four get the hell out of here!”

“Hahaha, they’re eating each other!”

　Well, it seems that the other side is determined to do it.

　With a small smile on my face, I readied my sword at my side.

　I slightly drop my center of gravity, and put all my strength into my feet as I kick the ground.

Way of walking- shrinking ground.

　And just like that, without moving my torso or upper body, I glided toward my opponent.

　This walking technique is said to look like sliding when seen from the side, but when standing in front of the opponent, it looks as if the opponent who was far away suddenly appears right in front of you.

　For the unaccustomed amateur, it is difficult to discern this movement. I released my blade in a sideways cleave toward the man who was frozen by the sudden event.

“GAFU?!”

　A flash of lightning dives precisely into the gap between the armor and the helmet, and cleaves its neck.

　I set my sights on my next opponent, paying no heed to the head that fell to the ground.

　The man with the two daggers was greatly dismayed to see the player-killer, Gara, crumble to the ground.

“Wha!?　I-Impossible”

” —Too slow”

Way of walking– disastrous earthquake

　Immediately, I charge at the man with the dagger with my walking method that rides at top speed.

　The distance is about 7 meters? At this level, it takes less than a second to close the gap.

　However, the opponent also reacted quite well, activating his skill while being shocked.

“S-[Step]!”

　At the moment of his words, the man’s body leaps backward in a bouncing motion.

　The blade swung at the side of the man’s body just in time to cut through the air, failing to catch the man’s body.

　The distance between the man and the blade is again empty huh. Sorry to say, but that much distance is meaningless.

　With my next two steps, I again close in on the man.

“[PARRY]!”

　At the moment I was about to swing my sword, thinking that the man would not be able to avoid me next time, his dagger glowed blue with his voice.

　I think it was a skill to parry an attack.

　Not a bad call in a moment’s notice, if it wasn’t against me.

Way of decapitation – Hard stance, bamboo separation

　The weapon that tried to parry my sword strike was slammed into me as if it was absorbing my attack.

Bamboo separation is a rigid sword that crushes the receiving motion, which was created to counter flowing water.

　It requires a precise slash to cut the bamboo in half from the front, but it would be a nightmarish attack for an opponent who excels at receiving with a weapon.

　Naturally, my one-handed sword is not something that can be caught with one hand. That single flash forced its way through the man’s dagger and ripped open the opponent’s stomach.

“Goh!? my, skill–“

“Surprisingly not a bad reaction, I stand corrected on what I said earlier–see you later.”

‘Surprisingly not a bad reaction, I stand corrected on what I said earlier–see you later.

　Even though he was relying heavily on his skills, it’s a good response that he was able to activate his skills in time for my blow.

　I said a word of praise and dropped this man’s head.

　The player-killer collapses, just like the previous man.

　On the other side, the four remaining player-killers seemed to have finally recognized me as a threat.

“Damn it, shoot that way!”

“Y-Yeah!　[Fireball]!”

　The robed player-killer in the back.

　His staff shot out a fireball the size of a basketball.

　I’ve never been attacked by magic before,……, but it seemed like a good opportunity.

“—-[Sword of Bane].”

　With the activation of the skill, my sword is covered with blue light.

　With that light, I slashed down at the flying fireball head-on.

　With a light touch, the fireball breaks in half, and in the next instant, it disappears.

　I’ve never had the timing to use it before, but I see now…… it works like this.

　I was so convinced alone and unintentionally nodded my head —-and suddenly I heard someone’s voice beside me.

“Oh, you’re ……I remember, you’re …… the master of the Sword Princess. ……”

“I’m Quon. I’m sorry to barge in on you like this.”

“N-no. Thank you.”

　The one who approached me was one of the four who had just attacked them.

　The blonde-haired player, who appeared to be a human, bowed to me with an empty potion bottle in her hand.

　This foursome, all of them women, is a combination that is not often seen.

　Perhaps they are friends. Although they were outnumbered, they worked well together.

　I call out to this blonde, who I assume is the leader among them, pointing to the player-killers with my chin.

“Fumu. I’ll deal with that wizard. Can I leave the others to you?”

“Y-yes!　Please!”

　I smiled at the woman who bowed to me and approached the robed wizard.

　The others, not wanting to fight with me, backed away slowly.

　The target wizard pointed his wand at me with a drawn look on his face. I appreciated his guts for not trying to run away.

　I muttered to myself as I slowly approached the wizard, but he seemed to have made up his mind and was pointing his wand at me.

　At the same time, a smaller mass of fire converged at the tip of the wand.

“[Fire Arrow]!”

“[Sword of Bane].”

　What was released with the man’s incantation was a mass of flame in the shape of an arrow.

　Its speed was somewhat faster than the previous fireball.

　However, it is still within the range to be caught. With a little time to spare, I slashed at the flying fire arrow.

　As expected, the response is weak. But it is very convenient to be able to deal with magic.

“…… [Flame Wall]!”

　I tried to approach again, but the next thing the man did was to unleash a wall of flame that separated me from himself.

　It would be quite effective if it appeared in front of a running opponent, but its physical defense seemed to be low.

　If he had seen what I was doing earlier, he would know that this would not be very effective.

　If that is the case, the purpose is probably to buy time —– well, it’s still the same thing to do.

“[Sword of Bane.]”

　Activating the skill and driving the blade into the wall of flame, it splits as if it had slashed into tofu, and the flames fizzle out.

　It seems that the “Sword of Bane” is also effective against placed magic.

　It could also be used to break the opponent’s defensive magic. I had no use for it before, but it is a very useful skill.

　Satisfied in my heart, I peeked over the wall and saw a man trying to invoke a new magic.

“How about this, [Flame Blast]!”

　As soon as the man thrusts out his staff, flames converge from the surrounding area in front of him.

　The next moment, it became an explosion with an impact and rushed toward me.

　Magic that affects a wide area, but–

“[Sword of Bane!]”

　Reacting instantly, I swung down my blade.

　The moment my blade touched the approaching explosion, the explosion split in half from there and passed through my side.

　That required a very quick reaction. I should be careful with range magic.

　The flames that scorched both sides of me quickly lost their effect, and the figure of a man standing petrified appeared on the other side.

“W-W-What the ……”

“It was good practice. I’ll thank you for it, okay?”

　I guess he has run out of tricks. If that is the case, it would be pitiful to make him stay with me any longer.

　I decided so, and I easily approached the man and gouged out his heart with my blade.

　Regardless of the effect of the ” Death Point Shot,” if the heart is pierced, the HP will run out.

　The wizard man also collapsed on the spot, unable to do anything.

[Skill level of “Death Point Shot” has been increased.]

[Skill level of the Sword of Bane has increased.]

　–The announcement reaches my ears.

　Apparently, those four female players also succeeded in repelling the player-killer.

　After a light swing of my sword, I put it down and turned to face them.