I Was the Strongest Sword God in My Past Life

part 76

Not to mention.

Jean slowly walked out of the dust, his sword drawn. Emilia launched a preemptive strike and then made a proposal.

“It’s 2-on-1 since your partner is missing, don’t you think?”

“Okay.”

As Jean swung his sword, a powerful gust of wind instantly blew away the dust. Suddenly, Emilia was caught up in the duel, and Lucia’s narrowed eyes scanned Emilia disapprovingly.

“If you interfere, I’ll take you down.”

“Ah, I’m also an Arkan party member, you know?”

“Well, you’re like a jester compared to a Saber.”

Lucia’s cold tone.

Emilia’s lips curled into a scowl.

However, the sudden psychological battle was quickly concluded due to Jean’s surprise attack.

Snap!

The mana that was released from the sword that Lucia just blocked was Jean’s.

Lucia was pushed back by the force of that power.

Jean continued to press down on Lucia with his sword.

“Gap!”

At that moment, Emilia’s whip, like a snake, struck the black cat. Although the whip only touched for a moment, Emilia’s gravity control had increased the weight of the sword to the point where it couldn’t be swung.

Amy’s magic was deadly to Geum-geum. But Geum-geum’s black magic was a negation of black magic. As the black magic energy spread, it nullified the debuff of the half-magic.

It was Lucia’s turn now.

Lucia charged towards Geum-geum, raising the dirt floor. It was a technique she had never used before, so Geum-geum was caught off guard.

“What’s going on with these two?”

Lucia’s sword ahead.

Amy’s whip, full of variables.

Despite the bad omen, Lucia and Amy’s combination was the best.

That’s why Amy felt she had gained the upper hand.

“100,000 gold coins right in front of me!”

As long as this went on, the mission would be a success.

Thanks to her ambition, Amy’s concentration was exceptional. She had predicted Geum-geum’s movement.

Whoosh! Thud!

In the end, Amy’s whip wrapped tightly around Geum-geum’s sword. The whip, strained from the intense struggle. Lucia saw the opening and took advantage of it, despite being at a 2:1 disadvantage.

“Now’s my chance!”

A swift and deadly thrust.

Lucia’s hair fluttered beautifully behind her. Anyone could see that this was a decisive blow, but Geum-geum was skilled in dueling.

Ahh!

The black magic, glowing with light.

Geum-geum summoned her sword back, then summoned it again in an instant. Thanks to this, the whip’s constraint was released, and Geum-geum blocked Lucia’s sword with a single stroke.

“What just happened?”

Amy looked at her whip in dismay, unable to believe what she had just seen. Geum-geum’s display was akin to magic. The summoning and revoking of magic tools are affected by the degree of synchronization with the user’s magic.

The students’ synchronization rate is usually around 70%, and at most 80%.

But Geum-geum had reached 97%.

With the upper hand, Geum-geum lowered her stance. Suddenly, a new technique emerged. This was a modified technique from the 3rd sector, used by Geum-geum.

“Focus!”

Lucia shouted urgently, but Amy was unable to keep up with her speed.

Pffft!

Amy stumbled backwards, her back knocked by Geum-geum.

“Ugh!”

Amy let out a faint cry and fell forward, her body sprawling across the ground. Lucia sighed, putting away her sword.

Please note that I have preserved the original line breaks and formatting to maintain the original atmosphere and tone of the excerpt.

“What are you doing? Don’t get up.”

Lucia’s cold voice.

On the other hand, Amy’s voice was trembling with fear.

“I don’t know. Don’t find me.”

Amy’s embarrassment and helplessness made her plant her head in the grass and refuse to get up.

However, despite the mission’s failure, the audience’s reaction was explosive.

“What? Did you lose again?

I’m so sad, but we fought well.

Can’t you laugh at that posture?

[High-five to Aim Highest 500,000 coins!]

^^ I’m laughing well.

[Coin King 900,000 coins!]

Is this a comedy broadcast?

[… …]

However, it was not until later that Amy checked the donations and chat.

* * *

Chris and Demona.

Their record in 20 matches was 10 wins, 10 losses. Their skills were evenly matched, with neither able to gain the upper hand.

The problem was that they had been fighting non-stop for 20 matches. Chris’s legs were trembling, and Demona, who was holding her staff, was struggling to breathe.

“Let’s take a break for a bit.”

“……”

Demona nodded in agreement to Chris’s suggestion, and Chris felt a sense of wonder at this.

‘Are you not speaking? Are you not going to speak?’

Despite spending the whole day together in battle, Chris had not heard Demona’s voice.

Demona gazed expressionlessly at her phone, while Chris took a swig of water from his pocket.

The awkward silence dragged on, and Chris absent-mindedly fidgeted with his dagger.

Demona was intimidating, even to Chris, who was normally quite affable and energetic.

‘Hmm……’

Chris looked at Demona with a slightly furrowed brow.

Meanwhile, Deemo seemed uninterested in what was going on around him. He was like a wall, with a disconnected feeling.

“‘Of course, that… kid… must have a reason, right? No, maybe it’s because he can’t speak because of some reason?'”

Suddenly, Chris’s eyes lit up with interest. There must be a story behind it, but Chris didn’t ask.

Chris knew that sometimes curiosity could be poisonous to the other person, so he decided not to pry.

Besides, what was important now was practicing swordplay to counter the Hunters. Chris got up from his seat again.

“Let’s start.”

“…?”

Chris thought Deemo would agree enthusiastically, but instead, Deemo shook his head and responded with a text message.

“[I’m watching something funny, will respond in 10 minutes]”

Chris stared blankly at his phone for a while, then thought to himself.

“Don’t get entangled with this woman.”

In the end, Chris sat down next to Deemo again, adopting a slightly awkward posture.

* * *

Arkana’s Night.

Jien was practicing swordplay in front of a lake under the quiet moonlight.

“The power is coming back.”

The most striking change was after he consumed the seed of the World Tree.

As his body grew stronger due to the amplified mana and training, Jien was quickly regaining his past skills.

“If this speed…”

Jien infused mana into his sword.

The technology he was challenging now was the Sword Qi.

Mana was spreading across his hand, slowly wrapping around the sword. However, the Sword Qi was only sustained for a moment.

Pft!

The Sword Qi was only usable by a first-grade master according to the criteria of the martial arts world. It was equivalent to a 5-grade Seaber. Jien’s mana was still not enough.

“But I used it.”

Although it was only for a short time, the Sword Qi had clearly wrapped around the Black Sword. It was unprecedented growth speed for a student. Moreover, Seaber learned skills through their experiences in the Gates.

It was a virtual Gate, but it was 5-grade. Jien might be able to learn or regain skills.

Tsutsu.

The Black Sword wrapped around the Sword Qi again.

Unlike earlier, it was a thin and sharp, efficient sword Qi.

“Ah, hell!

Gen’s sword cut through the rock like paper. The severed section was as clean as if it had been cut with a saw.

As Gen retracted his sword, someone approached from a distance.

With a tall and slender figure, they walked on the grass with a gentle and soundless step. Their black hair was damp, and their blue eyes seemed to have captured the moon.

That person was Lucia Elquines.

“Are you a Sword Master in your first year?”

Gen’s sword caught him off guard, but Lucia remained calm. It was because Gen was the user of the sword.

‘If this guy does anything, it’s not going to be good…’

Lucia thought Gen was full of secrets. Although she didn’t know him well, she didn’t show him everything. It was like trying to predict the depth of a dirty pond without touching the bottom.

“It’s still just an imitation.”

Gen’s response made Lucia pull out her own sword, Diana. Although her mana shook, it couldn’t be sustained, and the sword dispersed into the air. She had failed in using her sword.

“You’re quite humble, I suppose.”

Despite being out of place, Lucia’s awkward behavior didn’t receive a response from Gen.

“Is there something you’d like to ask?”

That was the main point.

Lucia found it convenient too.

“If we clear this 5th-grade virtual gate, the next step will be the real gate, I suppose.”

“Alright.”

“Are you scared?”

Lucia’s eyes, which were usually calm, trembled. Even if she was strong, the gates were scary. She didn’t know what kind of handicap or quest would come out, and if she was unlucky, she might meet a meaningless death.

Even Gen, a hero who had died in his previous life, had met his end at the gate. The gate was a place that was as close to death as a tomb for a Saver.

The Saver in front of her was only 17 years old, a student. Gen turned the question back to Lucia.

“Why are you scared?”

Lucia clamped her mouth shut at this question. If she wasn’t afraid of death, it would be a lie, but Lucia had something else to be afraid of.

What if her party members died because of her lack? What if they failed in clearing the dungeon?

Could she bear the responsibility of her current self?

Many questions swirled in Lucia’s mind, so she wanted to ask Gen.

It was as if Gen would know the answer because of his strength, but…

“Yes.”

However, Gen’s answer was too short and simple for Lucia’s expectations.”

“That’s normal.”

The burden of the party, the sense of duty to Seiber, and the fear of death.

Zhen thought that these worries had made himself stronger.

“Not scary, that’s weird.”

Zhen aimed his sword at Lucia.

Although it was dawn, the forest was unusually bright under the moonlight.

“So I need to get stronger. Those doubts won’t arise.”

At this moment, Lucia looked at Zhen with a genuine smile.

“Ah, I see.”

Lucia also aimed her sword at Zhen, her attention no longer on the past.