Chapter 18
I read through the comments and got the gist of what was going on.
└DaggerTechniquePro) Is this for real, what the fuck? Even for a prodigy, there should be limits.
└I could understand everything up until now, but how the hell have you already grasped a second phenomenon?
└PureAndLovely*) Newbie, you just shouldn’t even try to understand this.
└GreatswordFan) So this is what it takes to get the Swordsmanship Gallery while you’re still alive.
└GeniusSwordMaiden) Seeing you, Newbie, makes me even more embarrassed about when I used to proudly call myself a genius… ㅠ
└Sword Maiden really was a legendary villain back then.
└Did she finally get fixed after asking the blue-tag mod to spar every day for years and getting beaten up?
└She really was stubborn as hell lol
Apparently, the technique I’d used to pierce the wyvern was the second phenomenon of my inner world.
‘Come to think of it, imbuing things with mass was a phenomenon, too.’
The technique I’d used this time, and imbuing things with mass.
When I thought of them as belonging to a similar category, the gallery users’ reactions seemed strange.
└WokeUpAsATSGirl) I forgot how to do the technique right after using it, so what’s so amazing about it? Am I getting dogpiled or something?
└??
└DaggerTechniquePro) Humblebragging, you fucking bastard.
└WokeUpAsATSGirl) No, I’m serious;;
└PureAndLovely*) Newbie, you just don’t understand it properly. This really makes no sense.
└PureAndLovely*) To understand a ‘phenomenon,’ your body has to withstand the power of aura. Otherwise, your body gets disassembled and you die.
└WokeUpAsATSGirl) Yeah, I vaguely remember that part.
└PureAndLovely*) To withstand it, your body has to be fully adapted to aura, or you need to be able to control aura itself completely, right?
└PureAndLovely*) No matter how talented you are, that takes at least a few years.
└PureAndLovely*) Your aura is insanely powerful, and you withstood it in less than a month, for fuck’s sake.
└WokeUpAsATSGirl) Hmm…
└GeniusSwordMaiden) You don’t understand, do you?
└WokeUpAsATSGirl) Nope.
└GeniusSwordMaiden) I’ll make a new post and explain it more simply!
Her explanation was so long that it was hard to understand. She’d noticed that and kindly offered to explain it again.
‘As expected, Sword Maiden really is perceptive.’
I praised her and opened the post.
There were two posts with the same title, which confused me for a moment. I just clicked one at random.
[Title: I’ll explain it to you!]
Author: HeavenlyEmperorSwordMaiden
It’s truly unbelievable that Newbie has understood a second phenomenon.
The phenomenon you used this time was powerful enough to pierce a wyvern’s skull, after all.
Naturally, the recoil from using it must have been huuuge.
Even knights who’ve trained their aura for decades probably couldn’t withstand the recoil. Their bodies would just burst apart.
But you managed to withstand it…!
Setting aside your exceptional aura control, your body’s adaptation to aura is at an utterly absurd level.
-GeniusSwordMaiden) Don’t copy my post word for word!!!!!
└Mod, there’s someone impersonating Sword Maiden here~
└HeavenlyEmperorSwordMaiden) Impersonation is bad-!
└GeniusSwordMaiden) Grrr…!! You’re the one impersonating me!!!!!
└The names are one letter apart, so it’s impossible to tell them apart, goddammit.
There was a little trolling, but the blue-tag mod quickly took care of it.
Anyway.
“Hmm.”
I more or less understood what the post was saying.
Basically, something that takes a swordsmanship genius years of pushing themselves to withstand, I managed to endure in a month under even harsher conditions.
└WokeUpAsATSGirl) I guess I am kind of amazing lol
└PureAndLovely*) Not kind of! You’re fucking insane!!
└GreatswordFan) Maybe we’ve been so surprised every time Newbie does something that you can’t really grasp how impressive you are.
└GeniusSwordMaiden) But you show us something amazing every time…! How could we not be surprised?
I’d been humblebragging for a moment, when another flood of comments appeared.
-There’s no way you could’ve adapted that much already. Maybe your body is just naturally compatible with aura?
└PureAndLovely*) Yeah, Newbie already seems like their body is halfway complete.
└You lived without even knowing what aura was, but your body was already complete? Lmao, what the fuck.
-WokeUpAsATSGirl) Hmm. I think I more or less get the idea.
Even so, I still had a question.
└WokeUpAsATSGirl) But if I’ve forgotten how to use a ‘phenomenon,’ doesn’t that make it pointless?
└PureAndLovely*) For fuck’s sake, that’s what’s normal.
└WokeUpAsATSGirl) ?
└PureAndLovely*) I’m saying it’s ridiculous that you learned the first phenomenon right away.
└GreatswordFan) Yeah. A phenomenon usually manifests instinctively when you push past your limits, and the feeling stays in your body.
└GreatswordFan) You only understand how a phenomenon works after pushing past your limits several times.
Ah, so that was how it worked.
└WokeUpAsATSGirl) Then why did I get the first phenomenon right away?
└DaggerTechniquePro) Because you’re a fucking prodigy!!!!
└WokeUpAsATSGirl) lol thanks
└PureAndLovely*) This newbie bastard was humblebragging on purpose, holy shit lol
└Holy shit, their brain’s on another level too;;
└Honestly, give it a few years and Newbie could probably surpass Daggercel, right?
└Are you looking down on Daggercel, who wields the shitty weapon known as a dagger and proudly holds a regular spot as a Swordsmanship Gallery regular???
└DaggerTechniquePro) Fuck you.
While the gallery users were having a peaceful conversation like that,
GreatswordFan made a new post.
[Title: So what exactly is a Mythic item?]
Author: GreatswordFan
You said you got something when you cleared it.
-WokeUpAsATSGirl) Oh, it’s nothing special.
└GreatswordFan) I’ll be the one to decide if it’s nothing special, so just tell me, for fuck’s sake.
“Heh heh heh…”
I considered keeping GreatswordFan on tenterhooks a little longer, but…
‘She’s still my master, after all.’
Even if she didn’t remember, I shouldn’t forget my debt to my master.
So I gave her a quick explanation.
└WokeUpAsATSGirl) I just got the same greatsword you used. I think it was called the Greatsword That Twists Causality?
└Huh?
└PureAndLovely*) You got that?
└GeniusSwordMaiden) Whoa…!
└HeavenlyEmperorSwordMaiden) Whoa…!
└PureAndLovely*) Oh, for fuck’s sake, this imposter’s making my head spin. You’re banned until you change your name again.
-This comment has been deleted by an administrator.
Trolling broke out again, but this time, too, the blue-tag mod quickly and perfectly shut it down.
└HeavenlyEmperorSwordMaiden) Hehe, thank you, Mod!
└Why the hell is this bastard still alive lol
└From now on, you’re Sword Maiden, yeah.
└PureAndLovely*) Oh my fucking god.
-This comment has been deleted by an administrator.
└GeniusSwordMaiden) ….
└PureAndLovely*) Sorry hehe;;
└GeniusSwordMaiden) It’s okay… hehe
There’d been a little mishap while putting down the trolls, but…
The gallery was lively now, so I supposed that was what mattered.
‘By the way, why hasn’t GreatswordFan said anything?’
She hadn’t left a single comment for the past few minutes.
Maybe she was in shock over the fact that her greatsword had been stolen.
└WokeUpAsATSGirl) GreatswordFan, are you dead? Why aren’t you answering?
└GreatswordFan) Newbie, accept my request.
└WokeUpAsATSGirl) Huh?
[‘GreatswordFan’ has requested a spar.]
*Accepting the request will move you to ‘GreatswordFan’s’ inner world.
What was this all of a sudden?
‘Hmm.’
I was a little uneasy, but GreatswordFan had always been good to me up until now.
Couldn’t I trust her at least once?
Besides, she’d killed me painlessly in our last spar.
‘Let’s go.’
Thinking that, I entered GreatswordFan’s world.
***
A vast grassland stretched out before me.
‘What’s going on?’
I looked around, imagining GreatswordFan ambushing me because she held a grudge.
[GreatswordFan: I bet that was confusing, but thanks for coming.]
A red-haired woman, GreatswordFan, walked over with a smile.
[WokeUpAsATSGirl (Me): You disappeared after hearing about the greatsword. What’s this all of a sudden?]
[GreatswordFan: You probably know this, but that greatsword was one I used a long time ago.]
[GreatswordFan: It was a weapon I really cherished, but it’s broken now. It’s gone.]
I’d asked why she called me, but GreatswordFan launched into a completely unprompted preamble. I was briefly taken aback, but decided to keep the conversation calm.
[WokeUpAsATSGirl (Me): Isn’t the weapon indestructible? How did it break?]
[GreatswordFan: It was destroyed when I fought a being that twists the laws of the world.]
Had she fought some kind of outer god?
[GreatswordFan: Anyway… there’s just one thing I want to say.]
She strode right up to me and suddenly dropped to her knees.
[GreatswordFan: Could I touch that greatsword one more time…?! Please, I’m begging you ㅠㅠ]
She was pleading with such desperate earnestness.
‘What…?’
I more or less understood how she felt.
She must’ve gotten excited at the thought of seeing the beloved greatsword she’d lost in the distant past again.
‘…But is it really that important?’
From her perspective, I was weaker than an insect. And here she was, kneeling and begging someone who was less than an insect.
Just how serious was she about greatswords?
‘I can’t bring myself to tease her about this.’
[WokeUpAsATSGirl (Me): Sure. Go ahead and touch it as much as you want.]
I reached into the air and pulled out the greatsword.
“…!!”
At that, GreatswordFan’s expression brightened.
She looked just like a golden retriever waiting for a treat.
Anyway.
‘Hmm.’
Just before handing her the greatsword, I took a closer look at the situation.
A busty beauty was kneeling in front of me, waiting for my long, heavy thing…
‘Now this is gourmet.’
I pushed those thoughts aside and handed her the greatsword.
“!”
The moment she received it, she hugged it close and started running her hands all over it.
She seemed so completely absorbed in the greatsword that she didn’t react even when I touched her body.
-Squeeze.
I pressed a finger into GreatswordFan’s soft body.
‘Her cheeks are soft.’
As I grabbed both her cheeks and stretched them this way and that,
“….”
She finally seemed to come to her senses and turned to look at me.
Her eyes narrowed as she stared at me.
‘Gasp.’
Had she been upset that I’d been shamelessly groping her body?
I froze and waited for her reaction.
[GreatswordFan: Oh! Sorry! I got a little too carried away…!]
[GreatswordFan: And thank you, so, so much for letting me touch your greatsword!! Newbie, I love you!]
She must’ve wanted to show her gratitude, because she pulled me into a tight hug.
-Squeeze!
Because of the difference in our builds, my face got buried in her enormous chest.
Normally, I would’ve stayed still and enjoyed the situation, but…
“Mmph—Mmph!”
She was hugging me so tightly that I couldn’t breathe.
If I stayed like this, I’d suffocate in GreatswordFan’s boobs.
‘Of course, that wouldn’t be the worst way to go.’
Unfortunately, I wasn’t particularly into pain.
[WokeUpAsATSGirl (Me): Hey, I can’t breathe!!!!]
Only after sending an urgent message was I finally able to escape her arms.
[GreatswordFan: Oh no, I’m sorry…! I guess I got too excited.]
[WokeUpAsATSGirl (Me): It’s fine. Anyway, I have something I want to ask about the greatsword.]
[GreatswordFan: What is it?]
I remembered one of the abilities attached to the greatsword.
---
Rewriting Causality (EX)
-The user can temporarily make movements that ignore the laws of the world.
(This ability was engraved by the first owner.)
---
Rewriting Causality.
‘What kind of ability is this, anyway?’
I didn’t know what it meant to make movements that ignored the laws of the world. I didn’t even know how to use the ability in the first place.
At first, I thought I’d have to give up on it, but…
‘It says the first owner engraved the ability.’
I figured GreatswordFan might know, so I asked her.
[WokeUpAsATSGirl (Me): The greatsword has this ability called ‘Rewriting Causality.’ Is it some kind of world-altering power?]
[GreatswordFan: Oh, that’s an ability my aura has.]
[WokeUpAsATSGirl (Me): For real?]
[GreatswordFan: Yeah. Want me to show you roughly what it does?]
As she said that, she gripped the greatsword tightly.
Then she began swinging it through the air—
-Whoosh, bang!
She showed off a polished sequence with not a single wasted motion.
‘Wow.’
Her movements were so clean that swinging the sword almost looked like a dance.
As I stared at the sight, entranced,
GreatswordFan finished her movements and sent me a message.
[GreatswordFan: How was that?]
[WokeUpAsATSGirl (Me): That was fucking crazy;;]
[GreatswordFan: Yeah. Pretty crazy, right?]
I marveled at it and focused on what she had to say.
[GreatswordFan: This is the ‘Swoosh, slash, whoooosh, bang’ and ‘Whoooosh, slash, swoosh, boom-bang’ combo I use when I’m ambushing someone.]
[WokeUpAsATSGirl (Me): Oh…]
[GreatswordFan: Even though I made the combo as short as possible, the whole process is insanely inefficient.]
[GreatswordFan: That’s the only downside to the perfect weapon that is a greatsword.]
It felt like we were focusing on completely different things.
‘That’s inefficient?’
I wondered if she could shorten those movements any further, but…
[GreatswordFan: But things are different when you use ‘Rewriting Causality.’]
GreatswordFan grinned and swung the greatsword.
-Whoosh, bang!
It was the same movement as before.
She repeated the exact same combo without the slightest deviation, when—
-Whirl!
Her movement abruptly snapped like a gust of wind, flowing straight into the next motion.
It felt like she’d skipped the process between one movement and the next.
‘What is that?’
-Slash, whirl!
Her abnormal movements continued, and…
Before I knew it, the combo was over.
[GreatswordFan: How was that?]
[WokeUpAsATSGirl (Me): That’s insane… What the hell was that??]
The combo seemed at least three times faster.
Was it like canceling an attack animation in a game?
‘She’s seriously cheating.’
GreatswordFan had a Stigma that could turn an entire region into a sea, plus an ability that let her cancel her attack animations at absurd speeds.
And me? I could imbue my aura with mass and use a technique to pierce a wyvern’s head. That was it.
As expected, the world was unfair.
[WokeUpAsATSGirl (Me): You’ve got an insanely overpowered Stigma, and your aura ability is busted too.]
[WokeUpAsATSGirl (Me): Sigh… I want an insanely broken ability like that, too…]
As I lamented the overwhelming gap in our talents,
GreatswordFan answered with a puzzled look.
[GreatswordFan: You have a Stigma, too, and your greatsword has the exact same ability to cancel attack motions?]
[GreatswordFan: And you have both of those, plus an aura ability that’s busted, too.]
[GreatswordFan: And if you factor in the raw power of your aura and your affinity for it, your talent is overwhelming. What are you even talking about?]
[WokeUpAsATSGirl (Me): Oh, right. You’re right lol]
After I replied, GreatswordFan looked at me suspiciously.
[GreatswordFan: …Hey, wait a second.]
[GreatswordFan: Don’t tell me you were pretending not to know just so you could humblebrag?]
[WokeUpAsATSGirl (Me): How’d you know;;]
[GreatswordFan: Oh, for fuck’s sake!!]
-Slash!
Before I could react, my head was sliced off.
‘Tch.’
This is why I hate Swordmasters who are too perceptive.