I think I really trained hard.
When the church where I spent my childhood was burned down by demons, and I was thrown alone into an unfamiliar world in the body of a young girl, all I could rely on was a single holy sword.
Fortunately, not long after, I was taken in by Melissa. Well, perhaps 'picked up' would be a better way to put it. Anyway, Melissa was the first companion I met.
Starting with the female knight Melissa, then meeting the saintess Elena and the dwarf Ein, our group began to seriously fight against the demons. And then elf Elaine joined us in the north.
While continuing to battle against the demons with them, I repeatedly trained to handle the power stuffed into me by the holy sword.
I would collapse from exhaustion, and sit on the ground gasping for breath. Melissa would look at my blistered little hands with a tearful expression, but she never lowered the intensity of the training.
"Block, thrust, and slash. It's the same with sword energy, it's just a slightly longer slash. It can be seen as a powerful slash."
"What if we meet an enemy that's hard to deal with? Isn't there some more flashy swordsmanship that confuses the opponent's gaze?"
"The old-fashioned folks in my family's house used to talk about creating such techniques. Hehe, you've seen me fight, right? While techniques to exploit the opponent's openings are important, they're all extensions of thrusting and slashing. If you block attacks firmly, then quickly thrust into the openings created, and slash powerfully, it will all work out."
"Block firmly, thrust quickly, and slash powerfully, is it?"
"Yes. Those who've learned the sword poorly try to add their own techniques after this, treating it as basic, but there's no need for that. In the end, that's the whole purpose of the sword."
Block, thrust, and slash.
"Ah, Melissa! Goodness, you've done this to Rain's hands again today...! Rain, come here. Big sister Elena will heal you!"
* * *
Silence fell on the training ground.
Swish.
Elenoa's agitation didn't last long.
She lowered her sword and took a deep breath.
"Very well, young lady. It's frustrating, but I acknowledge that you're one step above me in terms of sword skill itself. I won't ask how you know about the sword basics taught in our family."
Woong.
"Now, without thinking about anything else."
Tangible energy began to gather around her body.
Kwaaaa!
From her raised sword, blue sword energy began to surge out in streams.
"I will defeat you with all my might."
Elenoa's final phase.
She declared that she would use her full power.
I raised my sword while breaking out in a cold sweat.
And smiled.
This is where the real fight begins.
It's a battle against sword energy, like what I experienced in the 'Ancient Hero' fight.
Why is a Master called a Master? It's the final stage reached by a warrior who has undergone endless internal training. The proof of that is the tangible energy visible from that sword.
Woong.
Starlight began to frost over on my sword, Astaroth, as well. In front of that overwhelming energy, it's like a firefly before the sun.
But as I am now, I can cross swords.
Elenoa's blue sword energy. It's weaker than the hero's golden energy manifesting through the holy sword, but if you clash with it wrongly, you'll be cut down along with your sword all the same.
My past self could use such things too. But not all Masters are the same. I too was an incomplete Master. I could only emit strong energy through the power stuffed into me by the holy sword.
The only true Master, complete in both swordsmanship and internal training, was Sister Melissa. If she had had the holy sword, she would have become a much more excellent hero than a timid hero like me.
Of course, I can still use it now. The system lends me the power of the past in my near-death state.
But.
"I don't need to use it."
I can win without using it.
This world now is a game.
Even without borrowing the hero's power.
Fwooosh!
Elenoa's form, shooting in like lightning, suddenly grew larger in my field of vision.
Boom boom boom!
Blue sword energy and starlight collided.
* * *
Scada, the raid leader of the Scada raid party, found it hard to close her mouth.
The fight unfolding before her eyes was far beyond common sense.
"W-What is this?"
Boom boom boom!
Blue light and silver light flash from all directions. Collisions of the two lights occur in rapid succession, too fast for the eye to follow. A fight that looks like a well-made video.
Up to Elenoa, it's understandable. The appearance of a named opponent difficult to face at the current user level. A named boss at the level of a final raid boss that would take all 12 first wave users rushing in and trying for days or weeks to barely clear. If that's the 'Master Elenoa' before our eyes, it makes sense.
But.
"What's up with Rain-nim who's fighting equally 1:1 with something like that?"
Can a simple user fight like that?
Is it possible to show such movement and strength with just the stats and skills given to users?
Clang clang clang!
The faint starlight on the sword that seems about to dissipate at any moment proudly clashes with the mighty blue light, continuously shedding silver light.
Fwooosh! Boom boom boom!
As both their forms blur, distance opens up for a moment. Fierce blue sword energy beams spew out from Elenoa's sword. As Rain lowers her stance, star-like sword energy is also emitted from her sword. It accurately aims for the center of the blue sword energy beams and shoots in.
Boom, boom, boom, boom!
The collision of starlight sword energy and blue sword energy, with an overwhelming difference in power visible at a glance, but they're perfectly cancelled out.
"She aimed for the grain of the sword energy."
"Aimed for the grain?"
Park Jeongkwon, the tank of the Scada team who had approached Scada's side at some point, was watching the fight between the two swordswomen with sharp eyes.
"If it's a named monster, there would be a strategy. It's the same for named NPCs, there are ways to break unblockable techniques with invincibility skills, but it's hard to resist everything if they come continuously. In such cases, theoretically, you can neutralize with less power if you aim for the weak point of the power."
"I can't even grasp what skills she's using. Is Rain-nim really a swordsman class? Rather, something like that could be seen as a balance-breaking hidden job."
"No. They're all swordsman skills. Backward evasion, then rush skill, left counterattack, leg slash, right counterattack, another backward evasion, did she reset the cooldown? Again, backward evasion, and then starlight sword energy. Whew, it's fast."
Park Jeongkwon was barely following Rain's movements with wide eyes. Scada clicked her tongue.
"So, can you do it too?"
"Heh, in the case of keyboard and mouse games, you might be able to do it somehow by running a macro, but what era are we in now? Of course, it's impossible in virtual reality games."
"And Rain-nim is naturally doing skill combinations that are only theoretically possible."
"It's the same with invincibility skills. I fought her, didn't I? That woman Elenoa, she follows counterattacks with her eyes. But if you use it just before the sword touches, you can aim for a very short moment of attack after-delay. Rain-nim doesn't use invincibility skills even when the sword comes within 1cm of her neck, she endures until the very end before using it."
A dizzying fighting method just to hear about.
Of course, 'Astria Online' is a game. If you try dozens or hundreds of times, you might be able to learn the patterns. But this is the first fight.
Scada let out a groan.
"I've been continuously analyzing how Rain-nim fights in the sub-character raid party. Until today, no, until I saw this, I was half-doubting whether Rain-nim really cleared the raid dungeon alone."
"Seeing something like this, it's not strange even if she cleared it alone. Time attack? I feel like Rain-nim could break through even if faced with a berserk pattern?"
Scada didn't think Park Jeongkwon's words sounded like a joke. Even if the system blocked solo play, she would have broken through somehow.
Scada glanced towards Chris.
The raid leader of the Red-White raid party. The person closest to Rain. A beautiful redhead. How was she viewing this fight?
"Huh?"
Chris's reaction also deviated from Scada's expectations.
She was watching Rain with her hands clasped in front of her chest, with an anxious expression.
"Rain, you mustn't get hurt...!"
Scada tilted her head.
It's just a game, what is there to be anxious about?
The fight that progressed amidst the astonished gazes of the gathered users and someone's anxiety was nearing its end.
Boom boom boom!
The blue sword energy spewing from Elenoa's sword increased in number as time went on. So many that it's hard to neutralize, dozens of sword energy beams shot towards Rain. Even the magically treated floor of the training ground was cracking into pieces and developing huge grooves. The aftermath of the stray sword energy struck the mana curtain spread by the mages. Even the powerful barrier created by several court mages flickered like a candle in the wind.
And Rain's silver form dove into Elenoa's close range. It's hard to even dodge anymore. She's thinking of making a decisive move.
Elenoa's sword that had been spewing sword energy was withdrawn, and a sword concentrated with enormous power slashes towards Rain's waist like lightning. Clang clang clang! The mighty blue sword clashes with the thin starlight sword, and spin. It droops down.
Park Jeongkwon, as a fellow swordsman class, analyzed Rain's skills to the best of his ability.
"Block."
And the silver sword that became a beam of light pierced through the shoulder part of Elenoa's armor.
Crack!
"Thrust."
Elenoa's face contorted. The shoulder plate of her armor had shattered. She gritted her teeth and raised her sword imbued with sword energy. Ignoring the impact to her shoulder, she intended to split Rain in half.
Flash!
Rain became a flash of light, slashing past Elenoa's waist as she raised her sword.
Clang.
The sound of the lower half of Elenoa's armor, cut in half, falling to the training ground floor echoed.
The last was not Park Jeongkwon's voice, but a girl's voice that echoed through the now quiet training ground.
"Slash."