Clang.
The sound of the cut lower part of the armor falling to the floor.
And then silence.
Swish.
I withdrew my sword and turned my head.
"Hmm."
And scratched my face.
A blue light was swirling around her waist where my sword had slashed through.
I thought I had cut her for real, but it was just the armor that was cut, right? The Master's protective aura wasn't cut. Should I say that's fortunate?
Well, I did cut with the assumption that something like that would be there. It's the ability I envy the most right now. Come to think of it, the 'Ancient Hero' had a protective aura too. If I had something like that now, I wouldn't have to hurt as much.
I fidgeted with my fingers while looking at her back.
"...I won, right?"
In stark contrast to the storm-like clash of swords just moments ago, I spoke timidly.
If she doesn't accept the result, that's when it would become a true named battle. I'd have to keep hammering away until that powerful defensive wall called the protective aura breaks.
But this is a sparring match, right? I won, right?
"..."
As Elenoa remained silent, my cheeks started to puff up slightly. Then one of her knees touched the ground.
Thud.
And her sword stabbed into the floor.
From Elenoa's mouth, with her back turned, a voice so small that only I could hear flowed out.
"Twenty years have passed since I first gripped a sword. During that time, I never once doubted my family's swordsmanship, my swordsmanship."
As if reciting, in an emotionless, dry tone, I approached Elenoa's side, scurrying.
"I was called an unparalleled genius. In my mid-twenties, I achieved the title of youngest Master in the empire's history. Swordsmanship was just a training process to accumulate mana in the body. The current era's training process sets stages based on how much mana one can accumulate in their body and manifest as tangible energy."
She looked at her two hands and laughed hollowly.
"Was I not a swordsman, but merely an energy practitioner?"
"Eh..."
I gaped blankly.
No, if you go into self-denial to this extent, what are you trying to do?
Of course, in terms of sparring standards, she was crushed by me, but if it had been a real life-or-death battle, I would have had to be cut several times before I could cut Elenoa. To properly pierce her protective aura, I would have had to manifest the hero's power.
"Sis, look here, sis! Eek!"
I grabbed the dazed Elenoa and shook her, forcibly lifting her dropped head.
Elenoa's blank eyes met mine.
I held her face and said firmly.
"How much real combat experience do you have?"
"Huh?"
"You did go out of the castle in your domain to subjugate monsters in the east, right? When did you start going out to fight?"
"Um, um. It was when I was nineteen for the first time. It's been about 6-7 years."
"Is that so? For me, it was when I was eleven or twelve. I've been fighting with my life on the line since then. I've done it 1-2 years more than you. Sometimes I fought dozens of times a day, all day long. The frequency of my real combat experience must be overwhelmingly higher, right?"
"W-What?"
Elenoa wore a bewildered expression. She doesn't seem to understand how someone so small, looking at most fifteen or sixteen, could have gone through numerous life-and-death battles.
Of course, I had times when I lost my mind too.
There were times when my body was broken, I lost everything I had built up, and overwhelmed by the shock of losing my companions, I had no attachment to life. Even after coming back here, there were times when I was weak, confined by the framework of the game and bound by the constraints of stats.
I smiled brightly.
"You still lack real combat experience and time. As you gain more experience, as time passes, you'll become stronger, won't you? It seems you need time to go back and review the basics one by one too."
"...Who is the deceased you speak of?"
She had fallen into complete confusion. She's calling me deceased.
Fidget fidget.
I touched her face a bit for no reason. She doesn't resist. Is it because of the wild winds? Her skin is a bit rough, but she's pretty in her own way. The teal braided hair reminds me of Sister Melissa too. I even put my hand on her forehead. Hmm, I'm not a doctor, but she doesn't seem to have a fever or be in pain.
I didn't particularly intend to tell her, but if I leave her like this, she might collapse from mental shock. I didn't want to have bad dreams from hearing that I caused one of the empire's pillars to become a shut-in. I needed to make her understand that she lost to someone who was worthy of beating her.
How should I introduce myself?
I scratched my face and smiled awkwardly. Then I whispered in her ear.
"Um... Someone from your family, that is, a companion of your ancestor?"
I wasn't confident in explaining it convincingly. Fortunately, when I brought Elenoa in front of the Emperor, it seems the story progressed on its own.
Thud!
"Great Mother...! Are you truly the companion of the forgotten ancient hero of the Roeide family...!"
Elenoa prostrated herself before me, her head touching the ground. I waved my hands in panic.
"I-I'm not such a great person...!"
Thud, thud!
Elenoa kept banging her head on the floor.
I saved someone who seemed like they would die from self-loathing, and now it seems she's trying to die by banging her head in front of me.
The Emperor is right beside us, is it okay for her to do this to me?
The Emperor is just smiling. I guess there's no problem?
I kept glancing towards where the users were gathered. This kind of scene is burdensome.
"Sister, stand up! Eek, stop it!"
I clung to Elenoa with my whole body, trying to stop her.
Stand.
Lift.
"Gasp."
Elenoa suddenly stood up, put her hands under my armpits, and lifted me up. My body, which is over 30cm shorter than hers, was instantly suspended in the air. Dangling. She's so strong.
"To think someone so small and cute could be so strong."
Flail flail.
"E-Eek! Put me down! Didn't you call me Great Mother?"
"Ah, I'm sorry. I did it without thinking."
Elenoa put me down and cleared her throat, her face reddening.
What's wrong with this sister?
Sister Melissa used to lift me up like this sometimes in the past, but she's doing similar actions even though she's not a direct descendant?
I also told Elenoa the name of her ancestor.
'Melissa von Roeide'.
'Elenoa von Roeide' reclaimed the name of the forgotten ancient hero of the Roeide family.
"Sob, the name of our lost ancestor... to this unworthy descendant...!"
She shed tears of emotion.
"I told you based on your future potential. From Master Melissa, across a thousand years, to Master Elenoa. You must become an excellent swordsman who doesn't tarnish the title of Master."
"If you visit the Roeide Duchy, please make sure to stop by our family. All the knights of our family, including myself, wish to receive your teachings."
"I'm quite busy, so I won't be able to stay long though."
Elenoa left the training ground, continuously wiping her tears and expressing her gratitude repeatedly.
"Rain! Why did you have such a dangerous sparring match without saying a word to your unnie!"
"I'm sorry."
I just twisted my body in front of Chris's stern expression.
"Haah... I thought my heart was going to drop. Of course, I know you're strong, but think about unnie's feelings too, okay?"
Chris quickly softened her expression and smiled at me. Her expression made me feel good too.
"And."
Chris suddenly glared at the spot where Elenoa had disappeared.
"That woman, lifting Rain without permission? Next time I meet her, I'll really kill her."
"Ah."
It seems she couldn't hear the conversation but could see the actions. It was fortunate that Chris didn't start throwing yin-yang jade at the platform on the training ground.
For the sake of the descendant's well-being, I need to appease Chris's anger.
I held out both hands to Chris.
"Here, here!"
"Huh?"
"You can lift me up too, unnie!"
"Kuhk!"
Chris's trembling hands came between my armpits.
Lift.
"Hehe, Rain did well. Today's sparring was cool. Well done, I'm proud of you."
My body was lifted by Chris's hands as she grinned foolishly.
She praised me profusely.
What is this situation?
I looked around with a slightly elevated viewpoint and a reddened face. I wanted to cover my face, but it's not easy in this position.
Meanwhile, I made eye contact with Scada. Her gaze towards me was also unusual. Is it because I showed a lot of different things today? That's the look of someone who wants to know more about me. Somehow, it felt like seeing Chris's eyes from the past.
"Ah, me too, me too!"
Before I knew it, Bae Merong had also joined in lifting me up.
Having shown a cool side to the users gathered here for a moment, I soon became a child being doted on and made a tearful face.
This is all because of the descendant.
I'm a former hero, you know.
* * *
Astria Online's new expansion pack, 'Endless Gorge'.
The 30 days foretold by the Emperor's world quest passed quickly.
Today is the day of the final patch for the expansion pack.
After seeing Chris off to work, I sat alone on the living room sofa and suddenly checked the time.
10 minutes before the maintenance is complete.
The game will be accessible soon.
I couldn't just play around during this time either. The day after the imperial banquet, I received a call from Hana Games.
I heaved a deep sigh.
"Another advertisement shoot."
Following the 'Land of Bitter Cold' expansion pack, I ended up shooting the advertisement for this 'Endless Gorge' expansion pack as well.
It's not tiring since I'm just logging into the game to shoot, but it's still bothersome.
However, the money deposited in my bank account made me smile.
For me, who had all my debts cleared, all the money I earn from now on is a plus. Financial abundance stabilized my mind. I can order expensive food alone even if Chris doesn't buy it for me. If I save steadily, I might reach the dream of acquiring my own sweet room in the heart of Seoul.
"Huh?"
Suddenly, majestic music flowed from the TV I had turned on out of habit, and the image of a white-haired beautiful girl appeared with castle walls in the background.
An advertisement featuring me.
"Hot!"
After blankly staring at the advertisement, I turned off the TV with a reddened face.
It's still embarrassing to directly watch advertisements I've shot.
Meanwhile, it was already time for the server to open.
I was going to look at the patch notes first, but should I log in first?
[Welcome to Astria Online]
Woong.
Along with a strange floating sensation, the scenery of an unfamiliar city appeared before my eyes.
This is the Roeide Duchy.
Beyond the walls of this city, the wilderness and gorges full of ferocious monsters will be the stage for this expansion pack.
And today, there's one more strange thing.
"Huh?"
A faint green curtain had appeared before my eyes.
It seems to have appeared after today's patch.
What is this?
[Safety Filter]