Chapter 25
Chapter 25
Let me briefly talk about the original story.
Like the protagonists of many other web novels, our protagonist was an ordinary young man with nothing particularly special about him.
His looks were average, his grades and athletic ability were so-so.
But that alone was not enough to start a story. We had to make that ordinary young man special.
Only then could it be a novel, and only then could he be the protagonist.
As such, the introduction also began with an obvious cliché.
The greatest form of “specialness” an ordinary protagonist could have was ‘self-sacrifice’.
While crossing an intersection, a truck with broken brakes blared its horn and plowed through the crowd.
The protagonist, Kim Junyoung, could have easily avoided it, but when he saw a child ahead who failed to react in time, he threw himself forward without hesitation.
The ear-piercing horn and the crushing pressure made it feel like he was being reduced to mush, but a goddess moved by his spirit of sacrifice conditionally revived him.
In this world filled with chaos.
As the chosen one, become a sword that prepares for the coming threats.
In order to return to his original world, Kim Junyoung accepted it and came here, to Artenia.
Now that I thought about it, it really was an introduction that made you not want to read any further.
Back then, there were still few novels of that kind, so it could be considered passable, but from today’s perspective, it was enough to make one sick of it.
However, what was next to me right now was a genuine high school girl who was turning seventeen this year.
The protagonist had changed from a twenty-year-old male college student to a seventeen-year-old high school girl.
Wasn’t that gap way too big?
Of course, I liked it.
Rather than trailing behind some grimy guy, being together with a refreshing high school girl felt far better.
“Does this look good?”
The high school girl dashed around the bustling downtown, bringing various things and shaking them in front of my eyes.
Seeing her truly look like a girl her age naturally brought a fatherly smile to my face.
“It’s nice. Want me to buy you one?”
“I’m the type who doesn’t refuse goodwill.”
I had asked expecting her to decline, but she grinned and boldly held out both hands.
That sight was so cute my wallet opened on its own.
Alice said she needed daily necessities to use at the Academy. She didn’t know the geography around here and was worried, but when she saw me joining her, she said she gathered the courage to suggest it.
Well, this face was pretty handsome.
Enough that even passing Academy students would strike up conversations, so it would be more than enough to shake the heart of a 21st-century Korean high school girl.
Alice seemed fascinated by the lively street, wandering here and there while browsing items. I leisurely followed behind her.
Just a few days ago, this body had been rolling around in the wild hills with nothing but a sword, constantly grappling with monsters.
Until entering the Academy, it should be fine to enjoy things a little.
At this point, I thought about what the original protagonist had been doing, but aside from the entrance exam episode, there was nothing much happening in the early part.
So wandering around with her right now didn’t seem like it would have much impact on the progression.
‘Hm?’
Just as I took the skewer Alice brought me, I felt a strange gaze.
When I glanced sideways, I saw several people a short distance away pretending to shop while watching us.
‘Assassins?’
Perhaps because there were so many people, it was hard to read their presence. Still, judging by their covert movements, they were roughly that type.
“This is why I tried to wipe them all out.”
I had intended to kill them all as a warning that they’d see blood if they clumsily touched me, but it was regrettable that I let one slip because of Elysia’s interference.
“What are you wiping out?”
Alice ate the skewer with a clueless expression. I shook my head, saying it was nothing.
“By the way, why are you using honorifics? We’re both new students anyway, so talk casually.”
“I’m more comfortable this way.”
She said she’d drop the formal speech once we got a bit closer, then trotted ahead.
“They say there’s a magic shop selling mysterious artifacts inside that alley. Want to check it out?”
“Artifacts?”
Somewhere along the way, she brought up a story about a magic shop selling artifacts.
Magical items, including artifacts, were generally expensive. Because of that, they were usually sold by magic towers or guilds, but occasionally there were mages who opened personal shops.
Most of them were scams, so people used certified places, but next to me was the protagonist.
Since we were inside a novel, clichés would take effect, so if we were lucky, we might pick up a few decent items.
“It’s damp.”
As we entered the alley, unlike the bright and noisy street, a humid and gloomy atmosphere welcomed us.
Between the winding paths, various general stores came into view.
They looked like they might have something, drawing my gaze, but Alice tugged at my sleeve, saying it wasn’t that way.
“They said it’s the general store with the red roof that comes out after passing through this alley.”
Just how good an item were we coming all the way into a place like this for?
But what greeted me was neither a red-roofed general store nor a good artifact.
“······!”
The moment we emerged from between the alleys, a wide open space appeared. However, hearing faint air-splitting sounds from both sides, I let out a dry breath, hurriedly shoved Alice forward, and then threw my body backward.
Swaeeek!
‘Leech-like bastards.’
But I also felt sharp killing intent behind my back, as if I were completely surrounded.
The sharp tip of an assassin’s blade, who I didn’t know when they had been hiding, aimed for my heart.
The fact that they deceived my senses meant they had considerable skill.
‘But.’
Back when I was in the Sword Saint’s territory, I had faced even worse situations. Compared to those times, this could be considered almost cute.
Whirik.
I twisted my waist once more in midair. The blade aiming near my heart tore through my clothes and passed by. At the same time, I stretched out both arms and grabbed the assassin’s body.
Crack.
Then I instantly wrapped one arm around their neck.
Applying force without the slightest hesitation, a sound of bones breaking rang out, and the assassin in my arms stopped breathing and went limp.
Thud.
I threw away the nuisance and slowly walked forward while flaring up my presence.
This narrow alley wasn’t suitable for swinging swords. The enemy would know that too, so they would make their decisive move before I exited the alley.
Swaeeek-!
As if my guess was correct, the moment I took a step, assassins poured in from all sides.
They truly had poor learning ability. Rather than pressing me with a few weaklings like this, it would have been better to send one strong guy.
Well, even that would just disappear as nourishment for my experience points.
No matter how strong assassins were at surprise attacks, at the highest level of Sword Expert, one could prepare even with their eyes closed.
To properly fight me, at least an Assassin Master would have to come.
Pabababat-!
There was no need to use any notable swordsmanship.
There was no reason to show mercy in my hand to those who only unleashed killing blows meant solely to kill.
Each time I swung my sword, one assassin collapsed, spraying blood.
Since all strikes aimed for vital points, there was no need to check if they were dead.
Even if they got back up and attacked again, I could just cut them down once more.
Slash.
With the last one, who clung on tenaciously even after losing an arm, I brought down all the assassins I could sense around me.
“I don’t know what kind of bastard commissioned this, but they chose their assassin guild well.”
They didn’t let out a single scream even when cut by a blade, attacking until their last breath. Judging by that grit, it seemed like a proper assassin guild.
These guys had good marketing.
They even created a potential customer during a job. At this level, I should consider commissioning them later.
“…Ah.”
As I shook the blood off my sword, Alice, whom I had pushed forward, suddenly came to mind. The attack had come so suddenly that I had no room to think of her.
As the protagonist, she wouldn’t have fallen to mere assassins, but perhaps because I had grown attached to her in that short time, my steps naturally quickened.
Rushing out of the alley, the open space I had seen earlier came into view.
“This is bad.”
Just like inside the alley, several assassins were lying there. Alice was nowhere to be seen, so either she had been captured after fighting, or she had escaped.
I approached one of the fallen assassins, removed his mask, and placed a finger under his nose. But when I shifted my gaze to his chest, I quickly realized it was meaningless.
“What the······.”
As if he had been struck by a morning star, his chest was deeply caved in.
The human body was surprisingly sturdy. If one was inexperienced, even swinging a sword made it difficult to cut through bone in one go, and even if struck with a blunt weapon, it would take several blows to leave a mark.
But the trace left on the assassin’s chest was a wound made by a single strike. Seeing how it was collapsed inward, it didn’t seem like ordinary brute strength.
“Hoo······.”
In any case, finding Alice was the priority. If she had escaped, that was fortunate, but if she had been captured, she would surely be used as a hostage to draw me out.
With protagonist privileges, she wouldn’t die, but for someone not yet accustomed to this world, it could become a bad memory.
Just as I was about to rise to chase the trail even a moment sooner, a cold sensation touched my neck.
“······.”
I stopped moving.
Up until just a moment ago, I hadn’t sensed any presence at all. But what was this greatsword pressed against my neck?
“…I haven’t heard of an assassin of this caliber who uses a greatsword.”
I spoke in a deliberately calm voice.
Even if the opponent swung the sword, I was confident I could avoid it.
Of course, I wouldn’t come away unscathed, but at least my head wouldn’t fly off.
Moreover, the artifact I was wearing, Blessing of Invisibility, blocked a single instant-kill strike. However, after being used once, it had a cooldown, so I wanted to avoid using it now, before properly entering the main story.
“Where is the girl who was here? I won’t say something easy like she’s unrelated, so let her go. Just tell me the location, and I promise I’ll let you die comfortably.”
Even at my provocatively spoken words, the opponent remained silent.
From here on, it was a battle of nerves. The key was how much injury I’d take while avoiding the blade at my neck. As long as I didn’t take a fatal wound, I was confident I could kill them.
“A while ago, you asked why I was using honorifics.”
But at the familiar voice coming from behind me, I had no choice but to freeze in place.
“······.”
My head was filled with confusion.
Why was this voice coming from behind me?
Why?
Alice, as if she were reading my confused thoughts, let out a small laugh and spoke.
“I don’t want to get close to someone who’s about to die.”
With those words, her greatsword swung without the slightest hesitation.