Chapter 68: Step 68 to Greatness: Greet The Wandering Swordswoman
Adrian stood there with the last recruitment card. He used it without any ceremony, right in front of Hannah and Sera.
As usual, they didn’t realize he was holding a card till it dissolved into blue particles that formed a glowing circular field in front of him.
"Wow... so beautiful," Hannah mumbled, reaching out to the blue light.
"Get back!"
Adrian grabbed her by the nape and pulled her back. The next second, a blade cut through the blue light in half. If he had been a second late, Hannah’s proclaimed middle fingers would be kissing the ground.
Hannah stared at her hand for a moment, then back at the spot where the blue light had been, only to see a woman standing there.
"Eek!" Hannah yelped and jumped behind Adrian to hide.
Unlike her, Sera stood by Adrian’s side, but her hands gripping the bone dagger were shaking, giving away her facade.
Only after a moment did Hannah dare to peek out from behind his shoulder.
"Y-You psycho! Where do you think you’re swinging that blade!?" she yelled, pointing at the woman.
However, the woman did not pay attention to either of the girls and kept glaring at Adrian. A tall woman stepped forward from the fading blue light. As she did, Adrian got a better look at her.
She had a pair of muscular arms, which was why she could swing her blade with such ease. Then there was her tanned skin and black eyes that kept moving around after she had deemed the people in front weren’t dangerous to her.
Long black hair was tied back in a messy ponytail, with a few loose strands falling across her face and a single purple ribbon holding it in place.
As for her attire... it appeared to be a kimono, or at least that’s what Adrian assumed. Down below, she had a grayish pant skirt around which a purple sash was tied to hold two blades, one long, which she had in her hands, and the other was a short one.
It is called a hakama, I think. So she’s Japanese.
"Is this the Asura realm?" she said.
Unlike how she used her blade, her voice had a soothing touch to it. Everyone there felt like they could listen to her talk for ages without getting tired.
"Asura realm?" Adrian frowned, not quite understanding her. "This is Earth, well, it is a primitive version of it."
As soon as he spoke, the woman’s attention returned to him as she looked him up and down. He did not have a shred of decency in his body, nor did he look native to her region.
Which was why she was more confused about how she understood everything he said when the sounds coming from his mouth were completely foreign to her.
"Majutsu..." she mumbled.
Majutsu was what they called demonic arts back in her village. She thought Adrian was one of them and wanted to strike him down.
But no matter how much she tried, she couldn’t bring herself to raise her blade against him. There was something about this man that made it impossible for her to hurt him.
Strangely enough... she felt a strange pull towards him. A sense of misplaced loyalty, as she would for the emperor.
"Are you... the emperor of this odd place?" she asked, before pointing at Sera and Hannah. "Are these women your concubines?"
"No, they are my servants."
"So they are your concubines," the woman nodded, ignoring Adrian’s words.
At this point, the others also came rushing towards Adrian after noticing the bright blue flash in the middle of the day. They thought Adrian was creating another miracle and wanted to see it. Instead, they saw him facing another strange woman.
The woman also noticed the stronger individuals behind Adrian and nodded again, impressed by the man before her.
"A man with this many women around must possess great strength," she mumbled to herself, sheathing the blade. "Why have you brought this lowly soldier here, Majutsushi?"
A lowly soldier? If she’s a lowly soldier, then what am I? An insect?
The image of her slicing through light was still fresh in her mind, and yet she called herself a lowly soldier? He knew he probably wouldn’t get any information regarding her stats and skill, but he still tried to get a grasp on it.
To Adrian’s surprise, he could see some of her stats and skill names, unlike with Root, where he couldn’t even see his name.
xxx
[Basic Information]:
Name: Tsukika Miyamoto
Race: Human
Class: Wandering Duelist
Level: 5 (Tier-2)
Exp: 2,440/5,000
HP: 590/590
Current Realm: Savage Earth
Affiliation: Adrian
Current Group: Adrian’s Tribe
Current Followers: 0
Title(s):
• Twin Moon Sword Saint
• Sixty-One Victories
• Beauty of the Battlefield
• Unclaimed Blade
Potential Bloodline Blessings/Gifts:
• Eye of Flow: Grants the user [Perception].
• Thousand Faces: One’s charm and presence are enhanced, making it easier to manipulate targets.
[Attributes]:
• Strength: 82 (+8)
• Agility: ???
• Endurance: 97 (+5)
• Vitality: 89 (+4)
• Intelligence: 76 (+6)
• Willpower: ???
• Charisma: ???
[Skills]:
• Niten Ichi-ryu (lvl Max)
• ??? (lvl 4)
• False Opening (lvl Max)
• ??? (lvl Max)
• Killing Intent Suppression (lvl Max)
• Thousand Cuts (lvl 4)
• Flow State (lvl Max)
• Weapon Improvisation (lvl max)
[Equipment]:
Main Weapon: Black Moon Katana (Epic)
Sub Weapon: White Moon Wakizashi (Uncommon)
Armor: Night Blossom Kimono (Rare) (+30 Charisma, +15 Agility)
Accessory: Crimson Flower Hairpin (???)
[Character Evaluation]:
An infamous wandering swordswoman who is looking for someone to tame the unrest in her heart.
Potential Growth:
★★★★☆ (High)
xxx
Holy hell...
Adrian’s eyes widened in shock. Not only was the woman a tier-2 human, her stats, other than strength, all exceeded his by miles.
As for her name, it didn’t ring a bell in Adrian’s mind. Then again, it wasn’t like he was well-versed in Japanese culture, but at least he knew Tsukika came from ancient Japan.
Not just that, Tsukika wasn’t a guardian. Hence, essentially, Adrian had found a partner who could fight by his side!
"Tsukika... can I call you that?" Adrian asked with barely concealed glee.
Tsukika looked surprised by how he knew her name, but her surprise turned into a smile a moment later.
"As expected of a majutsushi," she smiled. "Yes. You can address this one as such, Majutsushi."
"Majutsushi... I like how it sounds, but what does it mean?"
"Someone who dabbles in the forbidden sorcery," Tsukika replied with a straight face.
It made sense why she thought of him that way. After all, what sane person would be capable of summoning living creatures from cards?
Besides, accepting the name was much easier than explaining to Tsukika why she was wrong.
Just like he did with Root, Adrian asked Tsukika about her past and if she remembered anything. To this, she shook her head. She could remember bits and pieces about her life and the world she lived in, but the more she tried to remember them, the faster she forgot about them.
However, there was one thing she remembered clearly.
"I was fighting a duel to the death when suddenly there was a bright flash and... I found myself here."
Adrian nodded and was about to ask something else when he was interrupted.
"Caw! Caw~!"
Huginn cawed before flopping next to Adrian. Her feathers were all ruffled and broken, like she had gotten into a fight.
"Huginn, what happened to you!?"