abcnovels
16-Episode 16: I Don'T Feel Like Winning
16-Episode 16: I Don'T Feel Like Winning
So let's get this first game underway!?The Blackblade to Gio the Slender Swordsman!?His opponent is Dragonfang's... what?
When he said the "unemployed" part, he stuttered for a moment.
The audience went into a thump.
".........Mu, ?Unemployed??
Didn't you just say you're unemployed??Did I hear it wrong?
No, that's what it sounded like to me.
Little by little, the buzz spread, and eventually
I know that guy!?He came to our guild as a prospective member!
'I know!?The receptionist got us at the door!
So you're really unemployed?
"Blah-ha-ha-ha!?Seriously??Dragon Fang has brought out the Unemployed!
You put an unemployed member of the guild in charge just because you are short on staff!
Laughter broke out in the hall.
No, it wasn't just the sound of laughter.
'You ain't gonna win, you idiot!
"Then don't make the match a reality!?There are plenty of other guilds that want to play with Blackblade!
'This is a swordsman's sanctuary!?Stay out of it, you unemployed bastards!
Such an angry shout echoes through the air.
''Please don't throw things!?It's very dangerous!
Things even flew onto the stage.
''Ya, I knew it was going to be like this...''
Hmm. That was quite a response.
How can you be so calm?
What? All I have to do is keep him quiet from now on.
As the spearhead of the tournament, I go on stage.
My opponent also comes on stage.
He is a small, slender man who looks agile and agile.
His age would be around 20 years old.
His weapon is a rapier.
As I recall, he was introduced as the Gio of the "Fine Swordsman".
''.......I didn't expect to be dealing with an 'unemployed'. We've been taken for a fool.
I don't mean to lick it, though.
I can hear Lilia's voice from behind me, a yakuza-like voice.
'Mr. Arel!?He's a Grade B swordsman!?Please take them down with no damage!
If you take all of your opponent's blessings, you win, and the guild that defeated all the players in the winner-take-all system wins.
You have to defeat ten players with three players, but even if you win, the next game will start right away and they won't wait for your blessings to be restored.
Hence, they need to win out without reducing their blessings as much as possible.
At Lilia's words, Gio snorted.
''Ha, you make me laugh. I'll be the one to beat you with no damage.''
Then the match began.
'I'm going to end it with a blow.
In the next moment, Gio's figure disappears and appears in front of me.
A shrinkage.
And then he stabs me from there.
A perfectly aimed blow to my heart.
Kryptonite, I suppose.
I'd close the distance between us in an instant, and then strike the vital point to finish him off.
If you pierce the vital point, you'll lose all your blessings at once, but it's quite difficult to avoid it from shrinking.
This is the true essence of the Slender Swordsman, the fastest swordsman type, and the strongest skill combo.
Gio's rapier's sword tip went straight to the heart--
That was stupid.
You're not ready for that line yet, are you?
What?
--I went through it, but it was just an afterimage of me.
The real me is behind Gio.
I'm going to return the favor and shoot him in the back, aiming for his heart.
It's a kryptonite thrust.
Ugh!
As expected, Gio avoided a direct hit to the heart by twisting his body as quickly as possible.
Even so, he was pierced in the shoulder and his blessings were greatly reduced.
''Ridiculous!?Is that an afterimage??A skill that should only be used by the Fine Swordsman and the Phantom Swordsman, why you, an unemployed person, should be able to use it...??On top of that, you even used a kryptonite thrust...!
Gio was astonished, but seemed to change his mind quickly.
But I'm pretty good at afterimages.
Gio's figure separates into two.
Hmm.
That's quite an afterimage.
I can't quite tell which one is the real thing.
One of them shoots out a stab.
But the heart it pierces is once again my afterimage.
But Ghio seemed to read it.
'I don't ride in the same hand!?The real one's this way!?........What!
Too bad it's just an afterimage.
Yikes!
Once again, Gio's blessing was reduced to a sneakily low level.
Just one or two more blows.
'Two afterimages at once??But that's the least I could do...!
This time they separated into three and Gio rushed forward.
''Who said you could only do two bodies?''
What?
I'm going to create a total of five afterimages to attack Ghio.
Three against six, the outcome is clear.
Once again Gio's stab fails to catch me, and my sword slices through Gio's body.
Finally, all of Gio's blessings are lost.
''Sho, winner, Arel!
The end of the match was declared.
'Bah, stupid....................'
I tell Gio, who is on his knees on the stage, his lips shivering in astonishment.
''I'll make one correction. There are other swordsman-type professions that can learn the Afterimage skill.
What?
The Swordswoman.
Gio's eyes widened as if in a huff.
''Keh, a swordsman-type [Highest Rank] [Sword Princess]...??But that's only for women...
He's right, only a woman can become the Swords Princess.
But it doesn't matter to me.
After all, I'm just an ordinary person with no job.