Sparks flew in the battle.
It’s an expression often used in various genres, such as manga, anime, dramas, novels, and games.
It’s probably not an expression you’d hear often in everyday life.
“Haha! You’ve actually started to enjoy it a bit, haven’t you!”
“Shut up!”
But for me, it has become a familiar sight.
A high-pitched sound echoed before my eyes, and red sparks flew.
As if to embody that expression, I am now in the midst of that spark-flying battle.
Sparks flew every time my Ore Tree clashed with the rapier of the man of gentle appearance before me.
“To think you can counter my Ore Tree with that thin rapier! If it doesn’t break, you’ll lose confidence!”
“Hahaha! This sword is specially made! My attendant Giant painstakingly forged it into a masterpiece! It would be a problem if you compared it to any old blade!”
While inwardly complaining why it wouldn’t break, I marveled at the skill of the Giant who forged the rapier and the man of gentle appearance who minimized the damage.
Despite my inner thoughts, our hands didn’t stop, exchanging lighthearted remarks.
A high-pitched “hyun” sound and a heavy “bun” sound that seemed to crush something mixed with the sound of metal clashing and echoed in the space.
The opponent employed a mobile combat strategy, moving freely and utilizing the entire space – front, back, left, right, up, and down – with charges as the core of their offense. In contrast, I, realizing it was disadvantageous to step into the opponent’s domain, tried to stay as still as possible from a fixed point, focusing on intercepting their attacks.
While struggling against a thrusting weapon like a rapier, which I hadn’t fought against much, I first adjusted my eyes, then adapted my body’s movements to the thrusts, and compensated for the disadvantage in the number of attacks with the power of a single strike.
I lost the first exchange, but the second was better than the first, though I still lost. By the third exchange, I managed to bring it to a draw, and after that, I was able to alternate between winning and losing.
In the process, it felt as though the warrior spirit of the Japanese, who were called a mad fighting race by foreigners during the Sengoku period, was awakened, and I began to enjoy this battle.
As the gentle-looking man pointed out, I was initially angry with myself for being so impolite without question, but as the battle continued, those emotions were replaced by something else.
“But you can be proud! To have forged such a dull thing as the Ore Tree into such a renowned weapon, your magic, and your ability to keep up with my speed despite being human, are worthy of praise!”
“Thank you very much! It was worth my desperate effort at work!!”
Joy.
Isn’t that a rare emotion in battle?
Still, it’s perhaps inevitable that this emotion arose.
After all, in this company, most of the employees were either stronger or weaker than me.
The weaker ones were, of course, the Testers, including Kaido.
Their roles were more about nurturing and guiding than fighting.
On the other hand, the strong ones were the members of the Demon Lord’s Army, starting with Suella.
While I don’t know about recently, as they’ve been steadily gaining strength, from the beginning of my employment, I was repeatedly beaten by the members of the Demon Lord’s Army, who had spent many years on the battlefield.
There were times when I couldn’t lay a hand on them, and there were times when I desperately resisted.
Even so, my strength was often insufficient.
And what’s regrettable for me is that opportunities to encounter opponents with equally matched strength like this have not been very frequent.
I don’t regret getting stronger.
I’m not afraid of fighting strong opponents.
But, precisely because of that, I must have been yearning for a battle against an equally matched opponent somewhere in my heart.
It’s a sensation I couldn’t get even during regular training or from the guidance of instructors.
There’s something exhilarating about the battle with the gentle-looking man before me.
It feels like I can overcome it, but I can’t quite reach it.
Yet, it doesn’t feel impossible.
Such is the nature of a serious battle between evenly matched rivals.
The situation, where either side could win or lose without it being strange, made me very happy.
I could sense that if we exerted any more effort, it would turn into a battle to the death, so naturally, both of us would have kept our trump cards hidden.
Although I am using the Monkey’s Roar, I am not using my connection with the Ore Tree.
In fact, although both of us are radiating killing intent, it’s like fighting spirit that emerges during battle, a superficial sensation that overflows instinctively.
If we were serious, the killing intent would become pressure, like magic power, and would assault me.
Based on my experience with the Ogre Yakuza and the Skull Gentleman, which taught me that killing intent can become physical pressure, I sense that the other party is also still gauging my abilities, treating it as a sparring match.
Even so.
“Haa!”
“Alright!”
I poured all the power I could muster into my attack.
A single red line appeared on my cheek, and a cut ran through the opponent’s clothes.
Both I and the gentle-looking man were unleashing attacks of sufficient intensity to injure each other’s bodies through the repeated flashes of our swords.
One wrong move could lead not only to serious injury but death.
Even so, I surrendered myself to the atmosphere of the battle.
We were fighting with all our might, except for the techniques specifically designed to kill, which we withheld.
If it were the old me, I would have seriously considered going to a hospital for the mentally ill if I knew I was enjoying a situation like this.
“Phew.”
“What’s wrong, tired?”
“No, I was just a bit tired from seeing your unexpected tenacity.”
“What? According to your assessment, by now I should have been lying there covered in blood?”
“Yes, based on what I heard and your skill, I thought you’d last about five minutes at best.”
“You’re quite honest.”
“Yes, but you surpassed my expectations.”
“In a good way? Or…”
“Well, which do you think?”
Before I could finish asking if it was in a bad way, the gentle-looking man interrupted me with a smile.
The battle space came to a standstill as the gentle-looking man took a step back.
His every gesture was theatrical, which could be irritating, but it was ironic that even during these gestures, there was no opening.
Furthermore, my concentration was often disturbed by the loud, screeching female Testers.
Even now, the gentle-looking man in front of me waved his hand with a smile towards the swooning cheers, causing them to intensify.
The male Testers, of course, contorted their faces as if displeased, but they didn’t boo or anything similar after watching the previous fight.
Instead, they sent me fervent gazes, as if urging me to “destroy the handsome man,” which was a complete reversal from our previous interactions.
“So? If we continue, it’ll get serious, so what do you say?”
“Are you the one saying that? You look like you’re about to attack me any second.”
“That’s my emotional side. Endure it. This is my rational side speaking. You realized it during our fight, didn’t you? If we continue, one of us will undoubtedly suffer serious injuries. I’m not denying that. But I have important work to do. Taking unnecessary risks is a poor strategy, and I know that.”
There would be no better time to stop the fight than now.
I was convinced that continuing would result in mutual damage.
It would be one thing if they were minor or recoverable injuries.
But I knew this from our fight.
This was a watershed moment, and if the battle were to resume, it would be a true all-out war.
“Hmm, I want to fight, but if the situation doesn’t allow it, retreating is also a strategy… Well, let’s call it a day here. I suspect the Dark Elf young lady and the scary Fallen Angel older sister behind you are getting impatient.”
“You seem understanding. Why couldn’t you have shown that understanding from the beginning?”
“As you said, emotions and reason are separate things. At that time, I was still in a state where I could prioritize my emotions, so I fought to experience it. It was a good way to introduce myself, wasn’t it?”
“Huh? How so? All I learned is that you’re a pleasure-seeker who loves fighting.”
I unintentionally let out a gruff voice, but the gentle-looking man didn’t seem to mind, smiled, and said, “That’s enough,” before sheathing his rapier.
He then implicitly showed, through his actions, that the fight was over by holding nothing in either hand.
Against this, I couldn’t possibly attack. My rational side understood that further fighting would be dangerous, so suppressing my feelings of dissatisfaction, I let out a slight, irritated click of my tongue and put my Ore Tree back on my back.
“You got to see my sword too, right? I must say, I think I landed some good thrusts.”
“Consider how it felt to be on the receiving end.”
“We’re even, I thought my wrists were going to break several times.”
“You say that, but you were skillfully deflecting them.”
Exchanging sarcastic remarks, we cooled down the heat of battle and finally began to have a proper conversation.
My initial impression was still the worst due to his nonsensical attack at the beginning, but I had no intention of fighting someone who was no longer willing to fight.
“So? Are you going to introduce yourself?”
I urged him with my gaze as if to say, ‘If not, go home,’ and he clapped his hands as if he had just remembered.
“Oh, right, I haven’t introduced myself.”
“Indeed, some fool came at me with a sword out of nowhere, calling it an introduction.”
“Yes, and you accommodating him makes you quite the thrill-seeker, don’t you think?”
His words were somewhat against my will, but I had no intention of denying them.
Regardless of the circumstances, I had enjoyed that battle.
That fact remained unshaken.
So, I remained silent, showing with my attitude that I would neither deny nor affirm anything.
Without a flicker of emotion on his face, the gentle-looking man placed his right hand on his chest, bowed slowly, and then began to introduce himself.
“My name is Carter Isperio, and I am serving as the Vice Knight Commander under Marquis Carisethra.”
I responded with a suitable introduction, embodying the polite manners of a noble.
“Jiro Tanaka. I’m a Dungeon Tester at this company.”
I couldn’t bring myself to say “Nice to meet you,” even if I were to die.
That was partly due to the worst first impression, but there was another reason for my curtness.
That, however, was my personal issue and I wouldn’t mention it here, but I had no intention of changing my attitude.
“So? As the Vice Knight Commander, could you tell me why you mistakenly attacked a regular employee?”
I knew my demeanor was not suitable for a first meeting, but based on our encounter so far, I knew he was not someone to be underestimated. Furthermore, I felt it would be strange to put on a façade when he was showing his true self, so I decided to continue as I was.
“Oh, that’s simple. As rivals aiming for the same position as General, isn’t it natural to be curious about a rival’s capabilities?”
“What?”
“Heh heh heh, you should understand the value of your own existence a little better. You see, I was recommended by two of the top fighters in the Demon Lord’s Army, the Oni King and the Undead King. And if that being is human, it’s difficult not to be interested. My direct approach of confirming your existence is relatively minor.”
This man, who now called himself Carter, a vampire, explained it as reconnaissance.
He even offered me a warning about my attitude.
“Be careful. This place is more welcoming to humans than you think. However, most of the Demon Lord’s Army members are not nearly as benevolent towards humans as you imagine.”
“…”
“Do you really think those around you will let you become a General so easily?”
“…”
“Like you just did, I take silence as affirmation.”
The wall between species is thick.
Especially when it came to beings who had been fighting for so long…
My naive thoughts were being targeted, and I had no desire to argue.
However, I was curious about his intentions in giving me this warning.
No matter what his circumstances, it was undoubtedly an act of helping an enemy from his perspective.
“…What’s your intention? What’s in it for you to be warning me like this?”
“Would calling it goodwill sound insincere?”
“Naturally.”
“If you doubt the words that come out of my mouth, then I have no intention of giving you any more information. After all, you and I are rivals competing for the position of General. Before I give you any more advantage, I will depart. I’m even here incognito.”
“Then conceal yourself better.”
As Carter spoke of departing, a disgruntled voice rose, but the vampire before me, who waved it off with a smile, was remarkable.
He brushed off my sarcasm with a smile, bowed his head to Suella, and then said.
“Well then, I apologize for the intrusion. I look forward to the day we can meet again.”
Carter left the training ground with a leisurely and light-footed gait.
“Jiro-san, are you injured?”
“Master!”
Although the storm was unusually mild and peculiar, as soon as it passed, Suella and Himik rushed to my side.
I felt relieved that they were concerned and wondered how the existence of that vampire, Carter Isperio, would influence things from now on.
With that thought, I switched my mind from a battle-ready state.
Today’s Word:
It is difficult to discern people’s true intentions even over many years.
This is even more true when meeting someone for the first time.
That’s all for this installment.
If you found it interesting, please leave comments, ratings, and bookmarks.
And please continue to support this work.
