Chapter 15 — Duel Aftermath [1]
'This… this really worked.'
I tried my best to look calm as I brought the Mistcatcher to Sara's neck.
Honestly, I just wanted to collapse on the spot.
But for now, I acted as if I was relaxed.
Since I had won anyway, I wanted to at least look composed rather than pathetic.
'But… Did I really win? Did I actually beat that Sara Isrinbloom with a sword?'
I looked at Sara in front of me.
She was clutching her bleeding wrist, glaring fiercely at me.
Seeing that, I once again realized that I had truly won.
'I was the one who did it, but I still have no idea how I actually won.'
When I had fought Sara as a defensive swordsman in the game, it had been just like fighting a boss monster.
I would only defend, and when I saw an opening, I'd deal a bit of damage — the typical hit-and-run style.
But this wasn't a game. This was reality.
So, I tried to think realistically.
'Sara is arrogant, proud, and hot-tempered. And she loses her composure easily.'
I had wanted to use those traits of hers to my advantage as much as possible.
Sara's pride was strong; she couldn't possibly accept losing to an unknown swordsman like me.
But when I dragged out the fight by purely defending, she must have grown anxious that she might not be able to defeat me.
'And to bring me down somehow, she'd try every trick she could — and eventually expose a huge opening.'
That was what I had predicted, and my prediction had been right.
When she got impatient, Sara tried to break my stance not with skill, but with raw strength and speed.
So she swung her sword widely without realizing it — and I didn't miss that opening.
'Never thought I'd actually experience cutting someone with a sword in my life.'
The moment I aimed for Sara's wrist, my mind hesitated.
For someone who had spent most of his time as a shut-in gamer, the act of cutting another person with a blade was terrifying.
But my body didn't hesitate — it slashed Sara's wrist.
And even though I had just struck someone, I found myself disturbingly calm.
'No, now that I think about it, the fact that I could stay calm and judge things during a fight — that's what's strange.'
Before I transmigrated into this body, I had been just an ordinary person.
And now I was suddenly swinging a sword and fighting battles?
Normally, there's no way I'd have stayed calm — I wouldn't even have made sound decisions.
But throughout the fight, I had remained composed.
As if this kind of battle was something utterly familiar to me.
'Well, I guess the body I transmigrated into must've been through all sorts of real combat. And the way I swung the sword just now…'
A few seconds ago, I had made a split-second decision.
No matter how exhausted she was, Sara wouldn't fall for an obvious attack.
So I copied her sword technique on the spot — a deceptive sword style, to be exact, one that alters the sword's trajectory mid-swing.
Sara had looked startled when I imitated her swordsmanship so crudely, but she still blocked it easily.
So… I quickly attempted another move.
'The Isrinbloom family's… secret technique.'
The swordsmanship of the Isrinbloom Ducal Family — a style that deceives and misleads opponents.
One of its techniques allowed the user to vanish from the enemy's sight in an instant and then strike from their blind spot.
I had faced Sara many times in boss battles, and since she'd just used that move on me, I was able to recall and mimic it.
Originally, it was a technique that followed with a flurry of attacks before the opponent could even realize what was happening.
'I didn't think it'd work… but I managed to pull it off, even if poorly.'
Honestly, even though I was the one who did it, I wasn't sure how I had.
But I decided not to think too hard about it.
It wasn't something I could figure out by overthinking anyway.
'Well, I'll think about that later. For now…'
I quickly cleared my mind of distractions.
For the moment, I needed to finish what was right in front of me.
"Sara-nim?"
"..."
Sara said nothing, continuing to glare at me.
I also stayed silent, keeping the Mistcatcher pressed to her neck.
'Better not open my mouth and say something stupid. Turning Sara completely against me would be troublesome.'
As I mentioned before, Sara was one of the most ill-tempered and touchy characters in this now-real game world.
Just one wrong word — one wrong dialogue choice — could skyrocket her "displeasure gauge."
And once that gauge exceeded a certain level, she'd become a boss and try to kill the player.
'In the game, I could at least see that gauge, so I could predict and manage it. But now, there's no way to check it.'
Because of that, I had to be extra cautious with my words and actions in front of her.
By the way, the Sara I had just sparred with… hadn't fought at full strength.
If she had used Aura or even added flame magic to her swordplay, my swordsmanship alone wouldn't have stood a chance.
"You… Vanehart. How dare you, how could you…"
While I was lost in thought, Sara finally spoke, her voice trembling slightly.
And not just her voice — her whole body was shaking.
"How did you do that just now? Our… no, my family's swordsmanship — how could some no-name like you…?"
"You showed it to me just now, so I managed to imitate it, though clumsily."
"That's absurd! The technique that made you vanish from my sight — that was clearly—"
"That's enough, both of you."
Cutting Sara off, Lucas approached us.
"This sparring match ends here. Alex, sheath your sword."
"Yes, understood."
I slid the Mistcatcher back into its scabbard.
Lucas glanced at Sara's wrist.
"Sara, your wrist… It's not too deep, but you should get it treated quickly—"
"Lucas, is that what matters right now? This bastard just used our family's sword—"
"Yeah, I saw that too. But your treatment comes first. Cedric, you know where the infirmary is, right? Take Sara and—"
"Tch… I'll go alone."
[To be Continued]