Dark Mist Chapter 14, a so i'm a spider, so what?/蜘蛛ですが、なにか？ fanfic

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"You know F, things have been pretty monotonous lately." I said, as I leaned on his desk and stared into his fish tank.

His six African cichlids from earth 616 warily eyed me and ducked into cover whenever my gaze rested upon any of them. Even temperamental and aggressive beings quiver and hide under my gaze. What insignificant constructs of scales and fins they are.

That fish tank, a navy blue desk lamp, and a framed picture on his desk of when we were younger and more… naive are the only pieces of decoration F has in his office. Seeing the picture makes my blood boil but F is quite adamant about keeping that bedeviled… object on his desk.

The walls and ceilings of the windowless room are painted midnight black and the fluorescent lights hanging from the ceiling buzz annoyingly. The tiled alabaster floor is spotless, not a ball of crumpled-up paper nor a spec of dust is visible on the lustrous ivory floor.

Near the northern wall of the room, sat F's desk. The walnut desk is the only source of color in this otherwise completely black-and-white room. Its thick legs and broad are reinforced with a sturdy titanium endoskeleton. A black digital clock with blinking red numbers sat diagonally in the top left corner of the walnut table. A sleek black desktop monitor connected to a- yet again- black PC and keyboard sat to the right of the clock. F's fingers blurred across the keyboard, creating a symphony of clicks and clacks at a tempo far above the frequency of a gamma ray.

"If you're going to do what I think you're planning to do," F said, peering from his monitor and terminating the incessant clicking. "Then, please, don't mess with it too much."

I scoffed.

"Of course I won't," I said, annoyed at his insinuation. "What am I? Five?"

F silently tossed me a keycard with several dials, switches, and a screen that read the number 140.15 in red. While the metal it was made from is normally soft and malleable, this keycard was imbued with several enchantments that made the otherwise soft object as stiff as a board and practically indestructible.

"The frequency is 140.85." F asserted. "After last time, I figured the best way to deal with you is to just give you what you desired."

"I see," I said, turning the dull silver card over in my palm. "But it isn't like you to just give me the keys. There has to be a catch."

"And you would be right," F answered. "That specific keycard won't give you access to everything the DESTINY system has to offer and you won't get very far if you try to brute force it."

"And don't even think of stealing my personal keycard," F added. "It's bound to my soul and not even you can replicate it."

"Hmmph, you and your fail safes." I said, standing up and walking to the door that led to the DESTINY system.

I dialed the keycard to the correct frequency and swiped the keycard through the card reader to the right of the entrance. The door slid open with a hiss and a dense cloud of supercooled air crawled out of the room. I stepped into the sub-zero, pitch-black room and the metal doors shut behind me; a sea of blinking green lights and a chorus of beeps greeted me. A pale blue hologram of trillions upon trillions of interconnected lines blinked into existence in the center of the room.

I grinned and stepped towards the hologram.

Rosemary pov

"You know, this place does bring a sense of nostalgia," I said while sitting on the ground. "But why did you bring me here, Kumoko?"

Just a few hours ago, Kumoko dragged me to where we met Araba for the first time. It was the first time she had dragged me somewhere she wanted to be since when I was an egg.

"I." She said as she sliced another Finjicote in half. "Wanted to practice fighting. Araba."

"And how does killing Finjicotes equate to that?" I inquired.

"When I fight Arabra." She answered, killing another Finjicote with a Black Spear. "I don't stand a. Chance if I touch the ground. So I am practicing on bees."

"I see," I commented. "And why did you drag me here if you aren't going to let me interfere with your fight?"

"I need." Kumoko answered, killin- yeah, you get the idea. "You to help me. Train more because you are a dragon. I'm using. The bees to warm up."

"I see. Well, good luck on that and call me when you're done." I said as I laid down on the cool stone floor of the Lower Stratum.

When Kumoko killed all of the Finjicotes flying around the room, she dropped down to where I was. Her long ivory claws clicked as they made contact with the cavern floor.

"So, how do you want to do this Kumoko?" I asked, sitting up. "Do you want me to fight you like this, or should I turn back into a wyrm?"

"I want you to turn back into a wyrm." Kumoko said as she stretched her claws.

"Alright then."

My human body shone brightly and when the light subsided, I stood up and stretched my new draconic body. I haven't turned back into a Wyrm since I obtained the Humanification skill; after all, there was no need to. The benefits of my smaller, more agile human body outweigh the strength enhancement and mass my larger Wyrm body brought.

Kumoko took several steps backwards, jumped into the air, and floated using Dimensional Maneuvering. We stared each other down before I quickly fired a stream of Abyssal Breath at Kumoko.

"Hey!" Kumoko squawked indignantly as she hastily dodged the current of black fire. "You didn't say start!"

Timeskip

After our training session, I transformed back into a human and Kumoko and I are now sitting together with our backs to one of the cavern walls. Kumoko's casting SP recovery magic onto both of us while I did the same with healing magic.

Our training session had nearly destroyed the cavern we were in; the ground is littered with craters and evaporating ice crystals. The spar really took a lot out of me even though Kumoko and I wouldn't use our more lethal, and more costly, moves - In Kuroko's case: her Annihilating Evil Eyes and in mine: my Abyssal Beam, Death Gate, Deadly Doors, my newly acquired Abyss magic, and the higher levels of Heretic magic- for the other's safety. The Great Elroe Labyrinth is a dangerous place and we can't afford to be too injured. As a side note: I've gained the skill: Hold Back: Lvl 1

"Alright, I think we're both healed up now," I said after appraising the both of us. "We're both good on Hp and our Hp Auto-Recovery skills should take care of the rest."

Kumoko stepped away from me and I stood up and stretched. My newly healed joints popped and a sense of relaxation spread through me as my sore muscles were pulled taut.

"Hey Rosemary!" Kumoko called out as runes spun and glowed around her. "I'm going to go home now, are you okay with that?"

"Go ahead!" I yelled back as the runes around her slowly reached their apex brightness and spin speed. "I'm just going to stretch some more and then I'll be back!"

Kumoko disappeared in a flash of light and I was left to my lonesome. I resumed my stretching and stretched all the muscles I could in my body in the next few minutes. When I'm done, I teleported near Kumoko's nest.

Dark gray ashes greeted me. A remnant of a blazing inferno that burned brightly not too long ago. I sniffed the air and apart from the smell of ash, there was also the rusty smell of blood; human blood to be more specific.

But before I could investigate further, a high-pitched humming noise and the soft crackles of electricity pierced through the air. I stood up but before I could pinpoint where the sound came from, detection flared hard and I ducked.

A blood-red katana with crimson electricity dancing across its blade sliced through where my neck was and I pushed myself away from my assailant.

As I skidded to a stop, I got a better look at my assaulter. He was the old man that saw through my stealth skills and winked at me around a week ago. Except this time, the metal plates on his form-fitting leather armor are colored midnight black instead of steel gray.

"You have good instincts garotinha." My assailant commented, his sword emanating a soft red glow in the darkness of the cavern. "But alas, what is a little girl like you doing here? Unless… you're not quite human yourself."

"That's an interesting thing to say to someone you tried to decapitate." I quipped as I appraised the man.

Human: Sakonji Rodriguez Lvl 57 Skill points: 250

Hp: 1881+ 943/1881

Mp: 1874/1874

Sp (Yellow): 1821+1021/1821

Sp (Red): 1832+1019/1832

Offense: 2792

Defense: 2754

Magic: 1790

Resistance: 2523

Speed: 2858

[Foul Feeder] [Assassin] [Merciless] [Commander] [Fear Bringer] [Rescuer] [Medicine Alchemist] [Guardian] [Champion] [Ally Killer] [Sword God] [Monster Slayer] [Monster Slaughterer] [Monster Calamity] [Human Slayer] [Human Slaughterer] [Demon Slayer] [Demon Slaughterer] [Fairy Slayer] [Fairy Slaughterer] [Wyrm Slayer] [Wyrm Slaughterer] [Dragon Slayer] [Ruler of Wrath] [Ruler of Perseverance]

His stats are way above that of any human I've seen and his skills are something else. He's about as strong as a Gunesohka and he's practically immune to every type of attack but Rot, something I don't have access to. A familiar shiver went down my spine, the Old Man is also appraising me.

"Rosemary Whites." He said, a smirk slowly etching itself on his face. "Your name juxtaposes your skillset. You're named after a healing herb and yet, you're as deadly as Baraggish venom."

"The difference between a rose and a peony," I bantered. "Is that peonies have no thorns because there is nothing to eat them. But roses? They grew thorns to protect themselves."

"You make a good point." the Old Man said, massaging his stubble-covered chin. "Any living thing either has ways to commit violence or ways to avoid violence. After all, violence is unavoidable; it's woven into the fabric of nature. 'Natural selection' and 'survival of the fittest' are just flowery terms to describe the pure brutality of mother nature."

The Old Man readied his katana in front of him and got into a stance, I unsheathed Yamato and followed suit.

"Your legs are too far apart," he commented after I got into my usual stance. "While your stance isn't má per se, it leaves several openings more experienced sword masters will exploit."

I shifted my legs closer together and we stared each other down. The Old Man wasn't taking me seriously and I think I can use that against him.

I darted towards him and swung Yamato towards his head but the Old Man just casually parried my swing. I leaped backwards and fired several electrically enhanced ice spears at him but the Old Man casually sliced every spear I threw, each traveling at the speed of a bullet train, into tiny pieces in the blink of an eye.

After all the pieces fell onto the ground, his red sword glowed brighter and Detection screamed at me to move. I leaped out of the way just as he swung his supercharged sword. A crescent moon-shaped arc of red lighting erupted from his sword and effortlessly disintegrated everything in its path. I barely dodged the arc and my sleeves were singed after making contact.

Taking advantage of my distracted state, the Old Man closed the distance between us in a fraction of a second and rammed the buttcap of his sword into my stomach. A shower of spittle erupted out of my mouth, but he wasn't done yet. He punched my chin with his left hand and knocked me over with a spin-kick to the face.

"That was your first mistake, garotinha." the Old Man said with slight disappointment in his voice. "You got distracted. The moment you lose focus in a fight, you leave openings. And when you leave openings, you die. Let's try that again, shall we?"

He took several steps back to put some distance between us and rested the unsharpened edge of his Katana on his shoulder. As he did that, I appraised his sword.

Rogue Sword of Lightning: HF Murasama.

Attack: (20000)

Resistance: (25000)

Traits

Lightning Attribute: Lvl 10

Cutting Attribute: Lvl 10

Destruction Attribute: Lvl 10

Piercing Attribute: Lvl 10

Fire Attribute: Lvl 10

Mp Drain: Lvl 10

Classified*3

History:

{The main weapon of the legendary mercenary Sakonji Rodriguez. He forged the weapon in 822 and the sword became his main weapon in 837 after [Classified*]. The sword [Classified*2]. Known as the blood-red sword of lightning, the sword is rumored to have gotten its color from the blood of the countless enemies he has felled. But in reality, the [Classified*3] aspect of the sword superheats and stresses the metal and makes the surface red. Red lightning dances across the katana's surface to dissipate the heat. The [Classified*3] aspect of the blade also allows it to cut through almost all solid objects, thus the Murasama is known as one of the most powerful swords in existence. Sakonji has also modified the sword to have anti-magical properties to make it more effective against mages and magic swordsmen.}

That's one hell of a sword. While it may not be as durable as Yamato, its attack stat far eclipses it.

I jumped back onto my feet and got into a stance. Several Dark Spears materialized around me and shot toward the Old Man. He cartwheeled out of the spears' trajectory and I used that opportunity to bolt toward him with Lightning enhancing each of my steps. When I got close enough, I performed a spin slash at him.

The Old Man backflipped and dodged my attack. I regained my footing from the spin slash and swung at him. He parried my attack and kicked at me; fortunately, I was able to see his leg move and pulled his kick astray with tendrils of Black Magic.

He raised his eyebrows in amusement and easily cut through the tendrils with the Murasama. He leaped backward and several circles of runes appeared above him. Several fireballs shot out of each of them and I sliced through all of them with Yamato. Yamato effortlessly cleaved through each fireball like a hot knife through butter and when the fireballs stopped, swirls of black mist-like particles gathered in my mouth. A torrent of black flames erupted from my mouth as I fired my Abyssal Breath at the Old Man.

He reacted expeditiously and mostly nullified my breath attack with a Holy Light Magic attack, but his Holy Light Magic did nothing against the heat of Abyssal Breath. His leather armor quickly caught fire but he swiftly extinguished the flames by dousing himself with medicine created with Medicine Synthesis.

Now, you may be wondering: "Gee, Rosemary, why aren't you using sloth or any of your other skills? All you've been doing is slashing and throwing magic at him! Finish him off already!" One: it's dishonorable and I don't want to do that when he didn't use either of his ruler skills. And two: he isn't really trying to kill me. He's holding back and testing me for… something. I don't know what but I know he recognized Yamato.

"Not bad, not bad at all." The Old Man said with a smirk emerging on his face. "Self-taught and quite proficiente; although, you're clearly not used to human opponents. Your swings are too wide and you get distracted too easily-"

While he was talking, I shoved Yamato into its sheath and ran at him. Each step dented the brown bedrock with the shape of my boots. When I was close enough, I yanked Yamato out of its scabbard and sliced at him several dozen times.

"-And your hastiness and impatience just screams rookie." He continued as he deflected Yamato every single time. "But your iaido is quite good and when you're focused, you're pretty good."

"For a newbie that is." He derided with the most shit-eating grin I've ever seen.

"Really?" I said, unimpressed by his antics.

The Old Man just shrugged and the red lightning dancing across Murasama's blade intensified and glowed bright orange.

"Now, it's time for me to step up a notch." He said, twirling the blood-red sword in his hand. "Can you keep up, garotinha?"

The katana's sharp humming noise intensified and the Old Man slashed the air with his katana three times- two horizontal and one vertical- in a flash of orange. Each slash created arcs of reddish-orange fire that burnt hotter than anything I'd felt or created before.

I dropped onto my stomach to avoid the first and rolled to my left to narrowly avoid the second. The third passed over my head and I looked up to see the Old Man's foot rapidly approaching my face at the speed of a fighter jet.

I activated Sloth and pushed my prone body off the ground. I got onto my feet and deactivated my ruler skill. The Old Man's foot met nothing but air and while he showed surprise at my disappearance, he regained his footing with the grace of a professional dancer.

"That doesn't feel like Sloth garotinha," he commented as he thrust Murasama into his futuristic sheath. "And it can't be those Death Gate or Last Stand skills of yours. You must have somehow tweaked one of your skills to do that, no?"

I stayed silent and readied Yamato.

"And before I stop holding back, can I ask you something?" He suddenly asked.

"What does your blade stand for, Rosemary Whites?" He inquired after I nodded my head. "For what reason do you sully your blade with the blood of monsters? Is it merely an act of survival for you? Or is it… Something else?"

"Before I answer that, can I ask you a question?" I requested.

"Hmm? Sure." He agreed. "After all, ladies first- no?"

"What's the point of all this?" I pried. "A normal swordsman would have at least pulled out their trump cards by now. And yet, all you've done is throw some fireballs and some energy arcs at me."

"Hmm, I could say the same thing for you." The Old Man responded. "But to answer the question, it's to test you."

"I've figured out that much already."

"You're more perceptive than I give you credit for."

"But why are you testing me?"

"Uh-uh, one question at a time, garotinha," he said, wagging his finger. "You have to answer mine first."

"Fine." I relented. "My sword… is used to protect the people I care about. My sword will bathe in blood so they won't be the ones bleeding out."

The Old Man's lips thinned into a tight smile.

"Good answer." He said. "But, what would happen if the people you care about die anyway? What will you do then?"

Images of Kumoko lifelessly laying on a rock with sticky red blood dribbling out of her mouth assaulted my mind. I grit my teeth and blinked those images away.

"I see. You haven't thought of that yet," he said after I remained silent. "While you're still young, your friends and loved ones dying is a real possibility you have to confront. And if they do, you'll have to be prepared to answ-"

"Are we going to start or what?" I almost growled out, interrupting him.

"I see, I seem to have hit a sore spot; for that, I apologize garotinha." He said apologetically. "In fact, you were just like me. A child who was-"

"Nevermind," he said with a shake of his head. "As you said, it's time for us to start. No magic, no bullshit. Just a clash between two people with their swords. So, what do you say, garotinha? Let's DANCE!"

His somber tone did a 180 almost instantly and with his declaration, the bottom half of a red tengu mask materialized on his face.

The Old Man spread his legs out and readied into a low stance. His pointer finger rested on a button on his futuristic sheath and the muscles on his right arm are tense, ready to move at a moment's notice.

I also got into a stance. I clutched Yamato with both hands and used my feet to kick off the ground. A cloud of dust erupted behind me and I flew towards the Old Man like a ballista bolt.

The Old Man's right arm moved in an instant and his hand hovered in front of his sheathed blade's handle.

One step…

Two steps…

Three…

Four…

When I'm in range, I swung Yamato upwards- aiming for his neck and chin. But, my only warning for his imminent attack was the movement of his lips slowly curling into his telltale shit-eating grin. I abandoned my attack and attempted to leap backward but I was too slow.

He pressed the button on his sheath and the Murasama erupted out of its scabbard with several sonic booms tearing through my eardrums. The blade flew into the Old Man's hand and the crimson sword tore through the air. The blade met my right breast and it sliced through cloth, flesh, and bone with frightening ease. I managed to avoid him cutting off my right arm but Murasama tore through my right ribs and lung.

I rolled out of the way and parried his follow-up strikes. And as I parried, I noticed something. The Old Man's rotating his blade to strike the flat side of Yamato. He purposely avoids the edge of my sword whenever he parries any of my swings. It's almost like he knows Yamato can cut through his katana!

With the new revelation in mind, I relentlessly assaulted him with different attacks. From the normal sword swing to some of the 'iaido' sheath attacks. But with every swing, came a deflection and a counterattack.

With my right lung practically destroyed, I can't use sloth for any more than half a second. The half-second bursts gave me enough breathing room to survive, but it didn't buy me nearly enough time for me to counterattack. My relentlessness proved to be my undoing as with every swing I try to get in, he successfully lands three more.

After several exchanges, he went on the offensive. I'm on the back foot trying to survive the Old Man's continued assault. I could have used magic, Death Gate, or my breaths & beams, but I won't. He's not using any of his magical attacks nor is he using wrath. Even though my stats are higher than his, he's beating me through pure skill and ingenuity.

He launched me backward with a well-aimed kick to the stomach. I landed on my feet and blocked his downward swing as my teeth clenched tightly together.

Timeskip

The Old Man firmly plants his foot into the ground and performs an overhead slash. I barely parried the attack and tried to get a stab in but he just sidestepped my pathetic attack and kneed me in my stomach. A mixture of spittle and blood flew out of my mouth like a sprinkler and I finally collapsed.

After fighting him for more than thirty minutes now, all the cumulative damage was getting to me. Half of my vision has been tinted red after his sword nicked my right eyelid and everything's spinning. The bleeding from the innumerable cuts has slowly drained my stamina and I'm running on less than fumes now. I had barely enough strength to keep my head up and both of my eyelids felt like lead.

"It looks like this is the end of the road for you garotinha." The voice of the Old Man sounded like it came from everywhere, yet nowhere at once. "But, that was a good fight for someone of your skill level."

I felt my right arm being grabbed and I was pulled onto my feet. My vision was still swimming and all the colors, sensations, and sounds seemed to swirl together into one giant incomprehensible mess.

I'm beaten, defeated, and completely demolished. I've burnt through most of my remaining Sp (Red) and my Hp is at an all-time low. I've tried everything from my wings to mixing in some punches and kicks. Last Stand activated seven minutes ago and not even that allowed me to defeat him.

The metallic scent of blood clung to my body. Every labored breath I took in only reminded me of the myriad of profusely bleeding cuts- some shallow, some deep- that littered my body. The Old Man never seemed to aim for my tendons or my muscles; whether that is out of honor or sadistic cruelty, I don't know. My coat has long been abandoned but at least my shirt, even as tattered as it is, is still wearable.

The Old Man said something else, but I just couldn't make out what he said. A sharp pain erupted from my chest and I fell onto my back. My hand lost its strength and I felt something roll out of my palm. Everything… is…. slowly…

Where… am I?

It's… cold.

Please… Mom… Mister Güliedistodiez…

Anyone…

Help me…

I…

I don't want to leave you…

Please…

Please don't leave me alone!

Help! Please…

I'm hungry…

It's cold…

Please…

I…

"AHHH!" I screamed as I woke up from the dream.

The cool, damp air of the Labyrinth greeted me. I gasped for more air before I comprehended that I was leaning on something. I peeked over my shoulder to see the familiar pearly armored carapace of Kumoko.

"Kumoko?" I breathed out, my voice a bit raspy.

I widened my eyes at the sound of my voice and grasped at my throat. My fingers felt the bumpy sensation of scar tissue; memories of me just barely avoiding decapitation surfaced unpleasantly.

"You've really scared me ya know?" Kumoko said, her voice a blend of relief and melancholy. "I… thought you really died to him."

"Well, I'm alive; am I not?" I said, trying to reassure her with an upbeat attitude and a smile. "You know I don't go down that easily, Kumoko."

"You know, if you weren't so injured, I would have slapped you for that." She said in a low voice after several seconds of silence.

"Eh?"

"You're… being so stupid right now Rosemary." She said, her voice wavering slightly. "Do you know how I felt when I saw you fall?"

"Kumoko-" I began.

"NO!" Kumoko screamed, interrupting me. "Listen to me, Rosemary! You are playing off a near-death experience as a FUCKING JOKE! You nearly died! I was there! Almost all of your SP (red) is gone and you were covered head to toe in cuts & bruises! You were just about to bleed out!"

She stopped her rant and breathed in, only to blow out her breath in anger.

"I… Fuck." She growled under her breath, the smell of salt disseminated from her eyes. "It's just… Promise me you won't do that ever again. Please, Rosemary. I'm begging you. I.. don't know if I can take almost losing my best friend again."

"I… I'm sorry Hiiro." I apologized, my eyes downcast in shame. "I promise I won't nearly die again."

She chuckled.

"You know, I think it's the first time anyone except my parents called me by my first name." She said with a relieved smile on her face.

I huddled closer to her and fell asleep to the warm feeling of Healing Magic. Whether Kumoko is Hiiro or not doesn't matter to me anymore. She's my best friend and we care about each other; that's all that matters.

Kumoko's pov

After Rosemary fell asleep, I continued to cast healing magic onto her.

That nasty scar on her throat is shrinking and he assured me that it won't be permanent.

According to him, none of her injuries would be.

I don't know how much I actually trust that guy after what he did, but his words are the only thing I have to go off of.

A wave of scalding-hot rage washed over me as I remembered that man's face.

Sakonji Rodriguez.

And his sword, the Murasama.

Uggh! I wanted to kill that guy so badly!

I shivered uncomfortably as I remembered that incident.

After the humans I've followed had set up camp and dug in for the night, I ventured back to my nest- or rather, what was left of it.

After all, Rosemary is probably waiting for me there.

I prepared a teleport spell and when I teleported back, the sound of clashing metal greeted me.

'What could that be?' I thought to myself.

After contemplating whether or not to investigate the source of the noise, I looked into it.

But the scene I came across, is one that would haunt me.

The crimson-red sword sunk into Rosemary's chest and nearly carved her torso in two.

Her blood splattered all over the floor of the cavern, forming a large puddle of red.

Wait, no.

As I looked closer, there were large puddles of blood everywhere with lines of smaller puddles connecting them.

And the blood… it… was all Rosemary's.

Rosemary fell backwards and landed with a wet thump and a large splatter of blood.

Her mouth, alongside the cuts that littered her body, leaked blood like a broken faucet.

Her breathing grew shallower with every breath and her sword rolled out of her hand.

The man standing over her swung his red sword and sheathed it.

His movements are extremely reminiscent of a samurai; but at that moment, I could care less.

Proficiency has reached the required level.

Skill [Anger LV 1] has become [Anger LV2]

I flew at him and attacked in a blind rage.

He saw me and quickly unsheathed his sword to parry my attack.

His sword sunk into my claws and I leaped backwards to give myself some space.

Human: Sakonji Rodriguez Lvl 57

Status:

HP: 1881+ 943/1881 (Green)

MP: 1743/1874 (Blue)

SP: 1821+813/1821 (Yellow)

Sp: 1832+1019/1832 (Red)

Average Offensive Ability: 2792 (Details)

Average Defensive Ability: 2754 (Details)

Average Magic Ability: 1790 (Details)

Average Resistance Ability: 2523 (Details)

Average Speed Ability: 2858 (Details)

Skills:

[Sword Hero Lv 10] [Martial Arts Mastery Lv 10] [Hp Ultra-Fast Recovery Lv 7] [Sp Rapid Recovery Lv 9] [Sp Minimalized Consumption Lv 9] [Ultimate Life Lv 9] [Ultimate Magic Lv 10] [Ultimate Movement Lv 10] [Fortune Lv 9] [Fortitude Lv 9] [Stronghold Lv 9] [Sanctum Lv 7] [Skanda Lv 10[ ]Energy Super-Attack Lv 10] [Flame Attack Lv 10] [Gale Attack Lv 10] [Bolt Attack Lv 10] [Holy Light Attack Lv 10] [Heavy Super-Attack Lv 10] [Heretic Attack Lv 10] [Destruction Super-Enhancement Lv 10] [Cutting Super-Enhancement Lv 10] [Piercing Super-Enhancement Lv 10] [Impact Super-Enhancement Lv 10] [Flame Enhancement Lv 10] [Bolt Enhancement Lv 10] [Gale Enhancement Lv 10] [Holy Light Enhancement Lv 10] [Heavy Super-Enhancement Lv 10] [Energy Conferment Lv 10] [Ability Conferment Lv 10] [Divine Dragon Power Lv 9] [Divine Dragon Barrier Lv 7] [Divine Scales Lv 8] [Medicine Synthesis Lv 10] [Expel Lv 10] [Dimensional Maneuvering Lv 10] [Hold Back Lv 8] [Clairvoyance Lv 8] [Iron Defense Lv 7] [Cooperation Lv 8] [Leadership Lv 4] [Fartalk Lv 9] [Detection Lv 10] [Thought Super-Accelloration Lv 9] [Foresight Lv 9] [Parallel Thinking Lv 9] [High Speed Processing Lv 10] [Record Lv 6] [Appraisal Lv 9] [Gale Magic Lv 4] [Flame Magic Lv 7] [Holy Light Magic Lv 5] [Healing Magic Lv 10] [Black Magic Lv 5] [Heretic Magic Lv 10] [Heavy Evil Eye Lv 10] [Gale Evil Eye Lv 10] [Physical Nullification] [Status Condition Nullification] [Faint Super-Resistance Lv 9] [Fear Super-Resistance Lv 9] [Flame Resistance Lv 9] [Gale Resistance Lv 9] [Flood Resistance Lv 8] [Freeze Resistance Lv 7] [Terrain Resistance Lv 8] [Bolt Resistance Lv 9] [Holy Light Resistance Lv 7] [Black Resistance Lv 7] [Heavy Super-Resistance Lv 9] [Acid Super-Resistance Lv 7] [ Rot Super-Resistance Lv 6] [Heresy Nullification] [Pain Super-Mitigation Lv 9] [Five Senses Super-Enhancement Lv 10] [Probability Super-correction Lv 10] [Concealment Lv 10] [Stealth Lv 10] [Silence Lv 10] [Odorless Lv 10] [Heatless Lv 10] [Night Vision Lv 10] [Heavy Armor Lv 7] [Ultra Steel Body Lv 8] [High Speed Swimming Lv 10] [Tyrant Lv 8] [Perseverance] [Conviction Lv 10] [Wrath] [Battle Divinity Lv 10] [Enma Lv 10] [Divinity Expansion Lv 5] [Sword God] [Taboo Lv 10]

Skill Points: 250

Titles:

Rogue Sword of Lightning: HF Murasama.

Attack: (20000)

Resistance: (25000)

Traits

Lightning Attribute: Lv 10

Cutting Attribute: Lv 10

Destruction Attribute: Lv 10

Piercing Attribute: Lv 10

Fire Attribute: Lv 10

Mp Drain: Lv 10

Classified*3

History:

The main weapon of the legendary mercenary Sakonji Rodriguez. He forged the weapon in 822 and the sword became his main weapon in 837 after Classified*. The sword Classified*2. Known as the blood-red sword of lightning, the sword is rumored to have gotten its color from the blood of the countless enemies he has felled. But in reality, the Classified*3 aspect of the sword superheats and stresses the metal and makes the surface red. Red lightning dances across the katana's surface to dissipate the heat. The Classified*3 aspect of the blade also allows it to cut through almost all solid objects, thus the Murasama is known as one of the most powerful swords in existence. Sakonji has also modified the sword to have anti-magical properties to make it more effective against mages and magic swordsmen.

Murasama Sheath

Attack: (200)

Resistance: (20000)

Traits

Fire Attribute: Lv 10

Magic Power Enhancement: Lv 10

Gale Attribute: Lv 10

Lightning Attribute: Lv 10

Automatic repair: Lv 10

Freeze Attribute: Lv 10

History:

The Murasama Sheath is the sheath Sakonji Rodriguez constructed for his sword, the Murasama. At first, the sheath wasn't anything special- after all, it was just a steel sheath- but as the years went on, Sakonji added more and more things to the sword. After years and years, it became the Classified*4 sheath it is today. Its primary purpose is to fire the Murasama out of it at break-neck speeds to improve Sakonji's quickdraw and iaido attacks. But it also sharpens, repairs, and charges the Murasama when it is sheathed. Because of the Murasama's unique Classified*3 attribute, the Murasama Sheath also has a cooling system installed into it

Enchanted Adamantite Plated Leather Armor

Defense: (24000)

Resistance: (26000)

Traits

Physical Resistance: Lv 10

Flood Resistance: Lv 10

Frost Resistance: Lv 10

Gale Resistance: Lv 10

Flame Resistance: Lv 10

History:

The Enchanted Adamantite Plated Leather Armor is one of the many sets of armor the legendary mercenary Sakonji Rodreguez owns. This particular one is reinforced with Adamantite plates, which allows for greater maneuverability while not sacrificing protection. While Adamantite is one of the most expensive metals there are, Sakonji is able to afford several armor sets because of his mercenary contracts. This particular suit has several enchantments to better protect against magical attacks.

I landed in front of Rosemary's body and glowered at him.

Healing Magic poured into my scythe-like front claws and healed the deep cut that marred them.

"An Ede Saine?"

The man said with a hint of curiosity. His piercing gaze loomed over me, scrutinizing my movements and my scowling form.

"Mana a strange liante. Instead -o showing anime indóme ana mát- her, -yes's standing -esse front -o her protectivelime."*5

As he mused to himself in a language somewhat evocative of English, a shiver emanated across my body.

"Fascinating. -yes's -esse possession -o nelde ruler skills. Ni've never heard -o sina 'saila' yenya mal sina must faica i sina taratect na- handa. -yes must n- er -o i 'reincarnations'. -esse i case-"*6

The man cleared his throat.

"Can you understand me? Shake your head if you can't."

I was a bit taken aback when he spoke in a language from home; while I did understand bits and pieces of the language, enough to understand him, I still shook my head.

I'm not dumb enough to attack him right now. His stats are comparable to Rosemary's and he isn't even fazed from the fight with her.

The best thing I could do right now is stick close to Rosemary and discreetly blanketed her with healing magic.

Even though she's littered with deep cuts all throughout her body, she's still alive.

Rosemary doesn't want to die and it's not because she fears death.

While death is pretty scary, she refuses to die because she refuses to leave me alone to fend for myself.

She cannot allow herself to abandon her best friend and as her best friend, I can't bring myself to abandon her either.

Me keeping a cool head is the only thing keeping us alive right now.

"What about this? Is this better?"

He asked in perfect Japanese. If he didn't speak perfect English before, I would have been more taken aback.

I nodded; I tensed my muscles and honed my eyes on his sword, carefully observing it in case he decided to attack.

"I see you're still on guard. There's no need for that."

He sheathed his sword and raised his arms as a show of peace.

Even though both of his arms are in the air, the sense of danger I felt from him didn't wane one bit.

"I'm not a man to kick an already defeated pessoa. She's a really talentosa fighter, that one. Don't worry, none of her wounds will be permanent. Except maybe that last one, I may have put too much force into it by mistake."

I wanted to retort, but I can't speak cuz- you know- I'm a spider. I have no vocal cords.

"I'm sure you would want to know the last thing I said to her, no? Even though I was sure she was too ferida to focus on my words."

His eyes shifted to my tense form and I slowly nodded out of morbid curiosity.

"I said: 'A warrior as courageous and honorable as you should be defeated standing proud, not kneeling shamefully.' Even though she was on the ground bleeding out and exhausted, even though she was too injured to even be aware of what was going on, her espírito refused to wane. I could see it in her eyes, she simply refuses to die. Her tenacity reminds me of my youth, back when I was just a homem jovem with a dream."

He shakes his head with a sigh, cutting off his rambling.

"Well, take care of her, won't you? Even though you probably hate me for doing what I did to her, you can promise me that much right?"

I nodded my head. What kind of person did he think I was?

He smiled solemnly and walked off, leaving me alone with Rosemary's unconscious body.

I wanted to chase after him and make him pay for what he did to my best friend, but who knows what would happen to her if I died fighting him.

'Damnit.'

I thought as I looked at Rosemary's sleeping form. Her wounds are healing at quite a rapid pace due to my Healing Magic and her HP Ultra-Fast Recovery skill.

Though, it looks like her gaping chest wound looks like it will scar, just as he said.

I sighed and curled up closer to her.

Julius pov

"Wow! So that's how you met your master?" Hyrance shouted in amazement after Rosemary finished recounting her first meeting with her master, or as she calls him: 'Jiji-sensei'. "Jeez, he seems like a pretty hardcore guy."

"Yeah, I guess you can say that," Rosemary said, a fond smile making its way onto her face as she continued stirring the simmering Rock Turtle soup. "But even so, I learned a lot from Jiji-sensei."

"And it's not just swordsmanship either." She continued, the wings above her ears slightly fluttering. "He taught me how to prepare meals, how money works, and how to write. To be honest, he's just like a father to me, despite our first interaction involving him almost killing me. My biological family situation is… complicated to say the least. I'd say he's one of the few people I actually consider family."

As Rosemary spoke about her family, I reminisced about my own. I was the king's second son and my mother was his third concubine. After my mother's death, my grief-stricken father drowned himself in his work and essentially neglected Shun and Sue. While I'm sure their bonds can heal over time, Shun and Sue are currently enrolled at the academy so my father will have to wait until they graduate to reconnect with them.

I glanced at Rosemary chopping up some herbs with the combat knife she usually kept sheathed on her right breast. There's just a certain grace to her movements when she's cutting the herbs and her bre-

'No! Bad! Don't look at her boobs!' I thought to myself as I tore my gaze from her developing chest. My cheeks flushed red and I peeked at her face.*7

Rosemary sports an unamused look on her face as she sprinkles the chopped herbs into the pot of soup. My face burned even hotter when I realized I had been caught.

"Speaking of our senseis, tell me how you met yours, Julius." She said, not acknowledging my peeking. "I heard that he was the most powerful human magician, and you're his student. Tell me more about him."

"Well, where do I start?" I said, thinking back to the War in Sariella. "I think it was after the war in Sariella had ended and I was in Keren County helping the town rebuild. The war had caused major damage to the town and I felt guilty about it.

As a result of that guilt, I stayed back and helped the town rebuild. A couple of months after that, Keren County was attacked by a taratect army and as the naive young boy I was, I stayed and fought. I ran in and engaged with the horde but I was quickly overpowered. I would have been killed had it not been for him."

"Who?" Rosemary inquired; although, I would guess she already had an idea of who I was talking about.

"I never got his name," I replied. "But I believe he was your master, Sakonji Rodreguez. After all, he wielded a blood-red sword and wore a suit of black plated leather armor."

"I lost consciousness not long after that." I continued. "When I woke up, I tried to find him. When I eventually did, he turned me away and introduced me to my master, the strongest human mage Ronandt Orozoi. From the looks of it, your master and mine had an old rivalry of sorts but your master eventually convinced him to accept me as his disciple."

"But, just like me, your time with him was cut short due to events out of your control." Rosemary added.

I nodded.

"Yeah," I said. "Master's training methods are considered too extreme and dangerous. During one particular session, I was on death's door after being attacked with magic to build up my resistance. Luckily, one of his other apprentices healed me before I did. But since I'm the Hero and the second prince of the Analiet kingdom, a formal complaint was made and we're separated. Even though my time with him is regrettably short, I learned a lot from him."

"Well, I could see why Jiji-sensei refused to take you on as a student," Rosemary commented as she scooped the Rock Turtle soup into bowls. "Early on, I would end up with pretty egregious wounds at the end of every training session. He doesn't hold anything back and because of that, my skill increased exponentially. In my final days with him, he taught me everything he could and my swordsmanship was superior to his. He gifted me the blueprints his family kept for generations and made me a replica of his sword, the Murasama. After that, he officially retired."

"I should visit him sometime." She said as she passed the bowls of Rock Turtle soup to everyone. "I really do owe Jiji-sensei everything. I wonder how he's doing these days."

With that, we ate the soup in silence.

* aGUgZ2F2ZSB1cCB0aGUgWWFtYXRvIGFuZCBvZmZpY2lhbGx5IGVuZGVkIGhpcyBjYXJlZXIgYXMgYSBtZXJjZW5hcnk=

*2 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

*3 SGlnaCBGcmVxdWVuY3kK

*4 R3Vu

*5 What a strange spider. Instead of showing any intent to eat her, it's standing in front of her protectively.

*6 Fascinating. It's in possession of three ruler skills. I've never heard of this 'Wisdom' before but this must mean that this Taratect is intelligent. It must be one of the 'reincarnations'. In that case-

*7 I got this from the wiki: "Despite being described as a "pure" individual, Julius did have a slightly perverted side to him, however. In particular, he couldn't help but take notice of women with large chests. Julius himself saw it as "his weakness" and felt embarrassed about it."