Chapter 99
"Ugh..."
Lérang's face was deathly pale, as if he had no blood in his body.
It was to be expected. He had his right arm, which was transformed by the demon sword, cut off and blood had poured out from the wound.
Though emergency treatment was done with a potion, there was no way to recover the blood that had been lost in the process.
"Haah... Haah... Sorry, but could you bring me a sword from over there?"
In the corner of the training ground, there was a display case.
A sword was taken out from there and handed to Lérang.
"Watch closely, my last disciple, Zero."
"Teacher Lérang... If you overexert yourself like this..."
"Enough, I'm already done for. The demon not only messed with my right arm but also other parts of my body. I'm a dead man walking anyway. So."
Whoosh-.
"Let me choose my own way out."
Lérang's sword dance began.
Dance, blade, wings, darkness, sky.
They were the five secret techniques of the Fleur family.
"Haah... Haah... It's a pity I don't have more time."
"...Teacher."
"Don't make such a face, come at me, Zero. From now."
Slash-.
"I will begin the final lesson."
Lérang raised his sword and took his stance.
Even without his right arm, and barely having experience wielding a sword with his left.
A considerable aura of intimidation was felt.
I took the same stance.
To him, who had fought a lifetime of inferiority and finally won.
I offered a small comfort.
"Keke, the lesson was fun. Truly."
Your zeal for learning, your efforts, and even your affection.
I could feel it all during the lesson.
"Zero, it was an honor to meet a student like you."
Tatat-!
Tat!
We started running towards each other.
Since it was the last time, we decided to send each other off with all due respect.
I might not be able to show the ultimate technique of the Fleur family with [Divine Imitation].
But still, it was enough for consolation.
The fifth secret technique of the Fleur family.
Steel Storm's Sky.
The fifth secret technique of the Fleur family.
Steel Storm's Sky.
A refined swordsmanship that strikes only once while passing by the opponent.
It was silent.
We whispered to each other with our backs turned.
"Did you see?"
"Yes, Zero. The sky... So this is what it was like."
Puff!
A line of blood formed on Lérang's chest, and then burst open, causing him to fall forward.
At the same time.
Zzzt-.
A thin line of blood was drawn on my right forearm.
Blood dripped down. It wasn't much.
But one thing was clear.
It had touched me. My body.
With his battered body, he had executed the secret technique with all his sincerity.
"Keke, Lérang de Fleur. Your swordsmanship... It definitely touched this body."
Comparable to other families.
Beautiful beyond measure.
"A very fine strike."
* * *
Is that so. It touched.
Though dead, Lérang could tell.
His swordsmanship, the efforts he had accumulated.
Were not in vain.
Yes, Zero. A hero is exactly someone like you.
Facing immense power but never breaking, a strong heart and will.
If there is a next life for me, I will surely live like that.
The will of the Fleur family does not vanish.
It will continue on.
In Zero, in that child.
"Go forth, Zero."
With a will as strong as steel.
The flight of the Fleur family.
Begins now.
* * *
[You have met the quest conditions.]
[Lérang de Fleur (1/1)]
[You have cleared Main Quest #4, 'Defeat the First Boss, Lérang de Fleur!']
[You are awarded 200exp and 10 gold as rewards.]
[You have successfully redeemed Lérang de Fleur. Additional rewards are given.]
[Your Eye Opening skill has risen from F to E.]
[Hidden rewards are given.]
[You have acquired the Fleur family-style (C) skill.]
[You are given the title, 'Heir of the Fleur Family.']
[Heir of the Fleur Family]
-You are recognized as the legitimate heir of the Fleur Family.
A Fleur family swordsmanship with solid fundamentals.
When using a sword-type weapon, attack power increases by 20%.
The layers of information windows dazzled my eyes.
Let's sort them out one by one slowly.
Main quest clearance reward of leveling up to 2 and 10 gold.
It can be said to be a modest reward. It's self-explanatory.
Next, the grade up of the [Eye Opening] skill as an additional reward.
From F to E, it has risen one level.
'Could there be an added effect? That would be amazing.'
I immediately opened the information window to check.
[Eye Opening: E]
- You slightly open your eyes. A bit more ominous red light shimmers in your pupils.
"..."
I remember the wording of this skill when it was grade F precisely.
Everyone would have to.
The state of the skill I received right after being possessed was desperate.
When it was grade F, 'an ominous red light,' and when it was E,
'A bit more ominous red light.'
That's right. The word 'a bit more' was added, but there were no additional effects.
All that hard work for redemption, and this is what I get?
I would have overturned the system right away.
If it weren't for the two hidden rewards below.
[Fleur family-style C].
To be honest, this is... a huge reward.
Every time I gamble on potential, I get trash skills, and [Eye Opening] being my main skill, this reward seems unbelievable.
Why?
Unlike [Divine Imitation], which can mimic only one technique from each family, this is a main skill that allows the use of all the secret techniques of the Fleur family.
For Luna, [Lester Family Style], and for Rodelin, [Lucid Family Style].
Like that, now I have [Fleur Family Style].
'Dance, blade, wings, darkness, sky.'
I'm a veteran of this game, but there's no information about the Fleur family's swordsmanship.
It doesn't exist. Lérang dies without showing it in Chapter 1.
Without having tried it myself, I couldn't know what kind of swordsmanship it was, but being able to freely use the secret techniques of one family was truly an enormous gift to me. Above all,
'I can reach S rank too!'
For gamers, [Divine Imitation] is an indispensable skill.
It's considered one of the top three skills everyone hopes to draw for its incredible efficiency.
However, its clear limit is at A rank.
The fact that it allows the use of other families' secret techniques but cannot reach S rank.
This was a huge dissatisfaction. But now, I had found a way to solve it.
I was given the opportunity to become 'real.'
As a veteran player, as a gamer.
I could say I received a truly touching gift.
Finally,
The title of [Heir of the Fleur Family].
The phrase 'recognized as the legitimate heir of the Fleur Family' was moving, but the fact that using sword-type weapons increases attack power by 20% was,
'Isn't that overpowered?'
How many gifts was he giving before leaving?
"Teacher Lérang... Your grace is as vast as the sea, thank you."
He was a true master, incomparable to Caron.
In an instant, Lérang's body turned into light and disappeared.
'Is it because he was a hidden boss?'
I remember his rank was displayed as '???' not S.
To use [Predation], it seemed I needed to go where Rodelin's party was.
Huh? Using the [Predation] skill on my teacher's body, am I crazy?
Well,
'That's that, and this is this.'
Teacher Lérang would want me to make further use of him, right?
Whoosh-.
A portal appeared before my eyes.
A portal that looked just the same as when I entered this place.
"Hmm..."
Before entering, there was one thing I had to do.
'A self-diagnosis on murder.'
This was quite an important issue. Since I would likely commit murder again in the future.
In the worst case, I might have to change my play style.
After taking a deep breath, I slowly began the self-diagnosis.
Q. What emotion did you feel after committing your first murder?
'...I'm not sure.'
It was so chaotic at the time, all jumbled up.
But if I had to name the biggest emotion, it seemed to be 'sadness.'
Sadness for Lérang's character, who dreamed of being a hero but ruined himself due to inferiority complex.
That seemed to be the largest emotion.
Let's move on to the next diagnosis.
Q. Are you under the illusion that you're okay because of the power of [Mental Defense]?
Hmm, this is a difficult question to answer immediately. Let's think about it.
[Mental Defense] was one of the skills I received as soon as I was possessed in the game, along with [Eye Opening].
And I received it at S rank. At first, I thought it was a perk for adapting to being possessed in the game.
'Could be a mechanism to prevent feeling guilt over murder. I could think of it that way.'
If not,
"Keke, or a mechanism to prevent feeling 'joy' from murder."
Because there could be players who go crazy thinking about killing all the characters in the game.
Either way, it's not a normal way of thinking.
"Hmm..."
Even after self-diagnosing, I couldn't feel any particular problem.
I also learned that [Mental Defense] does not block all emotions.
The fact that I felt sadness over Lérang's death.
This was significant.
'Maybe it's a skill that needs a bit more research.'
Oh dear, I've taken too much time.
I slowly started walking towards the portal.
Some might think,
Making a big deal out of killing just one game character.
But I don't think of them as mere characters.
No, I didn't want to think of them that way.
Rodelin, Luna, Raymon, Alex, Yuridia, Teron, and all the others.
They were all certainly living beings.
"Keke, I've been too caught up in sentimentality. I need to hurry." I didn't want Luna to rip my head off for being so late.
Thud-.
Something caught my foot. It was the demon sword.
The main cause of Lérang's ruin.
Looking inside, something small was busily moving around.
It looked like a dog. Well, since it was inside, it must be a demon wearing a dog's guise.
[Do you wish to acquire the demon sword?]
Hmm~ offering a demon sword for free? This is really tempting...
"Not in the slightest."
It would only consume my body.
It might be a strong weapon to use at the beginning, but I had no intention of giving up my future.
Swoosh-.
Drawing the sword, I recalled the movements Lérang had shown and swung the sword.
The first secret technique of the Fleur family.
Steel Storm's Dance.
Clang!
The demon sword shattered into pieces and scattered in all directions.
Screech-!
Was it my imagination? It seemed like I heard a demon's scream for a moment.
By the way, the [Fleur Family Style] I acquired was C rank.
Neither high nor low. I pondered why it was given this rank.
And I could realize.
Teacher Lérang. The rank he had accumulated through a lifetime of training.
It was highly probable that this grade had been transferred to me exactly as it was.
The will, the steel-like will of the Fleur family, continues through me.
"Keke, Teacher Lérang. Your noble will towards the family."
This Zero has certainly inherited it.
"Rest in peace."
With a final farewell, I threw myself towards the portal.
--TL Notes--
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