NOVEL WEB Chapter 23 – Nameless Martial Artist
Chapter 23 - Nameless Martial Artist
After learning about the situation, Bell decided not to bother Hestia while she rested at Hephaestus's place.
Feeling guilty for being inconsiderate earlier, Bell lay on his bed, ready to try out the system's gacha function now that it was nighttime.
"Even though I'm 200 million valis in debt, using a small portion for item pulls should be fine."
Bell knew there was no way that debt was getting paid off anytime soon. With 26.4 million valis on hand, he planned to put 20 million toward the debt and keep 6.4 million for daily expenses.
Plus, ten pulls only cost 10,000 valis, which wasn't much.
Thinking the cost of pulls might go up later, Bell figured it was smarter to pull now while it was cheaper.
Sure, most of the pulls would probably give him one-star or two-star items, but even those could be better than what he could get in a game.
There was another reason, too. Bell remembered something special among the three-star items.
In the game, one of them was used to enhance Saber's Noble Phantasm, but maybe here, it might actually grant him some of Saber's skills.
With that in mind, pulling now seemed worth the gamble. Bell took out 100,000 valis from his Spatial Pocket and started the pulls.
As the valis appeared, they glowed, and soon, the space around them cracked open, absorbing them completely.
Bell raised an eyebrow. It seemed like the system wasn't just taking the currency, but the value tied to the valis.
"Is it drawing from the belief or faith connected to money?"
He didn't completely understand it, but one thing was clear: the system wouldn't accept anything. It needed something with real buying power.
"Alright, let's do 100 pulls."
Unlike mobile games, where items would spin on a wheel, here, a bunch of items just flew out of the space. Most were one-star or two-star items, with a few three-stars mixed in.
Bell wasn't surprised.
Even with a luck-based skill, he knew the system wouldn't be influenced by outside factors. Real-world luck didn't seem to affect these pulls.
"But the one-star and two-star items aren't bad. I just don't know how they'll work in the real world."
This was Bell's first time doing gacha pulls, so he didn't know how useful these items would be.
Most of the one-star and two-star items seemed to boost mana, but Bell was hoping for something with actual skills.
Focusing on the guaranteed three-star items, Bell felt a mix of amusement and disappointment:
[
[Extra Spicy Mapo Tofu x2]
[Hiken Tsubame Gaeshi Experience]
[Kanesada Kuji]
[Rule Breaker]
[Magic Book]
]
"Kanesada Kuji? That's the sword used by Shiki Ryougi, right?"
"Hiken Tsubame Gaeshi Experience?..."
"Damn..." Bell took a deep breath. The technique was deadly, but since it was just an experience item, there was no guarantee he'd be able to learn it.
Still, if he did manage to learn it, he could probably take down a level 6 adventurer.
Bell smiled as he glanced at the other items.
"Extra Spicy Mapo Tofu is probably a healing item... maybe I can eat it."
"Rule Breaker's a useful dagger, mostly for breaking magic."
Bell drew out the item, "Rule Breaker."
In an instant, a dagger-shaped weapon appeared in front of him.
"It's beautiful," Bell thought. "Maybe I can use this dagger as a replacement for the Hestia Knife."
He then shifted his focus to the "Hiken Tsubame Gaeshi Experience."
This item was based on Sasaki Kojirō's technique, but Bell wasn't sure if he could recreate the multi-dimensional refraction phenomenon.
Bell pondered for a while and said.
"System, is there an enhancement or level-up function for items?"
[Yes.]
"System, I want to upgrade this item," Bell said.
As soon as word left his mouth, a line of text popped up:
[It will cost 1 million valis.]
The high cost made Bell hesitate.
He only had 6.3 million valis total, and just upgrading this one item would take 1 million. That was way more expensive than pulling an item.
Reluctantly, Bell clicked "yes."
A sound rang in his ears, and his available valis dropped from 6.3 million to 5.3 million valis.
Just this one enchantment cost him ten times what pulls did, and it hurt to see that money go.
The "Hiken Tsubame Gaeshi Experience" floated in the air, upgrading without any flashy effects.
[Hiken Tsubame Gaeshi Experience -> Hiken Tsubame Gaeshi Memory.]
Bell let out a deep breath and looked at the new item.
Before he knew it, the item turned into a blue light and flew into the space between his eyebrows.
Suddenly, memories began to unfold in his mind.
He saw the life of a man without a name or background, someone who seemed to exist only for one purpose. The man's life wasn't flashy or exciting—he didn't chase fame or power. He had one simple goal.
This nameless martial artist spent his whole life working toward mastering one thing: cutting down high-speed swallows.
At first, a single strike couldn't do it. Even with two strikes, it was hard to hit the swallow. But after countless years of practice, he mastered a third strike that could finally bring the swallow down.
The nameless martial artist refined this technique bit by bit, and at the end of his life, he perfected it.
Bell could feel everything—the years of practice, the relentless focus, and the moment of triumph. There were no great highs or lows in this man's life—just a steady journey forward, driven by passion.
What the nameless martial artist pursued wasn't perfection in swordsmanship, but the fulfillment of his long-held wish: to cut down a high-speed swallow. He dedicated his life to this goal and finally achieved it on a quiet night.
"Hiss... I really felt like I was him for a second," Bell thought.
At this moment, Bell felt like he was the nameless swordsman.
This wasn't some illusion; it was a real, lived experience.
Besides mastering Tsubame Gaeshi, Bell also inherited the man's fighting techniques and combat style. His strength now matched that of the nameless martial artist.
The teenager he was before now felt like someone entirely different. His temperament had shifted, sharper and more refined—like someone who had experienced the struggles and lessons of life.
"Wow... I feel like I could take on ten Ais right now," Bell said, clenching his fist with a grin.
It was like going from a newbie to a pro in one day.
"If I didn't have that experience, I would've been stupid to think I could master Tsubame Gaeshi."
He took a moment to calm down and remembered there was still the Magic Book left to check out. He couldn't quite remember what it did.
After all, there were so many things in FGO, and Bell didn't know all of them.
"Wait... could this Magic Book be like the ones in Orario?" Bell wondered.
He vaguely remembered the magic books in Orario.
In the anime, Bell had received a magic book as a gift from Freya, and that's how he learned Firebolt, a spell that didn't need an incantation.
"If this is really a magic book, could I use it to pay off my debts?" Bell thought.
But he wasn't sure if it would work like that.
Even if it did, it would be too risky to take it out in public. The consequences of revealing something like that would be impossible to explain.
So, if it really was a magic book, it'd be best to keep it for himself. Trying to use it to pay off debts would just cause more trouble.
