NOVEL WEB Chapter 54: Skills
Luke dislikes the act of “waiting”.
However, he had already waited quite a bit for his standards. He had been fitted with magic-restraining handcuffs and had boarded a carriage without resisting the rude men. And then… about thirty minutes had passed since.
As expected, his patience had already reached its limit.
“Hey… how much longer are you planning to make me wait—”
“Shut up!! Stay silent and sit down!!”
This was like stroking a dragon’s beard or stepping on a tiger’s tail. The man who had been spoken to by Luke made a terrifyingly rash move.
“…Ha?”
Although it was his own choice, he had spent an unpleasant time being jostled around in the uncomfortable wagon. Luke could be anything but in a good mood.
(Oh no… he’s definitely done for…)
Zach seemed somewhat accustomed to his bone-chilling sense of anger, and understood the fate of the man who had just insulted Luke.
“…I am lenient. I will ask you one more time. Think carefully and choose your own words wisely.”
“…!!”
The man felt as if his heart was being squeezed.
Unbeknownst to Luke, the man’s legs began to tremble slightly. It was a human instinct that could not be resisted.
Perhaps because of his own lack of experience, the young boy seemed to appear as a giant monster to him.
(Calm down… don’t panic. People in this country can’t use “skills”. Moreover, they shouldn’t even know of its existence… If you just seal off their magic, they won’t be able to do anything. There are rumors of someone defeating an attribute dragon alone here, but it’s obviously a lie…!!)
The man was filled with arrogance.
His arrogance came from having survived h**l, far from the glamorous world of the nobility.
Therefore…
“Shut up!! Sit still like a good boy!!”
He raised his voice and drew his sword, pointing it at Luke.
He chose to protect his arrogance rather than follow his instincts.
“…hm, is that your answer?”
It was then a momentary occurrence.
Before he knew it, a short sword was in Luke’s hand. He had originally hidden it up his sleeve, but it must have appeared as if it suddenly materialized in front of the man’s eyes.
“──Huh? Why do you…?”
Luke threw it into the air and then grabbed it with his mouth as if he were biting it.
──《Slash》
Swinging the short sword with his mouth, he cut off the link of the handcuffs. Although he still had the handcuffs on and couldn’t use magic, just having his hands free was more than enough for Luke.
Even though it was a large wagon, it wasn’t really that big. So he closed the distance with overwhelming acceleration in just one step. Even after seeing Luke approaching him, the man was not fast enough to be able to comprehend what was happening right in front of him. However, it should be noted that it was commendable for him to reflexively swing his sword at Luke still.
“……!! 《Slash──》”
“──《Triple Slash》”
Of course, whether that act had any meaning was another matter entirely. Luke released a three-hit combo. With the first slash, the man’s wrist and hand were cut off. With the second slash, the man’s arm was shortened. And with the final slash, it became even shorter.
“Aaaagh!! It hurts… it hurts so much!!”
“Magnificent!!”
Although they were completely different in meaning, the man’s disappointment and Alfred’s disbelief overlapped. Half of Luke’s mood was not good. The man, with his right arm now less than half its original length, fell to the ground and writhed in pain.
“Guaaagh! It… it hurts!!”
“What! What happened!”
The two men who were riding their horses sensed that something was wrong and shouted in a panic. And then, something jumped out from behind the piled-up baggage. Luke noticed it and was slightly surprised. Because until this moment, he couldn’t detect it due to the incredibly skilled ability to conceal its presence.
(…Who is this terrifyingly skilled at hiding their presence?)
It was two people in cloaks. They immediately took a battle stance and were on alert. However, the two of them ran past Luke and ran towards the two men driving the carriage.
“Don’t kill them!”
“Understood.”
He judged that there was no hostility towards him. Therefore, Luke shouted so that his purpose would not be hindered. A short reply came back in response.
The two people in cloaks arrived at the other two men at an incredible speed and then held a short sword to their necks.
“Don’t move. Stop the carriage slowly.”
“…Damn. Who are you guys?”
The man who was not allowed to resist asked while showing regret. However, the answer was given by another person instead.
“Hey, hey! Aren’t those Canis and Ferris-chan! What are you doing in a place like this!”
“Ahaha…Long time no see, Zach-san. And, Alfred-sama for Luke-sama.”
“….Long time no see.”
“Hmm, the beastmen from back then.”
Luke remembered what happened at the blacksmith in Dalkin, but did not really matter much to him. But what caught his interest was their ability. Their stealth ability, which did not allow Luke to sense their presence.
“Ouch….It hurts…”
“Arvent!! Damn, you guys…!!”
“….You should shut up. If you don’t want to die.”
“Guh…Damn it!! Please listen to me!! We were just hired by a woman we didn’t know—”
“Be quiet.”
“…”
Ferris intimidated the man and he caved. When the hood of the coat came off, they were still wearing turbans. While looking at them out of the corner of his eye, Luke released Zach and Alfred from their restraints.
“S**t, s**t, s**t, s**t… What the h**l…the story’s different…aren’t these people in this country just a bunch of slow guys who can’t use skills and are all about magic…ugh, my arm hurts…”
The man complained while scrunching up his face and shedding tears. His fighting spirit was definitely gone. At that point, Luke lost interest, but there was something that caught his attention in his words.
“I see. …Kukuku, I understand everything now.”
Luke suddenly realized as if the fog that had been clouding his memory cleared. He finally understood the true nature of the power that resided within his body, which was different from the magical power he possessed.
“I see, this is ‘fighting spirit’… the power that dwells in the strong mind and body of a warrior. The special ability that sublimates it is called a ‘skill.’ Kukuku, I see now. It’s just like the relationship between magical power and magic. Abel might have this power as well…”
“Uh, excuse me, Luke-sama? What are you talking about?”
“What? I’m talking about this. Anyway, why are you guys… Hm? This is… damn it, it’s sooner than I expected…”
Luke felt a strong presence of dense magical power and knew what was about to happen. Suddenly, a magic circle appeared nearby, and Alice, Mia, and Eleonora emerged from it.
“Ara, Luke. I’m glad to see you’re okay.”
“Luke’s enemy… where is it?”
“What, is it over already? I was hoping to find a tough opponent…”
“…”
Luke didn’t reply, and the situation became chaotic again. However, he couldn’t help but sigh. But he consciously switched his mindset to a positive one, thinking that it would be easier to go back with Eleonora.
“Hey, you. Where was this carriage headed?”
“…Our hideout.”
“I see. Then go there.”
“U-understood… Just spare our lives.”
“Get on with it.”
At first, Luke just did it out of the blue as it was just something to kill time, but it turned out that these men were hired by someone and that caught his interest. So this was a calculated move. From Alice’s story, Luke learned that the claim of his mother Julia being kidnapped was a lie. So, why did they do this? Luke decided to go to their hideout to find out the mastermind’s motives.
(Kuku… “Skill”, huh. That was quite a harvest. Now, who is the fool who dared to imitate me like this?)
Luke looked up at the void, a twisted smile on his face.
In a room furnished with modest furniture…
“…huh?”
Startled, a woman in a habit fell out of her chair.
“W-what… did he just see me…?”
Trembling with fear, she looked again at the crystal on the desk. But the blond boy reflected there was no longer looking back at her.
“Must have been my imagination… Right. Whew… that scared me. It’s okay, Nicole, calm down… it’s okay…”
She tried to calm her shaken heart and began to sort through the information calmly.
“Myrstia should be lagging behind in everything except magic… but ‘darkness’ was able to use ‘skills’. There must be people from other countries with high combat skills… otherwise, it doesn’t make sense…”
However, this is valuable information. She had only intended to probe a little this time, but she unexpectedly found something useful.
Thinking so, Nicole looked back at the crystal once again.