“May I have this one?”
“It’s a small sword, but is that okay? Well, from what I can see of Shigeto-san, it doesn’t seem to be a problem.”
“Hmm. Does it look that way?”
“The children before also asked for swords, but watching them handle them, they didn’t seem experienced.”
“Ah… But their grip is suited for swords, so if they continue training…”
“That’s true.”
Well, if I’m accepted as an intellectual, I probably won’t need to fight, so a weapon might not be that important. Still, I’m going to an unfamiliar land. Having a familiar short sword at my waist will give me some peace of mind.
After this, I was told we’d be shown how to use weapons in the first room. Since my magic isn’t at a level usable in combat, it makes sense to learn how to use this world’s weapons.
While waiting as requested, I was in the room imagining and reviewing some Iaido forms when Karimaa brought in a large, melon-like object about a meter long. He firmly planted it on a stand that had something like a sword rack attached.
“These are plant fruits used for test cutting. They’re said to have just the right hardness to replicate the feeling of cutting monsters.”
I see, so it’s similar to cutting straw bundles.
“For low-level monsters, the sharpness of the blade alone is enough. Shall we try it?”
“Yes. Huh? Low-level? Does that mean for mid-level monsters, blade sharpness alone isn’t enough?”
“That’s right. Once they reach a certain strength, monsters are enveloped in magical power, so the sword needs to be imbued with magic too.”
“Magic? Then for me… is it difficult?”
“Let’s see. Imbuing a sword with magic is a matter of technique. Let’s give it a try.”
Since there aren’t enough of these melons to cut freely, I’m told to try cutting from the top, little by little. First, I’m asked to try it as is. I take a stance with the short sword, like cutting straw, and slash diagonally. It cuts through smoothly. The blade’s preparation is indeed sufficient.
“Excellent. Very good, yes, yes. Now, let me infuse this with magic.”
Saying that, Karimaa approaches the melon, bends down, and gently touches the lower part. Infusing magic seems to mean directly flowing it from the hand.
“Please don’t cut me,”
Karimaa says with a wink, joking. Well, I’m only cutting the melon, so there’s no mistake. But it’s better to be careful. I take the proper stance again, raising the short sword. Then, with a “Hm,” I swing it down as if striking with the sword’s weight.
Thunk! A clearly different resistance from the previous test cut stops the short sword. Looking closely, the sword hadn’t even penetrated a centimeter, stopping at the surface skin.
“This is… I see, this is magic.”
“Yes. Let’s work on being able to cut through this.”
“By… imbuing with magic?”
“Yes. Like when you practiced magic earlier, when you kneaded magical power before adding attributes.”
“Ah, right. Come to think of it… like that sensation.”
“That’s right. Shall we try again?”
As Karimaa instructs, I try to flow magic into the short sword. Thanks to the magic practice, I somewhat understand the sensation of magical power. Although I used up all my magic this morning, I can feel it’s mostly recovered after eating lunch. While breathing slowly and unifying my mind, I flow the magic swirling in my body into the short sword. Then, I raise the sword and…
Swish.
This time, I was able to cut through with much less resistance.
“You did it. Wonderful. Now, let’s increase the amount of magic a bit more and find your limit.”
And so, we gradually increase the resisting magic to test how strong of a monster I can cut. As a result, based on Karimaa’s experience, I’m told I might be able to cut even mid-level monsters.
However, even if I can cut them, monsters don’t just stand still. They’ll dodge and attack too. I’m also told that if I encounter a mid-level monster, I should prioritize escaping.
While cleaning up the scattered melon pieces, Karimaa thinks for a moment and asks:
“Come to think of it, Shigeto-san, you had skills from your previous world, right?”
“Yes, a school of Iaido and concentration.”
“I see, concentration… No wonder. You were able to cut far beyond the line I thought would be impossible with your magic capacity, so I found it a bit strange.”
“Oh? Does that mean it’s pretty good?”
“Yes. I think the magic you’re imbuing in the blade is very dense. Maybe that concentration skill allows you to focus your magic in that instant too… it’s just a guess though.”
“Concentrating magic? Indeed, in our world, we do this kind of test cutting with straw cutting training, and we do focus our minds at the moment of cutting.”
“Yes, that’s good. Let’s keep practicing. Ideally, you should be able to flow magic unconsciously.”
I see. The concentration skill might not just be simple mental focus.
Karimaa, having finished cleaning up the chopped melons, seems to be pondering something. As I watch, wondering what’s up, he glances at me.
“May I ask you something?”
“Sure. What is it?”
“I heard that your otherworld skill name is the name of your school. I often see skill names like [Swordsmanship], but… may I see it once?”
“Eh? That’s fine, but… here?”
There’s no reason to refuse. As I’m about to kneel down to demonstrate an Iaido form with the short sword, Karimaa takes out a sword and starts stretching while holding it.
“Huh?”
“Hmm?”
“No… I thought showing you the form would be enough?”
“Well~ Since we have the chance, let’s have a mock battle.”
Karimaa answers with a wink, draws his sword from its scabbard, and takes a stance facing me.
“Eh? …No, no, no. This is a real sword, you know?”
“It’s alright. I’ll stop short. You don’t know the feeling of fighting in this world yet, right?”
“How could I? I’ve only ever practiced forms, even in my previous world!”
“Then, this is a good opportunity. Hehe.”
What? I don’t understand. And that “hehe”… But the air Karimaa is projecting is no longer playful. Damn… He said he’d stop short. True, I’ve never fought anyone with Iaido. Is this… the only option? No, I understand it’s important to know how well my Iaido works in this world before descending to the lower world.
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Alright…
I take a deep breath, and as usual, my mind calms down.
If I’ve decided to do it, I’ll do it. When it’s time to draw, draw. That’s what Grandpa always told me.
“Give me a moment to prepare myself mentally.”
“Fufu. Take your time.”
I lightly kneel on the ground and slowly exhale. I concentrate my mind and synchronize my consciousness with the short sword in my left hand. At the same time, I heighten my awareness of the outside. In our family’s Iaido, which emphasizes taking the initiative after the opponent, it’s necessary to grasp every move of the opponent in detail. Although I’ve been slacking off, the sense is still somewhat there. While concentrating, I calm my mind like in Zen meditation. Before practice, I was often made to do this mental preparation for nearly an hour.
Will my Iaido be useful in this world? I call out to Karimaa.
“Anytime.”
I heighten my spirit, concentrate, and become fierce. Yet my mind is like a calm water surface without ripples.
Within my concentrated consciousness, I can feel Karimaa’s movements in detail. Karimaa’s gaze. His breathing. The tension in his entire body’s muscles. I was observing and grasping all of these as if in slow motion. I adjust the sword’s trajectory to match the opponent’s initial movement. All I need to do is draw in response to Karimaa’s first move.
I smoothly cut the sword’s mouth and draw the short sword.
“Hah!”
It’s the basic sword-drawing technique.
Although I had resisted, I liked my grandfather’s smooth sword-drawing in life. I try to emulate that image of my grandfather. I’ve repeated the sword-drawing countless times. Even though it’s been a while, I should be able to perform the movement without problem… or so I thought.
Hm?
Something feels off. The sensation in my head and my body’s movements don’t quite match up. The discrepancy between my perceived movement and actual movement disrupts the subtle control.
It was a sword-draw aimed at the open throat, with the sword raised high, but Karimaa’s arm that was about to be raised hasn’t fully risen yet. Karimaa probably did this to guard his neck in response to my movement. He probably thought my blade wouldn’t penetrate his magic…
But even knowing it won’t cut, my heart puts on the brakes when it comes to slashing at a person. In a panic, I bend my knee, twist my waist, and stop the blade.
Crack…
At that moment, my consciousness blacked out.
The Sky Divine Temple had an important role other than guiding transferees. It was to eliminate dangerous elements from other worlds. For this reason, many of those working at the Sky Divine Temple were veteran warriors ranked within the top three digits. Karimaa was one of these formidable individuals. And now, this person was feeling an inexplicable pressure from the man kneeling before him.
— What’s going on?
He couldn’t understand why Shigeto, who had just transferred and even took three days to adjust to the divine light, could emanate such a presence.
Curious about what kind of skill this unfamiliar “Iaido” was, Karimaa had proposed a mock battle. It was just a whim, but the reluctant Shigeto had sheathed his sword, knelt down, and asked for a moment to collect himself. For Karimaa, who was born and raised in this world, it was somewhat strange to see a man who had only practiced forms and never fought against a person possessing a martial skill.
Eventually, he utters a short but firm “Anytime.”
Feeling the pressure but seeing a man before him who hasn’t even drawn his sword, Karimaa convinces himself it’s just his imagination and raises his sword.
…No. To be precise, Karimaa couldn’t even raise his sword.
By the time he tried to raise his sword, Shigeto’s blade was already in front of him.
While Karimaa wasn’t particularly skilled at visually perceiving magic, he could see the dense magic enveloping Shigeto’s sword.
— I’m going to be cut.
He felt this, but Shigeto stopped the sword’s trajectory with his whole body’s movement. In that instant, Shigeto lost consciousness and collapsed.
…
Judging from Shigeto’s condition as he fell there, it seemed he was experiencing symptoms of magic depletion. He didn’t have that much magic to begin with, but it was as if he had compressed all of his magic into that one strike. And that movement. It was clearly abnormal.
— He hasn’t even raised a single step on the ladder yet… What’s going on?
Karimaa looked down at Shigeto in amazement.
TL Note: The first chapter of this novel is mostly an info dump, but it gets really good later. Please be patient.
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