chapter 6: in this world, the weak has no rights (3)

Chapter 6: In this world, the weak have no rights (3).

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The morning sun was slowly rising and shining across the vast ocean.

The crimson sunlight reflected on the blue sea; the reflected light on the beach made it dazzling white.

The waves gently lapped the sand.

The sound of the waves was soothing to the nerves.

But the boy didn't have the mood to enjoy the atmosphere currently.

"My stomach… I feel nauseous…"

While walking on the beach, Leon grumbled as he felt dizzy.

"…This cursed technique; every time it gets worse."

He silently recalled the journey he took on the ship, specifically when he was sleeping.

Nightmare's Call.

It was a technique that summoned a person's worst feelings and manifested them as a nightmare.

The side effects for the user were stomach aches and dizziness; the severity of the effects on the user increased with the increase in the realities within the technique.

Therefore, it was preferable to sleep in an isolated place when using it.

Leon slept for several reasons during that storm.

One reason was to discover any hidden talents in that place and increase his contact with them later, using their shared misfortune as an excuse.

'As the brightest star shines in the darkest darkness, heroes appear in hardships.'

Therefore, people would show their true mettle in that storm, whether they were heroes or merely rabble.

Another reason was his high confidence in his ability to survive that storm.

Was this because of his strength? Impossible.

A storm like that isn't something that can be overcome with human strength in the first place.

Experience and knowledge of the terrain.

He knew the terrain of the southern sea like the back of his hand.

After studying the area a little, he knew that there was a coral reef area before the storm where he could take refuge.

The places where coral reefs are located aren't reached by strong water currents; so, as long as he took shelter there, his chances of survival were high.

The only problem was how he would breathe, but luckily, he had brought artificial gills as a precaution.

Those artificial gills allowed a person to stay underwater for long periods.

Its only drawback was that it was a consumable item; therefore, it could only be used once.

The least important reason was training.

Leon used Nightmare's Call to summon his worst emotions; why?

Simple; to increase his mental strength.

The more the mind is strained, the more the pressure increases and the better the mind's ability becomes when it heals.

It was simple logic but difficult to apply.

Of course, if the user of this technique couldn't handle negative emotions, the person's brain would gradually erode and they would go insane.

And in worse cases, they would end up dead.

But nothing is absolute in the world; the benefits obtained from overcoming the negative state were equal to the risks.

The technique had many advantages and disadvantages; the biggest disadvantage was the danger of death and madness. Not to mention that the results of mastering it show different variations for each person.

The value of the positive results depended on one's own experiences; how much one suffered in life and how much that affected one's mental state.

This was often what affected the usefulness or negativity of the Nightmare's Call technique.

After feeling nauseous for a while, the dizziness and painful stomach feeling slowly subsided.

When his body stabilized, Leon sat on the sand beside the sea while resting.

Time passed, and all that changed in his field of vision was the moving waves.

Sometimes they were raging, and other times they were calm.

He felt as if the passage of time was slow.

But he knew that wasn't the case.

Time always passes steadily; it wasn't fast or slow.

It was only about perception.

As long as you believe that time passes quickly, it does, and if you believe the opposite, that's also true.

Leon, who spent some time sitting, had fleeting thoughts like the wind.

This is his first day, and he was already being chased; life is truly strange in many cases.

"Tsk tsk tsk; these rabble don't have a sense of shame."

He spoke and laughed warmly as if enjoying the situation.

Step, step, step.

He could clearly hear the sound of someone's footsteps behind him.

"For scoundrels like you to dare to disrupt my rest; what a funny joke."

Standing.

Leon got up and stretched his stiff body.

Clang!

The sound of metal colliding echoed in his ear as he moved his right hand.

He opened his closed eyes to reveal the face of an unbelievably beautiful girl staring at him with stoic expressions.

It was barely noticeable, but her eyes could be seen slightly widened, as if surprised.

'Sword… no, blade?'

The girl stared at the boy who had parried her attack with a nonchalant attitude.

The sword—no, it's more accurate to say blade instead—the boy's right arm was covered with a black blade.

Clang!

The boy in front of her moved his hand forward as if pushing her body away.

Somersault.

When her body was pushed flying, she somersaulted through the air to reduce the momentum and calmly fell on her feet.

This simple parry easily made her realize that her opponent wasn't easy.

His hand covered with a blade; what was the best expression for it?

The best expression to describe the blade was that it came out of the boy's arm, as if the black blade was an extension of his body.

The boy clenched and unclenched his fist as if it were stiff.

Each time he unclenched it, the blade returned inside his hand, and when he clenched his fist, the blade came out.

"Good, good; my body finally got used to it."

The boy showed a satisfied expression as he praised.

The girl wasn't going to let him try whatever he wanted.

Her body disappeared as she appeared behind the boy in the blink of an eye; she swung her sword toward his waist.

This was usually a person's blind spot, so it's difficult to defend against a sudden attack.

Clang!

But as if he had anticipated her attack, he leaned his body forward and quickly spun around to parry her sword.

"An excellent attack, but very obvious. It might work against beginners, but it's ineffective against experts. You even neglected your defense when you attacked me."

The boy's voice came out as he pointed out the flaw in the surprise attack.

The girl frowned as she looked at the torn edge of her sleeve.

"…Strong."

Clang! Clang! Clang!

She attacked quickly again, but he parried all her attacks.

The waist, the neck, the back, and even the joints of the body.

All her attacks were directed fluidly toward the most difficult points to protect, but all were parried.

"It's good to surprise your opponent with speed, but rushing will hinder your movements."

While parrying the attacks directed at him, Leon's words came out as if he were giving instructions.

It was as if the opponent could already see through her intentions.

The one-sided fight continued.

She was attacking while her opponent dodged and parried her attacks from time to time.

As time passed, the girl began to tire, and the number of her attacks decreased.

Even so, the sharpness never lessened.

It is said that a person's sword shows the person's nature.

And Leon vaguely felt the nature of this girl, who was his opponent.

Stubborn, fast, and sharp.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The broken sword and the imposing blade collided.

'This girl is probably the type who exerted her effort to finish her opponent.'

The girl's stubbornness could be seen from how quickly she returned, no matter how far he threw her.

"Think before you attack; confuse your opponent, but don't confuse yourself."

Leon's voice came out as he easily avoided her attacks.

With the frequency of the battle, her movements became more cautious.

But even so, her attacks, which were previously unpolished, began to increase in accuracy and sharpness.

Her performance was improving rapidly.

One could see how talented she was from this alone.

"The hand!"

From time to time, he mentioned a part of her body to hit her so that she would see that place with a mark of tearing with his blade or hand.

At first, she didn't believe him because it might be a trick, but as he continued, she began to protect that part after he mentioned it.

"The right sleeve!"

He suddenly attacked her right hand with his bare hand, but she somehow managed to direct her sword to that side before his arm could reach it.

Unfortunately, she couldn't hear the sound of tearing flesh or the collision of metal.

Her opponent had easily avoided it by taking a few steps back.

"Oh? I think you already understood some of your mistakes, but you neglect your defense too much!"

Leon laughed before disappearing from in front of her.

"—!"

Her instincts warned her of the danger behind her before she tried to turn around and cut with her sword.

But it was already too late.

Something entered her eyes and caused them to close forcefully.

Sand; sand entered her eyes, hindering her movements.

'When did he…?

Unfortunately, her opponent didn't intend to let her understand what happened.

Punch!

Leon reached out and grabbed her shoulder, preventing her from turning around before forcefully punching her in the back with his free hand.

"Kaaah!"

A muffled sound of pain escaped her lips as her body flew before rolling across the sand.

After falling and rolling for a moment, the pain appeared; she felt the pain in her body, though not unbearably so.

Her body was now covered in sand.

The girl stood up with difficulty, holding her sword, albeit pathetically.

Leon's expression was cold.

"Never neglect anything on the battlefield. The terrain can be used as a weapon, and the opponent will most likely use all means to eliminate you."

"Even when you think you've won or are facing a weaker opponent, you must never neglect your defense."

"Let alone neglecting it when facing someone stronger than you; this is a death sentence, you fool."

Leon's voice came out coldly as he issued a harsh judgment.

It's good to create the element of surprise during combat, but the actions one must take afterward must be calculated.

Fighting is no different from war in any aspect.

One must know when to advance and when to retreat.

Although tactics differ each time, the fundamentals are the same; one must never neglect one's defense.

Even when fighting a strong enemy, don't easily show your trump cards unless the enemy is incredibly overwhelming.

Show weakness to the enemy when you are at your best; show him strength at your worst; don't let him know what happened to you.

The environment can be your ally if you make good use of it.

Make your enemy show everything he has, but don't show him anything.

Keep him in constant fear of the unknown.

That's how you win battles.

This girl is a talent that would make anyone pay dearly for her, but talent and value are useless when a person dies.

She lacked a lot of experience.

No matter how talented you are, without experience, you are no different from an ignorant fool who has a little more ability than ordinary people.

This should be enough for her to know the difference between them, and she won't fight him.

Whether it was his stoic expression or his guidance to her, those were means of distraction and proof of his strength compared to her.

This girl is supposed to give up now.

After all, the number of times he knocked her to the ground was already many.

"…Fight me."

But the response he heard was unexpected.

"…What? Isn't what happened enough for you to know the gap between us? There's no need for me to say that I'm stronger, is there?"

"I know."

"If so, what's the point of fighting again?"

"You're right… you're stronger than me."

"Certainly."

He emphasized her words with a clear nod, as if to provoke her.

"But I don't care… fight me."

Her cold voice came out calmly, but strange stubbornness could be seen in her voice.

'…This type of person; I know them well.'

Leon sighed slightly as he saw the girl taking a fighting stance again despite her tattered appearance.

Her sand-covered appearance was worse than her injury, so there was no need to worry.

"This girl…"

How could he not know this stubborn type, who doesn't give up until she gets what she wants?

That type of person is a fool who doesn't think with any kind of logic; their only concern is the result they want to happen.

His foolish friends were that type of people, after all.

More than anything, he was also that type of person, albeit a little more extreme.

He spoke in a deep voice as he adjusted his posture.

"Fine; attack me."

"…What?"

A confused voice came from the girl's mouth.

"You heard me; attack me; isn't that what you wanted?"

"…That's true, but I didn't think you'd be cooperative."

"Huh?! Are you aiming for a fight or what?!"

"Yes."

Her expression was indifferent as her answer came concisely.

Worse, her voice sounded serious.

For her, it was an absurd question; it's clear that she sought a fight.

Isn't that what she came for in the first place?

"My god! That's why I hate this type of person!"

Leon's voice came out as he grumbled irritably.

"Fine; that's unimportant now."

Leon rebuked sternly while staring at her, as if her subsequent plan was already revealed.

"…I know you well! You're the annoying type who won't leave me alone until I fight you! Seriously! Since you won't leave me alone, it's better that I fight you quickly and go on my way!"

"All I wanted was rest! Who would have expected my plan to backfire on me?! Damn…"

The girl stood silently while watching him curse with an irritated face.