Kays Translations

Chapter 136

“Hmm… this is a bit unexpected…”

A voice echoed in the darkness.
Even when I opened my eyes, the darkness did not lift. It stretched on endlessly.

“…This isn’t the Round Table, is it?”
“No, this is a space for just you and me, Shizuma.”

The next moment, a tall old man appeared before me.
He had long limbs, yet his posture was straighter and stronger than most young men, betraying none of the frailty of age.

His beard was neatly groomed—a slightly grown chin beard paired with a well-trimmed mustache, refined and stylish.

His long white hair, tied back like a ponytail, gave him the air of a samurai.
Though his hair and beard were pure white, somehow there was still a youthful strength about him—perhaps because he carried himself so much like a warrior.

“…My backstory is far too powerful, you see. On top of that, Shizuma, you’ve added your own accomplishments. That has made me into the ‘Sword Saint—a martial arts master undefeated even in foreign arenas, who has mastered all forms of combat.’ Originally, I was created as a ‘test character’ in the game’s development. In other words, I’m a job born from countless references—data, documents, even videos—designed to test all combat motions.”

“In other words… too much information was forced into my head, and my body couldn’t handle it?”

“Indeed. They even pulled from martial arts manga—every kind of combat reference imaginable. The volume of information is absurd. Rest for now. In the mental world, take in the knowledge slowly.”

…Maybe I really should hand over control of the body.

Even now, just trying to recall a small fragment made an overwhelming flood of knowledge surge through my brain.

• Reading an opponent’s health from their breathing rhythm, their movement habits from the wear on their shoes, their stance from the placement of their last step… then predicting and shutting down their movements by sensing the twitch of surface muscle fibers.
• Noting which finger moves first when a hand is clenched to deduce psychology and predict attack patterns.
• Combining changes in breathing with eye movement to tell whether a feint is genuine.
• Sensing the shift in presence that travels through the body when intent to attack emerges, moving before the strike even begins.
• Instantly judging how to deflect an attack, in which direction and with how much force, to create the greatest opening in the enemy’s defense.

…Even a light skim of the knowledge filled my head with information this detailed, this dense.

There’s no way I can master all of this.

“For a while, I shall use this body. Fear not—I will not act against the kingdom. I’ll also make sure to protect young Melt.”

“…Yeah. I’ll leave it to you, Rue…”

“Mm. Leave it to me.”

In terms of strength—no problem.
In terms of personality—no problem either.
Rue, who had already mastered this colossal library of battle knowledge… he was someone I could trust.

I felt the weight of flesh.

When I raised my arm, I could feel its heaviness traveling through the bones.
Every movement aligned perfectly with the knowledge. As I pushed my fallen body up from the floor, I could predict which muscles would work, how they would move, and see it play out vividly in my mind.

So this is it… the knowledge of battle, of martial arts—the power of me, Rue, who embodies their collective essence.

Now I understand why everyone insisted I should appear at least once.
Even if not everything can be passed on, even a fragment of this knowledge inside Shizuma would become a powerful weapon, applicable in all his forms.

“Shizuma! Are you okay now!? Do you have medicine? I can make something for you!”

“…No, no, I’m fine now, Melt-chan. Sorry to have worried you.”

The kind-hearted girl peered worriedly at me where I sat on the floor.

How adorable she was. If I had a granddaughter… would she have worried about me like this too?

“Um…?”

“The original personality, Shizuma, is resting deep within right now. My vast knowledge poured into him all at once, and it overwhelmed his body. So for now, I’ll be the one moving it. Please take care of me, Melt-chan.”

“Y-you’ve really become a grandpa now!? W-well then… I’ll be in your care?”

“My name is Rue. You may call me Rue, or simply Grandpa, whichever you prefer.”

“O-okay. Then… Grandpa?”

My heart beat strongly in my chest. Could there really be such an adorable being in this world? Is this what a granddaughter feels like—something so precious?

…Forgive me, Shizuma. But I am grateful. You’ve let me taste the joy of having a granddaughter, even if only briefly.

“Yes, yes, Grandpa it is. Now, I think I’ll take a bath. I can’t show my face outside looking like this.”

“Yeah, Grandpa, your face is covered in blood.”

“Hoho! Like an old man who choked while drinking tomato juice! I’d best wash up properly.”

Ahh… Melt-chan really is a good girl. Shizuma is too, but since I cannot directly interact with him in the real world…

If only there were a way for me to be summoned separately, to move freely in this world.

Would it be selfish of me to dream of traveling somewhere with my grandchildren—a grandson and granddaughter—in this vast world now that I’ve been given flesh and form?

“Ahhh… delightful, delightful… A hot spring bath at home is such a luxury…”

Soaking in the water, I tested my control over the flesh one movement at a time.

Holding still beneath the surface, I tensed muscles one by one, gauging how the body pulsed, and how even the smallest motions sent faint ripples through the bath.

Feeling the water’s vibrations on my skin, I sharpened my awareness of this body’s movements.

“…Just as I imagined. Still, I’ll need to test it in real combat at some point…”

I checked over my status.

Back in the game days, the power I wielded had been overwhelming. Now that it had become reality, how much of it could I actually use?

As a start, I went over my skills again—reconfirming their effects, and consciously reviewing how to activate them with my own body.

[Shunpō] (Flash Step)

• “A special stepping technique that allows movement over a chosen distance without any preliminary motion or change in stance.”
• “Removes the startup of an attack and eliminates openings after attacks.”
• “However, the user must manually set the direction and distance with precision.”

[Precision Slash]

• “PvP-exclusive skill.”
• “Allows the user to change the direction of an attack mid-swing.”
• “By matching the strike exactly to an opponent’s attack, the user can deflect it and break their stance.”
• “Enemies whose stance is broken take 40% more damage.”

[Weeping Demon]

• “PvP-exclusive skill.”
• “If you strike the enemy’s weapon precisely just before their skill activates, you cancel it.”
• “Forces their ability into cooldown before it can be recast.”

[Wailing Cry]

• “Halves your max HP temporarily (60s), while increasing all stats by 1.2x.”
• “Normal attacks gain HP drain (10% of damage) and MP drain (1% of damage).”
• “If reactivated just before expiration, deals damage equal to [HP recovered × 20].”

[Demon Carving]

• “Ten seconds after activation, your HP is forcibly reduced to 1, regardless of circumstances.”
• “All attacks during this period are guaranteed critical hits.”
• “Damage taken is reduced to 1/10.”
• “Cooldown: 10 minutes.”

[Twin Draw Slash]

• “PvP-exclusive skill.”
• “For the first two attacks of battle, the opponent is forced into a knockdown state.”
• “Knockdown counts as broken stance, applying an additional -50% defense debuff.”

[Voice of the Blade]

• “Only applies if weapon type is ‘katana.’”
• “Draws out the weapon’s full potential.”
• “Weapon stats ×1.5, plus elemental bonus damage depending on the sword.”

[Calamity Hour]

• “PvP-exclusive skill.”
• “Activatable only after 30 minutes of combat.”
• “Forces both combatants’ max HP to 1/10.”
• “Not treated as a status ailment, so cannot be removed except by very specific skills.”

Honestly, aside from the PvP skills, the rest were underwhelming.

But in this world, what exactly counted as a “player”?

Humans live and enjoy their lives, beasts burn their lives to survive… Doesn’t that mean everyone here is, in a sense, a player?

If I could truly wield these skills to their fullest, then perhaps… I could reclaim the title of the strongest once more.

“…Not that such burning ambition really suits me. No, this old man is fighting for his cute granddaughter—and the grandson I may one day have. Grandpa’s going to do his best. Haah… viva nonnon.”

The bath was wonderful. The kind of perfect hot water that melted the body away.

To think I could soak in this every day—ah, I was really looking forward to the life ahead.

“Here you go, Grandpa. Cola. After a bath, this tastes way better than tea.”

“Ohh… Melt-chan really is such a good girl. Here, take this as thanks.”

After my bath, she handed me a well-chilled cola.

Even in winter, nothing refreshes a warmed body after the bath like a cold drink.

And when that drink was prepared by such an adorable granddaughter… Surely, nothing in this world could be more delicious. No—absolutely nothing.

In return, I handed Melt-chan a small jar of smoked beans.

Juice should come with a snack, right? Sadly, this was the only one I knew that fit.

“Wow, thank you, Grandpa! I’ll try one.”

“Chew it well, now.”

The way she crunched down on the smoky bean snack was unbearably cute.

No—rather, I should call it menkoi (adorable). I wasn’t sure which language that word came from, but it felt just right.

Yes, menkoi. Melt was my precious, menkoi granddaughter.

…It almost made me reluctant to return this body to Shizuma.

“Well then, Melt-chan. How about we go out together? You just got back, don’t you want to see how the town’s doing?”

“Yes! There are still so many places I haven’t been yet. Grandpa, Lindblum is huge, and there are lots of roads I haven’t seen.”

“Oh-hoh, now that sounds like fun. Let’s get changed and head out.”

At the moment, my gear was a long, kimono-like coat—a style no one in this world had seen before. Would it stand out too much?

Hmm… perhaps I should choose another outfit. Fortunately, my personal inventory held an enormous collection of equipment.

Even in PvP battles, countermeasures were essential.
And I was the one who held every piece of equipment needed to deal with whatever builds dominated the current meta.

And then… Shizuma, with his overwhelming reflexes and flawless precision, combined with all that information… Until the developers nerfed the Sword Saint, he had never lost a single match.

That’s why the title of “Undefeated” was given to me.

That history—that backbone—was what supported my strength. It cried out within me: be the strongest.

And that wish, I would always hold onto. For my master, and for the future grandson that was Shizuma.

“Well then, how about this outfit? Doesn’t stand out too much, does it?”

“Grandpa, you’re so tall, that coat really suits you! You look cool!”

“Hoh-hoh-hoh! Isn’t that so, isn’t that so! Alright then, let’s depart for Lindblum at once!”

Yes, yes, thank you for making me tall, Shizuma.

Height had no effect on reach back in the game days.
But it was something we set deliberately—because the visual impact alone could mislead opponents.

I carried within me the full knowledge and memories from those days. And I knew why.

…Simply put, since all the game’s data had been reproduced here, that also included the “chat logs.”

Most likely, Shizuma had usually communicated outside the game’s built-in chat.

But I, being a PvP-arena-only character, had needed to talk with countless people.

That was why I understood. A portion of Shizuma’s thoughts and knowledge from back then had been shared with me.

Shizuma had struggled with the sheer weight of all my combat knowledge.
But if you ask me… even back then, you never truly lost.

With all that information gathering and analysis, you had continued to extend our undefeated record.

“Hoh-hoh… this will be fun.”

“Right, Grandpa? I bet there’ll even be new food stalls since it’s a new year!”

“Yes, yes, I’m sure there will.”

It was fun.

Looking forward to Shizuma’s growth from here on.
And looking forward to the future of this adorable girl—this child who called me Grandpa.

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