Kays Translations

Chapter 4: The Spirit realm

“Eh… N-No way? Is this teleportation? Transfer magic…?”

“That’s not it.”

Hearing a voice, I turned around to see someone emerging from behind a tree.

It was a beautiful figure, unlike my brothers—someone who seemed detached from this world—male or female, I couldn’t tell just by looking. They wore simple clothing resembling a kimono, different from our attire.

(So this kind of Japanese style clothing exists in this world too… but there’s no time to be fixated on that…)

“Who are you…”

“A recluse, if you like, a person cast away from the world. No, that’s not quite right—I suppose I am no longer human.”

After pondering for a moment with a hand on their chin, they pointed at the wooden sword I was holding and said,

“The one you wield in this life is a replica of what I used in my previous existence. Due to various twists and turns, I have now become the incarnation of this wooden sword.”

A sensation hit me—like being struck by lightning. Suddenly, everything seemed to fit together perfectly.

In the game, no one was keen to use the Red Oak Wooden Sword as a weapon, and even though it was possible to increase proficiency by simply swinging it, it took a long time to increase even by one level, so even after word of its hidden capabilities spread, no one picked it up.

When the proficiency of the Red oak Wooden Sword reaches a certain level, its rarity increases, and it becomes a two-star weapon called ‘Wooden Training Sword.’

Its effect description stated: “By the power of the swordsman who once wielded this sword, meditation training becomes possible.” Up until now, the experience points gained from practicing were only an increase in the sword’s proficiency, and a slight increase in strength— but with meditation training, one could gain experience points only obtainable through actual combat—even if the amount was tiny, and far less efficient than the experience points gained from defeating monsters or completing missions.

(So being confined doesn’t mean I can’t get stronger…)

And the key to this probably lies in the hands of the otherworldly person before me.

“Simply swinging the sword without thinking won’t bring you to ‘my place.’ Why were you able to perform that kind of swing?”

“…Swing? You mean, the way I swung the sword?”

“You checked the feel of the sword when you swung. When you accidentally performed a correct form, you tried to repeat it, yes? How were you able to do that without knowing the fundamentals of swordsmanship?”

Should I reveal that I am a reincarnated person?—since I feel like my heart might already be seen through—I decided it was better not to hide it.

“Well, it’s like this, or rather, I’ll explain…”

“So, you’re originally a man, a gamer…? That’s a very strange story, but I can’t exactly criticize. Until I became the incarnation of this wooden sword, I was just a normal human being myself.”

“I’m also… an ordinary person, I don’t think my life was particularly unusual. But the world I  seem to have been reincarnated into is similar to the game I used to play.”

“There’s a lot I don’t understand, but unraveling it all sounds interesting. I’m grateful that you didn’t just discard me outright.”

Hearing that, I wonder what kind of experiences he’s had up until now – perhaps his circumstances are even worse than mine.

“Until now, I’ve been summoned countless times by those who don’t understand the value of things—discarded, burned, or used for other purposes…”

“For me, this is undeniably a wooden sword… it can be used as a weapon, but it’s more suited for training.”

Hearing this, he silently widened his eyes, saying nothing.

“In the game, I could perform meditation training using the power of this wooden sword. So I wonder if that’s what it was all about…”

“A sacred treasure has a spirit, and within it lies a world of the mind. You are the first person to have entered my world of the mind.”

“inner realm… Even though you’ve been summoned many times before, has no one been able to reach here?”

“Yes. Even if they handle me roughly and break me, I simply disappear from that world. If summoned to another world, I return to normal. But I’ve had to spend hundreds of years just repeating that cycle.”

That’s probably why he seems a little happy now—thinking about it, since the heart’s realm is inside his mind, I worry that my thoughts might be directly transmitted.

“Right now, you are completely exposed, but if you train under me, you will be able to also build walls in your heart as well. Of course, that alone won’t be enough to survive. I’ll also teach you swordsmanship.”

“…T-Thank you, master!”

“Hmm… When you say master, I suppose I mean a mentor of sorts. Very well, I’ll be your teacher.”

I got a bit carried away out of excitement and jumped ahead, but he—this ‘master’—didn’t seem to mind.

“I’ve been watching your situation closely, and I believe every second counts. The person guarding the castle, princess… if they’re given an order to kill you, they probably will. It might be in a few days, a hundred days, or even years from now, but it will happen. You will either escape from the cell on your own, or take advantage when a commotion occurs outside. That masked person is skilled, so you’ll need to be capable enough not to be defeated by them.”

I really don’t want to think about fighting the masked person—Reis-san. It would be better if I could leave without fighting.

“You could say that summoning me was the root cause of all this, but if possible, I would like to get back at those who deemed me worthless together with you. Even though I may look like this, I was once someone who sought to master the way of the sword, so it pains me to be seen as weak.”

“I also want to become as strong as possible. I won’t give up no matter what training I do.”

“Then, try swinging this.”

He handed me a wooden sword—the weight of the sword remains the same even inside the ‘spirit’s realm.’ Thanks to the practice swings, it felt familiar in my hand.

“Outside the spirit realm… if you keep swinging in the real world, the skin on your hands will harden. But in this world where you have magical power, you can protect your hands with magic.”

“Can you teach me how to use magic also?”

“In the world I was born in, magic didn’t exist. It’s just that I couldn’t use what doesn’t exist. I was already familiar with the secrets of magic when I was human. It wasn’t until I became the incarnation of this wooden sword and was summoned to various worlds that I realized this.”

“There was no magic in the world I was in either. Maybe we lived in different times, but I bet you and I are from the same place. ……” 

“…Maybe so. In my time, there were those who lived by the sword, but in the era you lived through, that wasn’t the case. The idea of iron masses running through the heavens and earth… truly, it’s all so strange.”

Even as he said that, he looked genuinely amused—and then, he suddenly took out a wooden sword himself.

“Try gathering magic into the hand that’s holding the sword.”

“Gather magic… like this…?”

“Magic is born inside you and circulates through you like blood. Be aware of its flow, and guide it where you want it to go.”

Following his instructions, I tried but couldn’t quite grasp the flow of magic—until, suddenly…

“Ah… I did it!!”

My palm glows faintly, and the light transferred to the wooden sword.

“By practicing mindlessly, you become so focused that you can no longer hear the sounds around you, concentrating solely on the sword and yourself, you are doing this unconsciously.”

“Wow… so this is my magic, huh?”

“Even within the spirit realm, practicing like this consumes magic. I’ll let you choose how to proceed with your training from now.”

Without even thinking, my decision was made.

“I’d like the toughest and most difficult one, please.”

“Very well… I will slow down the perceived time within the ‘heart’s realm’ to one-tenth of the real world. Physical training isn’t very effective here, but you can still refine your techniques. It’s called ‘meditation training,’ and from the outside, it will look like you’re simply meditating.”

“Ahaha… People might think I’m asleep.”

“If you decide to stop practicing or break your focus, the effect of meditation ends there. You can turn a single day into ten, or end up not training properly at all. It’s all up to you.”

“I understand. I’ll stay alert and never let my guard down. Thank you very much, master.”

I bowed deeply—and when I raised my head, I saw that he was about to say something but hesitated, as if uncertain.

“…My name is Muraku. And you were called ‘Ashura,’ weren’t you?”

“That’s cool, but actually, my name is Ashrina.”

“Ashurina, huh? Hahaha, if I were to personally train a swordsman, I’d want to make them as strong as an Asura.”

Master Muraku is laughing, but I wondered—if I could truly become that strong, would I be able to pull myself out of this situation?

Right now, it’s just a dream. To make sure it doesn’t stay just a dream, I will focus solely on becoming stronger.

“Then… first, do a hundred swings, maintaining the magic power in it.”

“Y-Yes…!”

“Your voice is trembling. What can I say? If you run out of magic in the heart’s realm, your meditation will end. To avoid that, don’t waste magic unnecessarily.”

Suddenly, he was taking a strict stance—yet I had no intention of giving up.

I gathered magic into the wooden sword and took a swing. I focused on feeling how much magic I used in the first ten swings, trying to minimize the loss of magic even a little. While I was doing that, my teacher was sitting on a rock and watching me with amusement.

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