CH 42

Chapter 42: Versus Kratos Part 1

Kratos: “Draw your sword, Yuto.”

Yuto: “But………”

Kratos: “Don’t worry. Who do you think I am? There’s no way a C-Ranker would be able to lay a finger on me, idiot.”

Yuto: “...........”

Kratos: “Besidesーー”

Kratos signals with his eyes towards a certain direction.

In the line of his sight, Yuto sees Eliz watching Yuto intently and swallowing hard.

Kratos: “See? There’s nothing to worry about.”

What Kratos wanted to say was, “Even if someone gets hurt, Eliz is here to heal us, right?” as he met Yuto’s eyes.

This was Kratos’ way of asking Yuto if he trusted Eliz and her Healing abilities.

And there’s no way Yuto would back down after that.

With determination, Yuto puts a hand on his katana’s handle.

Kratos: “Are you ready? If you are, then draw your sword. That will be the signal.”

Hearing Kratos’ words, Yuto takes one breath - slowly inhaling and then exhaling.

Yuto: (Am I…..ready…..?)

The slow breathing helped clear his head.

And one idea suddenly came to mind.

Yuto: (...........wait, maybe………)

Yuto took out his Skill Board.

No one else can see the Skill Board besides Yuto.

So he can use it without risking exposure about its existence.

Yuto tries to move minimally while moving through the Skill Board.

And…..

Yuto: (.....yes! I knew it!)

Yuto has been dodging quite a few of Thames’ attacks.

And Yuto thought maybe he was able to clear the [Receive or Dodge 100 Attacks] Quest.

As he confirmed, it was just as he expected.

The [Receive or Dodge 100 Attacks] was gone from his Quest list.

Yuto: (I should raise at least something before I start fighting Mr. Kratos…..)

Kratos is an A-Rank Adventurer.

The average Levels for A-Rank is 56 to 70. The average Skill Level is 6.

This is not an opponent that Yuto can win against.

Just so he’s not beaten to a literal pulp, Yuto wanted to upgrade one of his Skills.

Yuto: (I wish I had more Skill Points to use…….)

Yuto prayed as he peered at his Status Display.

>>Skill Point: 0 → 3

>>Dodge Lv 0 NEW

Yuto: (Skill [Dodge]....it must be from clearing the Quest!)

Yuto dodged 100 attacks. As a reward, he received the [Dodge] Skill.

Yuto: (Oh wait, if I received 100 attacks, would I have received a different skill?)

The Quest was [Receive 100 Attacks OR Dodge 100 Attacks.]

Yuto decided to dodge the attacks, but if he was to receive it instead, there’s a good chance that he would have seen a different Skill appear.

Yuto: (ーーbut I have no time thinking about that!!)

Yuto shakes his head, and distributes all his Skill Points into [Dodge].

>>Skill Point: 3 → 0

>>Dodge Lv 2

Yuto: (I hope this will help me with this fight.)

Yuto had to wipe away his fears and worries along with the Skill Board display.

Before him, Kratos silently waited for Yuto with his Great Sword in the ready position.

He has waited patiently for Yuto to finish his preparations.

Looking at his stance, there is not one ripple or flutter of movement. He is as still as the surface of a lake when the wind dies down.

You could easily expect him to hold this position indefinitely. That’s how solid he is holding it.

Yuto: (Yeah…...there’s no way……)

Yuto did not see one opening from Kratos' stance, and he could only chuckle in exasperation to himself quietly.

No matter how he attacks, in Yuto’s mind, he sees all of his attacks getting blocked.

Yuto closes his eyes and relaxes every muscle in his body.

He takes out all the noise and thoughts running through his mind.

Soon, his ears began rejecting all sounds, and he fell into deep silence.

In the silence, Yuto inhaled deeply and held his breath.

His concentration begins to rise slowly.

And a second…...is stretched into eternity….

Yuto places a hand on the handle of his katana and opens his eyes.

The next momentーー.

Yuto: “SH!!”

Yuto moves right before Kratos’ eyes, and draws his blade.

Kratos said...

[Are you ready? If you are, draw your sword. That will be the signal.]

Which means...the match won’t start until Yuto draws his blade.

No matter how fast Yuto approaches him, Kratos would easily react and respond to all of his attacks.

But what if he approached with his blade still in the sheath?

Yuto instantly approaches Kratos with his blade still sheathed.

Once he was in striking distance, he drew his sword with everything he had.

But….

ーーiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnn!! (*sfx ringing)

Kratos easily blocked Yuto’s attack.

Kratos: “You *******......I thought you had trouble attacking people!”

Yuto: “I thought it wouldn’t matter to you, Mr. Kratos.”

Thames and Kratos are totally different.

In Thames case, Yuto could easily imagine injuring her.

But standing before Kratos, Yuto could not see one single attack landing on him.

It was impossible to injure Kratos.

Yuto was certain that the wall of his defense was too thick and too strong.

Because of that, Yuto went all out.

Yuto felt that one of the reasons why Kratos stood before him was to allow him to use his full strength.

Kratos: “You really got guts, I’ll give you….that!!”

Yuto: “...........!!”

Kratos pushes Yuto back with his Great Sword.

He just used brute force, and Yuto went flying backwards.

There’s just too much difference in their strengths.

If he went head on with his katana, he would be crushed.

Yuto takes a few steps to reorient himself, and looks for another timing to attack Kratos.

Yuto: (I can’t see any openings or weaknesses……?! What should I do…..?!”

Kratos takes one step towards Yuto in the midst of Yuto’s dilemma.

Just with that one step, Yuto felt that he was suddenly in Kratos’ range.

Yuto: “Ugh………”

The pressure emitted from Kratos was immense and caused Yuto to strain.

The next moment…

Kratos swung his sword down towards Yuto.

Yuto: “ーー!!”

Yuto hurriedly dodges the attack.

By the skin of his neck, Yuto manages to avoid Kratos’ Great Sword.

Kratos immediately takes his sword and swings again.

Yuto manages to deflect the sword by angling his katana.

But….

Yuto: “What?!”

Although he deflected the sword, another sword came from a completely different direction at him.

Yuto’s [Presence Detection] caught wind of the new threat.

Yuto immediately dashes away from the spot.

Kratos: “Impressive…you responded well just then.”