Chapter 22 Readying My Godslaying Blade

>Ba-dump! Ba-dump!<

'Fuck… fuck this!'

I was in the open field, at the town square. Every member of the town was present, all maintaining a safe distance while watching me.

My heart raced rapidly as I fought hard to keep my composure.

'I don't want this! Shit!'

Before me was a short redhead. Her severe, serious gaze unnerved me at every moment, and I gulped nervously, every second.

That was how scary she was!

'How did things turn out this way? I don't want thissssssss!!!'

[A Few Moments Earlier]

"Fight me!" The girl called Lucy challenged me with zeal shining in her eyes.

Her eyes were aglow with determination, and I could sense the stubbornness and immutability of her stance.

Sincerely, I really wanted to fulfill her wish, however I knew it was a terrible idea to fight her.

'I'm a Level 5 noob while she's in Level 30!' The scales were uneven, to begin with.

Worst of all was the issue of experience. I could tell from the young girl's hardened appearance that she had been in a proper fight before. Probably countless of times.

Compared to her, I was literal trash.

'I've only watched anime fight scenes and stuff because I thought they were cool!'

Back in my home world, every now and then, I tried practicing those moves. But, the things I watched weren't as easy as they seemed.

When it came to actually replicating those moves, it was next to impossible.

No amount of training or Martial Arts could make a normal guy like me move like my favorite characters.

'As expected, the best way to resolve this is to humbly decline…'

Even if I lost some face in front of these people, it would be way better than embarrassing myself. Besides, I could always come up with some bullshit reason to refuse.

"I—" I started to say.

"I pity you, Lucy. To think you desire to be so shamefully beaten." Sarah interrupted, just before I could speak.

'Oh shit! No, Sarah. Back off!' I thought frantically, as I stared at the faithful Priestess.

I understood that she was on my side, but—

"Lucy, do you really want to do this?"

"Look… it's a bad idea, you know?"

"The Hero is merciful, so if you apologize now, you can end this charade easily."

'',

The Village Chief and his entourage also began to convince the teenage girl.

For a moment, I was beginning to see a way out. If they managed to convince her, then… it would be the perfect way to evade the battle.

Unfortunately—

"No! I want to fight him!" The red-haired girl stared at me unflinchingly, as though she was already imagining kicking my butt.

—She just had to make matters worse.

"Sigh… stubborn to the bitter end. Very well, please He—I mean, Sam, please go easy on her."

"Yes, Hero. She is not a bad kid. She means well, really…"

"Sometimes she's just so stubborn, so it's okay to discipline her a little."

The people now shifted their gaze in my direction, expecting me to actually fight a Level 30 warrior.

'Do you people not have a conscience?!' I wanted to scream, but restrained myself.

At this point, I could still swallow my pride and refuse the fight.

I could say that it was for the sake of the village, and that I was going to forgive her impudence, but everyone already had high expectations from me.

Besides, fighting her was also a Quest.

I felt anxious, but there was really nothing I could do.

'I can't… I can't say no, can I?'

Well then…

"Alright, Lucy. I will fight you."

… I had to accept grudgingly.

[The Present]

And that leads us to this moment.

"Thank you once again for agreeing to this Duel."

Lucy already assumed a fighting stance, donning a blunt blade as she stared at me.

Her red eyes were predatory as looked at me confidently. Even though it was painful to admit, I was nothing more than prey to this girl.

BUT—!

'I didn't intend to lose so easily.!'

I instantly accessed my System Interface and purchased an item from the Junkyard. It was, of course, a Secondhand Item.

The name was none other than—

"I'll be using the Godslaying Blade, if you don't mind," I murmured, keeping my cool thanks to my Skill: Freedom Of Expression.

'I was a collector of certain Anime Merchandise back when I was on Earth. This is an actual Katana, so it should work… right?'

I knew that the stuff from my world, when compared to Magic and stuff, was inferior. However, that could simply be solved by inscribing the item with runes.

'New novel chapters are published on Novel-Bin',

'Fuck! I don't have the time. I should have prepared this weapon earlier.'

I imagined it would be extremely embarrassing if my weapon shattered in front of the watching audience.

'A direct clash with her blade is bound to shatter it, I'm sure of that!'

Silence coupled with stifling tension was amok in the atmosphere, and both of us waited for the first move from either party.

Then, the girl suddenly parted her lips as she intently looked at me.

"Can I… go all out?"

Her tone sounded hesitant.

As expected, she must have already sensed how weak I was.

'It would please me if you pulled your punches!' Though I couldn't say that, this was exactly how I felt internally.

"Of course. Come at me with everything you have." My unwavering voice seemed to stir a feeling of awe in the audience.

They would be watching their beloved Hero fight against their trump card.

Then, just as I gave my response, the girl—Lucy—began adjusting her stance, crouching a little.

>VWUUUUUSHHHH!!!< An immense surge of energy surrounded her.

It was Mana.

Shining fiery red, the girl was enveloped in a thick skin of the supernatural energy of this world.

One hit would send me to the other side. However, if I backed down at this point, an equally terrible fate awaited me.

'Guess I'll have to use that, eh?' I smiled, taking an upright stance.

I unsheathed my Godslaying Blade, revealing its silver-like edge that glimmered in the sunlight.

The denizens of this world had never laid eyes on a Katana before, so they marveled at its flashiness.

Unfortunately for me, despite the beautiful luster, the weapon was completely useless in this fight.

'System, allocate all Stat Points into Agility.'

[System Notice]

<Confirmed! All Stat Points will be Invested into Agility>

[Agility: 6+35 = 41]

[Stat Points Balance: 00]

A wry smile formed on my face and I was grateful to my past self for not carelessly spending all 35 of my accumulated Stat Points.

At the same time, I was slightly pained that I was using everything up in a single fight with a midget.

'It can't be helped.' I stared hard at my opponent, feeling my newfound power course through my body.

Donning the persona of a confident and overpowered Hero, a confident grin spread across my face.

"Alright then… shall we begin?"