Chapter 186 - The Way Back Home (IV)

"Manato, treat the sword as an extension to your body. The whole sword is your arm and the tip of the blade is your hands. This is not just a normal discipline when handling a katana but the principle to use a sword in a fight. Because in a fight to the death with only a katana in your hands, the two of you must become one to survive."

"No matter if the katana is inside the sheathe or outside the sheathe, it doesn't change the fact that it is a lethal weapon. Swing the katana if necessary only. Do not just blindly do it."

The master in the dojo that taught me to fight using a katana is just an old man in my neighborhood when I was still 7 years old. Since I do kendo before, I am always practicing my swings every time. This caught the eyes of an old man with a dojo inside his home. He doesn't have any students because he doesn't accept any even though the dojo is meant for practice. I always see him carrying a small wooden sword in his waist. I even thought he was a real-life battousai when I meet him once in his dojo.

However, when he saw my form while practicing my kendo, he asked me if I want to learn a much-advanced form of swordplay aside from what I learned in my kendo lessons. Since I was still a kid during that time, I am intrigued and I wanted to earn a chance to gain much more knowledge with the sword so I accepted blindly. 

That's the beginning of the old man training me with the way of the sword, the discipline of using one, and how to wield a real blade. He helped me practice with a real blade, allowing me to have knowledge in using swords and katanas. He also said that even though I practice the way of the katana, all bladed weapons work the same way as the katana, just a little alteration to the way I handle it and everything will work the same.

He died a few years after that. His family moved after his burial so I no longer have any news from his family. However, I didn't get to properly utilize it to the fullest in the past timeline. I mostly ignored the principle of using the discipline and just use the sword the way it was done. To think that I would have a chance to use the katana and its disciplines in a battle and use it to my advantage.

Right now, the blade of the katana just claimed a life. And although it was a virtual life, it is still a life I wasted. I flick my katana to the side and wipe the blade with my sleeves before returning it to the sheath. That's when I realized that I am too sloppy with my way of using the katana. I wasted a wide swing to fully decapitate the bastard demon. If I was back then, this would just be done in a single silent swipe without a spill of blood. It looks like I still needed some practice again.

-Congratulations on killing Rank #8 High Demon Lucas!

-Got 10,000 gold

-Got 105,000 EXP(Title Effects Activated, 105,000 bonus exp earned)

-Got 10 Samurai SP(Title Effects Activated, 10 additional Samurai SP earned)

[You are the first player to kill a High Demon! Would you like to display your achievement and share it with the world?]

Yes/No

"NO."

-Received a Unique Title: The First Demon Slayer

[The First Demon Slayer]

Type: Unique Title

How to Obtain: Obtain the first kill against a High Demon.

Effect: Obtain a special buff that increases the damage done against demon-type enemies and decreases damage received from demon-type enemies. Certain demons will immediately become hostile while some demons will be in awe at you. Effects continue even if not equipped.

Note: Do you have a move like "kaminari no kokyu" or "mizu no kokyu"? 

The body of the demon immediately disintegrated and everything returned to dust. However, his body left a black orb.

[Orb of the Demon]

Type: Item

Info: An item left behind after the death of a demon. Many said this was once the demon's heart while some believed it was the core the demons keep in their bodies to keep themselves strong. Though everything was just speculation and there is no real definition and real usage of this thing.

Note: This thing looks like tapioca pearl. Gather them in a cup and put milk and ta-dah! You made bubble tea! Enjoy the drink!

Just like the note said while ignoring the remark, this orb looks like a tapioca pearl minus the stickiness. I don't have a usage for it but since this came from the demon that I just killed, I decided to keep it inside my inventory. Who knows if I will be needing them in the future.

After the showdown, I went to where the others are using the map and tracker of the quest. When I arrived, there were dead bodies of different monsters and some demons just fading a few moments after I arrived.

"Everyone alright?" I asked.

"I almost died! F*ck, if not for Chase keeping me alive while Dolly continuously kills the enemies, I would have been dead already! These monsters can shred my armor to pieces!" Hagane cried.

"Your equipment is too low leveled and you are still underleveled from this kind of situation. You will easily get wrecked!" Chase said.

"I just leveled a few times after the attacks and thankfully, I managed to survive without dying!"

"Whew, damn, this quest indeed is hardcore. The demons arrive not in waves but all at once. If not for some of my AOE skills and for Leona's help, I would have already been overwhelmed by them. The three of us can't handle the number of enemies earlier!" Dolly said while trying to catch her breath.

"Are they all safe?" I asked.

"Yes. Leona keeps them safe and besides that, the male goblin is also quite a fighter and managed to handle most of the flying enemies that were out of Leona's range since they just hover above her back. His wife and the kids are all safe too so we don't need to worry about them too much."

The three picked up the loot dropped from the demons and some enemies while I climb up to Leona's back and checked the goblins and the baby. My worries faded when I saw the female goblin cast [Holy Shield] on the baby priestess. On the other hand, the male goblin was a bit wounded but still standing after the fight. I can tell that he struggled against the enemies too due to the number of wounds he received but I guess he didn't have much after he completed it without my help.

"Have some potion old man. Don't worry, this works like wonders on wounds."

"Thanks, young man," the male goblin said and opened the bottle of HP potion and chug down the contents in one go.

"Where is the demon that is chasing us?" the female goblin asked.

"I already killed him. There is no one left behind to chase you guys," I said to them.

"As expected of the [Savior of Sandurk], you did the job many heroes failed to do. However, the troubles are far from over. Things are now safe? I doubt it. Those bastards wanted to get their hands on the baby and they also want us dead after deserting the army so I am quite sure that these bastards will now be on high alert. This place will no longer help us secure the life we had. We will need to find a new place to settle down," the male goblin said.

"But where are we going to settle down? Things are more hectic everywhere and the human kingdoms are not hospitable against us either. I doubt anyone would be willing to accept us," the female goblin gave a valid point and the male goblin was forced to think about what he needed to do to keep everything alive.

On the other hand, I think the previous timeline caused the female priestess, adopted parents, the goblins were meant to die today. A scripted death meant to make the plot progress and a cliche plot. However, because I interfered with the death of the male and female goblin, the result ended with them still alive and kicking. The entire story of the escort is now different than in the past timeline due to the altered timing.

So if the situation of the quest in the past changed drastically in the very beginning already, then why not further change the things happening? There is nothing wrong with intervening with the main quest storyline as this was going to affect everything with our involvement and not just some sort of cutscene in the game.

"If you people are fine with me, I am offering a temporary shelter in my mansion. I can give shelter and protection to all of you while the demons are looking for you guys."

The goblins looked at me with surprise. Even the three who were picking up loot on the ground looked at me with surprise too.