A Stuffed Cheonma in my Head - Chapter 3



Only Noblemtl

Episode 003. The Dagger of Oposis

* * *

Three of them, excluding the captain, rushed at me.

“Come in, come in you little shits.”

I slowly stepped back and taunted them.

Then, naturally, their order was decided.

“This kid!”

was the first guest.

I raised my sword to parry his attack.

“huh?”

But, something strange happened.

I could see the trajectory of the sword he was swinging.

No, it wasn’t just a feeling of being seen.

I felt it.

Almost like an instinct.

As soon as my gaze took in the bastard’s body, all the necessary information entered my head.

The opponent’s gaze, toes, shoulders, center of gravity, elbow angle, etc.

The information was tangled in my head, then came together in an instant.

‘Right shoulder.’

I slightly tilted my right shoulder.

The bastard’s sword pierced the air just where my right shoulder had been.

“Dead!”

While the first guest was retrieving the sword he had stabbed, a second guest barged in.

‘Oh.’

This time it was the same.

The sword path extending from the bastard’s stance was clearly visible.

‘Top cross-cut.’

I bent my legs and lowered my posture slightly.

Phew―

A sword that passes precariously over the head.

“Put the pressure down!”

The third guest was the same.

‘Bottom left.’

This time too, the black sword passed by, cutting through the air mischievously.

As soon as I saw their posture, the next sword strikes became clear.

It feels like seeing a definitive prediction of the future.

The question ‘how?’ was meaningless.

I just knew. I just felt it.

“This kid!”

‘Head, left, center.’

I dodged their attacks, my sword still in my hand.

As I watched their swordsmanship, more detailed information began to appear on my retina.

For example, when the power contained in a sword strike is at its weakest.

‘like this.’

I tried to lightly clash my sword at that moment.

Tank!

A sword that bounces off so easily.

Ting! Tank! Ting!

“What, what is it!”

“What are you doing!”

As I was happily deflecting their swords, this time I saw a ‘gap’.

A gap that looks like it would fit a sword perfectly if you stuck it in.

I tried stabbing my sword in there.

Phew!

“Cough!”

“Huh?”

Is this possible?

It was so easy to get stuck that I was dumbfounded.

Crunch!

“Ugh!”

Swish!

“Ahh!”

“… … ?”

In that instant, I sorted out the three guests in a daze.

I did it, but I still couldn’t believe it.

‘What the heck is this…?’

It was a time when I looked at the guys who had fallen in vain with a bewildered face.

“Hmm. Where did you hear that?”

The man who had been watching his men die with his arms crossed muttered.

It was an interesting face.

“It seems like you have talent as much as you talk big… … .”

The bastard pulled out his sword and snickered.

“But the opponent was not good.”

Something faintly flickered at the tip of the sword.

“Come!”

I wondered why he was so relaxed, but he turned out to be a master at handling auras.

It was an age-old common sense and an eternal truth that one who did not possess an aura could not defeat an aura user.

Because they were no match in the first place.

The darker the aura, the stronger its cutting power.

Masters don’t do cumbersome things like clashing swords with their opponents and trying to find an opening when they are weak.

Because you can just cut it with the sword.

One side fights with a sharp sword, handmade by a craftsman, while the other side wields a broken and rusted sword.

In a word, it’s a total scam.

In fact, our leader has enough power to split a mountain if he wants to.

Of course, this guy is not that strong.

But even if it’s not to that extent, even if it’s a very faint aura, the difference is stark.

I can’t use that damn aura that’s exclusive to geniuses, but this guy can.

It’s quite faint, so it’s impossible to completely cut the sword, but it will cause a lot of damage to the sword.

“Then, shall we play?”

The bastard swung his sword with a bitter smile.

I quickly defended myself by pulling the sword towards my body.

Zzz!

“Huh!”

As expected, it was an enormous force.

A tingling sensation ran down my arm.

The bastard came swinging his sword around with a proud smile.

Zzz! Zzz!

“Why don’t you try using the same tricks as before a little more?”

But like before, I didn’t have time to look at the guy’s posture.

I was in a hurry to defend myself when I saw the tip of the sword of the one wrapped in Aura.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

“… … !”

In the end, unable to overcome the shock, the sword broke.

The guy chuckled.

“It’s over.”

“Huh!”

I’m angry, but I have nothing to say in response.

I threw myself sideways, holding the broken sword.

I rolled around here and there, dodging the bastard’s sword, looking like I was being attacked.

[Tsk tsk tsk… … .]

I heard the sound of the horse clicking its tongue.

[To think that I’m going to have a hard time against someone like this.]

It was a truly pitiful voice that made one want to die.

Ugh.

Are you not using it because you don’t want to use it?

My anger exploded.

“Then what do I do!”

I rolled around and screamed.

“I’ve been swinging a sword for over 20 years since I was 5! I can’t even feel mana, let alone aura! What do you want me to do! You fucking geniuses!”

The bastard stopped swinging his sword and asked with a bewildered expression.

“No, why are you acting like this all of a sudden?”

I glared at him with bloodshot eyes.

“Do you know what I’m thinking? What should I do when I suddenly feel like screaming? What should I do, you little punk? Do you know how I feel?”

“… … This guy is completely crazy.”

The guy snickered.

“I’ll finish it right away.”

Phew!

“Hey!”

I started rolling around hard again.

Cheonma, who had been clicking his tongue, let out a deep sigh.

[I can’t watch it because it’s so stuffy. Why are you so scared of that crude sword and making a fuss?]

“Then what should we do?”

[If you don’t get hit by that much swordsmanship, that’s fine. Stop rolling around and get up. You’re not a bug.]

I rolled far away, then jumped up and glared at the guy.

[Your vision is narrow. Don’t look at the tip of the sword, but take in the overall posture.]

Then, just like before, the next sword strike was clearly visible.

[The sword is at a trivial level. It’s just a sword. Don’t be scared, just think of it as a sword and dodge. Just like before.]

“Ugh!”

As Cheonma said, I thought it was just a normal sword and avoided it, so I was able to avoid it easily.

“This damn loach.”

The bastard grumbled and swung his sword wildly.

I calmly read the spell and avoided it.

But… …what should I do now?

The sword has already been broken.

Even if you fight with a good sword, you will still lose.

How can you defeat a user with a half-assed sword?

Cheonma said as if it was no big deal.

[No big deal. It’s a matter of distance. Get in when he swings his sword hard.]

“What? Are you crazy?”

When swinging your sword, instead of pulling it back, move it forward?

Just then, the bastard pulled his sword sharply behind his head.

“You persistent bastard. Die!”

Cheonma gave instructions without paying attention to my reaction.

[Now. Diagonally to the left.]

“Hey!”

I pretended to be crazy and did as Cheonma said.

I ran into the arms of the guy who was desperately pulling out his sword from behind.

Wedge!

The sword he swung with all his might fell next to his ear.

And then, the bastard’s face was right in front of my nose.

Our eyes met.

“uh?”

I said with a puzzled look on my face.

“ah?”

The guy replied with a blank expression.

I showed him the half-sword I was holding in my hand.

“hmm?”

The man who saw it was startled and shouted.

“Hey!”

I thrust my broken sword into the bastard’s neck.

puck!

“Ugh!”

The guy fell down.

“……uh?”

I looked at the fallen man from afar.

* * *

Rustle.

As I was blankly staring at the guy with the broken sword stuck in his neck, I heard a sound from over there.

A man with a bushy beard poked his head out from the grass.

“… … Is it finished?”

It was Hans.

He emerged from the grass in a daze, holding a bloody hammer in one hand.

“I tried to help, but it seems like it wasn’t necessary.”

It was exquisite timing.

You came out as soon as the fight was over.

I looked at him blankly and asked.

“… … Should I have just hidden myself until I died?”

“Ahem. I must have misunderstood. I was just waiting for the right situation.”

Hans cleared his throat and changed the subject.

“By the way. You’re a much better swordsman than I thought. Winning against an Aura user.”

I looked at the guy spitting out blood from his throat and answered.

“… … How could that be?”

That fleeting moment still lingers in my mind.

Hans followed me and looked at the leader of the bandits and asked me.

“Joy?”

“ah!”

It was only then that I suddenly remembered Joy, who had told me to hide behind the grass.

I quickly headed behind the grass where I had hidden Joy.

There was a little boy crouching there, shivering, his hands covering his ears.

On the floor, there were dripping tears.

“… … .”

I looked at Joy like that for a moment, then quietly approached her and carefully removed her hands from her ears.

Joey flinched when my hand touched her, but then slowly opened her eyes.

“Oh, sir!”

I looked at her tear-filled face and forced a smile.

“It’s okay. It’s all over.”

Joy’s face distorted and she cried out, “Wow!” as she hugged me.

“Eww!”

“It’s okay. I held on well. Everything is okay now.”

“Eww!”

I patted the back of the little boy for a long time as he cried loudly, as if he was so sad.

* * *

Julia took Joey, who had fallen asleep from crying, into the house, while Hans and I cleaned up the bodies of the men.

As the bodies were being loaded onto a cart and taken far into the forest away from the house, Hans looked around and said:

“Stop.”

Then he pointed to a place and said.

“Dig here.”

We dug the ground in silence for a while.

As I dug the ground with my shovel, I naturally sank into my own thoughts.

‘… … What on earth was that?’

It seems that it is not just my body that has become lighter.

Their swordsmanship is so clearly visible, as if it were drawn with a brush.

[I couldn’t believe it. It wasn’t just the power of the eyes.]

‘What does that mean?’

[I don’t know how it happened, but it seems like my talent has flowed to you.]

‘……what?’

Bam!

The hand that was digging the ground stopped.

‘What are you talking about?’

[It’s literally true. You have acquired the talent of the throne.]

‘I… … have the talent of a Heavenly Horse, the best in the world?’

He got his head bitten by a demon and fell off a cliff to his death, but then suddenly a monster called Cheonma fell on his head and all his injuries seemed to have healed.

His talent is infused in him?

‘Does this make sense?’

Cheonma replied calmly.

[It doesn’t matter whether it makes sense. What matters is that it actually happened.]

Just as I was about to say something, Hans called me.

“Ashvan, what’s wrong?”

Hans was looking at me blankly, staring into space, with a puzzled expression.

“Oh, no.”

I dug the ground in a hurry.

‘The talent of a heavenly horse… … .’

At one point, while I was digging the ground with that thought in mind.

Ting!

The shovel hit something and bounced off.

“Ah, stop digging.”

Hans pushed me back, gently dug up the mysterious object that had bounced off the shovel, and then pulled it out of the ground.

“Ugh… …Here, take this.”

“Oh, yes.”

It was a box made of iron and was quite heavy.

I put it aside and asked.

“What is this?”

“I’ll explain later, so let’s bury the bodies first.”

Hans said as he took the corpses off the cart and threw them into the pit.

“Oh, just a moment.”

I retrieved the sword they had cold and took off the clothes of the ones that were relatively clean.

“… …? Why are you taking off your clothes?”

“I thought it might be useful.”

We put all the bodies in the pit and covered them with dirt.

So instead of the mysterious box, corpses were buried in the pit.

“Phew… … .”

We wiped the sweat off our faces and sat down, each leaning against the base of a tree.

Hans said, handing me the water bottle.

“Thank you for saving me.”

I took it and replied.

“What is it?”

Hans sighed.

“As you might have guessed… … these are no ordinary thieves.”

I drank water and listened to his story in silence.

“That’s what I came here after.”

Hans continued, looking at the box he had dug out of the ground.

“They’ll keep coming until they take that.”

I handed the canteen back to Hans and asked.

“What is that?”

Hans took a sip of water and explained slowly.

“I am one of the disciples of the legendary blacksmith, Oposis, who created the nine great swords.”

I remembered what the thieves had called Hans earlier.

The ‘last disciple’ of Oposis.

“… … Oposis.”

I think I’ve heard it somewhere.

Hans got up from his seat and approached the box.

I also got up and followed him.

When I opened the box, there was another box inside. It looked like a luxurious box.

Hans carefully took it out and said to me.

“Open it and take a look.”

When I opened the box, there was a dagger inside.

Even at first glance, it was clearly not an ordinary item.

The dagger’s pitch-black blade was intricately carved with various patterns that looked like constellations.

“… … These are the 9 great swords?”

“No. It’s something even greater than that.”

Hans shook his head.

“This is the ‘key.’”

“… … The key?”

“The key to the legacy of Oposis.”

For a moment, I felt as if I had been swept up in a huge whirlpool of fate that had suddenly appeared.

“As long as I have this sword, they’ll keep chasing me. I thought I’d be safe here, but it looks like I’m not.”

“… … .”

It was because of me that he was discovered, but Hans never said anything like that.

“It is refined from meteorite that fell from the sky, so it does not easily corrode or break. As he was about to die, the Master suddenly changed his mind and told me to be sent away and thrown away where no one could find it. The Master was worried about the chaos this key would cause.”

Hans looked at the dagger with complicated eyes.

“But… … I couldn’t throw it away in the end. It was so precious… … .”

Regret dripped from his eyes as he looked at the dagger.

“And then finally, after decades, this happened.”

Hans laughed hollowly.

“I’m tired now. The Master’s will, the chaos of the world. Nothing can be more important than family.”

Hans raised his arm as if to throw the dagger.

Tub.

I grabbed his arm.

“What should I do if I throw it away?”

“I have to run away. Keep going.”

“What if you come again?”

“If I throw it away, how could it come back?”

“Would you believe me if I said I threw it away? Didn’t you say that just now?”

“… … .”

A shadow fell over Hans’ face.

“Then… how… … .”

I was about to speak, but then I closed my mouth.

He bit his lip tightly.

Hans saved me once, and I saved him once.

The favor has been repaid. There is nothing more to be repaid.

Is there any reason to help Hans any more?

Even risking my barely revived life?

As I was thinking about it like that, a corner of my heart became dark and unlit.

I saw a shabby little boy crouching in a dirty alley, hugging his knees.

In the midst of all the darkness, only the guy’s eyes flashed red.

The guy was just staring at me with the rage of the world in his eyes.

And on the other side, there was a man who had grown up so quickly.

The corpses of the men he had killed were strewn all over the unfamiliar open space.

A man, worn down by all kinds of hardships and covered in scars, was looking at me with lonely eyes.

‘Don’t look at me like that.’

‘… … .’

‘Don’t look at this, you little shits!’

‘… … .’

But they looked at me without blinking and forced me to make a choice.

‘… … .’

As always, the winner went to a lowly kid from the back alley.

“I’ll take it.”

“what?”

Hans’ eyes widened.

“I’ll take that dagger or that key and go outside. If you know I have it, you won’t come after me.”

Hans asked hesitantly.

“You… … do you know what you’re talking about?”

“I know.”

“You won’t be able to answer so lightly. All sorts of people will follow you. Right now it’s the vicious Gustave, but later on, all sorts of devils may come.”

“I guess so.”

I made eye contact with Hans for a long time.

“You are going to die.”

“I won’t die.”

I said, looking up at the fog-shrouded cliff.

“In case you forgot, I am the man who fell off that foggy cliff and survived.”

Hans stared at me blankly for a moment, as if speechless, then chuckled.

“That’s right… … That’s right.”

Hans looked into my eyes again and spoke in a serious voice.

“Don’t die.”

“I told you not to die.”

Hans laughed heartily as usual and then got up from his seat.

“They’ll come back again. We better hurry.”

“Sir.”

“I have to avoid it too. I have to leave by tomorrow morning at the latest.”

“okay.”

That means there’s one day left.

“You go in first. I have something to think about.”

“… … Okay, I see.”

Hans looked at me blankly, patted me on the shoulder, and started walking home.

I fiddled with the dagger called the key… …and opened my mouth.

“Cheonma.”

[What is it?]

“Teach me how to use a sword.”