[32 — Risks?]

The consequences of last night's overthinking hit me right on schedule. Two massive craters under my eyes, and my head felt one sneeze away from exploding.

Even so… I managed to wake up on time and make it to the training grounds.

"Destroyer-sama, what's that under your eyes? You look like a raccoon, haha."

"…"

I was afraid my misplay would've messed Ruru up somehow, but… judging by the look of it, she was completely normal.

"Ha… ha, very funny, Ruru. Did you look in the mirror before leaving the inn?"

"W-what do you mean?"

I pulled VSNYAV from my inventory and handed it to her.

"Huh?! W-Why didn't you tell me I looked like this, Destroyer-sama? Ah! Look at these bags!"

I shrugged.

"You didn't ask."

"…"

…Heh. No use getting mad, Ruru. You reap what you sow.

That said, I know she's like this because of me. I need to thank her properly later.

"Ahem, very well then, Destroyer-sama."

Ruru's sudden seriousness didn't surprise me. That pattern only meant one thing: she'd flipped into 'mentor mode'. Class was starting.

Not to brag, but I'm probably the best student Ruru's ever had. Besides being annoyingly dedicated, I still put up with all her little antics. From tickles to her most absurd demands.

Also, well… my learning speed is way above average.

"Now that we've locked in the previous exercises and improved your breathing, it's time for a little practice. We'll apply everything we learned so far in a simple exercise. Eh— Destroyer-sama, could you put one of the swords away?"

"Why put one away if I can train with two and multiply my learning?"

"M-multiply? You really think it works that way?"

…Not really. But I remembered an anime where the protagonist used two and looked pretty badass.

"Store VSNYAV," I muttered.

The idea was interesting, but my left-hand coordination is garbage. Sadly, I wasn't one of nature's 'chosen' born ambidextrous. Not that that's going to stop me from trying again later.

"All set, Ruru."

I set my feet and squeezed the hilt tight. My grip wasn't noob-tier anymore, obviously.

"D-Destroyer-sama… are you sure you don't prefer a practice sword?" Her expression was a little worried. Which, to be fair, I can't blame.

Anyone in her shoes would think I'd lost it. It's that thing: if you see the dance without hearing the music, you call it crazy. (Not literally, obviously.)

To explain this brilliant idea of training with real blades, I'd have to rewind a bit. To be exact, to when my passive activated for the first time.

If I remember right I was in the forest, trying to get closer to Sera to figure out why she was so grumpy. No, actually, I was trying to understand what the hell was happening to me in the game's chaotic setup—

Tap!

"Keep your feet planted, Destroyer-sama."

"Keuk! Got it."

Where was I? Right… the forest.

Then, out of nowhere I heard the bowstring and right after that an arrow flew at me.

I know... hearing something like that from so far away was already insane enough. I had no idea my hearing was that wonderful. But the real surprise was when that passive message popped up in front of me—

"Ow! Ruru! That hurt!"

"Why are you spacing out, Destroyer-sama? Hold the sword properly!"

…Urgh! This girl loves to bully me. We haven't even started sparring and she's already hitting me with the scabbard.

Whatever, let me finish the thought:

Like I was saying: you don't have to be a genius to know a passive demands conditions to trigger. Even so, the key question remained: what the hell was present then that wasn't present with Maria?

I was led to believe maybe the skill was on cooldown, but that'd be way too shallow.

I might not know anything about the game, but I know myself really well.

If I cleared <Vinsatsu Legends> more than once, it couldn't be some generic game with cliché answers to my questions. There had to be something more.

Are 'tropes' good for a story when well used? Yes, they are. But that would be a huge negative for me.

What I'm saying is: I wasn't going to be led by conventional thinking. So what clues did I have when my passive didn't trigger?

The answer was simple: the system's own messages.

Tap! Took another smack.

Anyway… long story short: the key was those cursed [SLEEP LEVELS APPROACHING CRITICAL LIMIT].

Maria and Dan. In both situations I was at death's door. In one of them, I was practically powerless, dead tired.

That led me to the following conclusion: 'Muscle Memory' only activates when I'm in a life-or-death problem. But not just when I 'need' to react; rather, when I 'need' and I 'can' react.

"Hehe, I must be a genius."

"Ugh, Destroyer-sama, pay attention. Let's begin."

"Ah…" I drew a deep breath.

Now that Ruru had whacked my posture into place, it was time to test my theory.

Seriously… I hope I'm not wrong.

Because if I am…

*

No matter how many times I look at it, Ruru's stance is immaculate.

At first I thought all that breathing, footwork, and body-position stuff was just showoff, but now I get exactly how it works.

My body's not ready to keep up with everything my brain received, but even so… everything feels different now that I have a base.

"Sigh…"

I locked my eyes on hers.

Battle-mode Ruru was intimidating.

I'm grateful she's not an enemy. With my current level, I could never beat her. (Not playing fair, at least.)

"Are you just going to stare at me, Destroyer-sama?"

"…"

Okay. Maybe it was a bit of showoff.

"Ha!" I burst forward at max speed. I know I didn't need to shout. I just didn't want to ruin the moment.

I went for her leg. Aiming for the outside to make her step back. Pointless.

"Kuk!"

"Good try, but way too obvious. Again."

Argh… I still don't get how a scabbard can feel that hard.

"Okay."

As she said, I reset and tried again. This time I feinted the approach, like the big-name footballers.

Thud!—

"Why are you bouncing around, Destroyer-sama? What's the point of all those balance exercises if you're just gonna hop from one foot to the other?"

I could feel a lump sprouting on my head.

"Oi! Ruru! You're just standing there blocking and beating me up? What kind of spar is this?! I've never heard of a method where the student learns by being pummeled!"

"Huh? You dare complain about my methods?"

"...!"

"Just so you know, this training was developed by my master and passed down for generations. I adapted it specifically for you and you still have the nerve to complain?!"

…T-terrifying.

"That's not what I meant, Ruru…"

"Ah…" She sighed. "Fine. I suppose my student needs some incentive. I'll show you the difference between us, and the level you should aim for."

Hoho? Is this what I was waiting for?

"Don't take your eyes off me, Destroyer-sama."

She finally drew her blade. It was now or never.

Ruru's chest swelled. She was gathering air. In a few seconds she'd la— Wait! Where did she go?

Swink!—

Our blades crossed.

I barely blocked the vertical cut aimed at my head.

Klang!

Another, from below.

"Keeuk!"

She was moving so fast I barely had time to attack. No! Not just attack! I barely had time to breathe.

"Here!"

Right! Right! High! Center! She was everywhere.

I hopped back.

Crap! Where was she going to strike now?

The sound of the blade cutting air whistled by my ear. Like a wasp's buzz.

I slipped it by a hair again... not just that swing, but the next ones all in a row.

Ruru struck left, I blocked left. She went low-to-high, I leapt back. If it was center, I twisted my body. It was a beautiful dance… actually. Too beautiful.

And while thinking that stupid thought, a doubt popped up: how the hell was a beginner like me fending all of this with such finesse?

It looked so rehearsed that if someone filmed me they'd call me a pro.

But that wasn't something to be proud of—quite the opposite—Ruru was toying with me, only attacking where she knew I'd manage to defend.

I was being played.

…That pissed me off. If this kept up, I'd never be able to prove my passive theory.

Klang!—

"Don't get distracted, Destroyer-sama!"

A top-down cut, one from the right, and a thrust down the middle.

Right, right, and a thrust down the middle.

Every three attacks, one was center. That pattern gave me an idea. (A very risky one, by the way.)

My whole body locked up, hesitant.

I drew in a few breaths before executing my plan.

Everything looked great on paper; pulling it off wasn't easy. If it failed, I was screwed.

"Ah… No pain, no gain."

First strike: perfectly parried.

Second: slipped past.

The third came screaming in when I—

Let go of my sword and opened my arms…

"D-Destroyer-sama?!!!"

Come on, passive…

"Oi! OI! RURU!— AAH!"

Ruru swerved the strike in a panic and slammed into me hard.

The blade scraped along my side as it passed. Shallow, but I felt the warm liquid run down my skin.

"Ah! Damn…" I rubbed the back of my head.

Pretty sure that fall punched a hole in my skull.

And the worst part: no sign of the damned passive.

"…"

"Hm?"

Ruru was panting, lying on my chest. She wasn't moving.

Did she… hurt herself when we fell?

"Ruru? Are you—"

"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!"

Her scream startled me.

"HAVE YOU GONE MAD? W- WHAT WERE YOU TRYING TO DO? WHY DID YOU DROP YOUR SWORD AND STEP INTO THE STRIKE!? YOU! YOU? I… I THOUGHT YOU WERE—"

"Hey, hey—calm down, Ruru. No need to make a scene. It wasn't a big deal, I had everything under—"

Slap—

My cheek started throbbing.

She…

Hit me?

"Not a big deal? You… could have died and it wasn't a big deal?"

The slap was weak, but it burned worse than the blade hits.

Her blue eyes were shining… washed out and watery. Those weren't angry screams.

Seeing her like that knocked every word out of me. Even if I had something to say, it wouldn't come out. It was stuck in my throat.

"..."

I don't know what that thing I was feeling was, but it didn't matter.

Whatever it was…

…was crap.