Chapter 08 I Cut Through Steel with a Stick and Now I Feel Unstoppable

I stopped walking. I couldn't take it anymore. I had to say something.

"Why?"

"Why what, Kuzu-kun?"

"Why did you have to ruin it? Why did you have to take away the only hope I had?"

 "Hope? I'm sorry. You have to be more specific."

"Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about! That dude Gregor was going to help me! He was going to give me real equipment! A real sword! Real armor! Something helpful! Something that could actually protect me!"

I gestured at my threadbare tunic. At my wooden sword.

"Instead, I'm stuck with this garbage! This! This potato sack and a stick! You gave me trash and told me to fight! You expect me to fight monsters in rags and a wooden toy?"

I was breathing hard. My fists were clenched. My whole body was trembling.

"Do you have any idea what it's like? To be in a dungeon, surrounded by things that want to kill you, knowing that the only thing between you and death is a stick and a prayer?!"

I took a step toward her.

"Gregor was offering me a chance. A real chance! Maybe he was a scumbag for betting on me in the tavern. Maybe he was laughing at me behind my back. But at least he was nice enough to offer me something that could keep me alive! Unlike you!"

I pointed at her.

"You gave me nothing. You expect me to survive on nothing. And when someone finally comes along who's willing to give me something real you take it away!"

I was shaking. My eyes were wet. I couldn't stop the words from pouring out.

"You're not just my captor. You're not just my slave master. You're the reason I'm going to die. You're the reason I won't make it! Do you even understand what you've taken from me? Of course you don't. How could you? You've been doing this for seven years. Seven years of tricking desperate people, seven years of watching them die, seven years of playing with lives like they're nothing but toys."

My fists were clenched so tight my nails were digging into my palms.

"You want to know what I think of you?! I think you're the most pathetic person I've ever met. You need to trick people into fighting for you because deep down, you know the truth. You know you're weak. You know you're alone. You know that no one will ever love you, no one will ever care about you, no one will ever see you as anything but a monster! And you hate that. You hate that so much that you have to drag others down with you!"

"You're just scared. Scared of being abandoned. Scared of being forgotten. Scared of being nothing. Well, guess what? You are nothing. You're a void wearing a pretty face. You're a mask with nothing behind it. I hope you remember this moment. I hope you remember me. I hope you remember the words of the pathetic, broken, worthless slave who had the guts to tell you the truth about yourself. Because deep down, in that cold, empty place where your heart should be, you know I'm right!"

I stared at her. Waiting for the cold fury. The sharp words. The punishment that was surely coming.

Oh man, now I did it! She's going to hurt me. She's going to make me pay for every word. She's going to—

"Kuzu-kun." Her voice was soft. Gentle.

"What?"

"Are you done?"

"Yeah," I muttered, "I'm done."

"Good."

"Aren't you... aren't you going to punish me? For what I said?"

"No, there's no need for that. You didn't say anything worth punishing you for. You spoke your mind just like the rest before you. That's all. But if you're done speaking your mind, let's not waste any more time. We have a dungeon to visit."

I stood there. Frozen.

No punishment. No anger. No cold fury. She just... accepted it. All of it. Everything I said. I do not believe a word she says! She still wants to take me to the dungeon. I bet she will make me suffer there!

"I hate you." 

She didn't turn around. But I heard her soft laugh.

"I know, silly, I know."

------------------

Oliver was at the gates; he barely glanced at us this time.

"Well, that was quick, back already for more action?" 

 "Yes. I got him a guild card. He can level up properly now."

Oliver looked at me. At my threadbare tunic. At my wooden sword. At my terrified expression.

"Good luck with that. You'll need it."

We entered the dungeon for the second time today. This time, we did it by the rules. Guild card checked. Time logged. Everything proper.

The iron gates closed behind us. We were alone again. Fiona turned to me. 

"Alright, Kuzu-kun. For your first day, we'll go slow. I was thinking we should aim to reach floor five. That should get you to level ten at least."

"What?"

"Level ten. Maybe a bit more. It depends on how well you fight."

"Level ten?! All the way to level ten in one day?! Are you crazy?!"

She tilted her head, "Hmmm? What's wrong with level ten?"

"It took me twenty slimes to kill just for one level! And it wasn't easy! It took like an hour to do that! And you want me to reach level ten?! We'll be here for a few days!"

"Oh, no, no, silly. You won't be fighting blue slimes all the time. You will get no XP from them. That's over."

She patted my shoulder.

"You're equipped now. Real weapon. Real armor. You'll be facing real monsters. They give much more XP than blue slimes."

"HUH?! You are crazy if you think I can beat real monsters with this garbage gear you gave me! Those blue slimes didn't even fight back! That's the only reason I was able to kill them! But it took one attack from one slime and I almost died! Did you forget all about it, huh?! And you told me those slimes aren't even considered real monsters!"

I took a step toward her.

"That only means the real monsters are so much stronger! They'll rip me to pieces the moment they see me! Are you that crazy?!"

"It will be fine, silly." She patted my cheek, "This equipment I gave you is more than enough for you to defeat any monster all the way till floor forty. Well, if you careful that is."

"Bullshit! I don't believe that this gear is any good. And I don't believe the monsters are that weak that I could beat them with a god damn wooden sword!"

"Kuzu-kun. Come on. Let's go find a monster for you to fight. Enough idle chat. You'll do fine. And please... don't force me to use commands. I would rather you do this willingly. Kindly. Please."

I felt my fists clench.

Damn you, you crazy bitch! I have no way out of this!

"Fine! I'm going! Not like there's any other choice for me!"

"That's the spirit, Kuzu-kun! You make me so proud."

We passed through the first floor. Blue slimes crawled on the walls. Stuck to the ceiling. Jiggled in corners. We ignored them. Fiona led the way. I followed. My heart was pounding. My hands were sweating.

She said this gear is enough. She said I can beat any monster up to floor forty. But she's lying. That's a bunch of crap! She has to be lying. This is just a tunic. A stick. A junk!

"Kuzu-kun."

 "What?"

"We're here."

I looked up. We had reached a tunnel. It opened into a larger chamber. The ceiling was higher here. Stalactites hung down like stone teeth. And in the center of the chamber, something was moving. I felt my breath catch in my throat. Fiona pointed.

"Your first real monster, Kuzu-kun. A Goblin. Level five. An easy target." She smiled, "Good luck."

I looked at the creature. At its muscular frame. At the crude axe in its hand. At the way it snarled as it spotted us. I looked at my wooden sword. At Fiona's smiling face.

I'm going to die. Shit! I'm going to die! I'm going to—

"Kuzu-kun. You can do this. I believe in you, fight on."

Look at this psycho! She is cheering me on so cheerfully like it's some game! Damn her! But I got no choice! I have to do this! To get stronger, strong enough to get away from her!

"Fine... Fine. I can do this. I have to do this."

I gripped my wooden sword. And then something happened.

A surge of knowledge flooded through me. Not words. Not images. Something deeper. Like muscle memory that wasn't mine. Like a lifetime of training compressed into a single moment.

I understood the sword.

Not just the wooden sword in my hand. All swords. Every sword. The way they moved through the air. The way they cut. The way they killed.

I knew how to stand. How to breathe. How to move. I knew techniques I'd never seen. Forms I'd never practiced. Strikes I'd never attempted. It was like I'd been swinging a sword for fifty years. Like I'd been born with a sword in my hand. Like I was the sword. Like the sword was me.

I looked at the Goblin, took a step forward. Then I lunged. My body moved fast. Perfect form. Perfect timing. My wooden sword swung in an arc that felt natural. A dashing quick draw attack. The kind of move I'd seen in anime. The kind of move I'd never thought possible.

The Goblin was fast. It reacted. Its crude steel axe swung up to block my attack. My wood met his steel. And the steel shattered. My wooden sword cut through the axe like it was butter. Through the goblin's arm. Through its chest. Through its body. The goblin didn't even have time to scream. He just fell. Two pieces. Clean cut. 

I stood there. My wooden sword extended. 

I cut through steel?! With a wooden sword! I cut through steel like it was nothing?! How the hell I'm this strong?! Or this monster was trash? I mean it was a goblin. But still.

A glowing window appeared in front of me.

You have reached Level 3!
HP: 144 > 166
ATTACK: 36 > 52
DEFENSE: 3 > 4
SPEED: 14 > 20
ENDURANCE: 3 > 4
MAGIC: 0 > 0
SKILL POINTS AVAILABLE: 2

WOW! One kill. One level. Fiona was right. I... I can do this. I can actually do this.

I turned to look at Fiona.

"See? I told you. Easy target."

"I... I cut through steel."

"I know."

"With a wooden sword."

"I know."

"It was... it was like I knew what to do. Like I'd been doing it my whole life."

"That's your skill. Sword Master. Full mastery of any weapon you touch. I told you it was S-rank. It's not the strongest sword skill out there. There's Sword Saint. Sword God. Those are higher tiers. SR and SSR rank. They give you powerful magic attacks. Energy slashes. Elemental blades. Yours is just S-rank. It only gives you mastery. No flashy attacks. No magic. Just pure technique."

Just pure technique? I cut through steel with a wooden stick! That's not 'just' anything.

"But, you can rank it up. Once. In your case, you could go up to Sword Saint. That would give you access to some powerful magic attacks."

 "How? Teach me!"

"Skill points. You get one skill point every level. At level fifty, if you've invested all your points into Sword Master, you could upgrade it to Sword Saint."

"Level fifty?"

"Fifty. At level sixty, you'd have enough points if you didn't spend any on other skills."

I did the math in my head.

"Fifty levels. Fifty skill points. Just to upgrade one skill?"

"High-tier skills are expensive. But it's worth it. Sword Saint is SR rank. It would make you one of the strongest swordsmen in this region."

One of the strongest. In the region. I could be one of the strongest. 

I swung the sword dramatically.

"Skill Mastery. That's what gave me the technique."

"Kuzu-kun. You're adorable. And I'm proud of you. But come on. You have more monsters to kill. And you need to reach level ten."

 I don't care. I just killed a monster in one hit with a damn stick. I'm amazing. Sword Saint. Energy slashes. Elemental blades. I could be one of the strongest.

"Kuzu-kun." Her voice cut through my thoughts.

"What?"

"Another monster. This one's a bit bigger."

I looked ahead. Another goblin. Bigger. Meaner. With a rusted steel sword.