3 Masamune II

As my father charged me with his blade ready to be swung from over his head, the only two options that were presented were to dodge or block. What was surprising was how each step he took dug into the dirt. That was enough to cause a drop of sweat to roll down my temple. Before I realized it, he was mere inches away before his arms swung downwards. 

     There was no way such a thin blade could handle the generated force behind the heavy swing. With blocking cast to the wind, I stepped away, but there was an attempt at retaliation. After the evasion, I cut away at father's side. I knew it was a shallow hit, but it was a cut nonetheless. He even groaned in pain somewhat. 

     Cheers from the peanut gallery soon arose. That was a good thing? 

     As I had regained my footing, I noticed that father had provided too much power, which forced his sword's edge to cut into the ground. His movements were sloppy. If his body cannot compensate for the strength output, then all that should be left would be a sluggish brute. I must give him some credit. 

     After all, the sword he forged felt practically weightless in my hand, as well as being very comfortable with every swing that followed after father pulled his sword from the earth. 

     "Man, that kinda stings! If I didn't use any defensive skills, that probably would've cut my arm clean off!" yelled father as our blades crossed time and time again.

     "Defensive skills?"

     "Yup! After all the fights I got into, and with all the blacksmithing, your old man got a pretty sweet skill that fits me perfectly!"

     Skills… so even run-of-the-mill humans have the chance of gaining the strength on the level of the heroes. It would make me wonder if that was true with the onlookers. Did they have abilities that suited them? Of course, magic was undoubtedly another valuable asset to have. In fact, my mother had a strange glow about her. This merely adds to the pool of questions that begged to be answered in the near future.

     As the sparring match lingered on, the oncoming clashes that followed after each previous one became easier to notice and block accordingly. 

[ Memory: Masamune Swordsmanship (50% Complete) ]

     With every step, every block, every parry, every clash and cut that came about in the ballet of blades between father and son, a successive beep followed suit, ringing in my ears. Following certain thresholds, this bothersome message popped up. It seemed to continue every 5% increase. 

     "When you learned of your skill, was there a message that appeared before you telling you of its progression?" I asked him, but the only response was a tilt of his head.

     "Huh? What are you on about? Don't start spouting nonsense in the middle of a fight, son!"

     Useless. 

     I only gave a sigh, but the beeping persisted.

     But, now that I brought it up, I noticed something peculiar. Of course, I noticed my precision and swiftness becoming sharper, but I had never connected it with this "Masamune Swordsmanship". 

     It was even described as a memory, though I had not once practiced in this style of combat in my previous life. This could only mean one thing, but more evidence was required in order for a proper deduction to be made.

     Upon this spar's conclusion, I'll have my answers.

     In fact, its conclusion seemed to be on the horizon. The already snail paced movements from father became weaker in comparison to what he was exerting mere minutes prior. He didn't seem to be too old. There was something behind the scenes. Although… 

     "Skills use energy, correct? But, if you're using one, then you shouldn't be this out of breath," I blurted, knocking the sword in his hands to the ground with my forearm. I sheathed my weapon as I looked down to see his pathetic stance. "In conjunction with the skill you mentioned earlier, others are probably using the same pool; therefore, you become weaker as a result."

     That was the only conclusion that could be made. His confidence from before when he talked about his defensive skill compared to his current state didn't add up. 

     "To get close to you and make it a challenge, I might've used some extra energy to increase my strength and speed," father added, falling on his rear as he went down to the ground. The four that observed, as well as my baby brother in my mother's arms came by to help father get back to his feet. Mother approached me first.

     "Are you alright? You look like you have some cuts on you and your clothes are quite dirty," she worried, dusting off my shoulders with a hand before wiping her thumb across the few scrapes on my arms and face. A pale green light emitted from her prints, removing the cuts, and leaving only smooth skin underneath. "You didn't need to do that. Father is more beat up. I'll come back out after washing up and changing. Thank you, though," I said as I walked towards the cabin, entering through the back. 

     It took a moment to find the restroom, but I was able to locate it and begin washing my face.

     However, I noticed something as I examined my features closely in the mirror on the wall above the sink. 

     Short brown hair and red eyes. I had seen those traits before, but I failed to identify where. My hair was long enough to meet past my ears, framing my face. With how unkempt the bangs were, they nearly obscured my vision somewhat. 

     The name "Hyde" also held hints of mystery as to where it originated. It had a sense of familiarity, but before I could continue further with my thoughts, there was a knock on the door, and from the mirror's reflection, it was Ashlyn as she stood in the doorway. 

     "Mom wanted you to come out now that dad's okay. If we wanna get a good spot at Charlie's, we gotta move fast," she warned before leaving to return to the others. I was unable to get a word in. Despite her laid-back tone and word choice, she was sharp and efficient. I could respect someone like that.

     But, I can't leave just yet without testing something first.

     "Skills."

     With a single command, a transparent screen appeared before me. Upon its light blue display, only a few skills were listed in white. 

[ Light Step ]

[ Glacier's Blessing ]

[ Revive ]

[ Masamune Swordsmanship (75% Complete) ]

     Four skills. Once again, that swordsmanship was shown, and I other three held interest. By tapping on them, the text expanded to show a description. 

     Glacier's Blessing had my eye the moment I read it, and so I wished to know more about it. 

     "Inherited by the God Boreas, the user is endowed with great resistance to cold temperatures, as well as ice skills and magic. The user can, in turn, use ice magic themselves."

     It's description only left me with a question. I had only heard about Boreas in the past in my previous life. Not once had I met him, so how did I inherit this Skill? Perhaps it's connected to whoever this body belonged to. 

     I waved this "Skill Window", as it was called, away. It disappeared and I left the restroom. I'd have the time to study the rest of the skills later. 

     Though, the fact that I even knew how to conjure it in the first place began to settle. I had never seen anything like that before, so knowing it as though I was always aware of its existence made my current circumstances all the more strange.

     I'll use my time at dinner to further investigate. Though, I must deal with a more pressing matter beforehand. My stomach hasn't stopped growling after Ashlyn mentioned the diner again. 

     𝘋𝘢𝘮𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺, I thought. This was beginning to become more and more of a nuisance.