Ronin

A sweeping slash or a two-handed front strike, whatever attack Ronin committed to it was intense. Her legs shook when his slim katana slammed down at her. The world seemed to shake. Sun-young had two choices—dodge or block with a swift use of Blaze Slash. The sudden summon of flames usually forced Ronin to back off. It wasn't necessarily the fear of its strength but the fear of the mysterious magic.

To maintain a semblance of an offence, Sun-young bolstered her basic attacks to Ember Strike. Mana wasn't a concern as her sword heated up to a threatening shade of scarlet and clashed with him repeatedly. She went faster. Faster, faster, faster!

She took the battle further and further away from Kazi till she could only hear the sound of her blade clashing. Ronin was a head taller than her and his sword was significantly stronger too. Thinner yet much, much stronger. She could feel her sword breaking apart at every ounce of contact.

The Drop of Volcano, a longsword that supported fire-based attacks and added forty points to her attack. It was breaking.

She couldn't believe it. She could barely hold Ronin back.

"Switch!"

Pushing herself off, William slammed Windbreaker's Edge against Ronin. A colossal battle axe that was wrapped in a thin layer of wind—Gust Slash.

"Ngh! Ughhhh!" Yet despite William's strength which was superior to her own, he failed to overpower the trained warrior. A two-handed grip was met with a casual one-handed attack. William was slower than Sun-young and she half-expected Ronin to take advantage of that. He didn't. Instead, he fell into a defensive lull, merely blocking and deflecting attacks.

"What strange magic you people wield," Ronin commented. William hammered at him with no seeming to result. The long white katana swiftly converged with his axe. He pushed William back, gaining space, and twisted his torso to ready an attack.

'There!'

That tiny, insignificant moment where he was preparing his attack, one leg back and both hands on the grip of the katana, Sun-young launched.

'Inferno Thrust!'

The armour of the enemy was a mishmash of armour pieces scavenged. A blend of lacquered leather and iron plates, with tattered and worn silk cords holding it together. Its condition left the arms exposed.

The tip of her sword was amplified by a tiny red point. A point that reached the unready samurai and blasted his bicep.

[ Critical hit landed! ]

Clatter! The katana fell to the ground as pain engulfed Ronin.

"Lucky—"

Luck? The seamless transition from William to Sun-young was nothing short of genius teamwork and her own ingenuity—of her will working towards the single goal of injuring him. Time felt slow. Turning, her blade slashed him across the torso. The former samurai's armour dented and he was flung back, barely managing to stay on to his feet.

For the first time, there was panic. His katana was on the ground and William very quickly came to guard it.

"Now's your chance! Go!"

Sun-young nodded, eyes captured in the heat of battle, and activated another skill. 'Flame Dance!'

By spending 20 MP, she increased all fire element attacks by 20%. She had wanted to use it at the start but got caught up in the heat of the moment after Noor's Fire Ball.

Not anymore. Her arms and swords in an X-shape, she uncrossed them and flames erupted, this time a tinge darker.

Breathing, analyzing Ronin's anxiety, she leapt forward and went for another Inferno Thrust. Ronin's health bar was in the green but if she managed to land this, she could turn the tables and send it into the orange or red.

Foolish. She had been too foolish.

Ronin's arms were longer than hers and therefore he could easily read and counter her thrust. Dodging with his torso, he grabbed her wrist and kneed her in the stomach. Her sword nearly fell from her grip and she dropped to the ground sputtering. That too was interrupted by a harsh kick to the side.

"You weren't even looking at my face, you know. If you had, you would have seen just how easily you were telegraphing your ultimate attack."

Sun-young couldn't see for a second. Her nose buried in the dirt, her eyes consumed by darkness, his daunting words struck her soul.

'He's right. In such a crucial time, why did I—'

Her lungs felt like they were about to collapse. She couldn't think, too consumed by a burning sensation in her stomach and sides. Sun-young had been hurt before but this was different. The brutal kicks of Ronin were lethal. They weren't measly burns. They were messages to kill.

She gripped her sword tightly. Breathless, she forced her wobbly legs upwards. She couldn't die. She just…couldn't. There was no deep reason for it. She was a simple woman with simple ambitions. She refused to pass out without giving it her all, without achieving anything in this second life where miracles were possible.

She could hear William struggling in the back. Metal weaved through the air. He was missing. Ronin was too skilled. In some ways, his swordsmanship was superior to her own. Simpler, adaptive and quicker; more practical than Sun-young's fine tuned implementation of her weight and her fast observations. She was sure that also applied to Ronin's skill without a weapon.

William grunted and groaned, swinging his axe wildly, till finally metal clanged against metal. Ronin's katana had returned to his hands.

"Fire Ball!"

In the distance, she heard Noor's attack whizz through the air. Swish! The sound of flames dissipated once again, but was replaced by a shriek and a big bright yellow light. Sun-young barely glanced at their direction when she was forced to squint.

The light came closer and closer and her eyes forced her to turn her head away. She could hear footsteps and a slightly winded breath. The light dissipated and settled into a black, gothic hilted sword held by a tall, white-haired gentleman. His face etched in concern, he held William by the scruff of his neck.

The voice was polite and measured. "Can you get up, Ms. Sun-young?"

Sun-young was relieved to hear him. While she might have been slightly irritated at losing to the old man before, as an ally, she had no complaints about John Smith. "Yes."

Blood starting to flow, heart hammering, her confidence spiked.

"Ms. Noor will be using a stronger attack and expects us to create an opening. Once I illuminate our surroundings, please try gaining distance. To reduce chaos, let us call our attacks out."

John's instructions were teethed with elderly authority. There was no arguing, Noor was going to blast the mini boss with everything she had.

"William, Flame Dance will be gone in twenty seconds. Let's combine flames."

"S-sure." Lips trembling, William managed to right himself and his battle axe.

Ronin sneered. "Magic, magic, magic, so annoying."

The black sword pointed at him, an arm behind him, John replied, "I do my best."

Ronin exploded at them, his katana whirring through the air.

"Tremor Counter."

Clang! In a swift move that Sun-young could barely see, John parried and countered, the blade digging into the former samurai's collar. The wound wasn't deep enough and Ronin immediately smacked John's black steel away.

There was no time to think about what type of skill he used. Sun-young came in guns blazing. "Fiery Flourish!"

Her HP dropped. She ignored it and the accompanying needle sensation prickling her arms. The flames coating her arms swung and slashed Ronin across the shoulder. Nearly as strong as Inferno Thrust but with less of a mana cost, it dealt the kind of damage that pushed the dangerous swordsman away. William ran in, battle axe scarlet red, amped by Ember Strike, and forced Ronin to block again.

An opening. Right there, Ronin's side was exposed.

"Inferno Thrust!"

Rushing in, she could see Ronin going wide-eyed. He wouldn't make it. He could only twist so that his armour plate could tank the damage. Her powerful thrusted melted through the metal and felt flesh.

The impact sent Ronin skidding.

Sun-young half wanted to charge at him but a voice halted her.

"Fire Dart!"

Blam!

The night light up and a whip of a fire bolt struck him. The speed and explosive power was astounding. Sun-young had gotten acquainted with heat from the usage of her skills but she could feel herself sweating from the explosion.

"Why…" William gulped down his excessive panting from behind. He held his shoulder, which was lightly painted with blood. The chainmail could reduce only so much damage. "Why didn't she do that from the start!?"

"It is good to have surprises," John remarked.

"I disagree!"

They waited for the dust to settle.

Sun-young touched the blood on her cut lip, silent. Pain….would she continue to face pain like this in the future? This was gate three. Three out of ninety-nine. Level three where she was trying to kill a former samurai.

The intent to kill, the moral compromise of it all, it didn't cross her mind until now. She who was a measly university student. She who spent her time studying and thinking. She whose purpose in life had been ordinary up till now.

For some strange reason…

…it didn't bother her.

"Seiyoku no Yaiba."

Her blood halted at the sound of the dull voice. The Ronin—it sounded like him but…

Looking up, Sun-young saw the katana and the man himself in one piece.

But was it really him?

Because no human would ever possess eyes as empty as those. Gone was the rage. Gone were the flames of excitement and the wisps of sadness. The former samurai held his katana one-handed, pupils a shade of grey, and his form exuding a white glow. Half of his armour exposed his black burnt flesh.

"Do you know what it means to be a ronin?" The emotion returned. The katana's shine dulled in the moonlight. "It means to be free. To be released from the chains of a master. To be able to become your own person with no shame or fear of what you can or cannot do."

His eyes coloured grey. Her blood stopped and she went into a state of frenzied instincts.

'Left hand forward, right hand back,' Sun-young told herself. The point of the sword aimed at her enemy, she was ready. Her eyes searched his body for the first sign of movement. While John was beside her and better equipped on the defensive side, there was no telling how Ronin would attack.

'At least that's the feeling I'm getting.'

Ronin took one step forward…

Slash!

And her shoulder exploded.