Memoirs of the Returnee - Chapter 166



Only Krnovel

The Regressor’s Notepad 166

2nd test (2)

An endless stream of crimson beasts surged into the room. Their shapes were all different. Some were wolves, some were hawks, and some were octopuses.

I took [Eight Swords] stance. I cut down the guys while standing still, and Elise assisted from the rear.

The first hour or two were like that. It was actually easy. They were not very durable.

It took three or four hours. The bastards disappeared as soon as they died, leaving no corpses behind.

However, after five hours, I had a gut feeling that something was wrong.

“… … Hmph!”

My stamina is rapidly draining away. My hand holding the sword is shaking due to fatigue that is beyond my ability to recover. My vision is blurry due to sweat.

Still, physical strength is my weakness.

“area.”

At that moment, Elise quietly muttered. At the same time, the psychic barrier was released like a realm.

Kerrrrrrrr──!

In an instant, the dark beasts were pushed out the window.

“Are you okay?”

Elise asked. I didn’t have the energy to answer. I took the [fruit] out of my pocket.

It’s a fruit that grew from my head. Why, it’s an augmentation I brought from [Bethundun].

You can get one every 12 hours, but they rot pretty quickly, so there are only 6 left now.

Gulp-

I swallowed the fruit. At that moment, I felt like about 30% of my stamina had been restored.

That’s amazing.

I threw one at Elise too.

“What is this?”

“Think of it as a potion. Take it in an emergency. More importantly, do you know the cause?”

Elise shook her head.

“There doesn’t seem to be a cause. They’re just blindly pushing forward with numbers.”

Kkarddd …

The sound of them scratching at the sill.

Even for Elise, the “Psychic Realm” is a huge waste of magic power. It’s a level 7 magic spell. That means it won’t last long.

I rolled the “dice”.

[3]

I invested everything into physical strength.

“Let go.”

He took up his sword again.

“Move as efficiently as possible. It seems like a long-term battle.”

Elise advised and lifted the psychic barrier.

Kwarrrrrrrr───!

The black beasts swarmed in countless numbers once again.

Swaaa …

I swung my sword and cut them down. The enemies were still countless. They surged in like a tidal wave.

I stopped thinking. I had no time to be distressed.

Seven hours of just concentrating on this whole situation—my sword and the enemy charging at me.

Eight hours.

Nine hours.

Ten hours… … .

I don’t know what happened after that.

It must have been about 12 hours.

More than a few hundred thousand, almost ten thousand.

I swallowed three more [fruits], and then mechanically deployed [Eight Swords].

Choaaaak──!

A sword that cuts through crimson shapes.

The sword path is clear.

The path of my sword is visible to my eyes.

Waaa …

A ‘straight’ line carved into space.

As I stare at it, a thought suddenly comes to mind.

Efficiency.

Just like the efficiency of magic, wouldn’t it be possible to transplant efficiency to the path of the sword – the sword path?

The thought of dying from exhaustion gave rise to such thoughts.

It’s too trivial an invention to be called enlightenment.

I put down my sword.

It is not efficient with a straight sword.

An efficient sword cannot be ‘straight’.

Because we need to achieve the greatest effect with the least amount of effort.

Therefore, an efficient sword would probably be a ‘continuation of the curve’.

Kwaaaa …

Dozens of monsters rushing in with their mouths wide open.

I flicked my wrist.

Whirilirik───!

Once, a sword that curves.

Curves that feel more like brush strokes.

I connected only the core of [Palkgeom] with ‘one stroke’.

The sword path was omitted to the extreme.

All the unnecessary parts of the herb are reduced and put into ‘one piece’.

Like a single stroke of a brush.

Chorrrrrrrr──!

It’s bare. Even if it looks like it’s just a little bit off.

Swaaa …

It’s bare. Even if it looks like it’s barely moving.

A curve like Sign cuts through the space itself.

──!

I deployed the sword as if flicking it with just the movement of my wrist.

Stamina consumption was halved, but power was actually amplified. They were ground up like a blender.

I cut them down while still retaining that sense of ‘efficiency’, and at some point.

“… … It’s over.”

Elise said.

I looked back at her.

“It’s over.”

She shrugged. As she said, the room was quiet.

Suddenly the strength in my hands left me.

Chaenggrang-

The sword fell to the floor.

“……hey.”

I glared at Elise with resentful eyes.

“You didn’t help me at all from the beginning.”

Elise’s face looked slightly hurt, but she soon smiled.

“You were immersed in it. It was a sequence that anyone could see as enlightenment, so how could you interfere with that?”

“… … .”

Well, that sounds about right. If the guy had helped me, I wouldn’t have thought of ‘transplanting efficiency into the sword’.

Elise asked, crossing her arms.

“Your swordsmanship has changed?”

I let out a small sigh through my teeth.

“Haa… … I’m so tired I could die.”

“Leave the rest to me.”

If that’s the case, then yes.

I just fell asleep.

* * *

Elise laid Zion down on the bed. She also poured [the fruit] into his mouth. Gulp – Zion swallowed it in his sleep.

“… … Huh.”

Elise touched her chin as she watched the sleeping Zion.

“What could it have been?”

He is a prosecutor. A prosecutor who aspires to become a knight.

His ‘irregular’, mollusc-like swordsmanship style is quite famous among the world.

A famous scout wrote a column, and Elise read it herself.

But, just now it was a little different.

Irregular… … It seems similar.

However, it was a very small anomaly. A single stroke of the sword twisted like a snake.

“That’s a good talent.”

Of course, not as much as me.

─Eww!

Suddenly a sound was heard from outside.

─Please, save me!!

Elise looked at Zion. He was already asleep.

I don’t have the luxury of helping anyone here either.

─Hey, save me! Save me!

But the voice echoing outside somehow feels familiar.

Every morning when Elise bought coffee, she heard… … .

“… …Terrence Cafe owner.”

It’s Terence.

She hesitated and opened the door. Terence was being chased by the usual crimson beasts.

“Euaaa …

Terence looked this way. Elise pulled him in with her psychic power.

“Whoa!”

He was dragged into the room in an instant, and Elise immediately closed the door.

“Uh-huh, uh-huh… … .”

Terence lay on the floor, gasping for breath.

“Calm down.”

At Elise’s words, Terence looked up at her.

“… …Lady Elise!”

The face is touched, but there is no time for that.

“fizzle.”

Elise looked toward the door, warming up her body. She was prepared for the enemies to rush in… … .

None. Silent. Quiet.

“Gasp! Zion!”

Terence happened to find Zion.

“I’m sleeping.”

Elise sat down on the chair as she explained. Terence sighed in relief.

“Phew… … That’s a relief.”

“How is the situation on the first floor?”

“I just ran away from the second floor, so I don’t know the details… … .”

“is it so?”

Elise took a piece of paper out of her desk drawer and folded it like a bird. She breathed magic into it and raised it into a servant horse. She opened the door slightly and sent it flying.

“wow.”

Terence was amazed, and Elise closed her eyes, sharing her vision with the paper bird.

Here’s the situation on the first floor. It’s very bad even at first glance. The hallways are covered in animal claw marks and blood is splattered everywhere.

Actually, it seems much safer inside the room.

─Kuaaaah!

A voice full of pain. Elise turned her gaze in that direction.

─Ha, surrender! Save me!

One of the seniors was bitten by a red-hot guy and then surrendered. His student ID was oxidized and he was sent somewhere.

Elise continued to fly the paper bird.

A half-broken dormitory door. Room 115. Inside, three people are gathered and barricaded.

─What is that? It looks like a servant horse, right? Is it?

─Is someone there? Help us!

Elise passed them by too. She spotted someone on the stairs leading down to the first floor.

Red hair. A sword at her waist. A dry face even in the face of sudden events.

It’s a soliloquy.

─… … Uh. Are you Elise?

Solliet recognized Elise solely from the magical waves emanating from the paper bird.

─Where are you?

Elise glanced at Zion on the bed. For a moment, she hesitated.

Should I tell you or not?

“… … Tsk.”

Suddenly I felt disgusted with myself.

The feeling he just felt, the discomfort spreading like fog in his chest, was a small amount of jealousy. A cancerous lump that should never be allowed to exist.

Elise moved the paper bird.

No. 106. No. 106.

─1… … 0… … 6. Room 106. Okay.

──You can give up at any time!

The voice of the statue rang out again from the ceiling. Elise stopped the operation of the paper bird.

“I think I’ll be back soon.”

“What, what is it?”

“Monsters.”

“omg!”

Elise opened the drawer. She took out a container containing magic stones and gems. Some were collected from the planarium, some were brought from home.

She used the magic stone to spread her magic spells on the floor.

Crackle! Crackle!

Sparks flew and a ‘Mattan Cannon’ rose from the ground. It was a college-level ‘linkage technique’.

“Ugh.”

Terence looked astonished, and Elise made four more in the same manner.

“I guess it will help a little bit?”

I asked Terence. Terence nodded absentmindedly.

“Oh, yeah. Yes.”

dripping-

Just then, perhaps from Solliet, a knock came. Elise opened the door.

As expected, it was Soliette.

“Miss Elise. Are you okay?”

“Yeah. Fortunately, we have a lot of supplies. How’s the situation on the second floor?”

Solliet shook her head.

“Similar. Some beasts are swarming… … .”

──Congratulations to those who survived!

The statue spoke again.

“Ahh… … It’s noisy.”

Zion woke up on the bed. Soliet turned to look at her. Elise looked at Soliet’s face. She saw a smile blooming on her face as she looked at Zion.

“… … .”

She bowed her head quietly.

Zion said.

“Oh, what is it? Soliette?”

“Zion. You were here.”

“Oh. I thought you were busy doing laundry.”

“Even in times like this, I don’t do bedandandan.”

Soliet shrugged.

──Let’s try to hold out as long as possible!

At the statue’s words, Zion rose up.

“… … Ah, but I have to be able to trust what he says.”

“Don’t believe it.”

Elise also chimed in.

“Unless you swear on your soul that what you say is true. At least we have plenty of supplies.”

The wagon Zion brought was full of food and supplies. It was enough to last four people for a week.

Elise looked out the window again.

It was too dark. It was too cold. Even the dust in the air was ominous.

Wheeee …

Then the siren sounded again. Elise’s four gun turrets were activated first.

Bang─! Bang─!

They fired bullets outside the window, and larger beasts than before surged in.

* * *

Same time.

[Planarium] VVIP monitoring room located outside.

In the spacious and cozy room prepared by the College Board, Igiris, the head of the Arcne family and father of Soliet, sits. He looks at Soliet in the tablet.

To be exact, Soliet and Zion standing next to her.

“… … .”

Igiris felt a little strange.

No, it was unpleasant.

Zion Ascal.

This guy deployed [Eight Swords].

It’s unpleasant to see a mere senior idiot deploy [Eight Swords], but he even goes so far as to reduce or increase the sword range at will.

What’s more… … .

The way Soliet looked at this guy.

A smile bloomed on Soliet’s lips.

──Suddenly.

He clenched his hands.

It all grates on Iggy’s nerves. It feels like a mosquito has landed on him.

It was probably Soliet who told him about the Eight Swords, without the family’s permission.

“You’re good at hitting.”

Someone spoke from the side. Igiris turned to look at him with a furrowed brow.

“Isn’t that so?”

The gap in the VVIP monitoring room is wide. However, the man is looking straight at himself.

A man with blue hair fluttering proudly.

Jade, Libra’s second son.

Although she tried to ignore it, Jade had been spying on Igiris for some time now to see who he was observing.

“Who, you say?”

“I’m talking about the student that Lord Arcne just saw.”

Jade said expressionlessly.

It means Zion Askar.

“What do you mean you’re good at it? You’re just showing off some worthless tricks.”

“A worthless trick?”

Jade repeated those words. Then she looked at Zion on the tablet screen again. Now, she was directly observing the swordsmanship that Zion Ascal was demonstrating, and the corners of her mouth twisted.

“It actually seems more efficient.”

“… … .”

“Isn’t that too conservative, Your Majesty? There’s no rule that says a sword must always be straight.”

Igiris’ temples twitched. He tilted his head again and glared at Jade.

“If you don’t have a deep knowledge of swordsmanship, you won’t see it that way. You only see it to the extent that you know.”

Jade still wiggled her eyebrows with a dry expression.

“I don’t need to know. I don’t need to learn swordsmanship.”

“You are not fit to learn swordsmanship. Do you seek weakness?”

“under.”

Then Jade let out a mocking laugh. She put her finger on the bridge of my nose. She smiled in a carefree and casual way, as if the world was beyond my comprehension.

“… … A strong body that is far from weak.”

Jade shook her head and muttered, leaving Igiris speechless.

They say Libra is a loser. How dare you talk about a strong body in front of Arcne’s Igiris.

But I decided to ignore it.

Jade is originally this kind of person.

He just looked at the woman next to Jade.

“… … Are you the youngest?”

The name is probably Zia.

“yes…….”

Sitting next to Jade, she even wonders how she got the VVIP invitation.

“You didn’t really need to come, did you?”

“I… … also… have an eye on… … one article… … and there’s… … one article… … .”

“Okay.”

Igiris waved his hand. Did I grow up badly as a child? I guess I can’t listen to what you say.

He focused his gaze on the tablet again, but the situation was already over.

The chaotic swordplay of Sion Ascal, who was stretching and pulling the [Eight Swords] here and there, has already ended.

Because Jade suddenly started picking a fight.

Igiris was displeased with that, but soon returned his focus to the tablet.

Soliet looks at Zion.

Although no sound can be heard, there is a small smile and the appearance of saying something.

All that kind of ‘circumstances’.

Igiris looked deep into his eyes.