Maruyama Kugane - The Invaders of the Large Tomb

State your name as well!”

“…I have no name to give to a mere beast.”

“Then I shall erase you from my memory as a nameless fool!”

The gigantic figure leaped forward.

It was an unimaginably agile movement considering its size. A mediocre warrior would have been overwhelmed by the pressure of its approach and taken massive damage from the charge.

I’m different from those losers.

Eruya baited in Hamsuke’s charge and slid to the side without moving his feet.

It was the improved version of martial arts called ‘Shukuchi’, the ‘Shukuchi Kai’.

Originally, ‘Shukuchi’ could be used only to close distance with the enemy, however, this version allowed the user to move freely in any direction. The appearance of sliding without moving the feet looked strange, but it was extremely useful.

Dodging will shift one's center of gravity and break their balance. However, if one didn’t need to move in order to dodge, then one could attack immediately with the full strength of their lower body.

“Tyaaht!”

His sword swung down—

“—Kehut!”

Eruya flew back as if he had bounced off Hamsuke’s body.

It was an extremely hard body. What looked like fluffy silver fur felt strangely hard and metallic, and Eruya felt as if he had been hit by a mace. He nearly whited out from the impact.

The moment he hit the ground, Eruya unconsciously checked his whole body to see if it could move.

He had minor bruises, but it didn’t appear as if he had any dislocated bones. He could fight on.

The fact he fell on the floor and allowed the enemy’s attack to touch him incensed him the most, but the warrior in Eruya told him that now was not the time to think of such things.

As soon as Eruya stood up, he located Hamsuke and prepared to receive its charge once again by extending his sword.

Something sticky flowed from his nose. When he wiped it, he confirmed it was blood as he expected.

“Bastard…”

Hamsuke watched Eruya, who was trying to stand up, with calm eyes. It would be more accurate to say that Hamsuke was observing him.

It was different from a typical beast’s gaze of ‘Can I eat it?’ or ‘Can I win against it?’. Those were the eyes of a warrior who was trying to determine the best method to fight from the blow they exchanged earlier.

I’m a test dummy to see if a monster grew as a warrior? Not someone else, but me?

It felt as unpleasant as ever, but considering its agility, he had to admit that it was not an average monster. Within a split second, this monster had predicted that he would try to flank its attack, and launched a jumping bodyslam. It was not a particularly powerful attack, but it could only have acquired that kind of response after training extensively.

“It seems so, indeed… If it keeps on like this, I would win easily. Ah, please don’t pay this king any heed. This king has never seen a human that could win against me.”

“You should save your words until the end. Unlike a mere beast, a warrior can use martial arts!”

He thought he would win hands down. That was why he was holding back, but now, he needed to be serious.

“Martial arts! 「Ability Boost 」, 「 Greater Ability Boost」!”

These were the martial arts he was most proud of. Especially ‘Greater Ability Boost’, which was not something a person on Eruya’s level could learn.

I’m a genius because I’m able to learn something like this! I’m strong!

He swung his sword and could feel how light and smooth the movement was. The sword moved exactly as how he imagined.

Eruya smiled cynically. The next round would be his.

“Hmm~ I was taught to keep a distance when unsure of an opponent’s strength, but I have to fight as a warrior… I suppose it can’t be helped.”

Hamsuke scuttled over on its two hind legs and closed in.

“Is it going to be close quarter combat? Shall I receive your attack?”

“Don’t look down on me, beast.”

The moment it came into range, Eruya launched his assault.

Hamsuke barely deflected the sword strike augmented with ‘Ability Boost’ using its claws. Or rather, it would be more accurate to say it attempted to deflect the strike, because the sword was still headed for its arm. However, the sword had lost its force after hitting the claws and failed to cut through the hardened fur and the flesh beneath.

Eruya did not retract his sword and immediately thrust it towards Hamsuke’s eyes. Some monsters had hardened eyelids which could deflect even swords imbued with ki or aura. But Hamsuke didn’t appear to possess anything like that.

That was why Hamsuke did not allow the attack to happen.

Hamsuke dodged by twirling its body around and swung its tail at the same time.

Eruya blocked the tail with his sword, but the shocking amount of force numbed his arms.

“Khh-urk!”

He spotted Hamsuke twirling around once again. It meant the same kind of force would be striking him again.

Eruya jumped back. He could not determine exactly how long the tail was, but planned to close the distance with ‘Shukuchi Kai’ the moment it passed by.

But the tail he expected to pass by stopped in midair.

“Urk.”

It was a feint. In the meantime, Hamsuke had regained its posture and retracted its tail as well.

Eruya’s face twitched at the fact he missed an opportunity to attack.

He could see that the tail and the body moved almost independently from each other. It was not like the tail of a rat, but could move independently like the snake tail of a chimaera.

“You can use your tail freely, too!”

Eruya etched the details of the monster called Hamsuke into his mind and charged. Hamsuke, who was waiting for an opening, rushed forward to meet the attack.

Blade and claws clashed. Eruya was the first one to be wounded during the exchange of blows.

Hamsuke, who could attack with two claws, held an advantage in its number of attacks against Eruya, who used only one sword. Close-quarters combat was turning disadvantageous. Despite having raised his physical abilities, Hamsuke was still winning. If that was the case—

He retreated immediately with ‘Shukuchi Kai’.

“Hmph, is what I say!”

Before Hamsuke could give chase, Eruya seized the opportunity, raised his sword in the air and swung downward.

“「Void Cutter 」!”

The slashing hit cut through the air and flew toward Hamsuke.

Hamsuke braced to protect its face and the strike bounced off its fur.

The strike did less damage the further away the target was. It would be difficult to inflict any meaningful damage like this. But—

“Seems like you can’t block it. This is the difference between a mere beast and a human.”

“This is certainly… troubling.”

Eruya used ‘Void Cutter’ repeatedly.

Hamsuke’s fur was hard and difficult to cut through. That’s why Eruya targeted its face and used the martial art repeatedly.

Hamsuke remained rooted to the spot but spoke through the little crack between the paws that were covering its face.

“Hold on a moment please—”

“Are you trying to beg for your life? As expected of a mere beast.”

“It’s not that — It’s so annoying. Inside this king’s mouth is — Ah, I give up!”

He couldn’t understand.

I guess it’s expected for a human to not understand what an animal is saying… It looks like it’s about to charge now.

“Ah— So loud and annoying! Let’s finish this!”

“Come.”

Hamsuke did not possess a method of ranged attack, so it would try to close the distance at all costs.

This was what Eruya was aiming for.