I moved my avatar frantically while cursing the game company.
'Whoa! Give me some time to breathe!'
Even when I knew when, where, and how attacks would come, my body couldn't keep up.
While I attacked once, this girl attacked three, four times.
'Too strong!'
If her dual wielding was clumsy there'd be hope, but she was like a monster with two egos.
Her right and left hands moved independently, performing perfectly like two people.
Felt like fighting 1 vs 2.
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I crawled under a car to buy time to recover my shield.
"Hiding won't help."
She kicked the car like a soccer ball with her slender legs and it rolled sideways and flipped over.
"...That's too much."
I'm level 10 too, but I don't have monstrous strength like that. But what's with this girl? How am I supposed to beat a monster like this in the tutorial?
The girl who'd stopped attacking spoke.
"If you give up resisting, I'll end this painlessly. I promise."
"Don't mess with me. If I were only 20 years younger, you... damn it."
I shut my mouth, feeling too pathetic blaming my age. I didn't want consolation that I could've won if I were younger.
The past is just the past.
"You're not old enough to lament the years, are you?"
"Ignore that. Pretend you didn't hear it."
"I'll pretend I didn't hear it. But please give up resisting."
"Pretend you didn't hear that too."
"Unfortunate."
As soon as negotiations broke down, the girl swung her twin swords again.
Efficient swordsmanship with no unnecessary movements.
That made it faster, but the answer was predetermined so it was easy to predict.
'Right carotid artery!'
Ting—
Even knowing in advance, I barely blocked it with the katana.
My body and mind were operating separately. Like I gave a command and the avatar reacted 0.5 seconds later.
"..."
"..."
The girl's serious expression caught my eye.
Her attack with very fast dual wielding wasn't over yet. If I didn't prepare now, I'd get hit.
'Where's next? Where next...?'
Not enough time to think. My mind went white as my brain froze.
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The girl's blade aimed at my heart stabbed my shoulder. I was lucky. I don't even know how I dodged it.
"Ugh?!"
It hurt, hurt so much. First time feeling such intense pain in a game.
'This game's illegal...!'
Pain perception over 2% is illegal. But this game seems to have pain set at 100%.
This game company is completely insane. And the CEO must be a pervert who wants to wear handcuffs.
'...Huh? What?'
My completely frozen brain started moving again. And it was fast.
The attack just now injured my left deltoid making it hard to move my left arm, but it seemed like it wouldn't matter. That's the feeling I got.
I gripped the katana's handle with just my right hand.
"It's over."
"Not yet."
I bent both knees and my lower back while tilting my head sideways.
Whoosh—
The girl's blade aimed at my neck passed just over my head.
Some hair, the finishing touch of my appearance, got cut, but better than an avatar with no head.
"Ah?"
The girl's eyes, which had been certain of my death, went wide.
'Now...!'
I straightened my knees and boldly dove into her space.
But approaching her as she'd already stepped back two steps wasn't easy.
'She's really fast!'
It's fine. I just knew.
With my brain awakened by pain, the game felt slightly slower now.
I finally had leisure to examine the girl's weapons.
'Longsword? No, that's an arming sword.'
Arming sword.
A one-handed sword most commonly used by medieval European knights.
Characterized by a cross-shaped guard, the straight double-edged blade is designed for both thrusting and slashing.
'Think. Create the future.'
The moment I step forward with my right foot, she'll aim for my neck with the arming sword in her left hand.
But the real threat is the arming sword in her right hand, planning to slash vertically from my injured left shoulder to my heart.
The future I'm drawing is complete.
"...Here I come."
As I moved my right foot forward, the girl swung her pair of arming swords in a crossing motion.
An attack that didn't deviate from my expectations.
I also blocked and dodged with predetermined movements.
'Got it!'
I slashed her abdomen with the katana.
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'One more time with this momentum... whoa!'
I gasped in shock.
The girl twisted her waist like a mollusk to evade. But I wouldn't have been surprised by just that.
'She uses her legs with dual wielding too?!'
What kind of brain is that?
She jumped back while aiming for the side of my head with her right foot.
An ordinary roundhouse kick.
But this is the girl who kicked a car like a soccer ball and flipped it. Have to assume getting hit means instant death.
Her smooth movements weren't ordinary.
'Too much!'
She learned martial arts too!
But same goes for me.
At first to compete in tournaments, later to educate cocky kids, I paid to learn various martial arts.
Now's the time to retreat.
I know it, the girl knows it too.
That's why I didn't retreat and sat right down on the ground instead.
"Ah!"
The girl let out a sigh.
Her roundhouse kick that sliced through empty air where I'd disappeared didn't stop. Without landing, her left foot inherited the rotational force from her right and pierced forward with a reverse roundhouse kick.
'Would've died if I'd retreated!'
But the motion was very large, so the opening was very large too.
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The tip of my katana thrust from below accurately pierced below her sternum, at her solar plexus.
Thunk!
The katana's curved blade isn't suitable for thrusting, but that's what makes it meaningful. This girl always only thinks about the most efficient attack and defense.
"Surprised?"
"..."
No screams of pain or struggling.
The girl who quietly sat down in place stayed still with her limbs drooping like a puppet with cut strings.
"...A machine?"
Not a single drop of blood flowed from her chest where the knife was embedded.
"Yes. I'm an automaton. Did you not know while fighting?"
"Yeah."
I was busy cursing the game company that placed such a monster in the tutorial.
Automaton.
A machine that mimics humans.
Her lightning-fast reflexes and perfect dual wielding made sense now.
If it's set as AI, it's not even fantasy. AI already runs wild slaughtering gamers in several games.
'But even so, facing AI from the tutorial is too much, isn't it?!'
The girl who barely lifted her head spoke in a calm voice.
"I received orders to kill Ronan Marcus."
"You said that already."
"But I'm glad I failed. Thank you."
"..."
──────────────
Achievement: Master
Reward: 1 Level
Description: You proved your skill.
Rating: You got some skills?
──────────────
The automaton who gently closed her eyes never moved again.
***
Both fortune and misfortune visited the Baron Marcus family, who ruled the Baron Marcus territory, a backward estate located in the frontier.
Because ruins were discovered in the territory. They could sell the relics excavated from those ruins at auction, but developing it as a tourist site would bring continuous profit.
If only they could protect it!
Many people coveted the unopened treasure vault, but the Baron Marcus family was far too powerless.
So weak that the entire family was slaughtered by the lord's private soldiers disguised as bandits.
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The young man who'd killed everyone from Baron Marcus's wife and children hiding in the safe house rubbed his eyes and yawned.
Leon Benator.
He was the eldest son of the Count Benator family who had the Baron Marcus family under them.
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Opportunities to safely raise his level were rare, so he, the heir, moved personally.
"Burn all the bodies. Erase Marcus from the world."
"Yes."
"What about the remaining Marcus?"
He didn't know how they figured it out, but the Baron Marcus family's youngest son didn't come to the safe house.
So he left it for the real bandits to handle, but no matter how long he waited, no good news came.
'I don't get it.'
The opponent was a level 1 rookie who'd just finished advanced learning. Yet he couldn't believe they not only failed to kill him but got the tables turned on them.
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"We failed."
The adjutant organizing the site where fierce combat had occurred answered.
She was an automaton he'd borrowed from his father, Count Benator, for this operation.
"Failed?"
"Yes. We lost contact with the soldier tasked with eliminating Ronan Marcus."
"How is that possible?"
He'd dispatched 1 automaton to monitor the hired bandits. If contact was lost, there's only one reason.
Defeat.
No possibility of betrayal. Automatons only obey their masters. That's what made it even more absurd.
'How could a human?'
For a human to beat an automaton, their level needs to be much higher. That's common sense.
Automatons aren't opponents that kids who've just started adapting to reality can defeat.
"The soldier's last report said level 10."
"Level 10...?"
"Yes. Seems like he leveled up by killing bandits."
"Didn't you say level 8 just a bit ago?"
"He leveled up again in the meantime."
It was already strange.
"What was that guy's name again?"
"Ronan Marcus."
Leon frowned. He'd never heard it before.
A name he'd never have known if it had been handled at the bandit level. That's what made this situation even more unpleasant.
"Should we give up and retreat?"
"No."
"Ronan Marcus. What kind of guy is he?"
"I only know his name and age. But his maid would know in more detail."
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He pointed at the automaton that had resisted until all her limbs were broken.
She was currently docile as a corpse. Because everyone she was supposed to guard was dead, there was no reason to fight.
Leon approached the girl with only her head and torso remaining.
"Still pretty even looking again. Pretty enough that I'd want to use her as my maid. What's your name?"
"..."
She only gave him an indifferent look in response to his question.
"Ronan Marcus. Don't you want to save him?"
"Elise."
"Haha! Smart doll."
"Baron Marcus planned to raise his youngest son as the estate's administrator. So he had him experience only terrible politics and economics in a virtual reality without war and monsters."
"What about fighting?"
"Slightly better than an untrained civilian. No actual combat experience."
Elise, who'd been eavesdropping on everything, spilled all the information Leon wanted. But it didn't add up.
"That's strange. A fighting novice handled all those bandits?"
"Can't you?"
"Ha! You sure talk cocky! Bandits like that aren't even my match!"
"The delusion that only you're special is a typical aftereffect of advanced learning. Get psychological treatment before it's too late."
Hit right on target, Leon couldn't retort. Because he was already receiving psychological treatment.
He thinks he's normal, but he had no choice because of his father's orders.
"...What do you think?"
Leon asked the adjutant who'd been listening with him for her opinion.
"Doesn't seem like she's lying."
"We'll know when we meet him."
"It's dangerous!"
"Me?"
Leon Benator glared hard at his adjutant, feeling very unpleasant.
He was the heir to the Count Benator family.
Though he received help from automatons, Baron Marcus also died by his sword.
It was impossible to retreat out of fear of a baron's youngest son.
'My siblings would mock me!'
He didn't want to give his cocky siblings eyeing the heir position any ammunition.
"I meant there's no need for you to command directly on site, young master."
"Meaning? There is meaning! I can shut my siblings' mouths."
"Our casualties aren't light either. Not many automatons left..."
"The opponent is alone."
The adjutant judged it hard to persuade him and bowed her head.
"I'll prepare for departure."
"Hurry."
Leon Benator, who'd burned the safe house, headed toward the Baron Marcus family's main mansion.