24 Hearts

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The twenty-fourth fragment, Carpe Diem

[You are resurrected.]

Judah’s vision grew bright, and his consciousness rewound before his demise. Before he could process the message window that hovered before him, it took his all to suppress the blinding rage burning inside of him. Judah watched Ea draw her spear right in front of his eyes and trigger the Flying Fighters’ Hellish skill. This time around, Judah stopped himself from using a dagger to cast a skill in its place.

─Shadow Swordsmanship Form 4

──Illusion Sword

With a slight consumption of magic, a shadow emerged from Judah’s body that sent his actual body into a backward stumble. This body double took his place, facing what was his bloody death in the hands of Ea’s spear.

“What is this?!” Ea hissed, her special attack wasted, much like her expectations.

Ea’s eyes met Judah’s as he rolled off and raised to his feet without a sweat. The look on his face a moment ago was nothing like it was now. The boy staring back at her had all the intent to see her dead. In all of her life, this was the first time she felt fear when looking at an enemy. In denial, Ea shoved away her fear with a glare.

“What are you waiting for?!”

She taunted to mask what she truly felt, but her words died the moment Judah charged, ducked to the ground with strides faster than her eyes could see.

‘What?’

Judah moved like a predator coming for its prey. Her eyes could only chase his after images, leaving her with her spear just hoping for the best.

Clang!

“Fuck!”

His sword against her spear was heavier than she remembered.

‘He’s overpowering me!’

Ea gritted her teeth, shoving away his sword to retreat far away from him. She felt her strength waver, believing her battle with the Blue Lancer strained her energy.

Fffftt!

All she did was tilt her head, and a dagger had already cut through her cheek. A sharp pain shot through her senses, her vision filling with the splash of her blood. Ea squinted, turning to where she guessed Judah could be. She followed the sounds around her, chuckling to herself nervously. The Flying Fighter drew a dagger as she fell back, tossing them blindly to cast out as much distance as she could. Ea believed that she had a good idea of their surroundings, but when she swung her spear to attack, all it hit was the empty air.

Shaak!

As she continued to stumble backward, the adrenaline brought by her desire to see Judah in pain gave her the strength to keep on swinging, this time sharper than before. But her attack was useless, just like the rest.

Judah ducked, evading her spear, before digging his soles to the ground to flip himself high up into the air. His spontaneous jump dodged another one of Ea’s spears, then ever so casually, he stepped on her shoulders to relaunch his momentum.

“Huh?”

Lost in the blur, Ea was only able to gasp in a dumbfounded manner as her eyes tried to focus on reality. Judah was already on his feet, sword coming straight for the Flying Fighter.

Clang──!

In an ear-piercing shatter, their weapons clashed with sparks of light spraying into every direction. Ea’s last resort to save herself was to step back, bracing herself for an oncoming attack, but none came. Judah stepped back just as she did.

‘What?’

This was an excellent opportunity to attack, but Ea stood there waiting for Judah to seize the opportunity. The boy, standing in place, whipped his sword up in the air as if Ea was anywhere near.

“Hah! What’s wrong? Scared?” The Flying Fighter charged at Judah with a smirk.

Just as her spear swayed toward Judah, a black shadow erupted from the boy’s body. It was the same shadow as before, a simple punching bag that did absolutely nothing special.

But this time, it had a little trick up its sleeves. His silhouette swung its shadowed weapon, making the same gesture Judah did a second ago. But it was still nothing, disappearing the moment Ea’s spear pierced through its body. She caught a glimpse of Judah as he faded into the background.

“!”

Black particles covered Judah’s bastard sword, turning it again into a cone-shaped lance. Ea, on the other hand, had her weapons dropped, still recovering from attacking the doppelganger Judah conjured. A frown crossed her mouth.

“I won’t let you do that──!” Judah proclaimed as he saw the red glow emanating from Ea’s spears, one he remembered very well.

It was a swordsmanship skill used by Flying Fighters, one where they crossed their spears together as their accuracy grew to higher levels. How could Judah forget it? This was the skill that took his life a moment ago.

Shit!

Her -Hell- skill not only destroyed Judah’s -Shadow Swordsmanship-One Point- but also shattered his bastard sword the moment they clashed. Her skill carried tremendous power that it overpowered Judah’s progress, even with his use of Magic Power.

‘Oh my God.’

The sword given to him by Lord Peerchen shattered, but his spirits remained unyielding. He stuck out his tongue and released the Bastard Sword from his hand, immediately casting another skill.

─Shadow Justice Form 4

──Lower Black Arms Manifestation

Magic particles grew from the palms of his hand, two swords manifesting within his grasp.

Judah dropped his arms, copying the stance Ea used for -Hell-. If he were to do this, he could only do it once, so he needed to hit her successfully.

“Is that it?”

Judah’s eyes met Ea’s, who was too busy smiling to herself after shattering his sword. The moment she saw how Judah had recovered, the shock on her face was priceless.

─Shadow Swordsmanship Form 5

──Imitate-Hell

Black magic swarmed at the very tip of his weapons. Casting one last glance at his opponent, Judah raised his sword into the air.

Shaak!

“You’re dead.”

Her leather armor was not enough to defend her life. What Judah suffered at the hands of the skill, she too endured ─ bleeding, mutilated, and her organs shred to pieces. This was the second time Judah had killed a person. The adrenaline of slaying beasts was nothing to the drumming of his heart now, which was taking forever to ease. While he grounded himself, the Flying Fighter he had slain fell to her knees, her vision losing its grip from reality.

“How… Oh my God… Did a kid defeat…”

Ea’s last words faded into the air as her body slammed on the ground, laying in the pool of her blood. The shadowed weapons in Judah’s grasp melted into the air, and the silhouette sprawled all over the floor crawled back into Judah’s natural shadow. In the wake of their battle, only the stench of death lingered in the air, only this time, it wasn’t Judah’s blood that had been spilled.

[Your level has risen!]

Judah, who had been staring silently at the lifeless body of his opponent, snapped out of his daze as the message popped up right in front of him. He leveled up, but the laughter that escaped from his mouth tasted bitter. There was no joy in wasting a save point for such a dull encounter.

‘I’m in trouble.’

Judah found himself clenching his fists aimlessly.

“Woo….”

He won, but he wasn’t happy. After a brief second of staring at the Flying Fighter’s corpse, he bent down to claim one of her spears and the single ring in one of her fingers.

[You have earned the Longsword of the Flying Fighter (Apprentice).]

[You acquired the ring of the Chae-ya family.]

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[Name: Longsword of the FLying Fighter (Apprentice) for the glory of the family]

[Rating: precious _ excellent sword]

[Equipment: Long sword]

[Durability: 26/40]

[Attack power: 60]

[effect]

Strength +1, Agility +1

[Explanation]

This is the spear used by the apprentice knights of the Imperial Knights of the Baekje Empire.

The Flying Fighters are divided into probationary/intermediate/advanced/first grades, and the materials used for long swords grade.

An imperial blacksmith makes it, ensuring its good quality. The spears form a pair.

The sword of the Flying Fighters itself is worth a fortune, and rewards are given to those who can acquire it and return it to its empire.

Fighter (Passive): When using the Fighter Swordsmanship, a skill’s activation speed is increased by 10%.

-Craftsmanship (Passive): Made by an excellent craftsman, it adds points to durability and attack power.

-Code Previous: For the glory of the family

└Recovery speed of health and magic power +10%, attack power +15, and equipment durability consumption reduction by 50% when using a skill.

──────────────────────

[Name: Chae-ya Family Ring]

[Rating: Only]

[Equipment: Ring]

[effect]

Magic Defense/Resist 10% increase

[Explanation]

It is a ring that proves you are a member of the Chae-ya family from the Baekje Empire, a sort of identification card.

It is made of silver, and the pattern is less intricate, indicating the wearer must not be directly related.

-Chae-ya Family (Passive): A daily of warriors who are famous for their swordsmanship and has produced Flying Fighters from generation to generation. Receives a bonus for sword skill proficiency.

-Passive: Purifies the poison that has entered the body. If a toxin is ingested, the color of the ring changes first, indicating the infliction.

──────────────────────

Judah remembered there to be a code in the spears. He checked both of them, even Ea’s shattered one, but he found nothing. He stashed the loot in his -Bag- before facing Jeanne, who had been silent throughout the fight.

“You’re unbelievable. You fought a Flying Fighter and won.” Jeanne praised despite the careful tone within her words.

Before Judah could accept her compliment, he found the blood dripping through the cracks in Jeanne’s right arm armor. He couldn’t measure the severity of her wound, but it seemed dangerous if it kept bleeding as much.

“Lady Jeanne, let’s talk about this later. We should heal that wound first. Can you take off your armor?”

Jeanne watched Judah through the gap of her faceplate. She tried to nod, but ended up closing her eyes as even the tiny gesture caused her vision to double. She had been standing there for far too long that her open wound had drained much of her energy. Doing her best to stay conscious, Jeanne finally released the magic power holding together her armor.

Everything conjured by her magic turned into silver dust flying with the wind. When the pressure upon her body disappeared, her legs wavered at the brink of collapse. Finally, her body fell back to the wall to rest.