I swing the newly refined thunder magic sword.
This magic sword was made as a blade, so "magic blade" might be more accurate.
I'd also re-refined the fire one to match.
The idea was that for dual wielding, having the same shape on both sides would give better stability.
I didn't feel my skill was enough to use two differently shaped swords.
My swordsmanship is barely above a complete amateur.
I do have the Skill "Sword Talent," but purely in terms of actual sword technique, every human I've fought so far has been better.
Especially that old man I fought recently. He was terrifying.
He used both the Fighting God Style and the Demon Fighting Style simultaneously, and we were nearly even.
My Status clearly surpassed his, and yet he still forced me into a coin-flip battle where I couldn't tell if I'd win or lose.
His pure sword technique offset the difference in Status.
My current race is Ogre Shaman.
I'd chosen an evolution that leaned more toward magic in order to make generating magic swords more efficient.
I still think that was the right call.
Phantasmal Weapon Refinement is my greatest ability, and leveling it up directly translates to boosting my combat power.
In fact, the special ability enhancements that came with the increased Skill Level proved invaluable in fighting humans.
The first time I was sporadically attacked by small groups of humans in the forest, I still hadn't fully gotten the hang of the magic sword's power, and there were a few dangerous moments.
I learned from that and pushed forward with preparations for interception.
When the next large-scale group of humans attacked, I used self-destructing magic swords as makeshift mines and wiped them out effortlessly.
A magic sword can become anything depending on how you use it.
I have knowledge from Earth, where science is far more advanced than in this world, and being able to leverage that is a major advantage.
But not everything goes perfectly.
The improvised cannons I built were defective — not only did I have too few barrels, but each one broke after a single shot.
On top of that, accuracy was low, and despite requiring two magic swords each, their power was pathetic.
Throwing the swords would have been far better.
The mines worked well at first too, but once the mechanism was figured out, they became useless.
On Earth they'd be terrifying anti-personnel weapons that are a pain to clear, but this world has something as convenient as magic.
Who would have thought they'd cover the entire minefield with a single magical attack and detonate everything at once?
I'm really glad I had a backup plan ready.
That too got ruined by that ridiculous teleportation spell, though.
That's got to be cheating, right?
The old man just appeared out of thin air.
Apparently it's spatial magic.
The caster was the same old man — the sniper mage who'd been targeting me.
The old people in this world are way too scary.
I thought I was going to die back then.
No, I was like ninety percent dead.
The sword I threw in desperation happened to hit one knight, happened to kill him in a single blow, and happened to trigger a Level Up.
Layer upon layer of insane luck — that's the only reason I managed to survive.
After that, activating
Wrath causes a massive boost to all Status parameters.
Combined with the Fighting God Style, my Status becomes roughly twenty times the original.
My current Status hovers around a thousand across the board.
The Fighting God Style adds a thousand to my physical stats, bringing them to around two thousand.
Multiply that by ten, and you get twenty thousand.
Wrath has the effect of multiplying all Status by ten.
However, this absurd ability has a drawback.
And it's extraordinarily dangerous.
It's the loss of rationality.
The moment I activate Wrath, my consciousness blows away and I become nothing but a berserker that rages without thought.
Worse, whether I can return from that state is entirely up to luck.
When I killed Vrilms, I managed to regain my sense of self, but it wouldn't have been strange if I'd never come back and been reduced to a mindless beast.
So Wrath is truly a last resort.
And even then, only for the brief window during which I can barely hold on to myself.
Even so, my consciousness becomes so thoroughly engulfed in rage that control becomes nearly impossible.
The fact that I was able to make the judgment to flee right after activating it was pure fortune.
Perhaps if I'd stayed in Wrath form, I could have won.
But by then I probably wouldn't have come back.
Which is nothing less than the erasure of my consciousness — the end of me as "I."
Even winning in that state wouldn't count as winning.
It'd be more like a mutual kill.
Honestly, I'd gotten cocky after winning so easily in the fight before that.
I'd underestimated humans.
I never imagined I'd end up needing Wrath just to escape.
Refining my Phantasmal Weapon Refinement wasn't wrong.
But that alone isn't enough.
I swing the blade.
The image in my mind — the old man from our fight.
I keep swinging at his phantom.
But I can't win.
In my imagination, there's no viable path to victory against the old man without activating the Fighting God Style.
Still, I keep swinging.
Calmly. I think of ways to kill the opponent.
If I give in to rage, I can win.
But if that's all I've got, sooner or later I'll be hunted down.
Calmly. I let reason work, and on that foundation I sharpen the blade of slaughter.
Spatial magic too — I spent Skill Points to acquire it.
It cost ten thousand Points, but it was worth saving up for.
Learning your opponent's tactics is a perfectly valid shortcut to getting stronger.
Anything I found troublesome when it was used against me should be equally troublesome for them.
Of course, spatial magic is useless at low Levels, so it needs plenty of training too.
I swing the blade.
Next time, I'll make sure the kill is certain.
I hone my swordsmanship.
《Proficiency has reached a certain threshold. Skill "Sword Talent LV3" has become "Sword Talent LV4"》 Calmly. Calmly. As if soothing the rage that boils up from within.
I simply load that killing intent onto the blade.
Sharp. Nothing but sharp.