Volume 3 Chapter 121-3 Sarah Training! II
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
Remembering Sarah’s earlier comment about Kian’s incompatibility with Linca, he also wanted to ask her about the mysterious warrior monk’s transparency ability.
”Sarah, why can’t I beat Ms. Linca? My attacks don’t land, and hers pierce through my armor… right?”
”Yes. Hey, Kian, can you touch this handkerchief of mine?”
”…? Ah, got it.”
He reached out to the spread-out white handkerchief. As he did, the fabric seemed to tremble, then tore with a slight resistance, like thin paper, leaving four finger-shaped holes where Kian’s fingers had broken through.
The marks of Kian’s four fingers remained as holes in the fabric. If the handkerchief were enlarged, it would look like the trail of a large beast’s claws tearing diagonally through the cloth.
”Huh? This handkerchief is just a normal one, right?”
”Yes. Touch it again.”
Prompted, he stretched his fingers toward the center of the torn handkerchief. This time, he was able to grasp the fabric. It felt like ordinary cloth.
At Sarah’s instruction, he tried touching it with the opposite hand for the third time.
Again, the handkerchief’s appearance subtly distorted, and four finger-shaped holes formed in the center of the fabric.
”Here’s an apple.”
”That’s my snack.”
”Watch this.”
Sarah’s finger slowly sank into the apple, not forced by strength, but as if passing through the skin and flesh, which seemed to cease existing.
Her finger was completely buried in the apple, its skin and flesh now shredded. Though she inserted her finger from the side, it looked as if she’d pushed it through from the bottom.
The skin peeled off, and juice oozed from the shredded side, dripping down Sarah’s wrist and onto the floor.
”Sarah, your finger passed through the apple!”
”Yes, this is Ms. Linca’s signature technique: the advanced application of ‘shadow’ called ‘penetration.’”
”What’s the principle behind it?”
”It’s easy for a magician to understand, but hard for a layman. Simply put, all matter in this world, including us, exists as a collection of tiny, invisible particles.”
”Like cells?”
”Smaller than cells—the smallest indivisible particles. Many of these form an apple.”
Sarah pushed an apple into Kian’s hand and used magic to float soil from the ground, shaping it into a clumsy mud ball, perhaps meant to resemble an apple.
The mud apple on her palm split into countless small mud balls, evenly spaced. From Kian’s perspective, they appeared as an apple, larger than the original due to the spacing.
When Sarah gestured, the mud balls reunited into an apple of the original size. She split them again, keeping them evenly spaced, making the whole appear slightly larger.
”It looks like a pointillist painting.”
”An apple seems like a single substance, but it’s made of particles smaller than cells. Our eyes can’t observe these, so we see only the whole apple.”
Sarah asked, “Is this clear so far?” but Kian was already lost. Still, he decided to keep listening.
”The exact location of these particles is uncertain. The apple is on my hand—point A—but the particles’ presence at point A is probabilistic, expressed as, say, ○○%.”
Sarah threw the mud apple to the ground and dusted off her hands.
”Ms. Linca uses ‘penetration’ to manipulate the probability of material existence, avoiding attacks or passing through defenses as if they didn’t exist. I can’t fully penetrate without destroying the apple, but she can pierce through without damage. She can make the probability of existence 0%.”
”Huh. I don’t get the principle, but essentially, Linca can avoid attacks and pass through defenses using ‘penetration.’”
”Yeah. That’s what I just said.”
”So, since she can avoid attacks and pass through defenses, she can… avoid attacks and pass through defenses. What a troublesome ability.”
”Your head’s spinning.”
Sarah looked exasperated by Kian’s confusion. But what could she do? He’d think about it later.
”Only Azrael and Ms. Linca can use ‘penetration’ perfectly.”
”So, my attacks won’t land, and she can ignore my ‘Silver Ice’ armor and cut my skin?”
”Worse. She can gouge out blood vessels or hearts, or break them. Western warrior enhancements and monk defenses become useless. Every attack is a one-hit kill.”
”Does Windsong Blade work?”
”Probably not.”
”How do I defeat her, then?”
”That’s why I said you can’t. You’re no match for her.”
Sarah shrugged.
”To defeat Ms. Linca, you’d need to use ‘penetration’ to force her probability of existence higher, or prevent her from using it. Assassinate her while she sleeps, or snipe her from long range with a magic bullet.”
”How do I master ‘penetration’?”
”Methodically: ① Practice ‘shadow.’ ② Pull the spiritual thread between ‘shadow’ and yourself from the ‘shadow’ side to swap bodies. ③ Memorize the sensation, then swap quickly. ④ You’ll master ‘penetration.’”
”Did you do it too?”
”Otherwise, I couldn’t perform earlier. The percentage of attacks bypassed depends on talent. Normally, it’s impossible to fully penetrate. I can transmit about 70% of my body and increase an opponent’s probability of existence. Since it’s not 100%, normal attacks hit, so it’s a useless skill. I learned it solely to fight Ms. Linca.”
”Just to fight her?”
”After abandoning you, my only purpose was to become the best warrior monk and contribute to Nakash’s house. I blindly aimed to become an ‘Azrael’s Death Sword User.’ Ms. Linca can make her entire body’s probability 0%, so I had to learn it. Mastering ‘penetration’ was essential. She was my biggest rival in my generation.”
”But Death Sword Users are chosen from the Twelve Divine Generals, right? Linca shouldn’t qualify.”
”I’m not a Divine General, yet I became one. Voting is fair. If strength alone matters, Linca has a chance. If you lose to her, you can’t become a Death Sword User. I believed that, so I worked hard.”
(Sarah worked so hard… Of course, someone like me, who trained seriously for just two months, would get crushed.)
”The mysterious warrior monk used ‘penetration’ too…”
”Right. Did they penetrate your whole body? Even partially, that’s impressive.”
”I don’t know.”
Sarah pointed to the Windsong Blade leaning against the wall.
”If they can’t fully penetrate, use Windsong Blade. Any part with hit detection will be obliterated, causing serious injury.”
”I see.”
”But the key is not to fight. Better yet, win without fighting. Unless killing them is the goal, hide and complete the quest. If they attack, flee to safety. Their quest fails, and you win by escaping.”
”What if I must defeat them?”
”You can’t now. I’ll handle it. Never face them head-on.”
”Understood.”
”It’s good you’re not reckless like Mr. Rean. Postpone ‘penetration’—first, learn to handle large amounts of energy. That’s more advantageous.”
”Got it.”
”Well… let’s take a quick bath and return to bed. A two-hour nap would help.”
Sarah paused slightly. Her fingertips touching Kian’s hand seemed to warm slightly.
”Or… should we recover your lost magic power?”
Please bookmark this series and rate ☆☆☆☆☆ on here!
Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
Leave a Reply