Cheat na Kaineko no Okage de Rakuraku Level Up

As Misha announced the start, the mock battle between Verdonna and me began. However, Verdonna remained relaxed, her arms dangling at her sides, holding her wooden knife without any apparent intention of using it. There was no tension in her shoulders or arms, and her expression was the usual poker face.

“Were you not listening when Misha said ‘start’?” I asked, worried by her lack of change from her ‘battle-ready’ stance.

“No, I heard her,” Verdonna replied casually.

“I wasn’t distracted thinking about what to prepare for dinner tonight.”

“That’s… quite the distraction during a battle!” I exclaimed, wishing she’d focus more on our duel.

“Master, this is still a fight. Don’t let your guard down,” Misha warned me as a referee.

Though it seemed a bit unfair for the referee to give advice, I took it as a general caution against idle chatter.

Regardless of what Verdonna’s intentions might be, I needed to concentrate on my actions. Gripping my wooden sword, I closed the distance and lunged forward, expecting Verdonna to block with her knife. However, to my astonishment, she stopped my sword with her bare hand, a real-life version of catching a blade in mid-air.

“How did you do that!?” Lena exclaimed from the sidelines.

“Just as you saw… she stopped the sword with her hand…” Misha observed, equally surprised.

I quickly disengaged and created some distance between us.

“Such a move is one of the assassination techniques to neutralize an enemy’s attack,” Verdonna explained nonchalantly.

“But that’s not possible with a real sword, right?” I asked, baffled.

“No, it can be done with a real blade as well,” Verdonna clarified with her usual calm demeanor.

“It’s extremely risky, of course. Repeating such a feat often would eventually lead to death.”

Despite acknowledging the danger, it was clear she had indeed stopped my sword. How was this possible? Even a Level 50 or Level 70 adventurer couldn’t easily perform such a feat.

Next, Verdonna advanced towards me, walking briskly but naturally, as if strolling through the streets. She thrust her knife at me, not particularly fast. I easily dodged it, but then I noticed she had another wooden knife in her left hand.

“Two knives!?” I exclaimed, dodging frantically and retreating once more.

“If this were a real battle, I would have been dead by now…”

“Indeed. Your physical abilities are impressive, though,” Verdonna complimented, still expressionless.

“Unpredictable attacks are another hallmark of assassination,” she added, explaining the tactic of concealing a weapon until the last moment.

Twice now, Verdonna had completely caught me off guard. In a real battle, especially against an average adventurer, she would have undoubtedly been lethal. It made sense why the Selwood family had assigned her to protect the mansion and Lena.

“Master, are you alright?” Misha called out, sounding more concerned than a referee should.

But I felt surprisingly calm, analyzing Verdonna’s moves and even guessing the mechanism behind her blade-catching technique.

“Thanks, Misha. I think I can win this,” I replied with a smile.

Would Verdonna take my words as truth or bravado? Either way, it didn’t matter. Like assassination, victory was all that counted in this duel. Still, her expression gave nothing away.

“Verdonna, if my guess is right, I can defeat you in the next move.”

“Is that so?” Verdonna responded, unphased.

“Let’s see if your guess is correct.”