Radiant Dragon’s Otherworldly Reincarnation

Chapter 116. At least it wasn't embarrassing (3)

“So it’s the Internal Injury Technique. Interesting. Is this what they call ‘necessity is the mother of invention’?”

Patrick let out a smirk. The technique itself wasn't anything special. But the fact that those who pursue martial arts in a completely different world had, after much deliberation, arrived at the same answer as the martial studies of Jianghu was interesting in itself. In any case, the technique itself was not amazing. However, that was from Patrick's perspective…

“Hey, Patrick.”

“What?”

Alex cautiously spoke to him.

“So, if we learn from you, can we do that kind of thing too?”

Patrick turned his head to look. There, Alex and the other colleagues were looking at him with sparkling eyes. Even Professor Leyte was perking up his ears from behind. At this sight, Patrick sighed and said.

“Just stick to what you were doing. Just stick to what you were doing…”

“Why? Wouldn't it be good to learn?”

“Good my ass. What's a swordsman going to do learning how to use his fists?”

“We can become stronger.”

“Isn't exploring the diversity of techniques helpful?”

“And if we learn a technique like that, we can actually use it in a pinch, can't we?”

At his colleagues' words, Patrick looked at them as if they were pathetic and said.

“Oh, is that so? You're going to learn it and use it?”

“W… We should.”

They flinched. Whenever that demon-like bastard looked at them with such a pathetic expression, nothing good ever followed.

“Hah, you hopeless bastards.”

“Ah, why? What is it now?”

Patrick said sharply.

“Then, tell me. If you learn that, where and how are you going to use it?”

“Well… at close range, if the opponent closes in, we can use it as a counter.”

“Conversely, I could go in and attack.”

“Why would you get into close range while fighting with a sword?”

“…Huh?”

“That’s…”

To his colleagues who were at a loss for words, Patrick continued.

“Even if you fight at close range, fine. Wouldn't it be faster to just smack them with the shield in your hand? Aren't you seniors actually fighting like that already?”

At Patrick's words, his colleagues momentarily wore blank expressions.

“…That’s true.”

“Come to think of it…”

“We can just bash them with the shield.”

“Or hit them with our shoulder.”

“We can kick them, too.”

That's right. They were already well-versed in methods of close-quarters combat. Fighting under the assumption of being armed with a shield and wearing iron armor, a shield charge using the shield and a shoulder charge using the shoulder pauldrons were basic. It meant they could fight perfectly well without such a strange technique. To his colleagues who seemed to have come to their senses, Patrick clicked his tongue and said.

“Tsk tsk tsk, you brats, blinded by the novelty of a technique and failing to see its essence.”

Stab, stab, stab.

Daggers pierced their hearts. Why must the truth be so painful?

“This is why young punks are the problem. They don't stick to the training they were doing and just get wide-eyed whenever they see something a little strange or cool…”

“……”

“Tsk tsk tsk, just because their heads have gotten a little bigger. As they say, there's a reeeason for everything adults say…”

There was a kkondae—the kind of condescending old man you could drop anywhere in the world and he’d fit right in.

A top-tier kkondae, the kind who could launch into a never-ending lecture for at least an hour with the slightest excuse.

Shameless, self-righteous, and endlessly talkative—he was a true master of the art.

“You're the youngest one here.”

“You haven't even had your coming-of-age ceremony yet.”

“He has no manners. No manners…”

“Senior, you're expecting too much from a demon by asking for manners.”

“Ah! Is that so?”

Faced with the fierce opposition from the brats, the condescending old man Patrick let out a deep sigh.

‘Ah, I can't even lecture these brats in peace. How sorrowful. So sorrowful.’

“Ahem, anyway, if you try to learn every single one of these miscellaneous tricks, there's no end to it. Just work hard on what you were doing. Just what you were doing.”

“But Patrick.”

“Ah! What now?”

“If, as you say, that technique isn't very useful…”

“I didn't go that far.”

He's the type to only know one thing when you teach him one.

“No, anyway, you're saying we can subdue them just fine without something like that, right?”

“That's right.”

“Then why did he specifically use such a unique technique to subdue his opponent?”

At Alex's question, Patrick smirked and said.

“It's one of two things.”

“……”

“Either he wanted to show off his superiority, like, ‘I can do cool things like this,’ or he wanted to hide his skills since it's still the first round.”

At Patrick's words, Gerard frowned and said.

“Hiding his skills, I can understand. But a sense of superiority? A holy knight who serves God wouldn't act for such a personal reason, would he?”

He subtly left out the unspoken part, 'Unlike you.' But at Gerard’s words, Patrick chuckled and said.

“For you of all people to say that, Senior?”

“What about me?”

“Where do you think that magic swordsman went flying and got stuck?”

“Huh? …Huh?”

Only then did Gerard realize. The wall where the magic swordsman had been sent flying and embedded was the exact same spot where he himself had been sent flying by Cierion's attack. It was as if he were protesting that he could do what Cierion had done. Realizing that, Gerard's expression soured.

“Then, it really was…”

“A childish power struggle.”

“……”

“Tsk tsk tsk, these kids only learn the bad stuff…”

The corner of Patrick's mouth, who was clicking his tongue and lamenting, curled up crookedly.

‘In the end, it’s the same here too.’

He had thought that even if they served God, it might be a little different here. Unlike in the Central Plains, on the Continent of Pangemonia, they receive direct blessings from God and perform miracles. It meant this was a world where God's existence could be felt more directly.

He had thought that in a world like this, the clergy who served God would be a little different. He had thought they would possess the clear and pure character unique to clergy who truly devote their bodies and minds to their faith. But it was no different. Even if the world changed and the object of faith changed, in the end, humans were just humans.

‘Well, good. In that case, I can beat the X out of them without any guilt.’

Putting aside the skills of the holy knights, he felt he had a rough idea of what kind of people they were. And Patrick's gaze turned to the magic swordsman from the Tower of Truth, who was being carried away after collapsing.

“Hmm…. I want that.”

In truth, what had caught Patrick's interest in this match was not Antorius, the promising genius of the Holy Theocracy, but the nameless magic swordsman from the Tower of Truth.

“For a martial artist, external items are ultimately a detour. That’s what I had understood, but…”

That seemed a bit different. Judging by his sword skills, the brat looked like he would get beaten by Isabella, but when he used the Soul Weapon, he became definitively stronger than Alex. This was a bit surprising.

‘A Soul Weapon…’

At first, he thought it was something similar to that sword called Isis or whatever, which the son of the Marquis Panola family had used before. But it was different. It was much more powerful than what the son of Marquis Panola had used back then, and the user was wielding its power much more skillfully. This was enough to pique Patrick's interest.

Even in Jianghu, there were occasionally unique weapons that were called divine arms. Weapons that could multiply one's martial prowess just by possessing them. Or weapons that allowed the user to display mysterious supernatural powers. But in the history of the Jianghu Murim, no owner of such a divine arm had ever reached the position of the strongest under the heavens. Because there was a clear disadvantage.

The stronger the weapon's power, the more the user is bound to mistake that power for their own. As a result, they focus more on using the power of the divine object in their hands rather than honing their own strength. The direction of their pursuit of martial arts becomes distorted. In the end, in the long run, a divine arm becomes a burdensome treasure that causes the user's realm to stagnate. But…

“First of all, this isn't Jianghu.”

The world was so different that it was a bit much to apply the common sense of Jianghu directly. And he had heard that a Soul Weapon was not something just anyone could handle. He knew that the user's skill and training were necessary to wield it. If so, couldn't that also be classified as a branch of martial study? Patrick licked his lips and spoke to Alex next to him.

“Senior, is there any way to get that weapon called a Soul Weapon?”

“There is.”

At the unexpected answer, Patrick's face lit up as he said.

“Huh? Really? How?”

“You can naturalize to the Tower of Truth.”

“…Is there no other way?”

“None. Even when the Emperor of the Empire requested one in the past, they firmly refused.”

“……”

“That is the top secret of the Tower of Truth.”

Just as Alex said. The Tower of Truth never allows Soul Weapons to be taken outside. On the rare occasion that a Soul Weapon is taken out or stolen without permission, the Tower of Truth will track down all involved parties to the ends of the earth, regardless of their status, and kill them all. Among those targets was even the royalty of a nation.

“Stingy bastards, they should share good things.”

Patrick grumbled. Well, he had expected it to some extent. It seemed the Soul Weapon was the top secret of the Tower of Truth. It was tempting, but not easy to take, which was a shame.

‘Well, good. I’ll look into that later and just focus on the tournament for now.’

* * *

The first day of Arcana proceeded smoothly. There were those who showed their prominence early on, and those who won while hiding their skills. In any case, the winners advanced to the second round, and the losers went down bitterly. One point of regret was that they did not get to see the skills of the Empire's championship contender, the Sword Saint's grandson.

“What a shame.”

“They say his skills surpass the Sword Saint's at his age.”

“No way it’s that much, right? It’s just something they say.”

“No, you never know.”

“Anyway, it's a shame we can't see it. It really is.”

The audience was also very disappointed that they could not see the Sword Saint's grandson's match, but it couldn't be helped. He had received one of the six seed tickets and won by default.

Skipping a match in a tournament could be very unfair. But people accepted it as if it were natural. It wasn't like the Sword Saint's grandson would fail to pass the first round anyway, and rather than running into a monster like that and failing to pass the first round, they just let it be.

At the end of the first day. What caught Patrick's eye were the elves who had come from the northernmost part of the continent. Patrick, whose heart was pounding with anticipation at seeing elves for the first time in his life, was soon disappointed.

“Hey, why are they all bundled up like that? Did they commit a crime?”

The reason Patrick grumbled was that the elves were tightly wrapped in black clothes from head to toe, and their faces were also covered with masks, leaving only their eyes visible.

He had been curious to see just how beautiful the race blessed by the gods with beauty was, but he hadn't expected them to appear like this.

Except for their long ears sticking out to the side, you wouldn't even know they were elves. To such a Patrick, Alex said.

“It can't be helped. It's to avoid unnecessary problems, they say.”

“Ahh… Come to think of it, they were a race with quite a tumultuous history.”

“Yes. Considering their past history, that's a natural measure.”

Elves. The people of the forest blessed by the spirits and a race blessed with beauty by the gods.

Their beauty and eternal youth until the moment of death had long been objects of greed for humans. Although they were now building friendly relations with humans, it had taken many trials and errors for the elven race to find an appropriate distance and interact with humans.

Not all humans are good, and not all humans are evil… It took a very long time to learn that one simple fact. The current elven race has made several rules to reduce friction with humans and maintain friendly relations, and one of them is that.

Do not show your bare face to humans carelessly. It is to hide themselves when active outside because the beauty of elves can become an object of greed for humans.

That's why the elves participating as representatives of Evergreen were all wearing hoods and covering their faces. Patrick knew that rule too. He knew, but…

“The fact that they're covering up so tightly makes me want to see it more.”

“Hey hey hey! You bastard.”

Alex was terrified and stopped him. But Patrick grinned and said.

“No, senior, aren't you even curious?”

“Don't. I'm telling you, don't.”

“Why is it that when someone tells me not to do something, I want to do it more?”

“You crazy bastard, we'll have a war with the elves!”

“Hahaha. Don't worry. Do you think I'd deliberately take off those masks?”

“…I think you would.”

“Correct!”

“You son of a bitch!”

Whether Alex was going crazy or not, Patrick just chuckled.