As night fell, Toguro Hachidan watched the young man walking back up the cliffside path. He turned to the portly taxi driver with a frown.
"Boro, are you sure he actually finished the job Master Tao gave him?"
"In less than… half a day?"
In truth, it had taken even less ti than Hachidan imagined. Boro was sweating profusely as he ate, wiping his brow with the back of his hand. He would swear on his life that the handso young man was a stone-cold killer.
He had watched with his own eyes as the man took a briefcase full of money from the car, walked into a weapon shop, and ca back out with several guns and even more money.
It was the posture of soone who had absolutely no regard for the law or for human life.
"Yeah… probably," Boro mumbled. He wanted nothing to do with people like that, so he gave a vague answer and went back to his food, ignoring Hachidan.
Kaito walked up the slick mountain path under the cover of darkness. The wind was stronger at night, and a thick, wet fog blanketed the entire trail.
He carried a briefcase in each hand, his clothes soaked through by the misty rain. But his steps were light, as if he were looking forward to a good rest at the mountaintop inn.
Clatter.
A loose stone tumbled down the path, struck a black rock at a switchback, and then fell over the cliff edge.
"You seem to be in a good mood."
"Is it because you think you're so clever? Figured out the true nature of Master Tao's trial, did you?"
The man's raspy voice was indistinct in the fog, so faint that it was nearly lost in the wind.
A figure erged from the mist at the corner of the path. He held a curved scimitar in each hand, turning them slowly and flicking droplets of water into the air.
Kaito stopped. He recognized the man with the red bandana.
"Master Tao's true trial…" Kaito said, feigning ignorance. "What's that?"
At that mont, the wind began to die down, and the fog started to thin.
The man with the twin blades was fully revealed. He was thin, with long, rain-slicked hair that gave him a wild, disheveled look. Kaito noted that in almost every ani or movie, swordsn were depicted this way, as if this unkempt look was the only way to signal to the audience that… his blade is fast.
The man wasn't wearing his red bandana. Instead, the cloth was wrapped around a round object at his feet.
Noticing Kaito's gaze, he deliberately kicked the bundle forward.
"You're a smart one, but not smart enough. You figured it out a little too late."
"Master Tao's requirent was that the person who completes their mission and earns the most prize money will be taken as his disciple."
The bundle rolled and ca undone, revealing what was inside: a human head, slightly bloated from the rain.
"I figured it out as soon as my taxi left town," the swordsman said, his voice a cruel rasp. "All I have to do is wait here at the mountain pass and kill every single one of you as you return. Then, by default, I will be Master Tao's disciple."
"So, I imdiately cut off the driver's head and ca back."
His smile was brutal.
Kaito let go of the briefcases, which fell to the ground with a soft thud.
The man imdiately took two quick, steady steps forward, shifting his grip on the scimitars to a reverse hold. This grip shortened his reach but allowed for an incredibly fast and near-impenetrable flurry of strikes.
"Careful now, kid. That's my prize money you've got there. I need it for Master Tao."
Kaito looked at the man who had apparently beheaded his driver and rushed back to lie in wait for his rivals. A genuinely interested smile finally touched his lips.
This world was definitely the right place for him. This way of thinking… it was perfectly in sync with his own.
Kaito feigned a reach toward his waist, where the grip of his black submachine gun was visible.
The swordsman's expression changed. On a narrow mountain path like this, a firearm was an imnse threat. He instantly lunged forward, his body low to the ground.
"Beyond seven paces, the gun is faster. Within seven paces, the blade is faster!"
SHING!
The sound of blades cutting through the air was like the buzzing of a dragonfly's wings. A sliver of moonlight broke through the clouds, and the cold glint of steel flashed in the darkness.
Kaito stepped back, his upper body bending backward with the fluid grace of a water snake.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Three lightning-fast strikes sliced through the mist where he had been a second before.
BANG!
A gunshot rang out at almost the sa instant, its report echoing off the cliffs.
"You…"
The swordsman stared at Kaito, his eyes wide with disbelief.
In the middle of his dodge, a silver revolver had materialized out of thin air in his opponent's right hand. Was this guy a psychic?
And…
That dodge… it was the exact sa motion that damn woman had used…
"Damn it…"
He looked down at the hole in his chest. His strength was fading fast, and his consciousness quickly dimd to black.
[You have killed Feren the Swordsman. You have gained 100 Dinsional Points.]
[Milestone Update: Genocider (4/100)]
Kaito straightened up, the gun in his hand vanishing as suddenly as it had appeared. Only then did he speak his rebuttal.
"Within seven paces, the gun is both accurate and fast."
In truth, he had no real experience with firearms. He wasn't sure he could have hit the man if he hadn't already seen his attack pattern earlier that day and if the distance wasn't so close.
But ultimately, in this terrain, once he had a gun, his opponent stood little chance unless he was a true top-tier martial artist. Kaito's Agility was also very high. If the swordsman had been stronger, Kaito could have simply pretended to flee backward down the narrow path, giving his opponent no room to dodge the bullets.
Kaito ntally summoned the silver revolver back into his hand. It was part of the haul from when he had decided to rob that weapon shop on a whim.
[Revolver - Misfortune's Knock]
[Quality: Blue (Excellent)]
[Description: A famous bounty hunter used this gun to kill over one hundred wanted criminals, only to choke to death on his dinner one day.]
[Low reload speed, dium stopping power.]
[Effect 1: Misfortune's Knock - This weapon has a higher chance of striking an enemy's vitals. This effect has a negative modifier based on the user's Marksmanship proficiency.]
[Effect 2: Misfortune's Arrival - While holding this weapon, your Marksmanship proficiency is lowered by 2 levels. After every 6 shots fired, your Luck attribute will receive a temporary negative modifier.]
It was a unique and excellent-quality revolver. The barrel was long, making the total length of the gun over twenty centiters, and it was heavier than a standard pistol. Loaded with .357 Magnum rounds, it weighed nearly two kilograms.
Not only could it be taken out of this world and stored in his [Inventory], but it was also a nad piece of equipnt.
The gun's effects were particularly interesting. The [Misfortune] effect was negatively impacted by a user's skill, aning the better a marksman you were, the lower the chance of it triggering. Conversely, for soone with no shooting experience like Kaito, a random shot was more likely to have the miraculous effect of hitting a vital point. Of course, it also ca with so negative side effects, but Kaito hadn't felt them yet.
Kaito stored the revolver back in his inventory and was about to search the swordsman's body when sothing materialized above the corpse.
A white card hovered in the air, spinning slowly.
Kaito reached out and grabbed it.
[You have obtained a White Drop Card.]
[Drop Card - Feren the Swordsman]
[Quality: White]
[Description: This is a common drop card. It may contain unique skills or items from Feren the Swordsman.]
[Effect: Crush to open.]
Kaito imdiately crushed it in his hand.
[You have opened the White Drop Card - Feren the Swordsman.]
[You have obtained 300 Dinsional Points.]
[You have obtained Scroll - Dual Wielding Proficiency (Rare).]
With a sweep of his foot, Kaito kicked the innocent driver's severed head off the cliff. He then shoved the swordsman's body over the edge after it. His attention was focused on the blue scroll in his hand.
[Dual Wielding Proficiency]
[Quality: Blue (Excellent)]
[Description: A scroll containing the essence of a martial technique. It can help you unlock the proficiency for dual wielding weapons.]
[Effect 1: If used by a Reincarnator without the Dual Wielding skill, they will gain Dual Wielding Proficiency Lv1.]
[Effect 2: If used by a Reincarnator who has already mastered Dual Wielding, their skill will be slightly improved.]
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