That Unique Monster Who Just Got the 'Consciousness' Passive Skill

This quest was only luck. To finally figure the System out, the Skill Tab, or whatever it was that I was still ignorant of, I had planned on learning one skill before I came here. With this quest showing up, the bit of work I had to take care of was as if already done.

And so… I guess I only needed to fight and learn that one skill, eh? Leaning in, I placed one hand on the ground and one hand on my back before I forced my way up like a tired old man who had eaten too much. Next to me, the instructor, Kambe Streman, if that was the freak's name, did just about the same.

Standing like two columns ready to clash on the smooth dojo's parquet floor, we both stared at each other for a second, and I had found my friend back—the freaky swordsman. His happy, casual, and cheerful looks were nowhere to be seen. I took the time to close my eyes and sigh. The deep, blue color of my eyes turned chilly, and, after the mysterious swordsman took care of our eating stuff, I was raring to go.

The swordsman then stood in front of me, with his impassible face and widened stance. Presently, at least, I could take note that the swordsman, though stern and cold, didn't harbor the feelings of utter disgust he felt toward me earlier.

"They taught us the way of the sword," he said, omitting to clarify who "they" referred to. "This is all I know, boy, and so I will teach you with a sword, too."

Then, I really liked to think of other people as what they just are—wild animals. The words I was addressed with didn't bear any meaning at all. When the lone, gray wolf growled and snarled at me, I knew just what to reply: no words.

That was so long as no questions were directly asked to me, however. "They taught us the way of the sword… but I don't see yours, boy. …Why, or where is it?"

At the moment, I didn't have any weapon on me whatsoever. It had been like this ever since I got to become a citizen of a human society. Since I didn't need any weapon for any task at all, I simply didn't have any.

Still though. "I do have a sword, guild master."

Having said that, I turned my back on the bigger monster and walked a distance from him. From where the man stood, he hadn't moved one inch. The distance he kept from me was unchanged, and the one thing that changed was the murderous gleam in the human's eyes.

The guild master's expression turned stony as the atmosphere felt chilly and oppressing again. The swordsman didn't lose his goal from sight. Despite the System's descriptions and introductions to quests, in the end, I still didn't really understand any of that freak's background story, but I could tell the title's quest was fitting. "Monsters dancing together." Not that I cared about it anyway.

For the fourth time, I felt the swordsman's heavy assaulting murderous intent weighing on my back. This made me feel like I belonged here. Sighing, with happiness, I shrugged, grinning to myself.

A sword anyway? I said I had one, but… "You don't. Boy, do not make me lose my time. You need a sword in order to train—"

"Your chilly eyes again?" I sighed and shrugged. "From the beginning I understood you might be a misfit, too, like me, but… c'mon. At least try and hide it from people, why don't you."

If the swordsman had felt like answering me, he would have told me that he surely didn't feel like he had to hide from me… but he didn't say that. "Let it not bother you, let it not bother you… But your sword—"

"Of course not, ha-ha-ha." Turning back to him, I was ready to deal blows, then. "There's good." All I lacked was my sword.

"Your sword, boy. …Fair enough, here is your first lesson: Do not make me lose my time, boy. Also, do not make me repeat myself. You need a sword in order to train. You do not have one. …I will get you one." All the swordsman had to do was get to the neighbors next door and borrow some fighting gear from them. Easy to pull.

"...Aaah, but I'm telling you there's no need to trouble yourself… just wait a sec."

"Here is your second lesson, boy: There is a time for laughs and fun, and there is a time for work and discipline. …Boy, now is not the time for whatever fun—"

But I was serious. Fair enough, the swordsman was getting more and more pissed at his disciple for messing around, and I understood that. As I said, I was serious about a sword. The swordsman had to stop mid-sentence, maybe because he felt it. Then, with his hair standing, he observed my work with great adoration.

The truth was, there was a quest. "Learning the ropes!" from earlier, was the quest I accomplished with my party of monster-hunter friends earlier today. The quest was accomplished, but it didn't go away yet. As of now, it still answered my call when I summoned it forth.

❮ "Learning the ropes!" — Goblins dealt with 10/10 — Gray-claw wolves dealt with 3/3 — Quest has been accomplished — Accept and choose your reward(s). ❯

Up until now, the freaky swordsman kept insisting he would get me a sword, but at the very same time I naturally said, "Check out rewards, System," the man's chilly eyes widened with urgency.

"...Huh?" he said, leaving it at that.

I knew I shouldn't probably be playing around with the System right in front of someone I didn't know, but since I thought I was going to slay him, I didn't mind what I just did. Or rather, what the System just did.

…Ring!

❮ +1 level up — Reward checked. ❯

❮ The Player has reached level 43! ❯

"Oooh, sure been a long time, leveling up… What about the rest?"

❮ "Rookie's Dagger x1" — "Rookie's Sword x1" — "Rookie's Staff x1" — "Rookie's Bow x1" — Choose a reward. ❯

"The sword, obviously."

❮ The equipment "Rookie's Sword x1" — Level 15; +95 physical attack; A sword you obtain by completing an early quest of the Game — item has been obtained. ❯

From thin air, a regular sword was produced. White clouds of the purest mana were first produced, as the System usually did, and they formed into a sword mid-air. Before the sword dropped to the ground, I snatched it by the hilt.

"There you go, guild master, I got my own sword—"

Right at the same moment my hand went and grabbed it, it happened. It couldn't be more violent and loud, really, and it startled me a lot. "HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!"

"H-Hey…?" Why was he laughing so loudly all of a sudden as hysterically as he was? And he kept laughing like a madman. "I mean… are you all right?" That was some great mischievous and malicious laughter the swordsman had here; it was even worse than mine.

But the swordsman kept going at it. Stretching out his arms as if he embraced his folly, he continued to laugh the way he did as his grip on the bokken he held tightened more and more, making the wooden hilt crack. Well, as long as the man was happy. I could make out genuine happiness and surprise in his now stern expression. His grin was on point.

"Pardon me, pardon me," he said, finally calming down. "Ha… ha… ha-ha-ha," both laughing and half-sighing, he ended it, shaking his head. There really was a lot to discover about that freaky person. "Ahem." Presently, his stern and glacial expression took back over in no time.

"You really are 'it,' then," he mumbled to himself. "Then again… no, never mind, boy."

"'It'?"

"..."

"It, as in, Special, long-awaited disciple of yours…?"

"You said you wanted to kill me, didn't you, boy?"

"...I did. What about the 'it,' though?"

"Just come at me, fighter," the madman murmured. "Let's dance."

"Heh," I scoffed, shrugging and showing my palms to the swordsman.

Maybe he wanted to talk with swords. From this point onward, both he and I didn't speak any more words. He had called me a fighter, and he was right. I recognized he was a fighter, too.

Both fighters were here. Filling up the better part of the empty dojo with their aura only, adding pressure to the whole structure together, threatening to break it at any time.

The swordsman's hands gripped a wooden sword, but I had a lethal, metallic one. I didn't realize it until now, but I was now sure that this would be the weapon with which the swordsman decided to fight me—his sword may have been one carved out of wood, but it looked deadlier than my regular sword.

The dojo was totally engulfed in our clashing auras, but the bigger fighter had the upper hand. My senses told me that. I nonetheless braced for impact and dashed with my head tilted forward.

I'll kill him, I thought. Just as per the plan.

Clang!

The two swords clashed so rapidly. My steel faced the opponent's wood, but instead of cutting through it like butter, before finally cutting through the man's stomach, my sword bounced off. It felt as if I hit the sturdiest of obstacles.

And the backlash issued from that single blow was enormous. It felt heavy. So much so that I had to dart backward right off the bat in order to take some time off. A second was enough, and the swordsman didn't make to rush at me after he parried my blow. Right after I landed, my leg burst out again and I was propelled toward the swordsman again.

My sword swung at him, but again, I was parried. All it took from the swordsman was a single well-directed blow of his wooden stick; I had to step back.

Again, my feet landed back on the smooth tile of the dojo, and I was blasted off toward the swordsman for another round. With astounding speed, I met face-to-face with the swordsman but was parried again.

No more flying around recklessly: I had to think up some strategy.