Chương 13: Muscle Memory

After increasing his stats through the status window and figuring out how the Void Skills worked, Yuto walked outside. Shariel was sitting in front of a campfire on a chair. He glanced at her, then at his surroundings. He clearly remembered being at a public cemetery right before he passed out, but right now he was in a forest he couldn't identify. He had just walked out of the cabin that belonged to the forest keeper.

"Hmm." Shariel's one exposed eye gleamed at him as she drank in front of the fire.

"Many things have changed about you now. Are you finally awake? Maybe that's it." Shariel tilted her head as she spoke. The real reason was that he had invested in his stats through the status window, but he couldn't tell her that.

"How long was I unconscious?" he asked.

"A day," Shariel said with a shrug. She didn't seem to have been expecting an answer, anyway.

"Let me guess what you're about to ask me next.

'What is this place?' Am I wrong?"

"You're correct."

"Heh. Just so you know, I don't know how to read minds. I simply guessed because it was obvious what you were about to ask. Well, anyway, this is a forest, as you can see." Shariel chuckled and waved her bottle.

"This forest probably has a name, but I don't know what it is. What I can tell you is that there is a city nearby named Oltea. It's not a big city, just one in the countryside belonging to the Valisthera Empire. Yesterday you fainted in a public cemetery in that city."

"So why am I in this forest now?" She laughed.

"Why? Can't you figure it out? The Crimson Ringmistress, that monster, visited the city and released her power. I was passing by when I noticed that and paid a little visit to find out what was going on. I suppose the world will soon find out about the tragedy that unfolded in the underground Colosseum of Oltea." She took a few sips from her bottle and put it back down.

"Well, it's nothing new for her to be killing people, even if she killed a noble. That noble was nobody in particular. People won't make much of it other than to say that she was unlucky. But if somebody were to want back the treasures that I took from that place, it would be quite troublesome. That is why I left the city," Shariel said. She stared at Yuto's face briefly.

"You are lucky, boy, in more ways than one. Not only did you survive a meeting with her, but I have also taken you under my wing. You don't have to worry about somebody demanding an explanation for the fact that you were the sole survivor. It was that idiot noble who invited the Ringmistress, so everyone will think she brought it upon herself."

"Is... Is that right?"

"Yes, I did some research after I set you aside in that cabin. The name of the noblewoman who controlled that city was Ervina Carres. She was a daughter of House Carres, of Valisthera. A half-sister of the current head of the family." According to her research, Ervina—Eville—had been abandoned by her family. She had received the authority to rule the city according to the will of the previous head of the family, but the current head was very unhappy about that.

Now that she was dead, the city would fall under the control of her brother, who currently led the family. He had never liked his half-sister, and she had brought about her own destruction through this monster. He would be happy to hear the news.

"In other words," Shariel said with a smile.

"There will be no trouble about my bringing you around."

"Why do you want to do that?"

"I think I already explained the reason to you. You look like a smart person, but maybe I misjudged you."

"I remember you telling me that you wanted me to repay you, but how could I—""And I told you that I would think about it later. All right, Yuto, enough of this boring talk. Now that you're awake, fight me." Shariel stood up, dusting off her lap. Yuto narrowed his eyes.

"Fight you? This is sudden."

"I am interested in your power," Shariel said with a smile.

"Do you think I am doing this out of the kindness of my heart? I'm not such a person. You interest me, and I want something from you. That is the only reason I'm taking care of you right now." Yuto watched her silently.

"So fight me. Or do you need a weapon first? Here. Take this." Shariel kicked a sword at her feet toward him. It flew through the air and he snatched it with his hand. It was the same sword that he had brought with him out of the Colosseum.

"You don't have to go easy on me. As I'm sure you have noticed, I am a very strong person," she said, baring her white teeth in a grin. Yuto adjusted his grip on his sword. He didn't hate the idea of fighting her. In fact, he was glad of this opportunity. Some vague memories were coming back to him, and he wanted to find out what kind of impact his new stats had on his body. This fight would also teach him more about how powerful this woman was.

He propelled himself forward, and his body moved at a speed that was far greater than before. The stats had clearly enhanced his physical strength. Having closed the distance in the blink of an eye, he swung his sword at her shoulder. She had told him herself that he shouldn't go easy on her, and he knew by instinct that she was so strong that the idea of making this fight easier for her would be a travesty. Shariel used a single finger to push the blade to the side.

That was enough to distort the swing entirely, and Yuto's sword split the air quite far away from where Shariel stood.

She let it glance past her. She hadn't blocked it. She had just used a single finger to twist the angle. It was the same thing that Yuto had done in the Colosseum, only she had used only a finger. Yuto hid his surprise and retrieved his weapon. He didn't try to force the sword to move back to its original angle, and instead used its momentum to spin his body around. The sword now moved laterally, carrying the weight of his current movement, and went for her waist.

"Hmm," she said, sounding as if she were appraising him. She took half a step backward, and that was enough to move her out of the way of danger.

"You didn't try to force your sword back into position and adapted to the new motion. Not a bad call," Shariel said calmly, nodding.

"Continue." Yuto gritted his teeth. What ensued was an endless fight. He swung downward and upward, stabbed, feinted from different angles, and abruptly switched stances. This series of attacks was far faster and more deadly than any that he had used at the Colosseum. None of them made contact, not even with her clothes. She kept her hands behind her back and made only slight motions to avoid most of the attacks. Sometimes she stretched out a single finger to make the sword glance off elsewhere.

After a while, his breathing grew uneven. Even with the additional stats, he was nearing his limit. Shariel, on the other hand, didn't seem at all out of breath. In fact, she hadn't moved more than three steps away from her original position.

"Indeed," she said, snickering at him.

"All right, one final attack. Use your full strength." Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. Yuto did not respond. Instead, he squeezed out every last bit of strength from his body. Crackling ether came from him and covered his sword. Shariel's eyes shone. The enhanced sword went for her neck at the highest speed and strength that he could currently manage. It collided noisily with her finger and broke instantly.

The broken part of the blade twirled through the air and fell some distance away. Yuto froze, still holding the hilt of his blade.

"Alright, time for my opinion," Shariel said. She still kept her hands behind her back, as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened, and quietly walked in a circle around him.

"You have excellent technique. How old are you again?"

"I... don't know."

"Right, you said you couldn't remember your past. Hmm, you seem to be about twelve. Let's just assume that you are. In any case, children like you are rare, able to wield the sword as you do, with a body this size. However." Shariel's visible eye narrowed.

"You are relying too much on your instincts. I sense no reasoning ability behind your blade. Your eyes provide the information that your instincts react to, and your instincts control your body. That is all there is to it. It is as if you are relying on muscle memory alone." She was precisely correct. Yuto looked down at his broken sword. He had never thought about his attacks before executing them. His body moved on its own, and that had been enough, at least at the Colosseum.

"You said you had lost your memory," Shariel said, pausing and watching him.

"The skill that your body remembers is not your own. I suppose you must have learned how to wield the sword properly in the past. You must have reached incredible levels of skill considering your age." Yuto listened.

"But let's set that aside for the time being. Right now, you simply rely on your body's instincts to fight. I feel like there is wasted potential here. You can never exceed your instincts, because they are the only thing you are relying on. You could do far better than this." She wagged her finger.

"But enough talking about swords. This time, show me that power." Shariel's eyes gleamed with interest. Yuto gulped and took a step back.

"Power? What power?" he asked.

"Don't lie to me. That black thing that was rampaging inside you last night, I was the one who quieted it. Are you going to try to deceive me?" she asked. She was not someone from whom he could hide it. She had seen the Void lose control in him, torn it apart with her bare hands, and put it back inside his body.

"There is no need for you to hesitate. You don't seem capable of handling that strength properly. This is a great opportunity. I will teach you myself how it is to be done," she whispered to him. Yuto hesitated, then put down his broken sword.

All right. He didn't trust her, but it was true that she had saved him while he had been unconscious. In fact, even if he hadn't been unconscious, she could have killed him at any moment.

I have to know anyway. He had to figure out how effective this power would be in actual combat. He wouldn't be able to know that from trying it out inside the cabin by himself. He focused his mind and drew upon his ether. The dark ether filled his entire body. At the same time, the present and the past began to mix inside his mind. The past was still vague and unclear to him, and came with a mix of various emotions. Anger, hatred, bloodlust, and the desire for revenge cluttered his mind. He set his teeth.

Now that he was using ether to its full potential, instead of just testing out the techniques, all of these negative emotions came to him. His teeth ground against each other. He tried to calm himself for a moment, but this was overridden by the thought that there was actually no need for him to do so. With a crackle of static, a dark hand shot out from behind his back. It was a massive hand made of rippling darkness, and it moved according to his desire to kill, flying at Shariel.

"Hmm." Shariel did not move out of the way. She just reached out towards the hand gently. There was a massive noise as the two hands collided. Her pale, seemingly fragile hand struck the massive, dark one and made it bounce away. The Void Hand tried multiple times to grab her, but she struck it away each time.

"I see. So that's how it works." She looked at the struggling hand with interest.

Now!

Yuto jumped into action with Void Steps. Darkness swayed underneath him, and suddenly, he vanished. He reappeared behind her back in her blind spot. This was an ambush that nobody could track, since it was instantaneous movement. Yuto coated his fist with ether and tried to strike her in the back. What he took to be the perfect ambush turned out to be anything but.

"It seems you have many tricks up your sleeve," Shariel said. Yuto's vision flipped upside down. Before he realized it, he was lying in the dirt on his back. He couldn't even figure out what had just happened. The moment he thought he had caught her off guard, the world spun around him.

"It's quite interesting," she said, laughing down at him.

"A movement technique that transports you instantly through space. That's an intriguing power. But child, you were unable to erase your presence even if you could jump through the air like that. I could sense where you would appear next the moment you vanished." She nodded down at him.

"What a bizarre thing that is. On many levels, it could be very powerful depending on how you use it. Though right now, it's not too impressive. Child, you must learn to properly harness your power first of all."

"Why..." Yuto said, glaring.

"Why are you still calling me 'child'? I told you my name."

"Hmm? Hahaha! I only asked you out of curiosity. I decide what to call you, not you. I have deemed you unworthy of being addressed by name. So, 'child' it is." She muffled her laughter and held out her hand.

"You wield the sword using only instinct and are ignorant about that mysterious power of yours. What else could I call you?" Yuto got up without taking her hand.

"Who are you, exactly?"

"I believe I already told you my name."

"A name which is made up."

"You are not worthy of hearing my real name. Take what you can see and accept it. I am not human, as you can see." Shariel smiled at him and pointed to her ears.

"I'm part elf. Do you know what an elf is? You might remember it from one of your memories. They are a non-human race that lives in a land very far away, on the Continent of Vermira. My name is Shariel, and as for my age... I'm not going to tell you. A woman must have her secrets. What else should I tell you? I am immensely strong. I'm not the sort of person who should be wasting time training the likes of you."

"So why bother?"

"You're making me repeat myself endlessly. I plan to collect my debt from you one day. That is why I am doing this." Shariel put her hand on his head after he got up unsteadily. He flinched and tried to move her hand away, but before he could, she ruffled his hair.

"And I am very interested in that strange ability of yours. Does that come from a Constellation? I simply can't figure it out. It's so bizarre and exotic. I don't have a Constellation myself, so I don't know much about them."

"What...?" Yuto said, taken aback.

"You don't have a Constellation?"

"Why do you seem so surprised? There are many more people in this damnable world of Callisto who don't have a Constellation to protect them than those who do."

"Yes, but..."

"As I told you, I'm of mixed blood. You might even call me a half-blood. Elves have their own Constellations. But since I am part human, that path wasn't open to me. The human Constellations did not choose me either." Shariel moved her hand away.

"In other words, what power I have, I have achieved based on my own ability. That is what makes me so impressive. Are you not impressed with me yet?" Yuto had to admit that he was. In this world, all measures of power depended on the Constellations in the end. Among the humans, only the nobles could establish a contract with the Constellations, and their interest resulted in their protection, which manifested as power. As a result, the poor and the commoners could never disobey the nobles.

But Shariel had grown so strong without the help of one. Shariel smiled, satisfied by Yuto's shock and marveling, and nodded.

"You are finally looking at me with respect. Doesn't this activity make you hungry, child?"

"What...?"

"Come here and sit. You're going to have to eat plenty if you want to grow. I'll share some of my finger foods with you." Yuto blinked, not sure what to make of this. She had given him bread and milk not too long ago, and now she was offering him even more food. She stuck her bare hand into the fiercely burning flames, pulled out a well-cooked potato, and held it out to him.

"But I'm not hungry—""Don't refuse when an adult offers you something," she said. He had no choice but to take it. He reached out carefully, but flinched at how hot the potato was. She laughed out loud.

"Oh, I suppose it's too hot for you. I'll give it to you once it cools. Come sit beside me." She was difficult to figure out. She was immensely powerful, obviously, and her tone was solemn, but sometimes she could be so frivolous. Yuto sat a slight distance away from her.

"I'm sure you have understood by now that I look upon you quite favorably and that I don't plan to kill you," she said, staring at him.

"Yes, you could kill me anytime you pleased, but you haven't done that yet," he said.

"That is correct. Then have you also understood that you must accompany me now?"

"No, I have not."

"Well, I won't force it on you. I'm going to take you along with me, anyway. Who knows what will happen to you if you wander through this ugly world without even knowing who you are?" She began to peel the potato.

"So accompany me and do your best to remember. I will even teach you how to use that special power of yours." He hesitated briefly, then nodded his head. To be frank, he had nothing to lose by accepting this proposition.

At least for now, anyway. He still didn't know what she was planning to ask of him in return.