I Became a Genius Swordsman in the Pretty Girl Game-Chapter 291: Testing (4)

Alice bit her lip tightly at my suggestion to stop using the sword.

It was clear that, just as Swordmaster had said, she had become overly attached to it.

"Hmm... but something still feels off."

I recalled Alice's attack motions from when she was first introduced into the game.

My memory was a little hazy due to the many complex incidents we'd gone through since falling into the Velvet School Life world, but still...

"Back then, wasn’t she using a spear in her attack animations?"

I vaguely remembered her wielding a long weapon, but I wasn’t sure if it had been a spear or not.

There was something else that made me suspicious.

Her title.

If her main weapon really was a spear, there’s no way she would’ve earned the title of Sword Flower (劍花).

If she had been using a spear, she’d have been given a title like Spear Flower (槍花) or Spear Ghost (槍鬼) instead.

In any case, finding the weapon that best suits her was crucial to understanding her character, so I spoke to her again. This time, I tried to be a bit more light-hearted about her sword attachment.

"Oh, was that too sudden? Well, if you really want to keep using the sword, that's fine too."

"...Really?"

Alice asked me skeptically, her wariness apparent. I needed to ease that tension.

"Yeah, let's put the sword matter aside for now. Could you show me the skills you have against me?"

At this, Alice, who had been staring at me, sighed as if she'd expected this all along and picked up a long staff from the corner of the training ground.

"As I thought... when I asked her to show me her skills, she picked up a staff."

Skills.

The quickest way to determine a character's main weapon.

For Kang Do-hee, her skills like Blazing Kick and Fire Dragon Throw clearly showed her identity as a fighter who uses fists and feet.

For Lee Yu-ri, her skill Shield Resonance made it obvious that she was a tank who relied on shields.

So, asking to see skills was essentially asking her to reveal her main weapon.

Alice gripped the staff broadly and pointed it at me.

I, in turn, grabbed a wooden training sword, not a real blade.

"I asked you to use your skills on me."

Biting her lip, she responded in a low voice.

"Don't regret this."

"Don’t worry. Swing at me as hard as you like."

A soft, green mana began to rise like a shimmering haze over Alice’s staff.

Her grip tightened on the staff.

And then.

Alice swung the staff in a wide arc, sending it hurtling toward me.

Whoosh—

Sword Blossom Frenzy (劍花亂舞).

As she used her skill, the staff in her hand bent like a whip, striking toward Jin Yoo-ha.

Unlike when she wielded a sword, the staff felt as if it adhered to her hands, as if glued.

Jin Yoo-ha, wiping away his playful expression, lowered his gaze and raised his head slightly.

The staff passed just a hair's breadth away from his neck.

But her skill didn’t end there.

Whirr—

The staff, loosely held, spun naturally like a pinwheel in her hand.

With renewed centrifugal force, it lunged at Jin Yoo-ha again, even faster and stronger this time.

It was unsettling.

Even though she wasn’t trying to, her powerful strikes cut through the air as if painting with a brush.

Her mind began to blur, and she felt herself being forced into a state of unconscious concentration.

Whoosh—

In truth, Alice had always known.

She had always had more talent with this than with the sword.

It was impossible not to realize, given how naturally it flowed.

Despite struggling so hard to master swordsmanship, it came nowhere near how easily she could wield the staff.

It felt like something had been holding her back, as if someone had been grabbing her by the hair and forcing her to persist with the sword.

Her initial rejection of the spear probably stemmed from a rebellious urge against that very force.

Still, since she’d been asked to show her skills, she was determined to give it her all.

Grit.

She gritted her teeth and swung the staff harder.

As the rotation increased, the staff’s tip grew sharper, and its power multiplied.

Even without a blade, the amount of mana imbued into the staff made it dangerous.

However, Jin Yoo-ha dodged all her attacks with the slightest movements.

Swish— Swish—

Whirr—

Whoosh—

Thunk.

He dodged all of them...

Pant, pant...

Her breath came out in ragged gasps, and the staff stopped just before Jin Yoo-ha’s face.

The expressions of the people watching had noticeably changed.

When she was using a sword, they seemed to acknowledge her, but now, they saw her as a clear competitor.

Alice felt uneasy under their gazes.

And she expected Jin Yoo-ha to say it now.

That she needed to use a spear.

A sigh rose from within her.

However, once again, Jin Yoo-ha defied her expectations.

"Hmm... this isn't spear techniques, though."

"Wh-what!?"

There weren’t many characters in Velvet School Life that used spears, but they did exist.

Although there might not have been enough examples to generalize, I could still grasp a pattern.

Typically, characters who used spears would use the long reach to control enemies from mid-range, repeatedly stab, or charge a powerful attack imbued with mana, like a cannon shot.

But Alice was different.

What was it...?

Her attack range was mid-range, for sure.

But rather than stabbing, she slashed.

And instead of charging a single, powerful thrust, she performed consecutive strikes.

It felt like she was swinging a spear as if it were a sword.

"What is this...?"

I furrowed my brow, thinking of the spear-wielding characters I knew of.

"Hmm... this isn't really spear techniques, nor is it sword techniques. It feels like something in between. What is this?"

Whip—

Alice’s head shot up when I said it wasn’t a spear.

"What do you mean by that...?"

"Hold on, I need to think about this... Se-hee, can we use the virtual weapon creation system right now?"

"Yes, we can."

Shin Se-hee, who had been absentmindedly watching Alice’s attack, snapped back to reality and brought up the training ground’s holographic interface.

"What kind of weapon...?"

"First, scan ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) my Moonlight Blade."

When I pulled out my sword, a blue light scanned over it.

"Uh, it says the material level is too high to replicate..."

"It doesn’t need to be exactly the same, just match the weight and shape."

"Oh, got it."

Soon, a basic sword made of metal and wood appeared before us.

"Now, can you lengthen the handle?"

"The handle? By how much...?"

"About the length of a short spear."

As Shin Se-hee adjusted the program, the handle of the Moonlight Blade extended like a staff, and she let out a sound of realization.

"Oh, this... this looks like an Echoun Moonblade, right?"

"Echoun Moonblade?"

"Yeah, it's a long-handled blade, usually used for slashing, rather than stabbing. It’s like the kind of weapon you'd see in Romance of the Three Kingdoms—like the one Lady General Guan Yu uses, the Green Dragon Crescent Blade. Of course, that’s more spear-like than this, but..."

Oh.

I had just guessed and made this weapon, but it turned out it actually had a name.

And it wasn’t even a spear (槍), but a blade (刀).

So it made sense for her title to be Sword Flower after all!

"So, this type of artifact exists?"

"Yes, it’s not common, but it exists."

Shin Se-hee nodded with a slightly awkward expression.

I handed the virtual Echoun Moonblade to Alice.

After staring at it for a moment, she accepted it.

"This isn’t a spear; it’s a sword."

"A sword, not a spear..."

"So, what do you think? With this, you can honor Swordmaster’s will while still using a weapon that suits your talent."

Alice gave a small nod.

And at that moment...

Ding—♬

A cheerful bell rang in my ears.

And a semi-transparent screen appeared before me.

It looked like the long-awaited status window update!

[ Settlement complete. ]

But at the same time, something I hadn’t expected to happen occurred.

[ Due to your achievement in defeating one of the Four Demon Lords, Magesu, your star rank has increased. ]

Wait a minute.

Of course, rank increases are always welcome, but...

This is that thing, isn’t it...?

"Oh, crap... why now?"

"Huh? What’s wrong?"

Shin Se-hee tilted her head curiously, but I could only close my eyes in frustration as I saw the light gathering above me.

...Great, I’m about to put on another strip show in front of everyone.

And Alice is here too, who I'm still on awkward terms with!