Akashi The World's Least Interesting Master Swordsman: Volume 10

1. Auflage 2026
ISBN: 978-1-7183-6966-5
Verlag: J-Novel Club
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)

E-Book, Englisch, 250 Seiten

Reihe: The World's Least Interesting Master Swordsman

The strongest swordsman...is defeated? After a blissful wedding, Sansui Shirokuro accompanies his master, Suiboku, on what could be his final journey. They're headed to Tengu, home to the practitioners of an art that almost defeated Suiboku some years ago. When they arrive, Sansui agrees to spar with the villagers-though he soon finds himself entangled in a battle he can't afford to lose!

Autoren/Hrsg.

Akashi, Rokurou

Weitere Mitwirkende

Shiso

Willis, Jade

Leseproben

Chapter 2 — A Secluded Place

Part 12 — Terminus

Suiboku was a man targeted by many nations. He was a craftsman capable of making Coiled Peaches, Divine Ginseng, and noble treasures. Possessing power beyond human understanding and a corresponding sense of pride, he had been furious by the recent actions of these nations encroaching on himself and his home for their own selfish gain. he had thought at the time. However, thanks to displays of power by Sansui and Shouzo, the surrounding nations withdrew their hands from Suiboku. Peace returned, and he resumed his carefree life of traveling between the royal capital and the forest as before.

Unlike Sansui, Suiboku possessed vast amounts of wisdom, knowledge, and technique, and he had been teaching at the academy in the capital. However, this was the last day he would do so.

In a room, men lay disrobed to their underwear on cloth-covered tables. Clusters of other men huddled around them in sterile clothing, all referencing their textbooks as they inserted thin needles into the bodies of the men on the tables. From the perspective of what was considered normal in the kingdom, it was an unthinkably bizarre scene. It looked like nothing but torture practice. Why else would anyone stick needles—no matter how thin they were—into people? But the men receiving the needles did not seem to be in terrible pain. They grimaced when the needles went in, of course, but it was not unbearable. And although the needles were inserted quite deeply, almost no blood came out.

“Mm, mm...good, good. The Art of Needle Puncturing is dangerous, so you must read your textbooks carefully, examine the patient, and perform the procedure with care. Do not rush—be thorough. And if the patient’s condition worsens, call me immediately.”

Suiboku was currently instructing them in Needle Puncturing techniques. This medical art was dangerous, yes, but with practice, anyone could learn it. This technique had been relatively widespread in his homeland of Hanafuda, and he had introduced it to this land as well.

“The placement of the needles is important, but so is determining what part of the patient is unwell. If you realize the case is beyond your ability, seek assistance from a magic user.”

Those serving as practice subjects were workers from the castle whom Suiboku had selected. They each had some physical condition that needed treatment, and though nervous, they cooperated with the training.

So thought the students learning Needle Puncture, feeling apologetic.

Meanwhile—

—the ones receiving treatment were far more terrified of the monster who could move even the forest itself.

After finishing the Needle Puncturing instruction, Suiboku moved to another classroom to teach the methods of Ki Wave and Ki Blade. They were techniques he had once been reluctant to teach Sansui, yet had decided were necessary. The students in this class were both adults and children, but despite their wide range of ages, they shared one quality: All of them wielded the Hex Arts—Curse Power.

With the exception of Tainted Blood, one’s personality wasn’t determined by the power one carried. Even so, many felt insecure about themselves—and thus sought the proper path all the more. Both the young and the grown trainees strongly wished to learn Ki Wave and the Ki Blade—techniques that could be activated through Hex Arts. And responding to that wish was the spirit of an Immortal.

“You lot have managed to use Ki Wave and the Ki Blade to some extent now. You’re nowhere near the level of my disciple, Sansui, nor of Ran, who bore the Silver Demon Style...but you at least manifest the techniques.”

By “level,” Suiboku did not mean power. He meant issues like: needing several seconds after touching an opponent before the Ki Wave would fire; lacking the core strength to withstand the blow and thus being sent flying backward; or having too many unnecessary movements. Without a solid grasp of the basics, any attempt to move on to practical application or advanced techniques would fail to produce proper results. However, Suiboku was already planning to leave this land. Regretful and pained as he was, he decided to teach the applications first.

“Ki Wave and the Ki Blade were once known in this region as nonattribute magic, but they were eventually wiped out by the magic that ninety-nine percent of people could use, causing their traditions to vanish. Which is to say, Ki Wave and the Ki Blade are inherently inferior to magic.”

This was something the students themselves had already suspected. Even if they mastered these techniques, they doubted they could defeat a mage of equal level. Suiboku or Sansui could compensate for their weaknesses through their Immortal Arts, but Hex Arts couldn’t provide such support. Not that any of them wanted to study the Hex Arts to begin with.

“But that is merely an issue of how they are used. Against someone like this academy’s headmaster or the likes of Blois—top-tier experts—there is no hope...but against an ordinary mage, the techniques work well enough if you use them cleverly.”

Suiboku clapped his hands sharply, calling someone over. From outside the classroom stepped a soldier wearing a solemn expression. He was no royal guard—just an ordinary soldier employed by the castle. His face was stiff with tension.

“I shall fight this man using only the Ki Blade and Ki Wave. Watch closely and learn.”

Suiboku said it lightly, but to the soldier it was an outrageous proposition. His opponent was Sansui’s master—the strongest monster in the world.

Though his face was twisted with fear, refusing would have been even more frightening, so the soldier had reported as ordered. The students gathered to observe Suiboku and the soldier’s match with earnest, focused looks.

“Come.”

“Y-Yes, sir!”

The soldier readied his sword in his dominant hand and a shield in the other—standard issue, extremely ordinary equipment. Facing him, Suiboku held a wooden sword, just as he usually did.

“Then—!”

With a , the soldier’s blade ignited. He had activated fire magic—something almost everyone in this world could use. Seeing that, the students could not suppress a sense of inferiority when comparing it to their own ability, Curse Power.

“Hah!”

The soldier charged in with a bold, decisive swing. The possibility of killing or injuring Suiboku was so far outside the realm of reality, it was not even a thought in his head. He swung with full abandon.

“Good.”

Suiboku simply stepped back and dodged. It was a movement obvious to both the soldier and the students.

“A sword imbued with fire magic cannot be fully taken by a Ki Blade. Whether it’s a wooden blade or a steel one in your opponent’s hands, if you try to clash head-on, you’ll lose.”

You can’t block it, so you retreat—perfectly normal logic. But when Suiboku did it, it felt like some kind of terrifying wisdom. In reality, he was merely demonstrating a technique even beginners could easily learn.

“However, a burning sword is troublesome for its wielder as well. It’s not as though the flames spare the one holding it. Since its heat affects the user too, the angles you can swing from become limited.”

Even hearing that, the soldier felt nothing new—this had been drilled into him thoroughly. When using a flaming sword, one either raises it high overhead, holds it in front, or spreads it out to the side. In any case, the wielder must position it so that the flames and heat don’t scald his own body.

“That said, he has a shield. A shield can sufficiently cover the blind spots of a flaming sword. Basic logic.”

Suiboku swung his wooden sword in a completely ordinary strike—so plain that both soldier and students could follow it easily. The soldier, with trained movement, caught the blow on his shield. Suiboku had chosen an angle where the flaming sword couldn’t block it—if he’d tried, he’d have burned himself—so he’d had to use the shield. Since the strike was nothing unusual, the soldier’s reaction was routine and unsurprised.

“Of course, attacking from an angle that neither shield nor sword can defend against is difficult. If we had a spear, it would be different, but then the spear itself could end up being burned.”

This too was basic military knowledge in this country. Any revolutionary ideas a novice might think up had long since been tested, and only the most refined, rugged techniques survived.

“But there are still plenty of ways to approach it...”

Suiboku struck again, once more in a way that was easy to follow. Again, it was an angle the flaming sword couldn’t defend, one that should be taken with the shield. Naturally, just like before, the shield caught it. However, unlike last time, Suiboku did not pull back. Instead, after striking the shield with his wooden sword, he pushed in, applying more and more force. It became...