Chapter 12: The Perpetual Motion Machine

After all, this was Garen’s first battle against humans in the world of pirates. He had underestimated his own strength and overestimated the enemy’s resilience. After all, in the original comics, though the fights were intense, very few actually died in battle. It was as if everyone had the blood of Mundo or the Barbarian King, able to stand up after losing buckets of blood, unleashing a desperate last stand, and returning to full health and energy after just a few hours’ rest.

But when Garen, filled with rage, swung his sword at the grinning pirate before him, he finally understood the words of the great philosopher, Emiya Shirou: If you kill someone, they will die.

The first to react was the mechanical chime of the system in Garen’s mind: “Target eliminated, experience gained…” The notification sounded three times in a row, which meant his single swing had claimed three lives. The experience bar in Garen’s system interface surged, nearly reaching the threshold for level two.

Where his heavy sword swept, carnage followed. The enemy was densely packed, and the effectiveness of Garen’s sword in reaping lives was staggering. The impenetrable encirclement was instantly smashed open, leaving a gaping hole. The pirates who had moments before worn bloodthirsty grins now stood frozen, chills running down their spines.

The scene was gruesome, the kind of bloodshed that would defy any sense of decency if described in detail. Garen felt a vague disgust, but perhaps due to the digitization of his body, he experienced no physical discomfort. The steel blades still bristling in front of him left no time to dwell on his mental state.

Without hesitation, Garen unleashed the only skill he had mastered so far: “Decisive Strike!” He raised his sword and charged toward the breach he had created, his final target the enraged Steelblade standing not far away. The thirty-percent speed boost made his whole body feel weightless, while the radiant golden glow swirling around his sword seemed to amplify his strength.

“Stop him!” Steelblade roared at his stunned underlings, then sneered as he issued a more rousing order: “Kill this guy! Afterward, I’ll lead you to sack this entire island!”

True pirate that he was, Steelblade took pride in his power, but he was never the honorable type who fought fair. Sacrificing his crew to wear down a formidable foe was his usual tactic.

In the minds of the pirate lackeys, Garen’s display of force was nothing compared to the terror inspired by their ruthless captain, and the prospect of looting the town stoked their greed and cruelty. With wild screeches and howls to mask their fear, emboldened by numbers, they charged at Garen like moths drawn to flame.

Seeing his plan to strike down the enemy leader thwarted, Garen was forced to halt in the onrushing mob. Unable to unleash Decisive Strike on his intended foe, he redirected the skill toward some hapless minion in his way. The golden sword cleaved down amidst the crowd.

The so-called extra damage described in the skill was vague in words but brutally clear in effect when applied to fragile human bodies. Unlike the three slain by ordinary attacks, this unfortunate minion met a gruesome end from Garen’s skill, his death as dramatic as if torn apart by hand.

“Target eliminated, experience gained.” The system chimed again: “You have reached level 2.”

Garen felt a sudden jolt in his body as strange changes swept over him in an instant: speed, strength, stamina—every physical attribute surged dramatically.

The previously dim skill panel lit up—a sign he could now learn further abilities. Oddly, perhaps because Decisive Strike was already at full effect at level one, Garen found he couldn’t upgrade it further.

Crash! Two heavy blades struck his back, the clash against his armored mail ringing out sharply, and Garen’s health bar dropped a notch. Now was not the time to study the system.

Regaining focus, Garen unhesitatingly allocated his skill point to his E ability, Judgment. Its description was peculiarly brief: “Spin rapidly with your sword for three seconds.”

Even under attack, Garen couldn’t help but quip to himself: Isn’t this just swinging a big sword around? What’s the difference between spinning with a skill and spinning on my own?

The difference became clear at once. In the press of pirates, Garen activated his newly acquired Judgment. Unlike spinning on his own, using the skill was—fast!

Suddenly, Garen became like a human top, whirling his greatsword at terrifying speed in the sea of blades and bodies. The sword spun so rapidly it whipped up the air into a violent whirlwind. Any pirate struck by the spinning blade was as if sucked into a full-throttle meat grinder—blood and flesh flew everywhere.

With each sweep of the spinning top, swathes of enemies fell, the efficiency far surpassing ordinary attacks. Garen’s experience bar surged again, nearly reaching level three. This experience system differed from the original game: early levels required little experience, but each subsequent level demanded exponentially more.

At the same time, Garen noticed another unscientific aspect of the skill: as his spinning sword collided with enemy bodies, the most that happened was a slight change in its trajectory, but neither speed nor power diminished. The output remained at one hundred percent.

No one could stop him from spinning.

When the three seconds ended, not a single enemy was left standing near Garen. Blood, shattered blades, and torn garments were all churned together, dyeing the ground a fearsome crimson. His brilliant armor was now soaked in blood, gleaming with an eerie luster.

No pirate dared approach him now. Faced with such a hellish scene, they lost all will to fight.

“D-damn…” Steelblade’s arrogance vanished entirely, replaced by naked fear. As a formidable fighter himself, he could keenly sense that the speed and power Garen had just displayed marked him as a truly troublesome foe.

But Garen gave him no time to hesitate. Clearing the last obstacles before him, Garen activated the now cooled-down Decisive Strike once more, raising his sword high as he charged at Steelblade.

Garen’s sword fell; Steelblade parried, and their clash rang out through the streets. Steelblade’s strength was indeed formidable; Garen felt none of the effortless ease he’d experienced against the minions. Steelblade, for his part, was shaken by the force of Garen’s blow, his grip trembling, muscles aching. All in all, Garen at level two and Steelblade with a bounty of ten million were evenly matched.

The two quickly became locked in combat—two hulking warriors trading blows in a brutal melee.

Details aside, after several exchanges Steelblade sensed something was wrong. Though his opponent’s strength was not much greater than his own and his swordplay seemed unremarkable, there was one crucial difference—he could not dodge Garen’s strikes at all. Every attempt at evasion was perfectly anticipated by Garen’s sword, leaving him no escape.

Thus, Steelblade found himself on the defensive from the outset, forced to block each attack head-on. This was exhausting. Every few seconds, Garen’s sword would suddenly glow, his blows growing even heavier. Garen would intermittently spin into a human whirlwind, chasing Steelblade with his ferocious sword dance.

Normally, the attacker should tire faster. So, struggling under the onslaught, Steelblade could only hope his opponent would show signs of fatigue, allowing him to seize an opportunity for a counterattack.

But five seconds, ten, half a minute passed… Steelblade was covered in gruesome wounds, panting, drenched in sweat, exhaustion written all over him. Yet Garen remained as vigorous as ever, full of energy. Though slick with blood, a closer look would reveal it was all his enemies’—even the silken ribbons on his armor were untouched.

Still, Garen had not emerged unscathed. Lacking any real combat technique, despite the advantage of inescapable attacks, he had been caught and countered several times by Steelblade’s formidable blows—befitting his ten-million bounty. After the fierce battle, Garen’s health was down to forty percent.

However, as long as his health bar wasn’t empty, his digitized body could keep fighting at full capacity—an unscientific perpetual motion machine if ever there was one.

In the end, it was Steelblade, growing weaker by the second, who reached his limit first.

For all his exploits as a pirate, Steelblade had never fought such a frustrating battle. Clutching his weapon, every muscle tensed, he shouted with all his might:

“Wait!”

“Huh?” Garen instinctively paused.

“I quit!” Steelblade cursed, flung away his sword, and turned to flee.

……

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