The skeleton, struck by the mace, staggered as it tried to rise again, only to fall back to the ground with a chuckle.
To be precise, it would be more accurate to say it was forced down. The bones around its knees had shattered.
“The power of the Evil God is dissipating. Is morning approaching?”
What had moved it was the energy infused by the dark Evil God. As the time of Tariki came to an end and morning arrived, the skeleton’s body would naturally crumble away.
As the skeleton observed its gradually disintegrating body, it chuckled softly and then lifted its head.
The skeleton. The remains holding Garad's memories. The one who believes itself to be a noble knight. Its empty eyes gazed at me.
There were no pupils. No eyes. No brows, frowns, or expressions. Yet, I felt a softness from the skeleton's face.
It was a strange feeling. Considering the earlier situation, the emotion that should have been emanating from the skeleton was anger and annoyance.
That was only natural. The many insults I hurled at the skeleton would have been reasonable responses to any sort of provocations.
But the skeleton did not respond that way.
“You were excellent. To have this level of skill even before reaching adulthood, your name will surely be remembered in history.”
Instead, it simply praised me with sincerity.
That gentleness made me feel embarrassed.
While some would go to any lengths to exact revenge for perceived wrongs against the skeleton, I, amidst countless insults, had not used even a single assassination attempt.
At that moment, a thought crossed my mind.
In this instant, I realized that while I had won, I had lost.
I had won in the contest, but lost as a human.
No, did I even win in a real contest?
No matter how I thought about it, it seemed like I would end up being the arrogant brat, basking in the fact that the adults around me were deliberately letting me win.
To be honest, if the skeleton hadn’t gone easy on me, I would have died long ago.
...
Let’s not think about it. The more I think, the more miserable it feels.
<What are you doing, girl?!>
As I was at a loss for words, my lips twitching, the elder raised his voice.
<It’s time to finish! Finish it off! Just like you usually do, you talk too much after getting beaten...>
“If you keep that up, I’ll throw you to the idiotic creature as a toy.”
Why does he keep nagging me when I’m already starting to feel self-loathing now that the excitement from the Mesugaki skill has worn off?
I had originally planned to yell “You can’t do anything, can you?” but now I really felt like committing suicide.
So just stop. If you want to be licked by that foolish creature, I won’t stop you.
After saying that, the elder hurriedly closed his mouth.
“Why are you saying nothing? Ah! Are you feeling weighed down by what I said during our duel? Don’t worry about it. In a fight, it’s only right to do whatever it takes to win.”
Damn this skeleton! Stop showing such an adult side of yourself!
You should show your ugly side to at least hide my own ugliness a bit!
“More importantly, this fight was born out of my shortcomings. If anything, it should be me apologizing.”
Please stop.
No, please stop it.
Can’t you sacrifice a bit of your honor to save me from this situation?
“Take this sword. Compared to the one I used in the past, it may be lacking, but it is still worthy of being called a fine sword.”
Is this really necessary?!
“Whoever you give it to or sell it to, it will surely be useful no matter how you use it.”
Ugh. How could I have said something like, “You’re dickless,♡ talentless,♡ and characterless, but you’re full of perversion, skeleton lady?♡ That’s so cool!♡”
Feelings of self-loathing and guilt mixed, creating chaos in my head.
The most despairing part is that all my remarks from before were words I threw to provoke the opponent, unrelated to the Mesugaki skill.
There’s no place to make excuses! What do I do?!
I feel like I’m becoming more and more of a trash person, and what should I do now?!
As I internally screamed, a thought emerged. Since I had already become trash, I might as well follow through with my original plan and become true trash, but I forcefully pushed that devil’s whisper away.
If I did that, I felt like I’d really lose the chance to turn back.
“By the way, can I ask one thing?”
With the bare minimum of courtesy, I thought to respond, and the skeleton asked a small question.
“Are you receiving teachings from Ruel?”
...Ah. You figured it out. You realized that I was receiving help from the elder.
Well, considering that I had been provoked by words that could only be known from mid-way through the fight, there’s no way you wouldn’t know.
Nodding without denying it, I heard the skeleton chuckle softly.
Following that laugh, I saw its ribcage start to crumble.
“Indeed. So that was the case. I thought you were devout because you showed no interest in women, but is this kind of girl actually your type?”
<...What crazy nonsense are you spouting?!>
“Disgraceful. Ruel. To hide behind the one you’re teaching while focusing on ridiculing a friend. That’s why you didn’t obtain the shield.”
<How many times must I repeat this?! The reason the angel didn’t hand me a shield back then was that I already had a shield blessed upon me! It had nothing to do with nobility!>
I knew that the elder’s words were correct since I knew various episodes from the game, but I didn’t bother to correct him.
<No. No, that’s not it. This isn’t the time for that. Girl! Quickly shut that mouth that’s just spouting nonsense!>
Seeing the skeleton’s ribcage crumble, I realized time was running out.
Until just a moment ago, I had only caused the skeleton trouble. I should repay him in some way, right?
<Girl?! Are you not listening to me?!>
For a while, while the skeleton continued to insult the elder, it seemed to remember something and attempted to clap, only to realize its arms were missing, chuckling to itself.
“...Ruel. You might not know this, but let me tell you something interesting. Do you think this place is the only thing that crazy Karon has created?”
<What?>
Did the skeleton’s words shock me that much? As the elder fell silent, a calm enveloped the atmosphere, and I could hear the skeleton continue speaking.
“Since there’s no time, let’s stop playing around. Child blessed by the goddess. You will have to overcome many hardships ahead. Although I’ve said many bad things, that foul knight is a reliable fellow. It may be picky, but if you trust him and follow him, he will surely be of great help.”
Even if you don’t say that, I already know he’s more trustworthy than anyone else. If I don’t trust the one person who understands my struggles, then who can I trust?
“Please, don’t give up and keep moving forward. It’s shameless for me to say this, considering that I am the one who has burdened you.”
‘Don’t worry.’
“What are you worried about? Do you think I’ll lose to the trash that’s been beaten down and is now rotting on the ground? I’m just a skeleton without a brain.”
“Heh. You know, they used to say I had good taste in people back in the day.”
After laughing for a while, the skeleton slowly looked up at me, realizing its shoulders were crumbling.
“Hang in there.”
With that one phrase, the skeleton’s head fell to the ground.
In a panic, I rushed over to pick it up, but by then, the skeleton’s head had already turned to dust, scattering across the ground.
Ugh. Damn it. I really hate facing good people. The ending is unsettling. If my opponent were trash, I’d feel refreshed after smashing their head in.
I want to hurl insults as I leave.
Could this have been their intention?! To give me discomfort while simultaneously boosting their reputation?!
...Ugh. That’s unlikely.
<Girl.>
‘Yes.’
<Was what that guy just said true?! Is there really another dungeon created by Karon?!>
As I sighed inwardly and heard the elder’s urgent voice, I couldn’t help but burst out laughing.
No way. Elder. In this situation, shouldn’t you be the one feeling the aftermath more than I do?!
Why are you only worrying about yourself and not even glancing at the skeleton?! Are you really a knight?!
‘It’s true. It’s a place I intend to visit someday.’
I don’t particularly want to go there.
It’s a place that’s difficult to enter. Plus, it’s not a place where I need to suffer to obtain something.
But I don’t need to tell the elder that honestly.
The source of this c𝓸ntent is frёeweɓηovel.coɱ.
<...Girl? What do you mean you’re going to visit? Girl?!>
Ha ha. Be afraid of the fact that you don’t know when your dark history will come back to haunt you, elder!
Ignoring the elder’s urgent voice, I looked up and saw the figure of a sword.
With a face and body that seemed to have taken a beating, Luca, who had a perfectly normal expression, bowed his head without saying a word.
Wow, this guy really is disgustingly strong. Even though Luca was in a state of losing his mind, that guy was still on the list of strong ones.
To overpower someone like him without a scratch, was it thanks to the foolish creature helping him little by little?
“Are you going back right away?”
‘No. Just a moment.’
“Ugh. Is that worthless knight rushing us while his master is waiting? You’re really lower than a dog.”
“I'm really sorry! Miss!”
After tossing Luca’s body like a sack of rice and leaving his head on the ground, I opened the quest window to properly check the reward I just received.
...Huh? Why is there another quest I don’t know about?
Clear the knight’s trial.
Ah, right. They mentioned they’d give a reward for passing this trial initially. How did I forget that?
I completely blanked due to the evil god’s interference earlier.
Hmm. For now, let’s check the reward I know. After all, it’s said that fun things should be saved for later.
[Reward ‘Holy Domain’ has been granted!]
Holy Domain. A skill that covers a certain radius around oneself with holiness, turning that space advantageous for allies and disadvantageous for enemies.
It’s ambiguous.
While it is a good skill in the late game, it only becomes effective in the late game.
Using it consumes a massive amount of holy power, and if the level of holiness is low, the holiness could just dissipate without activating. Furthermore, it consumes a lot of holy power just to maintain it, making it extremely difficult to use.
To be honest, it was a skill rarely used unless one wanted to have a fun concept.
Given that I had just cleanly defeated the dark Evil God, to receive such a skill as a reward made my voice almost rise to my throat in protest.
Yet I forcibly held it down.
The rewards given by the useless god had proved their worth at some point in the past.
I could always curse later.
Who knows? If I were blessed with the holy power of the useless god, it might be different?
For now, I’ll check this out after I recover my physical condition, and then look at the other rewards.
What could it be? What will they give me?
I wasn’t really expecting much due to the useless skill I just received, but it was still a reward, so I needed to check.
[You have succeeded in earning the recognition of the Guardian of Trials.]
[Achievement that even the creator of the trials could not have anticipated.]
Oh? Was the explanation like this? I thought it was a different description.
Am I mistaking something?
[...]
[The past hero Garad excelled at grasping his opponent's weaknesses and taking control of the flow. Some of the abilities he possessed have been granted to your mace.]
[Weakness Recognition.]
[You will now be able to identify weaknesses more effectively.]
Was there such a skill in Soul Academy?
If there was a skill with such a good effect, there’s no way I wouldn’t have remembered it!
I concluded one thing as I pondered deeply with my arms crossed.
This skill didn’t exist in the game.
...
This is insane.
So, are they granting me a skill that didn’t exist in the game right now?!