The sun had completely set, leaving only a faint afterglow on the horizon. Night had fallen, and the only light in the deserted small park came from the streetlamps.
Fumiya Jin walked into the park and glanced around. No one else was there, which was convenient for his test.
In his mind, he could still see the progress bar for Freestyle Sharpness; the bar's color had turned from gray to red.
It was worth noting, however, that after leveling up, the progress had reset to zero, and the bar's maximum length had more than doubled. Currently, it wasn't even at 10%. He estimated it would be difficult to reach the next level before the next instance.
"Red Sharpness... It sounds impressive, but it should actually be the weakest level. I wonder how much of a boost it gives a weapon," Fumiya Jin muttered to himself. "But... since it's called Freestyle Sharpness, maybe it's not limited to just one weapon?"
With that thought, he looked down and around.
He then walked a few steps forward and picked up a slightly dried twig, about the thickness of his little finger.
"What if... I treat this as my weapon?" Fumiya Jin gripped the base of the twig.
As soon as he finished speaking, a faint red glow spread from his hand and enveloped the twig.
The previously unremarkable, harmless dried twig now exuded a faint sense of sharpness.
"It actually works?"
Fumiya Jin was a little surprised.
Conveniently, there was a thicker, thumb-sized dried twig on the ground nearby.
Fumiya Jin picked it up with his left hand, then took the small twig in his right hand and sliced at it...
*Swish—*
The thick twig was instantly cut in two!
The cut was perfectly smooth, as if sliced by a finely honed blade.
But... at the same time...
*Snap—*
After cutting the thick twig, the slender little twig had expended its energy and snapped.
"So it only adds sharpness, but with no support for its durability, it breaks after one hit?" Fumiya Jin analyzed. "Even so, this level of sharpness is already incredible. If I used it on a sufficiently sturdy weapon, the effect..."
Fumiya Jin stood up, a gorgeous white tachi now in his hand.
Although this tachi was unsharpened and could only be used as a blunt weapon, its durability was beyond question—he had previously slammed it against a tree like a club dozens of times without leaving a single mark.
What would happen if such durability was combined with Freestyle Sharpness?
Thinking this, he walked over to the tree he had used for testing earlier.
Draw-slash, activate.
Shing—
SLASH!—
The cherry-blossom-colored blade flashed out of its sheath like lightning, covered in a faint red glow that made it look even more bewitchingly beautiful.
The blade instantly carved a perfect arc through the air, and drifting cherry blossom petals left a magnificent trail behind it, like the afterburner of a jet.
The tree stood right in the middle of this arc, yet it seemed to offer no resistance to the tachi's swing.
Fumiya Jin was even a little stunned, because he hadn't felt the strong resistance or even the recoil he should have from the blade.
Did...
Did I miss?
That can't be right.
Fumiya Jin was slightly puzzled.
He dissipated the remaining force, sheathed his blade, and lowered his head to see if he had left a cut on the tree...
A soft hiss suddenly sounded.
Shhhhh...
A perfectly smooth line appeared in the middle of the tree trunk.
Under the force of gravity, the upper half of the trunk slowly slid along this diagonal line and then toppled over...
Fumiya Jin immediately jumped out of the way.
BOOM!—
The top half of the tree crashed to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust and leaves.
Fumiya Jin covered his nose and stood to the side, looking at the remaining lower trunk...
The surface of the cut was incredibly smooth, not even looking like it had been sawn by a chainsaw, but rather as if it had been sliced by a laser sword...
Fumiya Jin looked down, staring in astonishment at the blade in his hand, which was still faintly glowing red...
This is Red Sharpness?
This is the lowest-grade Red Sharpness from Monster Hunter, the one that almost never appears, and when it does, it feels like it would bounce off a blade of grass by the roadside?
Is this right?
...
...
Half an hour later.
A family of three was passing by the park.
A gentle, pink-haired wife carried a cute, pink-haired little girl on her shoulders. Her husband walked beside them, carrying two large bags.
"Oh, Mom, this is where me and my big sister met a cool big brother yesterday. He was really good-looking, but kinda weird. He kept hitting a tree with a big stick. It was that tallest one... Huh? Arere? Where's Mr. Tree?"
The wife and husband glanced into the park, also a little surprised. They had walked this path for many years and were very familiar with the park, so they immediately felt that something was missing.
So, out of curiosity, the family of three went into the park to have a look and discovered... the tree had been cut in half, its upper part lying on the ground.
"Oh my god, Mr. Tree broke!!!" Futari Gotoh's eyes went wide. "Did that big brother break it? He's so... so strong..."
"Huh?" The wife was surprised. "Can you break a tree this thick with a stick? That's amazing..."
The husband, however, was calmer. He walked over, examined the cut, and shook his head with a smile. "No, the cut is too clean to have been smashed. Someone probably used a chainsaw. I don't know who would be so bored as to saw down a perfectly good tree."
"Oh, is that so..." Futari Gotoh scratched her head. "So the big brother didn't do it after all..."
...
...
This Friday was the seventh day since Fumiya Jin had received his countdown.
That night, upon falling asleep, he quickly entered a state akin to a lucid dream.
Opening his eyes, he found himself as if in a galaxy, surrounded by a sky full of twinkling lights.
But a closer look revealed that the lights weren't stars, but countless glowing cards.
These cards floated in the air like a multitude of stars, very distant from him, and all with their backs turned.
Around him, however, were only two cards, both facing him.
These were the two cards he already possessed.
The first card had a blue background and a picture of a brain, with the words below: Memory Master—Your memory is far superior to that of an ordinary person.
The second card had a gold background and a picture of an hourglass, with the words below: Countdown—You can see a special countdown.
These two cards had once been part of the starry expanse, but after being drawn by him, they had floated to his front and taken effect.
And now, it was time to draw the third card...
Fumiya Jin raised his head and looked at the sky full of cards.
To be honest, he couldn't make out anything. The back of every card was the same, and they all twinkled with the same light.
So... he'd just have to go with his gut.
"I choose you!"
Fumiya Jin pointed casually at an extremely distant card, one that seemed even farther away than the sun is from the Earth...
The next second, that card flew over, instantly arriving before him and flipping over.
Background—Purple.
Image—An Ogre Magi... to be precise, a two-faced head where two brains were fused together. One face was normal, even quite handsome, while the other was savage and evil, like a demon.
Card Name—Loved by All.
Description—Your appearance's attractiveness and affinity towards all humans is greatly increased. The cost is that you will be met with ten times the scorn and hatred from all non-human, human-like beings.
_____
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