The adrenaline coursing through Kurogane's veins was unlike anything he had ever felt in his monotonous life. This wasn't the frantic panic of nearly missing the morning metro; this was a sharp, focused thrill that made every sense scream to life. Each cautious step he took toward the source of the raucous voices was measured, his grip on the katana's hilt so tight his knuckles were white. The ruined village stretched around him, a skeleton of decaying wood and shattered dreams, and the bandits' laughter was a coarse intrusion upon its silence.
A cool, blue interface materialized before his eyes, the numbers a stark reminder of his precarious situation.
[ Time Remaining: 11 Minutes ]
"Eleven minutes…" he muttered, his throat parched. The words tasted like dust. "Can I really defeat all of them in that time?" A wave of regret, cold and unwelcome, washed over him. "Maybe I should've wished for a better job... or a winning lottery ticket back in that moment…" He shook his head, the motion sharp, dispelling the doubt. "No. Now's not the time to sulk. I have to complete this mission."
He clung to the memories of the manga pages, the panels he had devoured night after night. He knew their weaknesses, their sloppy movements, their predictable, arrogant banter. That knowledge was a shield and a weapon. Taking a deep breath that filled his lungs with the scent of decay and dry earth, Kurogane stepped out from behind the crumbling wall that hid him.
"Hey!" he shouted, his voice cutting through their noise. It sounded more confident than he felt. "Surrender now! Your business ends here!"
The bandits' heads snapped toward him. For a moment, there was silence, then it broke into crude, roaring laughter. "Who are you, kid?" one of them sneered, spitting on the ground. "Do you have a death wish?"
A smirk, born from a strange mix of fear and the sheer absurdity of it all, formed on Kurogane's lips. "Let's see who dies first."
Just as he knew they would, the bandits immediately turned on each other, their shouts overlapping in a chaotic mess. "He's mine!" "No, I saw him first, he's mine!" Their bickering was loud, uncoordinated—a perfect opening. This is it, Kurogane thought, his eyes glinting with cold realization. This is your weakness. Your arrogance.
In one fluid motion, he drew the black katana. The blade caught the faint, dust-laden sunlight, gleaming with a deadly promise. He didn't hesitate. He lunged forward, and with a swift, horizontal slash, he cut through the first bandit's arm. The man fell to the ground, clutching his wound, a scream of pain and shock tearing from his throat.
"Hey! What do you think you're doing, brat?" the wounded man cried out, his face contorted in agony.
But the others were already advancing, their previous amusement replaced by raw fury. "Are we forgetting we're in a fight?" one of them bellowed, hefting a crude axe.
Kurogane's mind raced, the manga panels flashing behind his eyes. Good thing I studied the early chapters so carefully. He anticipated the first lunge, bringing his katana up just in time to block the axe swing. The impact sent a jarring shockwave up his arms, making him wince. These guys are a lot stronger than they look on paper…
Just as he struggled to hold his ground against the first, a flicker of movement in his periphery warned him of another bandit closing in from behind. Acting on pure instinct, he dropped his stance and kicked the initial assailant hard in the stomach, sending the man stumbling backward. The incoming bandit, unable to stop his own reckless charge, drove his sword straight into his companion's back. A gurgled choke was the only sound the first bandit made before collapsing, dead.
"Clever brat… you'll pay for that!" yelled the remaining bandit, his face purple with rage as he launched another, wilder attack.
[ Time Remaining: 7 Minutes ]
Seven minutes. The numbers burned in his vision. The weight of urgency pressed down on him, a physical force. The remaining four bandits, now enraged and somewhat wary, fanned out to surround him. Kurogane knew he couldn't let them coordinate. He fell back on the only strategy that had worked so far: their own pride.
"Come on, four losers!" he taunted, a defiant edge to his voice. "You can't even match a weakling like me? Which one of you wants to be humiliated next?"
It worked. They started bickering again, splitting their attention. "I'll take his head!" "Like hell you will!" In that crucial moment of distraction, Kurogane saw his chance. He adjusted his grip on the katana, dropped his center of gravity, and spun. The blade hummed through the air in a perfect, silver arc. The first bandit in its path didn't even have time to raise his weapon before his head was cleanly severed from his shoulders. Three remained.
The remaining bandits charged as one, shouting curses and insults. Kurogane stood his ground, his breath steadying. "In war, everything is fair," he replied, his voice low and cold. "Now, it's your turn."
He moved with a fluidity he didn't know he possessed, his body reacting to the memories of a thousand fictional fights. He parried a clumsy overhead strike, and as the first bandit overextended, he left his entire torso exposed—a fatal mistake. Kurogane didn't waste it. He drove his blade straight through the man's chest, ending him before he could react. The second bandit, enraged and reckless, charged with a wild cry. Kurogane, having anticipated this very move, sidestepped with a dancer's grace and delivered a deep, horizontal slash across the man's abdomen. The bandit crumpled, his cry cut short.
Only one remained.
[ Time Remaining: 1 Minute ]
A single minute. Sixty seconds between him and death. There was no time for fancy tactics. The last bandit, his eyes wide with a mix of fear and hatred, knew it was a fight to the finish. Their katanas met in a shower of sparks, the clang of steel echoing in the sudden silence of the village. The bandit, desperate, tried to feint and grab a dagger from his belt with his free hand.
Kurogane saw it coming. He pulled back as if falling for the feint, then suddenly changed direction, causing the bandit to lunge forward and lose his balance. Seizing the opening, Kurogane put all his remaining strength into a final, decisive thrust. He felt the blade sink deep, but as the bandit fell, his dagger hand lashed out one last time, the edge grazing a deep line across Kurogane's ribs.
White-hot pain lanced through his body, and he stumbled back, gasping.
"You rushed… brat…" the bandit spat, blood bubbling at his lips as he collapsed. "Now… you die too… but congratulations… you killed my friends." His eyes glazed over, fixed on the hazy sky.
The moment his body hit the ground, a new, warm light enveloped Kurogane.
[ Mission Complete ]
[ Reward: 10 Mana Points + Healing ]
A wave of pure, revitalizing energy washed over him. Kurogane gasped as the searing pain in his ribs vanished, the wound knitting itself together before his eyes, leaving behind only unblemished skin and fading warmth. He straightened up, rolling his shoulders, feeling stronger, more alive than he ever had in his previous life.
Not bad… he thought, a genuine, weary smile touching his lips. Maybe this isn't so bad after all.
[ Stats Updated ]
Agility: 100/1
Mana: 8000/10
Speed: 100/1
Strength: 100/1
He scanned the numbers. The progress was undeniable, but the denominators, the "1"s, mocked him. Still so weak… I need to grow much, much stronger, or I won't survive another day in this world.
Then, the most daunting message yet appeared, its letters burning with a faint, cosmic light.
[ Main Quest: Defeat the Seven Sword Gods. Then, face the Cosmos. ]
"Seven Sword Gods… and then the Cosmos itself?" Kurogane whispered to the empty air, the weight of the quest settling on his shoulders like a physical mantle. "Can I really do that?"
But the time for doubt had passed the moment he picked up the katana. His journey, his real story, had only just begun. With the strange new mana humming in his veins and a renewed, steely determination in his heart, Kurogane stepped over the fallen bandits and walked forward, leaving the ghost of the village behind, ready for whatever unknown challenges awaited.