Cooking Swordmaster [EN]: Chapter 142

‘Hmm, so he has a unique skill that allows him to see the opponent’s abilities.’

Among Aura users, there are those who possess special abilities others lack.

Tracing their lineage often reveals a mix of Celestial or higher-species blood. (Celestial beings are often depicted as powerful, god-like figures.)

The power passed down through generations awakens with the help of Aura.

Julius Konrad’s Flame Emperor, who commands burning Aura, is a prime example of a ‘unique skill.’

“Rumor has it he can steal the opponent’s skills. Personally, I’d recommend culinary skills. With that alone, you could peel potatoes for hundreds of people in an instant.”

“P, potatoes? What would you even use them for!”

Kainchel grinned as he replied.

When it came to food, he could talk all day.

“There are hundreds of dishes you can make with potatoes, but the most popular is buttered potatoes. Freshly dug potatoes, roasted over a bonfire, then sliced open to reveal steaming vapor. Add a generous dollop of fresh butter, and as it melts into the potato’s warmth, coating it, you scoop it up with a spoon, and the fluffy texture is simply divine.”

Gulp-

Elizabeth swallowed involuntarily.

Even the description sounded delicious.

“What a funny kid. You’re accepting my duel with skills like sherbet, flambé, and glaze? And Onion Swordsmanship? Who even comes up with such ridiculous skill names? This isn’t a cooking competition.”

Strictly speaking, those were closer to combat skills. They just happened to be usable in cooking as well.

It seemed he couldn’t see the full extent of the skills’ capabilities.

‘Judging by his hesitation, it seems there’s a limit to the number of skills he can steal.’

Kainchel’s guess was accurate.

Elizabeth’s unique skill, ‘Copy,’ could only replicate one skill per individual.

Therefore, she usually stole the most proficient skill to avoid picking a dud.

However, the skill Kainchel used most often was basic swordsmanship.

The foundation of all swordsmanship, consisting of a vertical slash, horizontal slash, and thrust.

That left the suspicious skill named Fallen Star and things like cooking, baking, and gastronomy.

“How did you even become a Sword Knight with skills like that?”

“By diligently peeling potato skins.”

“Is that even a plausible story!?”

Kainchel infused Durandal with the energy of Flambé.

Who would have thought he’d see the effect of naming skills haphazardly in a situation like this?

@

As the two continued to probe each other, the audience members began to murmur.

“They haven’t even swung their swords once in five minutes. What are they even talking about?”

“Is this your first time watching Elizabeth’s duels? She analyzes her opponent like that before finishing them off in one strike.”

“By the way, has anyone heard of this Kainchel fellow?”

“No, I’ve never heard of him. We’re not in a position to remember the names of ordinary Sword Knights.”

“But Coulson, didn’t you say you needed a bodyguard? If that man can block even one of Elizabeth’s attacks, it might be worth hiring him.”

The man called Coulson chuckled.

“Hahaha! I need a bodyguard who will throw himself in front of danger to protect my life, not a cripple.”

“No, a cripple? What are you talking about? He clearly has all his limbs. Ah!”

The man nodded as if he finally understood.

He meant that anyone who took a hit from a Sword Master wouldn’t be unscathed.

“But isn’t Gistad the lord of the final battleground of the Seven Deadly Sins War?”

“Indeed. I heard they were completely ruined, but it seems there are survivors. Unfortunate. He picked the wrong opponent.”

“Tsk tsk.”

A man yawning with a bored expression spoke.

“A duel between a young knight from a fallen territory and a Sword Master. This might turn out to be more interesting than I thought.”

Before they knew it, the nobles were watching the duel with expectant eyes.

Until now, no one believed the young knight would block Elizabeth’s attacks more than twice.

“Oh, the young knight has drawn his sword!”

At the same time, a massive blizzard raged as if it would engulf the entire dueling arena.

‘Sherbet!’

Elizabeth was unharmed despite facing the cold air Durandal emitted head-on.

A much stronger attack was needed to penetrate the Aura surrounding her body.

“Hmph! A sword imbued with magic. I wondered why you were so confident, hiding something like that.”

Elizabeth scoffed and drew her sword from its scabbard.

A streak of light left an afterimage as space itself seemed to split.

It was an incredibly fast draw technique.

“Enatos Xiphos!”

With a short breath, the sword Elizabeth held multiplied into ten.

Blades blocked all possible directions: up, down, left, and right.

Charrrrrr!-

Even Cain, the official heir of the Carter family, could only use seven. This was perfected in Elizabeth’s hands.

The floor where the blades grazed cracked as if it had suffered a great impact.

The ten blades imbued with Aura were, in themselves, a weapon of mass destruction.

If it weren’t for the Aura field she had deployed in advance, the damage would have reached the audience.

“One hit from that could destroy a fortress wall. Elizabeth really isn’t holding back.”

However, Kainchel knew how to counter Enatos Xiphos very well.

The Aura within Kainchel’s body, increased to 10,000, surged.

Enough to activate multiple skills simultaneously.

Booster!

The overflowing Aura instantly enhanced Kainchel’s physical abilities.

Onion Swordsmanship!

The blade of Durandal split into four.

Less than half the number of the opponent’s swords. However, Kainchel wasn’t aiming for a head-on confrontation.

Clang!

Clang!

Clang!

With the sound of blades colliding, Kainchel stepped forward.

Targeting all possible directions to evade made it difficult to concentrate the attack on one point.

‘That means I don’t have to face all ten blades at once!’

Crack-!

One of the blades created by Enatos Xiphos was destroyed, creating a small opening.

“Kuh······.”

A blade that wasn’t fully blocked grazed Kainchel’s body, creating a wound. But it wasn’t fatal.

Aegis and Holy Armor, absolute defenses, were protecting Kainchel’s body.

‘Booster again!’

His muscles were already filled with Aura to their limit. He forced even more Aura into them.

Kainchel’s muscles screamed as if they were about to tear apart.

‘Ugh······!’

However, Kainchel’s body endured the double acceleration using Booster.

His Aura now contained the divine power enhanced by two servings of Dragon Meat Jerky.

‘It’s being destroyed and regenerated at the same time!’

Kaga Gaga gak!

At that moment, Kainchel’s speed surpassed even Sword Master Elizabeth.

Kainchel, who had instantly moved behind his opponent with the speed enhanced by Double Booster.

Elizabeth’s eyes widened at the incredible movement.

“······This, is a Sword Knight?”

Elizabeth had assessed Kainchel as a skilled individual who would soon become a Sword Master.

However, Kainchel had moved at a speed that even she couldn’t follow for a moment.

A collaboration created by 10,000 Aura and Double Booster.

Now it was Kainchel’s turn to attack.

‘Onion Swordsmanship, and Disarm!’

The four blades that had split once again targeted the opponent’s wrist.

Even if the number of blades had increased with Enatos Xiphos, the axis holding and wielding them was one.

Elizabeth shouted in panic.

“What kind of technique are you using?!”

Among the skills Elizabeth had seen, there was nothing that could produce such tremendous power.

It was literally an unpredictable attack that overwhelmed Elizabeth.

“Haaaaap!”

Kiiiing-!

The slash emitted from Durandal’s blade aimed for Elizabeth’s heart.

However, she wasn’t just going to stand there and take it.

She turned all eight remaining blades to defense.

‘That’s what I was aiming for!’

Kainchel smiled with satisfaction and drew the hidden fifth blade.

It targeted the wrist of Elizabeth, who was holding the sword, and the Disarm skill he had learned while preparing salmon did its job.

Whirlick-!

Thud.

Silence fell among the people who had been loudly chattering and watching the duel.

They simply couldn’t believe the scene unfolding before their eyes.

“Wh, what······, what just happened?”

“Did you see that? Did you see that just now!”

“Su, surely······. The attack of that young punk······.”

No matter how hard they rubbed their eyes, the result didn’t change.

The Sword Master had dropped her sword to the sword wielded by a free knight from a fallen family.

Of course, Elizabeth was unharmed, and Kainchel was bleeding all over his body.

But such a tremendous anomaly had occurred that they couldn’t even feel the difference.

“Ha, haha······. It’s a joke, right? It must be a joke. If not, how could a free knight beat a Sword Master?”

“Yeah, it was strange from the start that the Master was using an Aura Sword. Lady Elizabeth didn’t use Aura Blade until the end.”

Elizabeth walked towards the audience, who were chattering arbitrarily.

She put her hands on her hips and said.

“If I had used Aura Blade, the entire audience would have been blown away. Of course, you guys would have been turned to dust too.”

“E, Elizabeth, th, that’s not······.”

“And the guy who bet on whether the kid would fall in one hit or two, I’ll tell you the results because I think you’re curious.”

“······.”

The people overwhelmed by the murderous intent emitted by the Sword Master couldn’t answer.

“A total of 687 times. Among them, 17 times broke through the kid’s defense and caused injuries, but none of them were effective hits. What is that ridiculous defense? The armor he’s wearing is Holy Armor that repels Aura, and the ridiculous shield on his arm is ridiculously sturdy. It’s all about the gear. Ugh, whatever.”

Elizabeth ruffled her hair as if she was annoyed, but she was smiling.

She had checked several times, but the skills Kainchel possessed were only useful for cooking.

And yet, he had shown movements that surpassed the Sword Master, even for a moment.

“······Then what is the outcome of the match?”

“I’ll stop here. Because something more interesting has happened.”

Elizabeth stroked her wrist and approached Kainchel this time.

It seemed that the Disarm targeting her wrist at the end had been quite shocking.

“Kid. Let’s end the duel in a draw. There’s something I want to ask you more than that.”

“Then what about Draupnir?”

“I’ll give it to you. But it’s not free, I’ll take 1800 gold. I bought it expensively too, so you don’t have any complaints, right?”

Either way, it was Leman who was paying the money.

“Then let’s do that. Lady Elizabeth, I learned a lot. As expected, Sword Masters are strong.”

Elizabeth laughed, clutching her stomach as if something was so funny.

“Ahahaha! What are you talking about when you have an expression that you’ve hidden about three more trump cards. Tell me honestly. Don’t you want to fight more?”

“······.”

It was an undeniable statement.

“Oh? Was it real? I was just saying it? Look at this guy. What a cheeky kid.”

The people who heard the words that came out of Elizabeth’s mouth buzzed.

A free knight had dueled with a Sword Master and ended in a draw. It was an unbelievable event.

A smile appeared on Elizabeth’s face as she looked at them. It was a charming appearance that would melt any man.

“A free knight, I think you’re all seriously mistaken. The kid will soon become a Sword Master. With a very interesting ability that has never existed before.”

A prediction of the birth of a new Sword Master!

The repercussions of that one word were enormous.

Unprecedented #3