Chapter 4 (Cleaned) – To Confirm
Ex Strongest Swordsman Chapter 4 is out!
TLN:
Greetings everyone.
This chapter has been edited by Dogboy90, thank you very much!
Thanks for the Patreon members who are willing to support this translation. A huge appreciation to:
Brooplin;
Toan N.;
Daryl; MadHatter; Jared R.; Rigo G.; Carlo C.; Andy T; Igor B.; tlinga; Beligerante; Mervin. L; Shawn M.; AO B;
Zaq Q;
Travis V;
Kazuo M.; Vasosulf; Babar Not the Elephant; Vincent G.; Samuel K.; Alexander P.; Chris B.; Simon v. E.; Shyll;
PS: I have rearrange Table of Content upon request.
Do enjoy!
Soma was walking alone with the sunlight filtering through the trees.
What existed in the surroundings was all kinds of trees.
In short, it was a forest. Although it could already no longer be seen, there was a large and s.p.a.cious mansion behind it.
It was the place where Soma lived. To put it simply, Soma had left from there.
However, there were no shadows of people in the surroundings. The only one who was there was Soma, alone.
He secretly came out without telling anyone, and that was a matter of course, but… to tell the truth, it was something that should’ve never been possible.
Because Soma was not allowed to go outside the mansion.
The reasons were there were many dangers outside of the mansion and there was no need for practical skills training at the moment.
However, Soma didn’t know such things. Instead, he continued to go further.
Spreading behind the mansion was a place called the Demon’s Forest. That place was said to be particularly dangerous.
However, it wasn’t that he was desperate.
To begin with, the path he was walking on right now was a path that he was already familiar with.
Yeah, Soma had gone outside even before today. Far from anything, he had been going back and forth many times in this forest.
It was a leisure walk, and that was the only reason for him.
Although this was a repet.i.tion, it wasn’t because of desperation… or perhaps it should be said that Soma had no reason to do so.
Well, if there was any, there might be one reason—
“Hmm… I have no talent, right? …Well, whatever the reason, it is all fine.” (Soma)
As he muttered so, he brushed away the thought and abandoned it.
He wasn’t pretending to be tough, he also wasn’t trying to be defiant.
That was what he really thought from the bottom of the heart.
Soma was told many things from the start, but thanks to the memories and experiences of his previous life, he understood more than anyone.
Soma thought that it was bad to be lifted up as a genius or other such things, and he was like that from the beginning.
Therefore, it wasn’t a big deal about having no talent… Even so, there was only one reason for Soma to be surprised when he was told by his mother that he had no talent.
In other words, having no skill meant he couldn’t use magic.
Yes, Soma did want to use magic.
To be reborn in this world, it was the absolute goal he had ever since he knew magic existed.
However, he was overcome with surprise because he was told it was impossible.
For this reason, he left his room while being disappointed, and… if Soma, as a human, gave up because of that, he wouldn’t be able to stand up on the top of the swords.
Hence, Soma, who instantly recovered, thought something was wrong about this… Suddenly, he thought of something.
For him to be here, just for that reason— he thought of trying it.
…Well, to be honest, he was thinking about a lot of things.
For example, about the treatment toward him next time.
At least, it won’t be the same as before.
Actually, Soma didn’t know what kind of household he was in, or the family name in the first place, but looking at the size of the mansion, he imagined about it to a certain extent.
The reason for not telling him was probably because theyplanned to tell him when the opportunity came.
Well, when considering the current situation, on the contrary, Soma’s right as the heir was revoked.
And that probably wasn’t wrong.
It was a speculation from his mother’s att.i.tude, but that was good enough to be understood.
As for Soma, he had no problems with it, but as for his mother, there seemed to be a problem if he couldn’t learn any skills.
Whether it was the characteristic of this world or the characteristic of this country, he didn’t know exactly which it was.
However, ultimately speaking, it didn’t matter.
There was a possibility that the relationship with his mother will change. Although, he was more or less thinking about it, if he couldn’t do anything, there was nothing more he could do, even if he cared.
More than anything, there was something he wanted to do right now.
Therefore, when he threw out the unnecessary thought, contrary to the name of the forest, he went further ahead.
—
He was wondering if he was far enough after entering the forest.
Soma, who was eyeing a tree, drew closer and stopped his feet.
“Hmm… this is good enough.” (Soma)
It was a thick and huge tree.
Not to mention Soma, even a big-sized adult couldn’t hold it alone.
Two people… No, it might be necessary for three people for such a tree.
When he lightly tapped it with the wooden stick he had for testing, it was natural for the tree to be unperturbed.
If he wanted to knock it down, it might be possible if he brought an iron sword… No, that was clearly impossible.
Or, it was a possible thing with a reasonable talent — skills.
However, while thinking back about the common sense of this world, Soma muttered.
He wondered if that was true.
Those with skills were synonymous with having talent, but not being able to learn a skill was not because of having no talent.
For example, one could wield a sword without having swordsmanship skills, and… there were also records of those without swordsmanship skills winning against those who had it.
This was just to be cautious, not because of pride.
Although he was told that there were exceptions, but—
“…Regardless of exceptions, in other words, it means that there is a possibility, even if I have no skills.” (Soma)
Even without having skills, there was a possibility of winning against those who had it.
Well, just as he thought, what was the difference?
How far could one go when they had no skills?
Even without having swordsmanship skills, swinging the sword, and winning over those with skills.
If that was the case… even without having magic skills, wasn’t it possible to use magic?
For that reason, he was about to confirm it.
What was in front of him was a huge tree.
Even with swordsmanship skills, with a stick in Soma’s hand, of course, not to mention cutting the tree, it could barely do anything.
However, even with the same skill, there was a thing called rank.
If its proficiency was higher, it would change.
Intermediate rank was better than Lower rank. Advanced rank was better than Intermediate rank. Special rank was better than Advanced rank.
If the rank was higher, by swinging the same skill, the result would be entirely different.
That was why, even if it was generally impossible, with an Advanced rank swordsmanship skill… no, even if it was a Special rank, the stick might be able to cut down the tree before him.
In other words, Soma, who didn’t have skills, could strike this tree.
That is, even without a skill, there was a possibility for Soma to use magic—
“…Phew.” (Soma)
While thinking about such things, he slowly breathed out and dropped his hands.
—In an instant.
Soma was already stepping forward and swung the stick. (TLN: The raw said sword instead of stick.)
It was one of the skills that Soma was good at in the previous life.
However, at the same time, it was only a technique he trained in his previous life.
The sword that swung without thinking of anything was the flesh of his previous life.
Even though Soma did minimal training in this world, he barely got done with what could be called ‘swordsmanship training’.
No matter how much he remembered, the body might not cope with it.
— Well.
If he was an ordinary person, that would be the story.
A man called the Sword G.o.d ignored all that common sense.
What about the body?
He remembered the spirit of the sword that reached the summit.
And when Soma decided to unleash it, the sword flash couldn’t be followed.
The envision he had in his mind was a secret technique of a certain school which he once saw.
He absorbed it, polished it to the limit, and—
“—Phew.” (Soma)
— The Rule of the Sword – G.o.d Killer – Dragon Killer – Divine Protection of Dragon G.o.d – Absolute Slash – Ability of Discernment: Self-thought – Imitation – Zantetsuken. (TLN: The name in raw is 剣の理・神殺し・龍殺し・龍神の加護・絶対切断・見識の才：我流・模倣・斬鉄剣. Zantetsuken can be changed to Iron-Cutting Sword, should I do that?)
The arm, which swung with a sharp breath, stopped at the place he envisioned.
The position of the feet, even how he held the stick, were similar.
That piece of stick was naturally kept in the same form as before he swung.
The fact was that it would have been thought of as strange if there was a person watching him from the side.
That was because, from the starting position, there was a giant trunk in the middle of the trajectory.
When thinking about it, the stick should have collided and broken.
No, from the beginning, even sound didn’t occur… but…
From the view of Soma, it was obvious that a small smile appeared from his mouth.
“…I see.” (Soma)
Immediately after the murmur… as if it was a signal, a sound echoed.
However, it wasn’t from the stick he held.
It was from the huge tree in front of him.
At the same time, the huge tree moved.
It fell from the position where it was split and torn.
Yeah, to put it simply, Soma knocked down that huge tree with just an ordinary stick.
But, that wasn’t the reason why Soma had a smile.
The reason was, no matter how many times he did it, it was the way it should be.
“Hmmm, if it is like this… it’s even possible for me to use magic.” (Soma)
Soma, who didn’t have any skills, came to a realization, but it wasn’t certain for those who had a skill to notice this.
Then, wouldn’t it be the same with magic?
That was it.
What Soma wanted to confirm was only this much.
This method was the best method Soma was proud of, because he thought that it was easy to prove with that.
It might be a story of such a degree that was close to impossible, but it was still good enough if there was a possibility.
“After this, how to use magic…? Well, I will have to do my best to find out and try.” (Soma)
In other words, it was the same as what was done in his previous life.
Nothing else but to aim for it.
And that was all that mattered.
Well, it was just that… it seemed impossible to do it right now.
“Hmmm, well… in a due course, I guess.” (Soma)
The huge tree, which kept leaning, finally fell down on the spot, while creating a tremor.
As Soma looked at it, he nodded — and his vision slanted along with his awareness.
It fell down on the sport as if he was dragging the tree, which had been torn apart.
—
When she heard that sound, a girl got away from that spot.
A sound she never heard… a sound she never expected, but her shoulders were reflexively bouncing.
“Eh… what is this…? It can’t be… here is…” (Girl)
The fact that there was a sound meant that there was something that caused it.
But this place was the Demon’s Forest.
Although the name was arbitrarily made up… no, even for this reason, it was impossible for someone to come from the other side.
What was the reason to invade the boundaries…?
“…Hmmm, could it be something like that? Then…” (Girl)
She thought that she should notify someone, but she immediately remembered her situation.
If she notified the village, she couldn’t think what would happen next.
And that was very undesirable.
“Anyway, even if I ignore it… no, it’s still not decided yet.” (Girl)
Yes, it might be just a coincidence that the tree rotted and fell down.
Well, that thought might be too convenient, but…
“…For now, I should go look at it. Even if I found it, if I conduct myself, something will probably happen, so…” (Girl)
She was probably half-desperate.
In the first place, the girl didn’t come here for something like a purpose.
Since there was no purpose, she was able to come here.
Although she thought that she might be killed if she was found, that would be fine with her.
The girl, who a.s.sumed a defiant att.i.tude, headed towards the direction where the sound was… and there was…
She found a big tree that was knocked down, and a boy who made it fall.