Solo Swordmaster

Chapter 85: Character and Habit

Why did Limon readily accept the strange and cruel abyssal black violin? It was able to counter the power of the constellations, but that was only half of it. There was also the strange, unknown presence he felt ever since first playing it.

“[…So that presence is the ghost I saw?]”

“Possibly.”

Swordmasters weren’t priests, of course. He might feel something if a ghost was about, but he couldn’t actually see them, he went on to explain.

“[So there is a ghost in that instrument!]”

“Why’re you so surprised? A haunted instrument or a cursed instrument—potato pitato.

“[That’s completely different from cursed! And hey, it’s a lot more horrifying when you can see them!]”

“Oi, oi. Let’s not hate our own kind, yeah?”

“[I’m not a ghost! Not!!!]”

Whether the violin was cursed or haunted, it didn’t matter so long as it helped fight against the constellations. There was one thing that stuck out, though.

‘A ghost of a little girl…?’

That was quite questionable. To haunt a magical instrument, and one made for a god? No matter how cursed an item was, a ghost could only haunt something they had close ties to. What was the violin’s history?

—Or well, maybe it was a special type of ghost that ignored that.

‘Its power might have something to do with this gho—No, I may be jumping to conclusions.’

Limon shook his head. It wasn’t certain that the girl Yoo Na-kyung saw came from the violin. Only a detective or a delusional inpatient would reach that far ahead without any definitive reason.

“[Damnit! Just leave me if you’re just going to mock me. Aren’t you busy, anyways?!]”

With a sharp exhale Yoo Nakyung turned her head away. Only after hearing her, did Limon’s train of thought break and return him to reality.

“Oh, that’s all right.”

“[What’s all right?]”

“I’ve already printed out the list of possible targets for next month.”

“[…You what?]”

“I don’t have any work to do for the next month.”

“[Boss, please tell me it isn’t true you printed out a list because you didn’t want to work every day—]”

Flick—

“[OUCH!]”

“What’s with that doubtful look to your godly boss, huh?”

“[How can I not be?! Printing out a list of locations that could be raided by criminals you’ve never even seen? How does that make any sense?!]”

How perplexed Yoo Na-kyung was. She immediately shot straight back up after her body had fallen backward from a flick to the head.

“Will a prediction for anything make sense?”

“[Well—]”

She couldn’t argue with that. What Limon was doing was nonsensical, to begin with.

“Whether I predict just the next one or an entire month’s worth ultimately ends up being the same. What's important are their habits and character,” he scoffed.

“[Their what and what now?]”

“In short, humans will do what they’ve been doing.”

A right-hander and a left-hander will use different attacks and defense mechanisms, even while using the same style of swordsmanship. People will use different blades to achieve the same purpose. It was their innate character and their habits—a pattern carved into their subconscious that couldn’t be changed.

“[…So you know what your enemies will do and when as long as you know their character and their habits?]”

“Nah, that’s too much. Even if I do know their patterns, there still has to be plenty of experience and knowledge to make use of it.”

“[Can you make that shorter?]”

“A master of the board game ‘Go’ won’t be able to read the next move in a game of chess, but I’ve been training with the sword and taking down evil for an eternity.”

Yoo Na-kyung understood what Limon tried to say. Even for him, it wasn’t an easy task. It was a godlike ability he had earned through the many years dealing with crime and criminals.

“[Then why didn’t you use that talent in the PAB? It would’ve made it a lot easier to catch criminals.]”

“I didn’t need to back then. Anyways, It’s not a big deal now.”

“[You were just lazy— Oh yeah! I dodged that one!]”

“…I’m genuinely curious at this point. Are you unable to learn, or do you like getting hit?”

Limon clicked his tongue seeing her fall backwards as he went in a second time.

“[Ugh, dammit! You can’t run from the fact you were being lazy!]”

“It’s called being efficient. There were plenty of guys in the PAB with prophetic or information skills. Where would I come in?”

“[You’re using them pretty well right now!]”

“That’s because this is a special and weird case.”

Generally speaking, tracers were faster and more accurate than Limon. However, they had an especially hard time concluding anything when they investigated this case.

“There’s also a definite flaw with this ability.”

“[A flaw?]”

“Yeah. Not if those bastards don’t card on, but… if they do, none of my predictions will matter.”

“[…And what kind of flaw is that?]”

Yoo Na-kyung tilted her head to the side. Limon’s talent was more of a skill than any of the player skills she’d seen. Why was he acting so humble?

“That’s because…”

***

***

“Did you fail again?”

“I don’t like that word you’re using. Let’s just say we retreated to avoid a longer battle.”

“That’s why you call a fail, dumb comrad,” the braided man muttered with a frown.

“I don’t understand.”

“Understand what?”

“How do they know where we’re going to attack and prepare for it?”

“Isn’t it just a coincidence?”

“Please get your rotten brain replaced if you think failing three more times after the first is ‘just a coincidence’.”

The young man with slit eyes watched the braided man lift the knife he was using to cut a piece of steak. He looked as if he wanted to lobotomize him.

“But there’s no other way to explain it! Our information cannot have leaked,” the man with slit eyes exclaimed.

“Hm. That is true.”

“Or it could be a prophetic skill of some kind.”

“That is not possible,” the braided man flatly denied. “Have you forgotten? We have a blessing that makes us immune to all prophetic and observation skills.”

“But [Impenetrable Star Barrier] isn’t everything, is it? There’s a lot of masters within the Seven Dragons Association with peculiar skills.”

“Even so, they’re just some minuscule talented hacks who were defeated by a mere swordsman.”

The man with slit eyes remained silent in response. He didn’t want to argue with a man who was basically his boss, but he also secretly agreed with him.

[Impenetrable Star Barrier] was a special skill. Though classified as a rare skill, its use far exceeded that of any other skill. It was why their organization, despite being globally active, has never been found out. Following that thought, it was more reasonable to consider that another factor was involved rather than [Impenetrable Star Barrier] getting nullified.

“Then, how were they prepared for us?”

“Hm…”

The braided man continued cutting the steak. He took his time to chew on the steak, only swallowing the juices within the meat and spitting it back out.

“If our information is not leaking, and it wasn’t foreseen with a skill… There is only one answer left, is there not?”

“What answer?”

“They predicted it.”

The man with slit eyes looked at him blankly.

“You’re saying they used their brain? With no skill? How is that even possible?” He was aghast.

People in the Iron Age relied on prophetic skills to forecast weather and detective skills for criminal investigations. Predicting criminal psychology without such skills was like going to space with no spacesuit.

“You won’t know with your little brain, comrad, but at the beginning of the Iron Age, there were detectives who relied on ‘intuition', ‘experience’, and ‘statistics’ to catch criminals.”

“So what? You think the Seven Dragons Association would use an ol’ detective like that?”

“It could be just how their organization is.”

“Well… The Seven Dragons Association doesn’t have a lot of players, having passed down psionics for a millenia.

They’re Neanderthals, more foolish and dumb than even a stupid comrad. So stuck in their pathetic traditions and power of old that they’ve turned their backs on reality.”

A smile formed on the braided man’s face, causing the man with slit eyes to avert his gaze. The braided man may have looked cold and calm, but he was their comrade and commander. In instances like this, he was just as crazy, if not crazier. It wasn’t good to meet eyes with him while he was in such a state.

“Ahem. So? Is finding that ol’ crook of a detective and fucking him up all we have to do?”

“Oh, that’s a wonderful idea… if only we knew who and where that detective is and how we’re going to get to him.”

“How would I know that?”

“Shut up if you don’t know. We need to at least get halfway there.”

“…Then do you have any ideas?”

“I do.”

The braided man took an object out of his pocket and set it on the table.

“…What’s this?”

“An advisor to tell us our next target.”

“What the hell does that mean?”

He ignored the young man looking at him like he was a madman. Rolling around the object in his hand, he only put a meaningful smile on his face.

“In the end, even a great detective is limited to reading human psychology.”

——

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