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My name is Taro Tanaka. Just your average college guy.
My hobbies? Reading manga and light novels. Games, now and then. No particular dreams for the future. I was vaguely resigned to it all: I'd probably graduate, get an ordinary job, have an ordinary marriage, grow ordinarily old, and die an ordinary death. Being ordinary was fine. As long as I could enjoy the things I liked when I had the chance, that was enough.
...Still, if I'm being honest, there was a tiny part of me that wished for something more.
You know, reincarnation in another world. That kind of thing. A longing for the extraordinary.
One evening, after my lectures ended, I came home and flopped onto my bed. As usual, I dove into the latest chapter.
The title was
A moderately popular war fantasy saga. I lost myself in the prose. The protagonist's dialogue, a tense battle scene, and then—
How much time had passed?
When I came to, my vision had gone dark.
(...Huh?)
A strange sensation, as if my body were floating. Gradually, consciousness began to fade.
(No way... it couldn't be...)
In that drowsy haze, I thought vaguely: if this is really that "Isekai" thing, then it's a dream come true. At least, I'd like to live once, just once, like a hero in that story's world.
And then, I woke up.
Beneath me wasn't a soft bed. It was the cold, hard feel of packed earth. The air was chilly against my skin. I looked up. No familiar ceiling. Instead, rough-hewn wooden beams and, through a window, an unfamiliar starry sky.
I sat up with a jolt. My body... huh? It felt lighter? The way the muscle was distributed was clearly not the body I knew.
I scanned the room. A simply crafted wooden desk, candlelight, a worn sword hanging on the wall. And on the desk, a single letter. With trembling hands, I picked it up.
Its contents concerned the owner of this body. The legitimate son of a young, low-ranking noble family. It seemed I had... possessed? Or been reincarnated as? The boy who was a key supporting antagonist character in the story, the rival fated to cross blades with the protagonist later on.
I was speechless.
My heart pounded, a frantic drum against my ribs.
Right, the chapter I'd been reading was the one where the protagonist faces his greatest crisis. And the cause of that crisis was precisely this character whose body I now inhabited, the wielder of that very "Hidden Blade."
"W-wait a minute... you're telling me, at this juncture, of all characters... you've got to be kidding."
Cold sweat traced a path down my back.
At that moment, from somewhere in the distance, came the clash of blades and the roar of angry voices. The sounds of a battlefield. A terrible premonition flashed through my mind.
I rushed out of the room. At the end of the corridor, a retainer came running towards me, his face pale with panic.
"My Lord! A calamity! It's an attack! The 'Fang Wolf Brigade'... they've finally breached the walls!"
"What—?!"
The story had already begun. And there I was, thrust onto center stage as the man fated to be defeated by the hero.
[Status Window]
A translucent screen materialized before my eyes. Like something out of a game, it seemed to be the very "logic" of this world.
Name: Leon Asval (formerly Taro Tanaka)
Age: 16
Title: Inheritor of the Hidden Blade
Stamina: C
Strength: B
Agility: A
Magical Power: Unawakened
【Acquired Skills】
?Hidden Blade, First Form: "Shadow Stitch" – Severs the opponent's shadow, inflicting a moment of paralysis
?Hidden Blade, Second Form: "Water Mirror" – Briefly copies an opponent's technique and reverses it
?Hidden Blade, Third Form: "Silence" – Erases all killing intent and footfall to close the distance
?Sword Dance: Quadruple Strike – A foundational technique unleashing four consecutive slashes in a single breath
Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.
?Breakfall – An instinctive body movement to avoid fatal injury
＊Currently, no aptitude for Magic or Ki can be confirmed. External stimulation likely required for awakening.
"...Huh?"
I blinked. The status window vanished.
So this body possessed monstrous swordsmanship but zero magic or ki. A pure physical specialization in a fantasy world. And in the story, this setup lets him hold his own against the protagonist before losing—no, precisely because he loses, the narrative gains momentum. The classic "formidable rival" position.
An explosion rumbled in the distance.
"—Like I have time for this!"
I looked out the window. Flames rose beyond the castle walls. That direction was the main gate. Which meant—
"He's coming... The 'Crimson Swordsman,' the real protagonist!"
In the original story, on this very night, the protagonist infiltrates the castle alone and clashes with me (the original owner of this body), the wielder of the Hidden Blade. And before the protagonist's overwhelming ki and magic, sword techniques alone prove insufficient, leading to defeat.
"No thanks. Absolutely not. I respectfully decline this death flag-ridden battle."
System, I'm using this skill.
Apparently, merely willing it in my heart sets my body in motion.
"Hidden Blade, Third Form: 'Silence.'"
Instantly, even my own breathing became inaudible. Zero killing intent. Zero footfall. A sensation as if I'd become a shadow itself.
I burst from the room. Soldiers scurried in confusion through the corridor. No one noticed me.
My target was the rear gate. No, beyond that, an escape route. I'd read about it in the story's setting. Beneath this castle lay an evacuation passage used in ancient wars, leading to the forest below the cliffs. A "hidden route" never utilized in the main narrative.
"Alright, if my memory serves..."
An old well behind the kitchen. At first glance, just a well, but a mechanism waited at the bottom. It required courage to jump in, but there was no turning back now. I leaped.
Not a splash, but a crash.
No water. I struck the shallow bottom, but Breakfall activated automatically, halving the impact. Groping through the darkness, I indeed found a horizontal tunnel.
"Bingo...!"
I crawled forward. Narrow. Dark. But preferable to facing that monstrous protagonist.
How long did I crawl? Finally, light appeared ahead—what seemed to be an exit. I emerged into deep forest. Moonlight filtered through the trees.
"Haah... haah... Did I... make it?"
That moment of relief was my undoing.
Rustle.
"Oh? What's this? The young master out for a stroll alone?"
Three men emerged from the bushes. Tattered equipment, glinting eyes. No doubt about it. Bandits.
"Lucky day for us. We can snatch him for ransom."
"Hold on, those clothes... That's a noble brat, yeah? Probably carrying something valuable?"
Tch. Troubles just keep piling on.
The bandits approached, laughing. Rusty swords and clubs in hand. Three of them. I had my weapon, but...
(Wait, hold on.)
I checked my skills mentally. This body was built to fight with sword techniques alone, even without ki or magic. And now, I could "activate" them at will.
"Hey, stay put and it won't hurt—"
The moment the man reached out—
"Hidden Blade, First Form: 'Shadow Stitch.'"
The instant I focused, my body moved naturally. Draw. Flash. I didn't cut the man himself, I cut the shadow cast on the ground.
"—Wha—?!"
The man froze mid-motion. As if time itself had stopped, he stood completely paralyzed.
"W-what the hell was that?!"
"You—!"
The remaining two attacked simultaneously. However,
"Sword Dance: Quadruple Strike."
My body stepped on its own accord. First slash, second, third, fourth. All avoiding vital spots, yet precisely severing combat capability. Wrists, ankles, shoulders. A flawless non-lethal assault.
"Gyaaah!"
"Ugh!"
The three crumpled to the ground. I was breathing hard, but the exertion was surprisingly light. Stamina consumption during skill use seemed minimized.
"Phew..."
I looked down at the fallen bandits. Upon closer inspection, they wore shabby leather pouches at their waists. I hesitated to loot them, but no, this world was survival of the fittest. Besides, something useful might be inside.
I rifled through the bags.
"Oh, this is..."
Spoils:
- 23 silver coins
- 47 copper coins
- 3 small vials of wound salve (potion?)
- Rusty dagger (probably junk)
- And...a cloth pouch of pills
I held one pill up to the moonlight. It faintly gleamed. This was... could it be?
I had no Appraisal Skill, but light novel knowledge served. If bandits carried healing items, they'd have ordinary wound salves, and sometimes things like "Ki Refining Pills" or "Magic Awakening Medicine."
"Could it be...?"
Taking a risk, I tossed one pill into my mouth.
Gulp.
BOOM!
The next moment, electricity coursed through my entire body. A sensation as if my organs were burning, yet simultaneously every cell was awakening.
"W-what is this?!"
I crumpled. My vision flickered. Something circulated within me. Ki? Magic? No, different.
Warm. And strangely bittersweet, an inexplicable sensation. Deep within my body, something felt like it had "sprouted."
I looked at my palm. It seemed faintly luminous. But that was all. I couldn't activate anything.
"I've only... awakened it, then. I need to train it before I can use it."
So this was the seed of healing magic. A latent talent hidden in this body, never appearing in the main story.
I stood, carefully storing the remaining pills and salves in my pouch. Not forgetting the silver coins.
(Alright. First, I need to get through this forest and find a safe place. Then—)
One bandit groaned. If I left them like this, their comrades might come. I had to hurry.
As I pressed through the forest, I thought. After securing the castle, the protagonist would likely gather information in a nearby town. So I'd do the opposite. A remote village, or perhaps...
"Yes, in the next town I'll find a 'weapon shop.'"
I summoned the status window again.
Funds: 23 silver, 47 copper
According to light novel knowledge, this world contained "items imbued with magic in weapons and armor." So-called Artifacts. Purchasing those could supplement combat ability even without ki or magic. As a "bridge" until I could train my healing magic.
And if I took the remaining pills gradually, my healing magic potential might awaken further. But too many at once would be dangerous. Slowly, acclimating my body.
———Several hours later.
I finally emerged from the forest onto a small roadway. A faint light glimmered in the distance. A village, or perhaps a small town.
"I made it...!"
At that moment, I looked back toward the distant sky. The direction of the castle was faintly tinged with red.
(Sorry, original owner. But I don't want to die. From now on, as my own life, I'll live it as I please.)
I took another pill from my pocket and tossed it into my mouth.
This time, I endured it. A definite sensation of something "swirling" inside me. Still formless, but...
"Healing magic, huh... Sounds interesting. Alright, first things first: shelter and information gathering. Then equipment, and after that..."
Under the moonlight, I took my first steps into a new life.