I Became a Raid Boss

I woke up but was still leaning against Da-eun, checking my condition.

Well, it’s… not bad.

Maybe a little nap worked wonders because I felt my usual self returning.

“…”

Confirming that I was fine, I looked ahead.

A one-armed swordsman was blocking our path.

I had sensed someone was there long before—I woke up because of that, after all.

‘Hmm.’

Not a face I recognized.

But judging by the violent aura he’s giving off, he seems to know me.

Maybe he’s someone I encountered on the battlefield.

It’s possible he lost his arm back then.

‘A one-armed swordsman, huh.’

In this world, it’s common to see people with missing limbs due to wars with neighboring countries, fights against monsters, or dimensional invasions.

Silia is a far cry from a peaceful world.

To survive and protect themselves, people had to take up arms and fight.

The scars left on their bodies were traces of fierce struggles they had overcome.

So, I didn’t really care that this guy had only one arm.

I was just surprised that he was standing there with a sword in hand despite the loss.

Most people, sure, they wouldn’t think about wielding a weapon again after losing a limb.

Arms are crucial parts of daily life, let alone in life-and-death battles.

With one arm, you can’t hold a sword with both hands.

Even if he’s using a one-handed sword, you can’t balance without another arm, which inevitably decreases stability.

For that reason, it’s rare for a swordsman to return to the battlefield after losing an arm, but…

“How fascinating.”

He stood right before me.

After losing an arm, he must have gone through a hell of a lot to stand in front of me again.

The scars all over his body told the story of his hard work till now.

“Y-you’re awake?”

“I’ve been awake for a while.”

“Sorry. We were kinda loud.”

“Uh-huh…”

Nod, nod.

“I was awake before that.”

“Oh, really? Then why were you pretending to sleep?”

“I wasn’t pretending to sleep.”

I was just keeping my eyes closed, not pulling a fast one.

Da-eun giggled lightly and patted my head.

“If you’re sleepy, you can sleep more.”

“No.”

I’ve had enough of sleep for now.

“If a guest comes, you should welcome them.”

That’s the duty of a host, after all.

Of course, if we’re nitpicking, this isn’t a home, and that guy isn’t a guest, but still, he did come looking for me.

Just as I was about to straighten my legs and hop off the horse—

A slender, yet strong arm gently wrapped around my waist.

“Kana, why don’t you let me handle this?”

“…Huh?”

“I want to prove myself too.”

“Prove?”

I didn’t know what he meant, but having spoken with the man, I realized he wasn’t here with good intentions.

Why say something like that?

With eyes wide as saucers, Da-eun jumped off the horse.

“Up!”

She seemed to be getting used to dismounting.

Landing gracefully, she drew her sword.

“That guy said he wants to prove his strength. I’ve been curious about how much stronger I’ve become since learning the sword from you, so isn’t this a great opportunity?”

“…Who are you?”

“E-excuse me?!”

Of course, she was Da-eun, not Great Sword Peep.

In other words, there’s no way she’d make aggressive remarks like that.

Frowning at her absurdity, Da-eun pretended to be hurt.

“You’re so mean…”

“Not at all.”

I obviously didn’t believe her.

Just a few days ago, she was trembling at the suggestion of fighting mercenaries; there’s no way she’s changed overnight.

If human nature changed that easily, the noble bastards I beat up wouldn’t be walking around with their heads held high like that.

So, she must not feel that way deep down.

Knowing that, I tried to read her mind.

“Tsk.”

“??”

Long story short, I was out of my league.

I could get a rough idea of that guy’s psyche and his life just from watching him wield his sword, but in this situation, I didn’t have a knack for reading thoughts.

“Are you serious?”

“Of course! This time, I’ll prove to you that I’ve become strong! So no need to say I should increase my training time!”

“…”

Though I didn’t catch the front part, I could feel Da-eun’s earnestness from the latter half.

Staring in disbelief, I noticed her self-assuredness wavered as she averted her eyes.

“…It’s all Kana’s fault for imposing all that training on me.”

Although she avoided my gaze, she must have been stubborn about her opinion.

While trying not to look at me, she spoke as if she was reprimanding me, but the moment her eyes met mine, she startled and turned away again.

…There’s a lot she wants to say, but—

“It’s impossible.”

Just by looking at her stance holding the sword, I could tell she couldn’t match that guy’s level.

Even accounting for the fact that he had only one arm, he was stronger than her.

Sure, battling a strong opponent can help, but I seriously doubt he’ll go easy on her; how much help would that be, really?

“Why?! You told me to fight mercenaries last time!”

“Those were a bunch of nobodies. I even let you pick them.”

Just typical for a bunch of losers; their skills were pathetic.

That’s why I told Da-eun to fight them back then.

“…That strong, huh?”

“Yeah. That strong. Even Great Sword Peep would lose.”

As I kept it simple, Da-eun shut her mouth.

It seemed she measured strength based on me and Great Sword Peep.

“Well, if you really want to fight, just tell him what I said.”

“…I suddenly feel like we don’t really need to fight…”

“You want to prove yourself, right? Tell him you’ll let him keep your life as long as he doesn’t kill you.”

“Can’t I just avoid it?”

“Quickly.”

“Hii…”

I never thought I’d say something like this after having fought in life-and-death battles.

As I briefly considered it, with a sad face, Da-eun spoke to the man.

Initially looking puzzled, he nodded willingly.

“Did he agree?”

“Yeah. But he said he wouldn’t go easy on you, thinking it’s a payment for saving his life back then or something.”

“Hmm.”

Confident words, indeed.

From the start, he seemed indifferent, as if prepared for death.

“Selin.”

“Yes?”

“Here.”

“Yes?”

“…Come here.”

“Oh, you mean to come over?”

“Yep.”

Still not fully grasping the situation, I pulled Selin a step back from the battlefield.

Though I thought it wouldn’t happen, I was prepared to bolt in case he didn’t keep his promise, signaling Da-eun to be ready.

“Good luck…”

“If you’re going to cheer for me, can you at least do it with a little more enthusiasm? Like a kiss on the cheek or something…”

“My enthusiasm doesn’t matter, but I can make sure Joanie’s is up.”

“I’ll definitely win and come back!”

With that, Da-eun dashed in front of the man.

Looks like her enthusiasm kicked in after all.

*

“Whew…”

The rising tension had my heart racing like crazy.

Holding her shaking heart, Da-eun tightened her grip on her sword.

“What’s your relationship with the demon?”

“My sister… though we’re not blood-related.”

Curious about her relationship with Kana, the man asked, and Da-eun replied.

Then she threw him a question.

“Why do you call Kana a demon? She doesn’t seem to act like one.”

If he really thought she was a demon, wouldn’t he just rush in without hesitation?

The answer to Da-eun’s question was simple.

“It’s just a habit.”

“…Oh, I see.”

Well, got it.

It was a statement so unquestionable that Da-eun closed her mouth.

A stilted atmosphere settled between her and the man.

…Awkward!

Da-eun’s eyes rolled around as she silently screamed.

“…Hmm. I’ll concede.”

“…Thank you.”

It seemed Da-eun wasn’t the only one feeling awkward; the guy scratching his head finally spoke.

Da-eun gratefully accepted his kindness.

‘The level… isn’t visible.’

It wasn’t a particularly rare situation, so I didn’t think much of it.

With the tension still taut, Da-eun charged at him.

The first strike was….

‘Downward slash…!’

Da-eun started the fight with the move she had practiced the most.

Although it was a quite fast attack, the man easily deflected Da-eun’s strike with his one arm.

Clang!

The clash of their swords screamed as Da-eun’s weapon ricocheted off.

‘Expected that much!’

She didn’t falter from the recoil of their swords clashing and took a couple of steps back.

Regaining her posture quickly, she surged forward like a beam of light.

From a distance, Kana didn’t see her as a beam of light, but that’s how Da-eun felt.

Clang!

Another parried attack.

This time, Da-eun wavered slightly.

Stabs were the moves she struggled to respond to the most when sparring with Kana.

It was hard to read the target’s point, and even if she did, the speed made it tough to block in time.

So, when a stab came, Da-eun usually opted to dodge to the side, but the man brushed it aside as if it were nothing.

“Eek…!”

Then let’s go faster!

Clenching her teeth, she kept attacking.

The strikes fired rapidly.

At first glance, the man appeared to be stronger, but surprisingly, the difference in their strength wasn’t that great.

That’s why Da-eun was able to keep up against his occasional strikes—but—

As the exchanges continued, her feet began retreating.

Puh!

“Huh?!”

A kick followed after his sword strike.

Da-eun, too busy blocking his sword, didn’t see the kick coming and was sent tumbling back.

A thud rang out, unlike the previous light sounds, and she winced as pain surged through her.

‘…Fast. And strong.’

She groaned while clutching her sore abdomen.

No matter how hard she tried to aim for the arm, leg, or even the vital areas like the heart or throat, the man countered effortlessly as if he knew all of her potential moves.

Even when Da-eun faked an attack to distract him, he stuck to her sword as if he were a shadow.

The distance of a swordsman is equal to the length of their sword.

Da-eun took advantage of every action within her reach, but every single one of them was denied.

The realization that her attacks were failing made Da-eun feel anxious.

Holding her sword with one hand was fine, but if she used both hands, the resulting force would be greater.

If he was hit with that attack, a man of similar strength might lose his balance.

Calculating instinctively, she gripped the sword with both hands and swung fiercely down at him.

That was her most powerful attack to date.

“Hah!”

Clang!

“…!”

The man who always defended honestly angled his sword, deflecting Da-eun’s blow.

Da-eun’s eyes went wide as her weapon slid down his blade, but her body was already crashing to the ground.

With her body wide open, his merciless blade came crashing down.

Swoosh—

Boom!

“C-cough…!”

Thanks to twisting at the last moment, she avoided a fatal wound, but she couldn’t completely dodge it.

As she rolled several times across the ground, fresh blood gushed from her shoulder.

‘Aha, it hurts…’

If the pain was this reduced thanks to the system, how excruciating was it normally?

Her shoulder throbbed as if it had a second heartbeat, releasing a wave of heat.

With lips clenched, her face was already clouded with signs of defeat.

---