I Became the Academy's Turn-Based Swordsman - Chapter 6

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Irevi

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 6: Black Shard

──────

Getting an Abyss Core didn't mean my turn-based life was over.

So today, I dragged myself back to the Beast Dungeon to farm Shards.

Even after all that grueling training with Adeline, I still couldn't seize the first turn against Elite Kobolds.

Naturally, every trip to the dungeon left claw marks carved into my stomach. Sometimes my arms, sometimes my chest.

Still, the Yellow Shards were clearly working.

They turned what should've been fatal wounds into wounds that were merely close to fatal.

Of course, they still hurt like hell.

What I needed, naturally, was a Shard that would increase my speed.

There were six types of Shards, divided by color.

Red increased Attack Power.

Blue increased Health.

Yellow increased Defense.

Green increased Critical Hits.

White increased Mana, but since I was a swordsman, it didn't mean much to me. What I needed most was a Black Shard, which increased Fluidity.

I was the only one stuck grinding through turn-based combat, but Academy of the End was originally an action RPG.

Attack Power, Health, Defense, Critical Hits, Mana.

The other Shards had straightforward effects, but Black Shards were the only ones that increased a stat I'd never even heard of: Fluidity.

So what the hell was Fluidity? Put simply, it reduced the delay between actions.

It let you get back up faster after dodging, or recover your stance more quickly after blocking an attack and getting pushed back.

Newbies might ask, “So what's so good about that?” But it was a different story for veteran players.

The higher your Fluidity, the more bizarre plays became possible.

The developers had probably added it as a safety net for newbies, but for veterans tempered by other games, Black Shards were practically cheat codes.

‘If you slot sixteen Black Shards, the dodge cooldown is 0.1 seconds? What is this, baby-mode dodging?’

‘Stack Black Shards and you can block and parry at the same time.’

Eventually, someone uploaded a video of them beating the Evil God with no equipment, using only dodges, parries, and blocks while fully decked out in Black Shards. Naturally, their character was wearing nothing but underwear.

The Black Shards created to balance the game ended up destroying that balance instead.

Maybe that was why, right after the video flooded the community, the developers brought down the hammer.

Black Shard drop rates were drastically reduced.

To about one-eighth of what they had been.

And that was why my Abyss Core window was currently a complete disaster.

╔═════════╗

◈Abyss Core - Renee◈

╠═════════╣

▸ Equipped Shards: 16/16

□ □ □ ■

● ● ● ●

◎ ◎ ◎ ◎

╠═════════╣

□ = Red Shard 3

■ = Blue Shard 1

● = Yellow Shard 8

◎ = Green Shard 4

╠═════════╣

▸ Stat Bonus

Attack Power 3

Health 1

Defense 8

Critical Hits 4

╚═════════╝

No, where the hell were the Black Shards?

Despite running Elite Kobolds every day for two months, I hadn't gotten a single Black Shard.

Which meant I'd failed to seize the first turn and gotten beaten up at least sixty times. Those fucking developers...

I visited the infirmary and the church so often that even the nun who always looked at me with pity had started clicking her tongue as if to say, “That bastard's here again.”

Kieeeek-!!

"I'm telling you!! Just give me one already!!!"

That familiar shriek rang in my ears.

A red gem glimmered over its head as always, and its steel-like claws ripped through my armor again.

The claws that slipped through my armor naturally pierced my flesh and left another wound.

Did it think eight Yellow Shards were a joke?

"Urgh...!"

I hadn't felt much of a difference with just one, but after gathering eight, I could finally feel it.

Defense increased by eight. My wounds were definitely shallower, and the pain was more bearable than before.

The moment a blue gem appeared, I activated Arts.

Carving Sword.

[Weak!]

Then came Ashen Light.

Even when I first fought them, I had more than enough damage.

Now, with three Red Shards and four Green Shards added to the blow, no, the two blows, the Elite Kobold collapsed and rolled across the floor.

"Ha..."

I didn't have much health left.

If a Black Shard didn't drop this time, I was done for today.

I needed to recover and come back tomorrow. Just as I thought that, I spotted a gem glimmering among the kobold corpses.

Thankfully, a Shard had dropped.

But...

[Black Shard]

"......!?"

I sprang to my feet without thinking, then clutched my bleeding stomach and sank back down.

It was fine. It was okay if it hurt right now.

With trembling hands, I carefully picked up the Shard.

A small black gem with a liquid-like sheen.

It looked exactly like it had in the game, just as I'd seen it countless times.

"......Fuck."

A laugh escaped me.

"One finally dropped, you bastard..."

If all those miserable days had led to this one piece, they had been more than worth it.

Normally, the standard choice would be to remove either a Blue or Yellow Shard.

But this wasn't a game. Blue was my health, and Yellow was defense directly tied to my survival.

Both Shards directly affected my physical condition, so I couldn't remove either.

That left Red and Green.

I reached my decision without hesitation.

Since Green increased both critical hit chance and damage, its effectiveness was split between the two.

I could forcefully mark a weakness with Carving Sword anyway. In that case, raw Attack Power was better than Critical Hits right now.

Goodbye, one Green Shard.

I immediately slotted the Black Shard into the empty space.

Click.

A brief vibration ran through me, followed by a strange sensation spreading throughout my entire body.

╔═════════╗

◈Abyss Core - Renee◈

╠═════════╣

▸ Equipped Shards: 16/16

□ □ □ ■

● ● ● ●

◎ ◎ ◎ ★

╠═════════╣

□ = Red Shard 3

■ = Blue Shard 1

● = Yellow Shard 8

◎ = Green Shard 3

★ = Black Shard 1

╠═════════╣

▸ Stat Bonus

Attack Power 3

Health 1

Defense 8

Critical Hits 3

Fluidity 1

╚═════════╝

To be honest, I had half doubted whether increasing Fluidity would really make me faster.

But after equipping it, that didn't seem like something I needed to worry about.

"Still, I should test it."

After administering first aid and catching my breath for a while, a writhing shadow emerged from the darkness again.

Black demonic energy seeped into the shadow, which soon gathered into a familiar shape.

An Elite Kobold.

Grrr...

I stared straight at it.

Sharp teeth.

Claws stretched as long as longswords.

That disgusting dog smell that made my face scrunch up on its own.

And eyes that looked at me like I was prey, as though that were only natural.

The same old bastard strode toward me.

Kieeeek-!!

The moment its body leaped forward with a piercing shriek...

"Ha ha..."

A blue gem appeared over my head.

⁎⁎⁎

"Your movements have definitely improved. Did you change your Shards?"

"You can tell?"

"Of course I can. What do you take me for?"

Wow. Aren't you something.

The next day, Adeline said that while blocking the Arts I unleashed one after another during our spar.

For the record, she wasn't even wearing an Abyss Core.

What a monster.

Even after equipping a Black Shard, I still couldn't seize the first turn against Adeline.

How many Black Shards would I need to seize the first turn against her?

Maybe I'd need higher-grade Shards.

Surely I wouldn't still fail to seize the first turn even with Tier 5 Shards or Special Shards stacked all over me, right?

"Right. How's your Break training going?"

"Maybe because I'm turn-based, but I can't seem to get a feel for it."

"Seriously... What kind of genius can't manage something like that?"

No, I really couldn't get a feel for it because I was turn-based.

There were no ultimate moves in Academy of the End.

There were only Final Arts and Secret Arts, which came close.

Instead, it had a system on the same level.

Break.

It was a technique that dealt massive damage by pressing a button that appeared automatically after using Arts consecutively.

Beyond the heavy damage, Breaks also had useful additional effects, such as shattering an opponent's defense or stopping their movements.

When Adeline saw that I'd created Arts on my own, she got all worked up and made me train Breaks.

"Hey, I hear all the kids use them these days. What'll you do if a genius like you can't? It'll be embarrassing."

But I couldn't use Breaks.

Why? Because I could only use Arts twice.

With turn-based combat, after exactly two attacks, it always became the opponent's turn.

But Breaks required at least three Arts. How was I supposed to do that?

So Adeline was pouring water into a bottomless bucket, while I was being waterboarded.

No matter how much I protested that I was turn-based, she wouldn't listen, so all I could do was give up and train.

I could somehow manage Arts, but Breaks were mechanically impossible. What did she expect me to do?

"I guess I should give up on Break..."

"What?"

"...I'll make a twelve-line acrostic out of that."

"Ah."

She'd actually supplied the opening syllable herself.

While I was wondering what I could say to get hit less and move on, Adeline turned toward the entrance of the tent.

"Looks like everyone's ready. Go on, then. I'll hear that twelve-line acrostic when you get back, okay?"

Fuck.

Several soldiers and dozens of civilians had already gathered by the entrance.

The familiar nun stood at the front.

"Have you finished preparing, Sir Halibal?"

"Yes. We can depart immediately."

The civilians were the bereaved families of soldiers killed by kobolds during the last Beast Dungeon expedition.

They were waiting for me because of that damned Funeral Rite I hadn't even intended to perform.

During yesterday's meeting, I mentioned that I'd defeated an Elite Kobold without getting hurt, and the nun suddenly got carried away.

"Then...! I want to soothe the souls of those who died while accompanying Sir Halibal in the dungeon."

She even spoke with tears in her eyes. There was no way I could refuse.

"At last, the Funeral Sword is taking action."

"We know how many wounds you've endured for your comrades, Halibal."

"We'll assign guards to you, so make sure you carry out the rite properly."

So how was I supposed to perform this rite?

I had no clue.

⁎⁎⁎

Right after I defeated an Elite Kobold, the bereaved families began kneeling before its corpse one by one.

"I... I told you not to go. Why didn't you listen, you idiot..."

"If you leave me like this... what is your mother supposed to hold onto and keep living for... huh?"

"The doll you gave Lumi as a gift... Lumi still loves it. Lumi hugs it to sleep every night..."

As sobs spread uncontrollably through the dungeon, the nun recited a prayer.

"May quiet rest be yours. May the place your breath once passed be colored no longer by darkness, but by light. May the sorrow of those left on this earth not hold your soul back. Here and now, we send you on your way. In your next life, may we meet again not on a battlefield, but where wildflowers bloom."

Thankfully, there was nothing I needed to do. I only shook the blood from my sword, closed my eyes, and observed a moment of silence.

Then something glimmering caught my eye among the kobold corpses.

[Black Shard]

‘Two Black Shards in two days.’

Was this what they meant by life's ups and downs?

Remembering all the hardship I'd suffered, tears welled up in my eyes.

"Ah... Are you shedding tears for us too, Sir Knight?"

"Funeral Sword Halibal Velder. I won't forget your name until the day I die."

"Thank you... truly, for giving us this precious opportunity..."

It felt like the misunderstanding was growing worse.

Before anyone could see, I swiftly picked up the Shard and slotted it into my Abyss Core.

After the rite ended, we reached the dungeon exit with the soldiers and civilians.