[...Highly recommend 'cloning' said sword art. Proceed? (Y/N)]

  I didn't have a choice anyway. The deliberation was short.

  'Y, execute!'

  [Advanced Sword Art - Initiating cloning of 'Auria'. Time remaining: 00:59 seconds.]

  [Usage Warning - 1 daily sword art build remaining. (4/5)]

  Wait, what? Usage limit? What the hell are you talking about now?

  "How frustrating. Why no words? Boys, looks like this bastard is frozen in fear."

  Fear, my ass. My head was just spinning. When my brain goes into overdrive, I have a habit of bouncing my leg.

  What do you mean, 'free plan'? Can I upgrade my tier, then? Is the cloned sword art just as powerful? Won't it put too much strain on my hardware?

  I was overflowing with questions. But the bandit boss was approaching. I had to stall for time.

  "You're acting pretty confident. Guess you're the boss?" "Oh, so he's not mute."

  The lackeys snickered from the back again.

  "And I guess you're not exactly the honest farming type? Shaking people down in a place like this." "What? Pfft, hahaha. Hear that, boys? This guy's got quite the mouth on him!" "Look at him, all pale and scrawny... Spouting nonsense when he's probably never worked a day in the fields either, Boss!"

  Who the hell are you? Following the voice, I spotted a particularly weaselly-looking lackey. I'll deal with you later.

  I took a short, deep breath to steady myself. I looked the boss straight in the eye.

  "I'm not leaving my bags." "Not very smart. Gonna leave your neck instead?"

  More snickering from the back. It wasn't even that funny of a joke. The lackeys sure worked hard on their reaction game. 32 seconds left.

  "No. Let's duel. If you win, you can take my stuff. But if I win, you let me go without a fuss."

  If I lose, I lose everything; if he loses, he just lets me walk. It felt like a bad deal for me, but I had no choice right now.

  Regardless of my internal grievances, the bandit boss's eyes widened. The lackeys looked at each other in surprise. Then, as if on cue, they burst into laughter.

  "A duel? Me and you? Hahahaha..." "A guy who looks like he's never held a hoe, let alone a sword!" "Boss, I think his brain is glitched. Crush him!"

  Yeah, it must look ridiculous for a guy who clearly isn't a swordsman to challenge them to a duel. That was exactly the point. As the boss, he couldn't just refuse a challenge and save face.

  A one-on-one had better odds than aggroing the whole mob at once. Please, take the bait. 15 seconds.

  "Are you scared?"

  I threw out a taunt to drive the wedge in. The bandit boss's eyebrow twitched.

  "It'd be a huge blow to your ego if you lost in front of your underlings. Right?" "Lose? Me? Bwahahaha..."

  The giant, a whole head taller than me, threw his head back and laughed. It was pretty intimidating. After laughing for a good while, he nodded.

  "Fine, I accept. Beat me, and I'll let you go as promised. But I guarantee that won't happen. I'll be taking your head!"

  My heart was pounding like crazy. My palms were soaked in sweat. But outwardly, I kept up the brazen act.

  "Let's keep it fair. I don't need your life."

  Reverse psychology. I had to shake up the board to have a chance. Did the tactic work? The boss's face flushed bright red.

  At that exact moment, a new prompt popped up on the system window.

  [Auria Sword Art (Advanced): Cloning complete.]

  Perfect timing. All that was left was to calmly deal with an opponent who had failed his anger management check.

  That should have been the case.

  "Look at those hands, never touched a speck of dirt! Think you can even block the Boss's sword?" "Soft hands, pale face... He's never done a hard day's work in his life!" "Looks like a commoner, but clearly doesn't work! Definitely a jobless parasite sucking his parents dry in the corner of his house!"

  That last one was the weaselly-looking guy.

  Snap.

  The sound of something snapping in my head.

  [Auria Sword Art - Initiate sequence? (Y/N)]

  The one whose aggro was drawn was me.

  "WHYYYYYYYY!! (Y)" "Wait, what the...?"

  I was the one who fell for the taunt. Fueled by pure rage, my body launched itself at the panicked giant.

  Clang, clang!

  In the middle of the eastern kingdom's Eldoria Forest. The sharp sound of clashing blades rang out continuously.

  Already over a dozen exchanges. Sweat beaded on the forehead of Bruno, the boss of the Bruno Brotherhood.

  This makes no sense. Bruno muttered inwardly.

  He thought the guy had never held a sword. But unexpectedly, the pale nerd in front of him was skillfully unleashing a fierce assault.

  But what truly shocked Bruno wasn't Jihoon's skill.

  'This sword art...!'

  The stance was clumsy. The power behind it was negligible. But the familiar scent emanating from the blade's trajectory. The sequence of the strikes. The frequency and spacing of the footwork. Even the microscopic habit of shrugging the shoulder right before swinging the sword.

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  It was none other than Bruno's own...

  "...Father?"

  ...Because these were the characteristics of the 'Auria' sword art that only his father knew.

  Bruno's hands and feet grew uncoordinated. Thoughts chased each other in a dizzying loop.

  His father, who refused to be a commoner and dreamed of becoming a knight. The sword art his father had forged with blood and sweat, passed down only to him. Why was this guy using this sword art?

  Was it because his mind was in chaos? The whispers of his subordinates, which he normally wouldn't have heard, burrowed into Bruno's ears.

  "Why is that guy using the Boss's...?" "Didn't the old man leave home a long time ago? Did he take a disciple...?" "But heirloom sword arts are only taught to family...?" "Gasp! Now that you mention it, that guy's eyebrows look kind of...?" "Shut up!!"

  He couldn't listen to it anymore. Bruno stomped the ground as if to cave it in. Startled birds took flight.

  That couldn't be true. His father, who said he was leaving on a warrior's pilgrimage to grow stronger. His father, who waved until he disappeared over the horizon. There was no way his father had an illegitimate child!

  But then, what the hell was this guy? Why did he know their family's secret sword art?

  "Haaah!"

  Bruno channeled his fighting spirit into his entire body. There was no point in continuously guessing. The answer was right in front of him.

  The next strike. He would risk it all the moment Jihoon approached for the next attack. Bruno made his resolve.

  The guy's sword art was his own. He could predict exactly when he would charge. The split second the guy rushed in, he would overpower him with a counter containing all his might.

  And then he would ask. The truth.

  Silence. A brief stillness flowed between the two.

  Then, the moment Jihoon kicked off the ground and rushed in for the next strike!

  'Got you!'

  Bruno unleashed the counter he had been waiting for. A critical strike carrying the full weight of his body!

  Swoosh!

  But incredibly unexpectedly, he didn't feel the sensation of his blade hitting anything.

  Jihoon, who had been charging, suddenly stopped dead in his tracks like a lie. And Bruno's sword cleaved through empty air.

  'What?'

  Before he even had time to process it, Jihoon's halted figure glitched back into motion.

  Thwack.

  The pitch-black blade dug deep into Bruno's left shoulder.

  'Ah...'

  Agony that felt like his collarbone was being torn away. His consciousness began to fade.

  Within it, Bruno remembered.

  'The sword of Auria is a rigid sword. But if it is only rigid, it is bound to break before a greater rigidity.'

  His final training session with his father before they parted ways.

  'Thus, I depart to embed softness into our blade. If I ever find the answer, I will return and teach you, my son.'

  Bruno clutched his left shoulder and fell to his knees.

  "In the end, you reached it..."

  With a faint smile on his lips.

  "Father..."

  The bandit boss, Bruno, lost consciousness.

  What the hell just happened?

  I stared at the scene before me. My thrusting Terminal Sword was lodged in the bandit boss's shoulder joint.

  Just before executing the final sequence...

  [Warning: Null Pointer Exception - Cannot reference the next action. Ignore and continue? (Y/N)]

  My body, which had been charging madly, suddenly stopped dead in its tracks.

  Swoosh!

  The opponent's attack grazed dangerously close to my eyes.

  'Crazy! I almost got deleted! Y, Y, Y!!'

  Then, as the sequence resumed, my sword accurately pierced the guy's shoulder. The boss lost consciousness and collapsed.

  He seemed to mutter something before he went down, but I didn't catch it properly. One weird thing was the smile hanging on his lips.

  "What the? That's creepy..."

  Why the hell is this psycho smiling after getting stabbed?

  I regulated my ragged breathing and looked around. The lackeys were pale, looking back and forth between me and their boss.

  Face management. I struggled to keep my expression neutral.

  Every muscle in my body was screaming, and I was completely out of breath. But I couldn't show it. If the lackeys rushed me right now, I wouldn't be able to handle the aggro.

  "What are you doing? Move."

  The single sentence I barely managed to spit out caused a murmur among the lackeys. Then, after a moment, they parted to the sides, clearing a path for me.

  Really? Just like that? Are duels in this world always this clean? Or do they have an ulterior motive?

  I couldn't believe it, so I kept my guard up for a while, but they didn't seem to have any other intentions.

  I lived. I survived for now. Fearing they might change their minds, I hurriedly grabbed my bags.

  "Boss Bruno! He's bleeding quite a bit, is he okay?!" "...No, it's a wound we can stem! Get the bandages, bandages!" "Such precise skill... As expected of the Young Master...!"

  The lackeys had huddled around their fallen boss at some point. Wait, what's this 'Young Master' nonsense?

  Anyway, just as I was about to take my leave.

  Flash.

  A spark. A streak of blue light swept past me.

  The surrounding air froze. The sound of the insects in the grass instantly ceased.

  "Ugh...!"

  Short groans. I looked back to see the bandits, who had been trying to stop their boss's bleeding, all kneeling on the ground. Every single one of them was clutching their right shoulder.

  What? What just happened?

  There were sword wounds on the lackeys' shoulders. Cuts of identical length and depth, as if copy-pasted.

  And in the middle of the kneeling bandits stood a female knight, completely motionless. Brown hair. A sword without a single drop of blood on it. Flawless silver armor. Emotionless eyes.

  I could tell at a glance. The blue flash I just witnessed. An overwhelming technique that made the brawl I just had look like a child's game.

  All of it was the work of this female knight.

  While I was still processing the situation, one of the bandits stared at the knight's armor and suddenly shrieked.

  "A-Alba family!"

  The other bandits flinched and raised their heads. Then, confirming the female knight's face, they all began to bow their heads to the dirt.

  "E-Enforcer Meisa!" "Why would the Lady of the Alba family be in such a shabby place...!"

  Looks like the female knight is a pretty high-ranking VIP. But to react like that. Is this a strict caste society?

  "I won't waste words. You know your own crimes better than anyone."

  At the female knight's cold words, the bandits' shoulders trembled violently.

  I finally felt a bit of relief. To think public authority reached all the way into the forest! The rule of law in this world must be quite strict.

  Just as I was about to raise my hand and ask for help, the female knight, Meisa's, gaze snapped to me.

  "Is the internal dispute over?"

  Internal dispute? What internal dispute?

  "The Bruno Brotherhood. Quite the notorious reputation within the territory. You aren't thinking of making excuses, are you? I'm arresting all of you."

  A hundred times correct! But why are you saying that while looking at me?

  "Sounds good! I'm completely in favor!"

  I answered loudly for now.

  "Hmm?"

  The female knight's gaze softened slightly.

  "...Fine. Cooperate quietly. Come here."

  Cooperate? To a civilian like me? Does she need a binding rope or something? I happen to have some rope in my backpack, I can give her that.

  The moment I brought the rope to the female knight.

  Snatch!

  The female knight grabbed the rope and bound my wrists with it.

  "Hey, what are you doing! Why me?" "Quiet. I thought you were surprisingly well-behaved for a bandit, but now you're trying to play dumb?" "No, it's a misunderstanding! I'm a victim! I have nothing to do with these guys!"

  The female knight's blue eyes turned back to me. A gaze so sharp it felt like it could cut me. Meisa pointed back and forth between me and the bandit boss.

  "Even after I saw with my own eyes that the two of you use the exact same sword art? Are you still going to deny it?"

  What the hell. That counts as evidence? I stared at the female knight in despair. That overbearing glare. Arguing any further seemed pointless.

  "...Fine."

  I had no choice but to submissively accept the bindings. Feeling wronged, I added one last thing.

  "I'm telling you clearly, I am innocent. Please give me a chance to explain myself, at the very least."

  It was a minimum struggle. While silently binding my hands, the female knight's movements paused for a second.

  "I will, of course, allow you to be interrogated at the village. If you are truly innocent, participate in the investigation honestly. Though I doubt that'll be the case."

  Saying that, the female knight turned away from me. Then, clapping her hands to dust them off, she counted the bandits one by one and briefly fell into thought.

  "Strange. They specifically reported there were four..."

  A faint muttering reached my ears.

  See, the numbers don't add up! I told you it wasn't me! Once my innocence is proven, I will absolutely demand an apology. I made a firm resolution inwardly with a meaningful smile.

  It was right then.

  "Ughhhh..."

  Bruno, who had been passed out, opened his eyes with a groan. His eyes were unfocused; he didn't seem fully lucid yet.

  As the guy tried to push himself up, his eyes met mine.

  'Huh?'

  For some reason, an odd light gleamed in his eyes.

  After a brief silence. His mouth slowly opened.

  "Little brother...!!"