First Encounter with the Gale

"Death is like the wind; it is always by my side!"

Seeing this figure, these words automatically echoed in Araki's mind.

He was a wind-wielding swordsman from Ionia.

He possessed the heart of a wanderer, indomitable and born to face death.

His movements were fluid and graceful, boundless in their joy.

He was the Unforgiven, Yasuo, a man born for the sake of joy!

"The Wind-Slaying Sword Technique? It fits my upcoming training path perfectly!"

Araki looked at the swordsman figure slowly solidifying before him, a look of anticipation and excitement on his face.

"Let me experience for myself just how 'joyful' you truly are!"

When Yasuo opened his eyes and looked over, Araki felt as if he saw endless vicissitudes and loneliness within them, but more than that, a storm that seemed capable of destroying all things!

The moment he manifested, he stepped forward, appearing instantly before Araki with a sharp, crescent-shaped slash.

"Hasagi!"

"This speed!"

Araki's pupils constricted sharply. The speed of Yasuo's dash seemed even faster than the Body Flicker Technique, far exceeding the movement techniques he had learned from Asuna.

Noticing the breeze constantly swirling around Yasuo, Araki muttered:

"So this is the power of the wind."

Surprise aside, the battle had to be fought. After all, Araki was no longer a weakling; even facing Yasuo's direct assault, he felt no panic. Instead, his eyes burned with a fierce fighting spirit as he drew his own blade with extreme speed to meet the attack.

"Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu, Dragon Soaring Flash!"

It was a simple, unadorned draw-strike. There were no phantom blades, no follow-up slashes—only speed, an unparalleled, extreme speed!

Clang!

As the blades met, after a brief stalemate, Araki was undoubtedly sent flying.

This was not just a gap in physical strength; it was because Yasuo's blade was entwined with a surging, violent gale.

However, this retreat was also a move Araki made in stride, and he suffered no actual damage.

"It seems that in his standard state, both his speed and strength are superior to mine. This will be a tough fight; I'd better buff myself first!"

As he retreated, Araki quickly analyzed the information gained from their clash. He made a split-second decision to use the Body Flicker Technique to create distance, then rapidly formed hand seals to cast Wind Release: Gale Palm, applying the [Grace of the Wind] buff to himself.

Feeling the breeze now swirling around him as well, Araki looked up at the charging Yasuo:

"Round two, begin!"

Whoosh!

Araki tapped his foot, his figure vanishing from the spot to dodge Yasuo's second crescent slash, reappearing shortly after to his left.

"Flash Thrust!"

Under the enhancement of [Grace of the Wind], the speed of this Flash Thrust was no less than the [Sweeping Blade] Yasuo had used earlier. The blade sliced through the air with a sharp, piercing whistle, striking toward Yasuo like a beam of light.

This move, which appeared desperate and unreserved, was actually just a probe by Araki.

He knew exactly what skills Yasuo possessed, and [Wind Wall] could be considered a divine defensive technique.

A wind wall in reality would not be limited to blocking projectiles like in the game; that wall formed by wild winds was enough to deter anyone or anything that dared to approach.

Araki hoped to use this [Flash Thrust] to force out Yasuo's [Wind Wall], then observe and learn its principles, ideally recreating it himself.

Although a swordsman's profession is to pursue the cutting of all things, it is best not to go to extremes when one's strength is insufficient. As a rare defensive sword technique, [Wind Wall] was worth learning.

However, contrary to his expectations, Yasuo was already a mature swordsman. While he possessed defensive moves like [Wind Wall], he used them only to avoid interference in battles against multiple opponents; in a one-on-one duel, he disdained using such a move.

Thus, to Araki's disbelief, Yasuo threw his body directly into the tip of Araki's blade.

Ping!

A crisp, shattering sound rang out. Something on Yasuo seemed to break, and at the same time, Araki's blade came to a sudden halt.

The next moment, Yasuo drew his sword, and a horizontal slash not only blocked Araki's attack, but the immense force even knocked him back a step.

"What was that just now? A wind shield?"

After being knocked back, Araki felt a soreness in his arms and quickly used the Body Flicker Technique to distance himself from Yasuo again, while simultaneously brainstorming the barrier that had shattered on Yasuo.

"Could it be the passive shield from Way of the Wanderer?"

Since Yasuo only had a few skills, Araki quickly guessed the reason, and a look of envy couldn't help but appear on his face.

"This thing seems to charge up through movement. If the game's limitations are removed, doesn't that mean as long as I'm fast enough, this shield can recover almost instantly?"

Araki used the Body Flicker Technique several times to create distance, and just as he prepared to refresh his [Grace of the Wind] buff, he saw Yasuo chasing him down with a speed that seemed to follow his every step.

"How can he be this fast?!"

Araki hurriedly stopped his hand seals and moved his feet to continue fleeing with the Body Flicker Technique.

But the basic Body Flicker Technique was, at the end of the day, only a D-rank ninjutsu, or perhaps more accurately, a physical technique. It did not involve complex space-time manipulation; it was merely a way to move at a higher speed.

That was why Yasuo had been somewhat dazed when they first met, which had given Araki the chance to create distance and perform his ninjutsu.

But now, as a top-tier swordsman who had mastered the Way of the Wind, he could even judge Araki's movement trajectory through the sound of the wind and use his speed—which far surpassed an unbuffed Araki—to intercept him in advance.

And sure enough, just as Araki stopped in his tracks once more, what greeted him was not the familiar arc of sword light, but a roaring Tornado Storm that felt as if it could lacerate his very skin!

"What the hell!"

During the brief moment of stiffness following his Body Flicker Technique, Araki didn't even have time to react before he was swept up into the massive storm, sent spiraling upward in circles until he was dizzy and disoriented.

That wasn't the end of it; upon seeing Araki successfully blown into the air, a faint, almost imperceptible trace of a smile seemed to flicker across Yasuo's usually expressionless, cold face.

He drew his blade, leaped into the air, and lunged toward the floating, drifting Araki within the tornado with near-teleportation speed, shouting passionately:

"Hasaki!"

In an instant, countless sword auras whistled forth, and the tornado seemed to transform into a Blade Storm that connected heaven and earth. Araki's vision went black, and he was directly ejected from the Consciousness Space.

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