"Eh? You want to train with the blade?" Shizuku was surprised.
"What's wrong? Is it so surprising?" Suzuki looked at Shizuku strangely as he wielded his Knight Killer dagger, the weapon he had gotten from the guy with the Acrobatic job earlier. It was a small, black-and-orange dagger with a gray hilt. Yes, it was simple, but it was sharp and dangerous.
Still, since it was sparring, he naturally used a wooden dagger, as he didn't want to hurt his girlfriend.
'Now, that you mention it.'
If Kim Min-Jun from (3rd Suzuki) Solo Leveling could somehow get access to the system, would his Online Shopping evolve?
After all, the system in Solo Leveling could allow the user to buy various fantasy-like weapons, so if somehow, Suzuki had the blueprint of Solo Leveling's system, he might use his Manager to modify his skills to be better, as that way, he would not need to worry about the problems of weapons.
Still, at this moment, he had gained the Synergist job, which made him feel quite strange somehow. After all, in the eyes of many, it was one of the most common jobs in this world. Yet it allowed the viscount to remain at the same table as that group, showing that, despite having such a job, the viscount's mastery of the Synergist wasn't low.
No, as he had checked the guild's inventory and all other things with his Deep Appraisal, as he owned everything from now on, he had seen that the viscount sold goods related to alchemy, crafting, and blacksmithing.
While Suzuki also had to admit that it was also due to the viscount's status itself, it also showed that the viscount wasn't useless within the table.
This was one job where one could do many things, which confused Suzuki about why the rest of his classmates looked down on Nagumo, especially since the viscount could become an important figure in the kingdom through it.
The knight was even more so, leaving Suzuki feeling helpless.
Or, was it because of Nagumo himself?
Suzuki knew that he might seem like he was mocking Nagumo, but he just couldn't help it, as Nagumo forced himself to be a fighter even though his job wasn't a fighter at all!
Instead of forcing himself to do something that he wasn't supposed to do, wasn't it more relaxing to do what he was supposed to do? It was like him, who was a Merchant; instead of fighting, he focused on all the merchant-related activities.
"...." Everyone.
While those whose status and many other things were taken by him might curse him, as there was no such evil merchant like him in this world, but without a doubt, Suzuki was a Merchant, but Nagumo?
Nagumo forced himself to be a fighter despite not being suited to it, as if he didn't want to miss the chance to fight alongside everyone.
This was probably the weakness of people born in Japan: they didn't like being different or individual, and they all had to follow the group, remaining the same, which made Nagumo not much different despite the potential this guy wielded.
'But what did I expect?'
Nagumo was just a normal boy, after all, so it was too much of him to expect anything from Nagumo.
"Are you sure, Suzuki-kun?" Kaori, who followed the two, couldn't help but look at him worriedly. "You might get beaten up, you know?"
"..." Suzuki.
Would he get beaten up?
When he thought of his exchange with Shizuku in his penthouse, his expression was quite subtle.
"...what are you thinking?" Shizuku's face reddened as she noticed her boyfriend's weird expression.
"Nothing."
"You must be thinking something weird!"
"I am just thinking you are so beautiful, Shizuku."
"Liar~!"
"...can you stop flirting?"
Kaori sighed helplessly, feeling even more strange as she looked at the two.
Still, after the end of their dinner, Suzuki brought the two under the moonlit courtyard of the castle of the Heiligh Kingdom.
"But, it's been a while since we had a spar."
Shizuku took her stance with perfect posture, sword raised in a flawless, textbook Kendo guard. She radiated focus and honorable intent.
Yaegashi-style.
A style of samurai martial arts developed by the Yaegashi Dojo has been practiced for generations. Though it's primarily focused on kenjutsu, more suitable for weapons like a katana, it also has iaijutsu techniques, which utilize the scabbard, and also taijutsu techniques, which employ hand-to-hand combat.
Shizuku was extremely masterful in this form, thanks to her natural talent and relentless training since childhood.
Even though Suzuki was a Merchant in this world, in the original world, he often trained in kendo with Shizuku, as she begged him to train with her. He could only follow his girlfriend's whim, especially when he knew that if he was with her, then he might have to help his girlfriend at her family swordmanship dojo.
Still, in this world, such a style was a liability, and Suzuki needed to show her that to fight in this world, one should be ruthless rather than fight with the intent to score.
So, facing Shizuku's stance, he just stood there. His weapon was held loosely, his dagger held in a casual reverse grip.
To Shizuku, he looks entirely open.
"What is this style?"
"It's a new style of fighting for me."
"From your judo?"
"Yes, but I combine it with Pencak Silat."
"Pencak Silat?" Kaoru was confused, but Shizuku answered, "It's a martial art from Southeast Asia. Historically designed for warfare, jungle combat, and surviving ambushes."
Shizuku was interested, so she asked, "When did you learn it?"
"When I didn't have to study, as I was accepted to the Toudai, I learned it."
"...you are really amazing."
"So, do you want to try this martial art?"
"Sure~!"
Shizuku smiled, curious about her boyfriend's pencak silat.
"Go ahead."
"I will start, then!"
Shizuku moved at blinding speed, which was natural given her high base stats. She launched a textbook overhead strike (Men), fully expecting him to step back or cross his daggers to block.
However, Suzuki didn't block. In Pencak Silat, blocking a heavier weapon with a lighter one is suicide. Instead, he subtly activated his Assassin skill, the lowest level of Presence Concealment—not to turn invisible, but just enough to make his exact distance blur in her vision.
As the wooden blade came down, he executed a fluid Langkah (footwork pattern), stepping diagonally off the centerline. The sword cut nothing but air, missing his shoulder by a fraction of an inch.
"Huh?"
Shizuku's eyes widened as her momentum carried her slightly forward. Before she could pull the sword back to defend herself, he was already inside her guard. He didn't attack with his weapons first; he used his forearm to brutally parry her wrists, not the blade, completely killing her weapon's leverage.
"Ah!"
This was where Shizuku's sword technique failed, as it wasn't designed to defend against the practical, dirty street lethality. She treated this like a duel in a competition, but this was Tortus, who cares about honor when life is on the stake, right?
No, Suzuki didn't ask Shizuku to throw away her honorable blade, but he wanted to make her realize that not every one of her enemies would play by her rules.
And because of that, he needed to show that he needed to change, evolve, and adapt, so that she could stay alive.
Suzuki jammed her wrists, and he weaved his left training dagger over her forearm, hooking it and forcing her arm downward in a painful, biomechanical bind.
"Hmn~!"
Her own sword momentarily trapped Shizuku.
With her upper body under his control, she tried to move away. But he instantly dropped his weight, sweeping his leg directly behind her lead ankle in a brutal Silat takedown.
Shizuku lost her balance and fell backward onto the dirt, but he didn't gloat. He seamlessly dropped with her, planting his knee firmly on her weapon arm to pin it. Before the dust even settled, the tip of his right wooden dagger was resting lightly against her carotid artery.
"..." Shizuku and Kaori.
The entire exchange took less than three seconds. The rest of the courtyard went dead silent.
Shizuku was lying in the dirt, staring up at the tip of the wooden dagger, completely frozen. She had the Swordmaster class. She had double Suzuki's stats as he was just a Merchant. Yet, she was completely dismantled.
"Your sword is too honest. I can read you completely like a book."
His voice was filled with worry before he stood up, brushing the dust off his trousers and offering her a hand.
"A sword is just a long lever. If I step inside the fulcrum, it's useless."
His expression was solemn; he didn't brag, just worried about his girlfriend's safety. "Your form is beautiful, Shizuku. But you fight like you're trying to win points from a judge. If you fight monsters like that, you're going to die."