Chapter 21: The ME Corp Fraud Scandal
Rovel snapped his wooden sword up, the sharp crack of wood on wood echoing in the dojo as he parried the first blow. His focus narrowed, all his attention converging on the woman before him.
Raiden Mei's offensive was a tempest. Her blade moved in a blur, each strike not just as swift as a lightning flash, but carrying a crushing weight that threatened to splinter his defenses and shatter his stance.
'Is this her Sword Intent?' he wondered, the force of her blows vibrating up his arms.
Facing such an onslaught, Rovel could do nothing but hold his breath and concentrate, pouring every ounce of his being into earnestly blocking her every move.
A flicker of surprise crossed Raiden Mei's features. Her amethyst eyes widened almost imperceptibly as she felt a distinct change in their exchange. Rovel had improved, and not by a small margin. He was no longer just neutralizing her attacks; he was beginning to find the seams in her offense, seizing fleeting opportunities to launch counters of his own.
Considering that just last night he could only struggle to keep up, he now moved with a newfound confidence, handling her pressure with a measure of ease.
A faint smile returned to the corners of her lips, and the aura around her abruptly intensified, crackling with unseen power.
"Hokushin Ittō-ryū: Five-Slash Rapid Severance!"
This time, she offered no warning. She wanted to see just how far this man had truly come in such a breathtakingly short period.
The first slash was a devastating downward cleave, whistling through the air with immense force.
Feeling the sudden surge of power, Rovel remained calm. He tilted his body just so, angling his wooden sword to deflect the brunt of the strike's force, letting it slide past him. He knew, with absolute certainty, that the next blow was already on its way.
The second slash: a seamless flip of her blade, using the momentum of the first strike to power a vicious upward swing.
This time, Rovel didn't meet it head-on. Instead, he yielded, allowing the immense force of her attack to guide him. His body spun with the impact, a controlled rotation that bled off her momentum while building his own.
The third slash came instantly: a sweeping horizontal cut aimed at his midsection.
Having completed his spin, Rovel no longer needed to retreat. He channeled the kinetic energy from his rotation into his own blade, meeting her third strike with a violent, resounding parry that sent a shockwave through both their weapons.
The fourth slash was a flick of the wrist, an upward swing from a low angle. The power behind it was less than the second, momentum-driven strike, but it was launched from an exceedingly awkward position, designed to slip past an opponent's guard while they were still reeling from the third blow. It was a difficult, deceptive attack to defend against.
However, because Rovel had so decisively parried her third blade, he had bought himself the crucial fraction of a second needed to counter her fourth.
And then came the final, fifth slash.
For a dizzying moment, Rovel's vision split. He once again saw two phantoms of Raiden Mei, both unleashing a terrifying wave of sword qi that converged on him. He had witnessed the power of this attack last night, and he still had no conventional way to counter it. It was like facing a boss with impossible stats; with his current strength, a direct block was impossible.
And it was far too fast to dodge.
Instinct took over. Rovel could only thrust the wooden sword in his hand out in front of him, but this time, he didn't adopt a defensive cleaving stance. He adopted a lunge, a focused thrust.
In the split second before impact, he thought he saw something—a focal point, a subtle distortion right where the two waves of sword qi intersected.
Relying on nothing but a gut feeling, he drove the tip of his blade fiercely into that single point.
The moment of contact was explosive. Several cracks spiderwebbed across the surface of his wooden sword. The sheer force of the dissipating sword qi shoved him back a few steps, his feet skidding on the polished floor before he finally ground to a halt.
The sword qi… was gone.
"Huff… huff…" Rovel panted, his chest heaving. He had done it. He had blocked Raiden Mei's Five-Slash Rapid Severance.
[You have comprehended a new Sword Intent: Clear Mirror Sword Intent.]
[Clear Mirror Sword Intent: The state of mind is as clear as a mirror, reflecting all things without leaving a trace. When this Sword Intent is activated, the mind is free of distractions, and every move of the opponent is reflected with perfect clarity, down to the smallest detail.]
[Effect: Grants the ability to perceive the reality of force, the tempo of rhythm, and the connection of moves. It also allows the user to see through the enemy's weaknesses, increasing weak point attack damage by 300%.]
[Due to comprehending a new Sword Intent, Basic Kendo (White) skill proficiency +10,000.]
"Mr. Rovel… are you a monster?"
The word, coming from Raiden Mei, was clearly a compliment. Rovel's rate of growth had completely shattered her expectations. In a single day, he had gone from a complete novice who had never touched Kendo to someone capable of standing against her ultimate technique.
At this rate, would he surpass her in another two days?
'Could it be…'she thought, a contemplative look in her eyes,'that all Descenders are as powerful as Mr. Rovel?'
It was a sobering thought. If every Descender possessed such terrifying potential, it wouldn't be long before they became the true masters of this world.
"I think I'm probably an exception," Rovel explained, catching his breath. "And it's thanks to your guidance, President, that I was able to improve so quickly."
He knew the truth. Not everyone started with an attribute panel in the high 30s like him. Even Yuki, who was being personally trained by Raven, had only managed to gain about a thousand skill proficiency points in a day. For anyone else, that was an unattainable dream. A normal person would need months of dedicated training to reach his current level, and by then, the entire landscape of the game would have changed.
He was, without a doubt, a freak in a league of his own.
"That is… quite a relief," Raiden Mei murmured, her shoulders relaxing slightly. With so many Descenders appearing out of thin air, the natives of this world had no way of knowing if they were friend or foe. For now, at least, there seemed to be no open conflict between the two sides.
"Shall we contin—"
Before Raiden Mei could finish her sentence, she was interrupted by Sugi Mikado, who had been observing from the side.
"President, your phone."
Raiden Mei paused, nodded, and stepped off the sparring platform to take the call.
At first, her expression was neutral, but as she listened, her face began to pale. The calm composure she held in the dojo shattered completely.
"What? I'm coming back right now!"
Without another word, not even a goodbye to Rovel, she turned and sprinted out of the dojo, her voice laced with panic.
With her abrupt departure, the sparring session came to a sudden end.
[Sparred with Raiden Mei: Basic Kendo (White) proficiency +120. Task BUFF and Identity BUFF bonuses applied: Basic Kendo (White) proficiency +300 extra!]
[Basic Kendo (White) - Minor Accomplishment. Proficiency: 10,950/100,000.]
[Raiden Mei's Evaluation: Monster. Gained 1,200 EXP! Current EXP: 4,200/5,000.]
Watching her anxious retreat, Rovel's mind raced. 'Could it be? Has that time finally come…'
The infamous ME Corp scandal. The news that would rock the world, exposing alleged economic fraud and leading to Cocolia framing Raiden Ryoma, sending him to prison.
He remembered the major plot point clearly, but the exact timing had always been hazy in his memory.
'If this is really it… then Raiden Mei is about to become that sweet, soft Cooking Lady from the early game?'
His thoughts strayed for a moment, but a sense of helplessness quickly followed. Even knowing what was about to happen, with his current strength, there was absolutely nothing he could do to change the course of such a massive event.
Still, he had to see it for himself. He planned to go check out the commotion. What if it triggered a quest?
With that thought, Rovel also left Chiba Academy. After asking a passerby for directions, he made his way towards the headquarters of ME Corp.
Soon, a sleek, towering skyscraper of glass and steel rose into his field of vision. A large circle of onlookers and news vans had already gathered outside, a media circus in full swing. A reporter was speaking into a camera, her voice cutting through the ambient noise.
"This station reports that Raiden Ryoma, the president of the world-famous multinational electronics manufacturer ME Corp, has been arrested by police on suspicion of economic fraud."
"It is reported that Raiden Ryoma allegedly defrauded investors of approximately 3.4 billion US dollars under the guise of financing the development of high-frequency electromagnetic field containment. The incident is currently under further investigation."
[Inorin's Note:
Enjoying the story? Dropping a quick review, comment, or Power Stone means the world to me and keeps these daily updates flowing!
Want to read 50 chapters ahead or just want to help keep a shameless translator alive? (My livelihood actually depends on this, haha 😭). You can support me directly here:
(P.S. Just remove the brackets and replace the [.] with a regular dot . to use the links!)
✨ Patreon (50 Advanced Chapters): patreon[.]com/InorinTL
☕ Ko-fi (Support / Sponsor): ko-fi[.]com/InorinTL
Thank you so much for reading and keeping this project alive!]