Surviving without God

Step—

Light footwork. Roanna’s dash was fast and unpredictable. Testing the ground with parallel steps, she sharply turned her toe to the “eleven-o’clock” angle and dipped into the lower line.

A basic feint: her gaze aimed upward while the dagger’s tip went down. A series of low-line strikes meant to slash the thighs and open the flank.

In that brief instant, Gunther completely read both Roanna’s intentions and her movements.

Shhk—

“Huh?”

The dagger’s tip sliced through empty air. The attack missed so badly it looked like a beginner had thrown it.

Whoosh—

Using the momentum of the miss, she spun immediately, aiming for the upper and middle lines, but the result was the same. Roanna’s brows drew together again.

“She didn’t overpower me with speed.”

On the contrary, Gunther’s movements looked slow. A normal step. A slight tilt of the head. It would have made sense if he were moving faster than the eye could follow.

“What the hell is this?”

Roanna narrowed her eyes.

“Mmm... how did you figure it out?”

“Because your wrists are locked.”

“My wrists are locked?”

Gunther, as if it were nothing important, shifted his gaze from Roanna to the gang members staring in fascination.

“Look. No matter how many feints you mix together, if the wrist stays fixed, the trajectory can be read. It works against weak opponents, but when you meet a master of a certain level, you probably won’t survive.”

Gunther demonstrated the motion of rotating the wrist inward and outward.

“Remember this. Until the moment your attack actually reaches the enemy, you must conceal the blade’s path by properly combining pronation and supination in your wrist movement.”

In truth, this was the technique of the man with the scar. The habit of erasing the trajectory with the wrist. Gunther had memorized it well while carefully observing him. He looked at Roanna again.

“Come on. Again.”

...She really was a cunning girl. Pretending to listen attentively to the feedback and admire it, she was already closing the distance on the balls of her feet.

“Heh.”

The moment Gunther noticed it, she launched herself forward. Surprisingly, she was already applying the advice he had just given. Roanna concealed the trajectory by rotating her wrist at lightning speed.

Yet the result didn’t change.

Shff—

Gunther’s toe turned to the “one-o’clock” angle, slipping off the dagger’s line of attack. At the same time he pressed hard with the back of his hand against the wrist of Roanna’s leading arm as she rushed past.

The rhythm snapped instantly. Roanna froze in an awkward pose.

“Eek! Why isn’t it working?!”

“Why do you think? Have you thought about it?”

“...You sneaky bastard!”

Grab—

Breaking the distance with a sharp kick, she circled along the outer arc and struck upward with a reverse-grip slash. But Gunther avoided it easily, as if he had predicted everything in advance.

“Watch. When an opponent gets confused, they often switch to a reverse grip to land one decisive strike. It’s powerful, but the actual reach becomes shorter. If you stay calm, it’s easy to evade.”

This time Roanna didn’t even wait for him to finish explaining.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

A series of thrusts into the lower line. Miss.

“In low lunges, life lies in variability. Abruptly slow down on the second beat or change the height of your body on the third. That will make it far more effective.”

“......”

Roanna feinted a throw, pinching the dagger between her fingers, then suddenly slashed at his side with the dagger in her other hand.

“Don’t use tricks when you’re desperate. They’re too easy to see through.”

Instead of retreating, Gunther stepped inward, slid his arm between the back of her hand and elbow, and gave her shoulder a slight shove.

“Khh—!”

Before the blade could touch his side, Roanna’s arm folded in on itself and she twisted herself.

“When an opponent’s feints are so skillful that you can’t tell truth from lie—watch the feet. Unlike the eyes or hands, feet rarely lie. And conversely, if you truly want to deceive someone, you must learn to work with your feet. Got it?”

When he finished speaking, Gunther looked ahead. Roanna stood motionless with her arms lowered.

[The Salad Butcher snorts in frustration]

[Alphonse of Red Street shrugs his shoulders high]

[The Drug-Addicted Saint asks him, “And what do you have to do with this?”]

[The King of Ninety-Nine Defeats nods. He says this is entirely your insight and talent]

The basics of dagger fighting he had once indeed picked up from Alphonse. But most of the advice he had just given Roanna came from observing the technique of the man with the scar. Gunther had fought him twice personally and watched his battles twice from the sidelines. It was a technique several levels above Roanna’s. Gunther had replayed it in his mind so many times that it had become second nature.

“Honestly...”

...Roanna, who had been tightly pressing her lips together, finally let out a heavy sigh.

“You dodge ridiculously well.”

“What, already giving up?”

“Hmph. You just dodge well.”

Then she gave a deep bow, folding her hands near her navel.

“Thank you for the lesson.”

Only then did cheers erupt from the onlookers. Gunther smirked and turned his head. Eddie was staring at him with a stunned face.

“Now me?”

“Yeah.”

.

.

.

“Haa... uh... kh...”

“You alright?”

“...I’m deciding whether to throw up or faint first, so leave me alone.”

“Start by standing up. Your subordinates are watching.”

“You damned bastard. Khh...”

Gritting his teeth, Eddie got up. In terms of skill level, the two of them were roughly equal. Eddie had simply stubbornly pushed himself to the limit, which was why he ended up in worse condition.

“Somewhere at the end of the 1st hierarchy, not quite reaching the 2nd.”

It was the level where most contractors stagnated. Among ordinary people they were considered powerful fighters, but... if they intended to move forward together, it wasn’t enough. Gunther gave one final piece of advice.

“Your fencing is very canonical. That’s good, but don’t forget about anomalies. I mean—you should sometimes attack more aggressively. Especially since you have a defensive blessing. Even if you take a risk, you’ll survive once or twice.”

Eddie listened with absolute concentration, afraid to miss a single word, and finally nodded. Clearly, after nearly becoming a victim of Luthien, his mindset had changed completely. Gunther looked with satisfaction at the messages appearing before him.

[Affinity with Roanna slightly increases]

[Detail: Understanding of variable speed in the lower line increases]

[Detail: Understanding of defense in close combat increases]

[Affinity with Eddie Wilder slightly increases]

[Detail: Mastery of the decisive breakthrough pattern]

[Detail: Mastery of rhythm breaking]

[You conducted extremely practical training for the group members]

[Commander class experience increases]

A commander becomes stronger not when he swings a sword himself, but when he develops his allies. In the future there would only be more group battles. He had to remember to develop the Commander class whenever possible.

“And that’s not all.”

Gunther looked around. Everyone was staring at him with shining eyes.

“Did everyone watch and listen carefully?”

“Yes!!!” the unified roar thundered back.

In truth, they already felt deep sympathy toward Gunther. Not only because of his overwhelming strength, but because his habit of explaining everything in detail had touched them deeply. In this Border City, where everything was built on profit calculations, where else could you find someone willing to teach you for free? ...But the surprises weren’t over yet.

“You probably still have a ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) mess in your heads. It’s hard to absorb everything at once just from words. If that were possible, you could quit right now and start working for yourselves—I’d give you excellent support.”

As everyone laughed at the small joke...

Cling—

For the first time, Gunther drew his sword, Straight Line of Despair. The mere sight of the unusual blade made everyone gasp in admiration.

“So I’ll drill you.”

“......?”

“Attack.”

The declaration that he would cross swords not only with the leaders—Eddie and Roanna—but personally with every ordinary fighter. At those words everyone froze with mouths open, but soon they resolutely drew their weapons.

“Oooo, thank you, Boss!”

“Thanks, Gunther.”

For Gunther himself, there was an obvious benefit. He needed to learn how to suppress multiple opponents with this heavy two-handed sword without crippling them. There was no better training to get used to the new blade. Gunther smirked and beckoned.

“Well then. Come on.”

.

.

.

Ting—!

[Interaction with a large group of people detected, command system applied...]

[Commander class experience increases]

[Class trait created: “Field Instructor”]

— Training efficiency +10%

— Affinity growth speed during training +10%

And there was someone else watching the scene with a satisfied expression.

.

.

.

Step—

In the middle of training, Gunther approached the suddenly appeared spectator.

“What are you thinking about so deeply?”

The girl sitting in the corner of the training ground smiled brightly and answered:

“Hm, thinking that I chose an excellent partner.”

Gunther couldn’t hold back a faint smile.

“I noticed long ago—you’re a master at flattery.”

“It’s an investment that costs nothing but sometimes brings enormous profit, right? One should know how to do it. Well... that doesn’t mean my words were empty chatter.”

Brody was wearing a strict formal outfit. A dark jacket and skirt, a perfectly ironed blouse. Neat, yet chosen so it wouldn’t stand out in the Lower City. As always, her clothes perfectly matched the time and place. Gunther pointed to the thick folder in her hands.

“Materials for the report inside?”

“If only...” Brody wrinkled her nose amusingly. “I didn’t know Gunther would be here. I came to the Lower City for something else.”

“Something else?”

“My main job. I need to live on something too.”

Probably business for the Agency. She really was diligent. Gunther shook his head and suddenly noticed she was holding something else.

“That is...?”

“Ah, this... well... how should I say.”

Looking slightly embarrassed, Brody showed the item.

A bag of cookies.

They looked like ordinary cheap sweets, but she was holding them very carefully. Maybe it was some rare treat?

“There’s a shop nearby where I used to buy them as a child. Ah... taste habits are so hard to change.”

“...And you said you try not to show that you grew up in the Lower City.”

Instead of answering, Brody laughed awkwardly.

“Want one?”

“Thanks, but I’m not into sweets.”

“Phew.”

“......?”

Brody brushed off her skirt and stood up.

“I should go.”

“Yeah. See you at home.”

“Can I move the presentation of the results to tomorrow? I need to add something.”

Judging by her confident look, there had been progress. Gunther shrugged.

“Anytime. Looks like the informant gave you something worthwhile.”

“Yes. Good thing I didn’t report yesterday. Turns out I was digging in the wrong direction.”

Brody gave him her signature mischievous smile.

“Anyway, for the sake of customer satisfaction I’m switching to the night shift.”

“Don’t overdo it.”

Gunther replied briefly and remembered the package that had arrived at home yesterday. Regardless of Brody’s report, he already had one lead connected to the Society of Forgotten Books.

“I don’t know when I’ll be able to use it, but still...”

Gunther watched Brody walk away, then turned back to his subordinates.

“Well? Everyone rested?”

After that the training repeated several more times. Gunther grew accustomed to the new sword while the subordinates closed gaps in their defense and learned new techniques.

[The King of Ninety-Nine Defeats is pleased with the impressive weight of the sword]

[You are using equipment suitable for knightly fencing]

[Knightly fencing mastery slightly increases]

For half a day spent, the results were more than satisfactory. After that, sharing a luxurious dinner with his subordinates, he returned home together with Roanna.

“...I’m sooo sleepy.”

The girl trudged toward her room. But Gunther still had energy left. Compared to the extreme situations he had been through, this training was almost rest.

“I’ll work on energy cultivation until Brody gets back.”

With that plan in mind, he hurried to his room. And—

“Heh, hehe... you’re here? A bit late. We decided to drop by first.”

“Gunther, sorry for barging in without warning while you’re on leave. Something came up.”

Gunther had no difficulty catching the ominous undertone in Levain’s words.

“Something?”

“Yes. A mission.”

The world ended.