Chapter 42: Superior Stats vs Superior [Skill]

It had been thirty seconds since Jacques awakened his [Precognition] skill.

Tobias was faster.

Tobias was stronger.

Tobias was more determined.

But those traits didn’t matter – not when Jacques could read his every move like a book.

A thrust is only prepared for, accounted for, and countered before it even struck him.

A slash is only prepared for, accounted for, and deflected before he even saw it coming.

His left eye might have not worked properly anymore, but it can still ‘see’ to some degree... It can see the future, that is.

The future is presented to him in black-and-white lined pictures, obviously distinct from the color-filled world. His [Precognition] only showed a single picture exactly two seconds ahead of time, in intervals of half a second.

That meant that in two seconds, he would see four outcomes, updated after half a second each.

In melee combat, where the smallest fraction of a second could lead to a fighter exploiting the most minute of openings, this [Precognition] might be terrible in comparison to other more fluid, smoother types of [Precognition].

But it was more than enough for his purposes, and was an immense advantage.

... And arguably, that was the best part of it all. Because it wasn’t constantly being updated in real time, and he only saw flashes of pictures every now which he could actually react to, that meant that witnessing the future didn’t strain his mind too much; It didn’t take an awfully long time for him to get used to such sight.

By now, Tobias had been slashed and wounded throughout his entire body. Each of them minor, as Tobias managed to barely dodge certain defeat time and time again...

But it didn’t matter.

Because if Jacques’ right eye had adjusted to his new depth perception, then he knew that each of those glancing strikes earlier would have won him the duel already.

But no matter. Jacques only needed to hold out until his right eye did adjust properly.

And when that happens; he will win, without a single shred of doubt.

And there it comes, the next blow...!

...!

That sword strike which came from Tobias was a full-powered blow, as Jacques felt his own arms rattle with each incoming strike!

The worst part was that each of them came from different, awkward angles...!

Whenever he even thought of trying to deflect or parry such strikes, his left eye just showed him an ominous picture; a picture of his side getting cleaved by that longsword of steel.

Therefore, he couldn’t do anything but block them head on.

Did Tobias figure out that Jacques could see the future? Just after half a minute of exchanging strikes, he had already figured it out?!

So instead of relying on his sharp, practical swordsmanship to fish for opportunities, Tobias only used his longsword like a savage wielding a club, going for full frontal, powerful blows that made his bones rattle!

But he still knew how to strike, when to strike, and how to do so without exposing himself. So it wasn’t as if he could simply counter those wild, powerful strikes to begin with.

“Hey there, Jacques.” Tobias spoke, as longsword was bound against his saber, and Jacques had to hold the back, unsharpened edge of his saber just to keep the longsword at bay.

If he didn’t – he knew that he would only lose. Even if it was unsharpened, it still dug into his palms almost too painfully...!

“You...” Jacques asked, gritting his teeth together as he fought the bind as best as he could. “You know, don’t you...?”

“I figured it out.” Tobias replied, but the grin he had come to expect was nowhere to be found. His eyes were indifferent – cold, even. “Anyone would be able to, after a few seconds of exchanging strikes with you.”

“I see...!” Jacques grunted, right as the unsharpened edge of his saber dug into his palm.

“You also made it obvious.” Tobias continued, then raised his sword – before it crashed against his saber again.

For a second, Jacques thought he heard a sharp crack when their swords crashed against each other.

“Besides... Now, I’m not holding back anymore.”

This guy...

Tobias really did stop using any sort of technique or finesse.

But unlike a savage... He still understood where openings and weaknesses were...!

The raw, sheer speed and power from his club-like blows, combined with his honed eye for swordsmanship...

Meant that each block only rattled Jacques’ arm, while he couldn’t do anything about it.

And because he needed to block each strike with two hands, he couldn’t force a counter attack.

Even with his [Precognition] which could see two seconds into the future – even if he could react to each fully-powered blow, there was no chance of ever parrying or deflecting those strikes into a counter attack without exposing himself.

It was a stalemate for now.

Was Tobias that desperate to win?

... Jacques already knew the answer to that. So there was no need to think about such things. Instead, he should dedicate some part of himself into thinking on how to win...

And the key lied within Tobias’ strength. While his blows were incredibly powerful, swift, and put Jacques, a person who could see into the future on defense, that only meant that such powerful strikes were his weakness.

It was impossible for Tobias to keep sending fully-powered blows repeatedly.

Jacques could see beads of sweat forming on his forehead, as Tobias’ stamina is no doubt being depleted at an alarming rate.

In combination with his countless shallow wounds, he would be no doubt exhausted.

Once again, Jacques knew that he only needed to hold out.

Even with this new revelation, as long as Tobias didn’t have overwhelming strength, then he could hold out.

“Give up, Tobias. It’s futile.” Jacques knew that will win at the end of this minute.

...?!

But why was Tobias only getting stronger with every strike?

Was he going to burn himself out to force a victory?!

***

“Give up, Tobias. It’s futile.” Jacques somehow managed to say that out loud confidently, even if he moved fluidly – desperately, to block each powerful strike.

But was Tobias the type of person to ever give up...?

No. He wasn’t.

He only answered the insane demand issued by Jacques with even more powered swings!

A slashing blow horizontal here...!

A smashing blow perpendicular to the previous strike there...!

Each strike had his entire weight behind them – at some point, he started to place more and more weight on his right foot to gather such strength.

He bore the pain with gritted teeth...

Because he knew that it was impossible to use all of his strength with only one leg...!

He gritted his teeth, as his longsword crashed against the saber again.

The reverberations of such impact only echoed against his right leg, earning sharp echoes of pain which he ignored.

How many times had their blades clashed at this point?

Ten?

Twenty?

Thirty...?

He did not know how many strikes he already launched in the past half minute.

All he understood was that – he needed to force an opening with his superior strength and speed.

Forty...

Fifty...

Sixty...!

But eventually... He reached his limits.

His arms felt like lead, and his right leg screamed with pain.

So his sword strikes grew weaker.

They grew duller.

And he just... stopped swinging his longsword as he lowered it, his sword arms exhausted...

He just couldn’t win with pure strength, after all.

“Do you finally give up, Tobias?” Jacques almost seemed to loom over him, and he raised his sword to deliver the final strike – the slash which would end it all.

Did he give up, though?

No. Of course not.

He couldn’t even speak anymore from the exhaustion... What a bitter shame...

So he only looked at him with defiance, and glared at Jacques’ face.

“... So be it then, Tobias.”

He let out his raw, killing intent, which made Jacques flinch. And just like that, his saber was brought down by his pure instinct...

Just what he had planned, then.

Tobias instantly raised his left hand to stop the strike.

Sorry Magnus, but it looked like Tobias needed to use his gift after all.

***

“Do you finally give up, Tobias?” Jacques asked, as he raised his saber.

This guy... He really did exhaust himself.

This unstoppable whirlwind of death... Seeing him slouched like that as he desperately breathed in and out was somehow cathartic in its own way.

Tobias even used his right leg, even if it meant powering through the pain just to send fully-powered strike after strike.

Jacques could only respect his resolve, if nothing else.

But then, Tobias only glared at him, as if he found his mercy repulsive...

There was no stopping him is there...?

“So be it then, Tobias.”

Well... No matter.

He had already won their duel, anyways –

His [Precognition] told him that Tobias would attack, by punching his face with his left hand!

So he brought down his sword, aimed towards said hand.

What would a fist do against a saber?

This guy’s determination...!

His [Precognition] only revealed to him that Tobias’ hand would only be split in half, lengthwise.

It was at that moment that Jacques was only thankful that his [Precognition] only let him saw the future in lines of black and white – otherwise, the blood and gruesomeness of such injury would have made even him feel uncomfortable.

And he wasn’t sure if a healing potion could fix that injury revealed to him by his vision.

Would he even sacrifice his left hand like that, just to defy him until the end...?

Clang!

No... Tobias’ fist was not split in half, as he had foresaw.

Because right there in his left hand... were iron-forged knuckles which only snapped his saber in half upon impact.

What? Since when did he wore that...? Where did he get that?

To answer his countless questions, Tobias only raised his longsword, and sent a thrust towards him.

***

So Jacques’ ability to read into the future or whatever Skill it was called could be triggered by killing intent, after all.

In his left hand, he wore Magnus’ gift. It was practical and tacky, that was for sure. And he remembered being told that if he was ever forced to use it on the battlefield, then he might as well be dead.

But right now... It was the only thing which prevented his left hand from being split lengthwise. Yes. The reason why his opponent’s saber was snapped in half... was because of these iron-forged knuckles which snugly fit in his own knuckles.

He had gambled everything into his longsword’s superior construct and design. This two-handed longsword which managed to withstand his tests of abuse time and time again...

That was why he poured all of his strength and power into hitting the same spot over and over again, after all. It was only a matter of time to snap the saber.

Jacques’ astounded, confounded expression was more than enough to give him an opportunity to slip past his guard.

He raised his longsword, and sent a thrust towards Jacques. But when the blade touched cloth, he quickly stopped his attack, not even drawing a single drop of blood.

Because he had already won.

They only looked at each other.

Jacques stared back at him uncertainly – almost as if he wasn’t sure if what he was seeing was a future vision, or if it was already the present.

Tobias only looked back at him, with an expression that silently told Jacques what he was seeing is already the present.

“Jacques.” Tobias began slowly, still feeling his throat sore from his overexertion. “I won.”

“... So it would seem, Tobias.” Jacques slowly began, although his right eye was still widened, no doubt from shock.

“Come on Jacques.” Tobias said, then he withdrew his longsword, and carefully sheathed it. “You know what that means, right?”

Jacques’ right eye blinked, then he let out a heavy sigh, filled with complicated emotions. Then he finally collapsed, and laid down on the ground on his back.

Tobias rushed to him, and knelt to him.

“I didn’t pass out just yet.” His right eye gazed up at him, and then he let out another heavy sigh. “Tell me, Tobias. Do you really want to know the truth that you seek? I will ask you that one last time, and if you really insist, then I will tell you.”

“I have a question before that, though...” Tobias said, and then cleared his throat. “Why do you sound like you’re finally willing to give it up? Especially after you threatened me, and even tried to dismember my limbs just to win the duel. It’s just... strange...”

“I already lost.” Jacques said, only spreading his arms on the grassy ground. “Even if I had to confront my own self about it... even if I unlocked a new Skill from my desperation to beat you... I lost in the end. And tell me, Tobias.” His right eye seemed to peer into Tobias’ soul. “I should have known this from that night back then... But are you going to stop seeking those answers? Or would you rather die before you would give up?”

Tobias blinked. He was willing to fight with tooth and nail if he had to, just to reach those answers... “Yeah... I don’t think I would give up. If you won now, I would only challenge you again and again...”

“Exactly. I’m already tired, Tobias.” Jacques sighed for the third time. “It’s gotten to the point where even my own conscience is telling me to just give up. Hell, you still cared for me even when I traded in my left eye for power. I just want this over with, Tobias. Ask me what you want.”

And staring at his lone eye, Tobias really could see the guilt that Jacques had accumulated.

This guy...

Jacques didn’t need to be defined into either a warm, caring person or a cold, rational person. Both sides of them were his own self, and it was Tobias’ fault for trying to split his personas apart like that...

How shameless of him – to try to define a person into certain personalities and constructs his mind applied to them...

So Tobias inhaled slowly, and let it out to relax himself. His first question... Is the one he already asked Jacques long ago, while they were returning after their latest Magical Dungeon.

But this time – there was no campfire which cast a wall of smoke and deceit between them. The wall has been sundered apart the moment Tobias won this duel.

“Why did Marcus die when he acquired his System?”

“That’s because his body couldn’t handle the strain. His heart probably exploded, or he just died when he got it, that’s literally what it means.” Jacques replied, shrugging.

Tobias frowned. “What do you mean? He didn’t die when the moment he got his System.”

“He didn’t?” He hummed to himself, then let out a sigh. “Must be different, then. Alright, Tobias. Tell me how he got his System to begin with. I only know that he died after that, because that’s all you told us and I didn’t want to pry.”

So Tobias began his story

...

On hindsight, Tobias really did filter a lot more than he thought. So he began telling Jacques about it, who paid a lot of attention to it. Then his eyes widened.

“So you’re saying... After he survived a battle field and killed people, he woke up with it one day?” Jacques asked, and he nodded in turn to answer the question. “And then... After that, he got marked by death and hunted down by death itself?”

“Yeah. That’s the basic gist of it.” Tobias nodded.

“Well, what do you know? A real, actual System granted to someone by some God out there, only for that guy to get taken by death after it happened.” Jacques chuckled, as if finding it awfully ironic. “One hell of a circumstance, if I do say myself. Makes you wonder; why bother giving him a System to begin with, doesn’t it?”

“That’s... yeah. Why would Death do that?” Tobias hummed, thinking to himself. “And not to mention... My System that functions using Clara as an ‘Anchor’... I think Death itself gifted that to me, while using Clara as an interface so that I wouldn’t die, I guess...?”

“You know, Clara probably had her soul violated just to resonate with yours.” Jacques commented. “I would know, I’ve seen it happen before. But usually, they would only be driven insane because the soul isn’t something to just tamper like that, you know?”

“Then how is Clara still alright?”

“I don’t know. Probably because if death itself really did tamper with her soul... Then they practically know what they’re doing. Death is death for a reason, and complete understanding of how souls functioned and how to manipulate them isn’t too farfetched, don’t you think?”

“... You sound like you speak from experience.” Tobias narrowed his eyes, checking to see if his party Leader was being humorous in his own, dark way.

There was none. He was completely serious.

“Isn’t that fairly obvious at this point?” Jacques sighed, then shook his head. “No matter. Point is... I know a bit about Systems more than you think... and I first thought that Marcus was only forced with a false System which only killed him, or something.”

“False System...? Jacques, your System... What is it, exactly?”

“Not given by any God out there, that’s for sure.” Jacques shrugged. “I can’t raise my Stats and Attributes at all, and I can’t really access the interface.”

“But if it’s not given by any God... Then where did it come from...?”

What did Jacques mean? Why did Tobias feel dread at asking that question...?

Why was Jacques’ eye blank, and uncaring? It was almost as if he detached himself entirely...

“Tobias. This is why I didn’t want to tell anything to you. But my System is forced to me by humans... no, by monsters. I have watched countless people die, get desecrated, turned into hideous creatures and even worse fates, just for the sake of creating a System.”

“That’s...” He wasn’t even allowed to say anything, because Jacques only continued on, with his blank, uncaring expression and voice.

“You remember those white rooms, Tobias? That Tier 3 Magical Dungeon we just went into... That was a semi-replication of the underground facilities that I was held in for ten years of my life. All of them were different facilities to experiment on people, and there was a lot of cells to keep a lot of people.”

“...”

“But you already know those terms, don’t you? I can see that you understand what I’m getting at. You really are hanging out way too much with Bastille for you to know those terms.”

Tobias slowly nodded at his accusation. Everyone... really told him that, didn’t they...? But he had a more pressing question right now.

“Why... would the Magical Dungeon form itself like that...?”

“Don’t know, Tobias. Maybe some God out there wanted to torment me or something. I don’t really know, and I don’t really care right now.”

“... So that’s why you know a lot about Systems...” Tobias began, awkwardly glancing back and forth between the forest ambience, and meeting that burning, white eye.

A question began to formulate in his head, but he let it go with a sigh. That sounded stupid...

“So, yeah. I only know monstrous, human-derived Systems and how to create them in theory.” Jacques explained, then gave a shrug. “Hell if I know why your friend got taken by death after he unlocked a System or something.”

And then – there was silence, as his Leader only looked at him with a raised eyebrow, and a lone eye which was still glowing white.

“... Doesn’t that hurt?” Tobias finally asked, gesturing towards the other closed eye.

“This? Not really... My left eye still stings and is most definitely blinded in the conventional sense, but my right eye is fine.” He replied, with such a matter-of-fact tone that Tobias idly wondered if he somehow mentally broke Jacques after he won that duel. “What made you ask, though?”

“Your right eye only keeps glowing white...”

“Oh.” Jacques hummed, then he sighed. “Let me see if turning off my Precognition off would do something about it... And there, how is it?”

True to his word, that glowing white eye only simmered and dimmed down, before returning back to its usual, sky-blue colored eye.

“They’re not white anymore, at least.” Tobias offered, letting out a sigh of relief when he saw that normal eye back.

But still... Jacques’ left eye was still shut, and while blood didn’t seem to flow anymore, seeing that only Tobias grit his teeth together.

Jacques himself seemed to notice his growing discomfort, so he raised his hand and waved it, as if to dismiss such dark thoughts. “My left eye? Don’t worry about it. I can see two seconds in the future, so I think that’s going to be more useful than my left eye. More importantly, I’m more surprised that you cared about my left eye being blind more than hearing about my past. Why is that?”

Tobias blinked. Then he let out a small smile.

“Because I actually saw what happened to you when your left eye got blinded. On the other hand, I’ll be honest... but I really can’t imagine you living as a subject to be worked on for ten years of your life... Not that I don’t believe you, but I really don’t have an image to work with, you see.” He replied, giving a small wince. “So while I do feel sorry about you, it kinda feels... distant, and not really my concern...? Sorry.”

“What are you sorry for?” Jacques let out a chuckle, which seemed to regain some of his lost mirth. “If anything, I’m kinda glad you didn’t start pitying me and shit. I didn’t tell you my story so you would pity me. If you did, I will stop telling you anything, even if you won our duel.”

And then, there was silence again, as Tobias didn’t know what to say anymore. When he tried to walk, he was reminded by the pain in his leg that he had a fractured right shin.

“By the way... isn’t it a good idea to heal our legs?” Tobias asked, as he reached into his pouch to withdraw a healing potion. And removing the stopper swiftly, he only downed it in one gulp, as his leg’s bones began to reform themselves.

How convenient...

“Well, I guess.” Jacques shrugged. “The Cleric’s gonna get mad at us for not recovering naturally, but whatever, this is annoying. All we need to do is not tell her anything, am I right?”

Tobias let out a small chuckle at his joke. What a person doesn’t know is something they won’t worry about, after all.

“Pass me a healing potion if you don’t mind. I honestly didn’t expect to get injured like this, much less lose, so I didn’t prepare.”

Tobias only shrugged in response, and tossed one of the vials filled with healing liquid. As expected, his expert fling, in combination with Jacques’ swift hand only meant that it was caught solidly.

And even if it wasn’t, those vials were much more durable than they looked, so they wouldn’t shatter against the soil ground.

After that, Jacques quickly gulped down the red liquid of the vial, before letting out a sigh of relief, as his own bones were definitely repairing themselves.

“Alright.” Jacques said, as he stood up, and tested his right leg. “Let’s go back then. Do try to keep everything you know a secret, got it?”

“Yeah. Definitely something they shouldn’t know, if anything.” Tobias replied.

And with those words, both of them walked back towards the city. Strangely enough, Jacques still sheathed his half-snapped saber by his side, but he didn’t choose to comment on it.

“By the way, Tobias.” Jacques asked, while they were walking towards the city. Tobias idly craned his head to listen to him. “Where did you get those steel knuckles?”

“Oh, these?” He fished out mentioned weapon, and after he spun it on his finger for a few seconds, he flung it towards Jacques. “I got it from my old mentor, Magnus.”

“I see...” He seemed to inspect the weapon for a few moments, before trying it on. And with a quick jab towards the air, he let out a satisfied hum. “Makes any punch rather devastating, doesn’t it?”

“Yeah.” Tobias grinned, and caught the weapon which was returned to him via tossing. “One hell of a gift, isn’t it? My mentor said that if I ever have to use this weapon on the battlefield, I might as well be dead. But I guess I’m still alive, so his words kinda don’t make any sense.”

After all, even if it was a personal one-against-one duel... It was still a war between them. Tobias was determined; it was his own war declaration, after all.

“By the way, wanna return back to your village to actually spend time with your family?” Jacques asked, and his question only made Tobias’ eyebrows raise with confusion. “Don’t give me that look. The last time you visited them, you only watched in the side lines while we talked to them.”

“Yeah, didn’t really have anything to add to the conversation.” Tobias replied. “And now that we’re speaking about home, where did you even come from?”

“Some noble house out there.” Jacques answered with a shrug. “If you heard of House Moonblade, then that’s great. If you haven’t, then that’s expected.”

“I don’t think I heard any House like that...” He admitted, then sighed. “But then, if you’re from a noble house, then why are you so friendly with commoners like... literally everyone?”

“That is simple, my dear Tobias. There is a saying called Noblesse Oblige... It means that it is only right for Nobility to act kindly towards the common people, for they are privileged to begin with is it not?”

“Makes sense.” He shrugged. “Well, why did you become an adventurer if you’re a noble, then?”

“In case it wasn’t obvious enough, I wasn’t born into nobility. I was only adopted through sheer coincidence. And now, is it not only right for me to earn my keep?”

“I see...”

And just like that, they drifted off into more mundane conversation topics. One could look at them right now, and not know that they were in a lethal duel just a few minutes ago.

But then again... What did you expect from Tobias, and what did you expect from Jacques?

Both of them possess strange, weird Systems of their owns which he understood shouldn’t exist, while having the disposition of indifference when it came to matters they don’t have control over.

They were both kindred, strange souls like that, after all.

‘Why cry over spilt milk’, they’ll say. Unless it’s them who spilt it, in which case, they’ll only clean up the consequences as best as they could, while learning from it and not spilling the milk next time.

They functioned like that, after all. And speaking of spilt liquids...

“By the way... How are we going to explain your left eye?” Tobias idly called out, as he glanced to his companion look at his reaction.

In turn, Jacques glanced back to him, and when he opened his left eye, instead of his eye bearing the color of the blue skies, it was instead turned into the deepest black; just like Clara.

“It’s not that bad, is it?” He asked, and Tobias let out a hum, before he sighed.

“It’s still fine... But it’s black now.” He answered.

Jacques let out a blink, before he gave a small, wry grin. And the next words he said was something that Tobias agreed with.

“... Fuck.”

...

It should be noted that later on, when they told Clara about it (because Bastille was somehow too observant and smart enough to figure out that this development would happen), she threw a tantrum, ground her knuckles against both of their heads, called them ‘knuckleheads’, and then she went on a really long rant which was obviously emotion-driven based on the fact that she was concerned about them.

Clara really was a sweet, caring girl like that, after all. Maybe more so towards Tobias, but even towards Jacques really.

After all, the guy lost his left eye’s functions. It would be pretty sad if Clara ignored the Party Leader she respected like that, after all.