The stone form that was creeping up to this body broke the instant I activated Status Cure mentally.

I shook the body of the girl called Soma a little around to get used to it.

I have a lot of questions right now but I'll leave it here first, ...Cross Porter.

While I was navigating through the status window, I was having my face look forward so I could have her continue train her eyes on me.

The effects of my eyes are actually a real unknown, but I've realized that that guy had never thought to experiment with it. I did though, and I found out that it could only hold people off with constant eye contact.

If I break it, she will break down again. That would be troublesome, in various ways...

Absorbing the information took me a whole 30 seconds. I realized how weak I was after glancing at the status window of my own body which was fidgeting uncomfortably. There was nothing noteworthy in my status, even my eyes which I thought to be an irregularity on Earth. Still-

-That's kinda disgusting, looking at myself ...doing that kind of thing.

Soma... was it? She was calling master since awhile ago, should I stop her? That guy's a wuss, so he'd definitely freak out from this. ...I better keep my distance in case he gets his withdrawal symptoms from some weird people again...

Also...

The Sword of Bloodwell. This thing was really heavy when I carried this girl. Apprai...sal?

I triggered the passive skill: Weapon appraisal.

[Skill Glossary: Weapon Appraisal - Interface Skill. Opens up an Item Window that allows the user to see the name, durability, effects and condition of the weapon.]

Sword of Bloodwell

One of 4 Demonic Blades in this world. Draws the blood of its victims to increase its strength.

Class: Legendary Attack: 12,486 Attack speed: 3 Attribute: Dark Durability: 9,520/9,999 Active: Bloodwell Expend Draws up the entirety of the most recently consumed victim and converts the power into a multiplier based on the victim's Rank, for 10 seconds. Passive: Bloodwell Reduces Luck, Intelligence, all Defense stats by 5000 (Cannot go below 0). Increases Strength and Dexterity by 5000. Sword skills have 30% increased damage. Absorbing all the blood from a lifeform slain by Bloodwell will increase its attack permanently based on its rank.

Class, legendary hmm...? ...This thing is ridiculously broken for its rarity huh, as expected of a Sword Saint... a Sword Mage? We're not going to get anywhere just looking at textwalls. I've never wielded a sword before, but I'll try gripping it for a start.

When I tried to touch it, it instantly repelled me with a static discharge of red lightning.

"!! What the?!"

User not recognized. Weapon Penalty incurred.

...I see now... I think I know how to use this still.

Incidentally, I couldn't take out objects in the Item Pouch for some reason. There were a few Serrated Steel Two-Handed Swords in there, and some skill scrolls that might have proven useful in combat.

...It would be great if there was time for this. But, we're on the clock.

...Well, here he comes.

Presence Awareness LV7 triggered.

[Skill Glossary: Presence Awareness - Passive Skill. Increased proficiency in detecting living entities within a circle radius of the user. Skill level affects range limitations.]

"Found you~"

A figure appeared from within the shadows among the trees. It was the male parasite known as Har'Lus.

My body was slightly paralyzed by the act of Soma's subconscious.

Looks like her innate fear of blood, and this person is active again when I take my eyes off her. Tsk. This is why it's so troublesome. Should I knock her out now to let me move more freely?

...no, that would limit my options. But then, my mobility would be hindered if she was to become the target for an attack...

Wait, hmm? It's just him? They've split up to search?

...Are they underestimating us too much already...?

"Haha, I could say the same to you. Aren't you underestimating my abilities too much?"

I see, reading minds. So alike.

Status Check.

Name Len de Eschtalier (Har'Lus Enumi'via) Level 42 Unused SP 0 Rank 5 Race C̸̢̘̪͕̳̽́͛͘ó̶͎̮͚̈́r̷̫͍̼͔̱̹͘p̷̩̂̎̈́̌̀̉̀͒́̿̕͘s̶̥͎̳̙͎̯̣̩̦̪̄̍̓̎̍͐̐͐̇̀̅̓͠e̷̢͔̺͂ Gender Male Occupation Knight Captain Alignment True Chaos Class Sword Martial Health 13,300 (+10,000) Mana 593,360 (+592,320) Strength 5,250 (+4,000) Dexterity 4,656 (+4,000) Luck -10,034 (-12,000) Intelligence 1,231 (+1,000) Defense 10,375 (+10,000) Magic Defense 0 Equipment Traits Combat Reflexes, Possessive, Megalomaniac Titles The weak-minded, The Puppet, Goblin Killer, Orc Killer, Follower of the Sword Path, Villager, Knight Captain, Womanizer, Silver Falcon's Leader, Knight of Silver Slash, Flag Bearer, Sword of the Luna Empire Passive Skills Sword Mastery LV3, Axe Mastery LV2, Poison Resistance LV2, Tracking LV5, Cooking LV1, Leadership LV6, Morale Boost LV1, Battle Stance Correction LV2 Active Skills Flow Acceleration, Breakmoon, Cutting Edge, Sword Lunge, Sword Slash, Axe Acceleration, Durability Break, Battle Roar Foreign Elements M̸̡̭̥͖͇̟̬͚̘̼̜̱̭̾̑̌̆̓̽̈́̌̋a̷̧̡͉̞͉̟̟͎̩̝̪̲͌̓́̆͋͛͊̽̈́̐͋̏͜͝͝͝n̷̡̮̺̙̂̏͘͝a̷̮̼̞͔͉͌̑͂̇͌̉̽̀́̚͝ ̵̢̭̬̘̫̄̅̒̌̉̎͋̒͗͜ͅD̷̮̙̣̭̰̬̋̂͂̉͋̔̉̃̾r̸̡̞̭̦̟͕̤͈͇̈́̍̒͆̿̇̽͆̇̂́̆͝u̸̧͉̾͑̓̀́́͘͘͜͝g̴̛͔̜̟̞̹̳̐͆̉̒̀́͘͝w̵̛̥̳̯̼̼̬͇̉̈̀̄̃͊̆̈́̀̏̏͠ͅơ̴̻͕̹͚̝̬̜̎̔̓̾̔͊́̋ŕ̸͈̼̾̇m̵̺̗̫̟͙̙̟̠̼͙̜͛̆́͂͘,̶̯̗̖̼͇̤̟̙̋̒̈́̐̈́̑̌̃̾̓̒͜ ̷̨̢̗͈̤͚̺̟̣̰̪̺͔̤̈́̊̀̌̇̄̈́͑̐̑̌͒̕͜M̴̡̡͍̜͖̦̣̟͕̼̮̱̃͜å̴̛̼̬̩͇͉̖̈́͒́̆̓̉̈͘͜͠͝n̷̬͖̈́̍̈́̃́͌̎̊͝ą̸̧̡̢̹͎̻̦̠̙̠͔̖̩͕̎̌̍̑̿́͂̚͝ ̵̢̡̬̤̖̻͙̦͉̪̬̣̂̋͘Ḓ̶̨̢͇̪̼̲̻̻̱̦͖̗̩͐̽͛̑̒̒̚͝r̶̢̰̙͈͚̰̲͖̱͗̂̿͒̈́̃̆̑̆̀̾̈̓ǔ̴̢̡̡͕̫̱̰̤̜̗͎̤͚̪̅͊̈̑̊͘͜ğ̷̛̤̬̟͙̯̦̟̀w̶̢̞̠͖̲̹̓̈̕ơ̵͎̯̫̖̠̰̱͗͆̓̒̈́̌́ŗ̷̛͖͓̜̂͒̑̔͒͌̓̀͌̀̄͒̉̚m̵̟̩̰͙̱̟͔͕͔̹̯͈͖̎́,̵̡̤̙̰̣̲̠̙̼̗͆̈̇͌̔̊̑͆̓̈́ ̵̮͛̄̚͘͘Ṁ̶̗̟͎͓̖͇͚̠̜̲͓̱̆͑̔͋̇̂̆̌͑͌͂̆͠ͅͅa̸̰̅̑̔̏̇̋̓n̶̡̨̫̗̰͚̥̿̏̿͂͌͑́̿̈́͑̚͠a̸̢̨͇̗̹̲̒͊̾̆̋ ̴̡̜̝̱̫̮͌̂D̶̛͓̜͋͑͗̇̽͒̓̓͘r̴̛͍̫̞̜̭͉̮̟̱̿̏͗̂̄̕̕͝u̴͚̫̹̗̖̻̝͉͙͍͚͉̾̔̑̅͜ͅg̸̡̧̫̝͓̟̭͓͉͇͙̜̹͋̌̽͐͜w̵̧͔͚̘̲̺̜̹̦̩̼̪̦͗̈͜͜o̸̡̭͇͚̻̤̣̤̥͕͉̙̥̝̍̌̂̄͑̊̒̉̇̈́͘͠ṛ̶̡̛̝̱͈̯͙̮̦̺̍́̍̽̊͗̈͂͛́́̀͠m̸̧̳͔̖͔͓͖̪̟͌͊͛̎̔̓̕͝,̵͓͍͋̿͗̓͊̈̓̉͛̕͜ ̶̡̢̛͕̬̞͎̖̬̽̃̒͗̀̂̂͂̏͐͒͘̕͝M̴͓̹͈̬̼̘͌͌̎̒̈́͑͗̐͘̕͠ä̸̙́̈́͊͗̇̓͂͛̈́̈͘͘ņ̸̡̢̧̯̹̰͕̮͉̙͍͇͙̣̈͛̉̄̾̄̋̚à̵̱͙̝̰̖̱̘̘̽͛́̓̌̋̑͘̚͝ ̴͔̟̳̝̪̬͙͔̤̫̰̓ͅD̸̡̨̰͔̝̟̃͋̀̈́͑̌͐̈́͂͒̈́͠͝r̷̺̻̠̜̍̐͊͛̽̈́u̸̞̗̪͚̹̙͛̈́͌̽g̶̝͔̜͔̣̈́̈̋͐͂̀̀͋̏͗̕̚w̷̨̪̤̎̓̐̒̆̐̏̀͝ö̶̢̮̼̭̬͕͖͚͖̫̝̲͗̐̉̉̎͋͂̓͠ͅŗ̷̧͇̖͔͍̪̪̑ͅm̵̢̢̩̜̙̙̖̫̘͉̜̓,̶̟̒̔͗̀͐̐̈́̇̕ ̴̲͓̓̒̈̈͌̈́͘̚͝͝͝ͅ

...Hmm...? Eschtalier...?

I looked at Soma.

Are these two related? Also some parts of his status is shrouded by some... weird glitch... I can probably assume... that this information is not the full extent of his powers...

Soma seemed to notice from the telepathy but only continued to tremble. Looks like she wasn't an enemy after all.

...Did she wet herself? Tsk. That's my body for crying out loud.

"Hold your sword on your own and keep your eyes trained on me."

She obediently did, and the trembling stopped.

It's good that my eyes are working but... Really... my clothes... they're soaked... ...

Whatever. The sword also accepted Soma using my body. My next hypothesis was correct again, at least.

"You really think... you have the leeway-"

Har'Lus suddenly appeared right in front of me, as if he had used teleportation.

But since my eyes were accustomed to following things that moved quickly since I had contracted that annoying mental illness...

I could somehow see that he had simply just dashed forward with a blinding amount of speed.

"-To think of something like that in the middle of the fight?"

-Tch!

I grabbed hold of my body which Soma was in and flung it as hard as possible to escape the imminent attack.

Soma, who was inside of my body, flew powerfully towards a large sturdy tree with the Sword of Bloodwell in her hands without any signs of stopping. She had stuck faithfully to my order and prioritized holding onto the sword at all costs. Still-

My strength is too high, I can't control it!

I could hear a crack from the impact area. A dust cloud was formed there. My original body likely suffered more than just a few fractures from that.

I quickly blocked the claw from Har'Lus that extended towards me with both hands. It was gouging deep into my skin, but it didn't feel painful at all. The pure strength value was truly enough to withstand most physical competition.

That was good to know. But-

It didn't hurt? It wasn't as powerful too? Huh? My sense of pain is messed up in this body?! This was a miscalculation, I didn't think she had such a dull sense of pain! How can I register my plans without a body reception like this?!

Also this girl, why was she so afraid of him when she was this much more powerful than him?

I pushed the man away fiercely, knocking him towards a tree.

I expected him to come crashing onto it violently, but the damage was negated.

"Naive! Shock Absorption!"

[Skill Glossary: Shock Absorption - Active Skill. Creates a thin layer around the user's body that is consumed by the first physical attack that reaches its surface. Once consumed, the user briefly nullifies knockbacks for 2 seconds. Skill level affects duration of nullification period.]

There goes the easy way out of puncturing his internal organs right from the start of the battle- Without knowledge on all of his skills, I'm at an extreme handicap...

"You're not that girl are you? How amusing, no wonder you had been able to move before me~ Still you're underestimating greatly how deeply laid out my plans have been~

You're smart, I acknowledge that. But from the beginning of this battle, I haven't even used any of my hidden trump cards yet! Let's see how long you can last like that~ It'd be a minigame of sorts, it'll be fun won't it~?"

Ignoring his provocation and obvious foreshadowing, I turned my head and looked for the girl in my body.

Ah, there she is.

Looking briefly at Soma and the condition of my body, I judged them to still be alive from that throw.

Thank god. I'll gauge my strength better next time. Well then, on to the next one.

I looked at the parasite emotionlessly.

You have learnt the skill: Spatial Flow Control Lv1.

[Skill Glossary: Spatial Flow Control - Active Skill. Allows the user to use and wield weapons to attack with a mental link instead of holding them physically for a set period of time. Skill level affects duration of mental link.]

42 points remaining, can't use any more huh.

While you're gloating about your pointless victories, the only thing left is to shut you up. Physically.