Ganersam Volume 1
Chapter 20

The ship slammed into the sand and screeched to a halt. We were all thrown to the front, but luckily no one was seriously injured.

Carrying the unconscious Nia, we exit the ship. A good portion of the ship’s front end is buried under the sand, and we need to duck as we exit the ship’s front. I managed to catch a glance at the bridge.

No one was there, not a single crew member. There was a chance all the crew members had escaped, either that or they were now lying injured on the floor.

Or...

Alexander is alone.

Riko said that the ship could be flown alone, despite being limited by emergency mode.

That does make sense, fewer human operators onboard mean less likelihood of a traitor.

The operation won’t be as easily exposed, either.

We distanced ourselves from the ship. I let Nia down on the sand.

Riko landed the ship near us.

“What happened!?”

He asked as he ran toward us.

“Nia used magic, and the ship exploded.”

“I see...”

Is he calm because he’s a professional bounty hunter, or is it because he’s seen worse before?

Maybe both.

I tried shaking Nia, no reaction. Riko grabbed her hand, and put a finger on her arteries.

“She’s still breathing.”

“Good to know.”

I’m at a loss at what to do. Emma approached us.

“She’ll recover, give her time.”

“Alright.”

I was going to ask how she knew, but I assume it got something to do with that wizardry from before.

I lay Nia on the sand and looked back at the ship. A figure could be seen appearing from the wreckage.

He was a tall adult man. He’s covered in dark gray from top to bottom. His face was hidden under a gray helmet. Part of his armor shone yellow, reflecting the reddish-yellow of the fire behind him.

He’s holding a longsword in his right hand. The sword shines through the night.

It looked like a normal longsword, with its hilt decorated with the same dark gray color.

“So you’re Alexander, huh?”

I stood up and aimed LIAR at the man.

The man didn’t answer and slowly approached us.

Seeing that, we all prepared our weapons, ready to fire.

“Drop your weapon, or we’ll open fire!”

Riko gave the man a final warning.

The man ignored him and continued walking.

Seeing that, Riko gave Emma and me a code, and we started firing.

The man continued walking despite being under heavy fire. The bolts deflected off his armor and hit the sand, kicking up a cloud of dust. He ignored all of that and swung his sword forward.

The sword lit up red. He pulled the sword upward before slamming it down to the ground. The shock wave was strong enough to push us all back.

Sand filled the air as we struggled to stand back up.

“Nia!”

Emma rushed to Nia’s position, while the rest of us dust away the cloud of sand.

“He’s an Amnesia Clansmen too, isn’t he?”

Hearing me, Riko responded with a nod,

“Yes, he is.”

So my hypothesis was right.

If you’re someone gifted with a powerful weapon, there’s probably no need for a large number of guards.

That means the sword must be his gift. He probably has those damned boosted stats as well.

This makes him a very dangerous enemy.

If we could take out his sword, then the fight should be easier, even if it’s just by a bit.

“Be careful, I could feel weirdly intense dark energy coming from him.”

Emma whispered to me. I nodded.

“Why did you side with the demons?”

I tried to open up a conversation. The man completely ignored me and swung his left hand.

A large red outline in the shape of a rectangle appeared around us.

Following that, the ground started to shake rapidly.

From around us, the once large desert plain started to transform, Buildings started appearing from the ground. I looked behind, and our ship disappeared from behind the sand.

The buildings are all boxed in shape, with small windows on them. They have different heights, forming a wall surrounding us.

“I thought you could only take one gift!?”

I asked Emma, who was looking at the scene in awe.

“Maybe I should take that... what, ah, yes, yes that’s the rule.”

She looked at me, startled.

If that’s the case, does that mean his sword isn’t a gift?

If that’s the case, then maybe it’s like Nia’s staff, a product of the demon’s army. The demon’s army probably gifted it to him.

If that’s the case... maybe I should just focus on defeating him.

The man swung his sword toward the side, and all of a sudden the battlefield lit up.

Lamps made out of sand turned on, and the lights inside the buildings also lit up.

“What is all this?”

I asked as I looked around.

The buildings were tightly stacked on top of each other. It felt as if we were in an urban area. The field that we are standing on itself has been modified.

High walls surrounded us, with tall poles standing on the four corners.

We looked at the man. The man lowered his left hand and placed it on his sword’s hilt.

Now holding the sword with both hands, he took up a fighting stance and pointed the sword at us.

“I don’t know what you’re doing, but I’ll put an end to this!”

Amel said as she recklessly rushed to meet the enemy. I opened my mouth, trying to stop her, but the words won’t come out of my mouth. I watched as she ran toward the enemy. She then pulled her sword up and jumped.

Now in the air, she put her weight onto her sword and swung it down toward the man.

The man sidestepped to the left and dodged the attack. He swung his sword at Amel who landed on his right, which she dodged by immediately jumping backward. He followed with a dash at her. Three steps, four steps, and after the fifth step, he’s now exactly beside her.

He swung his sword at Amel, with the intention of cutting her from the side. Amel was quick to respond, and she pushed her sword towards her right, blocking the man’s sword. The two swords clashed followed by the sound of screeching metal that filled the air.

Amel took a step toward her right, while turning left in order to face the man. She stared at the man, looking for an opening, but the man was first to respond. He dashed again, and swung his sword in a diagonal movement from Amel’s top right.

Amel jumped backward, dodging the attacks once more.

“What’s going on?”

From my point of view, Amel seemed to be struggling. The man’s sword looked to be larger and heavier compared to Amel’s, so he is supposed to have a disadvantage when it comes to speed, but he’s keeping up with Amel’s pace so far.

Hearing my question, Riko shook her head.

“No, she’s analyzing her enemy.”

“She... does that?”

“Yes, it’s just sometimes she didn’t bother using the stuff she learned to her advantage.”

“Aren’t you supposed to be concerned with that?”

“No.”

Riko looked at the ongoing battle.

“If she thinks the stuff she learned isn’t fun, she won’t bother using it. She prefers the harder and more exciting way.”

Isn’t that a terrible mentality to have?

Meanwhile, Amel decided it was time for her to shine. She dashed at the man, pointing the tip straight at him.

The man pushed his sword towards his front in order to greet Amel and the two swords clashed once again. Amel’s sword slides through the right side of the man’s blade. She lowered her stance, swinging the sword leftward at the man’s exposed body.

The tip of Amel’s sword turned sharply toward the man’s head, but he immediately responded. Reading the threat, the man quickly jumped backward. Amel quickly followed up and rushed at the man.

The man pulled his sword up, before pulling it down at the incoming Amel. Amel brought her sword upward and blocked the attack. The man continued with a second swing, and a third, all the while keeping his distance from Amel.

Being pushed into defense, Amel took three steps back to distance herself before once again thrusting her sword towards the man. The man deflected the attack, and stepped backward. He then darted at Amel and jumped.

Seeing the threat, Amel jumped back again, furthering the distance between the two.

“This is bad!”

Amel said while breathing heavily, a slight smile on her face.

You look mighty excited there, girl.

“His attacks are far too strong for your average human. He’s also stronger compared to most Amnesia Clansmen.”

Considering his allegiance, it wouldn’t be surprising if he had something injected into him. The demons may have developed a man-strengthening serum that we were unaware of.

Realizing my call, I pointed my hand at the man.

“Lightning Cut!”

I shot a bolt of lightning toward the man.

The man cuts right through it. Amel jumped away, distancing herself.

“Don’t hit me, idiot!”

I ignored her screaming and tried another spell.

“Sprayjet!”

A beam of water hurls towards the man, to which he dodges.

“Maybe water? Sprayjet!”

I continuously fire bolts of water towards the man, which he constantly dodges.

“That’s it, it must be water!”

The problem is I’m the only one that can use water here since the other spellcaster had fallen unconscious. I don’t know if Amel is able to use that Sprayjet, since I’ve only seen her use Sleep before.

Even if she could use Sprayjet, she probably won’t, as she is also busy dodging my runaway spells.

Holstering Liar on my back, I pointed both of my hands towards the man and fired another shot,

“Sprayjet!”

Having both my hands out will increase my power, although it would reduce my control over the spell even further. I don’t know who made that a rule, but it doesn’t matter.

Amel already distanced herself from the man, so the only one in front of me is the enemy, so the chance of friendly fire is low.

But unlike before, the man didn’t dodge.

As if trying to prove me wrong, he simply stood there as the ray of water came crashing in.

He was still standing after that, holding his sword in the middle as if he was a proper knight.

He looked at me with a sharp gaze and started to approach me.

“So it’s not water, huh.”

I took several steps back.

Emma moved to my left, and we stood in front of Nia in order to protect her. The two of us proceeded to take defensive stances.

Magic for some reason doesn’t work, and he’s too skilled to be hit physically.

Worst of all, he refuses to talk, hiding any valuable information we may get.

I swear this world is really weird. Most games I played had the boss spewing out some sad lines of their past, while screaming about some heart-touching or political thing, so why is this one so silent?

I was forced to pull out my dagger.

I really don’t want to use it, but since magic and guns won’t work, then I’m forced to get up close and personal.

My dagger is far shorter compared to his sword, but it’s probably lighter. We’re both Amnesia Clansmen, so the stats difference shouldn’t be that high, right?

Amel had decided to move closer to me. She stood to my right, a step behind me.

“... Why are you behind me?”

“If you fire off another spell, it will hit me.”

“Fair enough. Anyway, we’ll attack together. You go from the right and I’ll go from the left.”

I whispered in a voice only Amel could hear.

Hearing that, Amel nodded approvingly.

“Be careful...”

Emma whispered from my left.

“Don’t worry, I’ll show you how cool I am...”

I looked back at Amel and gave her a nod.

“Alright, Two... One... go.”

We bolted at the exact time. I carefully set my running speed, so that I looked as if I’m running at the same speed as Amel, but the truth is, I’m intentionally letting Amel run faster than me.

Due to the dagger’s shortness, it would be risky for me to be involved in direct confrontation. If Amel could catch his attention first, then I could sneak up and stab him from his blind angle, and if he hesitated in selecting which enemy to defend against, then Amel could do her work and go for the kill.

I was expecting the man to have a slight hesitation in choosing his target, but I was wrong. He immediately swung his sword to his left, meeting Amel’s sharp blade.

This is what I wanted though.

A loudclangcould be heard. I sneaked up from the man’s left.

The man jumped backward and swung his sword in a flat horizontal pattern directly at me.

“Argh!”

I could feel a sharp pain as the sword swung across my chest.

I was pushed back and knocked onto the sand.

There was a cut across my chest, and I could feel the warm blood spilling out.

It hurts.

“Willy!”

So much for being cool. Emma rushed to me and put her hands on my chest.

“Heal!”

A white glow appeared from her palms, before engulfing her entire body. I felt a cool sensation in my chest as the pain subsided.

The man’s helmet tilted toward Emma.

He jumped at her, striking from above, his silhouette gliding through the night sky.

“Holy Shield!”

Keeping his left hand on me, his right hand greeted the man’s attack.

From there a white bubble appeared, blocking the attack completely. I’m impressed by the fact that Emma didn’t even bother looking at him.

Surprised by the shield, the man jumped back. Amel manages to get behind him and is now standing behind him.

The man is now warily looking around, waiting for whoever strikes first.

With her hands now back on my chest, Emma closed her eyes.

“Buff!”

Emma said. A magic circle appeared under her.

The white magic circle proceeded to engulf both me and Amel, and an intense glow appeared from it.

Emma opens her eyes, revealing her shining gold eyes.

What’s going on?

The pain in my chest dissipated, and I could feel myself overflowing with energy. Feeling refreshed, I stood back up and took a step, closing the gap.

Suddenly, a sound came from behind me. I looked behind, and Emma was lying unconscious on the floor.

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