Tensei Skill Shop Chapter 35

Tensei Skill Shop

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Chapter 35:

Crouching, I examined the idol in front of me, noting the mystical flames floating around it. And yet, I could feel a sense of rejection from it, as though the respite it would have offered the main character was denied to me. Since I wasn’t going to try and waste time trying to make it act otherwise, I stood back up and went on my way. 

Opening up my status window, I made sure that I had the [Warp] skill equipped. Even if the sculptor idols weren’t available to me, I still had my own method of fast travel.

Unlike those gamers who spent countless hours grinding at the game, memorizing where every single item was and every enemy movement pattern, my experience with the game world was middling at best. Furthermore, while it was based on a game, the version of the world I was in definitely differed as a reality.

Yeah, it’s much bigger than I thought. Not to mention that it’s harder to navigate with all these people in the way.

Pausing for a moment to reapply the concealment spells on myself, I continued on, dodging around a pair of wandering guards along the way.

My map skill had already located several of the boss characters; as expected, Isshin and Genichiro were in the castle, as were characters like Emma and Kuro. More importantly, Kuro was in the tower at the far end of the castle, and the main character Wolf was in a nearby well. Given that it was still light out, that meant that I was just before the start of the game’s events. [Event Predictor] indicated that Emma would go to the well to drop off the letter that would spur him into action tonight.

That gives me the time to make contact before security gets too tight.

I leapt over to the ledge, my feet finding sure footing on the uneven surface, despite the steep fall just a few steps away. It made me think about how much I had changed just from visiting several worlds. Before experiencing the world of Air Gear, I doubted I would have tried using a route like this, out of fear of falling.

Yet look at me now. Confidence in my movements, empowered by the falna, holding all sorts of skills that would allow me to stand against the forces they have here…

Pausing as a group of patrolling soldiers passed beneath my position, I overheard them exchanging words.

“Ugh, it’s getting colder.”

“Yeah, I know, right? There’ll be snow tonight, I can feel it in my bones.”

“Wouldn’t want to be the unlucky ones on guard during that time.”

The patrol continued on, and I heard one of them ask about their thoughts on what would happen to Ashina. 

However, my attention lay on the tower that towered over me a short distance away. While the front entrance was locked and guarded, there were several rock outcroppings along the side, leading to an open hole in the side of the tower that only a ninja could reach to gain entry.

I crossed a gap several meters wide with a light skip, instead of shimmying along the narrow ledge that Wolf would have to use his fingers to cross. In a similar manner, I continued to easily traverse the risky climb to arrive at the unrepaired hole, though I stopped just before entering. Within the tower, I sensed more than one presence.

“Here’s your meal, Divine Child.” A rough male voice spoke.

“...You may leave.” A young boy’s voice responded after a moment.

There was no answer, but a short while later, there was the sound of a heavy wooden door closing, followed by a bar locking it into place. That’s when I made my move, leaping up through the gap and into the tower’s interior.

For a moment, I thought my intrusion would be noticed, but seeing the young boy focused on eating the rice ball as he read a book, I realized that he wasn’t specially trained, or holding a special power that would allow him to bridge the gap in ability. 

Kuro looked like any ordinary boy, thin in figure with hair left untied. The only indication that he wasn’t a commoner was the embroidery on his clothes, something only nobility in this era would possess. More importantly though, was the skill I could see within him with [Appraisal]. 

[Dragon’s Heritage] was a form of resurrective immortality, one that prevented its holder from dying, or even getting injured by conventional methods. That ability could be extended to others by means of a pact with the skill’s holder. However, there were downsides to that shared ability. The resurrection would cause the buildup of rot essence, which spilled out from the resurrected to those around him, poisoning them and causing the symptoms of a disease referred to as Dragonrot.

I could probably use [Steal: Ability] to grab away the skill from Kuro, but decided not to after a while. For one, it would really disrupt the whole plot, since I had no idea how it might affect Wolf, or the rest of the setting. Another reason was that the skill might have other effects beyond just the flawed immortality, and had connections to certain items. Off the top of my head, I knew that there were things like the Jizo Doll that enabled a recharge of resurrection power. 

Also, from my memories of the game, I knew that the blood of the skill holder was an ingredient in creating the Fountainhead Incense, which was required to reach the Fountainhead Palace. It was a bit morbid, but I couldn’t help but wonder just what sort of alchemical effect that blood could have, and how a skill could alter one’s blood to give rise to such an effect.

Not that I could examine the workings without actually extracting them. 

In the end, I decided to do the same thing I did with Michio way back then, implanting Kuro with a data analysis skill to gather data on what [Dragon’s Heritage] could do. I explored the rest of the tower, which allowed me to find the Healing Gourd and Kusabimaru, two important pieces of equipment for Wolf’s quest. I grabbed a sample of the former’s contents, which automatically replenished over time from the seeds implanted within. I was fully intending to grab one of those Gourd Seeds for myself later, before Wolf could.

There wasn’t much else to do, so I slipped around Kuro and quickly left the way I entered.

Now, where should I go next…? Hmm, maybe I’ll go test my skills against a tengu. I should get a mask to go along with it.

With a pulse of magic, a decorated white mask appeared out of nowhere in my hand, and I put it on.

…

An old man in a costume strode through the castle building, his senses searching out the rats he knew had invaded his home. The sound of metal piercing flesh reached his ears, and his pulse quickened at the thought of finding his prey. As the owner of the land grew weak, the parasites lurking beyond its borders sought to weaken it further, until they could move in with force to claim what they foolishly saw as theirs.

To his surprise, the scene he came across wasn’t that of living rats having slain loyal Ashina men. Instead, it was they who were dying, at the blade of a lone stranger. 

And such a blade it was!

Isshin had spent years honing his skill with his blade, all in pursuit of strength and power, and his deep experience told him that this man already surpassed the power he had in his prime. Perhaps even comparable to Tomoe, the one opponent who had brought him the closest to death. Even in his aged and weakened self, he found his soul aching to test the ability of this foreigner, to see if experience would allow him to eke out a victory. 

But he refrained.

Instead, he waited until all the rats were dead, then stepped out of cover and approached openly, without showing any hostility. As he surmised, the stranger didn’t attack him. 

He was wearing a mask as well, but compared to the red tengu one Isshin used to conceal his identity, the stranger wore a white fox’s one, painted with red circles around the eyes and dots at the corners of the mouth.

“A fox hunting rats. Ha! But that look in your eyes tells me you’re not like them, are you?” He challenged with words instead.

“What about you?” The man countered with an accent he couldn’t recognize, “You hide your identity with a mask.”

“I am the Tengu of Ashina, and I hunt the rats who think they can sneak into this land.”

The stranger glanced at the cooling corpses he had left lying around. “Seems like I have saved you some trouble then.”

“That you did. Excellent work, though there are many more lurking around just yet.” He hinted.

“And what is in it for me?”

The old man chuckled. “A mercenary then. I heard you’re a seeker of techniques. Help me hunt down some of them, and I will give you what you seek.”

The stranger nodded. “We have a deal, tengu.”

The quick acceptance took Isshin aback, but he kept his surprise from leaking through. Instead, he followed the stranger as they wandered through the castle held by the Ashina clan, observing how he moved and hunted while avoiding the normal Ashina guards.

Instead of solving the mystery, what he saw of the man just left him with more questions. 

He could move as swiftly and stealthily as the best shinobi, yet his skill with the sword spoke of someone who had honed his bladework in multiple confrontational battles. His clothing, his manner, his skills, all of them would have made someone like him stand out, yet this man seemed to have appeared from nowhere. Isshin almost suspected he hailed from the same place as the previous Divine Heir, but his familiarity with Lord Takeru and Lady Tomoe told him that was not the case.

All too soon, the hunt was over. One of the purple-cloaked shinobi of the Interior Ministry was their final prey, but the man barely got to draw his blade before his vitals were pierced by the stranger’s sword, his life stolen in moments.

“Wonderful work. Wonderful work indeed.” Isshin praised him. “Here, take your reward.”

Armed with Emma’s warning, he had brought along the Ashina Esoteric Text to tempt the stranger with, and that was what he handed over to the man right now.

The stranger accepted the book, and quickly flipped through it several times, before handing it back to him.

“Is it not what you wanted? Or are the ways of the Ashina blade not to your liking?”

“I have memorized its knowledge already.” Before Isshin could respond to that, the man continued, “I suspect a wolf will need that knowledge in the coming future, so you can share that with him when that time arrives.”

“You…”

A sudden bout of coughing came over Isshin, as his illness chose that moment to act up. When he finally recovered his breath, the stranger had vanished. And though he tried to search for the man afterwards, there was no trace of him to be found. 

The tengu returned to his room in the watchtower to rest and recover, temporarily hanging up his costume behind a folding screen while waiting for Emma to return.

That night, she came to inform him of the result of his plan to have Kuro escape from Genichiro’s hold. Kuro’s shinobi Wolf had managed to free the boy from the Moon-Viewing Tower, but Genichiro had seen through it, and was waiting outside the secret passageway through the reservoir. It ended with Kuro recaptured, and Wolf left for dead with his left arm cut off. Emma had rescued the shinobi, bringing him away to the dilapidated temple. By her predictions, he would soon wake.

Knowing the younger man’s stoic character and adherence to the Iron Code, Isshin knew that once the shinobi woke up, he would go off in pursuit of Kuro. 

The words from the stranger came back to him. As Wolf was now, there was no chance of him defeating Genichiro to free Kuro, not unless he could hone his strength. To overturn that outcome, Wolf would need knowledge. Knowledge that Isshin could offer him.

Aware that more rats would inevitably sneak into Ashina, the old man decided to rest for the night, to resume his hunt as the tengu in the morning. 

He drifted off to sleep, wondering just what sort of experiences had honed that stranger’s spirit into what he had witnessed.

…

“There, there… cheer up, Rick-tan~” Matsu’s hand patted my head.

I was lying down with my head resting on her lap as she comforted me.

It wasn’t actually real, but just a simulated reality formed by my new skill [Call Sekirei]. It was based on the [Call Divinity], one that I [Created] and [Edited] into its current form so I could keep in contact with them even if I was off in another world by myself.

It definitely helped my mental state a lot, especially since I just managed to get through the Abandoned Dungeon to arrive at Senpou Temple. Compared to playing it in a game, it was much more nerve-wracking experiencing it in person. Even though I could navigate just fine with the falna boosting my senses enough to see through the darkness, the gloomy atmosphere had really gotten to me. My brain didn’t help with thoughts of what strange monsters might be lurking underneath the water waiting to attack me, plus the fact that one of those aggressive fishes did try to take a bite out of me.

I killed it in a single blow, of course, but it didn’t help my nerves. There was some irony in being able to handle precarious footing and heights now, but being scared about swimming in dark places.

Hence my current call with Matsu, to get some mental healing.

“So tell me more about what you’ve done in that world?” My Sekirei tried to distract me from those memories.

“I’ve unlocked the skill trees for Shinobi, Prosthetic, and Ashina one, and after this, I’ll be heading for the Temple one,” I gestured as I spoke, enjoying the feeling of her touch on my head, “Aside from that, I’ve collected a few of the minor items as samples.”

The various Sugars that could be consumed, their power ups a mix of doping and spirit channeling. The Mibu Balloons with their blessed waters, bestowing a temporary blessing through the power of prayer. A Gourd Seed that I had to keep in special storage to prevent water from leaking everywhere, and various others.

Quite a lot of them had links to water, which might be useful in crafting skills that could extend effects through indirect routes. With the whole divinity and worship factors in play, I could see some of the possible skills being used to generate faith in a world’s worshippers.

“Oh, I’m looking forward to examining them then.”

“That’s not all. I also collected a few skills from the natives there, but they’re… damaged.”

There were prisoners in the dungeon who had undergone experimentation being treated with the rejuvenating waters. That experience allowed them to regenerate from a mortal wound once, but came with severe downsides, like sanity damage and a weakness to fire. I used [Steal: Ability] to grab a few of them, but other than that, I mostly evaded them as I passed through that accursed place.

“You took them for me to examine, didn’t you? Thank you.”

“Yeah…” Don’t think about that place any more.

We continued to talk more about random things, just to detach myself from the stress. Similar to my current short visit, Uzume and Irene were currently visiting the Pokemon world for some more TMs, and planned to try and get some berries to grow back in our world, both for the taste and the effects. Eventually, the conversation veered back to my intentions in the world of Sekiro.

“I’ve also been trying to collect a few pieces of materials, spare ones that won’t affect the main character’s progress.”

Those materials were necessary for upgrading the Shinobi Prosthetic, and on top of being unique enough that there were only one, some of them were necessary to handle some of the tougher enemies in the setting.

“Some of them are sold by the merchants, right? What if you bought them first, and used it as an excuse to form a connection with him?”

“Acting as a merchant…?” I considered her suggestion. “Maybe, I guess. I have [Event Predictor] to figure out when to make my move, and I’ll just [Warp] over right then.”

“Mmm.” Her patting stopped. “Feel better now?”

“Yeah, thanks.” 

I sat up and turned to look at her, only to be surprised when she suddenly pressed her lips against mine in a quick kiss. However, she pulled away with a frown.

“It’s not the same. Not like when we actually do it for real.”

I chuckled. “Alright, I’ll give you lots of kisses when I get back then. I plan to return after I get the Temple Arts.”

“Don’t forget that promise!”

…

Wolf looked at the book the tengu gave to him. “This is…”

“The ways of the Ashina blade! It’s our school of fighting, but there are no hard and fast rules. You just win your battles. That alone is the most important rule of the Ashina style. I hope it can be of assistance with your rat hunting... And most of all, your own battles you've yet to fight.” 

He looked at the masked old man, staying silent. Seeing no further answer forthcoming, the shinobi turned to leave.

“Oh, that reminds me.”

Wolf paused, looking over his shoulder at the tengu rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

“There’s a fox lurking around Ashina too, one that’s an expert hunter of rats. Sekiro, if you want to grow further in strength, you should seek out that fox. Maybe you might learn something.”

Rather than waste time trying to get a proper answer out of the tengu, Wolf left the castle. Exploring the area, he found a man sitting behind an offering box, his features concealed behind a hanging tarp.

“Care to buy an offering?” He was asked as he approached.

“An offering?”

“Indeed. I sell items to be offered to the dead, so that they might rest in peace. From the looks of you, I’d wager you have a lot of blood on your hands. …go ahead, buy an offering.”

Wolf had a bit of money gathered from those he had slain, with a particularly large purse from Gyoubu the Demon, so he purchased a Gourd Seed. It was the only thing worth buying among the merchant’s stock, and would serve him well in the trials ahead, especially once he had Emma enhance his gourd with it. Since Gyoubu had also dropped something that looked like it could be used to upgrade his prosthetic, Wolf decided to head back to the temple. 

There was an idol near the Ashina Castle gate that would allow him to return there, but just as he was about to commune with it, his body tensed.

“So you noticed my presence. As expected of a shinobi, your senses are sharp.”

The person speaking was standing behind the door out of sight.

Wolf didn’t reply, but his hand reached for the handle of Kusabimaru, his sword.

“I am not your enemy. Consider me… an observer.”

“What are your intentions?” Wolf asked cautiously.

“You seek to free the Divine Heir from those who would seek to use him. But rescuing him from the hands of Genichiro won’t be enough.” 

Hearing that non-answer, the shinobi began to draw his sword slowly.

“Your lord will suggest the severing of the cycle, and that will be a monumental task. If you choose to join him in doing so, then seek me out.”

Something flew out from around the edge of the door, causing Wolf to take a defensive stance. However, the item was simply a string bearing multiple red tubes, and they lay on the ground harmlessly.

“Here, a gift. You can make use of it to startle beasts… and others.”

The presence lurking behind the door faded away. Wolf cautiously advanced, but found no sign of anyone when he peeked around the heavy wooden barrier. Collecting the items, he recognized them as firecrackers from a foreign land, and realized they could be fitted to the shinobi prosthetic. Though he was distrustful of this unseen person, the shinobi wasn’t going to discard anything he could make use of.

It proved to be quite useful when he encountered a bull with burning hay bales tied to its horns.

Through blood, sweat, and intense effort, Wolf continued to fight his way to where his lord was being held, gaining access to the interior of Ashina Castle by traversing the roofs until he found an open window. In an antechamber, near another sculptor’s idol, he found a strange note that appeared to be left for him.

‘The fox awaits the wolf down below in the antechamber, offering tools for the rescue of the Divine Heir.’

Though his oath pulled at him to rush to rescue Lord Kuro right away, the itch in his severed arm directed him otherwise, and he descended downwards into the chamber. After dealing with the soldiers there, Wolf looked around, but saw no one else. The beam he had leapt down from was too far for his grappling hook to reach, so the shinobi had no choice but to use one of the doors present. 

He froze and quickly took a defensive stance at the sight of the masked figure in the next chamber. The stranger was leaning against the wall next to a chest, wearing blue clothes that were higher quality than that of the Ashina Elites, as well as a fox mask covering his face, leaving his short black hair visible.

“About time,” The man said, looking at him, “I see you chose to follow my message.”

Wolf recognized the voice of the person who had given him the firecrackers, which had helped him greatly against the bull. “You’re…”

“Just a friendly fox.” He pushed off the wall, causing Wolf to tense. “No need to be cautious. Here, a tool, just as I promised.”

The fox-masked stranger pushed open the chest he stood next to, retrieving a short, mottled-blue blade of a wakizashi that he passed over to Wolf. The shinobi sheathed his blade to accept it.

“Another form for that fang of yours.” The sentence was reminiscent of the Sculptor’s words. “Ancient Ashina make, its poison will be useful against your foes.”

Wolf, holding onto the weapon, was taken by surprise when the stranger suddenly grabbed the arm of his prosthetic, but before he could react, the man released him.

“Ah, fireworks, like the one I gave you. And a flame vent and axe, both powerful tools, gathered from a memory.” Fox named the three pieces of equipment Wolf had installed into the prosthetic.

The last part of that sentence surprised Wolf. During his journey from the temple, he had received a bell charm from a person along the way, and after offering it to Buddha at the temple, he had somehow entered a memory of a time three years ago. But for a memory, the events he went through there felt frighteningly real, especially when he somehow brought upgrade materials collected during that time into the present.

“How did you…?”

“It’s a good effort, so here’s a reward. A shinobi near the edge of the castle carries an iron-ribbed fan, it will serve you well against guns. Also, I heard there are feathers of the mist raven stored somewhere at the Hirata Estate.” The man walked past Wolf, heading for the main chamber. 

Wolf turned to try giving chase after the man for more answers, but once again, the stranger vanished as though he had never been there.

He considered what to do next, but the thought of letting his lord remaining in Genichiro’s hands any longer helped him make up his mind, and he set off towards the top of the castle. There, he would confront Genichiro, and free his lord.

…

I sighed as I waited underneath the roof, listening to the battle going on above me. Man, I wish I could just go and grab the other skills already, but instead I have to be on standby here.

Aside from dropping some hints about where to find more parts for the prosthetic tools, I had also been running around the castle, leaving small notes and clues for the next part of the game’s story. That had been an annoying part of playing the game blindly, because some of the clues were just vague, and I ended up using a walkthrough to clear some parts.

Closing my eyes, I could picture their movements in my mind, using the sounds as clues. The twanging of a bow string, feet kicking off the wooden flooring, the clanging of their swords clashing, the grunts as they blocked or received strikes. 

Then there was the sound of arrows being shot. One was deflected, another… sank home. A body slumped to the floor in death.

“Ashina… must be preserved…”

Welp, Sekiro died once. I sensed a power similar to a Phoenix Down being used.

“The power of the Dragon's blood? Then I will kill you as many times as it takes.”

The fight went on for several more minutes. This time, Sekiro appeared to be fighting more cautiously, using more shinobi tricks to match Genichiro’s skill; there was the stomp of a Mikiri Counter, the crackling explosion of fireworks, and even the heavy crash of an axe swing. There was also the sound of gulps as he used his gourd to heal. Now I could tell that the flow of battle was going the other way.

The sound of a blade piercing deeply into flesh marked the end of that stage.

I opened my eyes, looking out at the sky over Ashina Castle as it slowly started to turn a stormy grey, rumbling with thunder and lightning. Straining my ears, I could hear armor being discarded, as Genichiro moved into his final stage.

“Behold, the Lightning of Tomoe.”

Lightning struck the room above me, but only caused a crackling sound.

Now, Genichiro’s movements were faster, his feet sweeping across the floor as he struck again and again. To Sekiro’s credit, he was giving as good as he got, even when his opponent started using lightning-imbued attacks. I took the opportunity to climb up to peek on their battle, which was....

Not bad, I thought, slightly impressed. Sekiro’s improving, reading Genichiro’s moves enough to avoid most of them. As well as…

The shinobi leapt back to create some distance, bringing his gourd to his mouth for a quick drink. As expected, Genichiro saw that as an opening, and lunged forward with a powerful stab.

Instead, Sekiro smoothly sidestepped, bringing his foot up to parry it off to the side, stomping down hard with a Mikiri Counter, and retaliating with a spinning stab of his own. Clutching his wound, Genichiro retreated, before trying to attack in another way. 

In terms of ability, they would rate as mid-rank Level Ones by Danmachi standards, but one of them was adapting faster than the other, and it wasn’t the one raised as a samurai. It wasn’t long before one of the two combatants’ posture broke, and he slipped to fall down on one knee. 

That fatal opening was not missed.

Shoulder tackle to break open the guard, direct stab into the vitals. Rip out with heavy blood loss, then follow up with slash- I commentated in my head as I watched. Blocked, but with the weakness from blood loss… yep, pushed off balance, and second stab into vitals.

“As…hina…” With that, Genichiro collapsed.

I slipped back down to await the next part, having [Appraised] Genichiro’s condition during the battle. His body had an interesting condition; having undergone treatment by the silt of the rejuvenating waters, his bare skin was hideously blackened and scarred, but the main attraction was the latent skill that was lying inactive within. And it was about to activate.

Sure enough, Emma made an appearance from the chamber below the room, and Genichiro revived from death before the eyes of the pair. His stumbling footsteps took him closer to the edge of the roof, pausing as lightning thundered across the sky.

“So long.” He threw himself over the edge.

As his body fell past where I was hidden, I struck.

YOINK

[Lightning of Tomoe] stolen! [Rejuvenating Sediment] stolen!

I stored both skill and skill-containing item in my inventory, and [Warped] away to continue my gathering activities at Senpou Temple. 

Seeing the cliffside scenery of the Shugendo area, I turned around and saw the Bell Demon Temple behind me, and sighed again. Arriving at this point had made me recall that there was a secret passage leading from the Ashina Outskirts to this area, which meant I could have avoided the Abandoned Dungeon and its stressful atmosphere entirely.

Ah, no use griping about it now. It’s over and done with. Let’s continue.

I could sense the ominous atmosphere around the iron bell hanging there, and used the heavy wooden ringer to ring it. Almost instantly, a dark energy surged out from it to settle onto my body.

[Sinister Burden] acquired!

I checked my pockets, and found a curious wriggling ethereal eye in one of them. That was the Bell Demon, which possessed the one who rang the bell. It made things harder for the bearer, more vulnerable to taking damage, reducing the amount of damage inflicted on others. In essence, it was a way for players to challenge themselves in the game.

I could easily dispel it by crushing it between my palms like a prayer gesture, to get rid of the curse I had invited on myself. But instead of doing that, I made several hand gestures, channeling my mana into forming a sealing spell. The demon -or curse spirit, as I started thinking of it- wriggled in my grasp, but it could do nothing before being wrapped up in a neat little magic box.

[Burden Dispelled]

After that, the bell rang several more times, and the collection of sealed curses in my storage increased by that many as well. I had no idea how it would work outside of this world, but it was more research material for Matsu. After one final time that I didn’t dispel, I moved on.

One thing I noticed about my presence in this world was that the plot device effect I observed in Skyrim was at work, and it wasn’t me. I didn’t sense any presence from the Buddha picture scroll communicating to me, and in my current case, the Armored Warrior didn’t appear to obstruct my way.  Though it was possible that my choosing to cross over the roof of the passageway had something to do with that.

The Temple Grounds area after that was a bit more of a hassle to go through, as there were monks lurking in corners that made it tough to sneak around, along with more of those dwarfish ninja assassins. I also saw a few of those Taro enemies, great hulking brutes whose subsistence on the persimmons grown in this land had granted them strong bodies in exchange for simple minds. 

So when I had no choice but to fight, I used it as practice for the skills I gained. Analyzing them, seeing where my own knowledge could improve their abilities, and making them my own.

[Ichimonji], a focused downward swing, was quite similar to [Fire Breathing First Form: Waltz], but the latter was far stronger thanks to the enhancement bestowed by the proper breathing. Then there were the ultimate moves like [Ashina Cross] or [Shadowrush], which used Spirit Emblems held by the user. The spiritual energy they carried could be channeled into either the weapon or the body, in order to perform the move at higher strength than one was normally capable of.

Except my falna can compensate for it already.

The heat from my back faded as I whipped Murasame to the side, casting off the blood on the blade. Behind me, the last of the three staff-wielding guardian monks collapsed.

Regarding the Spirit Emblems, they worked quite similarly to Nen from Hunter x Hunter, in the enhancing way. Moves were stronger, tools in the shinobi prosthetics could be activated without any regard for physical ammunition limits, and so on… It was clear that this world had a stronger spiritual reality than I initially thought.

The Bell Demon’s effect definitely added a little difficulty to my actions. I could feel something was off, with the constant thoughts that I should be cutting better than this, or that my posture shouldn’t be this weak. It made me wonder just how much of a boost it would give to someone with the falna, and I itched to go back to the Danmachi world to test it out.

However, the end of my current quest was in sight. Pausing to leave a quick note underneath the small bell in the main temple hall, I continued heading for the pagoda located on top of the nearby cliff, bypassing the conventional tunnel route leading to it by using my ATs to scale the cliff. After that, I just had to open the building’s closed doors, and the book I was after lay right there for me to grab. Picking it up, I quickly flipped through it.

It’s in much better condition than the others. Though that’s probably due to the better storage methods. 

[Temple Arts learned!]

The skill tree carried more faith-based abilities, and I could see how the monks’ corruption had weakened their skills compared to the pure one that I now had access to. However, before I could investigate further, [Event Predictor] went off to alert me to Sekiro’s progress. 

That was another annoying thing about the whole rest-and-reset mechanic. At times, things would happen incredibly fast, like all the killing and grinding he did had occurred in an instant, which forced me to move my own schedule up. With a grumble to express my emotions at being hurried like this, I [Warped] away again.

…

With the defeat of Genichiro, Wolf was finally reunited with his lord. However, it only marked the start of many more tasks. As Fox had warned, Lord Kuro wanted to sever his immortality, and asked for Wolf’s help in accomplishing it. To learn more about how to accomplish that, Wolf talked to Ashina Isshin, whom he realized was the Tengu, when the man addressed him as Sekiro. The old man told him about the Mortal Blade, and its importance to performing the Immortal Severance.

Isshin coughed a little, then changed the subject. “So, did you meet the fox?”

“I have.”

“And did he help you hone your strength, Sekiro?”

“I am… not sure.” 

After all, the man had only given him tools for the shinobi prosthetic, nothing more.

“Hm. Perhaps your strength hasn’t been honed enough to draw out his own.”

Wolf didn’t know what to say to that, so he kept silent.

When he returned to Lord Kuro to inform him of what he learned, he decided to mention Fox as well.

“He claims to know about severing immortality, you say? Then seek him out if you can, Wolf,” The boy requested, “But there is no need to go out of your way for that.”

“As you say.”

Following the clues his lord found in the books, Wolf set out for the Sunken Valley, passing through the Great Serpent Shrine and into the dangerous ravine inhabited by the gun wielders of the Sunken Valley clan. The snowy landscape was treacherous, and more than once he encountered death at the bullets shot from a long distance away, forcing him to retreat. 

Recalling the advice Fox had given him, Wolf returned to the castle. After some searching, he found a Senpou Assassin in a black hat, and purchased the heavy iron fan from him. After getting it installed in his prosthetic, he returned to challenge the area again.

This time, he managed to fight his way through, all the way to the depths of a gun fort where a larger version of those Centipede enemies waited. Though the opponent’s attacks were fast and vicious, Wolf’s stiff defenses eventually broke his posture, and he was able to slay the enemy.

A clapping sound made him turn, and he saw Fox, sitting on the altar in front of the statue in the room. Once again, he had missed how the other man had appeared.

“Impressive sword skill, shinobi of the Divine Heir. You have improved.”

“...”

“I see you’ve upgraded your fang with yet another form as well. Here, a reward.”

Fox picked up the pouch near him and tossed it over to Wolf, who took a cautious quick peek. Inside lay a large fan of dyed aralia leaves. Another upgrade for his prosthetic. 

Tucking it away, he focused back on the relaxed figure.

“What do you know of immortal severance?” Wolf asked, straight to the point.

“You only need the Divine Dragon’s Tears and the Mortal Blade, but you will have to slay your lord.”

Wolf was stunned, both by the statement and the matter-of-fact manner at which Fox had said it. To slay his own lord, that idea was beyond heresy.

“Of course, there are other ways…”

“Tell me.”

Fox stared at him, not answering at first. Wolf’s fingers twitched, as though about to grab and draw his sword, to demand more answers.

“Not until you prove your ability to carry it out,” The other man finally said. “Obtain the Mortal Blade from Senpou Temple, and I will tell you what you wish to know.”

A small ball dropped from one of Fox’s sleeves, bursting into a cloud of smoke that made Wolf cover his face. When it cleared, Fox was once again gone, though his parting words still rang in the shinobi’s ears.

“Fireworks are useful for apes, but a spear will be better at extracting worms.”

Much later, as Wolf lay dying from a sword blow swung by a headless enemy, one that he personally decapitated just minutes prior, he decided to take that advice after he was resurrected.

Afterword: Yet again another chapter where I struggled with my muse. One night I could be wracking my head for words to describe the scene I had in mind, if there even was a scene, and the next day, the words will just pour themselves onto the text.

In a sense, this is just a sidequest for Rick, so the next time he returns to the Sekiro world will be the last. Instead, the next chapter is going to be the start of a long visit in yet another world. 

Thanks for reading and supporting this fic!