Otaku Witch

Upon seeing the familiar smiling Clown mask, Miss Ghost Mask's heart tightened, her eyes sharpened, and she tensed as if facing a formidable enemy.

After all, she had seen the Grand Inquisitor's miraculous swordplay just the night before, how could she not be afraid?

Furthermore, her gaze briefly caught the section of the snapped tree that had been cut, and when the smooth, burr-free cut entered her vision, she couldn't help but inhale sharply, feeling a coldness that made her teeth ache.

"You call this thing 'sending resources'?"

Miss Ghost Mask complained inwardly.

She had originally thought to eliminate a few Clown Phantoms first to acquire High-Level Magic and equipment, but now...

It was too much for her, far too much.

Instinctively, Miss Ghost Mask thought of running away, but after taking only a few steps, she turned her head back and furrowed her brow.

Wait a moment, this Clown Phantom seemed not too bright.

Even though she had run, the Clown Phantom didn't seem to have any intention of chasing her. It just continued to walk at a leisurely pace like a stroll, and even when Miss Ghost Mask had gone a bit further, the long sword in the Phantom's hand that matched the one she held disappeared, reverting once more to bare-handed.

The adversary's behavior was visibly stiff as if it were some sort of Puppet, mechanically fulfilling its task.

Moreover, the aura emanating from its body was indeed very weak, and all its Attributes seemed quite low.

Well, it really was just a Phantom, maybe it wasn't unbeatable after all.

Miss Ghost Mask's eyes lit up as she quietly advanced forward.

However, when she was less than a kilometer away from the Clown Phantom, it extended its hand, and once again, a long sword identical to the one she had just acquired appeared in its grasp, immediately assuming a Battōjutsu strike charging posture.

Upon seeing this, Miss Ghost Mask instantly retreated like a startled cat, recognizing the stance—it was none other than the starting position of the Serpentine Draw and Slash technique she had drawn from the equipment box earlier.

In fact, she had learned this Martial Art herself previously; it's one of the more classic Drawing Sword Techniques, inspired by the movement of snakes when they ambush prey. Snakes build up power in anticipation upon spotting their prey, and when the time comes, they strike like lightning. As such, this Battōjutsu strike emphasizes charging up, and the longer the charge, the faster and more ferocious the attack, making it suitable for ambush tactics.

When Miss Ghost Mask again increased her distance, she found the Clown Phantom reverted to unarmed status and casually resumed strolling.

"Oh, so it will mimic my current equipment and Skills whenever I get close?"

She understood the operating mechanism of the Clown Phantom and her eyes gleamed with realization.

Then, there was nothing to be afraid of.

This time, Miss Ghost Mask approached within a kilometer with bold and high spirits, immediately assuming a charging posture for a drawing strike.

Come on, Phantom of Lord Clown, let us have a fair and square contest of swordsmanship.

She thought so in her heart and felt very confident.

After all, the Spell Slot only granted her Magic Proficiency at a Great Achievement level, but her own realm in the Drawing Sword Technique had reached the Saint Threshold. So, bring on the battle of the swords, who's afraid of whom?

The wind ceased, the rain stopped, and Miss Ghost Mask felt she was ready.

Thus, in the deserted forest, two figures stood a kilometer apart, blades in hand, maintaining the same charging stance.

After a while, a flicker of light flashed beneath the eyes of the Clown Phantom's mask, and it made the first move, executing a Horizontal Slash that cast a crescent-shaped blade of fierce light.

This brought joy to Miss Ghost Mask, for she knew her earlier assumption was correct—the attributes of this Phantom were indeed not high.

The limit to how much power the Serpentine Draw and Slash could build up depended on the user's Attribute limits; the higher your Strength and Speed Attributes, the stronger the force you could accumulate with this move. And now the Phantom opposite had drawn their sword first, which indicated that their limit was no greater than this.

Then, I've surely won.

Facing the sharp sword light that surged over a kilometer towards her, Miss Ghost Mask was not in the least bit hurried; she waited, allowing the sword to build up more force.

Finally, when the Phantom's sword light had proven unstoppable, cutting through all the trees in its path and eventually reaching right before Miss Ghost Mask, stopping less than a meter from her.

"Huff..."

Miss Ghost Mask gently exhaled and then drew her sword.

Clang...

The long sword was unsheathed, executing an upward slicing slash, creating a crescent sword light.

The two sword lights collided, forming a 'T-shape' of crescent crosses, briefly holding each other in a stalemate before the victor was decided.

"Impossible..."

Miss Ghost Mask's eyes widened as she lowered her head, staring at the line of blood on her abdomen, her face full of disbelief.@@novelbin@@

Her Saint Threshold Battōjutsu strike, which she had delayed in executing and had additional Attribute suppression, how could she lose...

Wait... could it be that the Phantom inherited Lord Clown's Magic Proficiency?

At the very end, she came to a sudden realization.

So it was the Sword God's strike; well, that's okay then. She, as a Sword Saint, had no shame in losing.

The red line at her abdomen suddenly deepened in color. Like the trees that were cleaved by the sword light, the girl wearing the Evil Spirit Mask was cut into two.

In the last moments of her fading consciousness, she saw the smoothly-executed Blood Shake rotation of Clown Illusion putting away the sword, then calmly speaking.

"Your swordsmanship isn't bad."

Hearing these words, Miss Ghost Mask peacefully closed her eyes.

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Yay, my swordsmanship has been recognized by Lord Clown; now I can die with my eyes closed.

By the way, she had also finally understood why she had one more chance at resurrection; this was indeed an act of mercy from Lord Clown.

Before her severed halves hit the ground, they dissolved into streams of light, leaving behind only the long sword and the Skill Slot Orb on the spot. Miss Ghost Mask entered the countdown for resurrection.

Therefore, she did not notice that, in the very next instant after she disappeared, an arrow shot from afar, aiming straight for the Clown Illusion.

Sine Miss Ghost Mask's death had left Clown Illusion without an object to copy, it was now unarmed, but facing this sneaky arrow attack, it remained utterly calm, simply extending a finger and easily catching the arrow before turning to look in the direction it came from.

Two kilometers away, it spotted a gaze. That was a witch wearing an oak mask, with two long ears sticking out, clearly indicating that this was an Elf Witch.

The Elf Witch was calmly putting away her longbow and then flashed a V-sign, assuming a victorious stance.

Clown Illusion tilted its head; the Phantom, with only the simplest of intelligence, didn't grasp what the other was trying to convey, not until the arrow between its fingers suddenly melted, turning into countless runes that wrapped around its body.

Ninth Level Spirit System, Forced Domination Spell, activated.

...Domination of the Phantom underway...