Samurai Hearts – Tutorial (8)
"Let us go, Gale Corps! This will be our final charge!"
"Uwooooo─!"
With a thunderous roar, Suchiha and the Gale Corps charged toward the enemy platoon in formation.
They rushed headlong toward a death that was all too obvious.
Watching them with bloodshot eyes, Tatsuki turned his horse around.
A thin line of blood trickled down from his tightly bitten lip.
"Let us go… for vengeance."
Because the Gale Corps rammed the enemy head-on and drew their attention, the patrols on the other routes were far less strict.
The group spurred their horses wildly and finally succeeded in escaping Atsuragi Castle's territory.
They reached the hill where they had begun—the spot from which they had first seen the castle.
Now night had fallen, the sky completely dark.
Which only made the burning Atsuragi Castle stand out even more clearly.
Standing on the hilltop, Tatsuki watched the collapsing castle consumed by flames, his eyes reddening.
"We shall have revenge… without fail…!"
Tatsuki declared with fierce resolve.
But the crisis was not over yet.
From within the forest came a soft voice.
"That will not be allowed."
The Red Fox and the Black Wolf instantly drew their swords, stepping in front of Tatsuki to shield him.
Pointing her blade toward the forest where the voice originated, the Red Fox shouted,
"Who goes there? Show yourself!"
With heavy footsteps rustling through the undergrowth, a man emerged.
He wore a pitch-black yukata.
Between loosely cascading strands of hair, his hawk-like eyes gleamed sharply.
Two swords were tucked slantwise at his waist, and the cloak draped over his shoulder bore a symbol—three interlocking circles.
When Tatsuki saw the emblem engraved on the cloak, he ground his teeth.
It was the crest of the Nagamatsu family—the very family he had sworn vengeance against.
"Nagamatsu! You are one of the filthy dogs of Nagamatsu!"
"A dog of Nagamatsu, hm… Not an incorrect phrasing. My name is Hatsuragi Kato. I currently reside as a retainer under the Nagamatsu family."
Despite Tatsuki's vicious insult, the man—Hatsuragi Kato—spoke calmly.
There was not the slightest hint of anger at being insulted.
If his voice had a color, it would be colorless.
So devoid of emotion that even Tatsuki momentarily lost his words.
But then the name he had spoken registered fully, and Tatsuki's face drained of color.
"The Sword Star (劍星)… Hatsuragi Kato!"
"I am called that as well."
The Sword (劍) Star (星).
A title reserved for only one swordsman among all swordsmen in the land.
This man was the strongest swordsman in all of Japan.
In his youth, he had once received aid from the Nagamatsu family, and so now he remained with them as a guest retainer.
And this very Sword Star had come here to capture Tatsuki.
"How could someone as renowned as the Sword Star lower himself to such dishonorable acts?"
"I have no choice. I am repaying a debt. Long ago, I received a favor from the Nagamatsu family. To repay them, I vowed to grant them three wishes. This is their second wish. Therefore, I must fulfill it."
Tatsuki clenched his jaw.
He, too, knew of the promise between Nagamatsu and the Sword Star.
A promise to grant three wishes—no matter what they were.
Even if the wish was "give me your life," the Sword Star would comply.
It was a famous tale about the integrity of the Sword Star.
Tatsuki had admired that promise as a child—never imagining that the very same promise would one day come to claim his life.
"What was their second wish, that it required your presence?"
"Atsuragi Tatsuki's head."
"To think they used a Sword Star's wish just to take my life…?"
A wish that could command the Sword Star—even demand his life—used merely to kill Tatsuki.
He was shocked.
The sheer murderous intent behind it was unmistakable.
"My lord, we shall stop him. Please, run at once."
"Red Fox…"
The Red Fox stepped forward, her hostility toward the Sword Star unmistakable.
But Tatsuki could not run.
With a small gesture of Kato's hand, Nagamatsu soldiers emerged from the forest, surrounding them completely.
Seeing the perfect encirclement, despair washed over Tatsuki's face.
He understood now why the Sword Star had taken the time to talk so casually.
Because the encirclement was already complete.
There was no escape anyway—so he was satisfying their last curiosity.
"Do not fear, my lord. We will protect you. Even at the cost of our lives!"
The Red Fox's tone was fierce—an unwavering resolve to lay down her life.
The Black Wolf was the same.
He silently stepped in front of Tatsuki.
"Fine warriors indeed. I, personally, shall cut you down. The rest of you—do not interfere."
"Yes, Sword Star."
The man standing quietly behind Kato—also wearing a Nagamatsu-crested cloak, likely someone of high rank—responded.
At that moment, Seung-yeon and Do-hyun regained control of their bodies.
The event cutscene had ended.
"The Sword Star has appeared, everyone! He's officially the strongest boss in Samurai Hearts. Also famous for having no actual strategy."
— Krrr, Sword Star-san— He's in battle-power measuring mode rn lol— Super hyped to see little bro's "power level" get evaluated lmao
"Battle-power measuring mode? What's that?"
Do-hyun asked, glancing at the chat.
Judging from their reactions, this enemy must be pretty famous, and he was curious.
'WA1020' has donated '1000 won'!
[Ah! You don't know the Sword Star! Let me explain for anyone who doesn't know.]
But no explanation followed.
That was it.
Standing beside Seung-yeon, Do-hyun had heard the donation notification and looked absolutely dumbfounded.
"What? Where's the explanation?"
"Don't fall for that, little bro. Viewers, my brother is this innocent. Don't tease him too much."
— He said the brother is innocent lol— Hey hey, tease him gently. He's an IRL normie—he doesn't get our memes.
"That was a joke? I literally thought he was gonna explain it."
— Silence…— The guy who donated better show up RIGHT NOW— There are two kinds of bad people: those who don't finish their sentences, and—
"Anyway, is there actually someone who can explain? I'm brand-new to games, so I don't know anything."
'WA1020' has donated '10000 won'!
[I am so sorry… The Sword Star is called a battle-power meter because he "evaluates" the strength of his opponent. If they're weak, he says things like "How disappointing." If they're strong, he goes "Not bad."]
"Oh, that's what it means. Thank you, WA1020, for the explanation."
Seung-yeon's eyes widened as she stared at Do-hyun, who had just received a ten-thousand-won donation purely because of his innocent reaction.
Of course, Do-hyun didn't understand donations very well, so he had no idea why his sister reacted that way.
"Okay then, I'll go fight first and die. After that, you try."
"Die? So it's okay to die here like before?"
"Yeah. It's the tutorial, so dying just pushes you to the next story scene. Don't worry."
"I see."
Do-hyun nodded, then asked,
"And if I beat that Sword Star guy?"
"…Huh?"
"If I beat him, does the story still progress?"
At that, Seung-yeon's mouth curved into a faint, barely visible smile.
She knew very well just how absurdly designed the Sword Star Kato was.
Not only because she had practiced the tutorial multiple times, but because he was also the hottest, most talked-about boss recently.
Across every VR game streamer and countless gamers, no one had ever managed to defeat the Sword Star in the tutorial—not even properly injure him.
Popular challenge videos were things like"Survive 5 minutes against the Sword Star"or"Get him to say 'Not bad'."
That was the extent of "strategies."
And this was two-player mode.
Even if it was just a tutorial boss, a boss was still a boss—with doubled HP for multiplayer, plus additional attack patterns.
The already overwhelming Sword Star now had wings attached.
So she knew very well how ridiculous Do-hyun's question was.
No matter how much of a prodigy he was, impossible things are still impossible.
"It probably still progresses, right? I've never beaten him so I don't know. Go ahead—try killing him."
Even so, she encouraged him with a cheerful tone.
The meaning was obvious:
'Go on, get humbled for once, you hopeless talent monster.'
Her smile was the smile of an older sister who earnestly wanted to see her overconfident little brother get his ego smashed.
— Evil, evil!— Bruh is her brother really that clueless?— Yep. VR is literally his first time. Doesn't know anything.— This is what they call "the older sister experience"…
The viewers immediately understood Seung-yeon's intention—
The evil older sister teasing her little brother.
A very… sibling-like situation indeed.
But none of them donated to warn Do-hyun.
Why?Because this streamer had viewers perfectly matched to her energy.
"Alright then! Attempt No. 1, Victoria! Let's go!"
With a loud shout, Seung-yeon charged toward the Sword Star.
The silent Sword Star stepped forward to meet her, and soon they were within striking distance.
"Take this!"
Seung-yeon struck first—a straightforward downward slash from above.
Her sharp blade tore through the air, aiming for the Sword Star's head.
His response was simple.
"Hup."
A draw-cut—straight into an upward slash.
His sword flashed like lightning, intercepting hers.
The two blades crossed.
CLAAAAANG—!
With a violent metallic crash, Seung-yeon's sword was flung high into the air.
"Ah!"
Even with the positional advantage of striking downward from above, she lost her sword in a single exchange.
Which was exactly why the Sword Star's design was called "absurd."
Sword Star Kato's attacks cannot be blocked unless you score a perfect deflect.
With a normal "success" block, it was barely possible—but it applied penalties: numbing hands, stiffness, slowed movements.
He wasn't famous for "having no strategy" for nothing.
Even surviving required chain after chain of perfect deflects—far harder than it sounds.
And every successful block applied more debuffs anyway, guaranteeing that you eventually collapsed no matter what.
That was the official strongest boss of Samurai Hearts—Sword Star Kato.
Well… I failed immediately, but still!
Losing her sword in one clash meant she hadn't even gotten a "success" block—it was a flat-out fail.
Most players could manage at least one successful deflect before dying.
Even that, she failed.
A truly hopeless physical ability.
"Pathetic."
The Sword Star had no mercy for a swordsman who lost their blade.
His cold gaze sharpened, and his sword traced a large X-shape.
"Kyaaa!"
SLASH—!
Red blood burst through the cracks in her split armor as Seung-yeon collapsed to the ground.
Barely a single second had passed.
— 1-second kill, holy—— He said the line! The Sword Star's "Pathetic."— LMAOOOO I thought maybe she'd last longer
'Guys, what did you EXPECT from me?! I'm Victoria! The queen of spicy suffering content!'
— Even so, dying in one second is kinda…— Victoria really is bad at games, huh— Behold, true "Goodbye-Style Swordsmanship"
Now in spectator mode while one player remained alive, Seung-yeon chatted with her viewers.
This was her usual chaotic stream atmosphere—she plays poorly, her viewers yell advice, and she yells back.
Except this time, there was one big difference.
Her little brother—Do-hyun, completely new to VR gaming—was playing alongside her.
The viewers held their breath, watching.
Because now…it was the prodigy brother's turn against the Sword Star.