I’m the Only One With a Different Genre

42 – [Save Me…]

She smiled slightly and covered my face with the tip of her index finger. She seemed confident in her skills.

Since she claimed to be from the top floor, there was no doubt about her abilities.

“How about it, Iris? Want to go learn swordsmanship?”

At her words, Iris pursed her lips.

“No, thanks.”

“Huh? Can’t decide?”

Iris tilted her head slowly and uttered a single word.

“Sword.”

She didn’t know the sword. Did that mean she had no swordmaster? I was about to express my surprise, but after probing further, I discovered a surprising fact.

“Iris… you’ve never learned the sword, have you?”

At my words, Iris nodded. Iris revealed that she first held a sword in the arena.

“Wow…! Our Iris is a genius!”

I praised her while ruffling Iris’s hair, and her cheeks blushed.

“Hehe, my disciple, indeed!”

Bianca twinkled her eyes and embraced Iris. No, she attempted to embrace her. The moment she tried to pull Iris into an embrace, Iris swiftly moved away from Bianca’s side like a cat, shifting from my left to my right seat.

“I like this kind of thing!”

A delighted laughter escaped Bianca, who seemed firmly attached to Iris.

‘Even if being master and disciple is tough right now, it seems like we can become good friends.’

Currently, Iris clings only to me, but someday, she will surely communicate with others and have days filled with laughter. To achieve such a day, having someone like Bianca around would be nice.

As I pondered these thoughts, a shout echoed in from outside the window. It sounded much quieter than the floor it was on before. It seemed like some magical handling was involved.

“Oh, has it become this late already?”

Bianca clapped her hands, standing up from her seat.

“Since you said you don’t like it, I’ll leave for today. If you change your mind, be sure to tell me next time. I’ll come down often to see you!”

Bianca, wearing an enchanting smile, walked towards the door as if to say, ‘I’ll leave now.’ Iris and I bid farewell to Bianca.

“Goodbye. Come anytime you feel comfortable.”

“Thank you!”

Bianca waved with a bright smile and left.

“She seems like a nice person.”

“…”

Iris only looked at my face without much reaction.

Click, thud.

As the door closed, silence remained in the corridor.

***

“Hehehe.”

Bianca strolled down the splendid corridor with light steps. A pleasant smile adorned her face. The place where her steps halted was in front of a door adorned with beautiful patterns.

Click.

The door opened smoothly without a sound, revealing a lavish and cozy facility befitting the top floor of an arena.

Bianca hummed a tune and entered the room, closing the door behind her. She passed through the spacious living room and entered the room where weapons were stored.

“This time, it’s probably this one again, right?”

She raised a sword similar to the one Iris had used. Reflecting her face in the sharp blade, she burst into laughter.

“You’ve never learned to use a sword, right? Isn’t that a sign of a true genius?”

Bianca patted her cheeks as if she were excited. Shadows swayed with her movements.

“Even though I haven’t learned, what level would I have reached if I had? Oh, I’m so excited.”

Bianca lightly wielded her sword. Despite the playful swings, there was a bewitching yet chilling air about her, befitting a top-tier gladiator.

“It might be better to nurture it properly before consuming, right? Or should I just devour it right now? Hmm…”

Pausing her sword dance, Bianca casually tossed the blade onto a stand, propping her chin with one hand, lost in thought.

“It’s better to raise them only up to a level weaker than me and then consume. Safety first, isn’t it? Right?”

As if in response to her words, the shadows split sharply on both sides. Within the divided shadow, a pointed, thorn-like mass, reminiscent of an adult man’s forearm, protruded abundantly.

Swoosh.

What was once a shadow gradually pierced through the floor, taking shape. It resembled a monster pulling its face out of a viscous black swamp. Irregularly grown sharp thorns seemed to be attached to flesh that was unrecognizable, belonging to someone.

Grrk, kehehek.

The monster’s voice, spat out as if boiling, would disgust anyone who heard it, yet Bianca blushed as if she had heard the sweet cooing of a lovely baby.

“Right? I’m smart after all!”

Bianca sang, her voice carrying a tune through her nose.

“This match will be a breeze!”

The authority of the top tier is bestowed upon only ten individuals. However, new slaves keep pouring in, and there are countless challengers striving for the top tier.

In this place where only the strong survive, Bianca had managed to survive for an incredibly long time.

Unaware of limits as if she had never encountered walls, she not only grew stronger but also became an entity with an array of dozens, even hundreds, of weapons skillfully handled, making her unpredictable and difficult to counter.

Bianca had reached a position where those challenging the top tier couldn’t even dare to dream.

Yet she was known as the ‘lazy genius.’ She never once showed herself practicing with the sword and was always either idling around or busy hanging out with men by her side.

Her ability to survive was entirely thanks to the power of her shadow. Her shadow possessed the capability to absorb the abilities of what it devoured and transfer those to its owner.

After befriending capable slaves with a friendly face, she would swallow them when they least expected it, absorbing their abilities.

That was the secret behind her occupying the position of the strongest.

“Hmm, should I bring in my future sister-in-law once my little sister dies?”

Her current targets were Iris and Ryan. Iris was her prey, while she intended to enlist Ryan as her maid.

“Well, in a way, once I swallow Iris, her abilities will all be mine, so I’ll practically be Iris myself.”

Laughing, she unfolded the miraculous logic that she would soon learn by experiencing firsthand that being reckless with food had consequences, but for now, she was simply happy.

***

A week had passed since settling into the new house.

It wasn’t until I heard from the rat-person about a new match that I exclaimed, “Ah! That’s right!” I had completely forgotten about Gargantua.

After the rat-person left and I informed Iris that I would be using the bathroom, I headed toward the washroom, silently calling out to Gargantua in my mind.

“Shuwung.

Light gathered on the back of the hand, forming a mere fist-sized crimson lump. In an instant, the light cascaded down as if liquid was trickling away.

From within the lump, the Gar’gandoa emerged, now reduced to the size of a dagger rather than a short sword. Its diminished form from the first sighting was disconcerting.

“Save… me…”

The Gar’gandoa uttered the voice of a patient on the brink of death. I promptly nicked my wrist. It might have looked self-inflicted, but it didn’t sting.

Chweup -.

Blood seeped into the blade like a sponge absorbing water. After a second, the Mark murmured in a voice fading into death.

“Tasty…?”

As the delicacy touched the lips, the blade faintly trembled. Then, it began greedily sucking the blood as if possessed.

“Ahh! This, this…!!”

Crying out with an authoritative tone, almost as if ravenous, the Mark laments. Due to the shallow wound, the blood wasn’t fully absorbed. Agitating the injured spot, blood spurted out.

Uwung -.

The spurts of blood shot into the air were swiftly drawn into the blade, leaving no trace on my clothes.

“Heup -… Hu, haaah!”

Hearing the utterly dazed voice, a hint of guilt seeped in. ‘How hungry must this child be.’

Watching its foolishness, I unwittingly began treating the Mark like a child.

The gushing blood was entirely consumed by the blade. Besides a few drops shed when the initial wound was made, it was a tidy job.

“Oh, there’s plenty, so take your time.”

I coaxed the Mark, half crying, like a grandmother feeding her long-lost grandson. Obligingly, the Mark voraciously consumed the blood.

And so, time passed. The Mark regained its original size, still absorbing blood, and spoke.

“How could you abandon me?!”