《AI Reincarnation》 Prologue There are said to be only a handful of Sword Saints in this world. And now, I stand before one of them, sword in hand. I¡¯ve never held a sword in my life, let alone faced someone called a Sword Saint. In a world where all humanity lived under a system of absolute equality, there was no conflict, no need for swordsmanship training. Yet, here I am, standing in the arena of the King¡¯s Tournament, holding a sword and facing a Sword Saint. The King¡¯s Tournament is a competition where contestants display their swordsmanship before the king, often a harsh tournament where participants sometimes lose their lives. Unfortunately, I drew the Sword Saint in the very first match of the finals. The Sword Saint before me speaks with a smile. ¡°Do you think such heretical techniques as dual-wielding will work against me? I¡¯d commend you for making it this far, but you must¡¯ve bribed some noble to get in, didn¡¯t you? Know this¡ªI won¡¯t be fooled by any tricks.¡± Honestly, I can¡¯t blame him for thinking that. I¡¯m a no-name swordsman who¡¯s never been heard of before. In fact, as a former slave, I shouldn¡¯t even have the right to stand here. ¡°¡­¡± I have no words to respond with, so I stay silent. ¡°Heh, tongue-tied with fear? A fool like you has no business in this tournament. But I¡¯ll humor you, just this once. Defend yourself with everything you have, or you¡¯ll die for real.¡± His voice, likely inaudible to the nobles, royals, and commoners in the audience, carries a chilling weight. Even a Sword Saint must have undergone immense training to participate in a tournament like this. When he says he¡¯ll ¡°seriously¡± fight me, for any normal human, that would mean certain death. Of course, everyone in the audience came here expecting to see the Sword Saint triumph. I lift my sword into position. ¡°Oh? What school of swordsmanship is that? It looks full of openings, but you seem to have some skill. Perhaps you didn¡¯t cheat your way through the preliminaries after all. I¡¯ll make sure not to underestimate you.¡±The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. As expected of someone called a Sword Saint, all trace of his initial carelessness vanishes in an instant. The next moment, an overwhelming pressure emanates from him, bearing down on me. That I managed to make him take up his stance puts me at a clear disadvantage. But. I stand naturally in place. ¡°What¡¯s this? I don¡¯t feel any fighting spirit or killing intent from you. And yet, how can you stand there so calmly?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Well, no matter. Let¡¯s speak through our swords.¡± As we both take our stances, a voice calls out from the judges¡¯ seats. ¡°Begin!¡± The air around us grows tense. I wait for the Sword Saint¡¯s first strike. A voice echoes in my mind. **¡°Follow the guide. The first strike will come in 0.2 seconds. A horizontal slash from the right.¡±** The mechanical, monotone voice gives its instructions in less than 0.1 seconds. The next moment, my body drops into a low crouch. Above my head, just grazing my hair, the Sword Saint¡¯s powerful strike sweeps past. As he completes the swing, I begin to rise, aiming an upward slash at him from just above the ground, but another voice interrupts. **¡°The opponent will dodge and counter. Block with your left sword, stop your right sword at their waist, and step forward one meter, extending your arm.¡±** My body moves in perfect sync with the voice, completing the maneuver in less than 0.1 seconds. *Clang!* I intercept the Sword Saint¡¯s sword with my left blade, though the force of the blow almost overwhelms me. **¡°Advance 60 centimeters further.¡±** As his sword begins to press me back, I step in closer, bringing my body to his extended arm. Using the momentum, my right blade, thrust forward at his waist, strikes true. *Thwack!* The Sword Saint¡¯s body is sent flying backward as if repelled by my strike. **¡°The opponent leaped back voluntarily. Do not pursue; hold your position.¡±** I stay still as the Sword Saint¡¯s blade slices through the air where I would have been. **¡°Roll backward.¡±** I roll backward as instructed, avoiding the blade that buries itself in the ground where I had been standing. The Sword Saint grins as he glares at me. ¡°Incredible! You dodged that?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°To think there¡¯d be such an interesting one out in the wild.¡± The voice in my mind speaks again. **¡°Computation complete. All of the opponent¡¯s movements are now predictable.¡±** The Sword Saint closes the distance instantly, his sword raised high. He must be using a skill like ¡°Ground Shrink.¡± But it¡¯s too late. His initial strike should have ended me. He has given away far too much information, and now every move he makes is laid bare. Thanks to the ultra-fast particle AI¡¯s predictive computations, I move before he can. **¡°Swing your left sword horizontally, 15 centimeters from the ground.¡±** I lower my stance and sweep my left blade. The Sword Saint leaps 30 centimeters into the air to evade. But that¡¯s where it ends. **¡°Thrust upward with your right sword and execute a high-speed front flip.¡±** *Whoosh!* *Crash!* The blade in my right hand strikes the Sword Saint¡¯s right shoulder with full force during my flip. The impact crushes his collarbone, forcing him to drop his sword. ¡°Gah!¡± ¡°¡­¡± The crowd falls silent as the Sword Saint drops to his knees, clutching his injured shoulder. I raise my right sword above him, poised to strike. ¡°Enough! The winner is Kohaku!¡± The judge¡¯s voice rings out, and I halt my blade just above the Sword Saint¡¯s head. If I had swung, his skull would have been split open. I sheathe my swords and offer him a hand. ¡°Well done. But I won¡¯t accept help from the man who defeated me,¡± he says, standing on his own. The arena erupts in thunderous cheers. How did I, someone who¡¯s never even held a sword or fought anyone, end up like this? Let me explain.