Chapter 40: Training – 2

I went to receive my reward from Hilda.

“This is the reward that Lord Volcan entrusted to me.”

She handed me a pouch filled with gold coins and a black box.

It looked very simple, but that made me even more curious.

But what could this black box be?

“It’s something very hard to obtain.”

Hilda said this to me quietly, almost as if whispering.

It was something very difficult to get.

What could it be?

With eager eyes, I looked at the reward and then headed to the inn.

The path to the inn was quiet, and once I blended into the shadows, only a very few people could notice me.

After disappearing, I opened the reward inside my room at the inn.

The gold coins included five platinum coins and thirty gold coins.

Is this what platinum coins are?

Platinum is a rare mineral that was mixed to make the coins.

Each coin was worth 100 gold coins.

They were easy to carry and often used in black-market transactions, which was a downside, but in this era without electronic currency, they were pretty good conditions.

Anyway, five platinum coins and thirty gold coins…

That’s an outrageous amount.

An enormous sum, enough to buy a house I once dreamed of in my past life.

However, in this era, weapons often cost more than the price of houses in my previous life.

What I did was pretty remarkable, but the amount I received was…

Is this right?

Maybe there’s hush money included as well.

I moved on to the next reward.

The one I was most curious about: the black box.

Clink.

When I opened the box, a transparent bottle filled with liquid was inside.

A potion?

It felt like a bit of a letdown for a reward.

When I thought that and looked again, it didn’t seem like a normal potion.

Oh my, that old man must really think highly of you.

…What, is this that good?

Good? It’s not something that can be described like that.

The Elixir of Sublimation is so hard to obtain that even if you offered gold, it’d be difficult to get.

The Elixir of Sublimation, huh? It sounds like a really good item.

It’s good. It’s not as great as those potions filled with the mysteries of nature that grant new Gifts, but in terms of boosting stats, it’s better than those.

It’s the perfect Elixir for you.

I was surprised that Rishiel was so excited.

But if she said so, it must be true.

In situations like this, emotions are the answer.

I decided to go with my feelings.

[Elixir]

Elixir of Sublimation

◇When consumed, greatly increases the user’s stats.

…Ohh.

Is this the kind of elixir that appears in fantasy worlds?

An elixir, huh.

Unlike what I expected, it boosts stats.

Since there’s no other information, I guess it’s safe to drink it as is?

It’s fine. The Elixir of Sublimation can be consumed just like that.

Thinking while looking at Rishiel, she nodded her head.

I twisted off the cap of the elixir and poured it into my mouth.

What can I say, A blissful sweet taste brushed my tongue, and as it went down inside me.

Whoosh!

It slowly began to melt into my body.

At the same time, I could feel my body changing.

My senses sharpened, my strength grew, and I felt like my speed had increased.

…Emotion.

Name: Han Yuseong (Lv. 3)

Strength: 15 → 25

Agility: 24 (20+4) → 35 (31+4)

Stamina: 15 → 25

Mana: 15 → 25

Mental: 15 → 25

Senses: 15 → 25

…I’ve grown a lot.

I had suddenly become incredibly stronger.

I had already surpassed the typical level 3.

I thought of the other party members: Rozanté, Glasses, Theresa.

Erme and Viola could probably catch up.

I had a feeling Rozanté could keep up too.

But Glasses and Theresa couldn’t.

Probably, both of them wouldn’t be able to join our party at some point.

I thought it would be later.

But it seemed that time would come much sooner than I expected.

I had been thinking emotionally, but that’s that, and this is this.

I told Erme that I would rest for a week and then spent my time rolling around in my room.

I really just rolled around.

Rishiel, who was more tired than I was, begged me to at least do something, but.

This is what rest periods are supposed to be for.

I had plenty of money, and I had plenty of time.

So, I focused on exploring different foods.

As a result, I ended up learning where the best restaurants were.

After doing all that, I felt like my mental state had recovered quite a bit.

Has it been about 3 days?

I had 4 days left.

Erme had gone down into the labyrinth today, and there was nothing particularly important to do, so.

It’s about time for a check-up.

First, swordsmanship.

I went out into the yard.

The best training ground among all the ones in The Cradle was the one at the Adventurer’s Guild.

However, there were too many people watching there.

There are private rooms, though.

But I couldn’t use a private room.

I had met the required fee, but I also needed to have a certain level or a higher clan level to be eligible.

I could probably ask Volcan.

But I didn’t want to be indebted to that old man that much.

So, I went out into the yard.

It was for warming up.

So much has changed.

The one who didn’t know anything about violence was now about to swing a sword to warm up his body.

Well, it doesn’t matter.

Since I ended up in this era, I have no choice but to get used to it.

And it’s fun, too.

It’s a bit of a shame that Volcan’s not here, though.

Since I’m just going to swing a sword, Rishiel’s advice should be enough.

I don’t know many sword techniques.

At most, it’s the kind of techniques you’d find in a textbook.

Plus, there’s Rishiel’s swordsmanship and some of Volcan’s techniques.

Volcan’s swordsmanship focused on breaking the opponent’s flow.

Rishiel’s swordsmanship presses the opponent by riding their flow.

Both are excellent sword techniques.

I practiced them with both hands.

I want to get stronger.

What if—

What if I could withstand a single strike from that guy?

What if Glasses had been unlucky and got killed by him?

I swung my sword, drawing out dark emotions.

After a brief moment, I stopped.

Why did you stop?

Someone’s here.

Someone’s here?

Before Rishiel could finish her question, A man stepped out.

Well, a man wasn’t quite the right word.

His skin was greenish.

An orc.

Rishiel gave him a disgusted look.

Does she have a bad memory with orcs?

No, orcs are just ugly.

That’s just plain hatred.

Ignoring Rishiel’s words, I looked at the orc.

He’s big.

The orc was huge.

He looked to be about 2 meters tall, and his body was packed with muscles.

“Sorry about that. I didn’t mean to interrupt your training.”

The orc lowered his head and spoke to me.

He doesn’t use a weapon?

One of the basic things I knew inside collapsed.

“Well, it’s my fault for training here. It’s fine.”

“Ha, quite a generous personality. The sword didn’t seem like it, though.”

He handles a sword?

“A little bit.”

The orc chuckled and spoke to me.

“Ah, I forgot to introduce myself. You can call me Burkan.”

“Han Yuseong.”

“Oh, someone from the East? The swordsmanship from the East is quite sharp.”

Burkan looked at me with a grin.

“The East, huh.”

There was an empire in the western continent.

And apparently, there was also an empire in the eastern continent.

I didn’t know much about it, and I wasn’t from the East, so I shook my head.

“I’m not from the East.”

“Not from the East? That kind of swift swordsmanship is a specialty of the Easterners.”

Burkan smirked as he said that, then looked at me and spoke again.

“Since this is fate, how about a spar?”

Why does fate mean we have to fight?

I had a lot of things I wanted to say, but…

I like that look in his eyes.

His eyes were burning.

Filled with passion.

Something I didn’t have.

Was he really looking for a fight?

If it’s an orc, then he’s trustworthy.

Orcs are.

“Orcs?”

They honor a different kind of pride than you do.

They love battle and are violent, which is a flaw, but they do their best to keep their word once spoken.

“What about elves?”

We elves are a race that values peace and love.

I looked at Rishiel with a cold, unimpressed gaze.

We were on good terms now, but thinking back to our first meeting… it was a nightmare.

I turned back to Burkan.

A duel, huh.

Burkan looked strong at a glance.

Thief’s Pinnacle let me sense it.

Burkan’s level was 4.

A monster I couldn’t reach yet.

That’s what makes it fun.

When else would I get to fight someone like this without worrying?

I grinned fiercely and accepted.

“I think this could use an audience, but… seeing your expression, I guess we can start right away.”

“Then, here I come.”

“Come at me.”

Burkan picked up a wooden sword and told me to attack.

I charged at him.

“Oh? You’re pretty fast.”

I swung my right sword—Rishiel’s swordsmanship, the kind that turns the flow into my own and overwhelms the opponent.

Burkan swung his sword in a wide arc.

It was strange.

It was definitely coming toward me, and yet.

I can’t dodge it?

I had a gut feeling.

I stepped back a pace and crossed my swords to block.

Boom!

An overwhelming force surged through my arms.

“Oh? You blocked that? Impressive.”

I didn’t respond.

A strange level of focus began to take over.

Burkan’s swordplay was filling my mind with inspiration.

Swordsmanship I’ve never seen before.

From the way his muscles moved to the way he swung his blade—it was different from every swordsman I had encountered so far.

It stirred something deep inside me.

A strange hunger.

“You’re focused now, huh? You’ve got a good eye for sword—”

Burkan was saying something.

But I ignored him and moved my sword.

I slashed to the right—Burkan blocked it effortlessly.

I swung with my left hand—Burkan swung his sword in a wide arc, trying to knock both of my blades away.

Martial arts.

A kick.

I aimed for his midsection.

But Burkan didn’t dodge or react the way I expected.

“Hrrgh!”

What a brute.

Burkan let out a battle cry as he blocked my kick head-on.

And then.

Kwaaaang!

His sword came crashing down.

Barely dodged it.

It was close.

Too close.

But I felt like I was getting closer to something.

Burkan’s sword style didn’t suit me.

But I could see a way to break through it.

I charged at him, swinging my sword.

He had the advantage in strength and endurance.

What I could rely on were my agility and senses.

Clang!

Clang, clang, clang, clang!

Bit by bit, I chipped away at his reach, narrowing the space where he could swing freely.

If I made a single mistake, I’d lose.

If I forced him into a mistake, I’d win.

It was no different from walking a tightrope, but this was the only way I could win.

Maybe things would change if I used mana or aura.

But this was just a duel of pure swordsmanship.

As I kept pushing forward, chipping away at Burkan’s range.

Whoosh!

Suddenly, my vision went pitch black.

A strange world where everything was divided by white lines.

…This is…

I had seen this sight once before.

Back when I practiced Rishiel’s sword.

It was just like that time.

When I first wielded Rishiel’s sword, I had gained a sword technique—Dark Moon.

Now, I began to see similar silhouettes forming.

Back then, the silhouette I saw was of a swordsman wielding a single blade.

A swordsman who erased everything in their path.

My most powerful sword technique—Dark Moon.

And now, I saw something similar.

I let go of one sword.

I swung the remaining one.

Blood trickled from my nose.

And then.

“Black Sea.”

Sssshhh!

The darkness split apart.