Chapter 42: Training – 4

When I came to my senses, Lucia was in the bed to my right, and Erme was in the bed to my left.

What the hell is this situation?

I remembered drinking with Erme.

Then Lucia had joined in, and the three of us drank together.

And now, this was the result.

I searched for Rishiel.

I needed answers.

It didn’t seem like anything had happened, but I had to be sure.

Nothing happened.

Rishiel dismissed my concern with a single sentence.

That was a relief.

Erme and I still had a long way to go.

More importantly.

Could I even handle both of them at once?

I turned my head and looked at Erme, who was sleeping peacefully.

She looked even prettier up close.

But if we’re talking about beauty, the other one is just as stunning.

I glanced at Lucia.

Her crimson hair shimmered in the morning light.

If Erme was still growing into her beauty, Lucia had already reached its peak.

Erme would probably develop a similar allure in a few years.

Thinking about that, I looked at Rishiel.

She’s beautiful too…

Maybe it was because she was an elf, but I didn’t feel the same kind of attraction.

Or maybe it was because she was a soul.

I carefully shifted my body and slipped out from between them.

After a light stretch, I gathered my things for the day.

Maybe I should head to the training grounds.

Not being able to use a private room was a bit annoying.

But I needed to assess my current state.

After my fight with Burkan, my swordsmanship had changed.

Black Sea.

Ever since I gained that technique, something about me felt different.

Maybe if I show this to that old man, something might change.

With that thought in mind, I finished preparing when.

Knock, knock.

Someone was at the door.

At this hour?

I sensed their presence outside.

Theresa, Glasses, and Rozanté.

The three of them were standing outside.

“…Yuseong, are you in there?”

“Yeah, I’ll open up.”

When I opened the door, the first thing I saw was Theresa’s blank expression.

Then Glasses.

“Do you know where Erme is? We haven’t seen her since yesterda—ah.”

That ah was filled with understanding.

It was only then that I realized I still had two people sprawled across my bed.

“…It’s not what you think.”

“Don’t worry. I’m already engaged. I understand. But other women might not.”

“Yeah, I don’t misunderstand either.”

“Neither do I.”

Glasses, Theresa, and then Rozanté spoke in order.

But Rozanté’s voice had a bit of an edge to it.

“…Seriously, nothing happened. I had dinner with Lucia, then drank with Erme, and somehow it ended up like this.”

“So you built the Great Wall of Liquor, huh? More importantly, Yuseong, I didn’t realize before, but you have quite the reputation with women.”

What the hell does that mean?

Was she implying I just used women and tossed them aside?

That kind of statement could seriously damage my reputation. I quickly denied it.

“No, seriously, nothing happened.”

“I actually already know.”

Glasses smiled brightly.

“Knowing you, after a big event, you’d be too busy sorting things out in your head. You’re not the type to do something reckless.”

“Don’t lie, Glasses. You already said there wasn’t any scent.”

“…You don’t have to tear down my carefully crafted message like that.”

So that’s what happened.

I let out a sigh of relief.

I should never let women stay in my room again.

So, does that mean I count too?

You’re not even a woman.

Rishiel made a genuinely hurt expression.

But seriously, wouldn’t it be way weirder if I had any sort of feelings for a spirit?

“Well, since we’re all here, maybe it’s a good time to get everything sorted out.”

“Sorted out?”

“Yeah.”

Glasses nodded, and suddenly, I heard his voice directly in my ear.

When I was taken by the Rogolma in the labyrinth, some of its memories slipped into me.

“I see… We do need to sort things out.”

Glasses smiled at my words.

I looked at Lucia, still asleep on the bed.

She seemed like she was going to stay out for a while.

Maybe I should wake Erme and take her to her own room.

Erme doesn’t know either.

This is something we all need to discuss together.

If Glasses thought so, he was probably right.

That guy loved adventure and romance, but that didn’t mean his head didn’t work.

He’s actually pretty sharp.

Which made sense.

After all, he was a mage.

I asked Theresa to wake up Erme, then requested a private room from the innkeeper.

“A private room?”

He hesitated briefly before asking for silver coins, which I handed over.

It felt a little wasteful, but it was still better than sneaking into Erme’s room.

Soon, a half-asleep Erme and the rest of the group gathered.

Glasses cast a strange spell over the area.

“Whew. The Silas Spell is flawless. No sound will leak from this room now.”

“Renting a place wasn’t a bad idea. If we were in Yuseong’s or my room, it could have been a hassle.”

That almost sounded like a compliment.

Did he have some kind of Gift related to this?

Maybe something that let him read the memories of objects?

Now that I think about it, it’d be weirder if something like that didn’t exist.

This was a world where even truth-verifying paper existed. No need to overthink it.

“You all know I was taken by the Rogolma, right?”

“Yeah.”

“And for some reason, it ended up being recorded as Yuseong defeating it. In the process, I became linked with it… and I was able to read its memories.”

“I see… So while that creature was reading Marcel’s memories, Marcel was also reading its memories.”

“That’s right. And in the process, I discovered something shocking.”

“Shocking? Like what?”

“First, Nation. The Rogolma killed his party but left his head intact. The reason? It was meant as a warning… for someone.”

“A warning?”

“Yuseong, you mentioned finding a suspicious nail, right?”

“Yeah.”

Wait.

Why was that coming up now?

“Nation was involved in something there. I don’t know the details, but it seems like he was trying to do something inside the labyrinth.”

“Nation… was part of Rebellion?”

It was something that could make sense, but I still struggled to understand it.

Nation had a stable future ahead of him.

Why would he risk it all for something like that?

“Anyway, there’s also something about the so-called 25th floor you should know.”

“You even have information on that?”

“I do. Normally, even if I had read these memories, I should have died from it. So… I want to formally thank you again for saving me.”

Glasses bowed his head deeply toward me.

No need to go that far…

“So, about the 25th floor?”

“Because people recently broke through the 24th floor, the monsters on the 25th floor were affected. As a result, they rushed all the way down to the 1st floor, and that, in turn, affected the other monsters.”

“I see… If one of them had a Gift, that could explain why the intelligence of nearby monsters suddenly increased.”

“Also, I have to apologize, but I already informed the Guild Master about this.”

“That was the right move. The Guild Master can distinguish truth from lies and see through to the heart of things.”

“Haha, that’s exactly why I did it. Anyway, those are the key points.”

After that, Glasses explained more strange occurrences.

But most of it was speculation.

Erme occasionally responded with “Hooh,” as if intrigued.

As for me, I just listened in case there was something I might need to remember later.

Rozanté and Theresa were half-asleep.

“…Ah, I ended up talking too much. You must be tired after exploring the labyrinth yesterday.”

“I can still go again today.”

“That’s true. Now that the labyrinth has stabilized, pushing hard right now is probably the right call.”

Glasses nodded in agreement.

“We’re heading into the labyrinth now. What about you two?”

“I’ll go.”

“I want to rest today.”

Erme agreed, but I declined.

Figuring out Black Sea was my top priority.

At my response, Glasses smirked.

“So, is your plan to rest for a full week still in effect?”

“Yeah, pretty much.”

“That means you have three days left. That should be enough.”

“Enough for what?”

“Let’s leave it as a surprise. Let’s go—I wouldn’t like it if you caught up too fast.”

Is he talking about leveling up?

Does he not know that I’m level 3 already?

I had leveled up after defeating the Rogolma, but before that, I had already been grinding levels solo in the labyrinth.

Well, he’ll find out soon enough.

I headed outside.

“I thought you were resting?”

“Nah, I need to ask Volcan something.”

The walk to Volcan’s place was filled with an odd silence.

“You want to ask me about swords?”

Volcan looked at me with expectant eyes.

Why does he look so excited just because I want to ask about swords?

Did I do something?

Volcan didn’t wait for my thoughts to catch up—he stood, towering over me.

A two-meter-tall mountain of muscle.

I didn’t want to be that big.

But I had to admit, life must be pretty easy with a body like that.

“Sorry, but I can’t teach you. My swordsmanship is only for my disciples.”

“…What?”

What the hell?

Wasn’t Volcan already my teacher?

“…You thought of me as your teacher? Would a guy from the East talk like that?”

“Does it matter?”

I was technically from the East, but still.

“Well, I said that, but I don’t really want to be your master.”

“Then what do you want?”

“There are too many things that bother me about making you my disciple. I’ve lived too recklessly for that.”

At least he knows himself.

But for someone who was self-aware, he sure acted like this a lot.

“The moment I officially take you as my disciple, people will start coming after you.”

“…”

“What’s with that look?”

“Nothing.”

“How bad would it be?”

“Painful.”

“Hmm.”

“They wouldn’t be able to kill you, but they’d keep poking at you. And for you, those pokes would be pretty damn annoying.”

So, in the end, he wasn’t taking me in as a disciple because he was worried his problems would become my problems.

“Then just teach me about swords.”

“Straight to the point, huh.”

Volcan muttered as he grabbed a sword as tall as he was and walked inside.

“What are you doing? Get in here.”

I followed him inside.

It reminded me of the first time we met.

Compared to back then…

I was much stronger now.

Strength, speed—everything.

And yet, even with my Master of Swords ability.

Even with my heightened senses,

“I can’t see his openings.”

It just meant Volcan was that powerful.

Step.

Step.

We soon arrived at the center of the training ground.

Volcan silently stared at me.

His eyes carried a clear message— Come at me if you can.

I accepted the challenge.

Drawing my sword, I lunged at him.

There was no need to test the waters.

From the very first strike.

Boom.

A heavy step.

The moment my foot touched the ground, a strange ripple pulsed through the air.

And then.

Black Sea.

A blade that cut through darkness surged toward Volcan.

KUUUUUNG!

Without moving a single step, Volcan blocked it with one hand.

He’s ridiculously strong.

I still couldn’t reach him?

Volcan, aware of my frustration or perhaps ignoring it, wore an unusually serious expression.

“Where did you learn this?”

“I stole it.”

“You stole this?”

“I picked it up while fighting an orc.”

“You learned it just from that?”

Volcan hesitated for a moment before speaking again.

“If you can help it, don’t use this in public.”

“Why?”

“Simple. That’s a technique once used by an Orc Hero. If you want to be worshiped by orcs, then go ahead.”

I briefly imagined Burkan and his kind swarming around me.

Yeah… absolutely not.

I made a firm decision.

This technique is getting sealed away.