◈ Chapter 42. Long Time No See (2)
I was stunned.
[Knights of the Lionheart – Training Longsword]
[Rating: Rare]
[Limit: Lv.200]
[Effect : When attacking, has a very low chance to inflict the status condition “Stunned” on the opponent.]
[Description: A training longsword with a dull blade that reduces its lethality, but its skillful crafting makes it more effective than most blunt weapons].
Indeed, the Knights of the Lionheart, the strongest in the Empire.
“The training sword is a rare grade.
It has a level cap of 200.
If I couldn’t defeat the beast, I wouldn’t even be able to wear it, right?
That alone was a surprise.
That wasn’t the only thing that freaked me out.
“Actions speak louder than words. Here, take it. Lord Ho-Yeol.”
Harkon handed me a training longsword.
The moment I hold it in my hand.
Memories of last night come flooding back.
Push-ups.
Testing burpees.
A run.
Pull-ups…….
It wasn’t training, it was torture.
The after-effects of that abuse felt like a heavy longsword.
The aftereffects of that torture began to feel intense.
……I’m in shock.
‘I really suffer for a living. I suffer for a living!!’
It’s not just pride, it’s stupidity. This?!
But if I had known that.
‘……I wouldn’t have been in the second grade.’
So you just have to get over it.
“Ugh, really!
I push through my sore muscles and raise my sword.
Of course, I don’t hold back.
I try to keep my face expressionless as I steady myself.
I’ve swung a lot of daggers.
This is the first time I’ve held a real sword as a player.
No wonder I don’t even know how to hold a longsword.
So I jog my memory.
“……How did Harkon hold his sword?
Once again, Grandfell’s talent shines through.
I could almost feel my body remembering.
I did what I remembered Harkon doing.
I gripped my sword and lowered my stance.
I’m not exactly an expert when it comes to swords, so it’s hard for me to make an accurate assessment……. Still, I don’t think it’s a sloppy stance.
Maybe it’s because I imitated it perfectly.
Why, I don’t feel any gaps or anything.
‘Above all.
I mean, look at those reactions.
“…… Oh my God.”
“……!!!”
It wasn’t just Harkon.
The knights who were resting were looking at me like they were mesmerized.
Instead of being intimidated by the attention, I was actually enjoying it.
“If it weren’t for the pain in my muscles, I’d be able to……!
I gritted my teeth through the pain.
I moved on to the next move like water flowing.
Shhhh.
A diagonal slash.
This was also a mimicry of Harkon’s strike.
Well, I don’t know how it would look to others.
It was always an imitation.
“It’s just like magic.”
In short, it’s the same poison.
How can there be so many poisons?
That’s what I thought inwardly, but I suppose it can’t be helped.
Still, it’s better to have some poison than none.
I’ll just fill it in anyway, right?
“……Oops, I got carried away.”
Suddenly, Harkon shook his head.
Then he turned to the watching knights.
“Regular training ends here. Go about your daily business.”
The knights quickly dispersed.
Only me and Harkon remained.
“……I don’t know what this is, but it’s an opportunity.”
A chance to rest my screaming muscles.
By the way, I can see why the training longsword is for training.
It’s that heavy.
It’s a strength training exercise just to swing it.
Anyway, I was about to put the sword down.
“Lord Ho Yeol, you never fail to amaze me!”
“What do you mean?”
“Nothing. Can you show me that swordplay again?”
…… Come on, Mr. Harkon.
Are you really doing this to me?
I’m telling you, I think my shoulders are going to fall off……!
But to the noble Mr. Grandfell?
That’s a word that doesn’t even exist in the dictionary.
With a pride that transcended even the flesh, I gripped my sword once more and swung it.
“Indeed, my eyes were not mistaken.”
Is he laughing?
I was tempted to ask.
I couldn’t, and Harkon didn’t even give me a chance to speak.
“Lord Ho-Yeol, that swordplay is indeed an imitation of my own, isn’t it?”
“Indeed, you recognize it, Lord Harkon.”
Indeed, Knight Commander Lionheart.
No wonder he’s level 600.
“You recognize a mere imitation at a glance.”
However, I continued shamelessly.
“As long as you want to learn, basic knowledge is what you need to master. But the only thing that could serve as a foundation for me was your swordsmanship, Harkon.”
In a word, it’s simple.
He was saying that only Harkon’s swordsmanship was worth learning. This.
If I had any swordsmanship skills at all, I’d say it was out of pride. But I don’t have a damn thing……!
‘There is no bluff like this.’
But not even for a day or two.
I sheathed my sword without changing my appearance.
Clang.
Now, even if you ask me to show you one more time, I can’t.
My fingers are still tingling.
Luckily, he didn’t ask for an encore.
After a moment, Harkon turned serious.
“For that reason, I must be nervous too. To think that Lord wanted to enter swordsmanship through me. That fact alone is quite a burden… … .”
His eyes seemed to blaze with motivation.
“Now that I know you have a natural talent. This is no longer something to be taken lightly. This is the end of peaceful days!”
My peaceful days are over.
“That sounds kind of ominous, doesn’t it?
No, it’s more than that, it’s a natural talent.
All I showed was my preparation and humility, mimicking Harkon’s.
Was there anything there to recognize as talent?
“Try to imitate, but it’s not something you can do.”
With that, Harkon sheathed his sword.
I jumped into the ready stance I’d taken earlier.
Indeed, it is better to see it once than to hear it a hundred times.
I understood the meaning as soon as I saw it.
“……I was not mistaken.”
It was indeed an unbreakable stance.
You can’t see the gap.
You can’t rush in and you can’t rush out.
Yes, an intimidating feeling, like facing a lion.
Harkon spat out a roaring laugh.
“Hahaha. Do you see now why the knights are so stunned, Lord Ho-Yeol? This basic stance is the final step that the Knights of the Lion’s Heart aim for.”
He continued.
“And you simply saw that stance and copied it!”
I see now why they call me a prodigy.
But it’s an illusion.
“Indeed, your vessel is unfathomable, Lord Ho-Yeol.”
It’s not the vessel, it’s the poison underneath……!
But such truth,
I could not possibly utter such a truth.
“If that is what you think, then so be it.”
It was a simple answer.
I know the meaning behind it.
Why, it was magic.
“Just when I thought I was out of the blinders.
As if talent and hard work are two different things.
I was the one who stayed up all night, every night.
Swordsmanship is no different.
That’s why I couldn’t be more pleased.
My arms and legs cringe with muscle pain.
I was sure this pain would only be a taste.
“……It’s Lonely.’
No one understands my struggle.
That’s what I was thinking.
“……?”
Suddenly, a message popped up.
[You’ve trained beyond your limits].
[You’ve met the requirements].
[You will be rewarded].
If it’s a reward for training, then…….
“……Stats up!”
I immediately checked my stats.
Strength] and [Agility] up by two points each.
I must stand corrected.
You’re the only one who understands my frustration.
It’s a class quest!
*sigh
Ho Yeol left the room.
Harkon’s excitement was not easily contained.
“……haha.”
It was pure joy.
Not the joy of being the leader of the Knights of the Lionheart, not the joy of being the Emperor’s sword and shield, but the joy of being a mere man.
Yes, if I had to make a comparison, it would be more like the joy of a miner finding a gemstone.
“Who would have thought?”
A mage.
A martial artist of the caliber of Lord Ho-Yeol, a martial artist whose skills would astonish the heavens and earth!
Harkon was sure of it.
“It was a sword, not a staff, that Sir …… should have been wielding!”
Of course, Hakon knew nothing about magic.
But no matter how great Ho Yeol’s magical talent was.
it would be no match for such a talent.
That was definitely a talent that could be counted on one hand in the entire continent.
So if I had to choose between the two.
Lord Ho Yeol must choose swordsmanship.
That was Harkon’s conclusion.
“I have unwittingly taken on a great responsibility.”
The last thing he needed was to be disappointed in his teaching and lose interest in swordsmanship.
That’s why Harkon said he was done with peaceful days.
“I’ll have to start practicing myself.”
On the plus side, Lord Ho-Yeol seemed interested.
“Especially about swordsmanship.
As I thought about it, a thought occurred to me.
“……Do you mean, the sword energy radiates straight from it?”
Tori-dori─
Harkon shook his head.
No, that was impossible, no matter what.
Even if it was possible, it had to be stopped.
One had to have absolute physical strength to deal with sword energy.
“Otherwise, you’ll be consumed by it.”
Harkon’s eyes were sharp.
‘Of course, you don’t mind.’
Ho Yeol’s arm was trembling slightly.
No wonder.
Talent and physical strength were two different things.
He had spent his entire life as a mage, regardless of his talent, and it would not be unreasonable for him to run out of stamina just from standing and swinging his sword.
Harkon gritted his teeth.
“I apologize in advance, Lord Ho-Yeol.”
Still, shouldn’t he improve his basic fitness?
The thought of having Lord Ho-Yeol train in physical fitness.
I already felt uncomfortable.
I mean, it’s not something a harkon could do.
Why was Ho Yeol’s arm trembling?
It’s a workout that even the best of the Lionheart knights can’t handle.
He’d done it in the early morning hours.
It was a sign of exhaustion.
“Maybe I should run with him, so he’ll feel more comfortable.”
Of course, that futile worry didn’t last long.
.
. https://pindangscans.com
. . .
Ho Yeol is not far behind.
His breathing is so calm.
Not even a hint of exhaustion.
Harkon could hardly believe it.
Finally, he spoke up.
“Lord Ho Yeol, don’t you look so different than you did yesterday!”
This is the same Lord Ho Yeol who was terrified of a single longsword?
*sigh
Physical training was something I welcomed with open arms.
─Train your weakened body. (Repeat)
Run 20 kilometers (successful)
1,000 push-ups (ongoing)
500 pull-ups (ongoing)
300 burpee tests (ongoing)
I didn’t have to take the time to do the recurring quests.
Still, the daily sweat was worth it.
I may not have had the strength, but I had the stamina to match the Lionheart Knights.
That’s what made it worthwhile.
-……Sir Ho-Yeol. Perhaps I was greatly mistaken about you.
It seems that Harkon, too, has decided that further physical training is pointless.
I felt sorry for him, but I suppose it’s no big deal.
I’ll just have to sweat it out at dawn like I do now.
Magic Tower’s lab.
Before I sat down at my desk.
I made my way to the teacup on the hospitality table.
Next to it were the magic tools and the [simple lamp].
Crackle.
It produces boiling water that is frighteningly close to energizing the circuitry.
As expected of a magic lamp from a magic tower, it’s quite advanced.
“Interesting.”
It didn’t just boil water, it created boiling water. Inefficient but sophisticated, it was exactly the kind of magic tool that Magic Tower would use.
“Rocket deliveries take precedence over such private matters.”
I click my tongue in frustration.
I brewed the green tea tea bag I’d brought from home.
I sipped.
A few moments of leisurely tea time.
I sat down at my desk and checked the parchment.
Sure enough, there was news.
Whoever it is, he’s got a bad temper.
I’ve never seen the sender’s name at the top of a message before. I am.
-Martis Dean Karl, Senior Wizard of Black Magic.
Senior wizard.
Well, then, what’s the point? It’s pretty obvious.
Prove it. (in progress)
● Convince a majority of the senior mages. (8/20)
You mean prove your ability.
I think I know what that means.
We’ll get to the rest in a moment.
“More than that.”
The news you’ve been waiting for was at the bottom of the line.
-The requested artifact for appraisal, the Orb of the Vampire Count. [Pure Emerald Crystal] and [Island Treasure, Silk from the Scales of the Silken Carp].
I immediately checked the contents.
You can support this site by tap / click the Ads or support on :
https://ko-fi.com/pindangscans
https://trakteer.id/pindangscans
https://saweria.co/pindangscans
thanks.