I Became a Level -99 Vicious Lord

‘…It's still the crack of dawn, you guys.'

Otto was completely frustrated by Elise's brothers' insistence that they go to train.

No matter how diligent they are, it had been a few hours since they had returned from the banquet hall, and they were actually planning to train at this time?

“What will you do?”

Camille asked Otto.

"What are you doing? Without getting ready."

“Huh?”

"I guess I'll give it a try."

Otto said, getting out of bed quickly.

"It's a chance to learn the training methods of the renowned Salzburg swordsmanship family. Where else could I get such an opportunity? I couldn't buy this experience even with money."

Since it had come to this, Otto decided to go along with Elise's brothers.

‘Right. I really needed the extra training anyway.'

It had been bothering him that he hadn't been able to practice his swordsmanship for a while due to being busy.

He could take a break when he returned back to the Lota Kingdom.

“You all go ahead first, I'll get ready and join you."

Otto said to Elise's brothers.

"Alright, we'll go on ahead then."

“Come quickly.”

“We'll be waiting.”

Elise's brothers were pleased to see Otto's willingness to train.

It's even joked that members of the famed House of Salzburg swing swords in their deepest dreams, so the reaction was only natural.

It's okay to be weak.

It's okay to fail.

Just don't stop.

Those born inheriting the blood of Salzburg shall train and grow until their last breath, challenging themselves to reach new heights.

For that was the Salzburg family creed.

It was also because Elise was born and bred into the House of Salzburg that she had insisted that he not become strong in a short period of time, but rather that he show progress.

“Let's go.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Once Otto was ready, he and Camille headed to the training grounds.

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“Can I see what your capability is?”

Hermes, the eldest son of the Salzburg family, asked Otto.

“Yes, of course.”

Otto did not hesitate.

Elise's brothers, Hermes and the rest, are among the strongest on the continent.

‘They may not be as formidable as Elise, but her brothers are also remarkable fighters. They'll make for good opponents.'

With that thought in mind, Otto drew his wooden sword.

“A wooden sword?”

Hermes frowned.

"Just sparring with wooden swords?"

“Oh?”

“I think your skills are past the point of using a wooden sword.”

"So… shall I go all out?"

“Anytime.”

Hermes smirked and drew his sword.

“Right, then.”

Otto drew his sword as well, and smiled.

‘Okay, because I can't train with a wooden sword forever.'

Facing Hermes, Otto immediately engaged in the duel.

“I'll go first.”

“By all means.”

Otto lunged at Hermes.

*Clang!*

*CLANG!*

The sword of Otto, wrapped in aura, clashed with Hermes'.

‘Full force.'

Otto charged at Hermes with all his strength.

Hermes found himself unable to seize an opportunity to counterattack Otto's assault, continuously being pushed back.

"Not bad at all."

A smile tugged at the corners of Hermes' mouth.

“Of course.”

Otto replied, and then lunged at Hermes again.

*Clang!*

*Pow!* *Pow!*

*Clang!*

In the blink of an eye, dozens of blows were exchanged.

“Anything more intimidating?”

Hermes said teasingly to Otto.

“Only this much….”

Just then.

*Flash!*

A gray flash of light flashed from Otto's eyes and struck Hermes.

He had used the Petrifying Eye skill.

"……!"

Startled, Hermes raised his sword, creating a barrier of mana, and the gray light bounced off in all directions.

Truly, the eldest son of House Salzburg.

Deflecting magic with nothing but mana power and swordsmanship.

“This is a bit intimidating.”

“Thank you.”

“But it's still not enough.”

“I know.”

“Good.”

Hermes nodded, a look of satisfaction on his face.

“Then let's play some more.”

And so Otto and Hermes' duel continued, for a while.

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Afterward, Otto sparred Hermes and then Elise's other brothers.

Naturally, the result was Otto's defeat.

“Ugh.”

Otto winced.

‘These monsters.'

Exhausted, Otto looked back at Elise's brothers.

“I guess that's enough to pass.”

“You're very talented.”

“Good, brother-in-law.”

Elise's brothers didn't show any signs of exhaustion, only exuberance.

Moreover, despite Otto giving his all, Hermes didn't have a single scratch.

‘So this is what true strength looks like.'

Otto acutely realized the extent of his current abilities.

If this had been a real battle…

*Shudder*

Had they met on the battlefield, Otto would have been as good as dead.

Of course, encountering such formidable opponents on the battlefield would be exceedingly rare.

‘Really, I'm still far from it. I need to get much stronger.'

Otto decided to use this sparring session as a benchmark to assess his own abilities and as motivation for further growth.

Through Elise's brothers, he came to understand what true strength really meant.

“Good job.”

Hermes stretched his hand toward Otto.

“That's enough.”

“Huh?”

“You've passed.”

“Passing means….”

“It means that at least one hit from an Elise won't kill you.”

"……"

“We don't want to lose our precious brother-in-law any time soon.”

Otto was dumbfounded.

They weren't challenging him to a spar to see if he was worthy of marrying Elise, but to see if he was good enough to not get beaten to death by her.

"We got hit a lot back in the day too."

“Ah?”

"After sparring once, we were sore for days, groaning in pain, right?"

Hermes looked back at his siblings.

"It's fortunate that we don't have to spar with Elise these days. It was like facing death when we were young."

"Ugh. That's awful to think about."

Ares and Ceres shuddered in response.

‘Ah, how harshly they must have been tormented when they were younger.'

Otto could understand Hermes, Ares, and Keres perfectly.

Elise was born with the greatest talent in the history of the continent.

It was easy to see how hard it must have been for her brothers, who had to face Elise.

"Thank you all for your hard work. I've learned a lot."

Otto thanked Elise's brothers for the sparring, then glanced back at Camille.

“What are you doing?”

“What?”

“Training. You should do it, you know."

“…….”

“Did you really think I'd be the only one? Anyone here want to duel Camille?”

Otto looked back at Elise's brothers.

“Sure.”

“Let's see what the noble knight can do.”

“I look forward to it.”

Elise's brothers stepped forward as if they had been waiting.

"…I'd like to ask for a favor."

Camille unsheathed his sword with a grim expression.

Of course, it's not that he didn't want to spar.

Camille valued this rare opportunity to learn.

It's just that Otto's determination not to die alone was insufferable.

But Otto only knew one detail, and not the other.¹

“'You're already up and practicing?”

“Hiek?”

Otto looked at Elise as she walked into the training center, startled.

“Good Form.”

“Haha. Hahaha”

“Sword, pick it up.”

“What?”

“You didn't spar with me.”

"….."

“You don't want to?”

“Oh, no!”

Otto jumped up and flailed his hands in a frenzy.

“We have to! Of course I want to!”

…Even though he said it, Otto wanted to die.

‘I'd rather you kill me, please!'

Still, Otto was exhausted from sparring with Hermes, Ares, and Ceres.

But now, it seems he has to spar with Elise as well.

‘I… I won't die from this, will I?'

It seemed like he would have to lie down like a corpse all day today.

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For three days, Otto stayed in the capital of the Arad Empire, spending time with the Salzburg family members.

The Salzburg family members treated Otto very warmly, almost like family.

That's because Otto is Elise's fiancé, who everyone thought would remain single for life.

So, from the Salzburg family's perspective, they had no choice but to take care of Otto as if he were truly family.

Thanks to that, Otto achieved quite a bit of growth during those three days.

Not using wooden swords for sparring anymore and instead using real swords allowed him to train more realistically, simulating actual combat.

[Notification: Your achievement in [Invincible Swordsmanship] has reached 5 stars!]

[Notification: Attained Level 260!]

The notification window was faint and not very visible, but Otto could definitely feel his growth.

Last day.

“Thank you so much.”

Otto sincerely thanked the members of the Salzburg family who warmly welcomed him and left the capital of the Arad Empire.

“I will come back to visit in a month's time.”

"Yes, we'll be waiting."

Otto left the Salzburg villa, looking forward to meeting Elise in a month's time, and made his way back to the Kingdom of Lota.

The road to the Kingdom of Lota.

‘Controlling the civil war in the Arad Empire. If that's possible.'

Otto's mind was racing.

He couldn't help but think that he might be able to control the civil war in the Arad Empire, the cause of the upcoming Great War.

“What are you thinking about?”

Camille asked Otto.

“Yeah, something like that.”

“Is it like a trade secret again?”

“Yeah.”

Otto nodded.

*Daga-dag, Daga-dag!*

Ariel, riding a horse from afar, galloped towards Otto's group.

“Who is she?”

“Ariel.”

Otto explained to Camille.

“She and Kairos used to know each other back in the past.”

"Could it be that Ariel? The elf maiden who followed Elder Kairos?"

“Huh? You know?”

“I've talked to him once before, in the Gurling Archipelago.”

“She's coming with us this time. I said I'd let her meet Kairos.

"Did you tell the Elder?"

"Why would I?"

"……."

"Ta-da! It should be a surprise."

With a mischievous laugh, Otto said to Camille.

‘Again, that expression.'

Camille thought that Otto's smiling face looked like a Devil from the underworld.

Thinking about how flustered Kairos will be and enjoying it.

At this point, it seemed like Otto was only thinking about tormenting people around him 24/7.

“Are you going to see the bastard now?”

“Not right away.”

Otto shook his head.

“We need to go to the Kingdom of Lota first and prepare things, we don't know where Kairos is or what he's doing right now.”

“Right.”

Ariel nodded.

“I've waited four hundred and fifty years, I can wait a few more days.”

“Yes, but?”

Otto asked Ariel.

“What is that? It looks like something sinister.”

“Oh, this?”

Ariel answered, holding up a bat with a bunch of sharp spikes.

"There's a use for this. Hohoho."

“Uh. Hmm.”

Otto realized the purpose of the fearsome bat, and panicked slightly.

‘You don't mean you're going to beat him with that, do you?'

He wanted to give Kairos a hard time, but getting him beaten up with such a vicious bat was a little…

But there was something strange.

‘What kind of elf carries such a vicious bat???'

That wasn't the only thing.

“Keeuuu!”

*Gulp!* *Gulp!*

Feeling thirsty, Ariel pulled a flask from her bosom and chug on it.

‘Isn't this a female Kairos?!'

Otto thought to himself that maybe Kairos and Ariel were actually a match made in heaven, and set off for the Kingdom of Lota.

** ** **

TL/N:

1. Spar with Brother Task – Complete

Reward: Can Finally Rest

*Hidden Task*

Elise Training/Spar