Return of the Mythic Bloodline

"Teach me, Master," I said in a loud voice, bowing down to her.

"What—what are you doing? Do you have no dignity?" she stammered, her voice flustered.

"A pretty lady is stepping on me and ordering me to call her Master. I'd be an idiot to mind any of this," I said, touching the ground with my forehead.

"You—you shameless prick! Get up this instant and bring a sword from inside," she shouted, taking her foot off.

"Anything for you, Master," I said, raising my head and sprinting into the tree house.

I entered the room and took a slow step forward, looking at the greatsword stuck in the half-broken wooden log

"It's time to wake up," I murmured, grabbing the hilt of the sword.

Ding...

"Congratulations! You have found an epic artifact.

The Roaring Blade: Vajra

Type: Growth Type (Current Rank: D)

Class: Epic

Attribute: Lightning

Description: A legendary sword forged by striking with a thousand lightnings.

[More information - Locked]

Abilities:

* Thunder Slash [Locked – Requires Intermediate Sword Skills]

* Lightning Decree [Locked – Requires Advanced Sword Skills]

* Indra's Wraith [Locked – Requires Expert Sword Skills]

More abilities – [Locked]

Growth Conditions:

* Understanding of Soulforce: Level 1

* Synchronize with user's Soulforce

* Absorb Lightning-Type Energy: 0 / 500,000"

"Holy shit. This is one hell of a weapon. I was an idiot to let it rot here for so long," I gasped, taking the sword out.

When I came outside, Nymeria was carving a large branch with her sword.

She cut all of the little branches attached to it and chiseled it into a wooden dummy.

"Woah, Master, that's a pretty cute doll," I exclaimed, walking towards her.

"Stop messing around and stand in front of the dummy," she said, grabbing a sharp stick in her hand, and continued, "Swing your sword and try to behead it."

"I don't wanna boast, but I'm pretty strong," I said, swinging my sword with full force, and broke the wooden dummy in two.

"Haha, I told you I'm stro—Aow!" A stick struck my hand before I could complete my sentence.

"Why are you hitting me, pretty lady?" I grunted, blowing on my hand.

"Look at the dummy you broke. It wasn't cut down by the sharpness of the blade, but rather by the brute strength you used. The angle you held the sword at when you swung it was wrong, putting more strain on the sword. Had it been a normal sword, you would've broken it with your flimsy technique", she spoke in a cold tone and waved the stick as her words went on,

"And if you dare to call me anything besides Master during training, Jambavan will be the least of your worries."

I gulped and nodded as sweat broke out on my face.

Then I looked at the broken dummy. The cut wasn't clean—it was irregular at the start, and then halfway through, it just got torn apart.

"You have a bad habit of using brute force because of the mace. But don't worry, I'm going to engrave it into your very muscles so you don't make these mistakes," she said, a devilish smile laced on her face as she hit her hand lightly with the stick.

At that moment, I wondered if it was truly the right call to learn under her.

"Since you boast about your strength so much, let's see what you truly got.

You need to do five tasks every day:

Swing your sword in vertical, horizontal, cross-sign, and stabbing motions—fifty thousand times each.

After that, you must spar with me to put your training into practice," she said, sitting down on a nearby rock.

"Umm… Master, isn't that too much for the first time?"

"Don't make me say things twice. And you better hurry up—you need to complete the first four tasks before that fire goes out."

"Congratulations! You have unlocked two new Side Quest

Side Quest 1: Complete Nymeria's three task before time runs out.

Reward upom completion: Stamina:+10, Strength:+5, Beginner Sword skills

Penalty upon failure: Disappointment from Nymeria

Side Quest 2: Complete Sword training under Nymeria

Reward upon failure: All-devouring breathing technique level up

Penalty upon failure: Disappointment from Nymeria"

"What the hell! I got a quest? The rewards are good, but what is this about a penalty?

Why would I care if Nymeria is disappointed in me? Tchh! I am only doing this to get stronger and reap the rewards. I am absolutely not doing this to seek her validation," I mumbled to myself, but a part of me wasn't sure.

I turned and looked at the bonfire, the wood in it was only enough to make it burn for about three hours. This was how much time Nymeria gave me to complete this insane task.

However, I would have never guessed that swinging a sword could be this scary.

Every time I swung the sword, Nymeria whacked my hand, uttering coldly,

"Wrong angle. Didn't count. Do it again."

"You used too much strength. Do it again."

"You used too little strength. Do it again."

"Your breathing is wrong. Do it again."

I repeated my first swing ninety-seven times before finally moving on to the second.

The pressure and nervousness I felt every time I swung the sword were overwhelming, because each time I made even a slightly wrong move, her stick struck the same spot on my hand.

Every time the stick landed, it felt like dozens of wasps stinging vigorously.

My hand bled from the repeated beatings at that exact location. I even thought she might be taking some kind of frustration out on me, because no matter how you looked at it, this was plainly ruthless.

However, I didn't complain to her even once. She wasn't the one who offered to teach me. It was I who begged her, so I also had my pride to keep.

The last log in the bonfire burned intensely, and so did my heart with determination, as I swung one last time, completing the task just in time.

"Congratulations

Stamina increases by ten.

Strength increases by five.

Congratulations you have learned a new skill: Beginner Sword skills: Level-1"