NOVEL NEXT Chapter 14
I stood in the center of the training ground, catching my breath.
“Alright then, shall we start off light?”
Ivelyn said as she began to dart around in all directions.
‘Looks like we’re starting with this pattern today.’
She zigzagged, making sudden leaps, keeping me guessing where she’d strike next.
Instead of trying to track her with my eyes, it was better to stay grounded and defend through instinct.
Vwoosh.
With the sound of her rushing in, the world slowed down. When I glanced around, I saw her attacking from the side.
I had to time it just right.
…Now!
Thwack!
I used my right foot, which I had pulled back, as a stepping stone and blocked her sword effectively.
At first, I forgot I was on a rocky surface and just instinctively tried to dodge, ended up falling flat on my back.
‘Ugh, just thinking about it makes me feel embarrassed.’
After tumbling and taking hits for days, I realized something important.
I had to dodge or block with minimal movements.
As the attack was parried, Ivelyn, who landed near a log, spoke.
“Stage one cleared. Let’s move on to the next step, shall we?”
Bam!
Ivelyn charged in, smashing everything in her path.
So the second pattern is a series of attacks!
“Ugh.”
Red trails rushed toward me without pause.
Starting with a piercing thrust, it followed with an overhead slash and a sweeping attack below.
I immediately sidestepped and blocked, then kicked off the rock to retreat.
“How’s that? Think you can keep dodging without screwing up?”
That was true. Just yesterday, I was dodging her relentless strikes but ended up tripping over thin air and retiring.
“Today, I feel like I can do it!”
However, weighing 60 kg less now compared to before, my footwork was completely different from yesterday.
I could feel it without even looking down.
‘Short log behind me. Rocks to the side!’
I had to judge how much power to exert to reach the nearby objects and understand their sizes when I landed.
I managed to endure until she halted her attacks, never once stepping out of bounds.
Ivelyn, putting her sword away, said,
“Wow, you cleared stage two already. That means we just have the final stage left? I was expecting this to take at least a month, but you surprised me!”
I gasped in shock.
“W-what? Even after just a week, I’m struggling to keep up! A whole month?”
Seeing my expression, Ivelyn chuckled, covering her mouth. “You didn’t seem like the type to react like that…”
“How cute. Did you really think a deep adventurer would be conducting one-on-one training and finish early?”
She lifted her sword and continued.
“Once this training is over, I’ll teach you vision swordsmanship, so if you want to finish quickly, show me what you’ve got. Here I go!”
As soon as she finished speaking, she vanished and, in the blink of an eye, charged at me.
‘What the heck! She was matching her stats until now, but why is she suddenly so fast?’
Barely dodging in shock, she swirled around and began throwing logs and rocks that had been embedded in the ground.
A cycle of blocking and dodging ensued.
Out of nowhere, I spotted a wooden sword aiming for me, ready to exploit an opening.
Uh-oh, with logs and rocks already yanked out and thrown, there was nowhere left to step!
‘Damn it. Is this another failure? Am I resetting to tomorrow again?’
No way!
I concentrated so hard my eyes almost burst with tension.
This was it! If I couldn’t dodge because I had nowhere to step, then I just had to stop her attacks altogether.
Inhale!
Just as her thrust was about to reach me, I jumped in place, landing on the wooden sword with my toes.
Success!
She swung her arm to get me off, but I seized that moment. Mid-air, I swung my sword to aim for her wrist holding the wooden sword.
‘Please, drop it!’
Thwack!
…Aah. Damn it.
Thud—
[Chaos gasps in regret.]
I was so frustrated after failing at the last moment that I just lay there on the ground, and Ivelyn applauded.
“I was going to let you pass if you jumped at the closest thing that fell, but you jumped straight up and kicked the wooden sword?”
Nodding, she added, “Your agility is recognized. Even though the attack failed, I’ll let you pass. Aren, you’re more than I anticipated!”
[At least Chaos says that it’s a relief.]
‘Right? If I had done this for another few days, I might have lost my mind…’
Sigh… As long as I make it to Seoul, I’m satisfied with passing.
*
Day 9.
My heart raced as I approached the training ground, but trouble arose right from the start.
“Aren, I said I’d teach you swordsmanship once you clear all the training, but to properly master my swordsmanship, a large sword—or at the very least, a longsword—is needed.”
Ivelyn pointed at the wooden sword I held.
“You seem used to one-handed swords already, so how about we switch weapons this time? I wonder if there’s anything decent in storage?”
…No way. My unique weapon, Barak, is just a little over 80 cm and a one-handed sword. If I change my main weapon now, there’ll be no turning back.
No matter how careful I was, it’s a unique item. Should I just let it rot as a backup weapon?
“Uh, um, is it that vision swordsmanship can’t be used with a one-handed sword?”
Her face turned puzzled when she heard my question.
“Basically, I made it assuming you’d use a great sword, so if you just use it, the power and utility will drop, you know?”
That much is true.
“But if you were only using backup equipment, why are you insisting on the one-handed sword? Don’t say it’s just for looks or I’ll be annoyed!”
I don’t give a damn anymore. Ivelyn is a super-strong deep adventurer, and we’ve already struck a bond as siblings, so it’s better just to say it. Hiding anything further would be odd.
“Actually, I have a unique weapon! But since it’s a one-handed sword, I absolutely can’t switch to a great sword!”
With that, I slowly explained how I earned it by defeating a mutant in the labyrinth and had been hiding it after asking for advice.
Ivelyn listened with a serious expression.
Then she smirked and said, “What…? You took so long just to say that? But I mean, it’s ridiculous that a low-tier adventurer with a best record of three floors has a unique item.”
She shook her head as if recalling something pathetic, letting out a sigh.
“What if the rumor spreads too much? Some random losers might come chasing after you for it. Well, you’d probably grow fast enough to swat them away.”
She continued with a chuckle.
“You cute little thing. You really impressed me by trusting me instead of dodging the issue?”
“Ha ha… Is that so?”
“Good! I won’t just show anyone, but I’ll show you because it’s you, Aren. I also possess several unique items as a deep adventurer.”
Ivelyn’s hand began to glow crimson.
“There’s one unique weapon that symbolizes me. Open your eyes wide and see closely.”
Then she thrust her hand into an interdimensional space, retrieving something.
What she brought out was… just large and red.
“Whoa.”
In an instant, a massive aura of bloodlust swirled around Ivelyn, making it hard to breathe.
[Chaos advises you to stay sane, as the phenomenon is only a sensory attack and not truly invading your mind.]
Luckily, it faded quickly, but the goosebumps on my skin didn’t subside.
I saw the status window of that weapon.
────
[Bloodstorm of Condemnation] (Unique)
A massive horn broken during battle mixed with the terrible screams of the creature, treated as a trophy, was shaped into this great sword.
With her as its owner, it surely will summon a storm of vengeance and condemnation.
─Grants ‘Blood Qi’ characteristic permanently to the user.
─Applies the mark of condemnation when attacking any targets deemed as evil by the user.
─Can heal itself despite being damaged by absorbed blood.
─Loses a bit of sanity as battles prolong.
─When the user accumulates a certain amount of damage, the technique ‘Roar of Aldebaran’ will be available for use.
────
Wow. So this great sword was the reason I found Ivelyn so daunting at first?
Ivelyn said, “Impressive, isn’t it? The reason I developed my own sword techniques is because of this. Ordinary swordsmanship lacks the merit to handle a weapon that deserves the title of a great sword.”
While saying that, she began to slash the air with the great sword.
Whoosh. Bang! Whoosh.
Boom—!
She released her arms, swinging the sword like a solid piece of metal several times while quickly adjusting its path.
For sure, with her swordsmanship complementing the great sword’s clumsy weaknesses, its strengths stood out—huge range and destructive power.
As she finally struck the ground, I heard something akin to an explosion.
‘Ugh, my eardrums almost burst.’
She looked at me, making a face of disgust.
“What I want to say is this; unique items, whether equipment or consumables, carry the power to alter the essence of their owner.”
She pointed at me while continuing.
“So Aren, don’t hide it because you’re afraid of the consequences. Instead, think of getting stronger using your unique weapon as your main!”
“…”
“Since I’ve invested my time training you and vouched for you, the average punks shouldn’t bother you for a while.”
Ivelyn smiled broadly, as if to say “Are you scared?”
“Of course! With who I’ve been learning from, why would I be scared? Don’t worry.”
At first, it felt great, but I also thought it was a bit too much for the sword I received. I considered buying a sword for everyday use in addition to this one.
I figured Barak could just be used to catch a strong monster occasionally. The talk of human hunters and losers was becoming worrying.
‘Not anymore. Just like Derik advised, I’ll get a shabby sword holder to stash it in, but let’s pull it out without hesitation when it’s time to fight.’
Since it’s bound to me, they said I couldn’t lose it even if I died, and with Ivelyn’s support, I should be safe for a while.
“Uh, hem!”
As I was resolving to boldly use it, Ivelyn coughed to get my attention.
“I really like the way you said ‘learned.’ Since we’re on the topic, don’t you have any other titles besides calling me by my name?”
Other than my name? Captain?
Nah, she seems fixated on ‘learned’…
“Master?”
The instant she heard me, Ivelyn’s face brightened.
“Yes! That’s it! Did you say that first?”
She said with a shrug of her shoulders.
“Typically, someone at my level has a disciple or something. I have a friend who stuns everyone by taking a break from adventuring to be respected in the Swordsmanship Guild.”
The Swordsmanship Guild, huh.
“Ugh, every time I meet that guy, he can’t help but brag about the girl he’s training! It annoys me so much that I’ve even tried to create a disciple to annoy him back, but all I get are inferior wannabes that don’t satisfy!”
What’s this? She went from being annoyed to suddenly cracking up.
“But just in time, a good-for-nothing with decent specs and talent comes along and desperately wants to learn!”
…Maybe I shouldn’t have said I wanted to learn so desperately.
“Plus, you have guts! So it makes me feel good to hear you call me Master; how can I not appreciate that?”
With that, I started laughing too.
“You seem to really enjoy that. Are you that happy?”
“Of course! It wouldn’t look right for me to ask you to call me first. Aren, you’re my disciple now. This isn’t just for a little while; it’s forever. No backing out from now on.”
She did have a cute side. I nodded.
“Yes, I will.”
“Good! Since the Master will be helping you make the most of your skills, bring that unique weapon over. We need to adjust the sword technique to fit you.”
“Yes! Just wait a moment.”
I quickly arrived at my room, wrapped Barak in a blanket, and cradled it in my arms.
‘Okay. I’m going to get the swordsmanship lessons and have my Master help me turn the purple lightning characteristic into my main attack!’
Envisioning myself growing stronger, I hurriedly headed back to the training ground.