〈 Chapter 44 〉 Master and Student

*

The swordsmanship that Libero showed.

It was merely a fraction of his overall skills.

But even as a fraction, it was his essence.

There’s no guarantee I can reach that level.

No, it’s far more likely that I can’t reach it at all.

‘Still, if I could just get close to that level…’

My obsession with his swordsmanship stemmed from my training experiences up to this point.

After realizing that inheriting the Royal Emblem would allow me to become Libero’s disciple, I tried passing it on to several characters.

After creating multiple disciples under Libero, I reached a conclusion.

There’s no faster way to level up swordsmanship skills in this game than to become his disciple.

Moreover, for some reason, the swordsmanship learned from him held almost absolute advantage, even when matched against sword skills of the same rank.

When ranks were equal, I’d never lost a duel.

Back when I was playing the game, I thought there must be hidden stats involved, but now, I understood the true reason.

‘Libero’s swordsmanship is just that strong.’

If the opponent had similar sword mastery, I would always win.

In essence, his swordsmanship was a guaranteed win.

Of course, the inheritance trait of the Royal Emblem, [Authority of Leim Royal Family], had no remarkable effects besides the hidden factor of being able to learn Libero’s swordsmanship.

And the inheritance skills were littered with various non-combat trap skills like [Court Etiquette] and [Dexterity].

Nonetheless, Libero’s swordsmanship was so overpowered that it overshadowed all those weaknesses.

‘Especially with someone like Gwen, who is purely physical, the effect was amplified even more.’

Magic stats are abilities that can’t be developed naturally without special methods.

For some reason, Libero’s swordsmanship worked better for heroes like Gwen, who were inherently lacking in magic stats.

However, Gwen already had a decent grasp on Reedval Family’s swordsmanship, and due to her precocious nature, her growth in swordsmanship was quick, so she didn’t insist on learning from Libero.

Taking all these reasons into account, I chose to develop Allen by following Gwen’s [Precocious] trait and Ershiarah’s [Authority of Leim Royal Family].

Allen was just like Gwen, with bottom-tier magic stats.

The difference was that, unlike Gwen, all his other stats were also at rock bottom.

But up until now, Allen had struggled to leave Basilium and head towards Sakh.

Not only was reaching the 500 accumulated SP to unlock the second inheritance difficult, but receiving the Royal Emblem with no other benefits aside from the connection to Libero would surely lead to a disaster in the early game.

Yet, I’ve managed to reach Libero with Allen at last.

Now, a solid path is laid out…

‘At least, that’s what I thought.’

I closed my eyes in anticipation of the impending scolding.

“Have you already forgotten what I said?”

Of course, I remembered.

“I told you not to bend your waist while slashing.”

I remembered it.

It’s just that my body wouldn’t follow.

‘Idiot.’

I swung the sword again.

‘Don’t bend your waist…’

It was in that moment.

< Trait [Absolute Obedience] activates. >

The effect activated right as I thought it.

I realized I had made a mistake, but Libero had already caught on.

“Allen.”

“I understand.”

I knew I shouldn’t use [Absolute Obedience].

However, it wasn’t something I could control so easily.

Absolute Obedience tends to activate itself just by thinking about it, even if not consciously commanded.

Of course, if it hadn’t been that way, I might have died to that wolf I first encountered. And I’ve received help more than once since then.

But now, it was actually becoming a hindrance.

‘Is there some sort of on/off function for this?’

I had tried, but not successfully.

‘Deactivate Absolute Obedience.’

‘Keep it deactivated until I ask for reactivation.’

‘Keep it deactivated for ten minutes.’

But nothing worked.

Perhaps the contradiction was that reactivating it required Absolute Obedience as well.

If not, it might be an inherent trait that can’t be toggled on and off.

In fact, the latter was more likely.

‘It’s just like Allen.’

I had come to accept this behavior as a matter of course.

As I kept swinging the sword, Libero finally spoke.

“Let’s end today’s lesson here.”

Having watched me swing my sword, Libero said this, and I too lowered my sword.

My body had already hit its limit.

Libero, who seemed to have no concept of stamina, appeared unaware of the need for breaks, while Allen was operating on almost empty.

Nonetheless, Libero concluded the lesson at the set meal and sleep times I had determined.

It was something I set as a minimum requirement.

‘God, this is exhausting.’

Whenever I worked out to build stamina or strength, I typically used Absolute Obedience, which did make it challenging, but it was more mechanical and thus mentally easier.

However, being forbidden from using Absolute Obedience during training forced me to swing the sword solely with my own volition.

‘The stamina wasted on that self-motivation is too severe.’

Yet, it surely felt like my growth was faster than when using Absolute Obedience.

Once I began swinging the sword through my own will, the sensations became more vivid.

There was a clear reason for the slow growth in swordsmanship, despite inheriting [Precocious].

‘Although…’

Even if it had sped up a bit, it was still slow.

The limitations of talent were felt, and growth was just generally sluggish.

Even basic sword techniques that could be easily implemented with Absolute Obedience resulted in numerous mistakes.

According to Libero, implementations done with Absolute Obedience weren’t real implementations, anyway.

“Well then, rest well.”

Libero donned his coat and exited the basement.

He must not need sleep at all.

While I slept, he would wander the streets like a corpse, as usual.

‘I can’t understand this guy.’

I knew his true identity through the game.

Yet, his actions were completely at odds with that identity.

He usually guzzled alcohol like trash and lay around in the streets, but whenever he witnessed an injustice, he would act as though he were some sort of righteous apostle.

Then, without a care in the world, he’d return to his trashy lifestyle.

Various speculations surrounded him in the community.

Perhaps he was bound by some kind of contract.

Perhaps killing people served some fulfillment of desires.

Those were the speculations, but in the end, nothing was revealed.

‘He was a frustrating guy from start to finish.’

Strong, yet pessimistic.

Just, but not proactive.

Well, it honestly didn’t matter to me.

I just wanted to learn swordsmanship from him, that’s all.

I turned my gaze away from him as he trudged out of the basement.

*

“Frustrating…”

Unaware of how his disciple felt about him, Libero muttered to himself.

“How did such a guy come out of that bloodline?”

He couldn’t understand it.

It certainly felt like the authority of the Royal Family was there. Plus, given his use of inventory, it seemed he had the Divine Seat connected too.

And yet, his talent was only slightly above average.

He didn’t know, but that was all a result of having pulled himself up somehow with [Precocious].

‘What kinda confidence does he have with such talent?’

He recalled the boy’s words.

“Please prove that I can never become a High-ranking Hero. If you do, I’ll acknowledge it and step back.”

“No, even if that’s true, I have to prove it. Even if the proof turns out to be false…”

“I cannot give up.”

It was amusing.

That he could shout like that with such minor talent.

Yet, he couldn’t laugh it off entirely.

The sight of that boy resonated with his past.

‘I once thought I’d reach the end of swordsmanship.’

His talent was undeniably genius compared to the boy’s.

His swordsmanship had improved daily, and the goal of reaching ‘the End of Swordsmanship’ no longer seemed impossible.

In reality, he continued to grow stronger and eventually reached a level where no one could catch up to him in terms of swordsmanship.

‘Except for that guy.’

The ancestor of the Leim Kingdom.

Moreover, the only person who could ever match him in swordplay.

That man had always said that if he fought him, he could surely reach the end of swordsmanship.

And now that man had died, he understood it had all been a lie.

He wanted to reach the end of swordsmanship.

But there were just too many limitations.

Thus, he had abandoned his human form.

Made a pact with a transcendent being.

In the end, all that remained for him was swordsmanship.

Yet…

‘He couldn’t reach the end of swordsmanship.’

It had merely been the vain dream of a kid.

The end of swordsmanship was a place that could never be reached in the first place.

Now that he had realized this fact, he couldn’t help but wonder why he continued to live.

‘Perhaps I envied that kid.’

Even if it was an unrealistic goal, I envied someone who had a purpose to live for.

Simultaneously, he felt a pang of guilt.

No matter how impossible the objective was, I was merely living with regret and doing nothing.

So he accepted the boy’s wish.

What if that boy could change me, even just a little, with the faint hope of that possibility?

So, did I feel like I had changed a bit?

‘Well, who knows.’

He smirked faintly.

‘I just feel like I picked up a fool.’

On that note, picking him up just made the fool himself even more foolish.

At that moment, he noticed a group of humans entering a building with weapons in hand.

A phoenix tattoo was etched on their forearms.

‘What a trivial hobby time.’

He conjured a mask in thin air.

Years had passed, and he now had no acquaintances at all, but it was a mask of a hero that was popular among kids when he was young.

‘What was its name again…?’

He couldn’t recall well.

Yet the shape of the mask was vaguely similar.

Donning the mask, he vanished from sight in an instant.

*

“Hey, Violet. What’s up?”

(Th-the search for Hero Killer No. 71 has been temporarily terminated.)

“That means Laus, who was scouting Sakh, has pulled back too?”

(Yes, it was the order of the eldest sister. Laus has headed towards the Leim Kingdom to assist with Hero Killer No. 72.)

“Without telling me anything?”

Demon King Violet, in conversation with Demon King Gineus, was outraged.

With her glossy long black hair and fair skin, she could be considered alluring, but right now, all those descriptors were unnecessary given her irritation.

“It’s infuriating. This guy causing chaos every day here isn’t enough; if we add another one…”

(But still, there’s no guarantee he has actually crossed into Sakh.)

Her black hair started to tremble in anger.

“There’s no guarantee? The only places connected to Basilium and the Gate are here and Saint City Hailen.”

(C-Could he have gone to Hailen? Or he might still be in Basilium.)

“Evidence?”

Silence fell on the other end for a moment.

Then a small voice replied.

(I-None….)

“Then tell that old lady right away. If it’s confirmed that Hero Killer No. 71 has crossed into Sakh, I won’t show any leniency to the one causing chaos here either.”

(Huh? But that…）

She cut off the communication with Violet.

Whether or not that message would be relayed, she had stated it clearly.

If it wasn’t conveyed, it would be Violet’s fault.

*