24 Hearts

Chapter 12

[An editor has been messing up with Kaseun and Kain. To clarify, Kaseun is the grandfather, while Kain is the MC of the original game. All instances in s have been fixed.]

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Serenia: City of adventurers.

Kaseun was a nice guy, a man of his word. Still, I don’t know what the damned misunderstanding was because I felt as if I had joined the army all over again. Like a sergeant wearing a beret, Kaseun forced me through the training field day after day, proving to me that hell was not a far off place.

Had I not developed my strength before, I would have fallen to the sand with my tongue lolling out of my mouth. Kaseun trained me for three hours every day, and while this might sound like a short period, it felt long if one filled every second of it with physical exertion. The first hour consisted of warming-up exercises, mostly geared towards building up my strength. In the second hour, I was given a wooden sword. I started by repeating basic actions, such as striking, slicing, and parrying. After a few sessions of this, I understood his methodology.

The path of the sword was not a clean or simple one to walk. Thinking in mere straight lines did not work; one had to consider many angles and employ them from a great variety of stances. The reality was far different from the game mechanics, as both the body and the mind had to act as one.

It was an obvious fact, yet its application was indeed bitter. Still, the buffs I had gained from the statue of Jopiel, as well as [The First Lord’s Protection] and [Determination], enabled me to grow my skills faster than a mere NPC. After two weeks, I had mastered the eight primary directions in which a sword would be employed. Upon seeing this, Kaseun was pleased, for he believed me to have natural talent. His tutoring was still beneficial, for I felt the difference between having a teacher and not having one.

I was tired out, but I could feel my skills improve day by day. After three hours of intense training, I went home and caught a little rest. I then practiced the itto-ryu technique on the second floor of my house by summoning [Shadow Justice] weapons.

A Shadow Magic Swordsman wields a dagger in his left hand and a bastard sword in his right hand. This technique was not that effective if one lacked the requisite strength and agility, yet I had to train to become more effective in the skills. I surely was not practicing with such weapons to look cool; no, I had my long term goals in mind.

I practiced like this whenever I had the time. Since I had little else to do with my time, I trained my body whenever I was bored. Interestingly enough, my stats had risen well beyond my expectations after a few sessions.

[You have employed magic without rest day by day. Its nature is simple and crude, yet still effective. Magic increased by 6]

[Through constant physical training, your Strength and Stamina have increased by 5. Further stat increases due to such basic training are unlikely.]

So it came to be that I had trained for an entire year. My level never rose, but the boost in my stats satisfied me. Interestingly enough, though I knew this world to be real, I still felt as if I had won in a game upon seeing the notification of my stat increases. I found myself training once more on the second floor, if only to gain even a slight rise in my stats. One of the two rooms on the second floor was completely vacant, and so I swung my sword around in there. I did not hesitate at all, as surely no one was watching me.

I took a rest to calm my breathing, then activated a skill.

[Shadow Justice Form 4 – Lower Black Arms Manifestation Activated]

As my magic was consumed, shadowy spheres arose from my hands. These magical energies flowed into one another, and as they united, they formed the dagger and the bastard sword into my hands. I imagined that an enemy stood before me, and I imagined him to be Jacques, the man I had killed on this very spot three years ago. It was the easiest opponent for my mind to conjure up. I took my stance and swung at him.

‘Swooong!’

I imagined him parrying my strike with his ax. My practice was focused upon my body’s movements and how to counter-attack after an opponent’s strike.

“It’s just not enough,” I muttered. This type of training did not satisfy and challenge me. It has been a full month since any of my stats had risen.

I knew that I could gain no more from these solitary bouts of mine. Even if I was sweating like a dockhand, I just did not like this form of training anymore and could no longer concentrate on my phantom foe.

The mercenary before me faded away until he had finally disappeared. I gave a sad sigh as the pent-up frustration within me escaped. I had the knowledge of [Shadow Swordsmanship] and [Shadow Justice] within me, yet had no viable partner to spar against. I had to keep my skills secret from everyone, so not one person in Serenia could help me train my skills.

“I have to leave the castle walls,” I spoke into the empty room.

To the South of Serenia, white and black wolves fought each other over territory. To the west were all kinds of monsters. If one headed north, one would be upon the road to Philoria, the Land of the Knights. At this stage, I knew I had to head either south or west if I wanted to gain experience.

I released my grip upon both the dagger and the bastard sword. With the magic that fed them being disrupted, these weapons dissipated into shadowy molecules, much like snow melting. I then decided to go and wash my body. As I headed down the stairs, I saw movement by one of the windows.

“Huh?”

My blinds had been angled so that no one could see the inside of my house. In the lines of sunlight, though, I had seen a shadow pass by the window.

There was a rustling sound coming from the adjoining alleyway. Was it a thief? No, a thief wouldn’t be so sloppy… maybe the children who had bothered me last year? I neared the window and opened the blinds. The two scared faces that met mine plunged me into a state of momentary amazement. Two young children were hanging from the window sill. The boy was blond and handsome, while the girl had a mysterious pink hair color.

The boy knocked smartly on the window as if he stood at a door.

“Kain Sabrak!?”

The boy was a grandson of Kaseun and would later be chosen by the temple to become the Sword of Gabriel, a warrior fated to collect all the fragments of Pernen in this world. He was the protagonist of my game.

I had seen him from afar a few times in the mansion.

“How long have you been here?”

He looked at me with a bright smile and knocked once more upon the window. The girl next to him looked as if she would fall from the sill at any moment. I was worried, then, and swiped sweat from my forehead. Finally, I opened the window. Kain agilely jumped into the room and wiped his hands clean on his clothes.

“Wow, this is your house? It’s clean. It definitely has a different feel to it than the mansion.”

“Help me, Kain!” The girl cried as she still clung to the window sill. Kain walked around the room as if he had not heard her. He was still wearing his shoes, and my eyes smoldered upon seeing this. Before scolding him, though, I helped the girl into the room.

“Thanks,” she sighed with relief as she entered the room, heading toward Kain with resentment in her eyes.

I grabbed her by the shoulder.

“What? Why?”

“Take off your shoes. You too, Kain.”

Both of them cocked their heads as they stared at my bare feet. They seemed confused for a moment, then nodded their head and removed their shoes. They took them to the front door, per my instructions.

I went to fetch a rag and cleaned the spot where they had dirtied my floor. I stared at them, then. Even though we had seen one another for three years, they had never greeted me. Today was the first time that we spoke.

“What were you doing?”

I wanted to know why they had hung from my window instead of knocking upon my door.

“Well, I wanted to see you,” Kain answered with a playful laugh. It was an unexpected answer, and it left me speechless. Having come through idle curiosity or on an errand, I would have understood.

“My grandfather had told me that you’re dealing with swords now.”

“What?”

“I haven’t been interested in all that, but my grandfather has praised you a lot. So I thought, maybe we can fight a little.”

I looked blankly at Kain. Unlike the girl, who was exploring the house, he stared straight into my eyes. Human eyes can be very honest, their intent absolutely clear if one met another’s gaze. Was this the warrior that would later be chosen by the oracle? Or was he just a child with clear eyes?

“Why don’t you answer me? Is the answer no?” Kain asked, his face puzzled by my silence.

I knew that I did not want to be stuck here forever, and I had longed for a sparring partner mere minutes ago. I did not know whether I would train my [Shadow Swordsmanship] against Kain, yet a sparring partner would help me greatly.

“Okay then, let’s do it.”

“Oh, then let’s go to my house! Grandpa has left for a while, so we can secretly fight.”

Kain ran to the window and jumped into the alley. I did not know why he didn’t just use the door.

The girl next to me sighed; she also thought Kain was weird.

“It’s so stupid… I should have known something like this would happen when he asked me to come.”

I did not spare her any further attention, focused on Kain as I was.

“Riel, I’m out here without shoes! I’ll wait at the door!” Kain shouted through the window.

“If you do that, then why the hell did you jump out of the window?” The girl screeched in annoyance.

She was a cute girl, light pink hair and all. If she grew up, she would surely be beautiful, even if her hair was not the country’s normal color.

I was surprised to sense the subtle flow of magic from her small and thin body. Was she a mage? Now that I thought about it, Kain had called her Riel.

I now remembered who this girl was. She was the childhood friend of Kain, his first NPC friend. She was [Riel] from [Langritsa Matop].

Upon leaving Serenia, she would be a normal D-class mage. In the second half of the game, though, she would become a competent A-class tower lord. Riel turned her head as if sensing my gaze.

“Hm? What’s going on?”

“So, you want to go out by the window?”

“Huh! Don’t treat me like that idiot Kain! I was ashamed to climb through the window with my skirt.”

I just laughed as I took in her bloated cheeks and her general irritation.

“Nice to meet you. I am Judah.”

“I… It’s Riel.”

After our brief exchange, I heard Kain call from outside.

“We have to go, quickly,” Riel said as she tugged at my sleeve. “But we go through the door, okay? Like normal people, we are going out through the door. Here we go, through the door! And… We’re finally through!”

* * *

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Hint:

Enchantment means that new powers are applied to a weapon. It is as basic as strengthening the body of a warrior through magical means.

Basic enchanted weapons have only their durability and efficacy improved. The magic itself is bound and cannot be unleashed in battle.

The legendary enchanted sword is different. It does not sparkle faintly but instead shines with vivid color. It can destroy castle gates, cutting through rocks like a knife cuts through a slice of tofu.

We are honored by those who wield such swords.

Such wielders are called heroes.

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「Status Window」

[Name: Judah Arche]

[Title: None]

[Level: 4]

[Job: Black Claw _ Shadow Magic Swordsman (Hidden_A)]

[Number of resurrections: 1]

[Strength: 32(D) / Potential A]

[Health: 31(D) / Potential S]

[Agility: 27(D) / Potential SS]