Kraun was walking toward the door to the backyard when he suddenly heard two heavy objects hit the ground.
The Golden Light Incantation Visualization Method had not only given him a rapid recovery ability, but also sharpened his senses.
Though the two sounds had been fleeting, he had heard them loud and clear in the still of the night.
"What got in?"
Kraun asked himself silently. Instead of continuing forward, he slowly backed away.
Then he heard another low, brief growl and immediately realized who the uninvited guest outside was.
Who else could it be but the escaped werewolf?
After several days of training, Kraun felt that his strength, stamina, and reflexes had all improved considerably.
The increasingly well-developed muscles in his chest and abdomen were proof enough.
He had stopped moving because he was waiting for the werewolf to lose patience and charge inside on its own.
Poor door. It hadn't even been replaced for more than a few days!
He joked to himself, his eyes fixed intently on the small door.
The sword in his hand was one he had borrowed from Father Nick: a sharpened Star-Patterned Steel Sword. It was nowhere near as tough as Valyrian Steel, but it could still cut through a monster's hide.
Armed with a deadly weapon, one's killing intent naturally arose.
Training in close-quarters combat had taught him how to handle danger.
He was confident that with Time Stop, the Star-Patterned Steel Sword that could cut through iron like clay, and the swordsmanship he had painstakingly trained in, he could teach the werewolf an even more unforgettable lesson.
The werewolf held its position, hoping to launch a perfect ambush.
After waiting a long while without hearing a sound from inside, it began to grow suspicious.
In its werewolf form, it clearly had little patience. After hearing nothing from inside for so long, it let out another low growl, raised its claws, and swatted the door clean off its hinges.
The light inside made it uncomfortable, and the werewolf instinctively raised an arm to shield its eyes.
Kraun nimbly dodged the flying door. The werewolf's attempt to shield itself gave him the perfect opening.
He lunged forward and thrust the Sharp Sword at the werewolf's neck.
The werewolf's senses were extremely keen. As if it had sensed the danger, it dodged to one side.
Kraun changed the angle of his Steel Sword, turning his thrust into a slash. The blade cut deeply into the werewolf's neck, striking bone.
He put his strength into it, but the blade couldn't go any deeper.
He shifted his stance again, stepping back with both legs and gripping the hilt with both hands as he pulled the blade free.
The wound in its neck burned fiercely. The werewolf's growl grew louder, its piercing howl spreading through the intoxicating night.
It swung a claw at him, as if it meant to tear apart the man who had hurt it.
Kraun feinted to the left, then dodged to the right, moving out of the werewolf's reach.
He thrust his sword forward. This time, he meant to drive the entire blade into the werewolf's mouth.
Perhaps the werewolf had an instinctive awareness of combat. His sword only sliced its cheek, cutting away a mass of black fur.
His strike had failed, so he quickly pushed off with both legs and widened the distance between them.
Now, fury had completely consumed what little reason the werewolf had left.
It growled again and prepared to charge.
But Kraun was faster. As he closed in on the werewolf, he activated Time Stop.
The werewolf froze for an instant, its face twisted with hatred.
That instant was brief, but it was enough for Kraun to do what he needed.
The Star-Patterned Steel blade had already sunk halfway into the werewolf's mouth.
Kraun gripped the hilt with both hands, put his strength into his waist, and spun sideways.
Half the werewolf's neck was sliced open.
The result of severing its main artery was blood gushing out like water from a broken faucet, impossible to stop.
The harder the werewolf struggled, the more blood sprayed out in torrents.
Kraun took several steps back, away from the spraying blood.
Werewolves were resilient, but with an injury like this, it couldn't possibly survive.
He had prepared his weapon, after all.
After struggling for another ten minutes, the werewolf collapsed on the ground and went completely still.
Kraun backed away a few steps, sat down on a chair, and panted heavily.
The fight had been brief, but it had consumed a great deal of his energy.
Real combat was completely different from sparring.
Dancing on the edge of a blade was both tense and exhilarating.
With a large amount of Time Sand enhancing it, Time Stop had completely halted the werewolf's movements, giving him enough time to feed his blade into its mouth.
Kraun closed his eyes and reviewed the fight, looking for his own shortcomings.
Once he had finished, he picked up his weapon again and headed for the backyard. Tonight's swordsmanship practice had to continue.
He casually dragged the werewolf's corpse to a corner of the room. Sharing a room with a corpse was nothing unusual to him anymore.
The church's Training Ground.
Sunlight spilled down, stretching out the shadow of Father Nick, who stood ramrod straight.
"You're late today."
His voice was cool, and he gave a cold snort. "Do you think you've gained a little ability and can start slacking off?"
With a thud, Kraun dropped the bundle wrapped in black cloth from his shoulder and explained, "A werewolf broke into my house last night. I killed it. This morning, I went to the Patrol Squad to file a report, so I'm a little late."
"Didn't you say that while they're no use against monsters, filing a report would let them inform their superiors? Rhine City might send some capable people to help keep the parish safe."
"A werewolf?" Nick stepped forward, bent down, and pulled off the black cloth.
Sure enough, there was a werewolf inside. Judging from how clotted the blood was, the monster had died around eight or nine last night.
"Werewolf teeth should fetch a few Gold Shields. That can cover the cost of your extra meals. Your appetite exceeded my estimate, so at least I won't have to subsidize you this time. I'll take care of this. You keep up your physical training."
Kraun nodded, put on the Sand Vest, and began running.
Time passed, and Frostfall Month soon reached its middle.
By day, Kraun did physical conditioning, strength training, and swordsmanship practice. His days were tense but fulfilling.
At night, he trained even more. Though only a little over ten days had passed, his strength had improved considerably.
[Golden Light Incantation: 4132/50000; Tier 1] [Basic Swordsmanship: 586/5000; Tier 3] [Cross Sword: 758/2000; Tier 2]
The Golden Light Incantation continued to improve steadily, and Basic Swordsmanship had reached Tier 3. He could now perform all sorts of clever combinations with ease.
The hidden benefit of his mastery of Basic Swordsmanship was that his Cross Sword improved rapidly. It had now reached Tier 2.
The only downside was that Father Nick was no match for him in swordsmanship, so he no longer had anyone to spar with.
"Maybe I should look for Geralt. I can pay for it, if I have to. Spending a few Gold Shields on a strong sparring partner would be well worth it."
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