Being Snide

"See this circle? Move the tip of your sword around inside it. Keep your speed even, don't let it touch the outside, and make sure the blade can slice through the burrs on top."

Deko tied a rope knot into a figure eight, then fastened one end above and tied a stone to the other, letting it hang freely.

The rope seemed to be a section of new rope, still covered in countless prickly burrs. It looked almost as if it had gone moldy.

"Once you can trace a hundred figure eights, tap the connection points on the knot with the tip of your sword. Make sure the tip pierces the knot without moving it. After that, start tapping those three points in succession. Come find me once you've finished all of it.

For now, practice the basics."

Deko secured the knots, then picked up his own sword and demonstrated the movements one by one.

This was a method for training Sword Sense. Such practice required years of accumulation. It was not only tedious, but foundational as well.

Most importantly, there would be no visible results in the short term. It was practically tailor-made for Heka.

Heka nodded. Fine. It wasn't a new technique, but having one was enough.

Since even skills like Investigation could appear on the panel, there was no reason this basic sword-control technique wouldn't appear too.

Seeing Heka finally stop practicing Sweeping Strike, Deko nodded in satisfaction.

"Speaking of which, have you found the place?"

Heka asked while doing his best to keep the tip of his sword inside the circle."

"Taking advantage of the unsuspecting, we may not have enough control over the city, but sending a few people to watch several fixed locations isn't difficult.

Earlier, we deliberately left a gap in a batch of supplies we were escorting and let them steal it.

Our people then followed the trail of those goods, and soon had a general idea of where the entrance was.

We had no leads before, but now that we do, it naturally isn't difficult.

The main reason for bringing you is that we're afraid of alerting them. Our people didn't make it through the final stretch of the sewers.

We need you, the little rat in the sewers, to lead our people through that last stretch. Ideally, we'll be able to break into their warehouse from the sewer side."

Deko answered absently as he carefully wiped the blade in his hand with a rag.

During a pause in his answer, he looked up at Heka's trembling sword tip. After smiling reassuredly, he lowered his gaze again.

"Aren't you worried we won't be able to get in through the sewers? After all, it's my first time going there too. They might have set up obstacles on that side."

Heka lowered the short sword slightly and kneaded his somewhat sore arm. He hadn't noticed it while slashing, but making the short sword move slowly along a fixed route was unexpectedly exhausting.

"Then we'll attack from above. We've already found their approximate entrance, so attacking through the sewers will merely make things a little easier.

"Of course, you'd better pray that we can get in through the sewers. After all, that would be a display of your ability, wouldn't it?

"Also, hurry up and practice. No slacking off. You keep an eye on him."

Deko pulled over a young man with a ring of down still clinging to his mouth and had him watch Heka, while he went to the restaurant nearby.

The operation would begin soon. During this time, many old friends stationed at the surrounding outposts had returned.

As the leader's right-hand man, Deko spent most of his time at headquarters. The people he knew well were mostly core members of the merchant guild, so they had been stationed at the surrounding outposts. He hadn't seen some of them for quite a while.

Heka watched Deko leave, then raised his short sword and continued practicing.

He felt it should be soon—he was almost able to see the skill on the panel.

"Why have you stopped practicing?"

When Deko returned, he found that Heka had already finished practicing and was sitting nearby, dipping bread into meat broth as he dealt with dinner.

Heka glanced at the panel.

[Skills]

Theft (7180/10000)

Slashing (Deals an additional 20% damage when using a dagger/short sword)

Sweeping Strike (4498/10000)

Sleight of Hand (796/10000)

Valin (2029/10000)

Investigation (11/10000)

Sword Sense (1/10000)

Valin had increased by another point. Perhaps it was because he had listened to the Black Mountain warriors at the table telling bawdy jokes in Valin.

Heka was certain those fellows had deliberately translated the Black Mountain Duchy's bawdy jokes into Valin just so he could understand them. All he could say was that when people were being assholes, they never spared any effort.

"Because even the sharpest sword needs a scabbard."

Heka shifted his gaze from the white, thick soup in front of him, which had been seasoned with a small pinch of chili, to Deko, who had arrived late and still carried a faint smell of smoke.

This thick soup was deliberate on the part of these roughnecks, as was the medium-rare steak they had just given him.

Heka could more or less grasp their meaning. The bloody beef represented human flesh, while the chili-spiced thick soup represented brains that had been cleaved open.

They were probably waiting to watch him throw up, then pat him on the shoulder and mock him.

Heka had just swept his gaze around the people at the table. After seeing the chef bring him this specially prepared food, he found that most of them wore expressions of schadenfreude and anticipation.

A few wore nostalgic expressions, while others had bellies full of bad ideas rumbling away.

Clearly, this was probably one of the Black Mountain Duchy's traditions.

Just like the tradition at the Y-180 Forward Base in his old home.

There, before taking up their posts, every operative being dispatched to a contaminated zone had to be tossed into a pile of mutant rat corpses and then crawl out on their own.

A dull group joke.

Heka gave it that definition, then pretended not to know anything and ate everything. He even asked for another serving of thick soup.

Jokes like this could strengthen one's relationship with the group. Sometimes, they were even treated as an admission ticket into a closed or semi-closed circle.

Although Heka didn't know whether it was useful for a tied-up rat like him to grow closer to a group of cats constantly preparing to flay and skin him, having something was always better than having nothing.

The corner of Deko's mouth twitched. Heka's answer had been perfectly fine in Valin, but if it were converted into Black Mountain language, it would become a vulgar dirty joke.

"Black Mountain culture is vast and profound."

Heka sighed, then turned his head and began dealing with the distinctive thick soup in front of him, which was meant to imitate brain matter.

Heka's words made all the Black Mountain people who heard him stiffen. They had only thought the kid was young but precocious and wanted to tease him a little.

Now, however, they felt as if something was stuck in their chests. They wanted to explain, but had no idea how.

"You all settle down. Don't corrupt the child.

"I'm really sorry you had to get to know Black Mountain culture this way.

"Er... actually, the Black Mountain Duchy has plenty of magnificent cultures."

Deko pressed a hand to his forehead. If someone had said that Black Mountain culture was vast and profound at any other time, he would certainly have pulled them down for a proper discussion of their mythology.

But now, the meaning hidden in "vast and profound" somehow felt just as vast and profound. Valin really was vast and profound.