Swordsmanship Mastery?
Bruce sat bolt upright in bed, his anticipation shattered. Confused and disgruntled, he wondered what kind of lousy ability he had unlocked.
Swordsmanship Mastery granted an exceptional ability to learn and master swordsmanship.
Bruce was deeply dissatisfied with this innate ability.
He had recently poured his heart into learning swordsmanship and honing his fundamentals. Just when he had finally made some progress, he had gone and unlocked Swordsmanship Mastery?
Wasn't this innate ability a little redundant?
All his recent hard work had gone to waste!
Couldn't he trade it for a different innate ability?
The Character Status Panel ignored him.
Bruce shook his head and sighed. He could only accept his bad luck. There was nothing he could do about drawing a dud. His system wasn't intelligent at all; it was rigid and never gave its host any consideration.
He might as well see what this exceptional ability to master swordsmanship actually meant. He wasn't in the mood to sleep now anyway, so Bruce got out of bed.
A Cross Sword hung beside his bed. Bruce took it down and held it in his hand.
"Hmm? This feels right."
Bruce gave the sword a few gentle swings.
He had always used this sword for practice. Both the Wind-Cutting Swordsmanship he had learned and the techniques in the Basic Swordsmanship Manual were meant for a Cross Sword, but he had never felt anything like this before.
It fit his hand perfectly.
It was as though the sword had been made for him. Holding it even gave him a faint, inexplicable sense of familiarity. Bruce was certain he had never felt this before. It had only appeared after he unlocked the innate ability Swordsmanship Mastery.
A spark of interest stirred within Bruce.
With the sword in hand, his muscles tightened slightly. Force traveled through his body, from his legs to his waist and abdomen, then through his arm and wrist. Following his instincts, Bruce thrust forward.
Swish!
The Cross Sword traced a perfectly straight line, piercing the air ahead with precision and a faint whistle.
After that thrust, Bruce went slightly rigid. He had never experienced such fluidity, such effortless movement. It was almost instinctive, without the slightest hesitation-fast, precise, and decisive. This was how a sword should be wielded.
The various sword techniques he had practiced surfaced in Bruce's mind.
He swung again, trying other techniques. Chops, slashes, thrusts, and rising cuts sent repeated whistles through the bedroom. Bruce reveled in the exhilarating sensation. He felt like a true master swordsman.
Bruce stopped, savoring the feeling of those swings.
It seemed this innate ability wasn't nearly as redundant or useless as he had imagined.
Andre's swordsmanship is excellent. I'll go to Rhode Town tomorrow and spar with him. Let's see whether my swordsmanship really has improved by leaps and bounds, or whether I'm just imagining things on my own.
While I'm in Rhode Town tomorrow, I can also gather the ingredients for the Wizard identity's Potion Formula.
Bruce planned out the next day's itinerary in his mind.
The ingredients for the Wizard's potion weren't rare, but he still had to find them. Rhode Town had several apothecaries, though gathering everything would certainly take some time. Bruce wanted to get it all done as soon as possible.
"Ugh, now I really can't sleep."
Bruce had worked up a light sweat, but he wasn't tired. He showered again and lay back down in bed.
With nothing else to do, Bruce opened the Character Status Panel and stared at Dark Lord Eris's innate abilities, studying them.
A short while later, Bruce was fast asleep.
The next morning, Bruce hurried through breakfast, said goodbye to Danvers, and took a carriage to Rhode Town.
32 Lozick Street, the Wind-Cutting Swordsmanship Club.
"Long time no see,
Lilith." Bruce stepped through the club's entrance and spotted Lilith Hilton immediately. As usual, she was working as an attendant and guide in the ground-floor shop.
"Mr. Bruce, what brings you here?" Lilith came over to greet him, pleasantly surprised.
After spending a week together, Bruce had gotten along quite well with the Hilton siblings.
"Is your brother still upstairs?"
"He is. Do you need a training outfit? I can give you a discount."
Lilith's eyes lit up as though she had spotted a walking pile of Rune Coins. Bruce must have come to take the second-stage swordsmanship course. I knew it! Nobody can resist my brother's swordsmanship. Hehe, more business!
"My swordsmanship has improved recently, so I'd like to spar with Andre," Bruce said with a smile.
"Oh, I see. I'll get you a training outfit first, then." Lilith was a little disappointed to hear he hadn't come for lessons, but she didn't let it show.
"Thanks."
Bruce went upstairs and headed straight for the training room.
Andre sat to one side, watching the students practice. The beautiful swordswoman sat beside him. The students were the same group as before, with no new faces.
It wasn't just the Wind-Cutting Swordsmanship Club. Business was tough for all swordsmanship clubs; swordsmanship hadn't been particularly fashionable in the Rune Kingdom in recent years.
Rather embarrassingly, despite spending a week here learning the fundamentals, Bruce still didn't know the swordswoman's name. He only knew that she and Andre were a couple.
"Bruce, what brings you here?" Andre spotted Bruce as soon as he entered the room and stood up.
"My swordsmanship has improved lately, but I'm not sure how much. I was hoping you could help me assess it."
Andre looked Bruce over. Indeed, his bearing and stance were more like those of a competent swordsman now, and he had a hint of sharpness about him. He had certainly improved.
"Then let's spar. Lilith, get things ready for Bruce and me."
"I'm already on it. Just a moment."
Their exchange drew the attention of the students practicing nearby. They knew who Bruce was. He had spent a week learning the fundamentals, and now he apparently wanted to spar with the instructor?
They all stopped practicing and gathered to watch.
After changing into training clothes, Bruce and Andre faced each other, their Nylon Longswords held upright.
Andre studied Bruce. His stance was practically faultless, his bearing steady, and his breathing even. The only question was whether his swordsmanship measured up.
Andre steadied his breathing and focused, showing no trace of carelessness.
The swordswoman's gaze sharpened slightly. Her senior fellow student seemed to be taking this seriously.
Whoosh!
A whistle cut through the air as both men swung at once. Their blades collided and immediately separated.
There should have been two whistles, but because they had swung simultaneously, the sounds overlapped into one.
The movement and timing were extremely precise.
A flicker of astonishment crossed Andre's eyes. Such control would have been perfectly normal in a swordsman who had trained for three or four years. But seeing it in Bruce, a novice who had only encountered swordsmanship a week ago, was almost unbelievable.
Andre had taught Bruce from scratch, step by step. His initial ignorance and clumsy awkwardness couldn't have been faked. Andre knew perfectly well that Bruce hadn't been hiding his strength from the beginning, nor had there been any reason to. He had genuinely improved-by an absurd amount.
"Then I'll have to get serious too."
Andre tightened his grip on his sword, and his gaze grew intense as he looked at Bruce.
The two Nylon Longswords clashed again. Clack, clack, clack! In the blink of an eye, they collided dozens of times. The very air in the room seemed to be sliced apart as Andre unleashed Wind-Cutting Swordsmanship.
Sweat poured from Bruce. Though he fought desperately to defend himself and counter each move, he was driven backward step by step, his hand aching and numb.
He had indeed mastered swordsmanship, but that mastery extended only to technique. Physically, he was still a raw novice. When Andre had launched those attacks, Bruce had instinctively used his swordsmanship to block them, but his body couldn't keep up, distorting his movements.
His strength was no match for Andre's either.
Bruce barely held on for a little longer before Andre finally knocked the Nylon Longsword from his hand.
"I lost."
Bruce dropped onto the floor, and applause erupted around him. Though he had lost, it had unquestionably been an excellent swordsmanship match.
"You really have improved a great deal."
Andre took Bruce by the arm and pulled him to his feet.
"Your command of swordsmanship surprised even me. You're a natural. Once you build up your stamina and strength, I won't be a match for you."
"Want to build muscle strength? We have a complete training package for that too!"
Lilith came over and eagerly pitched the course, revealing her cute little canine teeth.
She certainly knew how to seize an opportunity.
Andre laughed, and Bruce joined him.
"All right. I'll come for lessons."