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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Wjin
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Half a year had passed since I began training under Libero.
It was a short time, yet it felt like an eternity.
All I had done during those six months was hone my swordsmanship under his guidance.
However, the intensity of those training sessions was unlike anything I had ever experienced before.
And that intensity eventually bore fruit.
Three months in, I finally managed to break through the barrier and raise my [Swordsmanship (B+)] to [Swordsmanship (A-)].
Given the circumstances, it would have been strange if I hadn’t reached that level.
I had the [Precociousness] trait, the best skill for character development in the game (besides the original, of course).
I had the [Blessing of the God of Regret], which increased the experience gained from failures.
And to top it all off, I had Libero, the best swordsmanship instructor in existence.
I doubted there was a better training environment anywhere else in the world.
This ideal environment had allowed even a hopeless case like Allen Blake to reach [Swordsmanship (A-)].
But that initial surge of growth eventually hit a wall.
‘Is this my limit?’
No, I had already surpassed my limits.
I had only reached this level because of this absurdly advantageous situation.
And to prove that, my Swordsmanship skill hadn’t budged in the three months since then, despite my relentless training.
“Are you starting to understand now?”
I ignored Libero and continued swinging my sword.
“Don’t you think that’s enough proof?”
My supposed master wasn’t being helpful at all, only spouting discouraging words.
I chose to ignore him.
“You should utilize the flexibility of your wrist more.”
He wasn’t completely useless, though.
‘So that’s what I was missing.’
I adjusted my grip and swung the sword a few more times, focusing on the movement of my wrist.
It definitely added more power to my strikes.
But that wasn’t enough to fill the void, to overcome the sense of something missing, something fundamentally flawed.
‘Damn it. Is anything even changing from swinging this sword over and over?’
It was frustrating.
Training with Libero was undeniably effective.
But I had reached a plateau, and I didn’t know how to break through.
“Let’s stop here for today.”
Libero, having lost interest in my flailing, was about to leave the basement.
I lowered my sword and said,
“I admit it.”
Libero stopped in his tracks and turned to me.
“Admit what?”
“I’ve reached my limit.”
His eyes narrowed, suspicious.
“And why are you so readily admitting defeat?”
That was Libero for you.
He immediately sensed that I had an ulterior motive.
Well, it was the first time I had ever admitted defeat, so it was understandable that he was suspicious.
“I’m admitting defeat with this method. Even if it’s not my absolute limit, it would take far too long to reach the next level this way.”
“So you’re saying you have a different method in mind?”
I nodded.
“Yes. I need to gain real-world experience instead of being cooped up in this basement.”
I wasn’t sure if it would work.
But it was worth a try, a better alternative than stagnating in this dark, damp basement.
“And what do you mean by ‘real-world experience’?”
“I’m going to follow you tonight.”
His face contorted in surprise.
“Do you even know what I do?”
Of course, I did.
“You punish those who disrupt the peace of Sak.”
Libero’s expression hardened as he shook his head.
“No. It’s nothing more than dirty, murderous acts.”
But I wasn’t backing down.
“But it also helps people.”
He sighed, acknowledging my stubbornness.
“Fine, follow me if you must. But on a few conditions.”
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He laid out three conditions.
First, I had to conceal my blonde hair with a hood or something similar.
Most blondes in this world were from the Lodraim Kingdom, and Sak’s current relationship with the Lodraim Kingdom wasn’t exactly friendly.
He warned me that wandering around the back alleys of Sak with my blonde hair exposed could make me a target of hate crimes.
I had worn a raincoat on my first day in Sak because of the rain. I realized how lucky I had been.
Second, I had to keep my distance from him.
No one really paid attention to him, thanks to his disheveled appearance. But that was only when he was alone.
I, on the other hand, was relatively well-dressed, so being seen with him would attract unwanted attention.
And third, I wasn’t allowed to intervene unless he gave me permission.
I had no objections to this condition.
Libero could easily gauge an opponent’s strength.
He would be able to tell if a fight was something I could handle.
So, I reduced my training time by half and started accompanying him on his nightly excursions.
“Hey, pal.”
We entered his usual bar, the one I had visited on my first day in Sak.
The owner placed a drink in front of Libero and asked,
“Who’s the kid?”
Libero replied nonchalantly, his voice low and gruff,
“My nephew.”
“You have family? Well, I’ll be damned. He doesn’t look anything like you, though.”
Libero didn’t bother to answer.
He just took a sip of his drink.
Curious about his drinking habits, I had once asked him,
“Why do you even drink if you don’t get drunk?”
He replied,
“It gives me an excuse to do nothing. A justification.”
His answer had been baffling.
After a moment of silence, he had added,
“And… it allows me to gather information. Bars are full of gossip. And being drunk is a good alibi.”
He claimed those were just secondary benefits, but I suspected that was his real motivation for drinking.
For some reason, he refused to admit it.
We overheard a conversation from another group in the bar.
“There’s this new merchant who recently arrived in Sak. I heard he got on the wrong side of someone powerful, and his shop got trashed.”
“Wasn’t his shop in the White Tiger gang’s territory?”
“That’s why everyone thinks it was their doing, but something about it just feels off…”
Their voices trailed off, as if they were afraid of being overheard.
Then, one of them said,
“Maybe we should just stay out of it.”
They chose to ignore the situation.
But Libero was different.
He got to his feet.
‘It’s time.’
He left the bar and headed straight for the eastern district, the White Tiger gang’s territory.
I followed, keeping a safe distance.
“Do you even know who this merchant is?”
“No. But I have a complete map of this city in my head. All I need to do is find something that doesn’t match my memory.”
He was right.
He quickly located a newly opened shop that had been destroyed.
And I knew the owner.
“You’re that…”
It was the middle-aged man from the coach.
He stood inside his ruined shop, holding a broom and sweeping up debris. He stopped when he saw me.
“What happened here?” I asked.
“As you can see, I’m ruined. They not only destroyed my shop, they took everything I had.”
The damage was evident.
The important thing was who was responsible.
“Did you see who did this?”
“No, it was already like this when I got here. I reported it to the police, but they haven’t done anything. Well, it’s my fault for getting on the wrong side of the White Tiger gang.”
He was right.
The police probably assumed the White Tiger gang was behind this.
No one would help him, now that the White Tiger gang had its claws sunk deep into the city’s power structure.
‘Except for him.’
Libero seemed to have found something inside the shop. He left and started walking towards… somewhere.
“Are you going to take down the White Tiger gang?”
“No, I’m not interested in causing that much trouble.”
“I heard you already wiped out the Azure Dragon gang.”
“They crossed a line.”
He seemed to have his own set of rules.
I was curious about his destination.
“The White Tiger gang isn’t behind this.”
“What?”
“They wouldn’t bother doing something like this on the sly. They could just smash the place up openly. And there was only one set of footprints left behind.”
One set of footprints.
He was following those footprints now.
“This can be solved by catching that one person.”
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