Chapter 470
Chapter 470
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 470
Chapter Title: Sword Ki Man Kim Katt
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Karin came back from the kitchen with an apple.
"Lemme see that dagger."
I handed over the dagger, and Karin pulled off a simple trick with it. Whirr! She spun it wildly in the air and snatched the blade barehanded—a superhuman feat.
Of course, her hand didn't have a single scratch. Hell, Karin could probably grab a blade with her bare hands and snap it in two. What the fuck, is she blade-proof or something?
My girls are way too strong...
"First off, what my hubby needs right now is sword ki proficiency."
Anyway, after messing around for a bit, Karin started explaining like she was teaching me.
"In other words, manifesting sword ki faster and coating it more efficiently. It's easy once you get the feel for it. But you gotta train to get that feel, right?"
She was explaining swordsmanship like she did back when I first joined the Swordsman Guild. I focused so hard I could die, hanging on her every word.
"Obviously."
This was the most important lesson for me right now.
"Good attitude. Ah, I really do love teaching people. Anyway, watch closely."
Karin gripped the dagger straight—crackle—and a faint but razor-sharp sword ki coated the blade instantly.
No wind-up, no chants, nothing. She just picked it up, and boom—sword ki.
Of course, it probably looked effortless to me, but Karin was definitely focusing hard. Just in a split-second burst.
Swish.
Then she brought the ki-coated blade to the apple.
Ah.
Is that what this is?
"Ah, got it. You're gonna coat the dagger with sword ki and peel the apple to build proficiency?"
"Bingo."
Karin grinned as she answered.
"It's not for real combat feel—just a training method to refine your control and proficiency. Back in the knight order, I'd do this alone in my room after work."
Yeah, doing delicate work like that with sword ki would definitely build proficiency.
With that, Karin started peeling.
Shh, shh.
"Watch closely. This feels totally different from peeling with a regular knife. Think of it as pressing the edge of your sword ki—the one you're creating yourself—against the skin. Control the ki precisely, and you don't even need to touch the blade directly. Got it?"
"Whoa! Karin, you're fucking amazing!!"
Before I knew it, everyone else had gathered to watch Karin peel the apple.
Just like she said, the skin wasn't touching the blade at all. She was peeling it purely with the sharp sword ki coating the blade like a perfect layer.
And she didn't even nick the flesh.
A technique that stripped only the skin. The peels came off paper-thin. Zero waste—an extreme skill. Her sword ki never wavered once.
It was goddamn impressive.
As we all gawked with mouths open, Karin burst out laughing.
"Kyahaha, takes me back. Ugh, this shitty memory. But damn, it's been forever and I'm still nailing it. My skills haven't rusted a bit."
In the end, Karin peeled the apple perfectly. She sliced it into five pieces, and we all shared it.
"Impressive knife work."
"You try it too, Claudy."
"Me?"
Karin chomped her piece in one bite and turned to Claudy. Claudy was another freak of nature. Her blade skills were beyond my comprehension too. She'd crush this.
"Claudy! Show us quick!"
"Hmm... I've never peeled an apple before."
"Still!"
I grabbed another apple and shoved it into her hand.
Karin handed Claudy the dagger too. After a brief hesitation, Claudy coated it with sword ki and started peeling.
Shh, shh.
"Ooh... Claudy's got some serious skills too."
"Claudy rocks!"
Claudy peeled the apple just as cleanly, at about Karin's speed. We split that one up too.
"Hehehe, now it's Katt's turn."
Grinning wide, Claudy passed me the dagger.
I really wanted to try it right then, but I'd used up all my mana showing off for Karin earlier.
"I wanna give it a shot, but I'm out of mana. I'll recover and do it tomorrow..."
"No need to worry about that."
"Lisha?"
Lisha pulled a vial from her sleeve. The liquid inside glowed blue. Mana potion?
"It's a potion that restores mana."
"No way."
Potions are pretty pricey.
Red ones heal wounds like a champ, blue ones restore mana.
Of course, mana potions cost a fortune. They're for desperate mages and such.
Most adventurers can't even dream of 'em.
If it's expensive, it's kinda wasteful to drink...
"Hehe, I made it myself, so it's not that pricey. Don't worry—drink up."
Like she read my mind, Lisha smiled, uncorked it, and handed it over.
Alright. If Lisha made it, I'll drink.
But she didn't spike it with anything weird again, right?
"...Lisha?"
"W-Why are you looking at me like that? I didn't put anything suspicious in it!"
"Hehehe, if you did, it'd be spanking time."
"Eek... Keep targeting my butt... N-Not that I hate it..."
"Just kidding, Lisha. Of course I trust you."
I downed the potion right away.
Gulp.
The mana potion sliding down my throat felt refreshingly novel. Fuck, does this taste like Powerade? Not exactly, but the slight sweetness gave me that vibe.
"Ah."
As I set the empty vial on the table—hummm—I felt mana surging inside me.
Slowly.
Gradually.
Guess it's absorbing into my body, so not instant recovery.
More like a potion that boosts mana regen by 1000% for a burst. Mana filled me up fast, a euphoric high bubbling over.
"Oh, yeah. It's recovering. Oh. Ohhh!!!! Power's surging inside me—overflowing!!!"
An impulse exploded from within!
"DEYYAAAAAHHHHH!!!!"
I jumped up, yelling at the top of my lungs.
"Blackie's losing it again. Lisha sis, you didn't slip anything weird in there, right?"
"I would never."
"Hoping so. If Blackie goes berserk again, I might not survive this time."
"Hehehe, leave it to me if that happens."
"You're the one I'm most worried about, Lisha sis..."
I suppressed the surging high and focused on recovery. Mana was filling up fast...! I wanted to scream in joy.
"Hmm... Hubby was pretty intense last night. Didn't expect him to go that wild... Way more than usual."
"Last night's Katt... Just thinking about it... Hnngh, was amazing. But he was so forceful..."
Karin and Claudy chatted about my antics last night. Yeah, my energy was off the charts. I'll take it slow today.
"Phew. Recovery complete."
Anyway, mana was full.
I grabbed the apple and dagger.
"Oh, right."
As I was about to start, Karin grabbed my hand.
"Be careful not to slice your fingers off. It's coated in sword ki—mess up, and they'll go flying."
"Ah, shit. Yeah."
"But I know my hubby won't fuck up like that, so no worries. This is big sis trusting you enough to teach it. Now, go."
"Ooh!"
I gripped the dagger and focused. Felt a bit different from a longsword, but no issue. Mana flowed from my palm right away.
Crackle!
Sword ki manifested. Easy with mana. Shaping it wasn't hard either. It molded to my will.
"Good, you're doing great. Try not to touch the flesh—thin peels only. That's how you build proficiency."
With Karin's praise, I started peeling like she taught: not touching the blade directly, just using the ki's edge.
Shhh.
Way harder than it looked—demanded insane focus.
I peeled nervously, worried about my fingers, until mana ran dry. Slowly. Super delicately. Even a doctor circumcising his own grandson wouldn't be this careful.
"Ah, fuck."
Not going as planned.
The apple wasn't peeled clean—it was mangled, hacked to shit unevenly. This apple sure as hell didn't want to die like that.
Sorry, fuck! The three-gen circumcision's fucked!
"Fuck!"
Mana depleted, all that was left was a mutilated, warped apple. Looked like a violent psycho with antisocial personality disorder took out his rage on it.
Messy.
Is this all I amount to!?
"Kyahaha, what the hell is this? Who'd you wanna kill with that?"
Karin slapped my back, laughing.
Yeah, I need training.
Also, my back's gonna burst.
"Ah, shit."
"Hey, hey. Don't get bummed. Everyone sucks at first. You'll get it with practice, dumbass."
Karin laughed a bit more and took a bite of my mangled apple. Ugly or not, food's food. Chewing, she continued.
"Anyway, do this every day from now on. No skipping. You'll start feeling the finesse. Once you're ready, train with big sis separately. I'll check after work."
"Karin, thank you so fucking much. I'll grind hard. Gotta live up to your expectations."
I was pumped.
Morning PT, then apple peeling from now on.
Practice makes perfect.
"Grind like hell. At least get as strong as big sis."
"As strong as you?"
I couldn't grasp it yet, but deep down, that's exactly what I wanted.
"I'm a bit older than you... okay, a lot. Started sword ki younger, and my merc days helped. But adventurers grind too! Go hard!"
Smack!
"Gahk!"
Karin slapped my back again. Hurt like hell, but she looked refreshed. If she enjoys it, who am I to stop her? Hit me more.
"Ahh! Yeah, yeah! Feels great! Ah, fuck. This is awesome."
She looked thrilled.
Made me grateful.
"Hehehe. Ah, but I'm starving. What're we eating?"
"Blackie hungry?"
"Fucking famished."
"Sis? Eat out today?"
Everyone nodded.
Time to splurge. Got some spare cash from looting those adventurers at the mansion. Blow it all. Gotta eat good to grind sword ki tomorrow.
Crackle!
I imagined myself wielding sword ki freely like Karin. Swordmaster level. But is Karin a swordmaster?
I didn't know the scales yet.
Ask her later.
"Getting chilly... What to wear? Oh, right, sisses. Wanna go shopping for clothes tomorrow? We're all off, yeah?"
"Hmm, sounds good. Hehe, pick some out for me?"
"Yeah, it's cooling off. Need fall clothes."
They changed.
I picked mine too.
Autumn's coming soon...
Makes me think of those mermaids.
Was around this time last year.
Went to the sea, winter hit quick. Survived winter, spring came. Spring brought the jungle outta nowhere, time flew, summer's ending.
Been grinding hard.
"Hear that, Blackie? Tomorrow you're our pack mule, Kim Katt. Give me all the bags."
"Hehe. Hit your favorite lingerie shop too?"
"Hell yeah!"
We chatted like that, got dressed, and headed out for grub.
Damn, stepping out with my four wives? Shoulders popping on their own.
Nothing beats this vibe.