Chapter 117: A Smile at the Sight
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 117: A Smile at the Sight
Swaaaaek—!
"Whew… I should take a break."
Ever since I started learning systematically from Delbaheim, my sword stance had finally begun to take proper shape. To someone from modern Earth, a sword was an incredibly formidable weapon.
When I first picked one up, I had no real knowledge; I just swung and thrust wildly. Even so, a blade held by an average adult male was more than enough to take dozens of lives. Looking back, it was a miracle I’d managed to reach Gold Grade without any proper training.
"My arms are killing me."
Inside the labyrinth, I could swing a sword thousands of times by cycling through different muscle groups as they fatigued. However, Delbaheim’s philosophy was that true skill meant being able to exert full power even when pushed into a corner.
The conclusion? I had to repeatedly swing the sword with my original muscles, accumulating fatigue until I could maintain perfect form even when my mind was hazy.
Clink—
Someone held out a glass with cold condensation clinging to its surface.
"Young man, you're working hard so early in the morning."
"Father. What brings you up so early?"
Reddish-purple hair and those light green pupils that I was familiar with, yet still couldn't quite get used to. His round eyes held a smile that seemed entirely untainted, mirrored by the curve of his lips. Whether he was actually 'untainted' or not, I couldn't say.
"...This is beer."
"What’s the harm? You’ve been sweating, you need to hydrate."
I’d thought the cold yellow liquid in the glass was some kind of brewed tea. Instead, it was just flat, bitter beer with hardly any foam.
Still, it was true that I was thirsty. Since it was flat and chilled with ice, it wasn't bad if I thought of it as barley tea with a hint of alcohol. Without the carbonation, it wouldn't make me feel bloated, either.
"Are you feeling impatient?"
"Pardon...?"
"Doing morning training you never used to do. I can see the impatience in your sword."
Wearing a shabby white tank top and dragging slippers that didn't fit, Father sat down carelessly on the dirt ground and started talking.
"Did someone say something to you?"
"No, it's not that. I just... want to be able to swing a sword well."
"That's not a goal."
"What do you mean by that?"
Father picked at his ear with his pinky and gestured for me to join him. Following his lead, I walked over and sat down on the dirt as well.
"What are you going to do once you can swing a sword well?"
"I'll become stronger, of course."
"And what will you do once you're strong? Your bear of a wife will just nag you to death anyway."
"Aren't you just talking about yourself, Father?"
"Everyone ends up the same when they grow up."
Father leaned back, propping himself up with his hands on the ground and letting out a carefree cackle. He was always so consistent. If Auntie saw him like this, he’d get a lump on his head from her scolding again.
"So, is becoming strong the end of your goal?"
"I have to enter the labyrinth. Reaching the end of the labyrinth is my goal."
"And do you even know what's at the end?"
"They say anything can be achieved if you reach the end of the labyrinth, don't they?"
I wasn't talking about small labyrinths with only ten or twenty floors. Labyrinths with over 50 floors were classified as Great Labyrinths, and even then, quite a few people had seen the end of those.
But this place was different.
"True... the three unconquerable Great Labyrinths. It's said that any wish will be granted if you reach their end."
"Yes, that's right."
Calax, Roanmarie, and Hechituk.
To this day, no one had ever seen the end of these three.
Throughout 800 years of long history, Hechituk’s Great Labyrinth had frustrated countless explorers.
Despite 500 years of dazzling magical advancement, the end of Roanmarie remained a mystery.
And for 200 years, Calax’s Great Labyrinth had stood firm against veteran explorers who had built their expertise on numerous precedents.
The estimated final floor for all three was in the triple digits. Most people expected the 100th floor to be the end. And they said that on the 100th floor, there lay a treasure capable of granting any human wish.
"You do realize that the greater the wish, the heavier the price, right?"
"Whew... I don't think my wish is even that big."
Was wanting to see the faces of my precious family just one more time really such a grand wish? I didn't know.
Even the reason I was here—it had been months, but only now did the question truly strike me.
Why did it have to be me?
There must have been plenty of people who would have been fine being dropped into another world without family or ties. It was a thought that came far too late.
"It looks like you've been learning how to handle a sword from someone."
"Yes, a Palladium-grade explorer. Her name is Raya Delbaheim, from the Mayerbridge Union."
"I see. It shows. You've clearly received orthodox training."
Father stood up, brushed the dirt off his backside, and put his hands on his hips with a confident expression.
"But I know all the shortcuts to mastering the sword. That young lady teaching you such stiff, old-fashioned swordsmanship would never know them."
"She's an Elf, so she's probably well over a hundred years old."
"Grandmas are all like that. The younger generation doesn't use those methods anymore!"
"Your story changes every three seconds."
Regardless, it sounded like Father knew a way to get strong quickly through 'shortcuts.' I only received lessons from Delbaheim once a week anyway. It seemed Auntie had turned a blind eye to the fact that he’d gambled away his two daggers after I came home with the massive sum of 80 gold coins.
Since he was planning to lounge around the house for a while, receiving training from him didn't seem like a bad idea.
"Well? Do you want to learn? Or will you stick to the stiff, ancient ways of the Fairy Species?"
"I'm in. I always welcome a shortcut."
The broader one's perspective, the better. There was almost no downside. If I tried it and it didn't suit me, I could just quietly slip away.
"Then I have a favor!"
"A favor? What is it?"
"Give me some pocket money. Marta cut me off completely so I can't go out and buy drinks."
"That's impressive."
It seemed the 'Minister of Internal Affairs' had drastically reduced unnecessary expenditures. Thanks to that, Father’s days of going out and getting wasted were over.
"So that's why you were up early this morning."
"Exactly. Since I didn't have a hangover from the night before, my eyes just popped open early."
"Fine. How much do you want?"
"Five silver coins per day of training will do."
I wasn't sure if that was cheap or expensive. But it was an amount I could spare from my current funds without any issue.
"Alright. Let's do that."
"Good! Now, try this."
* * *
"Father, is this really helpful?"
"Of course. Naturally."
It was a sword-swinging exercise. It felt a bit odd to call it a 'shortcut'; I was just swinging slightly differently than usual.
"Doing a single swing over the course of ten minutes... honestly, I don't see the point."
"You'll know once you do it."
I’d seen training for swinging a sword quickly, but this was the first time I’d ever trained to swing one slowly.
Beside me, the creator of this training method was rolling his round eyes around, carefully inspecting my arms.
"The speed is too fast. Slower."
"Understood."
It was a simple horizontal slash. Instead of a normal swing, I was moving in extreme slow motion, as if at 1/100th speed.
"Now, doesn't something feel strange?"
"Yes, this is a very strange training method."
"...Not that. Your sword—what shape is it taking right now?"
"Um... the shape of a sword?"
"You rascal!"
Father’s small hand flew out and smacked my side. It wasn't a punch backed by any real power, so it didn't hurt.
"Look. Where did the swing you just made start? Break your stance for a second and point to it."
"Right here."
Following Father’s instructions, I stopped my slow-motion swing and extended the sword, placing the tip at the starting point of the arc.
"Good, stay right there. Now, where is the tip of the sword you're about to swing going to end up?"
"Well... I haven't finished the swing yet, so I don't know."
"That's where you're wrong. Your sword must end here."
Father crouched down and pointed to a spot in the air at a low height. Since I was in a horizontal slashing stance, it didn't seem like my sword would reach where he was pointing.
"Why? This is a horizontal slash."
"Look closely at the sword you're holding. Is it really a sword meant for horizontal slashes?"
"Hmm... well."
I had indeed turned the blade so the flat sides were facing up and down, a proper stance for a horizontal cut. However, looking closer...
"It is slightly tilted."
"Exactly. To your eyes right now, it's only 'slightly.' But that makes a massive difference. If you swing in that state, even the sharpest blade is useless. It’s no different from hitting your opponent with the flat of the sword."
"Mmm, I see."
Father raised his index finger and began circling around me, starting an explanation about blades.
"Originally, a blade is strong against impacts coming from the edge, but weak against impacts taken on the flat side. Why do you think that is?"
"Well... um. It's a bit hard to explain, but is it because the flat side is wider?"
"That doesn't matter. If a blade had a narrow flat side, would it be sturdy when you hit something with it?"
"No, I suppose not."
For a wide piece of metal, its thickness is its strength. The thinner the blade, the lighter it becomes and the sharper the edge. Inevitably, many swords are made thin at the center of the blade rather than the edge, which naturally makes them vulnerable to impact.
"But impact received by the edge is different. If the angle of the edge perfectly matches the path of the swing, the entire width of the blade becomes the strength of the edge."
Since a double-edged sword has edges on both sides, the thickest part of the blade must be concentrated in the center. By necessity, the edges and the core are close together, resulting in a wider angle and less cutting power.
A single-edged sword has the edge on only one side, so the thickest part can be pushed to the back. Naturally, the angle of the edge becomes narrower, allowing for much greater sharpness and cutting power.
This also led to differences in how the blades were sharpened.
They say there are double-edged versions of single-edged swords, and single-edged versions of double-edged swords... Honestly, I had no idea what that was supposed to mean.
"Father, this is getting too difficult."
"This is useful information that beginners usually ignore, so listen well."
Regardless, I had to consider the type of sword I was currently using. I had to think about the type of edge as well.
"So, how should I swing the sword I'm using now?"
"Just swing it however. It's a double-edged sword, which is best for beginners, and it's a standard Saber Ground."
"What? So everything you just said was useless."
Pocket money confiscated.
"You rascal, get back into your stance."
Still, watching the small Father chatter away brought a smile to my face.
"Whew, alright."