Chapter 12
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: Beginner - End
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Chasing down slimes that wouldn't go down no matter how many times they were slashed had worn out his body by midday.
In a situation where he didn't properly know a single thing, his mind grew unnecessarily complicated.
"Senior! Let's hurry!"
Even so, the goal of getting stronger was clear, so Rien headed to the swordsmanship training ground right on time as promised.
Just as the connection between the request office receptionist Ellie and her senior stood out, her relationship with Swordsmanship Instructor Tiana was also deep.
Whenever she saw her senior talking with the first-floor residents, Koon's words that he had never gone up seemed even more solid.
'Am I the one who's wrong?'
Rien checked her trait again.
Maybe if there's even a description written somewhere, it'll show up.
Whoever made this is really inconsiderate.
'Climbing highest record... was it not something like that?'
A beginner who hadn't even left the first floor yet.
〈1〉
Ranking 1 Guild Master.
〈60〉
Officials from famous guilds.
〈58〉
〈57〉
〈56〉
And Earthbound Spirit Senior.
〈714〉
If it weren't for that one person, the proposition would be flawless.
Rien thought.
Adventurers who had reached around the 10th floor could kill slimes in one hit.
The equipment he wore didn't look like it had conquered high floors either.
Other than that massive number, there was no evidence he was a hidden powerhouse.
Of course, with his experience, he was naturally stronger than a beginner, but whether he had strength matching that number was still questionable.
Moreover, the first-floor residents all called her senior "Earthbound Spirit" and unanimously said he had stayed here his whole life.
Record Viewer.
The hypothesis she had set up for now was that it showed the highest floor record conquered by adventurers.
There was nothing definitively known about the trait.
She couldn't hope that inferring its ability in a single day was correct.
Was following her senior around, suspecting some hidden secret, all for nothing?
What if he was just an ordinary person, and she had been deluding herself based only on the number above his head?
Such worries began to surface.
"Well, it's been a while, so how about a spar?"
"Pardon? Aren't you busy teaching the new adventurers?"
"Is there a better lesson for beginners than watching a spar between experts? Draw your sword!"
The spar between the swordsmanship instructor and her senior.
That alone was enough to prove how pointless her worries had been up to now.
'How in the world does that look like someone who only hunts slimes!'
Rien hadn't received any instruction yet.
In other words, she had no real skill with the sword at present.
Even so, she could feel it.
In every process of swinging, dodging, and chaining the next move, he was superior to any ranker she had seen so far.
The two unleashing attacks at a speed too fast for the eye to follow was on the level where even if you sped up videos of famous swordsmen, you'd believe it.
Rien intuited it, and knew better than anyone that there were no tricks or illusions mixed in—it was pure, real movement.
She didn't let her eyes stray for even a moment.
The spar that had heated up the training ground came to an end.
The numerous adventurers who had turned to watch the two were now striking the straw dummies right in front of them.
Everyone had watched without reservation, but once it ended, they treated it as someone else's business.
Her senior left first, saying he was tired.
Even though a few minutes had passed, the afterglow lingered.
What shattered that afterglow was the prickly voice of a certain adventurer.
"Ah, damn, the instructor's coming this way again."
He grumbled as he moved to the opposite side.
From watching from afar, the instructor wasn't approaching intentionally.
He was just complaining because she was walking in his direction.
It seemed oversensitive, but the other adventurers were avoiding the instructor's vicinity just the same.
That was why the corner spots were popular despite straw dummies being plentiful.
The instructor headed to an empty wide space and leaned against the wall, sitting down.
She sat hugging her knees with both arms, quietly watching the adventurers.
It didn't match her first impression.
It was a far cry from the instructor who had welcomed the new beginner with open arms.
When entering the training ground with her senior, the instructor had spoken in a loud, bold voice, but now she looked more dejected than anyone.
As if, in front of her senior, she was putting up a front.
"Instructor."
"Ah, you're the adventurer who came with Earthbound Spirit, right? Is something bothering you...?"
"I've done this 200 times already. What's the next step?"
Rien approached the instructor sitting alone.
And as if it were natural, she sought instruction from her.
"W-Wait a moment! Let me at least splash some cold water on my face—!"
The instructor shouted hurriedly and dashed outside.
She must not have been able to teach with her hair soaked in sweat from the spar.
While Tiana was away, an adventurer she had no prior acquaintance with cautiously approached Rien.
"Um..."
And handed her a strategy guide.
"Why are you giving this to me?"
"You seem like you don't know, so I thought you should read it."
It was Moonlight Guild's strategy guide.
It was unnecessary help for Rien, who had already read every strategy guide.
"Thanks, but I'm good. I've already read it."
"Pardon? If you've read it, then why do something like that?"
"What, is there a problem?"
"No. I was just being nosy..."
She felt the gazes of numerous adventurers.
They hadn't spoken up like this man, but their eyes were on Rien.
They were all probably thinking the same.
'You just need to build proficiency, so why approach her when you should be avoiding her?'
She had read the first-floor strategy guides countless times.
Swordsmanship training ground instructor, Tiana.
The only class you could get from her instruction was the lowest grade.
The reason they included the training ground as a required course was simple.
To build swordsmanship proficiency, repetitive training was needed, and on the first floor, the swordsmanship training ground was perfect.
There was no need to waste time on class change quests that only gave useless classes when you could just hit dummies with your sword.
'Getting close to the instructor must look like an inefficient, pointless action.'
There were various strategy guides talking about the worthlessness of the first-floor swordsmanship instructor, but the most negative one came from Moonlight Guild.
Even that Moonlight Guild leader was only at floor 58.
Inferior to Crimson Flame Guild, but considering no information exchange with other guilds, a late-50s record was respectable.
Of course, that's the general opinion.
With an adventurer who cleared floor 714, what meaning did the opinions of those at 50 or 60 floors have?
What the truth was, only Rien knew.
Rien, who wanted to become a greater adventurer than anyone, naturally chose the truth.
If it meant getting stronger, ignoring the paths others had laid was simple.
If she learned swordsmanship from Instructor Tiana too.
If she could become like her senior.
Then she would finally surpass the Sword Saint.
As the strategy guides stated, adventurers who had built up sufficient swordsmanship proficiency began leaving the training ground one by one.
Tiana's one-on-one lesson continued amid the emptying training ground.
"This time, try slashing diagonally."
"Got it!"
Letting go of her doubts about her senior's skill and resolving to learn swordsmanship from Tiana was ultimately thanks to those two's spar.
Compared to the spar where swords flew wildly, this training felt endlessly lackluster.
She didn't expect amazing techniques from the first lesson, but honestly, it was tediously boring.
"We'll stop the repetitive motions here."
Perhaps noticing her feelings, the lesson quickly moved to the next stage.
"I'll be your opponent directly, so attack me freely."
"Huh? Is it even possible for me to attack against you, Instructor?"
Sparring with the instructor who had crossed swords with her senior at a speed too fast to follow visually?
She'd die in one stroke the moment it started.
"Naturally, I won't attack at all. Do you think I'd go all out against a beginner?"
"Ah."
"This is just to gauge your fighting style, so no need to worry."
With that, she thrust her sword freely.
"Hiyat!"
Of course, no meaningful attack landed on the instructor.
Tiana deflected lightly as if she knew exactly where Rien's sword was going, positioning her own sword in advance along the path.
"This is enough."
"Hoo, haa... I'm exhausted..."
She thought she had aimed for openings decently, but not a single hit succeeded.
Of course, she hadn't expected any.
The gap between the instructor and Rien was at a level where comparing them would be rude.
"Probably the most precious experience as an instructor is sparring for the first time with a child at the starting line of swordsmanship."
"Why is that?"
"Because you can fully feel the futile struggles of someone without experience."
"W-Was I that bad?"
Tiana couldn't hold back her laughter.
Rien's face flushed with embarrassment, but she thought Tiana smiling suited her much better than looking dejected.
"Not mockery. It means untouched by any color."
"But I've learned basic attack stances, right?"
"Learning to hold a brush doesn't mean you've learned to write."
Tiana explained with an easy metaphor.
Horizontal slashes, vertical slashes, diagonals, thrusts, defenses—the practiced sword motions were like memorizing letters.
Even using the same language, different writers produce different writing from their hands; even practicing the same motions, different swordsmen perform different sword dances.
"Since you haven't experienced real combat, it's purely your instincts, habits, or senses at play."
The practiced motions were merely options available at each moment; the sequence of choices was Rien's judgment.
"Not to brag, but I've even taught the Sword Saint. I didn't know the circumstances above, so I was unaware of his fame, but it seems his name is well-known among beginner adventurers."
"Yes. He's evaluated as the best among adventurers at handling the sword."
"That's why I want to ask even more."
Tiana brought her face right up to Rien's.
"I'm no scholar, so I don't know whether genetics or environment has a greater impact on a person's thinking, but your judgment is remarkably similar to his as I remember."
"..."
"He was a man who learned ten things from one teaching. Thanks to that, I could only taste his pure, blank-canvas judgment once. From the second spar, he performed sword dances close to perfect, textbook-level."
Rien could only gape.
Figuring out similar habits just from crossing swords—was that possible?
Or had she been unconsciously imitating him?
"You... what exactly is your connection to the Sword Saint?"
Rien recalled the only one who had abandoned her and left—
No, the one who had been her only family.
Rien had entered the tower.
To become a ranker stronger than anyone, so no one would be unaware of her.
So that when they met again, she could prove his judgment completely wrong.
But to do that, Rien was still just a "beginner" who hadn't even reached the second floor.
And for a beginner, the help of one adventurer stronger than the Sword Saint was desperately needed.
- ｢Beginner - End｣