Chapter 4
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: Swordsmanship Instructor - 1
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Rien, who had dashed off first, was panting heavily in the middle of the road, out of breath.
It was a distance that wasn't even halfway to the request office.
"Did you really try to run away with stamina that gives out just from this?"
"Hoo, why are you so fast? I thought you flew here."
The time spent chatting with Koon back there had given her a head start, but if he'd chased her right away, he could've caught her before she took ten steps.
I walked to the request office at Rien's pace.
There was no time to get bored along the way.
Rien was incredibly talkative.
How friendly did someone have to be to bombard a total stranger she'd just met today with so many questions?
"Earthbound Spirit, what's your level?"
"Just... average."
"There's no such thing as an average level! If you don't want to answer, just say so."
Most of her questions were ones that were hard to answer directly.
I could only give vague responses.
"Which guild do you belong to, Earthbound Spirit?"
"None."
"Huh? Is that allowed?"
"Why wouldn't it be?"
Climbing the tower didn't require a guild.
While forming a group was overwhelmingly efficient for information gathering, stability, and resource acquisition, it wasn't an essential condition for ascending the tower.
"Oh... I see."
"Still, for a newbie, joining a guild is the way to go. The large guilds have already claimed the cleared floors."
"So joining a guild is the right answer after all."
"If you have the confidence to take on a guild solo, maybe not."
There were quite a few rankers who operated alone.
It wouldn't be easy for brand-new adventurers just entering the tower to try solo play, but there was always the option of growing strong and then leaving a guild.
It wasn't common, though. Most chose to stay with their first guild.
"Then why did you come down to the first floor if you're not in a guild?"
"I didn't come down."
"Huh?"
"I've been here the whole time."
I never went up to the second floor.
I just stayed on the first floor.
"Is that why they call you Senior Earthbound Spirit?"
"Strictly speaking, that's the reason the nickname stuck."
"If you've only been on the first floor, that means you've been hunting nothing but slimes this whole time!"
This topic was always a bit uncomfortable.
"Instead of personal stuff like this, don't you have any practical questions? Newbies usually ask how to get strong fast—like about good items or something."
"You've only been hunting slimes on the first floor. Do you really have any advice for me?"
"Well, I've picked up a lot just coming and going."
I never said I only hunted slimes.
It was too long a story to explain to an adventurer who hadn't even been in the tower for a full day.
"Okay, then just one! Let me ask one last thing."
"What?"
"Your name. Your real name, please."
She sure knew how to pick her questions.
Once she knew my name, she'd stop using that weird nickname.
If it meant normal address, I'd tell her a hundred times over.
"Oh..."
"There, happy now?"
"I'll just call you Senior Earthbound Spirit. It suits you better."
"Hey, I actually answered you."
We'd arrived at Ellie's request office before I knew it.
It seemed we'd kept her waiting too long.
Ellie was slumped over the counter, sleeping soundly.
I tapped the counter lightly with my index finger.
"Ellie."
"Mmm..."
"Ellie, I'm back."
"Ugh, ah! You're here?"
Ellie hurriedly smoothed her messy hair with her hand.
"Earthbound Spirit shows up late sometimes too. You always zipped in and out in the blink of an eye before."
"Sorry. With all the sudden adventurers, it was hard finding slimes left to hunt."
"Anyway, good work!"
Just like yesterday, I handed over five slime cores.
Ellie gave me 500 coins.
"Here's your quest reward! Thanks to you, our village is even safer now!"
"Thanks for the reward."
"New slimes pop up every day in the Damp Forest! You can take the Slime Extermination quest once per day, so please come back tomorrow!"
Normally, I'd nitpick that the village was always safe anyway, but today I decided to play along with her script.
"Now it's really over! Time to clock out!"
"Uh... there's still one left."
"Huh? You were the last quest I'd given out..."
A ton of adventurers had taken quests over the past day, so even Ellie had gotten mixed up.
There was one unfinished Slime Extermination quest left.
Rien, who had been standing behind me, stepped up to the counter.
She held five slime cores in her hand.
"I... I hunted slimes too!"
"Ah, sorry. I must've gotten confused."
"It's fine. I did take too long..."
Rien received 500 coins as well.
"You can take the Slime Extermination quest once per day, so please come back tomorrow!"
She didn't miss her practiced line either.
According to the guidebook from the Crimson Flame Guild, Rien wouldn't be coming back here starting tomorrow.
"Senior! Want to go to the swordsmanship training hall together tomorrow?"
"With me?"
"Yeah! According to the Crimson Flame Guild guidebook, starting at level 2, it's best to build weapon proficiency while gaining EXP."
The swordsmanship training hall... Come to think of it, it'd been a while since I'd seen Tiana.
It was about time for a visit.
I had no idea what Rien gained from me tagging along to training, but there was no reason to refuse.
I could just help out my junior on the way.
"...Se, nior?"
Ellie's voice had turned icy cold.
"We're both adventurers. Earthbound Spirit came first, so he's the senior. I came later, so I'm the junior."
"You two seem close..."
"Ahaha, we hunted slimes together, Senior and I."
"I... see..."
Rien's voice had emphasis in odd places.
She stressed certain words almost artificially.
"I didn't know Earthbound Spirit did party hunts. He comes to my request office every day, so I know—he always hunts alone."
"Really? Senior was the one who suggested we hunt together first. I had no idea."
"He spent hours helping me with work today too. Earthbound Spirit is just so considerate."
Ellie's voice now had inexplicable stresses too.
The atmosphere froze in an instant.
They spoke politely, but their glares were like they were staring down mortal enemies.
Both were muttering so softly I could barely hear.
"Ellie, it's late. I'm heading to the inn. See you tomorrow."
"Ah, take care!"
The vibe had gotten awkward, so I hurried off to the inn.
I spent the night at Raymond's inn.
With adventurers flooding in short-term, the inn couldn't house everyone.
Some slept under tents prepared by their guilds.
Thanks to Raymond's consideration, I didn't have to worry about that.
He always reserved a room for me, so I didn't have to sleep in the cold wind.
I paid by helping with inn chores now and then.
"Senior, let's hurry!"
I was getting used to Rien calling me senior.
I couldn't fathom why an adventurer about to head to the second floor in a few days was getting attached to me.
Anyway, as promised, I went to the swordsmanship training hall with her.
There were crowds of newbie adventurers and Tiana, the swordsmanship instructor teaching them.
Her long blonde hair and sturdy build, honed by grueling training, caught the eye at once.
"Earthbound Spirit! It's been ages!"
"Don't greet me so loudly. Everyone's staring."
"I was just excited! You haven't shown your face here in forever!"
Her archaic speech didn't match her appearance at all.
"I've been too busy to come."
"Busy, my foot! Probably too busy visiting that receptionist girl at the office."
"It's not like that."
Back when I had no idea how to handle weapons, I'd gotten a lot of help from Tiana during swordsmanship lessons.
I used to visit the training hall often back then...
The problem was Tiana's excessive passion and competitive spirit.
Once I reached a level where I could spar with her, she'd demand a match every single visit.
And they weren't quick spars either.
They didn't stop until one of us collapsed from exhaustion.
"It's been so long since this many adventurers gathered here. All my daily maintenance wasn't wasted."
"You look happy. Makes me glad too."
Tiana seemed thrilled to have more students to teach.
On a normal day, she'd charge at me yelling for a duel the moment I stepped in.
With the training hall so crowded, she wouldn't have time for me.
If it weren't for all these new adventurers, I wouldn't have even thought of coming.
"And who's this with Earthbound Spirit... here to learn swordsmanship too?"
"Yes. I want to learn swordsmanship."
"New blood is always welcome. Follow me!"
The only place on the first floor to train with weapons was Tiana's swordsmanship training hall.
You couldn't expect much variety in a tutorial village.
Whether you wanted to be a spearman, archer, or even a mage, there weren't proper places to learn.
On the first floor, you built basic combat skills with swordsmanship, then learned your preferred skills as you climbed higher.
Tiana adjusted Rien's stance, touching her body to correct her form, and demonstrated in front of the scarecrow.
"T-This 200 times?"
"Practice is repetition! Nothing more important for a beginner!"
It was a bit brute-force, but Tiana's skills were beyond doubt.
What I should've doubted wasn't her skill, but her duel addiction.
Tiana wasn't the type to skip spars because she was busy.
"So, long time no see—how about a duel?"
"Huh? Aren't you busy teaching the newbies?"
"What better lesson for beginners than watching experts spar? Draw your sword!"
Better lesson, my ass.
She was just slapping a fancy excuse on the duel she wanted.
If you're gonna say that, at least wipe the drool from your mouth first.