Chapter 36
Chapter 36
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 36
Chapter Title: Path of the Magic Swordsman (1)
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Thud...!!
"Whoa, whoa, whoa...."
I was scared out of my mind. I nearly died.
I barely dodged by rolling to the side at the perfect parry timing.
Of course, parrying with the bed wasn't an option.
I'd just bought the damn thing—did they expect me to smash it?
Hell, even swinging my fist at it would've snapped it clean in half.
My fist, that is.
'A single bed probably wouldn't have killed me, though.'
Even if it had crashed down on me, I doubt I'd have died... nah, it might've actually done me in.
I let out a hollow chuckle as I stared at the bed sitting there like it had always been part of the room.
It looked even fancier than I'd expected—way higher quality than the sample photos.
The finish, design, materials... everything exceeded what I'd imagined.
'...But is this thing really intact?'
I'd just shelled out for it. If it had broken somehow, I'd have been pissed beyond belief.
I slid my hand underneath.
The original pillow and blanket were gone.
They were neatly arranged on top now, as if they'd been there from the start—or never existed at all.
I had no idea if they'd just shifted over from the old setup or came bundled with the [Single Bed].
Tap, tap.
'Legs seem fine.'
At least it looked okay on the surface.
I tapped the legs all over and pressed down on the mattress to check.
Not definitive, but it felt solid enough for now.
"...Okay."
I squeezed my eyes shut, swallowed hard, then—
Boing!
"Am I alive?!"
I hurled myself onto the bed with everything I had.
"...Phew."
Thank god it didn't collapse.
Whew, almost wasted another 3,000 TP lying around unnecessarily.
"Feels amazing."
Even for a single bed, this was on another level.
Way better than the one in the Tower of Wisdom.
Was it the difference between fantasy world beds and modern ones? The fluffiness was unreal.
If I'd known beds could feel this good, I would've bought one ages ago....
I regretted skimping on TP and going without for so long.
Squish.
"Oh, right."
I rolled around a few times, savoring the sensation, when I suddenly realized delivery had arrived outside the hideout too. I sat up.
Swish.
"Oh...."
I headed to the common area and picked up the practice steel sword.
It was definitely heavier than the wooden one.
Real iron swords would be even heavier, so it was a relief this one wasn't cheaper.
Would've been a useless lump if I'd bought something I couldn't swing.
Whoosh—!!
"...Wow."
Swinging it felt completely different.
With the wooden sword, it was like kids' play. Now it felt like wielding a real blade.
It wasn't sharp, so it still kinda felt like a club... but still.
'Do I look kinda cool now?'
I finally felt like the protagonist from a novel or comic.
Thud.
'So now the real question is how to build my character....'
Stick with swordsmanship all the way, or gamble on magic?
Which was the right path?
How far could the wiki's support really go?
I wasn't planning to challenge the Tower of Trials right away—I'd climb the Heart and Luck Towers first—but I still needed practice time.
At least grab a skillbook or two and train daily as exercise.
'Learning from the gallery has its limits.'
Getting advice from random masses wasn't easy.
Everyone had different goals and honed skills. Learning from text and comments alone was tough.
It helped, sure.
'Wish I could learn directly from them.'
The gallery folks were basically martial arts masters.
Archmages, swordmasters, priests, fighters... probably even Heavenly Demon types if I looked.
One-on-one lessons would let me power-level without TP. Such a shame.
'Can't exactly offer cola as a reward easily.'
Hard to tell who's a 'real expert.'
Regression proof could work, but sifting through hundreds of applicants? No thanks.
And even if they were skilled, could they teach well? Separate issue.
Gallery learning definitely had limits.
'Sword path or mage path....'
If I was sure the wiki would back me up, I'd go mage. But no guarantees.
Searching the wiki turned up nothing on sync conditions.
No details in the [Skillbooks] category either.
The activation notice only popped once at the start, so it made sense.
'Having to buy a staff is a bit of a hang-up too.'
I'd just gotten this practice sword, and now a staff? Felt like backtracking.
1,000 TP—not pocket change. Enough for chicken every day for five days.
Swish.
'Better stick to solidifying swordsmanship for now?'
[Royal Knight Order Basic Swordsmanship Form 1] - 1,000 TP
[Royal Knight Order Basic Swordsmanship Form 2] - 2,000 TP
[Royal Knight Order Basic Swordsmanship Form 3] - 3,000 TP
Start with the basics. Build from the ground up.
Right as I went to buy the Royal Knight series in my cart—
[Intro to Lightning Magic] - 5,500 TP
"......"
The last magic book in my cart caught my eye.
Lightning magic looks badass as hell.
Flipping coins and firing railguns? Peak drip.
"Isn't that not really lightning magic? Not sure."
Anyway.
As an intro book, nothing crazy, but probably more fun than swinging a sword manually.
'...Do I really need a staff?'
An idea hit me. I crossed my arms and closed my eyes.
Since ancient times, magic swordsmen—rare hybrid classes—always existed somewhere.
Even aura blades could be called magic.
The name 'sword arts' affirms it's part of magic. Glorious 'sword mages.'
So, just wield a sword and cast magic. Done.
Parry attacks with the sword up close, swing it in melee.
At range, cast magic with the sword. Ultimate all-rounder?
[Royal Knight Order Basic Swordsmanship Form 1] - 1,000 TP
[Intro to Lightning Magic] - 5,500 TP
[Held TP: 7,093]
'...Like this?'
One sword skill for backup attacks.
One magic book to test skillbook syncing and wiki support limits.
'Not aiming for Trial Tower next anyway.'
After Heart and Luck Towers, TP would pile up again.
I'd buy them eventually anyway.
Test now or later—no difference.
If staves are mandatory or wiki support isn't perfect, better know early for planning.
'A bit pricey, but—'
It'll work out somehow.
Even if I bought Forms 1-3, I'd learn them one by one.
Gallery taught me my sword talent sucks—no false hopes there.
'But magic talent? Who knows.'
Might have archmage potential buried inside. No one knows.
Five minutes later, Star Bang notified me.
Just like the parry skillbook, no changes in the common area.
Probably auto-added to the wiki.
Ding!
"Hoo...."
I took a deep breath, eyes closed, like the parry notice.
Please don't let my 5,500 TP go to waste.
"Hmm...."
I pinched my brow reading the updated wiki entry.
Got it. Tons of explanations boiled down to 'versatile but kinda weak.'
Compared to maxed-out peers, firepower and suppression lag behind other magics. But effective on both ends.
Intro level, of course. Maxing it might take decades or centuries.
I could just learn other magics anyway—no biggie.
[For suppression or control, no need to obsess over lightning output.]
[Enemy attacks always involve mana flow shifts—interrupting with lightning is most stable.]
Tips and tricks were there too.
How to use in situations, real combat applications.
[But for firepower, concentrate current on one point rather than disperse.]
[Bursting lightning briefly is more effective than sustaining it.]
Just like the parry manual—specific, easy to grasp.
No idea if wiki reprocessed it or if it's original quality....
[Lightning magic's essence is not destruction, but 『action interference.』]
That wasn't the real issue.
"......"
It was dry—just theory till the end—but actual spells were listed.
[Lightning Bolt]
[Chain Lightning]
Wiki was impressive: chants, chantless, magic circles, etc.
All methods detailed—but
"Mana, mana, mana, mana...."
Recipes there, but no sourcing ingredients.
'So how the hell do I gather mana...?'
Explain what mana even is first, damn it.
Gathering methods should come before that.
I frantically searched Star Bang for [Mana], [Mana Power]—
"Nothing useful...."
Just stacks of magic books sharing keywords. No techs for sensing mana or boosting it. Zero.
Mages take mana as basic?
Like no one learns breathing from books?
"......"
Step.
I moved like I was entranced.
I couldn't have been scammed.
5,500 TP. Not 550k won worth of scam.
Not a scam exactly, but anyway.
"......"
Enter here, and wiki would ding! Auto-sync, notify, I'd click and yell 'Wiki's amazing!'
Grip.
21st floor.
Not a 10-floor checkpoint, so safe.
I clutched the practice steel sword tight and entered the tower in a daze.
Rumble—!!
Door shut. Unknown forest filled with trees.
Chop trees maybe? Just labor like always—no curiosity about floor 21.
Right now, just—
"Please!!! Come on, Wiki!!!"
I knelt before the door, holding the wiki high, waiting for the notice.
Ding!
"Ooooh!!"
Grinning ear to ear, I checked the wiki—and
"That's it...? For real...?"
No auto-whatever, just a strat toss and done. I squeezed my eyes shut at the wiki's response.
We're fucked.
"Wiki, sir...."
Another post left behind before vanishing.
After sharing Poogies—no, burgers and cola, even sent orange juice to a complainer, then dipped.
Heartbreaking—said they wouldn't share anymore, deeply hurt.
Wiki sir's such a good person. Why all the complaints?
Tastes differ, sure, but why send them to hell?
'Must be hurting because they're sensitive....'
No more cola wasn't the issue.
Worried they'd lose motivation, stop showing up in the gallery.
'This is all because of me too....'
Regretting blocking myself over the Irregular loop.
Wiki could've gone home, but because of me.
They took it cheerfully, enjoyed the gallery—that just masked it, I realized.
Posted orange juice proof, banned a transient after they got flamed hard.
Tons of requests, and I was annoyed too—added personal feelings.
Did everything possible.
Just respond already—hours with no reply.
"Wiki sir, come back and see how I handled it...."
Just a ban, but hope it eases their mind a bit.
Ding.
"Ah...!"
My prayers answered—new Wiki post.
Nick change bugged me, but content first.
"............"
So they weren't hurt after all...?
I worried my ass off for hours...?