Ghost Swordsmanship

Today marked the second day of the break.

For the past two days, I had channeled every ounce of my gaming knowledge toward one goal: growth.

"Thank you so much, young man!"

"It was nothing, sir."

"I must say, it's truly a miracle. How on earth did you manage to find our Chuchu when you can't even see?"

The old man cradled a cat named Chuchu in his arms, gently stroking its fur.

Knowing exactly where the cat would hide made the task incredibly simple for me.

Granted, the stubborn creature hadn't been particularly cooperative, forcing me to make a quick detour to a fishmonger to buy a bribe, but the outcome was successful.

"It's not much, but please take this gift. I used reliable ingredients this time, so I'm certain it's a masterpiece!"

This seemingly ordinary old man was actually an alchemist.

Or more accurately, the 'Mad Alchemist.'

Since he was a minor character who only appeared in the early stages of the game before vanishing, I didn't know his name or his true identity.

Regardless, the reward was what mattered to me.

As soon as I accepted the potion he offered, he waved goodbye and vanished into the shadows of the alleyway.

With this, I've cleared almost all the easy early-game side quests.

Organizing my to-do list hadn't been difficult.

I prioritized quests with rewards beneficial to a 'Swordsman,' specifically those located in the starting area that could be ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠completed quickly.

Even after filtering out the less useful ones, the sheer volume of tasks had kept me incredibly busy. By the time I finished, the sun had already completed its daily shift and was dipping below the horizon.

The potion currently in my hand, labeled 'Potion of Unknown Utility,' actually possessed the incredible effect of granting skill points.

Gulp, gulp.

Without further hesitation, I downed the liquid in one go.

"...Ugh."

It tasted like absolute garbage.

Given its bizarre color, I hadn't expected a culinary masterpiece, but it still made me gag.

Still, they say good medicine tastes bitter.

I immediately opened my status window to check.

The skill points definitely went up.

Seizing the opportunity, I dumped all my remaining points into my skills.

I had worked myself to the bone over the last two days.

Seeing the tangible progress reflected in my status window filled me with a deep sense of pride.

The quests that rewarded only experience points had paid off handsomely, boosting my level by five and allowing me to significantly upgrade my skills.

The average level of the cadets taking the class placement exam was around level 6.

In contrast, I had already reached level 10.

This was largely thanks to the blindfold's passive effect, which boosted my experience gain by a staggering 500%.

In any game with a leveling system, a level gap always translates to a clear difference in power.

Although the people of this world didn't seem to perceive 'levels' as a concept, the disparity in strength was undeniably real.

For starters, leveling up increased the total capacity of mana within one's body.

Mana was the very foundation of power in this world.

It went without saying for mages, but even sword-wielding knights and martial artists had to be capable of manipulating mana.

This was because channeling mana to reinforce one's body or weapon was the standard method of combat.

I could physically feel that the mana circulating through my body had grown significantly ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠more abundant compared to my first day here.

At this rate, securing a top spot in the placement exam might not be an impossible dream.

Though, my actual combat experience is still severely lacking.

On the bright side, completing those quests had also lined my pockets nicely.

It felt like just yesterday I was scraping together my last coins to pay for a carriage ride.

I'm getting a bit hungry. Maybe I'll grab a sandwich on my way back to the dormitory.

There was a famous sandwich shop nearby that specialized in using meat from wild boar monsters.

Since arriving in this world, one of the unexpected pleasures I had discovered was definitely the food.

I could personally taste exotic, fantasy-inspired dishes that I had only ever read about in game descriptions, and to my delight, they were incredibly delicious.

While the academy dormitories provided high-quality meals, as a long-time player of the game, the local delicacies scattered throughout the city held a far greater appeal.

Tonight's dinner was officially decided: a special boar meat sandwich.

The final day of the break.

I dragged my stiff, aching body out of bed.

The dormitory assigned to me by the academy was a single room.

This meant I didn't have to share my personal space with some random guy.

The interior was exceptionally luxurious compared to the dingy inn room I had stayed in before coming to the academy.

For someone like me, as long as the bed was decent, I was satisfied.

The bed at the inn had basically been a pile of straw covered with a thin sheet, making it nearly impossible for someone with modern sensibilities to get a good night's rest.

But the dormitory bed?

It was far superior to the mattress in my old studio apartment.

In fact, it was so comfortable that I had ended up oversleeping on my very first night.

Early in the morning, I washed up and got ready to head out.

Today, I planned to visit the training grounds to test my skills.

My passive skills have been working perfectly so far.

Ghost Swordsmanship allowed me—someone who had never even held a sword before—to wield a blade with fluid, dazzling proficiency, while Heightened Senses sharpened my awareness to grant me superior reaction speeds.

As for Weakness Detection, which I gained from the Blindfold That Pierces the Truth, I hadn't had the chance to experience it in action yet, but I knew exactly what it did.

In the game, its effect was a simple increase in critical hit rate.

However, now that this world had become my reality, how it would manifest remained a mystery. Since I hadn't been in a proper fight yet, I would likely have to engage in actual combat to find out.

Arriving at the training grounds, I began with some light stretching to warm up.

"Is he... blind?"

"But he's carrying a sword."

"I guess he's a new student too."

The cadets who had arrived before me stared, but after spending the last two days wandering around the city to complete quests, I had grown accustomed to such reactions.

I just needed to focus on my own tasks.

Shhhring.

Slowly, I drew my sword.

The Eastern sword I held possessed a thin, single-edged blade.

Naturally, it was designed for slashing rather than thrusting.

I immediately began to swing it in fluid, graceful arcs.

Ghost Swordsmanship.

Originally, Ghost Swordsmanship was a style that could only unleash its true potential when a deceased soul—a ghost—was sealed within the blade.

In this world, it only truly shone when paired with a cursed blade, also known as a Yodo.

Depending on whose soul was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠sealed within the Yodo, how potent its spectral energy was, and how powerful the soul had been in life, the performance of Ghost Swordsmanship varied wildly.

It was a late-blooming skill—difficult to utilize effectively in the early stages, but capable of devastating power once the proper conditions were met.

To achieve this, the first step was forging a blade durable enough to withstand intense spectral energy. The next essential step was locating a powerful soul and sealing it inside to create a Yodo.

The materials required to craft a sword capable of harboring such energy...

The funds needed to commission a skilled blacksmith...

These were not tasks that could be resolved in a mere matter of days.

Fortunately, finding a powerful soul wouldn't be much of an issue.

My knowledge of the game would make quick work of that.

Having used Ghost Swordsmanship in the game, I already knew the locations of several ideal candidates.

But given how powerful they were, sealing them...

...won't be as simple as it was in the game.

Even though my Ghost Swordsmanship wasn't operating at its peak, it was still a formidable sword style.

Perhaps because the skill level had increased, the blade moved with noticeably greater speed and precision than before.

I swung the sword a few more times before suddenly freezing in place.

"Pant... Pant..."

My breath caught in my throat, heavy and ragged.

I could feel hot beads of sweat tracing paths down my face with vivid clarity.

This was the result of channeling as much mana as possible throughout my entire body while swinging the sword.

How on earth did that character train using a method like this...

While I might possess a slightly larger mana pool than the other cadets, I had one glaring, critical weakness.

Mana manipulation.

My control over my mana was abysmal.

Right now, I was merely shrouding ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠my entire body in mana in a crude, brute-force manner.

Directing a precise amount of mana to a specific part of my body was practically impossible.

In the modern world, mana didn't exist.

This foreign energy circulating through my body was something a modern person could never easily adapt to.

It felt far more alien than suddenly growing a tail and three extra arms.

Even in the game, mana was nothing more than a numerical stat.

And players never had to worry about the actual process of manipulating it.

Because that's just how games worked.

In this world, however, mana was of paramount importance.

This was a world where even commoners moving heavy crates utilized mana to make their labor easier.

Thus, to familiarize myself with mana manipulation, I was mimicking the training method of one of the main characters.

It was an incredibly simple, grueling routine: shrouding the entire body in mana and swinging the sword until physical exhaustion set in.

With every ounce of strength drained from my limbs, I slid down to lean against the wall of the training grounds.

For once, neither my gaming knowledge nor my overpowered items could solve this problem for me.

By the time the surroundings grew dark and the buildings began to light up one by one,

I dragged my aching, battered body out of the training grounds.

Unsurprisingly, a single day of training hadn't yielded any dramatic results.

My entire body was a wreck.

My bones creaked, and my muscles screamed for rest.

I got too greedy right before the exam.

I couldn't do anything more today.

Returning to the dormitory to get some deep rest was the best course of action.

As I limped my way back to the dorms,

a figure walking toward me from the far end of the main street caught my eye. Her appearance was instantly recognizable.

"Ha."

A dry chuckle escaped my lips the moment I realized who she was.

She was nowhere to be seen during the entrance ceremony... but I guess she did enroll after all.

She was not only a major character, but also the very girl I had been searching for since the entrance ceremony.

She wore her signature white coat draped over her academy uniform.

Under the brilliant moonlight, her radiant platinum-blonde hair shone dazzlingly.

The distance between us gradually closed.

It was a relief.

If she hadn't existed in this world, I would have had to take a massive detour.

That was how crucial she was to me.

Perhaps even more so than when I was just a player behind a screen.

She was now close enough for me to clearly see her golden eyes.

If this were still a game and I were the player, she would have initiated a conversation at this exact moment... but I was well aware that reality might not play out that way.

Yet, instead of passing by, she came to a sudden halt right in front of me.

With her blocking my path directly, I had no choice but to stop as well.

"..."

"..."

I waited for her to speak, but her lips remained sealed, and no sound came.

She simply kept her mouth shut, quietly observing me.

Her eyes looked as though a tempest of thoughts was swirling within them.

Her expression was incredibly complex, radiating an emotion that was impossible to put into words.

"Do you... have business with me?"

"..."

No answer came.

In the end, after standing there staring at me for a long moment, she finally brushed past me, her gaze lingering until the very last second.

What on earth was that about?

Baffled by the bizarre encounter, I turned around, but only the silent view of her retreating back met my eyes.

Her name was Eisel Ludwig.

The character I had tried to save at all costs, through countless retries in the game...

...and the sole 'Regressor' of this game—no, of this entire world.