Orphan Reincarnation (3)
Kane’s mind spun in frantic circles. How the hell am I supposed to explain this?
Sweat soaked the back of his shirt as if someone had poured ice water down his spine.
Traits and skills weren’t random gifts. They were the fruits of a lifetime of grinding, of blood, sweat, and tears. If he wanted to claim even a fragment of that power, he had to prove he’d actually earned it.
I learned from Sir Lancelot.
Robert would never teach a talentless orphan like him. Lie. Crack.
This was going to get him killed.
I was born with special blood.
Fairies had no business surviving the smog-choked back alleys. Lie. Crack.
Shit.
Even if he wove a perfect story, he had no idea what answer the character who died before the story even began would want to hear. Honestly, the only future he could see was a very dead one.
Except for that one flashback scene, what else is there to do?
The suffocating silence stretched on until Robert stepped close.
Kane squeezed his eyes shut.
A thick hand settled on his jaw with a soft thud.
“...That’s not important. Good you’re all better. Kane.”
Ah?
Kane looked up in silence. Robert’s mouth curved into a faint smile.
“Why? You think I’m going to hurt you if I don’t tell you?”
“No, it’s not that, but...”
This is insane.
“You look at me like I’m terrifying. In the back alleys, you need to hide some of your skills. Magic, swordsmanship, spirit arts. I have no intention of making you reveal anything.”
He probably hadn’t expected Kane to be this scary just because he’d wiped out an entire gang.
“Instead, I should praise the achievement of reaching this level in a hidden place.”
“Thank you...”
“What you’ve accomplished is the druid’s secret technique, Anima. Also called Spirit Breathing, one of the basic spirit arts.”
Ah. So that’s what it is.
Why was the dealer’s passive self-recovery better than damage increase? Why did the tank have evasion stats? Why not just boost HP?
In games, traits that didn’t make sense were explained away with in-world logic. Recovery as holy power, spirit arts, or self-regeneration. So this could be vaguely waved off as a druid technique.
“Among them, the water spirit is particularly rare. Sir Lancelot, the knight you admire, also learned water spirit technique. It seems you’ve worked hard to become like the knight you look up to.”
Thankfully, Robert had bought the misunderstanding. No explanation was needed. Kane just nodded vigorously, happy expression firmly in place.
Robert ruffled his hair with rough hands and checked every inch of his body.
“You seem better. Just in case, keep managing your body until today. And...”
Robert picked up the slightly damp bowl of soup.
“From tomorrow, you’ll start training. It’s not too late, but starting now is better.”
“Eh?”
I don’t get it.
“Don’t be surprised. If you want to become a knight, you need that much training. Edith will be doing it too, so don’t worry too much.”
This was fucked up in an entirely different way.
Even Edith, who’d been born with dragon blood and called that year-long hellish training in the story...
Do I have to do it?
No. Thinking it over, I could achieve that level of growth. Even if I couldn’t, I could still be Robert’s one-and-only orphan.
Then survival rate would go up too...
This was not eating equals becoming a fool.
“Please take care of me!”
“Your spirit is good. Then rest well. You’ll have to get up early tomorrow.”
“Yes!”
Kane watched Robert leave the room with a smile. A scary but good uncle.
If I kill the gang, he’ll still be kind to my orphans.
He let out a long sigh.
Before he could sleep, he needed to test everything.
Since I can’t endure real training yet, focus on keywords like agility, senses, and recovery...
Scanning the list, he touched various items until sleep finally claimed him.
***
“Wake up, Kane.”
“Tuh.”
Kane jolted awake, startled.
Because something eerie had just slid down his throat.
Is this an air slash?
It felt like killing intent, so he shot upright.
“Senses: Pass. Not bad.”
The test had been sudden, but within expected range.
If Edith couldn’t sleep at night because of something, then this could happen too.
The reason he could react was one of the traits from [6★ Labyrinth Berserker - Minos].
[First Trait: Sharp Senses
After placement, damage received by self and all allied units –3% (-27% applied). Remote attack damage received by self –5% (45% applied).]
Even though he’d been kept awake by all the noise until now, he was glad he’d equipped it.
“Come out. Training starts.”
No time to stretch. Kane wiped the sleep from his eyes and rushed outside.
The large, long backpack creaked with every step.
Was that a test weapon?
From the difference in sound, he could tell the shapes and lengths varied.
Following Robert in silence, they reached the door to Edith’s room.
Robert stood quietly, gazing inside.
At that moment, the space itself seemed to warp.
An instant darkening feeling washed over him.
Clang!
A crash echoed from inside, followed by a small scream.
“You’re awake. Come in.”
So that’s what I did.
Peeking inside, Kane saw Edith still half-asleep, groaning on the bed as if about to tumble off.
Damn, she’s cute.
The 2D live image had never looked this adorable when it moved. The cheerful, mischievous little sister character. The serious, noble knight little sister character.
Seeing the gap moe overflowing little brother character made Kane laugh despite himself.
As Robert yawned while leaving the room, Edith shot him a glare.
“You did it too?”
Approaching without hesitation, Kane recalled his lines and answered like Kane.
“I was a bit more gentle.”
“This is real. All better...”
It seemed normal. Robert poked his side; Kane dodged and followed quickly.
Behind the poorhouse building lay a narrow field, barely half the size of a soccer pitch.
Plus, it was still pre-dawn.
Even at night, it felt believable.
When he thought the space was too narrow for training, Robert pulled something from his bosom and set it on the ground.
Immediately, the world’s scenery changed.
The world became a bright day—crackling sand turned into hills covered in lush green grass. The smog-filled sky split by utility poles and building walls became an endless expanse of blue.
A space filled with freshness just from breathing.
“Wow...”
Kane couldn’t help but sigh at the sight.
“Here, you will receive training and education from various angles.”
“What kind of training will it be? I’m curious!”
Magic or shamanism? No, it had to be swordsmanship.
“We’ll teach various survival techniques, including martial arts. Representative ones like poison resistance, terrain exploration, base establishment, but first, we’ll start with how to fight.”
Though it was apprenticeship style, it seemed to cover quite systematic content. Enough for a knight to survive.
“Before that, what do you think is the most important thing in combat?”
“The method to gauge the gap with your opponent!”
“Information about the combat location, right?”
“Both correct. Edith, it’s about fighting. Kane, from the tactician’s perspective.”
“In this training, what I can teach is the fighting aspect. Tactics and strategy building is the scholar’s job, so I won’t know it deeply. Instead, I’ll teach you some tactics that can be used in small-scale battles.”
“What I’ll teach you is Mayer Swordsmanship, the standard swordsmanship of the knight orders.”
“From now on, set as the goal of this training to create unique techniques tailored to your own methods.”
“If after this training you continue training unique techniques to create your own style... Then from then on, you won’t be wrong to consider yourselves strong.”
“First, choose the weapon you want. Through light sparring, I’ll gauge your level.”
At the same time, he tossed over swords, spears, and clubs.
It had been the test weapon from the backpack earlier.
Don’t I measure stamina first?
“Gently, okay?”
“I’ll adjust based on what you do.”
This means I’m going to be ruthless 100%.