The Flame-Bearing Sabertooth

"Hoooooh—."

Sunghyun let out a heavy breath. A little rest had restored some of his stamina, but the mental fatigue piled on top of it refused to fade. He scanned his surroundings.

Powerful beasts he had never seen before were gathering around him.

"This is about to get ugly. That's enough for today."

Sunghyun purchased a rest space from the shop.

"My money's piled up nicely, too. Let's go before I miss the window."

He kept his eyes locked on them until the transfer took hold.

"Tomorrow, you're next."

He wanted a good look at tomorrow's prey. A halo of light wrapped around his body, and a warm, soft sensation washed over him.

Sunghyun opened his eyes.

"Whew~. Almost died out there."

Perched on the edge of the dining table, he finally let the tension drain from his shoulders. At last, he had hunted a magical beast that paid out four-digit coins — and it had only been three days since he arrived in this world. If Hayato had seen it, he would have thrown up his hands and shouted that he was done being a Hero.

Even so, Sunghyun was smiling.

"Hoo… that was fun."

It had been a fight for his life, no question. Looking back on it, though, that moment had been the most thrilling, the most exhilarating thing he had ever felt. Maybe that was why, when he thought of the creatures that had shown up at the end, his heartbeat only quickened further.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Thump—. Thump—. Thump—.

He pressed a hand to his chest and felt the sound of it.

"Hahaha. Am I crazy? Finding a fight fun?"

He had enjoyed it. More precisely, he had enjoyed the growth. Watching himself surpass the limits of humanity, step by step, sent a rush of pure electricity through him.

"Maybe this is more doable than I thought? Having a rest space like this helps, too."

Without it, things would never have been this easy. Without perfect rest, proper combat was impossible. That was why the current setup suited him so well.

"First things first — a shower."

He wasn't wearing any clothes to begin with, so he walked straight into the shower stall.

Hah! Hah!

Finally!

In the middle of a sparring match with a regular knight, Hayato's mana and physical levels both crossed ten. The moment they did, his class changed.

Along with the skill Holy Sword Summon, his Hero class had risen from one-star to two-star.

"Holy Sword Summon."

Fwaaaaaah—.

A pure white blade bloomed into existence in Hayato's hand. The beautiful silver edge glittered with crystalline transparency; when sunlight touched it, it scattered into a spectrum of colors that delighted the eye. The hilt was extravagantly fine — silver metalwork paired with a carved dragon motif, a small ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠gem set into its tip. That gem amplified the sword's power even further.

The moment Hayato summoned the holy sword, everyone came running to look.

"So this is the Holy Sword… to see it with my own eyes. Remarkable…."

It was the first time Hayato had ever heard the knight commander sound genuinely awed.

Even he can be surprised, huh.

"Dismiss."

Fwaaaaah—.

The holy sword flared with light and vanished, and every face around him filled with open regret. Hayato offered a small smile.

"Using a weapon like the Holy Sword during training would only hold me back."

The knight commander's expression shifted.

"Haha. I never expected to hear that from you yourself."

Hero or not, Hayato was impressive. At only eighteen, refusing to lean on his equipment — that was something special. The commander drew his own sword.

"Very well. From now on, I will spar with you personally. You will not leave these grounds until you hit level forty."

It was a firm declaration. Hayato faced him and raised a wooden practice sword.

"That's exactly what I wanted. By the way, Commander — what are your levels?"

"Physical seventy, mana sixty-two. The highest in the kingdom. Well? How does it feel to put a number on the wall you have to climb?"

Hayato smiled.

"Honestly? It feels like, that's all? If I'm going to take down the Demon King, I need to hit a hundred first."

"Hahaha! Is that so? Yes — of course. A Hero should talk like that."

It was the kind of thing any boy his age might say. But the commander did not laugh at him. This was a Hero — not some ordinary country boy.

He reminds me of him.

The knight commander thought of someone. The founding emperor of the Empire. The first and last person to ever reach level one hundred. The moment he hit it, he had turned to those around him as if he had finally understood something, and said:

What that meant, the commander himself did not know.

One hundred…. Could this boy reach it? He didn't know. But he hoped he would. Someday, he hoped the gap between his own eye level and the boy's would reverse.

And so the knight commander threw everything he had into training Hayato.

"Hoo~ That hit the spot."

Back in the forest after a proper sleep in the One-time Simple Rest Space, Sunghyun drew the morning air deep into his lungs. It was crisp and clean.

"Whew. Shall we get today started?"

Out of habit, he checked his status window.

Yesterday's battle had sent the experience on Little Thunderbolt and Fire skyrocketing. He had wanted to raise his mana while resting, but unfortunately, use of the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Coin Shop was restricted inside the rest space.

"Shame. Hah… there's nowhere safer to cultivate than that place, either."

So Sunghyun raised his mana level on the spot.

"Whew. No matter how many times I feel this, I never get used to it."

Half of everything he had accumulated so far flooded into his dantian at once. He sat down right where he was and began to cultivate. The Taiji immediately set to work fusing with the newly arrived mana, and the energy moved with every breath he took. On the exhale, gray mana drifted and circled around him. On the inhale, he drew in that gray mana along with the ambient energy of the forest.

The magical beasts hesitated — then gave up. The moment any one of them attacked, another rival would stop it. Sunghyun hadn't planned it that way, but it was a perfect case of letting enemies check each other. Naturally, the conditions for cultivation around him became ideal.

Hoooooh—.

Sunghyun released one final breath and opened his eyes. As always after cultivation, they shone a pale gray.

"Nice."

If raising Physical felt like expanding and hardening the vessel, raising Mana felt like filling it. The satisfaction was a different flavor entirely.

As if on cue, his shop skill leveled up as well. Sunghyun immediately accessed the Coin Shop and looked over the newly unlocked listings.

"Oh? Plenty of useful stuff showed up."

Among C-rank options, Little Thunderbolt had been about the only thing worth buying. Reaching B-rank, though, the selection looked genuinely good. Having already benefited so much from Little Thunderbolt, he checked the traits again.

"Wow. Look at those prices."

Every trait cost over a thousand. Buying one now would bankrupt him. So he decided to purchase the urgent necessities first.

His sword had been wrecked in the fight with the wolf. He had only used it for a single day, but it had served him well. With that in mind, he began carefully browsing the weapons.

The swords all carried special abilities. After checking through a number of options, those three stood out as the most practical.

Sunghyun glanced at his old blade. Angel's One-Handed Sword [D]. Only the hilt remained on the ground, still bearing yesterday's scars.

"Come to think of it, the corpse is gone."

The body and bones of the wolf he had killed yesterday had vanished.

"Some magical beast must have eaten it overnight. Whatever."

A magical beast's corpse was the least of his concerns right now. The Salamander's sword or the Sword of Cleanliness would both be fine, but the last one — the heavy, durable piece — was the one that caught his eye. It had a proper name, sure, but what did that matter? It was his now.

Sunghyun grabbed the black blade as it floated into the air. It had no ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠particular design to speak of — crude, even. But the balance was perfect.

Whoosh—.

He gave it a swing. The weight sat exactly where he needed it for his current strength.

"Nice. Welcome to the roster as my second weapon, Sturdy."

He smiled down at the sword.

"And welcome to being the first demonstration partner for that sword — Tiger."

Thud—. Thud—.

Heavy footfalls. A searing heat that reached all the way to where Sunghyun stood.

It was the tiger he had glimpsed before — only twice as large. With every breath, the sabertooth exhaled fire. Its fur glowed a captivating orange, bright enough that in the sunlight it almost looked gold. It carried fire within, yet controlled it well enough that the forest around it did not burn.

"After the moon, the sun? A little weak to call it a sun, but fine. Let's do this."

Sunghyun wrapped lightning around his body.

At the same instant, fire erupted from the sabertooth.

Crack—. Crack—.

Fwoooosh—.

As the clash of their power began, the magical beasts nearby fell silent and simply watched.