A Good Night's Sleep and Training
A soft chime sounded.
“Yes, I’ll go.”
When I opened my eyes, the support team of four was standing right in front of me.
“Sir?”
“Your eyes are bloodshot.”
“Are you sure you’re okay?”
They all wore expressions full of concern, trying hard to hide it.
I had scrubbed myself and changed in a hurry, but the effect wasn’t exactly what I hoped for.
“I stayed up all night working. It’s fine.”
“Then we’ll come by later.”
“It’s okay. Training is handled by Lady Isra and Miss Ingrid anyway.”
While the support team rolled out, I let out a quiet sigh.
The sleeping bag and earplugs were there, so I should be good.
Director Seongsoo shook his head with a troubled look.
“This is such an imposition.”
“An imposition? The one who stayed up hammering all night? Don’t worry about it.”
I had never planned to stay up all night in the first place.
I had simply become too absorbed in engraving mana circuits onto narrow bones.
A mistake born of not noticing how time had flown.
Thanks to the Heavenly Martial Body, I had endured it fine.
“Heh heh. I see.”
“It’s because Lady Isra told me to rest. I’m really fine.”
“Yes, it really sounds convincing.”
“Umm. If I say I’m fine, then I’m fine.”
“Then, Sir, you’ll train with us too—!”
“Hyungyoo! If you trip and break your tongue, what then?”
“You step on—”
“Shh.”
I had worried it might make them uncomfortable since I was resting, but it was a relief.
I stepped into the subspace carrier and moved to the Death Blacksmith.
“Haha. It’s been a while since we’ve been here at this hour.”
“Ready to go?”
With two eager subordinates, I handed the support team over.
Where are the sleeping bags?
Thud—
The moment I thought it, they appeared on the floor.
Since I keep them in the subspace carrier, I can grab them anytime inside the Death Blacksmith.
Huuuuaaaaam.
Looking at the sleeping bag, sleep rushed over me like a wave.
Strength was one thing, but.
Concentrating for so long on engraving mana circuits in a cramped space drained me.
One good nap and all this thick fatigue would vanish.
Ever since I acquired the Heavenly Martial Body, even closing my eyes for a moment would restore me to peak condition.
Death Knight and Lich.
The moment I opened my eyes and finished resting, my heart pounded with excitement at the thought of analyzing the top-tier undeads.
Time to sleep a little more.
Only with full preparation would the results be good.
As I closed my eyes and let my thoughts wander, the demon of sleep seized my mind.
“It seems you have begun to slumber.”
From a considerable distance away, Lady Isra murmured.
“How did you know that?”
“Just from the sound of your breathing.”
“……”
Director Seongsoo managed to suppress the sound that was about to escape him.
The Death Blacksmith covered an area of 420 pyeong—half the size of an elementary school gym.
To avoid disturbing me while I slept, they had positioned themselves as far away as possible.
Yet from that distance, they were so confident about hearing my breathing that I was stunned.
“Can’t you hear breathing even without focusing?”
“Umm. We’re a special group, you see.”
“That’s something any knight who joins the Tempest Knight Order can do.”
When I said knight, I meant the empire’s greatest knight order from Lady Isra’s past life.
A knight order handpicked from the highest-quality talent in the empire.
Of course.
The members were far superior to the support team, who merely possessed slightly better talent than ordinary hunters.
“I’m crushed.”
“The average is just too high.”
“Sniff.”
Lady Isra laughed loudly at the groans of the support team.
“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure you get the basics.”
The team leader, Director Seongsoo, cautiously raised a hand.
“What exactly do you consider the basics, Lady Isra?”
“Mana Release.”
A stage beyond physical reinforcement.
In other words, Mana Release.
Park Jonghyo swallowed a sigh of admiration and covered his mouth.
Was Mana Release a common technique?
It was the gateway for B-class hunters.
Warrior hunters called it the wall of lamentation.
Without it, even reaching the maximum C-class level could not allow promotion to B-class.
According to the WHU, only about five percent of hunters knew Mana Release.
Lady Isra had called this skill, which placed her in the top five percent, “basics.”
“Lord has quickly grasped it as well.”
“Ah. Comparing me to the two of you is a bit unfair.”
Director Seongsoo immediately shook his head.
Where would I have to look to see an ordinary hunter?
The legend of the Counter-Abnormal Bureau, Jeong Seungil, had publicly declared he would be the next SS-class.
Both were recognized for their talent among the Twelve Heroes.
And they had cleared the Tower of Chaos, drawing global attention.
“Even so, they are not knights.”
Lady Isra shook her head.
“I don’t quite understand what you mean.”
“You have not experienced real combat to the same extent as us.”
When Lady Isra spoke of “real combat,” she meant swinging weapons and clashing with monsters.
The support team members gave blank expressions.
“I see.”
“You’re a necromancer, Sir.”
“Weren’t you a blacksmith?”
Of course.
Park Minho had not used a sword zero times.
He had blocked attacks from a mutated blue raptor.
He had infiltrated enemy lines in stealth and beheaded archers and mages.
But.
He was not yet familiar with the battles of warriors.
“You all have quite a bit of real combat experience. With a little refinement of your techniques, you should be able to handle Mana Release as well.”
“Oh, oh oh!”
“Lady Isra! Thank you!”
At the cheers of the support team, Miss Ingrid raised her shoulders slightly.
“It seems you’ve put in quite some effort.”
“They are the ones Lord needs.”
The support team’s talent wasn’t that great.
If it were my past self, I wouldn’t have thought of guiding them.
They were at the level of veterans who could thrive in the mercenary world.
“What Lord needs are attendants who will serve.”
Strength?
Even with me and Miss Ingrid, it would be sufficient.
Though my physique was inferior to my past skill,.
As Lord’s power grew, my specs rose vertically.
One day, I would recover my past guidance.
Even those like Jeong Seungil or Gerard would be no match.
“A magician. You are no different, are you not?”
“Hmph. That’s true.”
Miss Ingrid was the strongest monster of the Witch Clan.
The source of her power was the powerful magic and knowledge passed down through the Solar Eclipse Witch lineage.
The mana had been lost,.
But the vast amount of magic knowledge that surpassed the entire Clock Tower’s documents was etched into her mind.
“You actually evaluated me properly?”
“Among the mages I know, you are the strongest.”
Even the necromancers I exterminated.
Even Isra, who was the continent’s greatest swordsman and had experienced every battle,.
Her power could not be ignored.
“Instead of the director, attendants can only be replaced by the undead.”
Miss Ingrid nodded in understanding.
The director’s support.
Gate maintenance.
Such tasks could not be done by the dead.
The support team might not be able to keep up with Lord’s growth.
But they should at least be able to follow behind.
“I can do it. If it were me.”
“Hehe. Then the girl will have to step it up too.”
“For Lord, everything.”
“For the master.”
The two subordinates agreed in unison.
Except for the hardships that lay ahead for the support team, it was perfect.
“Huuuuaaaaam.”
How long had I been asleep?
Checking the clock, it had been about six hours.
I wasn’t tired at all.
Even after staying up all night, sleeping for six hours restored my condition completely.
Heavenly Martial Body. Best!
“Were the others training well?”
If they had trained as usual, they would have finished long ago.
Three to four hours.
Even if stretched, no more than five.
Since I couldn’t leave the Death Blacksmith without my permission.
They were probably cooling down while waiting.
I lightly adjusted my clothes and moved to the training area.
Clang!
“Slow.”
“Hah!”
“Short of breath? When you die, you don’t need to breathe.”
“Heuooak!”
“Since I’ve died once, I can vouch for it.”
The support team hunters, weapons drawn, attacked Lady Isra.
Three against one.
One was even shooting arrows, so it was a mixed defense and offense position.
“Ouch! It’s hitting!”
“Matching the speed, right?”
“You’ve got eyes on your back too. How are you dodging?”
The support team friends let out amused laughs.
It seemed Lady Isra was deliberately matching the speed for sparring.
“She’s matching our specs.”
I could tell thanks to the Heavenly Martial Body and the improved eyesight from the Spirit Eye.
Lady Isra was playing with the support team at their level.
Other than “playing,” I couldn’t think of a better way to describe it.
“Lord. Have you coughed?”
“Yeah. I slept longer than I thought.”
“The shorter the sleep, the better. Sleeping forever is not something one should do.”
Um.
Yeah.
She must have picked “nagging” as the theme today.
“Don’t overdo it.”
“Hah, haa. No.”
“We, we want to do it.”
“Lang, you have to follow behind Sir.”
Behind me?
“We’ll mainly be going B-class from now on. We have to rise too, don’t we?”
“If it’s just B-class, the conditions for A-class are a bit lenient.”
“We’ve decided to all put in full effort.”
I had heard similar words yesterday.
The support team said they would frequently run gates among themselves.
What does “running gates” mean?
It was to match the conditions to enter together with me.
My heart warmed.
“Lord. This task is mine to handle.”
“What are the odds?”
“With effort, it should be possible.”
Oh.
If Lady Isra said that, I could believe it.
Who else but the continent’s greatest swordsman?
“That’s it for today.”
“Hah, hah. Thank you!”
“Breathing is part of training. Follow the breathing pattern I taught you.”
“Yes!”
The support team friends took a deep breath.
“My, it ended similarly?”
Miss Ingrid and Miss Jeong had joined.
Miss Jeong, with half-lidded eyes, laughed softly with a hehe.
This side had suffered quite a bit too.
The support team had received training from the two subordinates for longer than a day or two.
But today the training intensity and atmosphere were different.
I guess “intense” was the word.
“Then I’ll see you the day after tomorrow.”
“The four of you will conquer one gate.”
“No healer? You guys. Charge the potion costs to the director.”
“To the director?”
A question mark floated above Director Seongsoo’s head.
Ha.
Why was the embarrassment on my part?
“The director, sir.”
“Ahaha. I see.”
“Don’t overdo it.”
“I plan to suffer a lot to keep up with Sir.”
It was funny that I was more nagging even though they were putting in full effort.
I sent the support team friends outside and returned to the Death Blacksmith.
“Hmm. Their spirit is still decent.”
“With some practice, they should reach a certain level.”
With the positive words from the two subordinates, my heart eased a little.
They say the support team friends are putting in effort for me, but if it’s only hardship without reward, it feels a bit empty.
“Lord, won’t you swing your sword once?”
“No. There’s work to do.”
Analysis of the remains of the Death Knight and Lich.
After clearing the Tower of Chaos, the task I had been postponing for so long had finally arrived.