Chapter 6
Chapter 6
Chapter 6 First Sparring
As someone who had just encountered advanced martial arts for the first time, I was naturally excited and wanted to train in it all day.
It was my biggest deficiency, and it was clear that the potential for growth here far exceeded anything else.
But reality was cold.
"I don’t have enough mana."
The maximum stat value achievable in the tutorial was 20. Thanks to the ’s Body trait, efficiency was maximized, but with only 20 mana, training all day was hopelessly insufficient.
Unlike basic martial arts, advanced martial arts consumed mana even with simple training.
My proficiency was still low, so the efficiency was terrible, and after just a few techniques, my mana would bottom out.
As a result, I kept being forced to rest while waiting for my mana to recover.
"This won’t do."
Stopping training was tantamount to halting growth.
If I lacked mana, I could simply train skills that didn’t consume mana while waiting for it to recover.
So, while searching for alternatives, one thing came to mind.
"Tutorial skills."
[Tutorial Skill List]
Lowest-Grade Blacksmith (Lv.1)
A skill for blacksmiths.
Though it was a production-class skill, I had no qualms about learning it since I didn’t intend to limit my role to just combat.
Neglecting advanced martial arts training under the pretense of practicing a production skill would be problematic, but dabbling in other fields during spare time was an attractive option.
"What if I could craft my own equipment?"
This wasn’t just about filling gaps in training—what if I could climb the tower with gear I made myself in the tutorial?
This wasn’t just a substitute, it could become another opportunity for growth.
If I could make high-performance gear here, it would remain useful even in the tower, and I could craft my own equipment from monster byproducts.
Even if not for myself, I could make gear for others.
Since becoming stronger wasn’t just about raw power but also equipment, this didn’t seem like a bad choice.
[Guided instruction for Lowest-Grade Blacksmith begins.]
[Follow the movements shown before you.]
"It’s been ages since I’ve done this."
It had been nearly five years since I last learned a new skill from the tutorial guide.
"Estelle, could I get the same equipment shown here?"
"Here you go."
Estelle appeared before me and instantly summoned a bellows, furnace, anvil, and quenching tub.
A heavy hammer materialized in my hand.
"Fast. So fast."
In that brief moment, she hadn’t just appeared—she’d brought all this equipment too. Truly, an angel was an angel.
"Thanks."
"But what’s gotten into you, trying to learn blacksmithing? You’ve never shown interest in anything but getting stronger."
Though she saw right through me, this was also part of my path to strength.
"I’ve been trying to train in advanced martial arts, but it consumes too much mana. While waiting for it to recover, blacksmithing seemed like a perfect fit. What do you think?"
After a brief pause, she nodded.
"It’s certainly not a bad choice. If you can master it… it’ll be incredibly useful. And given your tendencies as a Dawnbearer player, it might suit you well."
If she said that much, there was no need to hesitate.
I immediately began following the guide’s instructions.
First, I operated the bellows to raise the furnace’s temperature.
Unsure of the right heat, I blew air in only as much as the guide instructed.
"Next, I need to melt the iron sword to make molten metal."
I placed the basic iron sword provided by the tutorial into the furnace and waited.
...But no matter how long I waited, the sword wouldn’t melt.
"Why isn’t this melting?"
"The temperature isn’t high enough."
Estelle crossed her arms as she spoke.
"It’s my first time. Did you expect me to get the furnace temperature right immediately?"
"Just mimicking the motions doesn’t guarantee the same results, huh."
Eventually, I adjusted the bellows more aggressively to increase the heat.
Scorching warmth licked at my skin.
[Low-Grade Comprehensive Resistance has leveled up.]
"So this also trains resistance?"
After several trials and errors, I finally produced properly balanced molten metal.
"Now, casting."
Pouring the molten metal into a mold to form the weapon’s base.
But when I took out the result, something felt off.
"This… is way too thin."
It looked like a sword, but it seemed fragile enough to break with a single swing.
"Ah, I messed up."
I considered reinforcing it through forging, but even that process was riddled with mistakes.
My hammering was a mess due to poor force control, and during quenching, I failed to adjust the water temperature, causing fine cracks in the blade.
Only after final polishing did I finally examine my first handmade sword.
"Is this… my first sword?"
Mistakes in pouring, cracks during forging, failures in quenching—
A thin, flimsy blade, a cracked body, and an unbalanced hilt.
This was unusable in combat. It’d struggle even as a toothpick.
"Should I just break it?"
But before I could swing it down, Estelle smoothly took it from me.
"No. I’ll keep this."
"Wait, why?"
"Even if you create a masterpiece later, I’ll show this to tease you."
Keeping my first work just to mock me?
Truly a terrifying angel.
And what if I never make a masterpiece?!
*****
Five years passed.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The forging process, repeated endlessly for five years, was now ingrained in my body.
And finally, I reached my goal.
[Successfully crafted a Very Sharp and Durable Black Iron Sword (Rare).]
[Low-Grade Blacksmith has leveled up.]
[Low-Grade Blacksmith proficiency has reached maximum.]
[Low-Grade Blacksmith has been promoted to Intermediate Blacksmith (Lv.1).]
For five years, whenever I couldn’t train in advanced martial arts due to mana recovery, I leveled up niche skills others rarely mastered.
Now, a significant number of skills, including magical engineering, had reached low-grade, and blacksmithing had just hit intermediate.
"Now… it’s completely second nature. Observe."
Observe was a skill for checking information, with proficiency rising each time I saw something new.
Since I kept making and using new gear, its proficiency had already peaked.
[Very Sharp and Durable Black Iron Sword (Rare):
A high-performance weapon crafted by Earth’s artisan Han Yeong-min , who refined pure black iron with considerable skill.
The modifier ‘Very’ elevates all other modifiers by one tier.
① Sharp: Grants a high-level bonus to cutting power.
② Durable: Grants a high-level bonus to durability.
③ Stat Bonus: Strength +2, Stamina +2]
Before, I was just making equipment—now, the hammer felt like an extension of my hand.
I slowly swung the black iron sword.
A sharp gust split the air.
The sword responded to my touch, moving far more naturally than before.
The Blacksmith skill was no longer just a supplement—it was becoming part of me.
"Estelle."
"Yes."
"Give me one training iron sword."
The basic iron sword from the tutorial, seen after so long.
I tossed it into the air.
As it fell, I met it with the black iron sword—the moment they touched, the iron sword split like tofu.
"Wow."
It was just an ordinary sword without any aura, yet it cleaved so cleanly.
Equipment truly made a difference.
All hail blacksmithing.
"Is that what you made this time?"
"Yes. Making it pushed my Blacksmith skill to Intermediate Lv.1."
Estelle looked slightly surprised.
Over the past five years, her expressions had grown more vivid.
I didn’t point it out, though, in case she felt awkward.
"Blacksmithing is notoriously hard to level, yet you’ve already reached Intermediate Lv.1… Perhaps you have a talent for production skills, Han Yeong-min ."
So, while I had no talent for combat, I might actually be gifted in production?
"Am I… destined to become Hephaestus?"
She sighed deeply.
"Sigh… Don’t get ahead of yourself. You’re not at that level."
"Got it."
So, I might have some talent, but I’m not extraordinary.
"By the way, someone wants to meet you. Will you accept?"
"Me?"
"Yes. Among other players, one mentioned wanting to meet the strongest person in the tutorial. That’s you."
Though it was largely due to advanced martial arts, my current self held a slight edge over Yoo So-eun from 15 years ago.
Out of ten fights, I’d win six—a conclusion I could draw since she was my reference.
At this level, I could confidently call myself the strongest in the tutorial.
"Let’s meet."
I had no reason to refuse a chance to interact with someone after so long.
And given they sought strength, I could guess their intentions.
"Then I’ll call them. Ronan, bring her here."
"Yes, Lady Estelle."
Unlike Estelle, who had two pairs of wings, this angel had only one and used honorifics.
As he left to fetch the player, I glanced at Estelle with admiration.
"Oho. Quite the authority among angels, huh? They’re very deferential."
"I may not look it, but I’m an Archangel. Aside from me, the angels managing the tutorial are just regular angels—none outrank me."
"Wait, you’re an Archangel?"
I wanted to ask why an Archangel was handling me, but soon, the angel returned with the player.
A person with white hair flowing down to their waist.
Piercing silver eyes. Sharply defined muscles.
Their appearance alone was intriguing, but what mattered was what lay inside.
Their aura was formidable.
A woman who exuded the presence of a seasoned spearmaster.
"You’re the strongest in the tutorial?"
Her words stabbed like a blade.
Han Yeong-min studied her calmly.
"If you say so."
"I’d like to spar. Is that alright?"
Though spoken without tension, her will was unmistakable.
Han Yeong-min smirked.
"Of course."
Having only fought monsters so far, I needed experience against humans too.
My only human fights had been one-sided beatdowns from Estelle.
"Then let’s begin."
Without waiting for my answer, she thrust her spear forward.
Swish!
Fast.
I twisted aside, dodging the tip.
She smiled faintly.
Before I could decipher that smile, three rapid thrusts followed, then a sweeping slash.
Bam! Swish!
I deflected smoothly with Taijiquan, analyzing her movements.
"She’s getting faster."
Her attack speed kept accelerating.
Her reflexes, strength, and stamina were clearly all at 20.
She’d also already learned to reinforce her body with mana.
Her spearmanship was at least Intermediate Lv.1—specifically, the Imperial Spear Style.
This style emphasized solid fundamentals.
It used reach to cut off retreats, adding subtle rotations to each thrust to make counterattacks difficult.
A blend of strong basics and advanced technique.
"If I carelessly reach out, my hand might get shredded."
I clicked my tongue.
Of course, I could easily counter with the Fist of the shattered sky.
But I didn’t want to.
I might face stronger foes with sturdier spear auras, and using skills unavailable in the tutorial felt slightly cheap.
I was confident I could win without it.
I channeled energy and stomped.
Boom!
The shockwave rattled the ground.
Her stance, which had maintained ideal distance, faltered momentarily.
I didn’t miss the opening.
In an instant, I closed the distance, entering her spear’s range.
"What?!"
She reflexively kicked.
"Her martial arts aren’t as polished as her spearmanship."
Fast but awkward in force control and weight distribution.
Her unarmed combat lagged behind her spear skills.
"I can afford to take this hit."
Her right foot slammed into my side.
Thud!
Before the impact fully registered, my left arm shot out, firmly seizing her leg.
"Tch!"
She struggled to break free, but my Golden Python Grip coiled like a snake.
A grappling technique that twisted and locked limbs. As I applied it, her muscles tensed, locking her in place.
She seemed to realize struggling was futile.
Clatter!
Her spear thrashed violently, but my arm, tempered through years of training, held firm.
Even if injured, I wouldn’t let go.
Then, with my other hand, I threw a slow but heavy punch.
Shaolin’s Arhat Fist.
A solid, unyielding, decisive blow.
"Ghk!"
She raised her spear shaft to block, but it shattered like paper.
Crunch!
My fist closed in on her face.
To her, it must’ve seemed like my fist was growing larger.
She reflexively shut her eyes. Seeing that, I stopped short.
"I win, right?"
She cracked her eyes open.
My fist, frozen just before impact.
A little further, and it would’ve landed cleanly.
"...Yes. I lose."
A clean victory in our first spar.
*****
"So this is the tutorial’s strongest… They’re really strong."
Baek Ran, the spearmaster, had been confident she could win.
Or at least fight evenly.
But without even granting her a single attack opportunity, they disrupted her rhythm, created openings, and ended it with one final strike.
It was something that completely overwhelmed all her skills and experience.
"You’re really strong."
This person stood out even among everyone she’d met in the tutorial—no, in her entire life.
"I never thought my first loss would be here."
Baek Ran had never experienced defeat.
Yet today, a man she’d just met handed her that first loss.
Strangely, it made her heart race.
How much had he trained to achieve this strength?
Three months like her? Or even longer?
"I should stick with him."
For her younger sibling, who’d later enter the tower, Baek Ran needed to grow stronger. Following this man felt like the fastest path.
"I’ll catch up soon."
A new goal had been born within her.