The Talent of Learning (3)

"Huff... puff... Young Master, could you... please slow down a bit?"

"I told you, you should just go inside and rest."

It had already been five days. Isaac and I began our daily training by running a lap around the territory every morning.

"I'll explain it to Father. Please, go back and rest."

"B-but even so..."

"Swordsmanship training is enough. You don't need to accompany me on my morning runs."

"Ugh. Then I will at least watch you run from here. Please don't go too far."

"Sigh..."

I shook my head and kept running. It wasn't because my stamina was exceptionally great. Rather, it was because Isaac's stamina was utterly abysmal.

"Huff... puff..."

Heavy breaths escaped my lips, my belly fat jiggling with every step. For the past few days, my life had been a non-stop cycle of training. Morning runs, swordsmanship practice, and separate personal training in the evening.

Along with the intense training, my eating habits had changed drastically. I kept eating small portions, focusing mostly on salads and protein. It was a portion size I could never have imagined in the past. Yet, I didn't feel particularly hungry.

It's like... I can fill up on just water?

The changes I thought would last only a day or two had persisted for five days now.

After thinking long and hard about why I had changed, I concluded that Mercury was right.

The Learning Talent.

The twin goals of wanting to lose weight and wanting to get stronger were driving me forward.

You might ask what I was doing worrying about that when Lercelon was in crisis. But what could I do? I was only human. My first priority was to lose weight, get strong, and show off a little.

"Young Master Yeong-sik, are you training today as well?"

A middle-aged farmer who spotted me called out. Recognizing him as a resident I had spoken to a few times, I jogged in place and returned his greeting.

"Phew... Hello."

"It's not much, but I brought a bottle of water in case you were thirsty."

"Oh, thank you!"

"Keep up the good work today!"

It was always like this. Even in the early morning, the villagers greeted me warmly whenever they saw me. Lately, they had even started giving me small gifts like this.

"Master Yeong-sik, please have some of this!"

"I picked these apples yesterday. Would you like a basket?"

"You look wonderful out here every morning. Take a break if it gets too hard!"

They were all so kind that I couldn't bring myself to ignore them. Before I knew it, my arms were full of fruit baskets.

Starting tomorrow, I really ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠have to refuse.

Handing all the gifts over to Isaac, I returned to the mansion with him. The warm-up was over. Now it was time for the real training.

Whoosh!

A wooden sword flew toward me like an arrow.

Its tip was aimed straight at the nape of my neck.

"Ugh."

I groaned as I deflected Isaac's heavy strike with my own wooden sword.

"...Truly remarkable."

"Pardon? What is?"

"Even if it is just practice, the fact that you can react to my attacks is... honestly, it's almost terrifying."

I grinned.

"I-is that so? You flatter me."

"I've never seen this rate of growth even when I was training the knights. You should have more confidence in yourself."

"Haha..."

I scratched the back of my head, embarrassed by Isaac's praise. But I couldn't afford to be satisfied with just this.

We had started sparring with wooden swords on the second day of training. At first, I couldn't keep up with Isaac's strength and speed, resulting in me getting thrashed constantly, but now my eyes had adapted to some extent.

The problem lay in my offense. No matter how much power I put behind it, or how tricky of an angle I aimed for, my attacks were predicted every single time.

It was a clear difference in skill. I could tell just by looking at the status window. The gap between Isaac's stats and mine was simply too vast.

This isn't enough. I need a reliable way to attack. Isn't there something special? Something that can bridge the gap in our stats...

...Wait.

A certain category on the status window suddenly crossed my mind.

Skills.

I had been so focused on stats that I had completely forgotten about it. I opened Isaac's status window once more to check.

Huh?

His skills section looked different from mine. Unlike mine, which explicitly stated "None," Isaac's skill slot displayed "???".

There was no point in agonizing over it, so I decided to just ask him directly.

"Master, do you happen to have any skills?"

"Pardon? Why ask about skills all of a sudden...?"

"Could you show me one?"

"R-right now?"

I nodded. I wanted to see what kind of skills existed and how they were reflected in the status window. Seeing the eager look in my eyes, Isaac wore a troubled expression.

"I do not know what brought this on, but you are not yet at the stage to learn skills..."

"I know. I just want to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠observe."

"..."

"Could you please show me?"

"...Just this once, then."

"Thank you!"

With a slightly reluctant face, Isaac took his stance.

"Well then, shall we see if you can block this one as well?"

"I'm ready."

I swallowed hard and raised the shield in my left hand.

Swordsmanship, in the end, boiled down to either slashing or thrusting. Now that I was somewhat accustomed to Isaac's speed, I was confident I could block at least one strike, no matter where it was aimed.

"Prepare yourself. Here I come!"

Thud!

The moment Isaac kicked off the ground, his entire body jiggled. It might have looked comical from afar, but being on the receiving end of his charge was a different story entirely.

A massive, heavy body was rushing toward me like a bullet. The sheer terror made my knees want to buckle. Fortunately, my eyes managed to track his wooden sword.

The trajectory of the wooden sword was sharp, flying in a straight line.

His target is... my abdomen!

I quickly lowered my shield and braced my left arm for the impact. At that exact moment—

Swish!

"...!"

The wooden sword flying in a straight line vibrated slightly. It was a vibration so minute I almost missed it. But the tremor spread in an instant, splitting the sword's path into two.

"What?"

Two distinct swords were now aimed at my body. One at my abdomen, one at my right arm. There was no time to judge which one was real.

Thwack!

"Argh!"

A heavy pain flared in my right arm, causing me to drop my wooden sword to the ground. I clutched the painful spot with my other hand, grimacing.

"So this is a skill..."

"How was it? It is my personal technique. Using strong wrist snap, I alter the trajectory right before the strike lands."

"I didn't know that was possible."

"The technique is called the Double Sword Art. I named it myself."

"..."

I wanted to ask where on earth he got the inspiration for such a name, but I decided to let it slide.

It was then.

Tring!

Hmm, so I have to see it with my own eyes first to get the information?

"Well? Could you feel the difference from a normal attack?"

"...Definitely."

"Once you identify your own strengths, you will surely acquire a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠good skill of your own, Young Master."

"My strengths..."

"However, learning a skill is not something that happens overnight. For now, it is best to refine your basics a bit more."

I let his subsequent words go in one ear and out the other. My attention was already entirely consumed by the prospect of acquiring a skill.

Whoosh, jiggle. Whoosh, jiggle.

It was evening, after all the daily chores and training had ended.

I was still in the yard, swinging my sword.

In the end, I hadn't managed to land a single hit on Isaac today either. No matter how great the Learning Talent was, a clear difference in stats couldn't be overcome so easily.

"Damn it. He praises me for doing well, but he won't let me land even a single blow."

It was frustrating, but my lack of skill was an undeniable fact. If I wanted to catch up quickly, I needed to introduce some kind of variable. The most surefire way was to learn a special skill of my own.

He told me to think about my strengths...

It was a topic I had never once considered. And why would I? No matter how hard I looked, I didn't have any strengths.

It was especially clear that I lacked any physical advantages. My current body was far too slow to land a clean hit on an opponent.

Damn it.

I resented Mercury for reincarnating me into a body like this. But while the body itself was annoying, there was something else that irritated me even more.

The fact that my starting stats were uniquely low.

The members of Rosemary, on the other hand...

I gritted my teeth.

Irritation flared up as those girls, whom I had temporarily forgotten, crossed my mind. Unlike me, they had been granted special stats and weapons.

Her strength was 50, wasn't it?

Thinking about it now, that was an absurd number. Isaac, a former knight commander, had strength in the mid-20s. Double that strength meant that if the current me tried to block her, my bones would be turned to dust.

It wasn't just Lee Cheri. The weapons held by the other Rosemary members were just as extraordinary. Even a glance told me they were expensive, powerful items.

Compared to them, what on earth was I? A "Hero of Knowledge," yet my only ability was chatting with Mercury? And she had barely given me a straight answer since I got here.

"Ah, this is seriously pissing me off!"

I vented my frustration by kicking the innocent grass. Not that it did anything to soothe my anger.

"What are you so upset about?"

A voice called out from behind me. Startled, I looked toward the mansion entrance to see Oliver chuckling at me.

"Oh, B-brother?"

"Haha, I take it things aren't going your way."

"...Something like that."

"Swordsmanship isn't easy, is it?"

Assuming my frustration was about swordsmanship, Oliver spoke in a gentle, comforting tone.

"Did you learn swordsmanship too, Brother?"

"Of course I did. I am the first person from the Russell Territory to graduate from the Imperial Academy, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠after all."

The Imperial Academy? There was such a place?

"I had no idea."

"Would you like to test your skills against mine?"

"Huh? A test?"

Oliver gestured with his chin toward the wooden sword lying on the ground. His intention was clear.

"Hmm, sure!"

I tossed the wooden sword to Oliver and activated his status window.

Flash.

Wait, "Successor to the Lordship"?

Mine literally said "Unemployed."

Even the status window was looking down on me. It wasn't that I coveted the lordship, but seeing it set in stone like this felt unfair. What a rotten world.

Anyway, his stats are higher than Isaac's? And he has skills too?

Having those looks and that kind of skill was just cheating. I could suddenly understand the inferiority complex the original Yeong-sik de Russell must have felt.

Damn it.

I felt a brief wave of annoyance, but now was not the time to focus on that. My own growth had to come first.

"Do you have skills too, Brother?"

"Skills? Of course. I learned a few things at the Academy."

A few things? As in, more than one?

Oliver smiled at my surprised expression.

"Haha, it seems you want to learn a skill."

"Sir Isaac told me to utilize my strengths... but I'm having a hard time finding any."

"It's always like that at first. Knowing oneself is the hardest thing of all, isn't it?"

Oliver spoke dismissively, as if it were no big deal. But I still felt frustrated.

"From your perspective, Brother, what do you think my strengths are?"

"Your strengths, Yeong-sik? Let's see..."

"..."

"Your, uh, strengths..."

Oliver stammered at my unexpected question.

"Well, you were kind, you listened to Mother well, and what else... Ah! Right! Since you were young, you were incredibly quick-witted when it came to schemes."

"..."

"Whenever there was something you didn't want to do, you'd come up with the most ingenious excuses. I was impressed more than once watching you!"

Even my own brother was like this. Did I really have that few redeeming qualities?

A silent sigh escaped me. Then again, this was my parallel-world self, so perhaps it was only natural. At best, I only had my wits, just as Oliver said...

...Wait a minute.

A sudden thought flashed through my mind.

Isaac hadn't specified that my strengths had to be physical.

Using my brain can be a strength too?

A reliable means to attack the opponent.

Whether it was monsters or Rosemary, there was a way to deliver a devastating blow.

Yes.

If I used that, my attacks would definitely land.

"...Heh."

At the sound of my leaking chuckle, Oliver wore a somewhat creeped-out expression.