Leap
At the message announcing the quest's completion, Luden smirked.
Apologizing isn't such a big deal.
After everything he'd been through in his past life, an apology was nothing. Back then, that damned pride of his had made it impossible — but he had no intention of regretting things like that anymore.
“Well, I'm off.”
“What?”
Leaving a bewildered Kevin behind, Luden slipped out of the banquet hall. The knot between him and his brother couldn't be undone with a single apology. Saying more would only deepen Kevin's distrust. Honestly, Luden didn't know what to do himself. He liked to think he'd matured, but repairing a broken relationship between brothers was a hard problem.
“Ugh. I'm in a foul mood anyway — might as well check my reward.”
When brooding got him nowhere, his attention turned to the reward he'd just earned. He'd been curious ever since he got it. His first skill book. What would it be?
“Use skill book.”
Using Random Skill Book (Rare)
Skill acquired: Leap
[Leap]
· Leap great distances and heights.
· Effect: Leap power scales with Agility.
“Huh?”
Surprise at learning a skill lasted only a moment before it curdled into disappointment.
The day after the Count returned to the castle.
“I'm sorry — what did you just say?”
“Is it that surprising?”
Sir Ben, who had been overseeing the soldiers' morning training, couldn't hide his bewilderment. Luden, as if to ask what the problem was, simply said, “I'd like to take swordsmanship lessons from you again, Sir Ben.”
“……Swordsmanship, you say.”
Ben made no effort to hide his skepticism. The eldest young master, who had spent every swordsmanship lesson finding an excuse to run off, was now asking to learn?
They said he'd changed lately. So it was true.
Ben had seen him coming to the training grounds day after day to drill. At the time he'd wondered what whim had seized the boy, but seeing him now, something really did seem different.
“Is that not allowed?”
“It's not that it's forbidden. But how intensively would you like to train?”
“Don't go easy on me. Just run it the way you always did.”
“Understood.”
Ben asked him to wait a moment and stepped away. In the meantime, Luden loosened up lightly.
Good thing the rewards made my stamina build fast.
A status window changed from before. Not only his once-meager stamina but his attributes across the board had risen. All thanks to the Growth Elixirs.
Quests really do pay off. Normally this would've taken far longer.
While he was warming up with that thought, Ben returned — a wooden sword in hand.
“I'll observe you first. Go ahead and swing the sword.”
“Got it.”
Sub Quest: Learn Swordsmanship
— Follow Instructor Ben's directions and swing with proper form.
☐ Overhead Cuts — 0/300
☐ Underhand Cuts — 0/300
☐ Diagonal Cuts — 0/300
🎁 Reward: Lowest-Grade Strength Growth Elixir ×1, Random Skill Book (Common) ×1
“Insane.”
“Yes?”
“N-nothing. Nothing at all. Shall we start?”
Luden covered hastily. He knew no one else could see his quest window, but every time it popped up out of nowhere like this, his heart nearly shriveled.
Seriously. It shows up at the worst possible times.
The complaint lasted only a moment. The instant his hand closed around the wooden sword, his mind settled into stillness. Recalling the feel of a blade he'd swung until he was sick of it in his past life, he took his stance.
Whoosh!
The wooden sword came down hard, splitting the air with a sharp crack. Watching from behind, Ben's eyes widened slightly. As he observed Luden's swings, a strange puzzlement grew in him.
What is this? The eldest young master has never properly learned the sword.
It wasn't that he was better than expected. His form was sloppy and his balance off. Judged on that alone, he was unmistakably a beginner — and yet the power behind the wooden sword was anything but ordinary.
After watching Luden's blade for a while, Ben understood why.
It's as if he cares nothing for how the sword should be swung — only for cutting down his opponent.
His impression was exactly right. What Luden had learned wasn't the codified swordsmanship of knights, but a mercenary's cut-down combat style. With no theory or refined instruction behind it — its sole purpose was killing enemies in the field — it could hardly compare to proper swordsmanship.
“Whew.”
Before long, Luden exhaled and lowered the sword. A sheen of sweat had gathered on his forehead in that short time — proof of how deeply he'd focused. He turned around and asked with a flicker of hope in his eyes, “How was it?”
“May I speak honestly?”
“Of course. Otherwise there'd be no point in asking.”
“Then I'll be frank. First, I was surprised by your stamina and strength — greater than I expected. I've seen you training these past days, but at this level you could handle far more punishing drills.”
Quests, man. Even a knight like Ben is impressed.
“But beyond that — honestly, it's a mess.”
“That bad?”
“Your form can be corrected, but bad habits show up everywhere. I don't know why you've developed habits like these, my lord, but unlearning them will take considerable time.”
Disappointment flooded the joy Luden had been feeling. He'd held a sword for years, after all, and thought himself reasonably skilled. But through a proper knight's eyes, he looked not merely sloppy but deficient.
No. Don't be discouraged. You knew this already.
Mercenary swordsmanship, at its kindest, was called combat-focused — in truth it was just chopping. Compared to a knight trained in proper swordsmanship, of course it fell short. That was precisely why knights looked down on mercenaries. And it was exactly why Luden wanted to learn real swordsmanship now. Quests or no, if he walked the same path as before his regression, that limit would surely find him soon enough.
“Now then. I'll teach you the proper form. Repeat it until it sinks into your body.”
“Good.”
Steeled with resolve, Luden raised the wooden sword again and took the stance Ben showed him. With someone correcting his posture from the side, everything felt far more stable.
Still awkward, though.
Nothing to be done. Habits carved into the body over years couldn't be fixed overnight.
“When you cut down, keep your eyes locked on the tip of the blade. The point must never waver.”
“Your feet must not come loose. Root yourself into the ground — hold your center at all times.”
“Again! There's no power in that strike at all!”
Ben was merciless. The moment he saw a flaw, he barked; the instant Luden's focus slipped, he caught it like a ghost and swung his own wooden sword.
Thwack!
“Kgh!”
Luden gritted his teeth. In his past life, he hadn't been able to endure this brutal training and had run away. This time, he would not run. A hot flame kindled in his chest.
The training ended five hours later.
“Well done. Let's stop here for today.”
“F-finally…… kgh!”
Unable to control his trembling limbs, Luden collapsed right where he stood.
Congratulations. Sub Quest completed.
You may now claim your rewards.
R-reward.
Even gasping for breath, Luden snapped wide awake at the word. No matter how exhausted he was, a reward was a reward.
“Check rewards.”
Using Random Skill Book (Common)
Skill acquired: Counter
[Counter]
· Chance to counter an opponent's attack.
· Effect: 0.3% chance to deal critical damage.
“Another vague one.”
Like Leap, this skill was frustratingly ambiguous. The effect didn't seem bad, but a 0.3% chance was practically no chance at all. It wasn't even a gamble worth taking.
“Don't tell me all the skills are going to be like this?”
Luden prayed it wasn't so.
“What? Is that true?”
At Ben's report, Geisel, who had been managing the territory's affairs, went wide-eyed. The pen slipped from his hand and rolled across the desk. The Count's steward of a knight answered calmly.
“Yes, my lord. It is true.”
“Hah. Will the sun rise in the west tomorrow?”
The eldest son had always been a thorn in his side. He skipped swordsmanship lessons at every opportunity, and his conduct was too slovenly for an heir — Geisel had long since stopped trusting him. Even when he'd spoken to the boy directly, there'd been no sign of change, and honestly he'd wondered if he should give up.
And yet.
That same eldest son had, out of nowhere, resumed his sword training. As his father, he should have been delighted — but doubt crept in.
Has he finally grown up?
It was hard to believe, but Geisel knew better than anyone that Ben was incapable of lying.
Then Luden really had changed.
“What's your read on it?”
“It's too early to say for certain, but in my view, the eldest young master has truly changed. He has followed my instruction faithfully for the past week, and without being told, he keeps up his basic conditioning on his own.”
“Hmm. Hard to believe, that.”
What on earth could have changed a boy's heart like this? Curiosity stirred in him — and with it, the worry that it might all be nothing more than a passing whim.
“I should see him for myself before long.”
“You, my lord?”
“Yes.”
The Count found himself wanting to see his changed son with his own eyes.
Swish! Swish-swish.
The wooden sword cut through the air with a crisp rhythm. Sometimes fast, sometimes unstoppable — but its trajectory was always clean and simple.
“Haah!”
With a final shout, the last movement ended. Only then did Luden gulp down the breath he'd been holding and lower the sword. His clothes were soaked through with sweat, but his face was bright.
Congratulations. Quest completed.
You may now claim your rewards.
“There it is.”
A smile spread across his face at the long-awaited message. Without a moment's hesitation, Luden checked his reward on the spot.
Using Random Skill Book (Rare)
Skill acquired: Swordsmanship
[Swordsmanship]
· All actions performed with a sword receive a bonus.
· Effect: While wielding a sword, bonus rate +30%.
“Jackpot!”
Checking his new skill, Luden let out a cry of pure joy. At last, he'd gotten a proper skill. He grabbed the wooden sword at once.
Crack!
The same downward cut as before — but the sound and force were ferociously sharper. The Swordsmanship skill had activated, granting its bonus. Feeling the difference for himself, Luden could only marvel.
“Amazing. One skill, and the gap is this wide.”
He hadn't expected much from a mere 30%, but the difference was unmistakable. At this level, even Ben would be startled.
“I never once thought this was fun before.”
He'd taken sword lessons like this before his regression, too. But no matter how hard he tried, he could never beat his younger brother Kevin — and the moment he realized it, despair had swallowed him.
Potential: F
Just as the status window said, he had no talent. The moment he understood that, Luden had come to hate the very feel of a sword in his hand.
“But right now, I'm enjoying it. Is that the quest's doing, too?”
The only difference from his past life was the existence of quests. And that alone had changed everything.
“So it was true.”
“?!”
At the voice behind him, Luden's heart nearly stopped. He spun around — and there, since who knew when, stood his father. Count Kaisar, watching him.
Since when? Don't tell me he saw something?
His chest tightened with unease. No one else could see his quests, but that didn't mean his behavior couldn't look suspicious. Yet contrary to his fears, the Count approached with his usual expression.