Chapter 92
Chapter 92
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 92
Chapter Title: [Abyssal Miner] Pain is...
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"Hoo..."
After walking along the road for a while, the village entrance came into view.
A massive wall like a fortress encircled the entrance to Lumina Mining Village, with guards keeping watch over the people coming and going.
Of course, their surveillance was mostly just to keep monsters out or to inspect incoming travelers.
They didn't particularly hassle anyone leaving.
As I passed the guards on the way out, our eyes met, and they nodded in recognition.
I waved back in a tipsy mood, then turned away with an awkward expression.
When I first entered [Abyssal Miner], the guards and miners alike had all been hostile toward me. But these days, the way they treated me was so different—it really felt like a world apart.
My fundamental nature as a person hadn't changed; it was just my appearance and reputation that had shifted...
Thinking about how much their attitudes varied made a hollow feeling suddenly well up inside me before fading away.
Pondering humanity too deeply would just lead to misanthropy, and it was pointless anyway.
I stepped onto a secluded forest path with few people around.
The daily quest condition was "an open area near the village entrance."
A bit further in, and something should show up.
"This should do it."
Sure enough, there was a spot perfect for training—out of sight but spacious enough.
A reasonably flat surface, cozy and shielded from view by surrounding trees.
I kicked away the scattered stones on the ground to clear some space.
"Let's see, time is... four forty in the afternoon?"
Still some time before the 5 PM deadline from the daily quest.
But in this world, clocks relied on wind-up mechanisms or sundials, so they weren't exactly precise.
The actual time was probably closer to five—or farther from it.
"Tsk, hoo..."
Maybe because it was the forest, the air felt fresher than in the village with its internal mineshafts.
I filled my lungs with the clean air, exhaled deeply, and hydrated in advance.
I took a swig from the [Magical Water Bottle] I'd tucked into my belt.
"Kyaah."
This was the stuff.
The cool, fizzy carbonation bubbled pleasantly down my throat.
I really wanted to mass-produce and sell this thing.
"Alright, let's get started."
I scanned the surroundings for any signs of people.
Confirming no one was around, I extended my right hand into the air.
"Demon sword, come forth."
Of course, no incantation was needed, but the mood mattered.
It was the "Heavy Iron Demon Sword," so calling it a demon sword fit.
Shuuuung.
The [Heavy Iron Demon Sword] was summoned from my Inventory into my right hand before I knew it.
And then.
Thud!
"Ugh..."
Should've used both hands. It felt even heavier than usual since it appeared suddenly in my grip, and I nearly dropped it.
The tip dug into the ground—if I'd fumbled it completely, my foot would've been smashed flat.
Training hadn't even started, and I'd almost ended up bedridden, wheezing until I recovered.
"Hup!"
This time, I gripped the handle with both hands and lifted the [Heavy Iron Demon Sword].
My stats, which had long surpassed human limits, let me heft this insane 200kg-plus greatsword, but with the center of gravity at the tip, the perceived weight was much worse.
I'd never served in the military, but it was like holding a rifle by the barrel and lifting it with just wrist strength.
Even a mere 2kg rifle felt burdensome that way for an adult man—how much more for this blade?
"The problem is I have to train with this thing."
And mana use was banned, so no [Body Enhancement] either.
Freely swinging it in this state was impossible right now.
But what could I do? If the quest said to do it, I had to.
"What does 'training' even mean, though?"
All my skills so far had come from combat, so now that I had to actually train, I had no idea where to start.
I didn't know any sword forms—just swing it wildly?
But mindless flailing probably wasn't it.
"Wait, Kyle was in that comic, right?"
Standing there with the greatsword in hand, lost in thought, Kyle's image from last night suddenly surfaced.
Swinging that wooden sword endlessly under the moonlight.
"Just simple overhead downward chops, over and over."
That guy probably didn't know any techniques either, just like me.
Still, it was something to reference.
This much? Like this?
I recalled Kyle's motions, spread my legs shoulder-width apart.
Then raised the sword overhead.
Downward chop.
"One!"
Whoooosh-!
Without a proper edge, the sound of cutting air was dull and resistant.
Kwaang!
"Kuh."
The moment the greatsword slammed into the ground, the hard earth shattered, and the shock jolting through my hands was no joke.
I hadn't expected it to hit so soon—first time doing this, distance control was tricky.
"Gotta be more careful."
Lifting the sword back up after the downswing was way harder than swinging it down.
Repeating perfect-form overhead chops was tougher than I'd imagined.
Kyle had used a much lighter wooden sword, but he'd repeated that tedious motion endlessly.
I raised the sword overhead again and brought it down.
Whoooosh-!
Second swing.
Trying to stop before the tip hit the ground, momentum pulled my body forward.
To keep balance, veins bulged across my muscles.
"This is brutal, for real."
"Three!"
Whoooosh!
"Four!"
Whoooosh!
Just four swings without mana, and my breath was already ragged, sweat pouring.
Even with [Blessing of the Earth] reducing fatigue and restoring stamina, I couldn't keep up.
Now I understood why Marie noona had worried when selling me this sword.
Good thing I could use [Body Enhancement]—otherwise, it'd be unusable.
"Let's push as far as I can."
A spark of defiance ignited.
I was a C-rank hunter, a body destined for "Hunter Gallery national power-level hunter" status. I couldn't let a chunk of metal like this defeat me.
"Five!"
Whoooosh!
Six.
Calling out numbers wasted energy, so I shut my mouth and kept going.
Oh?
The familiar alert for a Strength stat increase—hadn't heard it in ages.
Back in the early days of [Abyssal Miner], grinding daily, it rang constantly.
At first, it felt like it rose just from breathing, but then it plateaued.
I'd stopped paying much attention once it slowed.
I'd forgotten that early desperation and drive, now that life had gotten a bit easier.
Seven.
Whoooosh-!
In [Master's Empty Words], aside from the stat boosts from Wind Sheep Pills, it barely budged.
Even in [Abyssal Miner], I pushed hard for world rewards from traits, hidden pieces, or to save money for [Purification Herb] to cure Lisa.
Without those goals, I'd probably have done nothing.
"Back when I first got the trait, I desperately wanted to grow stronger... I've gotten lazy lately."
A harsh realization hit me.
Somehow, my sense of purpose had faded.
Now, my goals were vague: sleep with pretty girls, build a harem.
"Get it together, Lee Jun."
The road ahead was long; I needed to get stronger.
To protect my women and seize everything I wanted, no time to slack.
Eight.
Whoooosh-!
Maybe the daily quest, the system itself, was meant to remind me of that?
Nine. Ten.
...Fifteen.
Whoooosh-! Kwaang!
"Kuh..."
My grip failed, and I dropped the handle.
Just fifteen swings to my limit—shaking hands, lungs about to burst, sweat drenching me, but I laughed.
Not exhaustion, but a pleasant sensation.
"Good, let's do more."
I'd planned to just clear the quest half-assed.
But with stats rising after so long, greed kicked in.
[Body Enhancement] used mana, so it wasn't infinite.
As mana grew, duration extended, but it scaled with mana input for power.
In situations needing heavy mana output, it'd deplete fast.
Training to wield this sword without mana seemed worthwhile.
Sweat streamed from my forehead, past my brows, stinging my eyes. I wiped it away, shook it off, gripped the fallen greatsword, and lifted it again.
I desperately wanted to set it down, but even more, I didn't.
This situation felt endlessly fun right now.
Sixteen. Seventeen.
Kwaang. Crash.
Eventually, with no strength left in my arms or legs, I dropped the sword and collapsed on the spot.
"Haak...! Haaaak!"
I faceplanted, but was too busy gasping to even cry out.
My chin tore open, blood flowing; rubbing my face in the dirt, my heart pounded like it would explode, vision darkening with dizziness.
Amid it all, the system message burned clear.
"Tenacity?"
The stat unlocked after defeating the twin-horned minotaur.
Did it rise from enduring hardship?
Thinking back, that fight had me pouring everything out, risking death.
Not just any stat unlocking randomly, then.
I'd wondered about its effect—now I got it.
A force enabling movement at limits. The sixteenth and seventeenth swings were impossible otherwise.
With hands shaking that badly, limbs shredded... gripping and swinging again? Only Tenacity explained it.
Trying to push up from the ground, but no strength in my hands, so I just lay there.
"Haak, haak... Hoo... Hoo. Haa. Haaa."
[Blessing of the Earth] worked overtime, restoring stamina; my pounding pulse and ragged breaths gradually stabilized.
"Does lying on the ground boost [Blessing of the Earth] more?"
Curious thought—I closed my eyes, focused, sharpened senses. Nope.
Recovery felt the same standing or lying.
Makes sense—if more ground contact amped it up, sex would supercharge it, and ground-fighting martial arts would dominate like some cheat skill.
"And above all, it'd look lame."
Performance mattered, but style did too.
Otherwise, why bother with this sword? Just stick to clubs for efficiency.
Once somewhat recovered, I sat up and hydrated.
After sweating buckets, the cola taste felt sweeter.
"Starting right away wouldn't mean much."
Rest till full recovery.
Jumping back in would help Tenacity, but fresh restarts from full health would boost Strength and Agility more.
"Alright. Again."
Stamina full, I grabbed the sword and resumed swinging.
Eighteen, nineteen.
"What's this?"
Soon after restarting, an odd sensation at my fingertips nagged.
Something wrong—I halted with the greatsword raised overhead.
"Like this? This way?"
Adjusting per the feedback from my fingers.
A bit higher?
Sliding my right hand up slightly shifted the balance, feeling smoother.
"Aha, that's it."
[God's Hand] boosted all hand-based actions.
Of course it applied to weapons.
Whaaaaaang-!
The downswing now cut the air with far more menace and sharpness than before.
Occasionally tweaking my form, I kept repeating the chops.
...
......
.........
............
How long had I swung in a trance?
Sprawled on the ground, gasping, the achievement alert finally appeared.
"Ha, fuck... finally done. Thought I was gonna die."
Coming to, I'd started training at evening, but now it was full night.
The new moon hung bright overhead, scattering soft, curtain-like light over the world. From this angle, it almost looked like it was smiling at me.
"Lost count midway, no idea how many swings."
Just swing, fall, rest, repeat.
Whatever the system's criteria, it deemed the quest cleared now.
"Water, water..."
Pulled out the [Magical Water Bottle], but nothing came.
Shaking it upside down yielded only a few drops.
Even those felt like sweet rain in my state.
Lying there a while longer.
Reviewing system logs, today's gains: Strength +2.8, Agility +1.3, Tenacity +1.9.
No consolidated message, but from the logs, about this.
"Insane."
Growth would slow inversely with rising stats, but for one day, it was motivating.
No skill level-ups, sadly, but proficiency messages meant progress.
Body wrecked, mind satisfied.
"Pain is sweetness, huh."
That thought crossed my mind as I stored the Heavy Iron Demon Sword in my Inventory and stood.
Now, back to the inn for a wash and bed.
That was all I could think about.