Chapter 35: Alois, [Sword Master]
Crimson groaned underneath the blanket. He hadn’t been sore like this in a long time. His muscles all trembled in rebellion every time he tried to lift his arms or stretch his legs. His water intake had been low during the day long fight, so he’d also experience a lot of muscle cramps. A bit of water magic and six slow trips to the toilet later, they had finally stopped cramping. Healing magic hadn’t done a single thing to help him.
Groaning again, he slowly rolled off his bed and clung to the side as he slowly lifted himself to his feet. He had to stretch, or it would be worse tomorrow. He wobbled over to the blanket covering the entrance and shoved through it head-first since it would take to long to lift his arms to move it out of the way.
He immediately regretted that decision as he ran right into Alois, bouncing off the wolfkin like he’d just hit a solid wall. He attempted to rub his nose, but swiftly gave up. Too much effort.
Instead, he tilted his head back to look Alois in the eye, and was surprised to see the usually stoic wolfkin watching him with an awkward expression. Crimson had very little ability to read others, so he couldn’t discern the cause of the face greeting him.
They watched each other for a long moment, then Alois lifted his arms to show Crimson he was holding a pair of sheathed sabers. He glanced them over for a long moment, then looked back up at Alois. Before either of them said anything, Alois shoved the one in his right hand at Crimson.
He grimaced a little bit, but then slowly brought his arms up to accept the sword. Glancing at the status page for it, he saw that it was a Lv.5 [Reliable Saber]. It’s max durability was slightly reduced from it’s original amount, but at 82 durability it was still better than his ‘585th Claymore’ in top condition.
Slowly drawing the blade, he inspected it from top to bottom. It was extremely well maintained, and it had a lot of history. He could feel places on the wooden handle that had been worn smooth from use, and there were small nicks in the cross guard that he only noticed on close inspection.
Alois spoke while he was wrapped up in his inspection, “It’s yours. You’ll need it for training.”
Crimson glanced up at him, “I’m grateful, but why? We’re not exactly on the best terms.”
Piercing gold eyes met silver ones, and their wills clashed as a result of Crimson’s [Eyes of Will].
Unlike the usual silence that followed their conversations at every step, Alois didn’t hesitate and spoke, “because I need you. I previously demanded your help. I was arrogant, desperate, and foolish, but that doesn’t matter any more. What will it take for me to settle this score between us?”
“Look, I’d be willing to try something to help your daughter, but I couldn’t make even the slightest promise of the results!” He growled back, his anger from their original confrontation resurfacing.
Instead of being met with anger, Crimson was met with calm, “I am fully aware, but I still wanted you to try. Just shaking hands made me feel stronger than I have in years, so what could you do if you put your mind to it?”
Crimson listened quietly. He agreed with Alois, but still, he couldn’t forget the threat.
“I have an offer that you might find enticing,” Alois said, “If you agree to help Rhea, I’ll help you reach max level with your [Sword Mastery].”
He froze, his sore muscles locking down, then slowly asked, “You…what?”
“It’s obvious, your [Sword Mastery Skill] is extremely high level, but it’s not maxed yet. I’ve been in your position before, but it took me a long time to overcome that wall. I estimate that you’re at Lv. 85. It took me years from that point to reach max.”
Crimson cut him off, “It’s Lv.90.”
Alois stopped and stared at him for a second, ears twitching, then asked, “has anyone ever called you a monster?”
“I don’t remember.”
“You are most certainly a monster, but no matter. I can help you reach Lv.100 within this year, if you’ll let me.”
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Crimson shrugged, and said, “a month.”
“What?”
“I’ll be finished within a month.”
Alois shook his head at him, “There’s no way, especially not on your own. I reached max level in 25 years working on my own, and progress was non-existent for the past few years.”
Crimson grinned, feeling smug, “Watch me, then.”
“No, take my deal, and I’ll teach you. That’s why I gave you that sword. You did a good enough job mimicking me yesterday, but this sword style, [Viirak Tau] is one meant for a saber. If you’re so confident you could do it in a month, what do you think you could do in a week with my help?”
Crimson fell silent at those words, then slowly spoke, “I’ll tell you what, if you can help me reach max level in [Sword Mastery] in a week, then I will do everything in my power to help your daughter.”
Crimson’s pride was worth a lot to him, ignoring the previous threat was impossible, the previous deal could never exist, but for this one? It wasn’t a deal, it was a bet. It was to his benefit to study Rhea and Alois’ condition, as that would help him with his own understanding of mana. He still had a lot to learn about magic, so the side of him that loves studying had been itching to work on them from the second Alois had brought up his offer. That desire had been buried under his pride, but it was difficult for that pride to rear his head against a man who was acting humble.
Well, humble for a wolfkin at least.
Alois grinned, “I’ll take you up on that, then. Come along, let’s get started.”
Crimson grimaced, his heart screamed to begin immediately, but his body refused to move very well. Any kind of training would be extremely difficult.
That said, it wasn’t his nature to give up without trying. His pride refused to let him back down from Alois.
—————
Alois had never once taken an apprentice. He had been a frontline fighter from the very beginning, dragging his knuckles through the dirt and bleeding for any tiny bit of progress. Despite his health, he was one of the few people in the world who had achieved the impossible, and maxed the [Sword Mastery Skill].
He had been forced to devote more time and attention to that particular [Skill] than any other as a result of his [Rizvim], his curse from the gods. It was called [Orlach], and the description only had one line: ‘Cannot learn active [Skills].’
In many ways, that [Rizvim] had broken him, it was the very first thing he received after getting his [Blessing], and compounding that with his already poor health, he had despaired. However, wolfkin society being what it is, he didn’t get the chance to wallow in his misery, and had been forced to prove to himself and others that he could be strong.
His story mirrored the one he saw today in some areas, when he saw Crimson standing against a flood of enemies that he should have no hope against, but refusing to bend anyway. Alois had no choice but to see himself in the boy.
Well, after his first encounter with a [Natural Dungeon] as a boy, and experiencing what it was like to fight against enemies stronger than him, he had thrown himself into training without a second thought. The fact that he, an outcast of wolfkin society, the pathetic weakling, had managed to stand strong where others had made him drunk on the excitement.
He couldn’t learn active [Skills]? So what? The gods reward effort, and they provided him with numerous passive [Skills]. It had only taken him a year to reach Lv.50 in [Sword Mastery]. He had received a [Skill] that increased the power of his attacks the longer he fought, and with that [Skill], he had been able to become a hero to his fellow wolfkin. Literally, his first [Sub-Class] was [Hero].
After reaching Lv.50, progress had slowed down to a crawl. It took another year to reach Lv.60, and by the time he was 25 and had married Reah, he had finally reached Lv.75. Progress remained steady for a while, and by the time Rhea was 5, he had reached Lv.85. He had a break through that year, and had managed to reach Lv.90 at an impossibly fast pace. At 31, he had then had a greater [Sword Mastery Skill] than all but three people in the entire world. Then, at a pace a little faster than one Lv. per year, he slowly began climbing to Lv.100.
He had been forced to retire before reaching that point. He had retired as a Lv. 75 [Sword Master] and a Lv.52 [Great Hero], with a Lv.99 [Sword Mastery Skill]. That had merely been a year ago. He had been 39 years old. His health had declined too much for proper training, but he had never once given up, so he turned to other training methods.
A training menu that used combination of meditation, slow movement, and visualization had allowed him to finally bridge the gap, reaching Lv.100 in [Sword Mastery]. He hadn’t told anyone, there was no point.
It had been six months since then, and he’d spent that time seeking peace with his mortality. His personal goal of maxing [Sword Mastery] had been achieved, he had achieved most of his other dreams as well. He’d married the love of his life, a wonderful and gorgeous woman who would always hold his heart. They’d sweetly and gently raised Rhea while teaching her everything they knew. Granted, it was a gentle upbringing by wolfkin standards, other races might’ve considered it strict.
He had achieved everything…he thought he had achieved everything, but Crimson had destroyed that peace of mind. Since his curse had passed to Rhea, he’d believed that she would be forced to run from it like he had. He had never found a way to lift it, it had just been part of the way he’d been born, so he’d never even held a bit of hope in curing her.
He also thought that just by reaching Lv.100 in [Sword Mastery], that he would be complete, but that gods cursed boy had ruined all of his tentatively held beliefs.
Alois could only regret threatening him to the marrow of his bones and the pit of his gut. It had been quite a lukewarm threat to begin with. It wasn’t his nature to hurt others, but to save them, so keeping Crimson trapped in Lupaken was the best he could manage. The boy had pride though, that gods cursed pride that Alois had.
Well, the pride he had just lost, anyway.
Seeing him fight like that, being reminded of his youth, and awakening to the desire to pass along his 25 years of experience, his pride faded away like a mirage. Whatever it would take, he would teach the boy.