Chapter 67: Surprising Gains
Any normal person would have been on the ground foaming at the mouth by now.
But not only was this kid still standing, the power and frequency of his sword strikes hadn’t diminished in the slightest. From the looks of it, he could keep this up for a while longer.
Necros mulled it over.
’Perhaps he possesses an extremely rare Constitution Talent, one that allows him to compress the energy consumption of this Frenzy Combat Technique to a level a normal person could withstand.’
At this thought, the old man’s gaze grew even more intense.
’This kind of once-in-a-generation talent is just too good. So good, in fact, that it makes an old man like me, long past my prime, feel a pang of envy.’
His heart, which had a soft spot for talent, began to pound fiercely.
’Watching alone won’t reveal anything. I need to test him myself.’
"Raven... no, Lance."
Necros suddenly spoke, his voice deep and resonant.
"How about we try some actual combat?"
Hearing the old man use his real name, Lance, who had been frantically grinding his Skill Level, paused for a fraction of a second.
He retracted his sword and stood straight, showing little surprise that his cover had been blown.
After all, this was a legitimate, official institution. Every sheet of parchment filled out during registration was filed away, and that detailed personal information wasn’t just for show.
In this world, canceling or inheriting an Adventurer’s identity involved a strict process. It was nothing like the casual way he’d registered for online accounts in his past life.
Lance let out a long breath. He reached up, grabbed the edge of his Chain Armor Wind Hat, and slowly pulled it back.
As the hood fell away, it revealed the young face beneath.
His short black hair was slightly tousled with sweat. His features were sharp and handsome, and his black eyes still held a hint of the high-energy state induced by the Breathing Combat Technique.
Looking at this somewhat boyish yet vibrant face, a flash of admiration appeared in Necros’s eyes.
"Spar with an old man like me for a bit."
The old man flexed his wrist, issuing the invitation with a smile.
"Consider it payment for the Guild having taken you in for so long. How about it?"
"Of course, I won’t have you do it for free."
"If you perform well, I’ll give you an extra reward."
Hearing the word "reward," a brilliant smile instantly bloomed on Lance’s face.
’There’s something in it for me?’
’Well, that changes things completely.’
"In that case, Guild Master, you’d better be careful."
Lance tightened his grip on the training Short Sword, his voice brimming with eager confidence.
Necros wasted no time with words. He casually plucked an identical Short Sword from a nearby weapons rack and held it horizontally before his chest, settling into a seemingly relaxed defensive stance.
"Come."
The instant his voice faded,
Lance moved.
HISS...
Accompanied by a sound like a high-pressure air pump firing up, the Ether in his body surged to its absolute limit.
If he had only been opening the floodgates a crack for training before, now he was letting the dam burst completely.
His stamina bar, like a crumbling dam, instantly hit bottom only to refill in the space of a breath.
This extreme cycle generated terrifying kinetic energy.
Lance blurred into a gray afterimage, a visible trail of superheated white vapor streaming from his mouth as he charged.
No fancy feints.
He opened with his signature killing blow, a move he had practiced a thousand times.
Castro Sword Stab!
The Short Sword tore through the air with a sharp whistle.
However,
CLANG.
With a soft ring, the seemingly unstoppable strike was casually parried by the Short Sword in the old man’s hand.
Necros hadn’t even shifted his feet. With a mere flick of his wrist, he had completely dissipated the force of the impact.
[Castro Swordsmanship Skill Level +1]
[Dragon Hunting Breathing Combat Technique Skill Level +1]
"Not bad."
Necros nodded, offering his critique with a smile.
Although he appeared calm and collected, his internal surprise was far greater than his expression let on.
’This kid’s Power and speed have skyrocketed this much with the boost from his Breathing Technique.’
’The Power of that strike completely surpassed the limits of an Ordinary person. It’s even touching the Attribute threshold of a Low Tier Professional.’
Lance didn’t give the old man much time to think.
His first strike having missed, he immediately used the recoil to reposition himself and launched an even more ferocious assault.
’In this space, I don’t need to worry about defense at all.’
He abandoned all defensive stances, pouring every ounce of his energy into an all-out offense.
THRUST! THRUST! THRUST!
The Short Sword became a torrential downpour, raining down madly on the old man.
As the Ether burned in overdrive, compounded by Lance’s unrefined control over the Energy, a massive amount of it was converted into waste heat.
The sweat on his body evaporated the moment it appeared, shrouding him in a cloud of white steam.
He was a true human steam engine.
The training hall filled with the dense clang of metal on metal.
This high-intensity burst lasted for nearly a full minute.
Just as Necros was about to add a bit more power to test Lance’s limits,
Lance’s form suddenly halted. He took several quick steps back, voluntarily disengaging from the fight.
He panted heavily, the Short Sword in his hand hanging low as he feigned exhaustion.
’I can’t keep this up.’
’If I go on any longer, it’ll be too unnatural.’
’A newcomer lasting a minute in a high-intensity burst can be explained away as exceptional Talent.’
’But if I last for five or ten minutes without collapsing, I’ll really end up on a dissection table.’
’A man’s got to know when to quit while he’s ahead.’
[Castro Swordsmanship Skill Level +8]
[Dragon Hunting Breathing Technique Skill Level +16]
Seeing the generous returns pop up on his status panel, Lance was ecstatic.
’The gains from that one short minute were worth ages of normal, painstaking practice.’
Seeing Lance stop, steam rising from his entire body, Necros immediately sheathed his Short Sword and strode over.
"Don’t relax just yet."
The old man’s voice was stern.
"Your current state is very dangerous. The Ether in your body is still burning from inertia."
"A Breathing Combat Technique is like lighting a fire inside your body. The bigger the blaze, the more careful you must be when putting it out."
"If you cut off your control right now, the runaway Energy will burn out your lungs."
Necros extended his right hand, aiming his palm at Lance from across the distance.
"Follow my lead. Slow down."
The next second,
Lance felt an invisible field begin to expand from the old man’s position.
Lance felt the air around him suddenly thicken.
The sensation was bizarre, like a fish swimming happily in its tank, only to be frozen solid along with the water around it.
For a moment, the flow of the free-roaming Ether in the air came to a complete halt.
Even the rampaging Energy within his own body was forced to calm down under this invisible pressure.
A faint sense of suffocation washed over him.