“The Adventurers’ Guild? Why are we going there?” Leo asked.
“Oh? You know of the Adventurers’ Guild? Did they exist in your world as well?”
“Only in fantasy novels and such. I learned about their existence here not long ago.”
“You want to become strong fast, right? Becoming an Adventurer will help you achieve that.”
“Are you telling me to fight monsters? I can’t even fight with the humans in this world, and you’re already throwing me at monsters?! There should be a limit to how fast we do certain things!”
“Fighting monsters is a lot easier than fighting humans. You’ll learn that very soon. Unlike humans, most monsters have little to zero intelligence, so they operate merely on instincts, which will limit their movements and actions.”
“Also, it’s not like I am going to make you fight monsters right away. You still need some experience. The real reason we’re going to the Adventurers’ Guild today is to meet with a certain Adventurer. He’s known as Sword King Khrome, and he’s an A-Rank Adventurer. He will also be your teacher for today and tomorrow.”
Half an hour later, Miss Camille parked the car.
“Before we enter the Adventurers’ Guild, I want you to wear this necklace.” Miss Camille suddenly handed him a silver necklace.
“What’s this?”
“It’s a D-Rank artifact that changes your face and voice. You’ll be known as Leon outside the academy. This way, you can train without constantly worrying about others. I have already created a face for you, so you just need to activate it with your mana.”
Leo swallowed nervously before asking her, “Miss Camille, I won’t be angry, so can you tell me the truth? Were you the one who stole my package using my face?”
Thud!
Miss Camille suddenly bonked his head with her fists.
“What am I going to do with your clothes? Are you mocking me?”
“I-I was only joking with you! God, that really hurts… What if you’d damaged my brain just now?”
Leo activated the artifact a moment later.
“What the heck? I look like a freaking playboy with this face and hairstyle!” Leo said after taking a look at his new face in the mirror.
His slick black hair had turned dark blonde, and his eyes became hazel.
“Hell, even my voice sounds so weird! Is this the type of man you’re into, Miss Camille?”
“I picked that because I knew you would hate it. Now stop complaining and get out of the car. We’re already two minutes late to the appointment.”
Leo sighed and left the car.
Sometime later, he followed Miss Camille into this large building that looked nothing like the Adventurers’ Guild in the fantasy stories he would always read about. Compared to the tavern-like buildings in his imagination, the Adventurers’ Guild in this world looked more like office buildings.
“I have an appointment with Sword King Khrome.”
“W-Welcome to our humble Guild, Saintess!” The person at the reception seemed to recognize Miss Camille.
‘Did he just call her Saintess?’ Leo doubted his ears.
“Sword King Khrome is already waiting for you in room three!”
“I understand.”
“Let’s go,” she said while looking at Leo.
A few minutes later, they entered a room where a tall and bulky man could be seen standing by the window, silently staring outside with an intensive gaze.
“I apologize for the lateness despite being the one who arranged this meeting.” Miss Camille said after entering the room.
The bulky man turned around and stared at them with a serious look on his face.
Leo swallowed nervously, wondering if he was going to start yelling at them.
However, to his surprise, the man suddenly showed a humble and friendly smile, “Don’t worry about it! Since it’s the Saintess who summoned me, I don’t mind waiting even a few more hours! Hahaha!”
He then looked at Leo and continued, “Is this pipsqueak the one you want me to train?”
“Yes, his name is Leon, and I want you to teach him how to use the sword.”
“Leon, huh? Nice to meet you, pipsqueak. You can just call me Khrome. I’m the best swordsman in the city. Since the Saintess has asked me to train you, I will make sure that you become the second best swordsman in the city, only below me!”
“About the payment, I will definitely compensate you for your time and effort.” Miss Camille suddenly said.
“I don’t care about money! If you promise to have dinner with me, I will teach him for free!”
“Then that wouldn’t be free. And I’d rather pay you the money.” Miss Camille said, instantly shooting him down without any hesitation.
“You’re still as cold as ever, I see.” Khrome laughed out loud.
“Anyways, let’s start training now. Follow me, Leon.” Khrome said to him.
Leo nodded and followed him to a training room that was located underneath the Guild.
“How much experience do you have with the sword?” Khrome suddenly asked him.
“Not much if any at all. I’ve only been swinging the sword aimlessly to increase my strength for the past week.”
“Is that so? Give this sword a swing for me.” Khrome suddenly tossed him a steel sword.
Leo subconsciously went to catch the sword, but he immediately regretted his actions, as the sword weighed around 50kgs, which was more than he could handle.
“Huh?” Khrome stared at Leo with wide eyes.
“His maximum is 40kgs, and he started training only a week ago,” Miss Camille said.
“No way… He’s weaker than I thought. Looks like we have a lot of work to do, pipsqueak.”
“Here, use this instead.” Miss Camille handed Leo the sword that he trained with.
Now that he has a sword that he can actually swing, Leo swung the sword a couple of times for Khrome.
“All right, you can stop now.” Khrome said a few moments later.
And he continued, “Your form isn’t bad for someone who just started a week ago. You must have spent a lot of time swinging the sword.”
“You have no idea…” Leo sighed.
“However, while your form is good, you lack every other aspect. Your sword swings feel empty. It lacks emotion and experience. And worse of all— it feels so damn weak.”
“But don’t worry, I will train you into a proper swordsman before the weekend ends! It’s going to be difficult, but I won’t let you quit even if you die! After all, my reputation is on the line here! I won’t embarrass myself in front of the Saintess!”
“Then I will leave you boys alone. Leon, I will come pick you up tomorrow.” Miss Camille said.
“Huh?” Leo looked at her with wide eyes.
Khrome suddenly patted his back and said, “Did you think you would be sleeping tonight? Sorry, but you’re going to be sweating all night with me, pipsqueak!”
“You have got to be fucking kidding me…” Leo muttered in a dumbfounded voice.
Miss Camille smiled at the pain on his face and said, “Good luck. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
And without saying another word, she disappeared.
“Wow, I didn’t think I would ever see the Saintess smile. What’s your relationship with her?” Khrome asked him after she left.
“She’s like my guardian… By the way, why do you keep calling her Saintess?” Leo finally got the chance to ask.
“Huh? You don’t know?”
“Should I know?” Leo raised an eyebrow.
“Unbelievable…” Khrome shook his head.
“Anyways, I would love to tell you about her, but we don’t have the time. If I’m going to turn you into a proper swordsman in a day and half, we’ll need every minute we can get.”
“I am now going to show you the basics of swordsmanship. Watch and learn.”
Khrome started dancing around the training room with a sword in his hand.
Leo watched him intensively.
A few minutes later, Khrome stopped his movements and said, “What you just witnessed is a sword technique called ‘Formless Sword Dance’. It’s one of the easiest sword techniques to learn but also the hardest to master.”
“There are a total of ninety nine different combos in this technique, but you will only be learning the first ten, which is more than enough to qualify you as a swordsman.”
“Here, wear these.” Khrome handed Leo two stamina and two strength bracelets.
Once Leo wore the artifacts, Khrome officially started his hellish training, something that Leo will remember for the rest of his life.
