Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The Swordsmanship Genius Who Transcends Through a Pact Chapter 2

After finishing my first training session.

My gaze naturally shifted toward the other weapons left in the training grounds.

‘No, I shouldn't stop here.’

Without hesitation, I headed for the family armory.

“Ian! Have you finally finished training?”

“Yes, Brother.”

“I was worried you might start hallucinating from overtraining. Hurry inside and rest...”

“Brother, I'd like to try some other swords. Would that be all right?”

Cain's expression changed at those words.

“Are you planning to push yourself again? You've only just come out after a year. You need to be even more careful with your training...”

“My coming-of-age ceremony isn't far off, and I've rested more than enough until now. Since I'm already behind, shouldn't I work even harder?”

“That's...”

My brother stared at me, momentarily speechless, before his eyes reddened.

“I had no idea you'd been thinking that way. I'm proud of you. Still, pushing yourself too hard will strain your body, so make sure you get enough rest.”

“Yes. I'm not planning to train any more right this moment.”

Cain's moved expression only made me feel awkward.

We headed to the family armory, where I immediately began picking up weapons.

[The Savior's standing is insufficient to form a Pact with this weapon.]

The message appeared as I examined each of the better-looking weapons.

‘As expected.’

I remembered the message saying that the swords I could form Pacts with depended on my standing.

My current standing was Trainee.

Then what came next...

[The Savior's current standing is ‘Trainee’.]

[Trainee ▶ Sword Beginner ▶ Sword User ▶ Sword Expert ▶ Sword Master ▶???]

‘Those are the stages used to classify warriors in Last Savior.’

The word Trainee had seemed strangely familiar, and seeing the progression made it certain.

Even the fact that there was no predetermined path beyond Sword Master matched.

‘So my standing is basically my level as a swordsman.’

Which meant that, as a Trainee, the best I could currently form a Pact with was probably something like a wooden training sword.

‘That's only a guess, though.’

Either way, for now it seemed I had no choice but to grow stronger through repetitive training rather than relying on higher-quality weapons.

And when it came to that, I was more confident than anyone.

“Brother, I'd like to devote myself to training for a while.”

“All right. Tell me if you need anything. Just please don't overdo it.”

“In that case, I'd like to use various weapons. Would that be all right?”

“Of course! Use them freely. If you wish, even the sword Father left me...”

“No, no. This is more than enough for now.”

I turned around again and headed for the training grounds used by the private soldiers.

The instant I stepped inside, the weapons began clamoring at me.

-Use me too!

-Thrusts! Thrusting is the romance of the swordsman!

-Ugh, it's been so long since anyone used me. I'm so sad...

They were practically bundles of skills begging to be used.

Just looking at them made my mouth water.

‘How am I supposed to resist with all this sitting right in front of me?’

Chuckling, I began picking up swords with my trembling arms.

“Y-Young Master Ian is...”

“There's definitely something a little...”

The soldiers exchanged glances and whispered among themselves, but the smile on my face showed no sign of fading.

‘I will clear it.’

I'll see that damned true ending.

And I'll survive.

With that resolve, I gripped another sword.

* * *

After obtaining Pact, I continued training without pause.

The first skill I'd acquired, Northern Swordsmanship, was exceedingly simple.

[Northern Swordsmanship (F)]

[Rank: Normal]

[Description: Swordsmanship used by northern warriors. Crude, but heavy and solid.]

‘Things like this really are exactly the same as the game.’

Simple and straightforward.

But among all the basic swordsmanship styles in the game, Northern Swordsmanship was also the most solid.

Even at C-rank, it became difficult for a swordsman of equal level to break through it.

‘Of course, the setting says it's equally difficult to master...’

But even that handicap meant little to me.

-What's the point of being able to hold a sword for a long time?

-You need to swing it harder!

[Run while carrying a Training Wooden Sword (-)]

[0/100km]

The reason was simple.

After completing several more Pacts, I'd learned something new.

‘Not every Pact gives a skill.’

Well, it made sense. Items that didn't even qualify for a proper grade couldn't keep handing out skills forever.

The item grades were Normal, Rare, Epic, Legendary, and Mythic.

And a ‘-’ grade meant it didn't even reach Normal.

But completing a Pact still increased skill proficiency.

Even low-ranked skills gained various additional effects as their proficiency rose.

Considering that normally you needed repetitive practice, instruction, and even moments of enlightenment to improve, it was an enormous advantage.

“So basically.”

All I had to do was grind, and my proficiency would increase.

‘Proficiency. My proficiency goes up!’

That thought alone kept me showing up at the training grounds day after day, and the reactions around me gradually began to change.

“He's really working hard these days.”

“I can't believe he's already improved that much.”

The biggest change was how people looked at me.

I could see the difference in the eyes of the soldiers and servants.

Especially the soldiers.

Some of them had even secretly started betting on when I'd finally quit.

Well, I would've done the same.

Even if we were only barons on the northern frontier, nobles were still nobles.

And until recently, I'd done nothing but shut myself inside my room.

But after watching me train consistently for days instead of quitting after one or two, they'd begun talking to me casually.

“Young Master Ian, training again today?”

“Want to run with me?”

“May I?”

I'd become especially friendly with the soldiers who shared the training grounds.

Perhaps seeing how hard I worked had motivated them, because a few had even started showing more ambition themselves.

“Hoo...”

The other major change was, of course, my body.

-Is holding a sword for a long time all you can do?

-Swing it with more strength!

[Move rocks while carrying the Cracked Wooden Sword (-)]

[0/1,000]

Basic running and strength training.

As I completed the lists of Pacts that appeared each day, I could gradually feel my strength and stamina improving.

The once-thin body had filled out with muscle before I knew it, and even to my own eyes, it had become fairly respectable.

‘My hands are looking much better too.’

The hands that used to split open whenever I swung a sword were now covered in calluses.

“Ian, take a break once in a while.”

“Brother.”

Cain had approached without my noticing and held out a towel.

He looked exhausted from the endless work piling up on him, and I was just about to grip my sword again when he spoke.

“You've become quite manly. Perhaps I should start looking for a matchmaker again.”

“I'll consider it after you get married first.”

“Ahem. I'm married to this territory, so I don't count.”

“I hear you're rather popular. You should go first.”

“...”

A brief laugh followed.

Even after handing me the towel, he continued staring at me.

There was pride in his gaze, but also the sense that he had something else he wanted to say.

“Brother, you seem quite tired.”

“...I'm fine. It's simply a duty I ought to shoulder.”

When he continued looking at me afterward, I slowly lowered my sword.

“Is there something you wanted to say?”

“No, it's just... I was wondering why you changed so suddenly.”

“Didn't I tell you before?”

“Yes. I know you've suddenly grown up. I'm asking why you suddenly grew up.”

He still hadn't looked away, and the sincerity of the question made me shrug.

I slowly traced through Ian Rashid's memories.

His experiences and memories had already become one with mine.

“...There's something I have to see through to the end.”

“Something you have to see through? Did something happen? Why didn't you tell me...”

“It's nothing like that. I've simply become curious about your future, and about what this territory might become.”

Ian Rashid had been young.

He'd lost both parents at a young age, and the brother he'd once been close to had become the head of the family.

‘So he never found much motivation.’

He never put much effort into anything.

He simply lived an ordinary life, doing just enough to get by.

But I couldn't do that.

“So I decided that rather than despairing, breaking down, and giving up, it would be better to at least try something.”

Sitting still like this was practically the same as accepting death.

This godforsaken game had three other apocalypses waiting beyond the massive northern invasion.

‘Though Pact has definitely made me even more motivated.’

Honestly, when I could feel myself getting stronger every single day, it would've been stranger not to feel motivated.

“Ian, you really have changed.”

I glanced at Cain when he said it so seriously.

For a moment I worried he'd noticed something was wrong.

“Hahaha! Yes, training is certainly better than sitting around doing nothing.”

The weariness seemed to lift somewhat from Cain's face, and he smiled as he nodded.

“I've actually been considering something. I'd like to hire you a swordsmanship instructor.”

“A swordsmanship instructor?”

“Yes. I hear he's a fairly famous knight in this region.”

A swordsmanship instructor.

I couldn't help but think it over.

A famous knight from the North.

Several names flashed through my mind, but it was too early to be certain.

“Thank you.”

In truth, it was exactly what I'd wanted.

Even in the game, training with a good instructor made proficiency rise much faster.

I'd been considering asking Cain myself, so I could only be grateful that he'd suggested it first.

‘Proficiency aside, actually moving your body is a different matter.’

If I had to put it simply, this would be an opportunity to take what I knew in theory and apply it in practice.

‘I should be about ready to lose the Trainee label.’

After sinking more than five years into the game, I could tell.

Unlike when I hadn't known the first thing about swordsmanship, I could now see the threshold of Sword Beginner.

“Could you arrange it as soon as possible, Brother?”

“Yes. By the way...”

As I happily accepted his proposal, Cain's expression darkened.

“Is something wrong?”

“The demonic beasts have been causing trouble lately.”

“Demonic beasts?”

That came out of nowhere.

“Yes. It isn't serious, but they've been causing damage near the territory.”

“Shouldn't we subjugate them?”

“...Winter is approaching.”

Winters in the North were brutal.

Considering that, it seemed they simply didn't have the resources to spare for a subjugation right now.

“I see.”

“So don't go wandering outside for no reason. Though with all your training, I doubt you're planning to.”

He chuckled and patted my shoulder, and I nodded.

‘Not yet.’

The time hadn't come.

After that, I continued training.

* * *

Several days passed.

Ever since acquiring Northern Swordsmanship, most of my Pacts with wooden swords had focused on stamina and strength training.

That naturally strengthened my body while also...

[You have successfully completed your Pact with the Training Wooden Sword (-).]

[You have successfully completed your Pact with the Cracked Wooden Sword (-).]

[The proficiency of ‘Northern Swordsmanship (E)’ has increased!]

[‘Northern Swordsmanship (E)’ ▶ ‘Northern Swordsmanship (D)’]

My proficiency continued to grow as well.

Along with small moments of enlightenment, the increase in proficiency made my stance cleaner than before.

As I took in the change, another message appeared before me.

[The Savior's standing has increased!]

[‘Trainee’ ▶ ‘Sword Beginner’]

[You can now form Pacts with Normal-grade swords.]

‘My standing went up too.’

Sword Beginner.

Exactly as the name suggested, it was the stage of someone who had only just begun properly using a sword.

‘Still a long way to go.’

I could use a sword to some degree now, but I was nowhere near handling it properly.

I could still feel something missing.

“Not enough.”

I needed something more if I wanted to grow.

While I was seriously considering how to improve, I noticed someone watching me after I'd finished training.

The swordsmanship instructor who had arrived after my brother's proposal a few days ago.

He was the first knight from outside the family I'd met.

‘I didn't expect him to be the one who came.’

Gray hair, an expression that seemed emotionless yet somehow sharp.

The knight merely gave me a brief bow before continuing to observe my swordsmanship.

But because I knew who he was, I couldn't exactly say anything.

‘Tarian.’

Five years from now, he'd be a knight just shy of Sword Master, respected by everyone and fairly famous even within the game.

His skill was one thing, but he was also known as a wanderer who belonged to no faction.

If he was already famous here in the North...

‘Then he probably stays in the North until the massive invasion.’

There had already been hints about that.

‘Don't go to the North.’

‘There's another kind of hell waiting in the North.’

He'd said things like that several times.

Because of that, the community considered him one of the game's most notorious North-haters.

“Good.”

“...?”

After I'd finished yet another Pact with a wooden sword, a routine by now.

Tarian, who had remained silent day after day, finally spoke to me.

“I believe you're ready to use a real sword instead of a wooden one.”

“A real sword?”

He handed me an iron sword himself, and I slowly took hold of it.

-Hoh, this one's pretty decent.

-He's built up the basics nicely.

-How about landing a hit on that guy?

[Successfully strike Tarian with the Old Training Iron Sword (Normal)]

[0/1]

‘I can see it now.’

Perhaps because my standing had risen, I could hear the iron sword's voice and see its Pact.

And I immediately realized its condition was different from the ones before.

Instead of simple repetition, I had to accomplish a specific objective.

‘So I only need to succeed once.’

The problem was that my opponent was Tarian.

It was telling me to land a hit on a knight who had already reached Sword Expert.

By any reasonable standard, that was impossible.

‘What a shitty game.’

No, should I call it a shitty sword this time?

I glanced down at the iron sword, which had gone silent after saying whatever it pleased without even waiting for an answer.

‘I'm melting you down.’

The moment this Pact is over, I'm turning you into farming equipment.

While I was thinking that, Tarian continued.

“Northern Swordsmanship is a fine style.”

“...”

“But Northern Swordsmanship is meant to be performed with a real blade. A wooden sword cannot fully carry its weight.”

I tightened my grip on the hilt as he simply stood there looking at me.

“So?”

Without answering, Tarian picked up a wooden training sword.

I immediately understood what he meant.

‘What the...’

Anyone could tell he was telling me to come at him.