Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The Swordsmanship Genius Who Transcends Through a Pact Chapter 4

Quite a few things changed after I defeated Tarian in our spar.

First was the proficiency that had grown almost overnight.

‘It's already B-rank.’

At this point, I could probably subdue even the soldiers of the family without much trouble.

My growth speed had increased as I steadily completed Pacts with the iron sword, but the biggest factor was still my sparring with Tarian.

‘There really is a difference between simply raising proficiency and actually putting it into practice with your own body.’

And it hadn't ended there. My body had grown stronger overall as well.

I could now train continuously without tiring as easily, and I had become strong enough to move an ordinary boulder in one go.

Considering how hard I'd worked until now, I couldn't help but be pleased with the results.

‘Though it is a shame I didn't manage to hit him in the face.’

Still, if I kept improving like this, that moment couldn't be far off.

Today, as always, we were sparring.

“Sss...”

I let out a slow breath and stared at Tarian as he approached.

His presence was still overwhelming, but unlike yesterday, I no longer felt that tingling numbness throughout my body.

Rather...

“Yes, this is it!”

I was enjoying myself.

Because the more we sparred, the more clearly I could see my own skill improving.

I endured Tarian's properly swung sword and immediately stepped to the side.

A step that broke his flow as though I were gliding across ice.

Without missing the tiny opening that appeared, I swung my sword.

Tak-!

A sharply aimed attack.

It was blocked, but I couldn't help smiling.

‘As expected, this is different from before.’

Unlike before, when I'd constantly been forced onto the defensive, I could now exchange several moves with him.

One of the reasons for that was the new skill I'd acquired.

[Frost Step (F)]

[Rank: Normal]

[Description: A footwork technique usable only by experienced northern warriors. Its movements resemble gliding across frost.]

But despite the description claiming only experienced northern warriors could use it, Frost Step didn't have a particularly good reputation.

□ [Guys, a northern knight taught me Frost Step. Is this any good?]

└“Is this any good?” LMAO trying to humblebrag? That skill's trash lol

└Huh? A knight taught it to him, so shouldn't it be good?

└Short dodge range and it takes a ton of proficiency. Unless you're doing some northern warrior gimmick build, you don't need it lol

└Ah fuck

└LMAOOOO how is a skill personally taught by a knight trash?

└Join us, brother, in the ranks of the ‘experienced northern warriors.’ A true northern warrior grows stronger by getting hit

There were so many superior evasion skills that the community considered Frost Step garbage.

But I knew better.

‘It's pretty good when you combine it properly.’

It had especially strong synergy with Northern Swordsmanship.

Northern Swordsmanship shattered an opponent's openings, while Frost Step let you evade and exploit even the briefest gap.

Together, they made it far easier to target an opponent's weak points.

Of course, it would be difficult for me to use it to that extent just yet.

“Young Master, that... was Frost Step, wasn't it?”

“Yeah.”

“I've heard even people who've trained it for years struggle to use it naturally...”

I shrugged at the bewilderment in his voice.

“I just watched it and it worked.”

“Hah.”

Tarian let out a short breath, apparently dumbfounded.

I couldn't think of any excuse worth giving him. Nor did I particularly feel the need to.

“Young Master...”

“Yeah?”

“Never mind.”

He muttered quietly, then gripped his sword again.

“Your swordsmanship has established a sufficient foundation. I recommend focusing your practice on that footwork for now.”

“Oh.”

“Do you have a different opinion?”

Tarian hadn't interfered much before our spar, or even immediately afterward.

But seeing him now go so far as to suggest the direction of my training...

‘So he really is a teacher after all.’

Throwing myself headfirst into that wall had paid off.

“I was thinking something similar. I'll keep working on stamina and strength as well as swordsmanship, though.”

“You'll need to regulate the amount of training.”

After saying that, he thought seriously for a moment and began putting together a systematic training plan.

“Still, what you need to focus on right now is footwork. Show it to me again.”

At the sight of him gesturing with his sword, I moved without hesitation.

I slid forward across the short distance as though gliding over ice.

“Like this.”

Tarian's sword was already positioned exactly where I was heading.

“Your direction is too straightforward. And your speed still isn't particularly fast.”

“You're taking this seriously now. Unlike yesterday.”

“Of course. I put my honor on the line, after all.”

Tarian looked straight at me.

“You should also begin training your mana.”

“Mana, huh.”

Now that I thought about it, he was right.

Now that I'd properly entered the path of swordsmanship, I could never become a knight without cultivating mana.

‘A swordsman who can't manifest aura is practically incomplete.’

Of course, the most important thing right now was still the basics.

I knew that, which was why I'd deliberately pushed aside my curiosity about mana and focused on building a foundation.

“Footwork comes first, of course.”

“Really?”

“Young Master, surely you aren't...”

I smiled at the serious look he gave me.

But Tarian seemed to think something had gone wrong.

“Then let's do it.”

Just like when I'd learned swordsmanship.

And so the training began.

Training Frost Step was simple.

-Hmph. What kind of swordsman can't even move his feet properly?

-At the very least, don't die to some blind swing!

[While holding the Sturdy Northern Iron Sword (Normal), perfectly evade the attacks of ten soldiers]

[0/1]

‘It really only says whatever it wants.’

Maybe that was because these swords had been created purely for training.

Not that I'd ever gone out of my way to hold a conversation with them.

Anyway.

It was certainly a difficult Pact.

‘But clearing things like this is what makes it fun.’

If I were the type to give up just because something was difficult, would I have played Last Savior in the first place?

From that day onward, I repeatedly used Frost Step while trying to evade the soldiers' swords.

“Y-Young Master, are you really asking us to...”

“Yeah. Do it.”

“But if you happen to be injured...”

“It's fine.”

Tap-

Evading the swords of no fewer than ten soldiers was obviously difficult.

“Ugh.”

“Ah! I-I'm sorry!”

“Again.”

More than anything, the problem was that these soldiers weren't Tarian.

Well, of course.

Expecting ordinary soldiers to exercise the kind of control a knight possessed was practically impossible.

And so, the longer the training went on, the more bruises appeared across my body.

“Again.”

“Again.”

“...Again.”

But the more it repeated, the easier it gradually became to stop tracking every sword individually and simply evade their trajectories.

The training didn't end there.

“Hah. You're going to run around the training grounds using Frost Step?”

“I'm going to try.”

“I hesitate to say this, Young Master, but you truly aren't sane.”

“Is that a compliment?”

“Of course.”

Whether I was running around the training grounds, heading to eat, or entering my bedroom.

I moved using nothing but Frost Step.

Crash-

“Ugh.”

At first, I felt like a newborn baby who had only just learned to walk...

“Hah. You're already close to mastering it.”

“Does it look that way?”

“I never thought you'd actually manage it. If I ever teach someone else in the future, I may try having them do this.”

Was that really a good idea?

I had a feeling he'd just rack up complaints.

Anyway.

As time passed, I became increasingly proficient with Frost Step.

The wonder in Tarian's gaze was proof enough.

‘If I do it this way, I can move faster.’

I discovered a more efficient way to step.

‘There's no need to move only in a straight line.’

Once I stopped fixating on straight-line movement, I became able to move freely.

“Young Master is working that hard...”

“I should take training more seriously too.”

“But Young Master Ian's growth rate... does that even make sense?”

“He still has a long way to go before he can evade perfectly.”

As an added bonus, I'd even motivated the soldiers.

‘If you're impressed, then grow stronger yourselves.’

The massive northern invasion would arrive in five years. If the soldiers trained and grew stronger of their own accord, there was no downside for me.

* * *

As my Frost Step improved, Tarian began seriously teaching me how to use mana.

“The first step is sensing the mana in the atmosphere.”

The training involved accumulating mana inside the body and learning to use its power.

We didn't have some extraordinary mana cultivation art, but I wasn't particularly worried about that either.

‘I'll get one eventually.’

After all, I had Pact.

So all I had to do was continue doing what I'd done until now.

Keep moving forward without giving up.

There was no need to worry about that.

‘This is fun.’

Even this kind of training was so entertaining I could hardly stand it.

And so I incorporated Frost Step into every part of my daily life, evaded the soldiers' swords, and continuously tried to sense mana.

I didn't care if my body bruised or my skin occasionally split and bled.

‘Once I finish the footwork training...’

This training continued for several days as well.

Gradually, evading the soldiers' swords using only Frost Step became easier.

Whoosh-

The instant I stepped with Frost Step, a sword swept past my side.

The soldier, whose expression had once been full of apology, now looked disappointed.

“Hup!”

Then came another shout.

I immediately shifted my steps and slipped through the gaps between them.

‘Just a little more.’

The essence of Frost Step wasn't simply moving quickly.

Footwork itself was about slipping into the opponent's openings from within a certain distance.

True to its name, Frost Step was a technique that moved as though gliding across ice. But beneath everything else, it required smoothness.

‘Faster, and freer.’

I moved forward while recalling the insights I'd gained over the past few days.

Sideways, diagonally, and eventually in directions difficult to predict.

I evaded the blades coming from every direction and completely slipped through the soldiers.

-...You have the makings of a warrior.

“Haa, ha.”

At the sword's words, my heartbeat suddenly sounded unusually loud.

I did it.

That thought filled my mind, and I unconsciously tightened my grip on the hilt.

‘Hmm. Northern warriors definitely don't deserve to be dismissed as some gimmick build.’

Most players probably just hadn't known how to use it properly.

Northern Swordsmanship emphasized defense, yet in the game, using it aggressively had effectively become the standard.

Even among players who enjoyed roleplaying the build, there were plenty of lunatics who insisted a northern warrior was supposed to trade blows by getting hit while attacking.

‘That entire approach was wrong.’

Frost Step was also designed around evading across a short distance to create an opening. In the game, it moved only in a straight line, but actually using it revealed that I could freely move in any direction.

Naturally, that gave me far more options.

I suppose it made sense that no one would know unless they actually learned it with their own body.

The North was half-destroyed as soon as the game began, after all, and even properly learning its skills was difficult.

‘If I add just a few more skills to this...’

I remembered the brief period when I'd researched a so-called northern warrior build.

There were several additional skills I needed.

Most of them were considered nearly useless in the game, but now that this world was reality, there was a good chance they'd be different.

‘If I can at least get Cold Heart...’

My early-game build would be complete.

Originally, Cold Heart was merely a Normal skill that protected against mental attacks.

But if I learned it directly, there might be some other effect as well.

“Hoo.”

With that expectation in mind, I rested the sword on my shoulder.

“All right. We're changing the method now. I'll attack, and you dodge.”

“Y-Young Master? All of a sudden?”

“The training efficiency was pretty good. I can't be the only one enjoying something this useful, can I?”

I loosened up the sore parts of my body as I looked at the soldiers.

Naturally, I couldn't pass up revenge either.

Revenge was always sweet.