After bidding farewell to Brian's wife and child, Lynn silently made his way back toward his shack.
The woman's sobs had been faint, and though he had already left Black Gutter Alley far behind, it still felt as if those soft cries lingered in his ears.
And the boy's gaze… In this world, children of seven or eight already knew what death meant.
The sky gradually darkened, the dim sun sinking below the horizon.
Lynn began to quicken his pace.
First a brisk walk, then a jog, and finally full speed.
The night streamed past on either side, the last glimmers of sunset flickering in his pale gray eyes like dancing flames.
He ran tirelessly, the cold wind whipping his clothes, yet unable to cool the heat surging in his chest.
In this world, it was normal for the strong to devour the weak
Lynn had known that long ago.
He had seen the boundless greed of the powerful and the desperate struggle of the powerless.
He had no illusions about changing any of it…
He just felt uncomfortable. Deeply, unbearably uncomfortable
especially after seeing Brian's wife and child.
When he returned to his shack, Lynn pushed the door open and stepped inside.
He stood in the darkness for a long time.
Gradually, his pounding heart calmed, and the boiling blood in his veins cooled.
His heart felt harder now. Colder.
He walked toward the bed and tried to sit in quiet meditation.
But before long, frustration forced his eyes open.
Drawing a deep breath, his expression darkened as he rose abruptly and began to practice sword forms inside the shack.
In the darkness, only the gleam of his blade flowed like water.
After a long while, he stopped, running two fingers down the spine of the sword.
"Still not strong enough," he murmured with cold certainty, feeling the chill of the steel.
If he were strong enough, he wouldn't have to listen to Kersey's endless prattle; one stroke would have taken his head.
He wouldn't be this restless now.
Sheathing the sword, Lynn took out two lesser magic stones and sat cross-legged on the bed.
Closing his eyes, he focused his mind on the White Crow Sword Art and chose to use Insight.
…
A while later, when the process was complete, Lynn looked inward.
Points of golden light appeared, merging into a shimmering panel:
Name: Lynn Kent
Age: 16
Stage: White Crow Sword Art – Arms (100/100) / Legs (100/100) / Waist & Abdomen (100/100)
Skills: Mental Shock Crystal Lens Crafting (Proficient); White Crow Sword Art – First Layer (Mastery) / Second Layer – Fragment (Beginner)
Source Energy: 0 (Self) / 0 (World)
Lynn stood, feeling the changes brought about by this session.
As shown on the panel, the first layer of the White Crow Sword Art was now complete, its proficiency reaching Mastery. A small portion of the second layer had also been restored, primarily the method for forming the magic energy cluster in the chest.
Gripping his sword, he began to practice the newly recovered White Crow Sword Art – Chest & Back.
Almost immediately, he sensed the difference.
The Mastery-level White Crow Sword Art was vastly stronger than the Proficient stage.
He could feel a swelling pressure in his chest and back with every movement, the sensation of his body being rapidly strengthened.
After just one round, the Chest & Back segment had gained five whole points of progress.
At this rate, I'll reach completion in just a few days!
And this is likely with efficiency reduced by the thin magic energy here. If I were on the mountain, where the air was richer in magic, my progress would be even faster!
Lynn quickly accepted this extraordinary speed.
After all, training after Insight was like a master of the skill being reborn and starting over, retaining all insights, with targeted refinements already in place.
Naturally, progress was lightning fast.
Before, the Proficient level White Crow Sword Art made him a skilled fighter; now, at Mastery, he was at least a grandmaster.
And a grandmaster retraining only grew faster still.
The corner of Lynn's mouth curled upward, then he smoothed it out and silently continued his sword practice.
The day the White Crow Sword Art breaks through to the second layer… will be the day Kersey dies.
...
Three Days Later
The first layer of the White Crow Sword Art had reached perfection.
At dawn, Lynn finished his final movement and stood tall. His lean frame was chiseled with muscle, every line refined, with not an ounce of excess.
My strength now is a few steps higher than it was just days ago… But still not enough. I have to reach the second layer if I want true security.
Even so, he didn't continue training. There was something more important to take care of today.
It had been two months since he'd come down from the mountain for the second time to repay his debt at the academy's outpost.
He arrived with practiced ease and entered the same room where he had first registered.
The same second-tier apprentice sat there reading, just as before.
Lynn quietly placed five gold dragons on the table, then turned to leave.
As he reached the doorway, a young wizard wearing the silver badge of a second-tier apprentice approached.
Lynn stepped aside to let him pass.
The wizard didn't look at him, striding straight into the room and saying to the reading apprentice,
"I have to tell you something, Ido, Master Anderson will be coming down the mountain soon."
Lynn stepped out into the hall.
"Anderson will be coming down… so what?"
"Do you remember who set the rules for eliminating apprentices?"
As the door was closing, Lynn caught that sentence and hesitated for a moment.
But he didn't stop, only slowed his pace.
"…Master Anderson?"
"Yes, Ido."
"But what does that have to do with"
"Listen, I checked over the debt records for the eliminated apprentices, just out of boredom.
"And the result was"
Click!
The door suddenly opened.
In the hallway, Lynn didn't look back. His face remained calm as he continued walking.
Only when he reached the end of the corridor did he hear the door shut again.
He let out a quiet breath, feeling sweat on his back.
Next time, I can't let curiosity get the better of me… No matter what the situation is, if I have enough strength, I can deal with it.
He quickened his pace, heading back to his shack, ready to begin training for the second layer of the White Crow Sword Art.
…
That afternoon, Lynn sat cross-legged inside the shack.
He didn't practice sword forms; instead, he meditated.
The difficulty of training the second layer was far greater than before.
Perhaps it was because the White Crow Sword Art was, at its core, only a rudimentary extraordinary technique, and the portion he'd recovered through Insight was still at a beginner level.
The second layer was elusive.
It required the practitioner to first find a certain resonance through deep meditation. Only after becoming familiar with this resonance could one use specific movements to guide magic energy into the chest.
The entire process felt vague, and the beginner-level insights he'd gained offered little guidance.
Still, he had once reached this stage before.
Three days later, Lynn finally captured that subtle, mysterious resonance.
Once past that hurdle, the path became much smoother.
On the fourth day, he broke through.
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