Training field.
"I didn't expect you would want to train with me." Hakurou said with a thin smile.
"I need to keep in shape as well," Arthur replied. "And you're the best here."
Hakurou smiled faintly.
"I'm honored."
Gobta, perched on top of a barrel, raised his fist.
"BEAT UP THAT OLD MAN!"
Hakurou turned his head and gave Gobta a single look.
Gobta froze. A chill ran down his spine as if winter had decided to arrive early.
"I-I mean… healthy training! Healthy!"
"Gobta…" Hakurou said gently. "After this match, I will increase your training load."
"EH!?"
---xXx---
Both assumed their stances.
Hakurou adopted his classic posture, steady as an ancient mountain.
Arthur, on the other hand, seemed relaxed.
Benimaru frowned.
"I didn't think Master Arthur was a swordsman. What style is that?"
"It's called Hiten Mitsurugi. It's a family inheritance," Angélica replied.
"I've never heard of it…" Shuna murmured.
"It would be strange if you had," Angélica answered dryly.
Hakurou moved first with a swift slash.
Arthur disappeared.
By the time the eyes followed the movement, Arthur was already behind Hakurou, his wooden sword gently touching the swordsman's back.
"One point."
Hakurou did not turn around.
"Hm… interesting."
He spun his body with impressive fluidity, anticipating Arthur's retreat by a hair's breadth. The counterattack came fast enough to slice off a strand of Arthur's hair.
Shion covered her mouth.
"Wow…"
"My idiot father could end this in a second," Angélica commented, watching.
Arthur smiled faintly.
"If I don't hold back, it wouldn't be training."
Hakurou's eyes gleamed.
"Then don't hold back too much, Master Arthur," he said as he activated his Celestial Eye, which manifested as a vertical eye in the center of his forehead.
This time, he advanced seriously.
Three slashes tore through the air in rapid succession at an absurd speed.
Arthur blocked all three attacks and immediately launched him upward with a rising strike aimed at Hakurou's chin.
"Ryūshōsen," she said.
Hakurou dodged by a hair's breadth and attacked again.
Shion was practically radiating enthusiasm.
"He's incredible!"
Shuna pressed her hands against her chest, her eyes sparkling.
Hakurou noticed and glanced at the audience.
Then at Arthur.
"It seems you have two very dedicated fans today."
Arthur blinked slowly.
"Focus on our fight, Hakurou," Arthur laughed.
"Are you nervous, Arthur-dono?" Hakurou teased.
Shuna and Shion turned slightly red.
Angélica placed a hand on her face.
"Does he emit some kind of pheromone? This is biologically unfair."
Benimaru coughed discreetly, trying to be the only one with any dignity in the scene.
---xXx---
Using his Ultra-Acceleration, Hakurou vanished from his position.
Arthur smiled and advanced immediately.
"Now that's more like it."
The two collided at the center of the field.
Wood against wood.
The rapid impacts were too fast for ordinary eyes to follow. The sharp sound of wooden blades echoed across the field.
Benimaru widened his eyes. "I can barely see them…"
"DON'T GO EASY ON THE OLD MAN!" Gobta shouted.
Hakurou cast another deadly glance.
"Confirmed. I will triple your training."
"NOOOO!"
Arthur took advantage of the microsecond of distraction and moved into a drawing stance.
"Amakakeru Ryū no Hirameki…" With a whisper, Arthur used the supreme technique of Hiten Mitsurugi.
In the next instant, he was behind Hakurou.
With a dull thud, Hakurou's wooden sword split in half and fell to the ground.
Hakurou smiled. "The victory is yours."
"It was incredible that you read all my movements," Arthur said.
"And you reduced your speed to less than one fifth," the old swordsman replied as he deactivated his Celestial Eye. "Otherwise, I would not have reacted to your last attack."
Shion ran to Arthur and buried his head in her chest in an excited hug. "Master Arthur, you were amazing!"
Shuna was already at his side with a towel.
"Are you tired, sir?"
Angélica observed the scene like a researcher studying an inexplicable phenomenon.
"It's definitely some kind of environmental chemical influence."
Hakurou slowly walked toward Gobta.
"As for you…"
Gobta swallowed hard.
"I just wanted more excitement!"
"Excellent. You will have enough excitement for the next six months."
Arthur chuckled softly at the sight.
It was a good training session.
---xXx---
Two days later, Arthur left the city under Angélica's capable command. Mounted on the Tempest Wolves, he, Benimaru, and Gobta departed toward Dwargon.
Thanks to the wolves' absurd speed, the group reached the Dwarven Kingdom in only two days.
Soon, Arthur, Benimaru, and Gobta arrived at Dwargon's massive gates.
Before them stretched a long line.
Travelers waited to enter the city: human adventurers, demi-humans, merchants, and a few individuals who looked like walking trouble.
Gobta observed everything with curiosity—and zero sense of self-preservation.
Then the irritating voices came.
"Hey, look! There's a weak monster here!"
"Why don't we kill it before it enters the city?"
'Ahh… The day was going too well.'
Arthur sighed, as if he already knew something stupid was about to happen, and slowly turned around.
As expected, Gobta was surrounded by five human adventurers.
Gobta pointed at himself, confused.
"Weak monster? Are you talking about me? Because I get offended easily."
"That's none of your business, you idiot," one of the adventurers said upon noticing Arthur's gaze.
"Idiot…?" A vein throbbed on Arthur's forehead.
Benimaru stepped forward, but Arthur raised a hand, stopping him.
With a cold smile, he looked at Gobta.
"Finish these useless fools, Gobta."
"Ugh, that's impossible! First, I don't have a weapon! Second, there are five of them! Third, I'm emotionally fragile!"
"Who said you don't have a weapon?"
Arthur extended his palm and pulled a random sword from the Gate of Babylon. The blade fell into Gobta's hands with completely unnecessary dramatic shine.
Arthur spoke with absolute seriousness:
"Defeat them… or I'll have Hakurou increase your training tenfold."
"TENFOLD!?"
The world seemed to darken around Gobta.
A terrifying wave of willpower shone in his eyes.
On the afternoon before their departure, Gobta had experienced truly infernal training at Hakurou's hands.
Discounting the educational beatings, the humiliating falls, the invisible strikes, and the fact that he had seen his life flash before his eyes at least three times… the difficulty of that training was deeply engraved into his soul.
Now, the mere mention of something ten times more intense activated every survival instinct he possessed.
"You picked the wrong goblin to bully!" Gobta shouted dramatically.
He instantly charged at the five adventurers.
Although there were mages among them, they were completely incapable of hitting the agile Gobta, who moved as if he were fleeing from death itself—which, technically, he was.
Benimaru crossed his arms, watching.
"I didn't expect Gobta to be so skilled."
Arthur nodded, satisfied, following the goblin's fast and surprisingly fluid movements.
"He's far more skilled than he looks."
"Hey! I heard that!" Gobta shouted while dodging an attack. "Is that a compliment or a disguised insult?!"
Within minutes, the five adventurers were completely defeated.
Gobta ran back, breathing lightly but striking a heroic pose.
"Master Arthur! I knocked them out and threw them into the jungle!"
"The jungle?" Benimaru raised an eyebrow.
"Well… technically it was a patch of bushes back there. But jungle sounds more epic."
"Hm, very well, Gobta," Benimaru praised.
"Yes," Arthur added calmly, "but it seems you'll need more training when we return. Hakurou will certainly make your talent bloom even further."
"Intensify…?" Gobta's expression instantly turned bitter.
"I just bloomed! Can I stay in this ornamental stage for a while?"
Ignoring the protest, the three followed the line and entered Dwargon.
Observing the bustling scene of the dwarven city—active forges, merchants shouting offers, the constant sound of metal being hammered—they strolled calmly through the streets.
"Ahhh… when will our city be like this?" Gobta exclaimed, looking around with shining eyes.
"It won't take long," Arthur replied confidently.
"What do we do now?" Benimaru asked.
Arthur looked at the sturdy buildings around them.
"First… let's find a blacksmith named Kaijin."
Gobta raised the sword he was still holding.
"Do you think he'll trade this for something that doesn't put my life at risk?"
Arthur and Benimaru completely ignored him.
And so, the trio continued through the streets of Dwargon.
(End of Chapter)