Training and Growth
Late at night, on the rooftop of the villa.
Seira tilted her head.
"Master? Why are you lying down?"
It was less like lying down and more like collapsing flat with a thud—Jinhyuk stared at her.
His face was utterly sincere, as if he genuinely had no idea why this human had suddenly flopped over.
"Because I'm exhausted?"
After visiting both the Tower of Myths and the Tower of Despair, only to find entry impossible to either.
Unlike yesterday, when he'd just gorged on chicken and rolled around in his room.
Instead, he'd asked Seira to come up to the rooftop.
It was for swordsmanship practice with the Black Knights' blade.
"I have no idea what you're talking about. You haven't even swung it a few times yet."
He didn't want to whine as the student.
So he shouted it in his mind instead.
At least 200 swings.
"Get up, Master. Not yet."
Seira made a gesture for him to rise.
Jinhyuk sincerely wanted to get up, too.
Who wouldn't want to grow stronger?
He wanted to be the protagonist who sparkled brighter than anyone.
But right now, he was truly at his limit.
This wasn't a cry for help.
He'd desperately held on, but now his legs and arms wouldn't move an inch.
"Seira. You're level 121, right? I'm level 6."
"And?"
"That means the difference in our stamina is like heaven and earth. It might be nothing for you, but right now, I don't have even a shred of strength left to..."
Crack!
Jinhyuk stared at the wooden sword embedded right in front of his eyes.
"Huh?"
A wooden sword piercing the rooftop floor— he'd never seen anything like it.
"Seira?"
Jinhyuk pointed at the sword with a blank face.
If he hadn't jerked his head back just in time, his skull would've cracked open for real.
"You said you had no strength left, so how'd you dodge?"
"Well, because I nearly died..."
Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!
It didn't look like she planned to stop at one.
Seira's wooden sword came flying at Jinhyuk, aiming to strike.
If it hit, something would definitely break, so he rolled his body desperately.
This time, the wooden sword swept up from below like it was going to slice him.
He sprang up and twisted his body at an angle to evade.
As the sword grazed past his shoulder line and nicked his ear, Jinhyuk shouted urgently.
"I'm gonna die! You're really gonna kill me!!"
"You won't die. My duty is to keep you from dying. Counter it."
This time, the wooden sword came straight at him.
He raised the sword he'd bought to block it.
The heavy weight bore down on his already exhausted body.
His whole body screamed in agony, but Seira showed no sign of stopping.
"Focus on your footwork. If you don't plant properly, your sword won't have any power."
He didn't even have the strength left to yell for her to stop.
Dodging seemed better than enduring the weight transmitted through his blade, so he worked his feet frantically.
He only blocked with his sword the ones he truly couldn't evade.
'Remarkable power.'
Even as she swung the wooden sword, Seira observed Jinhyuk's movements without missing a beat.
He was frantic just to dodge, but those motions and the flow of his sword were unmistakably the swordsmanship she herself had created.
Even the most talented knights under her command hadn't reached that level in a single day. It was truly an uncanny ability.
And that wasn't all.
'Sharp eyes. And an instinctive sense that's outstanding.'
Not everyone who knew swordsmanship could move like that.
Jinhyuk didn't close his eyes even when the wooden sword came close.
He watched the blade's path to the end and chose the best response.
The way he occasionally drew on swordsmanship instinctively astonished Seira as well.
His speed and power were still sorely lacking due to his untrained body, but once that was filled in, he could reach a level rivaling the knight order she'd once led.
Now, it seemed he'd truly hit his limit— he couldn't even lift his feet properly.
'Maybe this is enough.'
Any more, and he'd pass out, so she gradually eased the force from her wooden sword.
In that instant.
Whish!
A sword flew in from the blind spot in his vision.
Seira dodged reflexively and instinctively thrust her wooden sword forward.
Thud!!
A dull friction sound rang out.
"Ah."
Only then did Seira look at Jinhyuk in surprise.
He glanced once at the wooden sword pressed against his stomach, then lifted his head to look at her.
His gaze was filled with a message brimming with resentment: Why...?
Flop!
Jinhyuk toppled over and rolled across the floor.
A little harder, and the expensive beef he'd eaten earlier would've been regurgitated right back up.
Seira gazed at Jinhyuk's side as he rolled.
There, just a tiny bit, lay a strand of her hair that had been severed moments ago.
Even calling it carelessness, for her hair to be cut by someone wielding a sword for the first time today.
It wasn't just dullness— Jinhyuk's attack had been brilliant, targeting the split-second when she'd relaxed her strength.
Seira set down her wooden sword and approached Jinhyuk, who was groaning.
She crouched low and examined his stomach.
"Your organs and bones are fine, so no need to worry. It seems the impact was reduced because of all that fat."
Jinhyuk looked up at Seira with sad eyes.
To deliver such a cool-headed diagnosis to someone writhing in pain. What a cold one.
Seira sat down fully and stroked across Jinhyuk's stomach.
"You have to get stronger. If you don't, you'll really die."
Jinhyuk stopped his groaning at the sudden serious tone.
"No matter how strong a knight is, it's impossible for them to be by your side every moment. Whether it's an enemy's scheme or a trap. No matter the path, there will come a time when you're alone, Master. It's the moment when the most emperors, kings, and lords have died. You have to survive that to climb even higher."
"You're right."
He had no intention of arguing.
Jinhyuk's thoughts aligned with hers to a degree.
He had zero intention of climbing the tower relying solely on Seira's power.
Even if a situation like that didn't unfold, Jinhyuk wanted to grow strong on his own.
Only then could he blend with Seira's light to create an even brighter shine.
Ding!
[You've pushed your body to the extreme! Strength, Stamina, Agility, and Vitality stats have increased!]
[This is the most intense pain you've ever endured since birth. Yet you didn't faint. You've acquired the trait 'Unfaintable.' You will not faint no matter how severe the damage.]
'Oh?'
His eyes widened.
Stat increases and a trait acquisition he hadn't even hoped for.
Still, it felt a bit odd.
He'd heard that stats could sometimes rise from activities outside the tower.
But unless it involved extreme physical refinement, the odds were so abysmal they were practically impossible.
Yet four stats and a trait in one go.
'Maybe I'm a super lucky guy.'
After a moment's thought, Jinhyuk came to his own conclusion.
More stats and traits were always better.
Plenty meant good— no need to agonize over the why.
Beep-beep. Beep-beep.
As he smiled at the unexpected growth, the clock chimed midnight.
Trembling, Jinhyuk hauled himself up and looked at Seira.
"Let's go to the Tower of Despair. Judging by how my body's feeling, I'll wake up 100% with muscle pain tomorrow."
He could only enter the tower once a day as it was.
If muscle pain kept him from going that day, nothing could be more wasteful.
Seira looked at Jinhyuk, who had already prepared for entry.
'Harsh one.'
She thought she could push him even harder starting tomorrow.
[Would you like to enter the 6th floor of the Tower of Despair?]
Before nodding.
Jinhyuk pulled something from his inventory and held it out to Seira.
"??"
Seira alternated between the proffered compass and Jinhyuk.
"I'm in this state, so I'm counting on you for the rear guard."
His legs trembled even using the scabbard as a cane.
Seira lightly touched Jinhyuk's leg.
Thud.
Seeing him collapse flat, it seemed this time it really was his limit.
"Got it."
Confirming Seira had fastened the compass to her wrist, he entered the Tower of Despair.
After the familiar process, the location shifted.
"Welcome to the 6th floor."
A slightly reedy voice rang out.
He had already looked up guides for the tower beforehand.
From the 6th floor, there were NPCs— or rather, tower residents, in this place.
'It's real.'
Jinhyuk's eyes sparkled.
A person from another world, only talked about in stories.
Seeing one in the flesh made him want to poke it with his finger to check.
The tower resident Konu, who slightly resembled a badger, cleared his throat a couple of times.
"If you think this 6th floor is anything like the layers you've cleared so far, you'd be gravely mistaken. From here on, it's a complex maze. One wrong step, and you'll lose your way, wandering in circles! If your provisions are light, starvation is all but certain! So I recommend preparing a means of return right from the entrance before setting out..."
Whoosh!!!
A fierce wind rose.
By the time Konu closed and opened his eyes, Seira had already leaped far ahead.
"Hey, you have to listen to what people say all the way through! You need to prepare everything before heading out!"
Konu was a resident who traveled between the 6th and 10th floors.
He also took on the role of guiding incoming players about the floor.
"I said listen and go!"
Even as he shouted again, Seira didn't stop.
She was already a tiny speck, too far for his voice to reach anyway.
"I'm listening."
"Argh, you scared me."
Only then did Konu notice Jinhyuk's presence and furrow his brow.
"I told you, people who ignore me and get lost aren't exactly rare! There are plenty who've even deserted because of it! Don't blame me..."
[Tower of Despair, 6th floor cleared!]
"Huh?"
Startled, Konu looked up at the empty air.
[Clear time: 10 seconds! The Record of Names has been broken! SSS+ grade achieved! Achievement gauge increased!]
"What the...?"
Konu rubbed his eyes.
Even seeing it with his own two eyes, he could scarcely believe the result.
The monsters? The knight who'd just charged out was strong enough to fell them in moments, sure.
But how on earth do you find your way through the maze in just 10 seconds? It was a mystery.
"Oh, golden fang!"
It seemed like a familiar situation to this human.
Whether cleared in 10 seconds or not, Jinhyuk checked the item he'd just obtained with trembling hands.
"Golden fang— is that expensive?"
Seira, now at Jinhyuk's side, joined in examining the item.
"How many chickens could this buy?"
"At least 30."
"Good."
As the two carried on their inscrutable conversation, cold sweat trickled down Konu's back.
'What kind of people are these?'
He could say it with certainty.
The strangest humans he'd met so far.
A few days later, 10th floor of the Tower of Despair.
'They're here.'
Konu wasn't standing anymore.
He lay sprawled flat on the bare floor, turning his head.
There, Jinhyuk and Seira appeared.
"Hey!"
"Oh."
To Jinhyuk's greeting, Konu raised a hand as if the world was a massive hassle.
Why was it?
Ever since that pair showed up, he'd felt this sense of loss, like he'd been fired.
As the two set off once more without hesitation, Konu turned his back.
'Please, just hurry up and climb higher!'
He hoped they'd reach the 11th floor soon.
Sincerely.
----------
T/N:
Join for free and unlock 5 advanced chapters every week!
Access 35 chapters in advance on my Patreon:[email protected]//towerup