Chapter 63

The duel with the Sword Saint began unexpectedly after an unforeseen encounter.

After that, we finished the world-scale event, the Combat Tournament, and were supposed to return to our usual peaceful days.

...That was supposed to be the case, anyway.

"Hey, old man. About that..."

"Don't say it. I know."

When we headed to the guild's training ground as usual, there were adventurers gathered there, their eyes gleaming, as if waiting for someone.

(Damn! Nilva!)

Due to Nilva's remarks during the "World Championship," I ended up becoming the talk of the town as the "man who defeated the world's strongest Sword Saint in a duel and taught him sword techniques."

(What a load of crap! He must have just been too lazy to teach others!)

I recalled the evil smile Nilva had on his face at the last moment.

To begin with, he had said, "I learned this sword technique from him," but that was far from the truth.

All I showed was the fact that "Arts can be used manually," and I didn't give any practical hints at all.

However, within a few days, Nilva not only managed to activate Manual Arts on his own but also demonstrated advanced techniques, such as changing the angle of Arts activation and using different Arts with both hands.

(That's the real deal, huh?)

Truly, a genius of the created world.

His creativity and technical skills far surpass those of an ordinary person like me.

And it's problematic that I, who managed to keep up with such a monster only through game knowledge, am rumored to have won the duel.

So I tried to explain, in place of Nilva, who had left on his own.

I clarified that winning against Nilva was more like a special condition game, not a victory based on skill, and that I had only given him a starting point for the sword technique.

"But what the hell is this..."

The training ground was filled with adventurers, clearly waiting for something.

As I lamented the situation not going as planned, Resilia, standing beside me with her usual expression, calmly stated,

"Your half-hearted denial backfired. Thanks to that, the parts you didn't deny gained credibility."

"...If you knew, you should have stopped me."

When I muttered this weakly, Resilia shrugged.

"Indeed, it was a final blow, but I think the result would have been the same. The impact of that Sword Saint's technique was just that significant."

In other words, it was already over when Nilva pointed at me.

Absolutely not funny.

"Anyway, what do we do, brother? They'll notice us soon, I think."

"That's... a problem."

We had already decided to publicly share information about Manual Arts through the guild.

I'm not against teaching it, but dealing with such a large number of people at once would be unmanageable and scary.

I sighed and called out to Rad and Resilia.

"No choice. We need to change our plans."

At the time, Nilva's dual Arts had been the main focus, but those with a keen eye had already noticed that the Arts Rad used were different from the norm.

That's why I thought it would be best for our group of swordsmen, including me, Rad, and Resilia, not to go to that place.

And I had just the right "trial" in mind, one that could be tackled by the front-line members alone.

"---Special training, Rad. Today, I'll make you a full-fledged treasure hunter."

※ ※ ※

As I pushed through the grass, retracing my steps, I spoke to Rad.

"To be honest, I've been thinking that it's about time to prepare a new class for you."

Rad's current class is <Brave Leo>.

It's a special class that <Young Leo> can advance to by equipping specific gear.

Despite being a class you can advance to relatively early, its growth rate is equivalent to a fourth-class job.

It was a very profitable class while his level was low, but now that he has surpassed level thirty and meets the fourth-class job's base stat requirements, it's not as advantageous.

Actually, because it's a balanced class with nearly even growth in all stats, it might be harder to handle compared to other fourth-class jobs.

"Speaking of balanced classes, the upcoming <Treasure Hunter> is not much different. However, <Treasure Hunter> is a unique class based on a fourth-class job. It's a bit more specialized than <Brave Leo> and has more bonus stats."

"Hmm... Oh?"

Rad, who had been nodding along to my explanation, tilted his head.

"But didn't you say before that 'once you reach level ninety-nine, you can keep increasing your stats without changing your level'? If you can catch up by working hard at level ninety-nine, wouldn't it be better to deliberately suppress your stat growth with a weaker class to level up faster and learn powerful skills earlier?"

That's a reasonable thought.

Unfortunately, it's not practical.

"First, trying to level up with insufficient stat growth is reckless. Also, even if you suppress your stat growth a little with a low-growth class, the required experience points don't change much. Most importantly..."

"Most importantly?"

"Once you reach level ninety-nine, the experience point multiplier skyrockets. Depending on your stats, raising one level's worth of stats from level ninety-nine would require several to ten times the experience points needed to go from level ninety-eight to ninety-nine."

"Then... then..."

I said this mercilessly to Rad, who had paled slightly.

"Recovering the stat gap after reaching level ninety-nine will be even more difficult than getting to level ninety-nine."

Levels beyond ninety-nine are more about grinding.

They don't fundamentally make the game easier.

"So, that's why it's important to choose a high-growth class."

I pulled Rad, who was frowning, and moved forward.

Although I was anxious about visiting a place I had only been to in the game, fortunately, I found the location quickly.

"---This is it."

"Here? There's nothing here."

Ignoring Rad's comment, I placed my hand on the rock face that seemed to be a dead end, and the illusion of the wall disappeared, revealing a passage.

Inside, the path was clearly maintained.

It was entirely artificial.

"...I always wonder, where do you find these places?"

I shrugged off Rad's question and entered.

"...By the way, this place can also fulfill your other wish."

"Other wish?"

"Yeah..."

I boldly entered the <Temple> and looked at the path marked "First Trial."

I used <Pierce> on the knight statue on the central pedestal, which seemed ready to move, and said,

"Here, be happy. It's a practice partner that won't break no matter how much you hit it."

---

Trial Armored Knight

LV 45

HP --- MP ---

Physical Attack 1 Magic Attack 0

Physical Defense 999 Magic Defense 999

Strength 1 Vitality 999

Magic 0 Spirit 999

Agility 100 Focus 100

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