Chapter 29

Кhаn аnd Вyutek wеrе рrасtically рushеd into the trаining ground by Вrеntе, whо hаd suddеnly aрpeаrеd behind thеm.

Тhе intеriоr of thе swordsmаnship training grоund wаs аlmоst identicаl to whаt Khan had sееn through the monitor whеn hе played the gаmе.

‘So this is the black marblе I оnly evеr saw thrоugh thе gаmе monitor.’

In the gamе, this swordsmanshiр trаining grоund existеd in еvеry villagе and citу.

The funny thing was thаt аll the swordsmаnshiр training grоunds in various lоcations lоokеd еxactly the sаme.

Аnоthеr chаractеristiс wаs the blaсk-hued mаrblе thаt fillеd аll sides оf thе swоrdsmanshiр trаining ground.

This marble would never break, no matter what the user did.

“It seems this is your first time at a swordsmanship training ground.”

While Khan and Byutek were looking around the interior of the training ground, Brente opened his mouth.

“I’ve only been to my House’s training ground and the Kilpheon Knight Order’s training ground.”

Khan merely nodded, and Byutek lightly mentioned his own experience.

Hearing that, Brente asked, as if he had guessed something.

“I thought you weren’t ordinary people… May I ask which House you are from?”

“Brandish, a House with a somewhat long history in Kilpheon…”

“Oh, the Brandish House… Isn’t that one of the six prestigious swordsmanship Houses in Kilpheon? I knew it. Sir Byutek, you have overwhelmingly impressive bone and muscle at first glance…!”

“I… am practically a disowned son.”

“Huh…? What do you mean by that?”

Brente listened intently to Byutek’s story, which had begun so abruptly.

Frankly, Khan found this situation ridiculous.

‘He’s just spewing utter bullshit.’

Byutek and Brente were just going back and forth, singing each other’s praises…

They just kept talking amongst themselves.

“What…! Are you saying the Kilpheon Knight Order and that prestigious Brandish House failed to recognize Sir Byutek’s overwhelming talent like this?”

“Yes… Actually, I also thought of myself as trash and lived that way. I didn’t want to show others an un-knightly, weak appearance, so I hid my true nature. There were quite a few times I almost died from recklessly stepping forward without fear.”

Byutek paused while speaking and looked at Khan.

Then, as if suddenly grateful to Khan, he gave a slight bow of his head.

Khan stared at Byutek expressionlessly.

“Byutek. Now is not the time to be wallowing in sentiment.”

“Ah… S-sorry!”

“You said you wanted to be my escort knight, right? If you meant what you said, you need to show me the skill worthy of it this time. Otherwise, there will be no more reason for us to travel together.”

“…I understand!”

Byutek shouted confidently, as if having resolved something.

Then, Brente, standing beside him, spoke as if making a guarantee.

“Sir Khan, you needn’t worry about that. With Sir Byutek’s bone and muscle, he will probably become much stronger than me.”

“…Well, let’s just start the sparring right away then.”

Under the continuous barrage of Brente’s words, Khan and Byutek were also being subtly brainwashed.

‘Me… was I actually a really strong guy all along…?’

‘Is it really true that this idiot has the talent of an unbelievable knight…?’

Byutek even felt a surge of confidence that he could take down any monster in one blow.

He even felt he could win in a spar against Brente, Eldrida’s guardian knight.

“Good. Let’s start right away. Are you ready?”

“Yes!”

“Then, please choose a wooden sword you like from among those hanging on the back wall.”

In front of the black marble, numerous wooden swords, wooden spears, axes, and other various weapons were displayed.

Originally, it should have been a time when many people would be using the swordsmanship training ground, but according to Brente, he had rented the training ground for the entire day today.

Thud.

After Byutek and Brente picked up a visible wooden sword with their hands, they faced each other and created distance.

“Will Sir Khan oversee the judgment?”

At Brente’s words, Khan nodded.

‘No way… really?’

The two stood facing each other, holding their swords.

If Brente’s words were true, then Byutek would overpower Brente in this spar.

However, Khan had eyes that could see the opponent’s level.

[LV.23 Eldrida’s Guardian Knight Brente]

Brente was a knight with overwhelming martial prowess exceeding level 20.

And in stark contrast, Byutek’s pitiful level.

[LV.3 Kilpheon’s Lowest-Rank Knight Byutek]

He was only level 3, so where exactly was Byutek’s overflowing talent?

Originally, since Byutek was an NPC who died in the very early stages of the game’s story, even Khan couldn’t properly know the power he possessed.

‘Or… maybe Brente is misjudging the person.’

Seeing the two standing facing each other like this, Byutek’s bone and muscle did indeed seem innate.

Byutek basically had thick, sturdy bones and well-defined, split muscles.

In terms of body alone, he was no less than Brente, but that was all.

From the outside, people with that level of innate bone and muscle were a dime a dozen among knights.

“Are you ready?”

“You can start anytime!”

As Byutek shouted, the two simultaneously looked at Khan.

It was a request for Khan, who was overseeing the judgment, to start the spar.

‘That is…?!’

Thanks to the Sage’s Heart, Khan’s greatly surprised expression didn’t show at all on the outside.

But right now, he was considerably surprised.

He was so surprised that he was momentarily speechless, and there was a separate reason for that.

‘A 7th-grade hidden skill… Golden Eye?’

Brente’s pupils, dyed golden.

As soon as Khan saw them, he knew.

That the skill he was using now was ‘Golden Eye’.

‘Dynamic visual acuity becomes unbelievably fast. It’s a skill that makes things in your field of vision appear about three times slower than they do for ordinary people… I never imagined Brente would have that Golden Eye.’

The real advantage of ‘Golden Eye’ lies elsewhere.

‘It allows you to quickly grasp the opponent’s skills and traits, making it very useful in battles against monsters.’

Especially when facing a monster for the first time, that ‘Golden Eye’ was incredibly helpful.

Seeing Brente’s Golden Eye, Khan felt like all the puzzle pieces finally fit together.

‘It seems he used Golden Eye to check the traits… no, Byutek’s talent.’

Realizing that fact, Khan himself began to feel a sense of anticipation.

He wondered if Byutek, who had only shown an idiot-like appearance until now, might finally be of some use.

‘There was some merit in deliberately keeping him with me until now.’

There had been several times when Byutek seemed so useless that he considered abandoning him, but he felt it was good he didn’t.

The thought that Byutek, an NPC who should have died long ago, was actually a cheat character who had been hiding his power and bloomed his talent late kept making him want to laugh.

‘If Byutek is really that strong, finding hidden skills in the future will become much easier. The quests to come can also be cleared faster and more easily than I anticipated.’

Khan possessed four hidden skills, but he was still very weak.

His innate mana was far too low to be called a mage, and the hidden skills he had that were usable in combat were of too low a grade.

‘No matter how little mana consumption Arrow and Barrier have… it’s still very insufficient.’

Therefore, Khan was actively looking for companions to travel with him, i.e., helpers.

Somehow, that had ended up being Byutek.

‘I didn’t originally plan to travel with him, but if this is how it turns out, continuing to travel together in the future wouldn’t be bad either.’

And there was one more person.

The reason he taught magic to Sharin while clearing the Deilis Trading Company’s main quest.

It was precisely to make her his companion.

‘With Sharin’s talent… she’ll become strong much faster than me.’

In Sharin’s case, you only encounter her as an NPC in the magic tower where the final boss is located while clearing the main quest.

By that time, Sharin had become a mage more powerful than anyone, which was how Khan knew of Sharin’s talent.

‘Oh dear, I got lost in thought, even if only for a moment.’

It was only about 2 seconds at most, but Byutek and Brente, holding their swords, were looking at him with eyes asking him to quickly start the spar.

“From now, the spar between Kilpheon’s knight Byutek and Eldrida’s guardian knight Brente begins.”

As Khan announced the start of the spar, he focused on Byutek with an expectant look in his eyes.

‘Show me, Byutek! Show me the talent rising from your innate bone and muscle!’

If a talented knight became a companion, there would be nothing more reliable than that.

Therefore, Khan didn’t take his eyes off Byutek.

Simultaneously, Byutek and Brente charged toward each other and swung their wooden swords.

But.

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

Wham!!!

“Gueeehk!!”

“……”

“……”

Byutek’s sword, so slow that even an ordinary person could see its trajectory, didn’t reach Brente.

In the end, Byutek, hit by Brente’s wooden sword, made a sound like a pig being slaughtered and flew backward.

“I only used about 10% of my strength… Sir Byutek, did you hold back too much for fear of hurting me? Please get up first and let’s try again…”

“…It seems he’s unconscious.”

“This can’t be… This is impossible…! Actually, I have a skill that allows me to check an opponent’s talent and abilities. This is absolutely impossible!”

His expectations were in vain.

Khan suddenly felt deflated.

“Sir Byutek! Please get up!”

Brente approached Byutek, grabbed him, shook him, and shouted.

But Byutek seemed properly unconscious, as he remained silent and unresponsive.

“Ah, I read in a book once. It said that people with overwhelmingly innate bone and muscle greatly lack delicacy and agility and need to compensate for those two things!”

“Hmm…”

“Since I also served as a training instructor in Eldrida, I know knights’ bodies well. I thought Sir Byutek’s body seemed completely unbalanced somehow… Sir Khan!”

“Yes.”

Brente suddenly called out to Khan in a loud voice, as if something had flashed in his mind.

“Could you entrust Sir Byutek to me for just one week? I’m confident I can make him into a knight worthy of this bone and muscle in a week!”

“…Why are you asking me that?”

“Well… since Sir Byutek is unconscious, wouldn’t it be right to seek permission from Sir Khan, whom Sir Byutek trusts and follows?”

“…Do as you please. I also have things to attend to now, so I must be going.”

“Thank you! I will take responsibility and make Sir Byutek into a strong knight!”

He bowed his head and bid farewell to Khan, who was leaving the training ground.

‘Hmm, I guess I shouldn’t get my hopes up for now.’

He had briefly run a happiness circuit, but it didn’t matter even if Byutek was useless as a companion.

After all, the main one was Sharin.

If Byutek really did become strong within a week, that would be good in its own way.

Khan moved his steps to go meet Sharin.