The duel with the Sword Saint began with an unexpected encounter.
After the world-wide event, the Tournament for the Worldās Strongest ended, we returned to our normal peaceful life.
ā¦ā¦Or so it should have beenā¦ā¦
[H- Hey, Old man. That just nowā¦ā¦]
[Donāt say it. I already know, so donāt say it.]
When we headed to the Guildās training ground as usual, there stood Adventurers with sparkling eyes, seemingly waiting for someone.
(D*mn it! This is all Nirvaās fault!)
Nirvaās comment at the had made me the talk of the city as āthe man who defeated the worldās strongest swordmaster in a duel and taught him swordsmanshipā.
(What a bunch of nonsense! I bet he was just too lazy to teach the technique to others himself!)
I remembered the teasing smile Nirva had at that moment.
In the first place, even though he claimed āhe learned that swordsmanship technique from meā, thatās not true at all.
All I had shown him was the fact that āmanually executing Arts is possibleā, and I hadnāt given him any hint as to its practical use.
However, just a few days passed and Nirva not only became able to manually execute Arts on his own, but also developed the technique of changing the angle of an Art and even demonstrated the application of activating another Art with both hands.
(That guy is the real deal.)
As to be expected from a person called genius in this worldā¦ā¦
His imagination and technical skills are far superior to ordinary people like me.
Rumors that I had won a duel against such a monster, which is something I had only managed to somehow achieve with my game knowledge, is something that would only make me troubled.
And so, on behalf of Nirva, who had left on his own, I desperately tried to explain myself.
I told them that my victory over Nirva had been in a match that was under special conditions, how that doesnāt mean Iām stronger than him at all, and that I had only shown him that swordsmanship technique.
[And yet, what the heck is thisā¦ā¦]
There were so many Adventurers in the training grounds that it was ridiculous to even count them, obviously waiting around as if they were looking for something.
As I lament my current situation, which isnāt going the way I want it to, the nearby Resilia, whose expression was the same as always, told me matter-of-factly.
[Your half-hearted denial backfired. Thanks to all your denying, it instead gave credibility to how āthe parts you didnāt deny are trueā.]
[ā¦ā¦If you already knew that would happen, I wish you had stopped me then.]
""
When I helplessly retorted, Resilia shrugged her shoulders.
[You certainly are trying to make them doubly sure, but I think the result would have been the same. That was just how big of an impact that Sword Saintās technique had on them.]
In other words, when Nirva pointed at me, the end result was already decided.
This aināt funny at all.
[Rather than that, what are you going to do, Nii-san? Iām sure they will also notice our arrival soon.]
[That isā¦ā¦]
I have already decided to disclose the information about Manual Arts through the Guild.
Itās not like Iām unwilling to teach them, but Iām afraid that I might not be able to cope with teaching so many people at once.
Letting out a sigh, I called out to Radd and Resilia over.
[It canāt be helped. Change of plans.]
The impact of Nirva Dual-Wielding Arts was so strong at that place that it seemed to be the only thing that attracted attention, but it seems that those with discerning eyes should have already figured out that the Arts used by Radd are different from the norm.
Thatās why, considering that the training ground where Radd and Resilia always train their swordsmanship had been overtaken by them, it would be better if the swordsmen group of me, Radd and Resilia didnāt go to that place.
Besides, I happened to know a certain ātrialā that can be conquered only by front line-type characters.
[āāāāāWeāll have some special training, Radd. Today, Iām going to make you a full-fledged treasure hunter.]
ā»ćā»ćā»
As I wade through the grasslands, trying to remember the path weāre supposed to take, I call out to Radd.
[To be honest, Iāve been thinking that itās about time we got you a new Class.]
Raddās current Class is .
A special Class that can be Class Changed by wearing specific equipment with the peculiar Class .
Although itās a Class that you could Class Change to relatively early, its growth rate is equivalent to that of a Fourth-Tier Class.
It was a very tasty Class while your level was low, but now that his level has exceeded 30 and his bare minimum ability values had met the requirements for Class Changing to a Fourth-Tier Class, he doesnāt have much to gain from anymore.
No, due to the fact that itās a balanced type where everything is almost average in growth, may be more difficult to handle than other Fourth-Tier Classes.
[Speaking of balanced types, , which could be accessed in the future, isnāt much different. Well, the Class is a Unique Class that is designed to be equivalent to a Third-Tier Class. Itās a little more scrambled than , but it has more bonus affinity values than the .]
[Heehhhā¦ā¦ Arehh?]
Radd was listening to my story with a nod of his head, but then he tilted his head.
[But Old man, didnāt you say how āwhen you reach Lv 99, your level may not increase anymore, but you can still raise your ability values as much as you wantā? If you can just make up for your shortcomings by working hard at Lv 99, then wouldnāt it be better to just intentionally suppress the growth of ability values with a weak Class to speed up the level increase and learn powerful techniques earlierā¦ā¦]
I see his point, thatās a natural conclusion youād arrive at.
But sadly, thatās unfortunately not realistic.
[First of all though, itās reckless to try to raise your level when your ability value hasnāt grown enough. Even if you suppress the growth of your ability value a little by using a Class with low affinity given, the amount of EXP required wonāt change much. Above allā¦ā¦]
[Above all?]
[When you reach Lv 99, the EXP requirement correction is inflated. Well, it still depends on your ability values, but you can consider that raising your ability values by a level after reaching Lv 99 requires at least several to 10 times more EXP than raising it from Lv 98 to Lv 99.]
[T- Thenā¦ā¦]
As Raddās face turned pale, I ruthlessly declared.
[Itās going to be even harder to overturn the ability value difference after Lv 99 than it was before it.]
[U- Ueeehhhā¦ā¦]
Everything beyond Lv 99 should just be treated as a challenge to improve oneself even further.
Itās essentially not of nature that would make existing gameplay easier.
[Well, thatās why Classes with high growth rates are important.]
I pulled a frowning Radd to the side and continued on.
I was anxious because I had only visited this place in my gaming days, but fortunately, I found the place I was searching for quickly.
[ā¦ā¦Weāre here.]
[Here? I canāt see anything though.]
As Radd spoke this, I placed my hand on a rock surface that appeared to be a dead end, and the wall illusion disappeared, revealing the passageway through it.
Inside it was a blatantly well-maintained path.
This is definitely man-made.
[ā¦ā¦Just as usual, you find stuff that you usually wouldnāt have. How the heck do you even find places like this, Old man?]
I just shrugged at Raddās question and went inside.
[ā¦ā¦Speaking of which, youāll achieve your other wish here too.]
[My other wish?]
[Yeahā¦ā¦]
I walked unhesitatingly through the as it appeared and turned my gaze toward the path marked as āThe First Trialā.
As I used on the statue of a knight on a pedestal in the center of the room, which looked as if it was about to start moving, I spoke.
[Come on, you should be pleased. Youāve got a practice partner that will never break even after endless pounding.]