WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Alyo
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◈ Surviving as a Warrior in a TRPG World ◈
Chapter 73: Promotion (1)
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"Whew... Now that I've taken care of all the urgent business, I should rest properly for a while and get myself back into shape."
However, Gerik's wish to relax did not last long. What awaited him afterward were grueling days of training, one after another.
When Gerik visited Ilvern under the pretext of reviewing the Strength Enhancement skill, Ilvern had offered to train him.
Perhaps Ilvern felt he personally owed Gerik no small debt from the Grizzly Owl incident. Aside from the Ashburn family's secret techniques, he taught Gerik generously.
Posture, attitude, mindset, all manner of common sense and knowledge. Ilvern even became Gerik's sparring partner himself every day.
As a bonus, Gerik discovered bad habits he had not known he had. Everything was useful, but the greatest thing he gained from sparring was, without question, a firsthand sense of a Class's power.
The power held by Ilvern's Class, Ash Knight, went far beyond anything he had imagined.
Even Gerik, an irregular with four skills, could not land a single effective blow against Ilvern when the knight fought at full strength.
Of course, that was largely because Gerik could not openly use Telekinesis or his enhanced strength.
After around ten days of sparring, Gerik grew sick of the impossible gap between them. He used the excuse that he had learned the skill and began drawing fully on his strength. Even so, the result was the same.
It was not until nearly fifteen days had passed that Gerik could finally hold his own against Ilvern a little better. By using his increasingly familiar Telekinesis to compensate for his body's lack of flexibility and slow reactions, he managed to bolster his capabilities.
"Goddamn it...!!"
After fifteen days of such results, Gerik thought himself pathetic. But Ilvern scoffed when he heard Gerik blaming himself.
"What are you blaming yourself for? What you've shown already is incredible."
Ilvern comforted Gerik, saying that he had spent decades on the battlefield and possessed the special Class of Ash Knight.
He praised Gerik, saying it made no sense for someone without a Class to endure against him without being completely overwhelmed.
"All the more so considering your age and experience. So stop blaming yourself and take some pride in it."
Ilvern's tone grew more subdued as he added that today, the fifteenth and final day of the Skillbook rental period, was his last day staying here.
"Which is why, since this is our farewell, I'd like to have one proper match with you one last time."
"Thank you, Sir Ilvern."
Gerik had also received the armor he ordered from Grimdal that day. At last fully equipped, he tightened his grip on his unsharpened training iron sword and began sparring with Ilvern.
"I'm coming!"
Without any particular preparatory motion, Gerik abruptly used Charge to close the distance and brought down Slash.
Swish!!
The iron sword, bearing the weight of Gerik's armor and body along with strength enhanced to the limits of humanity, cut through the air at terrifying speed as it descended toward Ilvern's shoulder.
Though the blow possessed unimaginable destructive force, Ilvern did not even blink. He merely raised his tower shield, wrapped in Ash Guard.
Bam!!
The ash-gray shield not only withstood Gerik's fearsome attack but absorbed its impact as well.
As a result, Ilvern took only a couple of steps back and received Gerik's assault without any significant damage.
"Excellent! When you press the attack, there must be no hesitation!"
Along with his praise, Ilvern's counterattack came flying in.
A Shockwave with its power greatly restrained. It was the weakest of Ilvern's attack skills, but used at perfect timing, it forced Gerik to falter in his assault and retreat.
"Take this!"
A heavy blow surged from the training mace with Ilvern's short cry. Gritting his teeth, Gerik used his enhanced Perception to block Ilvern's Heavy Strike.
Thud!!
"Urgh...!!"
The heavy impact unique to Heavy Strike crashed into Gerik's iron sword, and he endured it with clenched teeth.
In the past, he might have been sent flying the moment he blocked that attack. But Gerik's strengthened muscles held back even Ilvern's superhuman strike.
"How will you manage if a mere Heavy Strike gives you trouble? At this rate, when will I ever get to use Ash Strike?"
Those words ran contrary to the praise Ilvern had offered before the spar. But shamefully, Heavy Strike alone was indeed already more than Gerik could handle.
In fact, Ilvern had not used Ash Strike at all, saying it was still too dangerous for Gerik's level.
'Since it's the last day, I'll use everything...!!'
With his pride shattered and anger boiling to the top of his head, Gerik no longer wanted to secretly hold back his skills.
So, as he had recently discovered, he used Telekinesis to wrap his weaker joints and reinforce his body against the shock. Then he used Charge and Slash once more.
Bam!!
"...!!"
Thanks to Telekinesis reducing the shock to his joints, Gerik's habit of unconsciously weakening his sword swings disappeared.
As a result, his Slash successfully unleashed one hundred percent of its power. Ilvern, who blocked it, widened his eyes at the weight behind it.
"Hup...!!"
Caught off guard, Ilvern slammed his shield hard against the ground and used Shockwave to break Gerik's stance before chaining it into Heavy Strike.
But through his sharp Perception, Gerik successfully read Ilvern's attack pattern a beat ahead without even looking.
'Telekinesis...!!'
Gerik canceled out the shock rising from the ground with Telekinesis, anchoring his lower body. After withstanding it, he gripped his sword, Charged toward Ilvern from point-blank range, dodged Heavy Strike, and rammed him with his body.
"Urgh...!!"
When the sturdy, armored man crashed into him mercilessly with the power of a skill, a pained groan escaped Ilvern's lips for the first time.
'Telekinesis...!!'
As Ilvern revealed an opening from the pain and impact, Gerik once again used Telekinesis to force strength into his destabilized body and regain his stance before using Slash.
"!!"
When Gerik used Slash from such an impossible position and sent a sharp attack at him, the old knight's eyes flew wide open. Even after decades on the battlefield, it was a sight he had never seen before.
"Urgh...!!"
Flustered, the old knight had no choice but to raise his shield and mace and desperately focus on defense.
As if avenging all the defeats he had suffered until now, Gerik began raining Slash after Slash onto Ilvern's guard.
"Raaah!!"
But Ilvern let out a fierce roar, as though Gerik still had a long way to go. He drove his ash-gray shield into the ground, sent out a Shockwave, and hunched behind the shield to blunt Gerik's momentum.
As though he was not going to fall for the same pattern again after being caught by it so many times, Gerik answered with Telekinesis.
However, unable to reveal his secret, Gerik could only use Telekinesis defensively. As a result, neither of them could bring the other down, and they exchanged attacks and counterattacks in a wearying back-and-forth.
"Hah... Honestly."
Sweat began beading on Ilvern's forehead after their repeated fierce exchanges. Having declined from his prime due to age, the old knight's face showed faint fatigue.
"You're tired already?"
In contrast, Gerik was far more energetic thanks to the health enhanced by Wild Blessing. He launched another fierce assault, and their similar pattern of exchanges continued.
'An opening...!! Charge!'
Eventually, a crack appeared in the ironclad defense of Ilvern, whose stamina had been worn down by their prolonged exchange.
At the first opening the old knight had shown in fifteen days of sparring, Gerik plunged in as though he had been waiting for it, using Charge to drive the impact into Ilvern's body.
"Can you not think of something more creative? Do you think repeatedly using the technique I taught you will work on me?"
Ilvern caught it with his shield imbued with Ash Guard. Just as he had done several times before, he prepared to use Shockwave by slamming down his shield.
'Now...!!'
But Ilvern was mistaken. For the first time that day, Gerik used his trump card, Telekinesis, not to enhance his body but to form an invisible shield that blocked Ilvern's attack.
Clang!
The formless wall bounced Ilvern's Shockwave back head-on, sending a loud noise in every direction. Ilvern's eyes widened at the sight.
'I blocked it!'
Gerik himself shuddered at the power of Telekinesis, which he had actively used for the first time since the sparring began. But he had no time to admire it.
He immediately Charged, darting out to the side, then swung Slash in a wide semicircle.
Whoosh!
The tip of the iron sword barely grazed the top of Ilvern's head.
Several strands of the old knight's snow-white hair were cut away and drifted helplessly through the air. From a high stance, Gerik tried to unleash Slash again for the finishing blow.
But a strange sensation came over Gerik, and he froze in place.
"Stop!"
Ilvern urgently called for an end to the spar. Hearing him, Gerik flinched and lowered the sword he had raised. In the meantime, Ilvern stared at Gerik with an incredulous expression and asked,
"That Shockwave just now... How in the world did you block it?"
Normally, Gerik would have needed an excuse to hide Telekinesis. But he could not answer the question.
'What... was that just now?!'
At the final moment, when Slash had grazed the top of Sir Ilvern's head, the skill leveled up, and an intense wave surged from the Book nestled deep within Gerik's mind.
Overwhelmed by the fierce, unfamiliar sensation that swept through his whole body, Gerik could only stand there blankly for a moment.
"What's wrong?"
Putting aside his curiosity about the strange power Gerik had used at the end, Ilvern asked what was going on.
Only then did Gerik haltingly explain. At the moment his final Slash had barely touched Ilvern's body, something indescribable had washed over him.
"That is the sign of a Class!"
Unable to contain his excitement, the old knight raised his voice. He gripped Gerik's shoulders tightly and offered his heartfelt congratulations.
"Congratulations! You've finally reached the threshold!"
Gerik sincerely thanked Ilvern for the congratulations. Yet inwardly, he found his mind continually drawn to the strange phenomenon he had just experienced.
'No matter how urgent it is, there is a time and place.'
Desperately suppressing his curiosity, Gerik decided he would open his status window and carefully examine his condition later, when he was alone.
Then he approached Sir Ilvern to bring the spar to an end.
"But that thing at the end... How did you block my Shockwave?"
"Ah... That was..."
When Ilvern asked, unable to conceal his curiosity, Gerik hesitated for a moment before claiming it was the power of the ring he wore.
"...Let's leave it at that."
Ilvern gave a faint laugh and nodded.
However, judging by the nature of that smile, he seemed to have vaguely realized that what blocked his skill earlier was not the ring's power, but a special power dwelling within Gerik.
"You've worked hard."
As if he did not want to burden Gerik, Ilvern quickly ended the conversation. Gerik once more offered Ilvern his deep gratitude for all his teachings.
"What need is there for words like that between us?"
Hearing Gerik's thanks, Ilvern laughed heartily and waved a hand. Then he rummaged through his clothes, took out an unfamiliar seal, and handed it to Gerik.
"...What is this?"
When Gerik stared at the sudden seal in confusion, Ilvern explained that it was his own, an item that could be used to communicate with the Ashburn family.
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