Chapter 41

And just like that, a few hours went by while Professor Oaken tried to lift his spirits by showing him various items from time to time.

Luke felt a little irate when he realized that if it were not for this professor, he never would have entered the contract signing nonsense. If he put his mind to it, he could learn this kind of stuff on his own with enough confidence.

He thus refused to let the change pass and extorted five thousand credit points simply by asking. He could also have gotten his hands on a small golem, but a senior student retorted, saying, "Let him complete his first circle!"

Of course, the professor promised to give him one soon after the first circle, as he is now his half-disciple.

After all of this, Lukas was finally able to leave the place. He rubbed his stomach and ate everything he could. It was free, after all.

After some walking, his next destination? The market and then the arena!

He walked slowly as he headed towards the market, soon passing the sigil library and the credit center before arriving at the place.

Why is he here? To get a small chestplate. A long saber, if possible. He wanted to regain his combat senses as soon as possible. He is already stuck in the tower. Without a doubt, the next floor would house six or eight lions.

The first floor was crowded, as expected, but he quickly found the stall where he bought the hand guard. He wanted to buy a sword from the same vendor because he offered him discounts. Unfortunately, the swords the vendor had did not suit his tastes.

He then roamed the entire market, also searching for a good sword. The ones available weren't good, more like usable.

He had the urge to pay a thousand credit points and proceed to the next floor, but realized how wasteful it would be.

He bought a bunch of mana recovery and stamina potions. After some searching, he discovered the highest and worst option.

And headed for the training facilities. The sun was already setting down, but he did not mind because he had a stamina potion on hand that could be used to gain energy. He can easily stay awake all night.

The training dummies and golems were at the back of the gravity chamber, which he noticed when he entered.

It was a large open field under a bright sky. The area was quite large, and bases were established. There was one wooden dummy standing in the center of the base, and underneath was a large magical circle.

Lukas recognized the enchantment and endurance glyphs.

[Glyphs: A collection of sigils creates a glyph.

Runes: A collection of sigils can also be used to create runes, but this requires spatial material.]

'Good, now I do not have to worry about it breaking apart.'

Without further ado, he began practicing grabbing the wooden-hilted silver saber. It was not too long, but it was not short either. He chose it for a reason: it was roughly the same size as the saber in his soul gear. He never used sabers in his previous life, but a sword and a small dagger, although the saber and sword appear to be similar they have significant differences. Fortunately, Azur edge swordsmanship does not limit his saber usage, which was a blessing.

He started with simple parries and slashes and used all of his physical strength. This seemed stupid, but it wasn't. He wanted to quickly increase his stamina and endurance, and the only way to do so was to constantly push one's limits while breaking through the corresponding limit.

Some people looked at him, including mostly senior students and a few rare cadets, and they were surprised by the impact he was having on the testing dummy.

That level of strength was uncommon, however, after a few seconds of seeing what he was doing, they sighed and lost interest.

Lukas did not mind any of them. The reason they lost interest was simple: training without practicing any techniques is useless. Sure, strength and endurance were improving, but it was not worth it, as if one becomes overly attached to basic slashes and parries. There is a concept known as muscle memory. Excessive practice makes it difficult to learn new skills because your body has been trained to perform those specific slashes too much.

For this reason, a warrior's style was crucial, but for him, it was not the case. He had no intention of altering his swordplay during this lifetime. He had no time to practice for decades, which was the reason.

In order to minimize mass casualties while taking the quickest possible route, he had to halt the impending events.

Lukas continued to train well into the night, pushing his body to its limits as the moon rose high overhead. Though his slashes grew tired, his determination remained strong. He knew that to change the future, he must become powerful quickly. There was little time to waste. Gulping down the fourth stamina potion, he started training.

As the hours passed, the training area gradually emptied until Lukas was left alone with just the moon and dummies for company. Finally, as the first rays of dawn began to lighten the sky, he called an end to his session, thoroughly spent but satisfied with the progress.

After cleaning his blade and putting it away, his body was in pain here and there, especially in his hands and feet. He was also somewhat mentally exhausted but not to the point he would go and sleep the whole day.

He spent a lot of time practicing without thinking too much. Some seniors tried suggesting him some techniques and tips, but he refused them respectfully.

He clenched his hands. He could feel his body becoming somewhat stronger, but not significantly stronger, gaining a slight increase in strength.

"I should be able to execute a second cut once a day now," he muttered as he made his way to the dorms. Cleaning himself and having a quick shower. Consuming a nice cup of coffee and some bread. Additionally, he checked the messages he received from Ama, claiming that she will spend a week in intensive training. "It is for her own good," Lukas reassured her a little.

Changing into a black pantsuit and a clean white shirt. Putting the credit token through his trousers.

His new day began, repeating the cycle until he got his senses back.

[ To be continued... ]