One year a Day
The old man was sitting alone at a table, far away from everyone else. I approached him to see his reaction, but he was enjoying his tea without any care.
"It's a pleasure to see the captain of the knight order in this place," I said.
The old man didn't react to my sentence as if I was speaking nonsense, but I knew the reason why.
Gabriel Von Velvid was a really famous name in Aloraz, and there wasn't anyone who didn't know that name. Gabriel was the Captain of the Aloraz knight order and probably one of the strongest people in this city, but there was something that everyone was questioning: "Who is Gabriel?"
Nobody knew who Gabriel was, since no one had seen his face, but I knew that the man sitting calmly in front of me was him. One needed to do many things before meeting Gabriel, but I didn't need to. Not a lot of information regarding Gabriel was available, even for someone like me. The only noticeable data regarding him was that he was a commoner who reached his current position with a lot of hardship.
I took out the letter that I got from the Quest and put it on the table. He looked at the envelope and reached out to grab it. He didn't open the envelope; he was just staring intensely at the emblem and then put it in his pocket.
"Who are you?" said Gabriel while staring calmly into my eyes.
"I'm just a normal adventurer."
"There are only a handful of people who know my identity, and none of them is stupid enough to betray me, so tell me, how have you come to know me?"
"That's a secret."
His expressionless face gave off a sense of anger, even though there wasn't any change.
"Tell me. How much do you want?"
"What makes you think that I'm looking for money?"
"It's always about money. Apart from knowing my identity, you brought me a treasure that I wouldn't find otherwise. Tell me your price."
"I don't need money. I want something else."
"What do you want?"
"I'll be straight. Teach me swordsmanship."
At that time, it felt like Gabriel's gaze changed for the better. Of course, his expression never changed.
"Sadly, I can't do that. I have a lot of work that cannot be meddled with. I'll gladly accept any other request."
I was expecting that. After all, the captain of the knight order's job was more important than doing a favor for a postman.
I thought a little. There were many things that I could ask from Gabriel, but learning the sword was the priority for a classless person like me.
"Then teach me swordsmanship for one day."
"Only one day?! Are you sure? It's impossible to learn swordsmanship in a day."
"I'm okay with one day. I just want to know how to simply manage the sword."
The mixture of wonder and surprise was now visible under the light emitted from the candles on the ceiling.
"Okay. Come back here tomorrow. I'll teach you for a day."
"Thank you."
After I left, I saw Gabriel taking out the envelope from his pocket. I didn't question the content of the letter, since I knew that wasn't my right to find out.
I slept in a considerably cheap tavern for the night and had the cheapest meal I could afford for breakfast. I got ready and took a bath since I hadn't had one after my five days of travel and then rushed towards the guild without any care towards my surroundings.
The sky was just turning blue after I entered the guild. There weren't many adventurers present, unlike yesterday, and those who were present were talking.
Gabriel was sitting at the exact table that he was yesterday and was reading a book. He shifted his gaze after I entered the guild building. He stood and came towards my location without much on his face.
"You seem a little hurried."
"I didn't want to be late."
"Very well. Come with me."
Gabriel and I got out of the building and headed toward another location. We entered a building that seemed meant for sparring and training. The light of the day could be seen through the small windows on the walls, close to the ceiling. There were many disposable wooden weapons around the arenas, which were quite handy.
Gabriel grabbed a wooden sword and said, "So what is your class?"
"I'm a [Thief]," I said.
Classless people weren't treated well in this world. They called classless people abandoned. I didn't want to be treated specially because of my class, so I lied.
"A Thief? Then why do you need swordsmanship?"
"I wanted to be like the legendary Gabriel."
"You know too much. But strangely, I don't hold that against you."
Gabriel, although he was a knight, held the class of [Assassin]. Assassins mainly focus on speed and agility, thus utilizing daggers and other light weapons as their main weapon. But Gabriel was different. He used a normal sword unlike a typical assassin, and by controlling his speed and strength, he not only learned swordsmanship but became a strong individual in the city.
"What should I do?"
"Just grab a weapon and come at me with everything you've got."
"That's it?"
"That's how I learned."
I went to a corner where many swords were lying to grab a weapon. I touched the handle of the sword and said, "[Save]"
[ Skill "Save & Reset: Save" Activated ]
[ 987/1/10 6:43, has been saved as the new Checkpoint ]
I then took out the sword from its place. I had a somewhat complex feeling that I couldn't understand at that time, but I knew one thing, "I'm ready."
Thud—At first, it wasn't going anywhere. All I did was fall over and over again to the point that my knees were more damaged than my hands, and the pain in my muscles was killing me. It felt like an immovable wall that couldn't be crossed, but I didn't lose my determination.
The clash of the wooden swords was somewhat untraceable. I questioned the practicality of learning swordsmanship by basically bumping the swords together, but I didn't say a word since Gabriel wasn't a person who would do something aimlessly.
And after a long time passed, Gabriel said, "Looks like it's nighttime…"
Huff, puff—I was sitting on the ground and breathing heavily due to the pressure that my body felt. I wasn't looking at Gabriel's face, but I could sense his gaze on my body.
"Truly ironic. You do not possess any talent regarding swordsmanship, but your willpower is beyond anyone I've ever met… and I've met many powerful people in my time. Join my team, kiddo. By utilizing that powerful determination, you could reach many higher places in terms of swordsmanship. If you join my knight order, I can teach you everything I know and possibly make you the next captain. What do you think?"
That was quite a tempting offer. By joining the knight order, I could learn a ton of skills regarding swordsmanship. But the problem was that if I joined a knight order, I would be required to stay at Aloraz and protect it with my life, which I couldn't do since there were many things that I needed to do.
"Sorry, but I can't. I have my own reasons."
"Well, I tried. It saddens me to see a person like you not learn swordsmanship. I wish I could've helped you."
I looked up and saw the genuine concern on his face. It made me happy to see something that couldn't be achieved in the game in front of me.
"You don't need to worry about me. I'll learn swordsmanship eventually, all I need is a [Reset]"
[ Skill "Save & Reset: Reset" Activated ]
[ Restarting From the Recent Checkpoint ]
At first, it was hard. Each second I wished for the end of the torture that wouldn't be recorded after my [Reset], but despite that, I kept going.
"…— [Reset]"
'What am I doing? I can just go clean some dungeon and get OP in a second,' was one of the many thoughts that filled my mind, but I kept going.
"…— [Reset]"
There wasn't any change. All I was doing was watching myself fall over and over again without any outcome. My heart was in pain… and yet, I kept going.
"…— [Reset]"
After the 5th or 6th [Reset], something changed. Gabriel began to advise me on my movements and actions.
"Thud—Don't close your eyes upon impact. Always focus on your opponent and be prepared for any unexpected movement. Prediction is the key."
Punch by punch, slash by slash, the immovable wall began to fall apart… slowly.
"Don't use your strength aimlessly. The sword is the power of your mind, not the strength behind it. If you don't want to use your brain, then go for another sport."
Many days passed, and I lost count after the 60th [Reset]. The weight on my mind strengthened and went beyond the pain I was having in the fight, but I endured and managed.
Hallucinations began after a while. The swords began to form a path in my eyes as if I were drunk. The thousands of thousands of patterns that I knew crumbled and turned into a singular swordsmanship in my mind. I could distinguish between right and wrong in the dance our swords were experiencing.
And lastly, after a long time had passed, Gabriel said, "I can't teach you anything. You already understand the basics of swordsmanship. The only thing you can do to get stronger is by skills and experience."
I was quiet all the time. I was staring at the floor and drowned deep into my mind. I left the training building without saying goodbye.
I was standing dumbfounded at the building's entrance. I was somewhat sad that I couldn't express my feelings after an unknown time of learning the sword non-stop.
"[Status Window]"
[ Action
Lv: 13
Race: Human
Age: 1
Class: Classless
Titles: Misrouted ~ No Longer a Beginner ~ (1 more)
—————
Strength: 12
Stamina: 13
Agility: 14
Sense: 13
Mana: 12
-Additional Stats Point: 6-
—————
Special Skills: Save & Reset Lv. Max ~
—————
Skills: Swift Cut Lv. 1 ~ ]
It was strange to see that the screen in front of me hadn't changed at all.
At first, I thought that I would go insane or mad, but I finally found the limitation of my willpower… and that was limitless. I gained a new power, and with that power, I was enlightened for the better. I knew what should be done… I knew what I needed to do.
"I want to sleep right now."