Alcorian Sword Style

"STOP!!"

A man who looks like he was in his forties approached me and blocked my sword. The main purpose of me showing off my amateurish sword style was so to draw him out of cringe.

"You! You'll die if you go on like that!"

He wore a black shorts that revealed his hairy legs. He has no shirt. Instead, he covers his upper half with an open coat.

"Is that so?"

I feigned ignorance and assumed another stance that if an expert sees would die from the cringe. Especially if it's from the master of the Alcor Swordsmanship Academy.

"Argh! Stop this madness! Let go of that wooden sword, and tell me what you want!"

He took away my wooden sword, but when he got close, he felt it. The blood of the divine flowed in me, but then the divine blood also reacted to him, which was something that shouldn't happen.

[One of 'The Unknown' <gods> is reacting strangely to the current master of the Alcorian Swordsmanship Academy]

There were some theories on who the <gods> of 'The Unknown' are, but the most popular one is that they're the original <gods> of this world, but they lost in the war against the <gods> of mythology.

"This!"

The master looked at me, and his eyes showed excitement for a moment, but it quickly disappeared, like he has been waiting for this moment, but then it disappeared as if he lost hope a long time ago.

"You asked what I want, correct? I want to be a swordsman of this academy."

The master scratched the back of his head and looked around the dusty and old training ground until something popped up right in front of me.

***

[<Quest> Clean The Dirty Training Ground and I Might Consider!]

Description: No one has maintained the training ground of Alcor's Swordsmanship Academy for years after the appearance of the <Demi-God> and his betrayal of the academy.

<Quest> Tracker: Clean The Training Ground 0/1

Penalty: You'll not be accepted to the academy.

Reward: You'll be accepted to the academy.

***

"Clean this place up then, if you want to learn from the best."

He went out of the training ground, and the door to it crashed onto the ground as it broke. There are a lot of things left I need to do. I went to the storage room and saw the mops, buckets, and brooms.

They were dusty, and the buckets have cobwebs in them. The cloth on the mop was stale, and it stinks of human excess. The brooms are the only ones that are slightly doable.

I grabbed the cleaning equipment and placed them outside at the back of the academy where a water pump lay. I used the water pump and at first; the mud came out, and soon it became clear. I filled the buckets with water and placed the stale mop in them.

"Time to dust these brooms."

I clapped them together, and a thick cloud of dust emerged from the two brooms. After dusting them, I went back inside the training grounds and left the mops to be soaked in water.

"Hmm, looks like someone is still going inside this academy."

"Who could it be?"

"Probably a noob!"

Three people were looking at the academy. They have well-made armor and high-end accessories, and their weapons are rare and above.

"Be quiet Thorman. We are here to collect taxes, so remember not to destroy anything."

"Then why don't we collect now, brother Lucius?"

"I want to see if that kid will clear that <quest>."

The three players left.

***

[You've gained the skill 'Cleaning' (Beginner)]

[The skill 'Cleaning' has leveled up to (intermediate)]

[You've gained the skill 'Repairing' (Beginner)]

[The skill 'Repairing' has leveled up to (intermediate)]

I cleaned the entire training ground, and I left not a single speck of dust on the training ground. I even fixed their training dummies, wooden sword, and the broken door, but...

"This is satisfactory."

The master said as he inspected the training equipment, and when he swung the wooden sword, his face scrunched.

"Okay, you're now a disciple of the Alcorian Academy."

[You've completed the <quest>!]

In the end, it depended if the training ground was clean in his eyes, or not. If he said it wasn't, I would still clean the training grounds for the next few hours.

"Who told you to rest? Get up and get a wooden sword."

***

[<Quest> First Lesson!]

Description: You're now a disciple of the Alcor Swordsmanship Academy. You must now perform two basic sword techniques. Thrust and Slash and by the end of the day, you must perfectly execute the Thrust x100 and Slash x100.

Time Limit: 13 Hours 40 Minutes

<Quest> Tracker: Thrust 0/100, Slash 0/100

Penalty: Expectations of you will be lowered and your chances of graduating will decrease.

Reward: The instructor will give you an Intermediate Sword.

***

Now, I held the sword in two hands and spread my legs apart. I raised my sword above my head and breathed in before making it descend.

"Ha!"

The master looked at me with an unimpressed look, and I notice the tracker didn't go up. I did the slash, again, and again, and again. Different stances, different directions of the slash, holding it in one hand, and holding it in both hands, until an hour passed, and finally.

[Slash 1/100]

I tried doing it again, but the counter didn't go up, no matter how much I swung my wooden sword and sometimes thrust it. Sweat trickled down my forehead. 'Why? Why? Why? What is it that the master isn't so pleased about?' That is what I thought, before falling to the ground with the counter floating above my head. The time has already been up.

[Thrust 1/100]

[Slash 1/100]

[You've failed the <quest>!]

"Do you want to know why you failed?"

I stood up and shook my head. The master smiled, and he showed his swordsmanship. It was just the basics, a downward slash, to a straight thrust, a horizontal slash, followed by a diagonal slash coming from the bottom right.

It was basic, but precise. Each strike has something in it I couldn't describe, but I now know the mistake I've done. The way I swung and thrust my sword was monotone, like a robot who was just doing his tasks, but each of his swings has a goal, a drive. It's filled with emotion.

It's made apparent by just watching how much he has honed his sword, how much he wants to pass it on, and how much he wants to keep doing it.

"Hrk! *Cough* Cough*."

But it's also obvious that he's on his last leg, as the sword style he is weaker than what've I read, there's not much time left until he dies, and the only disciple he has is me, the one who had failed his test, a talentless person who has the guides from the internet backing him up.

"Hah, do you see your mistake? Did you grasp the essence of the Alcorian Sword Style even by a little?"

"I did."

"Then, do it. Show me you've learned."

***

[<Quest> Second Chance!]

Description: the current master of the Alcorian Swordsmanship Academy has given you a second chance to prove yourself to him.

Time Limit: 2 Hours 30 Minutes

<Quest> Tracker: Thrust 0/100, Slash 0/100

Penalty: Expectations of you will be lowered and your chances of graduating will decrease.

Reward: The instructor will give you an Intermediate Sword.

***

It was the same <quest>, the same reward, the same penalty.

I closed my eyes and remembered my goal, my drive, my fury against those who hurt my father. I swung my sword containing my emotions and my story while having my goal in mind. The swing contained the maximum amount of power while wasting little stamina.

[Slash 1/100]

"That's it, the essence of the Alcorian Swords Style comes from the heart!"

I swung again. My movement was sharp and I wasted not a moment.

[Slash 2/100]

"Let it be anger, happiness, or sadness. Show it with your sword!"

And again, the wind would howl wherever my wooden sword went, as my heart poured out through the sword.

[Slash 3/100]

"This is the essence of the Alcorian Sword Style, the essence of the First Emperor's sword!"

Now, my breathing became in line with my action, making my focus increase as the entire world blurs out and only my goal remained: to find 'Eden'.

[Slash 4/100]

[Thrust 1/100]

[Slash 5/100

[Slash 6/100]

[Thrust 2/100]

.

..

...

....

[Thrust 100/100]

[Slash 100/100]

[You've gained the class 'Alcorian Disciple Swordsman']

[You've gained the class skill 'Alcorian Sword Style' (Beginner)]

[You've gained the class skill 'Alcorian Breathing Technique' (Beginner)]

[You've gained the class skill 'Alcorian Mana Control' (Beginner)]

[You have the <quest>!]

With only 10 seconds to spare, I've finally gained my first class. I looked at my master, who wore a smile on his face, and he nodded. In his hand was a long sword. The handle had leather wrapped around it, and its pommel had a gem in the middle of it.

"Though your sword is full of desperation, anger, and hate, you've earned this sword, and I hope one day I'd see a sword that doesn't contain those."

He was right. I was desperate to pay off my debt, to find 'Eden'. I was angry that I couldn't do anything when my father died, and I hated myself for not being talented.

"Thank you, master."

[The Divine Blood of a <god> of 'The Unknown' is resonating within you!]

[You've received a legendary <Quest>!]