Mastery

The funeral of the deceased farmer was a solemn event — his family, his colleagues, and others who stayed behind were overcome with grief as they watched sand slowly cover up his corpse.

His wife and son wailed, the shock and pain of his death still fresh in their hearts. The little boy who had once been cheerful and playful now wore the saddest expression, one that melted Ragnar's heart in anguish.

Ragnar clenched his fist and ground his teeth from time to time, his eyes alight with an inexplicable thirst for revenge and power.

Standing beside him, Noah shared the same emotions.

The funeral ended after a few hours, by which time the sun had already begun beating down with its scorching heat.

People began to exit the graveyard one after another. Merlina escorted the mother-and-son duo home, consoling them as best she could.

After a few minutes, only Ragnar and Noah remained in the graveyard.

They stood side by side, silently staring at the grave with anger in their eyes. Their black hair fluttered in the gentle wind, a solemn atmosphere blossoming between them.

"Ragnar, we need to get stronger," Noah said gently.

Ragnar nodded without taking his eyes off the grave, the guilt of weakness and failure still boiling hot inside him.

"We have to learn the ways of the sword from Old Man James as quickly as we can. Then we can hunt down low-rank monsters and wild beasts residing in the woods to gain experience and grow stronger," Noah continued.

Noticing Ragnar's silence, he added in a gentle tone, "Ragnar, this is not your fault."

"How is this not my fault?" Ragnar asked, turning to Noah. "I made a promise to everyone to protect them, but I failed in such a short time."

Noah watched Ragnar shivering with anger and shook his head. "If you had challenged that monsterborn that night, you would've died and completely shattered the hopes and dreams of everyone. Choosing to stay alive was the only wise decision you could ever make. Getting stronger is the best action to take — if you feel at fault, then strive to become strong enough to deal with the killer."

Noah hated speaking so much, but in that moment he felt the need to address his friend.

Ragnar took in everything Noah said.

He let out a long sigh and turned to him. "We should get stronger together and fight that monsterborn together."

Noah smiled. "That is the spirit. Old Man James should be waiting for us already — let's go."

Ragnar nodded, and the two began the stroll down to Old Man James's hut. Strolling down the solemn settlement.

***

In Old Man James's spacious backyard, the two youths stood and awaited their training for the day.

"Due to recent developments, I have decided to skip most of the preliminary training and dive right into the main thing," Old Man James said without a serious expression.

Ragnar and Noah stared at him with anticipation, awaiting their first serious training.

Old Man James strolled inside his hut and came back with three finely carved wooden swords. He handed two to them and held one for himself.

"For our training, you guys will be using these simple wooden swords. Once you have mastered them to a certain level, I will reward your hard work with real swords."

"We're ready to embark on whatever training you have for us, and we promise to master them as soon as we can," Noah said excitedly as he felt the wooden sword in his hand.

"Same here," Ragnar agreed with a smile, although he felt guilty that he could not share with them that he already possessed real swords in his inventory. How would they react if he shared that?

Old Man James observed their reactions with a smile. Memories of his own training days resurfaced, a sense of nostalgia spreading within him.

"I don't doubt that you two have the talent and tenacity to become great swordmasters," he began. "Under normal circumstances, it would take weeks to master the basics of swordsmanship, but time isn't on our side, so I'll be condensing all the essential training into a rapid crash course."

Ragnar and Noah listened attentively.

"I want both of you to master all the basic sword techniques in less than a week. Our training will start in the morning and continue in the evening so you can rest in between. Each day will focus on a different training aspect and end with intense spar sessions. Are you ready?"

They both nodded, and Old Man James smiled.

Old Man James grabbed his wooden sword. "Watch me closely and try to reciprocate this."

Old Man James planted his feet wide and held his wooden sword before him. He raised it slowly above his head, arms steady, then brought it down in a clean, straight cut to shoulder height. The soft thud of wood on air echoed in the quiet yard.

Ragnar and Noah immediately took the same stance and performed the moves he had just shown.

"Not bad for a first try," Old Man James complimented. "But that is still just the first move—there are more included in today's training."

With that, Old Man James performed a series of basic yet intricate moves and asked the two of them to follow his steps.

Naturally, they failed to replicate the moves perfectly—their stances were weak, and their movements lacked both the grace and strength of an expert.

But this was just the beginning.

Old Man James repeated the move five more times and instructed them to watch only.

Ragnar and Noah kept their eyes fixed, their minds calculating each motion to replicate it perfectly when it was their turn.

After Old Man James was done, he gave the instruction for the two of them to begin their training.

"Perform these moves as much as you can until I ask you to stop. I'll observe your performance and give hints," he said.

Ragnar and Noah nodded and took their stances. They began swinging and thrusting their wooden swords, copying the old swordsman's series of moves.

Old Man James grabbed a wooden stool, sat on it, and observed the two of them with a faint smile, offering hints each time a flaw was made.

Just like that, Ragnar and Noah began the actual path of swordsmanship.

|| Passive Skill: Blade mastery is active. ||

|| Your learning proficiency has increased by 20%. ||

|| Urgent quest has been triggered. ||

Urgent quest: Surpass your instructor's expectations and master the moves sooner.

Rewards: 50 XP

Penalty: N/A