Two weeks had passed since I first used a hammer during morning training.
Since that day, I had been alternating between sword practice and hammer practice during my morning training.
On hammer practice days, Father’s mood feels just a tiny bit lower, but we still rotate every day.
And today was a sword practice day. One of those days when Father’s mood is just a little higher.
I was desperately swinging my sword, trying to somehow score a point against him.
「Yah! Hah!」
「Hmm」
「Nnngh!」
My first diagonal slash was blocked by his sword, and my second strike to the right side was dodged.
Then came Father’s counterattack. A reverse diagonal slash, which I deflected and redirected with my sword.
As expected, my 『Dexterity』 is high.
I have to make use of that high 『Dexterity』 and respond with technique.
「Take this! Take this!」
「Hmm hm」
After brushing aside Father’s sword, it was my turn to launch a fierce counterattack.
He blocked it easily, but I kept struggling to seize the initiative somehow.
Still, Father really does look like he is enjoying himself during sword practice.
That in itself is fine, but someday I want to make him feel more pressured with a sword.
◇
「Good work」
「Thank you very much」
After the morning sword practice ended, I bowed to Father.
Unfortunately, I could not make Father panic much today either.
Though when it comes to things other than swordplay, I feel like I make him panic fairly often…
「Hmmm…」
「Father? Is something wrong?」
「Why hasn’t Alec learned the 『Sword』 skill yet…」
「Why, you ask…」
That is what I want to know.
It has been almost two months since Father told me that I would obtain the sword skill soon.
And yet, I still have not acquired it. What is going on here, Father.
I have been doing my best in my own way to obtain the 『Sword』 skill.
Recently, I even worked up the courage to hunt monsters using a sword.
…Well, most of the time I just paralyze the monster with 『Paralyze Arrow』 and then hit it with a sword.
I stop the monster’s movement from a distance with 『Paralyze Arrow』, then charge in with the World Tree Sword.
By the way, when I charge in, I hold the World Tree Sword in my right hand and an arrow in my left.
Since bow skill arts activate even with arrow cutting, if the monster’s paralysis looks like it is about to wear off while I am hitting it with the sword, I add another arrow cut 『Paralyze Arrow』 to finish the job.
――To be honest, I do not really feel like I am fighting with a sword.
That said, I am still fighting with a sword, and there is no doubt that I am defeating monsters with it.
And yet, despite all that effort, I still have not acquired the 『Sword』 skill. Why is that, Father.
「Father. Father」
「Huh? Yeah」
「You said this two months ago, right? That I would get the 『Sword』 skill soon」
「Yeah」
「You said I would get it within a few months at the latest, right?」
「Yeah…」
I worried that Father’s idea of 『soon』 might be an elven kind of 『soon』, meaning more than ten years in the future, so I pressed him again.
The words he used back then were 『within a few months at the latest』.
That reassured me at the time… but now almost two months have passed since then.
Will I really get it within a few months? What do you think, Father.
「No, I honestly do not know either… From what I saw in today’s training, it would not be strange if you had already acquired it. Honestly, it would be strange if you had not」
「But when I had my status appraised at the church yesterday, I still did not have it, you know?」
「That is why I find it strange too…」
So even Father does not understand it…
Why can I not acquire it? When will I finally get the 『Sword』 skill?
I already told Laudette-san at the church that it looked like I would be getting the sword skill…
And that was after he already praised me…
After he already made me feel good about it…
At this rate, it will look like I lied to Laudette-san.
Like I lied and got praised for it anyway…
「…Ah」
「Hm?」
「Could it be… that I do not have any talent for it?」
「Talent?」
「I heard it from Laudette-san. That if you do not have talent, your level will not go up no matter how much effort you put in」
Raising a skill’s level takes an enormous amount of time, and without talent it will not increase at all.
That was part of the skill lecture Laudette-san gave me before.
「That without talent, you cannot become a lumberjack…」
「A lumberjack?」
「Ah, sorry. Not a lumberjack」
For some reason, Laudette-san always uses lumberjacks as his example. That must be why it slipped out.
「Anyway, I was thinking that maybe I do not have any talent for the 『Sword』 skill, so no matter how close I get to acquiring it, it never becomes level one…」
If I had to put it into an analogy, it would be like this.
The 『Sword』 skill at level 0.999999…
It feels as though something is stopping it there.
Because I lack talent, no matter what I do, it will not go any further, and it will never become level one…
Endlessly approaching it… but never reaching one.
Could something like that be happening?
「I do not think that is the case」
「Huh? It is not?」
「Even two months ago, I thought your ability was already worthy of level one, Alec. And after another two months, your swordsmanship is still continuing to improve, is it not?」
「Oh, I see」
So it is not being held back by some kind of talent limit after all.
「That is why it is strange. It is obvious that you should have acquired the 『Sword』 skill at level one by now. On top of that, you keep growing. And yet, you still have not acquired the skill…」
「Yeah…」
「I think you handle the sword better than you did the great hammer yesterday…」
「Hmm…」
For the record, I was told the great hammer was not bad either.
I thought it was terrible and full of openings, but Father did not think it was that bad.
Even though my great hammer did not even graze him, Father assured me that at least monsters around here would not be able to dodge it, and that I should be able to defeat them easily.
He also gave me some advice. 『Use the shaft』, he said.
My first reaction was, 『What is this man talking about?』 But surprisingly, using the shaft actually feels good.
Rather than just swinging the great hammer wildly, I learned to incorporate thrusts with the shaft, and quick sweeping attacks using the lever principle by taking advantage of the head’s weight.
By adding these movements, I also learned how to reduce openings.
And yet, even so, Father says the sword is better than the hammer.
He says I handle the sword better than the hammer, even though I have a proper level one skill with the hammer, and have not acquired the sword skill at all…
Just what in the world is going on here…
next chapter: The mystery of the 『Sword』 skill, and the mystery of the 『Stealth』 skill
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