Chapter 314: Swordmaster Syndrome (2)
[Skill Rank Up!]
[Your Mana Heart skill has been upgraded to <Advanced Sword Expert>.]
‘…Huh?’
An unexpected message appeared.
Lloyd’s eyes widened in surprise.
‘What’s this? This is absurd.’
It was completely out of the blue.
As if oblivious to his inner turmoil, the message continued to fill his vision.
Ding dong!
[Your Mana Heart has accumulated numerous experiences over time. However, recently, you have been suppressing its activity through deliberate control. Today, you finally let go and operated the Mana Heart at full capacity.]
[The slight experience gained in the process has become the drop that overflowed the cup.]
[You have finally surpassed the intermediate limitations and achieved the remarkable level of Advanced Sword Expert.]
[This special experience grants a new exclusive option to the skill.]
[Exclusive Skill Option ⑥: Swordmaster Syndrome – All your senses, including sight, hearing, smell, and touch, become extremely sensitive. This is akin to a type of hyper-sensitivity, approaching the level of a completed Swordmaster. This option is automatically activated for 24 hours and cannot be turned off.]
[Current RP: 8,755]
‘…Gah?’
Lloyd was shocked.
He was startled once by the content of the message and again by the bizarre sensations that assaulted his body.
“Why are you like this?”
Why!!!!!!! Why!!!!!! Why!!!!!!!!
‘…Gwaaak!’
At the moment the Dragon King asked, Lloyd clutched his ears in horror.
It couldn’t be helped.
What should have been the normal tone of the Dragon King’s voice now sounded like thunder crashing right beside his ear.
‘What, what is this!’
He was bewildered.
The sound of him swallowing his spit was so clear that it seemed like it slammed dunk directly into his eardrum.
Moreover, the sensation of the saliva droplets moving down his throat felt like they were touching every single cell!
‘What in the…’
Lloyd rolled his eyes.
He could clearly feel his eyeballs rolling in their sockets.
Shivering from this foreign sensation, he looked at the Dragon King.
“……”
Had the world always been this clear?
Or had something happened to his eyes?
‘What kind of resolution is this… How did I ever manage to see before?’
The Dragon King appeared incredibly sharp and clear.
So much so, that he could see every pore on his cheek in vivid detail.
If the resolution improved any further, he might as well say hello and high-five the mites living inside those pores.
In short, his vision had become insanely sharp.
No, it had become excessively so!
‘Whoa, hold on. Just a minute!’
He felt dizzy.
His feet hurt.
Until now, he hadn’t felt anything, but now even the sensation of his feet being pressed under his body weight was too distinct!
“Are you okay?”
Okay!!! Okay!!!! Okay!!!!!!!
‘Gwak!’
It felt as if his eardrums were about to burst.
Lloyd, managing to keep his composure, barely responded.
“I’m, I’m okay.”
“What’s wrong all of a sudden?”
“It’s, well, actually… Sword Expert…”
“Expert?”
“It seems I’ve advanced to the next level.”
“What? Just now? You?”
“Yes.”
He nodded reluctantly.
Even the movement of his neck bones and muscles was perceptible, making him gasp again.
Unaware or perhaps indifferent to his predicament, the Dragon King’s all-too-calm congratulations came through.
“Oh, is that so? Congratulations, Lloyd.”
“……”
This is all your fault, you crazy dragon bastard!
Lloyd suppressed his rising fury.
Finally, he could somewhat grasp what had happened to him.
‘This must be the Swordmaster Syndrome.’
The recent message had informed him.
He had advanced to Advanced Sword Expert.
As a result, a new option had been added.
And that option’s name was precisely Swordmaster Syndrome.
‘Damn, what kind of…’
It was ridiculous.
Amidst sensations that were too vivid, he barely suppressed a surge of vertigo.
‘So, Javier endured this situation all along?’
From the first meeting to the time they thwarted the royal assassination in the capital.
Javier had been living as an Advanced Sword Expert for quite a while.
Lloyd could now physically appreciate how remarkable he truly was.
‘Wow. No wonder he had insomnia.’
It made sense why he couldn’t sleep.
Actually, was normal life even possible under these conditions?
‘Just like Javier back then. And now Lady Scheherazade, who has become my sister-in-law, and Sir Blanc, the captain of the White Lancer Cavalry staying in the territory, all managed without skipping their sword training despite this?’
True human victory if ever there was one.
Before, he had merely accepted it as it was.
But now that he was being hammered with Swordmaster Syndrome himself, he could realize how extraordinary these people were.
It was downright respectable.
‘Ugh, this is why I never wanted to reach Advanced Sword Expert.’
Swordmaster Syndrome.
A massive barrier that anyone who reaches Advanced Sword Expert must face.
A final hurdle on the glorious path to becoming a Swordmaster.
Honestly, he had never wanted to face such a challenge.
He had never intended to become a Swordmaster.
Nor had he thought it necessary.
And that was still the case.
“Ugh, then, I’ll take my leave…”
“Oh, take care.”
“……”
Barely managing a farewell, Lloyd left the Dragon King’s residence.
All the while, he had a strong urge to punch the Dragon King’s face, but he exerted all his restraint and stepped out into the corridor.
Thus, the path that led him outside the guesthouse seemed endlessly arduous and treacherous.
Once outside, the sensations greeting him were dazzlingly intense.
Chirp, chirp, chirp! Swoosh!
Rustle, rustle, rustle!
He had never known the estate was home to so many birds.
He never imagined wind rustling through the trees could sound like a typhoon.
The swaying grass seemed to be performing an intense headbanging session.
Amidst this bombardment of strange and fresh sensations, Lloyd thought,
‘This won’t do.’
He couldn’t live like this.
He impulsively opened the system window.
He checked his remaining RP.
[Current RP: 8,755]
“……”
It wasn’t enough.
Far from enough.
He thought he had diligently accumulated a decent amount of RP.
‘Just to raise the Mana Heart skill by one level now requires a whopping 2,000 RP. So, this won’t do.’
Yet, if he combined RP grinding…
If he put in the effort for a while…
Perhaps he could gather enough RP to ascend to Swordmaster.
That impulse was strong.
But Lloyd immediately shook his head.
‘No, that would be foolish.’
He admonished himself not to be swayed by impulses.
‘If I focus solely on grinding RP now… I might pull it off. But what about the dam and the Orb of Truth? Plus, the dam and the Orb of Truth are supposed to be completed in a few months, or a year at the latest. If everything goes as planned, that’s guaranteed. But after the orb is completed? I might desperately need RP.’
That thought crossed his mind.
It was a foreseeable situation if he gave it a bit of thought.
In a few months, the Orb would be completed.
Then, he would have to ask the Orb for a way to prevent the phenomenon of fate’s restoration.
‘But I still can’t predict what answer the Orb will give. What if… the Orb’s solution presupposes the use of a large amount of RP?’
And if he, unable to restrain his impulses, had already spent a massive amount of RP just to escape Swordmaster Syndrome by raising his Mana Heart to the Swordmaster level…
‘Then I’d be ruined.’
After all the effort to build the Orb, to discover a way to prevent fate’s restoration, only to find himself unable to implement that method due to a lack of RP… What a disaster that would be.
‘Of course, the Orb’s method might not require RP. But life is unpredictable. We don’t know that yet. So… I just need to endure for a few more months.’
The conclusion came naturally.
Though he truly disliked it.
Though he genuinely didn’t want to.
It seemed there was no choice.
‘The heightened senses I can adapt to, insomnia I can endure. It’s just a few months. Just endure it while quickly building the dam and the Orb. Then listen to the solution to prevent the restoration of fate.’
That would do.
If that solution didn’t require RP?
After confirming that?
Then he could start grinding RP without worry, swiftly using a large amount to become a Swordmaster.
That was the safest course of action he could choose right now.
‘Phew. But really, this is no joke.’
Having made up his mind, Lloyd took a deep breath.
It was seriously no joke.
Walking even a few steps, every sensation was so vivid.
Even the sunlight felt like each ray was individually touching him, causing hallucinations.
While walking, he could even distinctly feel the gravity of this planet.
He often felt dizzy.
But he kept walking.
Repeating to himself to adapt, as if practicing walking like in his distant childhood.
Carefully and slowly, he continued stepping forward.
Gradually, he adapted.
It wasn’t easy.
But by the time he returned to the site, he had managed to somewhat calm the overwhelming dizziness.
However, Javier’s sharp intuition was undeniable.
“Lord Lloyd.”
“Huh?”
“Are you alright?”
“…Did you notice?”
“Yes, congratulations.”
“Tsk. Whatever.”
Javier was truly Javier.
Lloyd had thought he was keeping it under wraps.
He thought he hadn’t been obvious.
But barely three minutes after arriving at the site, Javier seemed to know everything with that look in his eyes.
Lloyd, overwhelmed by Javier’s voice, the shouts around the site, and the sounds of shoveling, felt an urge to seal his ears and said,
“Was it always like this?”
“If you’re asking about Swordmaster Syndrome, yes, that’s correct.”
“How did you endure living like this?”
“I considered the process of managing those sensations as training.”
“Training?”
“Yes. To blunt the edge of overly sharp sensations. To accept and own the blunted sensations. To ensure they don’t interfere with other senses while still capturing every piece of information. Only that can bring one closer to the path of a Swordmaster.”
“…Ugh.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Can you, uh, keep it short if you have something to say?”
“Does listening to a lot at once make you dizzy?”
“Yeah. It feels like motion sickness.”
“Hmm, I see you haven’t reached the stage of filtering out that level of hearing yet. Well, it’s understandable since you’ve just started experiencing Swordmaster Syndrome today. I remember my first day…”
“Hey.”
“Yes?”
“You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you?”
“What do you mean?”
“When I asked you to keep it short, you intentionally went on, didn’t you?”
“That’s correct.”
“You’re not even denying it.”
“It’s all valuable experience for you, Lord Lloyd.”
“Or is it just a personal vendetta and a chance to torment me?”
“Not at all.”
“Sure.”
“So, on my first day experiencing Swordmaster Syndrome…”
“You’re not listening at all.”
“There’s no need. Anyway, on that first day, I thought to myself that even this trial of the senses was nourishment given to me. Only by overcoming every difficulty would I truly become a worthy Swordmaster. That’s why I never stopped, no matter how violently the storm of senses shook me, no matter how many needles and thorns pricked my body.”
“…Can you please stop talking?”
“No. It’s a great opportunity.”
“Taking the chance to torment me?”
“What do you think of me? I’m sharing the fierce path of overcoming the syndrome to reach the realm of a Swordmaster.”
“Oh, yes. Sure. Damn.”
“Why are you crying?”
“Wouldn’t you cry?”
“I didn’t cry. I never skipped a day of training either. And then I eventually fell into Lord Lloyd’s trap.”
“Wait. What do you mean, my trap?”
“Your lullaby.”
“That was good, wasn’t it? You said you were satisfied.”
“But it was like sweet honey, a drug.”
“Aha. So you appreciated it but harbored resentment?”
“So, should I help you?”
“Help with what?”
“Overcoming Swordmaster Syndrome, of course.”
“Tsk. I suppose so.”
Lloyd grimaced deeply.
Talking with Javier made his ears buzz as if they were going mad.
But listening to his intentional torment—or chatter—felt gradually better.
‘It’s like intense training.’
Or rather, it was like being forcibly adapted.
‘Anyway, this can’t go on.’
Even without Javier’s advice, it seemed he had to overcome Swordmaster Syndrome.
Otherwise, it would interfere with his daily life.
No, it would disrupt his management of the construction site.
Of course, he couldn’t recklessly use his RP.
‘But I have to try.’
Thus, Lloyd resolved himself.
It was the beginning of his special training to overcome Swordmaster Syndrome.