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Chapter 14

The same day repeated itself.

I studied magic in the morning. In the afternoon, I trained my body. In the evening, I gathered information at the tavern.

On the fourth day, something changed.

"Huff! Huff!"

As I was diligently building my strength like any other day, Barundel suddenly came and started patting my body, and smiled contentedly.

"Hmm, your body has improved quite nicely."

"Is that so?"

"The potion you drank at the beginning certainly helped. It\'s time we wrap things up."

"By wrapping things up, you mean..."

"Now it\'s time for some real practice."

Thud, thud.

Barundel entered his room.

When he came back out, he was holding a sledgehammer in his hand that was as big as my torso.

"What\'s that?"

"Physical training isn\'t much different from forging a sword. The more you hammer, the stronger it gets."

"Are you saying you\'re going to beat me with that...?"

“It depends on how you think about it.”

Whoosh! Whoosh!

"It\'s been a while since I\'ve done this."

Barundel swung the hammer back and forth to warm up and then turned his head towards me.

"You have 30 minutes left. Treat this as real combat and do your best to dodge.Of course, you can attack as well."

"Wait, all of a sudden..."

There was no time to argue.

Swoosh!

Barundel appeared right in front of me.

The distance closed in an instant.

\'What speed...!\'

It was like he used a high-level spell [Blink].

How was this possible with those short legs...

The surprise didn\'t end there.

A menacing sound rang out as Barundel swung his hammer with all his might.

Whoosh!

Though it was a simple swing, it was no less impressive than the Silver Sword in both speed and power.

\'This...could be dangerous if it hits.\'

My judgment was quick.

Thump! Thump! Thump...!

[Entering the awakened state.]

Crackle!

As my heart raced, yellow currents of energy blossomed around me.

It felt like my dormant senses and nerves were awakening.

Just before the hammer made contact, I bent my waist in response.

The body that moved flexibly was already showing the effects of training.

Phew-!

The sledgehammer, which had been emitting terrifying air pressure, went past my chest.

I immediately kicked off the ground to create distance.

Tap!

"...Isn\'t this progressing too quickly? I almost had my newly built body crushed."

My complaint was short-lived as I made eye contact with Barundel.

For some reason, he looked quite embarrassed.

"...You\'re a mage?"

...Come to think of it, I hadn\'t mentioned that.

I nodded in confirmation.

"Yes, well...I don\'t have a circle yet, though."

"...Huh, why on earth would a mage be building their body?"

Barundel asked as if he was genuinely confused.

I suppose it would look strange from his perspective.

In [Demon Fantasy], mages are known to dedicate even the smallest bits of spare time to magical research.

However, according to my research, if certain conditions are met, combining it with physical training can be much more efficient.

Of course, explaining this would be complicated, so I gave a vague answer.

"It\'s not cool to just use magic with a weak body, you know?"

"...You really are a strange one."

He changed the subject and got into a fighting stance.

"You did say I could attack, right?"

"Of course. I\'m not so weak as to lose to some mage riffraff."

"Your words are quite harsh."

As Barundel showed his confidence, I immediately extended my palm.

\'Since it\'s come to this...it wouldn\'t be bad to see how much stronger I\'ve become.\'

Soon, a sphere formed above my palm.

Shhhhh-

[Mana Compression].

This was the first skill I learned when I entered this world.

But the sphere was now incomparably larger and more refined than it was back then.

"Phew..."

I slowly steadied my breath and imbued my will into the sphere.

The image I conjured was...

\'Fire.\'

Whoosh!

A large flame bloomed above my hand.

It felt quite different from the flame Kayla had produced.

A much more flexible and softer image.

This must be the unique property of my mana.

"...What a beautiful flame."

"It\'ll feel different if you get hit by it."

"Heh heh."

With those words, Barundel and I clashed again.

Bang!

My magic and his years of experience in hammer strikes clashed in a savage duel.

Dodging, attacking, deflecting, blocking...

How much time passed like this?

"Huff...huff..."

"Phew...!"

We both collapsed from exhaustion at the same time.

The result was...unfortunately, a defeat.

No, there was nothing to regret.

"...It wasn\'t just bravado."

0 wins, 10 losses out of 10 matches.

A complete defeat.

Barundel, who was also catching his breath, spoke as if to console me.

"...Don\'t be too discouraged. There were many dangerous moments."

"..."

"I\'m serious. Dealing with a mage is indeed tiring."

"Were you a mercenary before opening this place?"

"Well...something similar. It was a long time ago."

"I see."

Similar, huh...

I had many questions, but he didn\'t seem to want to talk about it.

Instead of asking more, I stood up and dusted myself off.

"Want to go another round?"

"...Doesn\'t your mana ever run out?"

"I recover pretty quickly."

"...I\'m done. This old body has moved enough for today."

Barundel waved his hand dismissively.

Judging by his expression, he really was tired.

Well, unlike me who mainly shot long-range spells, he had to move his body directly...it must have been twice as exhausting.

After lying on the ground for a while, Barundel suddenly spoke up.

"Dwarven training can\'t be done in a short period. It\'s divided into several stages."

His voice was quite serious.

I nodded slightly and replied.

"Yes, I know. It\'s five stages, isn\'t it?"

"I don\'t know how you know that...but yes. From building the foundation...to perfecting the body. It consists of five stages in total. And with this practical training just now, you\'ve completed the first stage."

"...You mean the foundation has been laid?"

"Feel the parts where my hammer hit you."

I touched the parts that had been hit as Barundel had said.

But what was this?

Far from being painful, it felt like my tense muscles had loosened up.

As if I had just drunk a potion.

"This...how..."

Seeing my surprised face, Barundel continued.

"This isn\'t just any hammer."

As he said that, he raised the hammer.

Then.

Swish swish swish.

Golden dust flew from the hammer and its appearance changed.

From an ordinary sledgehammer to one engraved with ancient patterns.

I knew it as soon as I saw it.

"...It\'s an artifact."

"That\'s right. It has the property of fixing the body of its target. It\'s been passed down in my family for generations."

In simpler terms, it\'s a family heirloom...

Looking more closely, the design was familiar.

It was something I knew.

\'The Hammer of Balance.\'

An artifact used to repair broken items rather than for fighting, with a \'Dwarf only\' restriction option.

\'...So it could be used on bodies too?\'

No, there was something even more surprising.

"You fixed my body with that? While fighting me?"

"If I couldn\'t do this much, I wouldn\'t have opened a training hall."

"...Huh."

His matter-of-fact tone made me chuckle.

Why is a dwarf of this caliber running a shabby training hall in a place like this?

"Anyway, the first stage is now complete. All the imbalances in your body have been corrected. ...You\'ll probably feel it soon. Ah, the next stage will start in two months..."

I don\'t know why he\'s going this far for me, but...

I approached Barundel, who was lying down, and bowed my head respectfully.

"Thank you."

I meant it sincerely.

I had received more help from this dwarf than I deserved.

Barundel sat up and patted my leg.

"...If you\'re grateful, bring a customer next time you come."

"Haha, is it hard to make a living, huh?"

"Haven\'t you noticed there hasn\'t been a single customer in days? Just maintaining it would be a pain in the ass."

"Just trust me. You\'ll feel like you need two bodies when that time comes."

"...We\'ll see."

Barundel smirked.

I smiled back and said.

"See you then."

"Leaving already? What an unsentimental fellow."

"I have somewhere I need to go."

"Well, if that\'s the case...alright. Let\'s have a drink next time."

"Of course."

We bumped fists.

It was our farewell.

I didn\'t feel sad.

We\'d meet again soon, after all.

***

After Yuhan left, Barundel, who was lying on the floor of the training ground, let out a deep sigh.

"Phew..."

His face was somewhat complicated.

His mind was full of various thoughts.

Still lying on his back, Barundel stretched out his arm.

It was an arm nearly perfected through decades of training.

But now.

That arm was trembling.

And it wasn\'t just the arm.

Every muscle in his body was crying out in pain.

It was muscle soreness.

"Huh, heh heh."

He couldn\'t help but laugh wryly.

He\'s just a guy who hasn\'t even trained for a week.

Yet, after facing such a man, his body was sending signals of overexertion?

Even though he had used the [Hammer of Balance] and expended mental energy in practical training, this shouldn\'t be possible.

Moreover,

That opponent was a mage.

"...How can he be a mage?"

Barundel was a dwarf who had countless experiences fighting mages.

That\'s why he also knew how to deal with mages.

Stick as close as possible and don\'t give up any space.

However, that man was cut from a different cloth than any mage he\'d seen before.

Even while relentlessly casting spells, the man was always aware of the closing distance.

And when the distance closed, he immediately surrounded himself with electricity to boost his speed and dealt with close combat.

His way of thinking was fundamentally different from other mages who tried to avoid close contact at all costs.

Barundel vaguely recalled what the man had said.

-It\'s not cool to just use magic with a weak body, you know?

That was his answer when asked why a mage would build his body.

But was that really the reason?

"...No way."

The man had used magic and physical abilities in an incredibly balanced manner.

As if he had trained his body with this exact purpose in mind from the start.

Other mages would scoff at the idea.

Magic and physical prowess? What an absurd combination.

But having faced him directly, Barundel thought differently.

"It\'s a completely new fighting style."

Battles were fought with lives on the line in this world.

In such battles, anything that could even slightly confuse the opponent was undoubtedly significant.

Especially considering how surprisingly effective that absurd combination was.

Barundel shuddered at a sudden thought.

-Yes, well...I don\'t have a circle yet, though.

What if the man\'s magical skills grew to the point of entering a higher circle?

And if he perfected his body through the upcoming Dwarven training?

What kind of mage would he become?

"Hmm, this..."

Various emotions flickered in Barundel\'s eyes.

Expectation, interest, excitement… and a hint of fear.

"...I wonder if I\'ve let a monster in."

In the silent training hall.

Barundel got up and swung his hammer right there.

A cool sound of air being cut resonated.

Whoosh-!

"I can\'t become a burden."

It had been 10 years since he stopped training along with his hunting work.

This was his resumption of training after a decade.