Faint, reawaken, then faint again. My master kept rewinding the memory of the first time the sword king appeared. Repeating the same actions as the first, master would whisper something to Cor Sanguis before he turns to me and says the same line.
"Grit your teeth, boy." [Cor Sanguis]
I've gotten tired of hearing that line. Over and over again, I would feel an incredible pressure pushing down on me. My body would start breaking out in a cold sweat and my stomach would churn. The only silver lining was that I always managed to not vomit.
"Put a little more. My disciple can handle it." [Vincent]
Each and every time, my master would always ask to increase the pressure.
"|Fear Resistance| has gained a level." [Spirit Guide]
And after hearing that, I would pass out.
"Wake up. Training isn't over yet." [???]
My eyes shot wide open, gasping for air.
"Not again…" [Solace]
It had been around my twentieth time blacking out, and I still could barely resist the pressure.
"...Master, how many more times will I be doing this?" [Solace]
"Hm…" [Vincent]
Scratching his chin, pondered about it.
"Perhaps… until you can stand for thirty seconds?" [Vincent]
"...Stand as in standing?" [Solace]
"Indeed. You cannot fall to your knees or pass out for thirty seconds. I believe your current record was a little over four seconds." [Vincent]
I sighed at the thought.
"Can I take a quick break then?" [Solace]
"Dear disciple... I don't see a reason to." [Vincent]
"I need to collect my thoughts." [Solace]
"I do not believe there is a certain strategy to stand." [Vincent]
He shrugged his shoulders, looking at me with a confused face.
"...Please?" [Solace]
I asked him politely, which somehow made his confusion turn into surprise.
"...I suppose. We'll take a moment to rest." [Vincent]
Snapping his fingers, the mountains around us began to fly past us. The next moment, I found myself in a dark hallway.
"What the…" [Solace]
Observing my surroundings, I found the hallway to be more luxurious than I had originally thought. There was an incredibly long purple carpet covering the floor, and a few laminated doors around. The dark hallway was dimly lit by small lamps on the wall, the glass crafted with a meticulous design.
"Master, where is this?" [Solace]
"Wait a minute, did I choose the wrong memory?" [Vincent]
As I glanced around, I was startled by a loud thud against a door. Not only that, I also heard muffled screams on the other side.
"I'll kill you! I swear, I'll tear you apart!" [???]
A voice resembling a child's echoed throughout the hallway, sending shivers down my spine.
"Yep, wrong memory." [Vincent]
Master snapped his fingers once again, changing the background into a grassy landscape.
"Do you have any foods you dislike?" [Vincent]
"N… No…?" [Solace]
Still shocked by what I heard, my answer came out a bit late.
"I see." [Vincent]
With a snap of his fingers, a platter of food appeared.
"Wait, isn't this…?" [Solace]
I was surprised by Master's choice of food. Each and every one of them were from my world.
"I wanted to try food from the spirit world." [Vincent]
"Spirit world?" [Solace]
Somewhat confused, I remembered that I never cleared it up that I was from Earth.
("Meh. I'm not going to explain it.") [Solace]
As I thought to myself, Master had already dug into the food.
"Mm. Quite tasty. This… hamburger? It reminds me of a jarmein." [Vincent]
"...What's a jarmein?" [Solace]
"It's a selection of meats and vegetables between slices of black bread." [Vincent]
"...Huh." [Solace]
It never occurred to me that there might be a culinary culture in this world. I blame the fact I don't need to eat to be the cause of that thought.
"Wait. We're in our memories right?" [Solace]
"Yes?" [Vincent]
"Then eating doesn't make a difference right? It doesn't have a physical form, so it can't make us full." [Solace]
"As expected of my disciple. You've come to the correct conclusion." [Vincent]
I don't know whether or not Master does it on purpose, but him saying as expected of me gives me a sense of pride.
"Then why are you eating?" [Solace]
"Did I not tell you? I wanted to try the spirit world's food." [Vincent]
"...Fair enough." [Solace]
Letting him do his own thing, I sat down.
("Now that I've had my hard earned break, let's see my status.") [Solace]
"|Analyze|." [Solace]
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Name: Solace
Race: Forsaken Spirit
Gender: ???
Age: ???
Level: 23
Health: 2300/2300
Mana: 1500/1500
Strength: 400
Agility: 300
Intelligence: 200
Willpower: 300
Status: Stable
Skills: |Mystic Tongue Lv. 5| |Analyze Lv. 1| |Appraisal Resistance Lv. 1| |Liquid Bullet Lv. 3| |Ashen Arrow Lv. 5| |Flame Cannon Lv. 3| |Wind Edge Lv. 4| |Cleanse Lv. 1| |Kindle Lv. 1| |Night Vision Lv. 1| |Earthen Shield Lv. 1| |Reinforce Lv. 1| |Paralyze Lv. 1| |Mimic Lv. 2| |Status Concealment Lv. 1| |Item Box Lv. 1| |Sound Interference Lv. 1| |Enchant Flame Lv. 2| |Fire Resistance Lv. 1| |Blazing Fist Lv. 2| |Liquid Barrage Lv. 1| |Convergence Lv. 1| |Shock Resistance Lv. 1| |Wardrobe Lv.2| |Mana Detection Lv. 2| |Mana Breathing Lv.3| |Terra Javelin Lv. 1| |Imbue Alarm Lv. 1| |Cold Resistance Lv. 2| |Fear Resistance Lv. 8| |Nausea Resistance Lv. 3|
Unique Skill: N/A
Titles: |Contracted Spirit Of The Unfortunate Summoner| |Unresting Experience Trainer| |Challenger Of The Strong|
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
"Hm." [Solace]
I didn't expect my |Fear Resistance| to be so high. It was then that a thought occurred to me.
("|Appraisal| evolved into |Analyze| when it hit level ten. What would I get if my |Fear Resistance| reached level ten as well?") [Solace]
Silently thinking about it, I came to a conclusion.
"Master?" [Solace]
"Hm?" [Vincent]
"I would like to resume training." [Solace]
Master looked me up and down, a slight grin slowly growing on his face.
"I see." [Vincent]
With a somewhat proud smile, Master snapped his fingers.
"I'm interested to see what you have in store for me." [Vincent]