Of course. Expecting to learn the sword style in only a day—or half a day, really—was a bit unrealistic. Still, if I could make progress in the Kenjutsu Ichitō-ryū by tomorrow, I wouldn't complain.
"Oh, and after dinner tonight, come to my room. I'll drill you on the magical theory behind the sword style overnight," he added.
It seemed the old man planned to make the most of the entire day—using the time not spent on physical training to study magic. Just as I was contemplating this, I noticed him kneeling and coughing roughly.
*"Cough! Cough!"*
"Are you okay, old man?" I asked, concerned.
"*Geh... I'm fine. I might have pushed myself a bit too hard. It's been a while since I moved my body, and I was surprised,*" he replied, taking a deep breath.
"Just don't overdo it," I said.
"Hmph, wasn't it you who made me push myself?"
"Well… you're not wrong about that," I admitted with a sigh.
I managed to steady my breathing while leaning on Ava and Trinity for support, while the old man relied on Ava as we made our way back to the inn.
◇◆◇◆◇
"Huh, so that's why you went through such intense training," Trinity remarked.
"Well, it's better to get stronger now, so a day of it shouldn't be a problem," Ava agreed.
While having dinner, I shared with Ava and Trinity the story of how I came to learn the Sword Princess One-Sword Style from my grandfather. Trinity remained as indifferent as ever, while Ava supported my decision to learn the style and agreed to postpone our departure by a day.
"By the way, how about you, Ava? It seems like you took quite a while. Were you able to find any information on the 26 Apostles?"
"Oh, it certainly took longer than I expected. I thought a quick look at a wiki would do the trick, but over there, the wiki was completely useless."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
According to Ava, in AIWOn—the world that supports heaven and earth—information is valuable. As a result, sites like wikis are counterproductive for selling information to thief guilds. Any information posted gets taken down quickly and replaced with out-of-date basics.
"So, gathering all the details and rumors about the 26 Apostles from the old forums took a lot of time."
Ava casually mentioned that she sifted through information from various forums, but to finish all that in about half a day—now that's impressive, coming from an agent of a cutting-edge cybersecurity firm in America.
"So, what about the Angel Quest? I hear the information on the 26 Apostles is highly sought after by the thief guilds?"
Responding to Trinity's prompt, Ava presents information about the 26 apostles:
- Apostle A: "?? Apostle" ???
- Apostle B: "Apostle of Struggle" - Bout
- Apostle C: "Apostle of Imitation" - Copy
- Apostle D: "Apostle of Disaster" - Disaster
- Apostle E: "Apostle of Escape" - Escape
- Apostle F: "Apostle of Fang" - Fang
- Apostle G: "Apostle of Gem" - Gem
- Apostle H: "Apostle of Heaven" - Heaven
- Apostle I: "Apostle of Wisdom, Intuition, and Imagination" - Intelligence - Inspiration - Imagination
- Apostle J: "Apostle of Javelin" - Javelin
- Apostle K: "Apostle of Katana" - Katana
- Apostle L: "Apostle of Labyrinth" - Labyrinth
- Apostle M: "Apostle of the Drake Palace" - Mermaid
- Apostle N: "Apostle of False Answers" - No
- Apostle O: "Apostle of Oracle" - Oracle
- Apostle P: "Apostle of Power" - Power
- Apostle Q: "Apostle of Quest" - Quest
- Apostle R: "Apostle of Rhythm" - Rhythm
- Apostle S: "Apostle of Start" - Start
- Apostle T: "?? Apostle" ???
- Apostle U: "Apostle of the Unknown" - Unknown
- Apostle V: "Apostle of Valor" - Valiant
**Apostle W** - "Apostle of Warnings" - Warning
**Apostle X** - "Apostle of XXX" - XXX
**Apostle Y** - "Apostle of the Right Answer" - Yes
**Apostle Z** - "Apostle of Awakening" - Zone
Having 26 apostles is quite a spectacle.
Hmm? There are some whose names I don't recognize. Did even Ava have trouble with this?
"Wow, this is incredible. This much information could fetch a fortune at the Thieves' Guild.
To gather so much intel, your world must be something else."
"Just so you know, it's not the other world that's impressive; it's Ava who's remarkable.
Even in another world, collecting this kind of information isn't easy.
By the way, Ava, we have a couple of apostles whose names we can't identify."
"Yes, there are about two I just can't figure out.
Apostle A is said to be the last of them, and once they're defeated, we head straight to Arcadia, so no information comes from there."
Ah, I see. Defeating Apostle A leads directly to Arcadia, and then they fall into an unconscious state, meaning no further information can be gathered.
"As for Apostle T, the conditions for obtaining the Apostle's proof are unknown.
There's a rumor that touching the throne in the palace surrounded by the Castle of the Southern Resource Forest grants it, but there are also reports of people not being able to acquire it at all.
On top of that, Apostle T hasn't shown up, so we can't even identify their name."
"How are we supposed to know if an Apostle won't show up for the Angel Quest?"
"Hmm, so should we head towards the Apostle at T, since it's nearby?"
"No, I recommend the 'Apostle of Gems, Gem,' and the 'Apostle of Labyrinths, Labyrinth.' They're located in the underground labyrinth, making them perfect targets to tackle early on."
"The underground labyrinth... you can't mean..."
A chill ran down my spine at the mention of the underground labyrinth.
"Yes, this underground city is just one of many in that labyrinth. It's said that its expanse stretches all the way to the continent of East End and the Jipan Empire beyond the sea."
"What?! That's massive!"
According to Ava, the Apostle of Gems and the Apostle of Labyrinths are wandering somewhere within that enormous underground maze. It typically takes at least six months to navigate it, and even reaching the limited points above ground usually takes one to two weeks.
"We can't afford to spend over a week just on the underground labyrinth. What are we going to do?"
"That's why I'm thinking we should call in specialists on the underground labyrinth."
"Specialists? Are you suggesting we hire labyrinth guides? Even they will likely take more than a week!"
Trinity mentioned that the labyrinth guide is a specialist in navigating mazes. This guide understands the maze's structure and monster placements, providing safe routes—a true expert in labyrinths. In the underground city of Cobalt Blue, there exists a guild of guides, boasting numerous labyrinth experts. Trinity discovered the guide guild during today's exploration and decided to greet them to gather some information.
"No, I'll rely on my specialist instead of a labyrinth guide," Ava said. A specialist who isn't a labyrinth guide...? I hesitated but decided to trust Ava. She must have something up her sleeve that we don't know about.
"Alright, I understand. Ava, please get in touch with that specialist. After my training tomorrow, let's aim for the two apostles in the underground labyrinth." My final decision earned nods from both of them. After all, Ava was there to support me, and Trinity wasn't in a position to voice opposition.
---
After dinner, I visited my grandfather's room. To be frank, it was even more intense than the rigorous sword training during the day. He intended to make me grasp the magical theories of the Sword Princess style in just one night. It was only natural that it would be tough. Although I tried my best to absorb the information, my mind was overheating, and I struggled to keep up.
Learning is much like mastering English in the real world. Given my already poor English grades, there's no way I'd easily grasp magic theory. I never imagined I would still be studying even in a game world.
—AL Year 103, March 21—
Today, I rubbed my heavy eyelids and faced my grandfather fully equipped as usual. Studying late into the night would affect today's training, so I wrapped things up at a reasonable hour, but it was still quite late.
"Now, by all means, you must master the Sword Saint's One-Sword Style today. It will be even more challenging than yesterday, so prepare yourself!"
As he said this, my grandfather approached me, wielding his swords. I quickly began to practice what I learned about magic theory from yesterday, dodging his strikes while chanting my spells.
For now, I was only taught the basic, beginner-level magic for the seven elements: fire, water, wind, earth, ice, lightning, and void. The broader your magical repertoire in the Sword Saint Style, the better, so I focused on these seven.
Anything beyond beginner-level magic couldn't be learned by just chanting spells, so I would have to independently figure out how to master the higher-level spells from here on out.
"You're slow, slow! You were faster yesterday!"
"It's not just about chanting the spells! You must have a clear image while dodging attacks and casting!"
"Anticipate your opponent's movements! The true essence of the magical sword lies in predicting their every action!"
The old man's training was as grueling as ever.
After a lunch break, I spent the entire day dodging his sword and countering with my own, as well as with magic-infused strikes. As the sun began to dip in the sky, I noticed Ava and Trinity observing us from the backyard. They had taken the day off to gather more information about the 26 Apostles, wandering through town in search of updates. Ava mentioned visiting the Thieves' Guild in the underground city of Cobalt Blue with Trinity to collect intel for AIWOn.
"Haah... haah... haah..."
Even as I caught sight of them spectating my training, I kept focusing on evading the sword's edge and swinging my own. The relentless pace of the training left me breathless. Yet, surprisingly, it was the old man who seemed even worse off.
"Guh... cough!"
Suddenly, he dropped to one knee and coughed up blood. My attacks hadn't even touched him, yet here he was, bleeding. Now that I thought about it, he had been acting strangely yesterday as well. Was he pushing himself despite being unwell?
"Haah... hey, old man, what are you doing? If you're not well, then just rest. I've gotten more than enough training already!"
"Hmph, foolish child. My body has long since reached its expiration date, so it's no surprise that I am not in the best shape. After all, I'm over a hundred years old. For a dog-man, that's excessively long-lived."
Now that I think of it, the old man mentioned learning the dual sword technique from the priestess Fenris. Fenris is a figure from a century ago, which makes the old man's age calculation seem plausible.
"And did you not say you received more than enough training? Nonsense! I still have much to teach you. Now, let's continue with the training!"
Despite his words, the old man swung his sword, but his movements lacked their earlier vigor. It was clear he was struggling physically.
"Oi, Grandpa! Stop! You can't continue training in that condition!"
Yet, the old man persisted, even coughing up blood, as if he were sacrificing his very life to impart his final lessons to me.
Watching this, Ava must have foreseen the old man's end and sent Trinity to gather Niru and the others.
"What's wrong! Your blade is dull! If you're shaken by something so trivial, you won't be able to help your friend! If you want to stop me, then do so by force!!"
369: Anonymous Adventurer: 9/30/2058 16:42:10 ID: Con8tO10
What is this? The underground labyrinth is way too big! LOL
370: Anonymous Adventurer: 9/30/2058 16:43:21 ID: M369sekI69
Is it really spreading all the way to the neighboring continent?