"How about you? Aren't you one busy guy?"
Enkrid blinked twice while staring at the dwarf.
There was a disconnect between the situation he had perceived and the present moment.
Enkrid first checked the condition of his body.
He felt as if he had gone days without food, and his muscles trembled as though they had been overworked.
His vision was also blurry.
The issue with his sight stemmed from fatigue.
And it wasn't just ordinary fatigue—it felt as though he had climbed a mountain without rest or food for days.
His body was heavy, weighed down by extreme exhaustion, and he even felt a sense of weakness, as if his entire body had no strength to move.
He hadn't slept for two days and had only swung his sword the entire time, yet this state was unnatural.
"How long has it been?"
Enkrid clenched and opened his fist, speaking with a noticeable strain in his voice.
He could clearly feel the toll on his body.
"...This guy's as shameless as a demon."
The dwarf girl raised her lips, speaking in disbelief.
Enkrid didn't need to hear the dwarf's answer.
Behind her, Rem and Lagarne appeared.
Rem, who had been cleaning his ears, spoke first.
"It's been three days. Did you have fun?"
"Was it good?"
It was a question from Ragna, who had been watching with his arms crossed.
Both of them asked without even catching their breath, so Enkrid took a moment to reflect on his own condition.
What had happened?
The time that passed seemed like a blur, but it remained etched in his mind like a dream.
Every moment, every step had been a realization.
At the end of each step, Enkrid had been absorbed, immersed in the process.
He had taken his goal and reached his destination.
'Swordsmanship.'
He had created something.
Though he couldn't name it yet, couldn't neatly categorize it, the fact remained—he had created a sword technique.
Masters of swordsmanship usually spent their later years refining and passing on the techniques they had mastered.
Even the greatest masters of swordsmanship would only polish their craft.
But Enkrid had created something.
His heart raced.
Despite the exhaustion, the joy of having created something new filled him, and a smile of exhilaration spread across his face.
"You're smiling? Have you gone a bit mad?"
"I was planning to send him to a temple in the great territory for some treatment, you know. Little dwarf ."
The dwarf spun her finger around her ear, and Rem spoke.
Enkrid, filled with exhilaration and joy, didn't respond to Rem's words.
"You're really enjoying this."
Rem sneered as he observed Enkrid, but it didn't reach Enkrid's ears.
And Ragna, who had been quietly watching, nodded alone.
"Good."
The dwarf was a wanderer, traveling the continent. She had seen the world for more than ten years.
This was a rare experience even for her.
Regardless of her own talents and tendencies, those around her, including Enkrid, were simply madmen—purely insane individuals.
The day before Enkrid woke up, the dwarf had arrived. Before then, they had been blocked from coming close.
When they saw him waking up and started complaining, they brought him here.
"Then why not just leave the weapon behind?"
Even as Enkrid said that, the dwarf shook her head.
"I have to see the faces of those who will use the weapons I made. That's the rule I set."
The dwarf made it a strict rule that whenever she passed on something she made, she had to personally hand it over and speak with the recipient.
Dwarves sometimes followed their own rules obsessively, and this was one of those cases.
Despite grumbling about wasting time, it was the reason she had stayed.
Nevertheless, the dwarf's complaints soon faded.
"Got it."
Ignoring his fatigue, Enkrid listened intently to the dwarf's words.
The rest of the unit members either didn't pay attention, didn't respond, or gave some vague advice as though imparting divine wisdom, or simply ignored him altogether.
At least Krais, the big-eyed man, could hold a conversation, but he was so busy that it was hard to even see his face.
In the meantime, Enkrid's attentive listening seemed to melt the dwarf's heart.
When it came to attitude and mindset, Enkrid had the best on the continent.
That alone made the dwarf's heart soften quickly. His personality, distant from pettiness, also played a part.
"Yeah, I guess it's good that you're crazy in a nice way."
The dwarf then commented on Enkrid and handed over the weapons.
The commission was for two swords and two axes.
They were neatly placed on a large piece of leather. The dwarf spoke while holding one of the weapons.
"To be honest, refining isn't my strong suit. My talents lie elsewhere. But these are still better than anything those amateurs could make."
The dwarf, whose name was unknown, spoke, and Enkrid acknowledged the statement.
The dwarf handed over the weapon she had placed in the scabbard.
She extended the hilt toward Enkrid, and he grabbed it.
It was quite heavy.
The blade wasn't long but was thick.
It was as thick as the guard sword he was currently using. The length was slightly longer than a short sword.
It was a sword made by modifying the shape of a gladius.
When he drew the sword from the scabbard, the blade smoothly revealed itself to the world.
The silver body of the blade flowed with a soft, streamlined curve.
"Well-made," Rem said, watching.
That was the truth. If it were a woman, it would be a beauty; if a man, a handsome one.
It had a similar look to the sword used by the fairy Company Commander but was distinct in its own way.
It was heavy and felt solid just by looking at it.
"There's one good sword already, so I figured this would be an appropriate backup," the dwarf said, gesturing to the sword Enkrid had originally worn at his waist.
Though she had made it without being asked, her reasoning was spot on.
Enkrid's original sword was indeed worthy of being called a fine weapon. The fact that the dwarf could recognize that without even drawing it was impressive.
He briefly wondered if it was typical of a dwarf, but the thought soon passed.
Enkrid, without rest, stood in the training area and swung the new sword a few times.
What stood out more than anything was the balance.
It felt perfectly centered around a point a couple of hand lengths above the hilt.
It seemed like it would be an excellent weapon even for a thrusting technique.
"Throw it, cut with it, block with it, strike. I made it sturdy enough for any use," the dwarf explained.
The feel of cutting and throwing was exceptional; it fit perfectly in his hand.
The blade's point was sharp, and the upper part of the blade was long enough to make thrusting easy.
Enkrid tossed the sword up, letting it spin a few times before catching it.
As expected, the balance was excellent.
He grabbed the hilt with a snap and lightly swung it in the air a few times.
The ease with which he wielded the sword now was much smoother than before.
There was a flexibility in his movements that wasn't there before.
Something had changed after breaking through his own limits.
Though only a few could notice it, Enkrid nodded in approval.
It was a satisfied gesture.
And the dwarf, watching him, couldn't help but admire.
"Look at that?"
The stone had been shaped, carved, and refined by someone. Was this transformation possible in such a short time?
"Not ordinary talent, huh."
The dwarf mistakenly thought this, but the truth was that it was the result of countless efforts that had finally converged and broken through at the right moment.
To the dwarf, it seemed like raw talent.
"Are you not giving me one?"
At Rem's urging from behind, the dwarf tossed the axes. She threw both at once, and Rem caught the handles of both axes with precision.
It was obvious that the axes were excellent.
Even Rem, that bad-tempered Rem.
"…I'm glad I didn't make a trophy out of that dwarf."
That line made the dwarf burst into laughter.
It was unclear what was funny, but it definitely made her mental state seem questionable.
Rem examined the two axes closely.
The fire axe had a sharp spike at the end and could also be used as a weapon where the end of the handle was used to strike.
The other one was made from the glave of a centaur leader, which had been melted down to create the axe.
"It's heavy. So, I like it."
Rem gave his honest opinion, and naturally, everyone was satisfied.
Lastly, Ragna, who had received a sword, spoke to the dwarf.
"Not bad."
The sword he received was a northern-style zweihander.
It was a two-handed sword, and its thickness was double that of others, with a large pommel and hilt.
"I finished it in the northern style," the dwarf said with a smile.
Although she wasn't a master, and refining wasn't her specialty, perhaps it was in the nature of her race.
She smiled with satisfaction as she watched everyone who had received the weapons.
"Good, this will be the last of it. If there's a chance later, let's meet again."
The dwarf spoke cheerfully and turned to leave, giving one last look at Krais, who had been watching the others receive their weapons. He was staring blankly at the dwarf.
"You little human."
From appearance alone, he might look like the little one, but the words suited him perfectly.
"What?"
"I'll consider it when you become a gem."
At those words, Krais nodded, not knowing what they meant. It seemed like a good thing because it sounded like she would see him again.
And with that, the dwarf left.
And once she was gone Enkrid drew the attention of everyone.
"How's your body? What kind of person skips meals and just swings a sword around?"
Krais asked.
"As you can see."
Though his muscles were fatigued, he wasn't about to collapse. He was hungry, but it wasn't as if he'd die from starvation right away.
It was known by all that Enkrid had grown stronger by seizing an opportunity. However, no one brought it up to ask about it.
When he had regained his senses, only Rem and Ragna had said anything.
According to rumors, during his intense focus, Enkrid had been oblivious to his surroundings, so much so that he ended up warding off anyone who came near, alternating shifts like a sentry.
When he later met Torres, Torres had said,
"You seemed like someone more difficult to meet than the king."
Anyway, after the dwarf left, Enkrid slept for the entire day.
He woke up, ate, and went back to sleep again.
What he thought was a short rest turned into three full days, during which he continued swinging his sword.
Sometimes fast and strong, other times slow like a turtle from the sea.
However, there was never a moment of rest.
Of course, his muscles were strained, but they were honed by the Isolation technique.
After a long sleep, he woke up feeling refreshed.
Enkrid had sorted through what he had learned during his focus while resting and eating.
It wasn't until the late afternoon of the next day that he spoke.
"Rem."
Rem, sitting in a corner of their quarters, was polishing his axe. He was getting bored of tormenting Dunbakel, and a bit of restlessness was starting to set in.
"You've been waiting long."
At the sound of Enkrid's voice, Rem quickly stood up. He had oiled his axe and it gleamed in his hands.
It was time for their sparring.
Looking at the results, Enkrid did not win.
In fact, he lost more easily than before.
"Again."
He thrust his sword toward the axe's blade and repeated the same moves, but it never worked out easily.
Some attempts were half successful, but they were unsatisfactory.
So, it didn't matter whether he won or lost in the sparring. What mattered most was getting the new techniques into his body.
"That's good."
Their sparring continued until the evening, and they were drenched in sweat, finally finishing past midnight.
A maid who had been heating bathwater grumbled, but when
she saw Enkrid's body, she fell silent.
Meanwhile, Ragna, who had been practicing with his sword morning and evening, caught the attention of Zimmer, who requested a sparring session.
Audin's prayer time had increased, and his expression seemed gentler than before.
Dunbakel, watching Enkrid, began imitating the Isolation technique on her own, even though no one had instructed her.
"There's a way that suits your body. I'll teach you a few techniques."
Audin, noticing her, assisted her, although Dunbakel looked like she was being tortured more than helped.
Teresa also silently worked up a sweat, swinging her shield and sword, refining her own skills.
In fact, the very sight of Enkrid immersed in his focus served as a catalyst for the others, motivating them in their training.
The wild horse spent its time watching the humans, and the soldiers placed hay for it in a corner as its food.
Usually, horses would relieve themselves anywhere, but this one was remarkably intelligent, digging a hole with its hooves to do its business at one side of the barracks.
The stableman was astonished by its strength.
"Ah, if only we could get a saddle on it…"
This was the man responsible for the cavalry horses in Martai. He knew that cavalry and warhorses were essential to the army.
He sighed in frustration but didn't attempt to do anything about it, as the wild horse would release an aura of hostility if anyone approached carelessly.
Enkrid observed the wild horse silently, thinking.
'Maybe I should give it a name?'
Its odd behavior wasn't that unusual—there were people who acted similarly, after all. Would adding one more horse really make a difference?
In the Border Guard, there were even magicians who could transform from a leopard into a human.
Enkrid decided to put off naming the horse for now. The creature seemed too busy exploring its surroundings.
Everything around it likely piqued its curiosity.
It didn't, however, approach people.
Soldiers who had seen its strange blue and red eyes said they felt an inexplicable chill when looking at it, perhaps due to the beast's inherent hostility.
Thus passed the time of intense training and sparring.
On the third day after the dwarf left, the group began to prepare to move.
Krais, who had been exploring the local market and having private talks with the lord, declared that it was time for them to leave.
"Let's head back."
It was time to return to their territory.
Enkrid took the lead, and the lord saw them off.
"May fortune guide you."
They left in the early morning, and by the time the sun rose, the city was no longer in sight.
Krais led the way, with no horses, traveling by foot.
Only the wild horse walked alongside Enkrid.
"Ah, snow," Enkrid remarked.
"The damned devils are at it again," Krais muttered.
As they walked, small white flakes began to fall from the sky, landing on the ground and on their armor, slowly melting away.
Luckily, the wind wasn't strong, and the snowfall wasn't heavy. The tiny white particles didn't hinder their vision much.
The snow fell quietly, and it wasn't uncomfortable at all.
As they approached a path with two mounds on either side, someone stood in their way.
One of them was a familiar figure.
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TL here! Thank you for reading!
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