After spending the night with my eyes wide open, the sun began to rise. The blisters seemed to have subsided a bit compared to yesterday, but the poison was still in effect...
As I watched the sunrise through the window, I heard a noise from the yard. I looked over and saw Alencia, who had woken up at some point, lightly stretching her body in what looked like light sportswear, holding a sword.
Since I had nothing better to do, I left my armor on and went out to the yard with only my sword.
As I closed the door, Alencia spoke to me, perhaps sensing my presence.
"You must have had trouble sleeping?"
"Yes, well. It was because of the itchiness."
"Since I couldn't sleep because I kept using my skill to relieve the itchiness, it's true that I couldn't sleep because of the itchy feeling of the poison."
"I'm sorry. I wasn't considerate. No one has ever endured the poison until the time they fell asleep, so I didn't think about sleep."
"Well... a day is fine. But how long will the effects of this poison last?"
"It usually subsides in about a day or two. It varies from person to person, but judging by the blisters going down, I think the symptoms will subside within today."
"Hmm... Are you sure?"
"Yes. Didn't you say it was used for torture in the first place? So I can trust its effectiveness."
"Trust its effectiveness just because it's used for 'torture,' that's nonsense. What I'm trying to say is that since these poisons have actually been used, their effectiveness has been verified."
"Would you like to learn swordsmanship from me for a bit?"
No one would refuse such training, especially from someone as experienced as Alencia.
"Of course!"
An unexpected suggestion. In the first place, the instructors of the Labyrinth are not instructors of the Swordsmanship Guild. All they teach their trainees is knowledge about the Labyrinth. However, I had hoped to learn from the vanguard who wielded the sword since I was going to watch her use the sword by watching over her shoulder and learn what I could by imitation…
But she said just now that she was going to teach me directly!
"I saw you use a sword briefly yesterday. Your hand movements were good, but your swordsmanship itself was lacking. Do you have any [Sleight of Hand] skills? Anyway, since you trusted me and followed my orders, I can teach you the basics of simple swordsmanship."
"Of course I welcome it."
Skills like [Swordsmanship] gain experience faster when learned from someone with a high skill level. Furthermore, Alencia is a high-level explorer. Her swordsmanship will not be lacking compared to instructors in the Swordsmanship Guild.
"Thank you for your consideration."
***
Then, she started her teachings, replying to all my questions with care.
"If you don't have enough strength, you should dodge. With a double-edged sword like yours will get cut by your sword if you attack with insufficient strength. It's better to dodge. Don't defend yourself awkwardly."
"There's no need to leave one hand empty. If you're not going to use a two-handed sword, hold a shield or a secondary weapon. Otherwise, hold the sword with both hands. Once your swordsmanship improves to a certain extent, there are ways to use it with one hand empty, but for beginners, just hold a shield. In the Labyrinth, you should hold a shield or a torch."
"There's no need to swing your sword so wide. Instead, aim for a stab. You can generate enough killing power with a small movement, and it's useful in narrow spaces. When you need strong strength, swing it wide, but keep your arm closer to your body."
Each and every one of these was teachings that would cost a lot of money, and I was getting it for "free," in a sense. This was amazing. Furthermore, she didn't just teach me swordsmanship; she also told me about some useful movements, and she pointed out in which situations in the Labyrinth each strike could be used.
It was such a valuable lesson that I forgot about the poison she fed me yesterday. So much so that I thought it would be okay to drink poison one more time.
Of course, this assumes that I have [Sensory Block].
By being taught by such a master, it didn't take long for the skill, [Swordsmanship lv. 1], to be added to my arsenal.
[Swordsmanship lv. 1]: Correction to the act of handling a sword.
Even with just an hour of short instruction, the [Swordsmanship] skill was created in an instant. Furthermore, the skill I obtained this time was a skill that I obtained without the help of the [Adaptation] skill, so I was even happier.
"The skill was created already? That was fast... It certainly seems that you possess a skill related to [Dexterity]. If you have such a skill, it will be easier to obtain other skills that involve handling things with your hands. Training that skill is a separate matter, though."
It seemed that this fast speed was due to the effect of the [Heavenly Hands] skill. I thought it was a good skill, but yesterday's Gram and even a high-level explorer like Alencia highly value its importance, so it seems that it's even better than I had thought.
Even though it's a skill that I got after just one massage!
"Now that you've acquired the skill, that's all for today. Wash up and get ready to go into the Labyrinth. If you continue to follow the training well, I'll teach you swordsmanship for the rest of the training period."
"Thank you."
With that, I finished my swordsmanship training and went to eat breakfast.
By the way, that breakfast… was so horrible that I preferred enduring that itchiness happening all around my body. That's why I cast [Sensory Block] for my taste buds, making the food taste nothing because of how disgusting it was.
However, because of how horrible everything tasted, I could still faintly taste it.
I told myself that I would cook next time…