Living together didn’t spark anything extraordinary. It simply meant there was someone else to look after. To put it bluntly, it was more of an added hassle than anything else.
When morning came, Yuda woke up, washed his face, and started preparing breakfast. This time, he made enough for two instead of his usual single portion, paying a bit more attention to nutrition. Once everything was ready, he went to wake Zentia. She was sprawled comfortably across her bed, still half-asleep, and stretched out a hand as she groggily stirred.
Assuming she wanted help, he gently took her hand and guided her to the table, only for her to drop her head onto it and doze off again. It took her exactly five minutes to wake up again.
Over breakfast, she mentioned being weak in the mornings. After they finished, she took Yuda to Kaseun’s mansion. There, she borrowed the training yard to assess his skills.
It seemed she needed to gauge what this kid could do and how much potential he had before teaching him anything. Her level of 49 was overwelmhing for him to face, like a tutorial boss. She tracked every one of Yuda’s attacks with her eyes, dodging or parrying them effortlessly.
Kaseun, watching from the sidelines, told her it was fine to let Yuda show off his dual-wielding swordsmanship. That meant he had to activate his Shadow Swordsmanship, wielding a dagger in his left hand as a secondary weapon and a one-handed sword, like a bastard sword, in his right.
When Yuda switched to Shadow Swordsmanship, Zentia let out an impressed hum. She even said she couldn’t understand why he had stuck to basic swordplay instead of using this from the start. Through a light duel, she began to get a rough sense of what to teach him. That wrapped up the session.
She was about to head out for her next errand when Kaseun insisted she stay for lunch. Pretending to relent, she joined them. After a tasty, somewhat fancy meal paired with casual conversation, Zentia took Yuda to Serenia Castle’s central plaza.
The central plaza, where the fountain stood, served as a hub that connected various guilds, shops, and temples. She seemed to have already gotten a decent grasp of the area’s layout, as she led Yuda without hesitation. Without pause, she headed toward the eastern main road.
This area was lined with general stores and weapon shops catering to adventurers, plus a mage tower under Langritsa’s command. She made a beeline for a weapon shop. It wasn’t exactly top-tier, but the quality was above average.
She bought four daggers, a leather belt to hold them, and two longswords. Maybe Kaseun had given her money, she didn’t haggle over the price one bit. Handing the weapons to Yuda as a gift, she told him to head home first, then vanished somewhere.
A bit thrown off, Yuda returned home alone and sat in the living room, lightly swinging one of the longswords she’d given him. Unlike a wooden practice sword, it sliced through the air with a sharp whistle.
‘Not as heavy as I thought.’
He could wield it one-handed. Still, holding it with both hands, as he hadd always done felt more stable. But that wouldn’t last long. After a few years, he would be taller and possess higher stats, so such a one-handed swing would not burden him this much.
Zentia would surely teach him her Mercenary Left-Hand Dagger Technique. That’s probably why she’d bought the daggers and belt. Late that evening, she trudged back, covered head to toe in dirt.
“Ugh, exhausting. Did you wait long?”
“No, not really. Where’d you go to get so… dirty?”
“The eastern forest. I’ve gotta teach you hunting, right? I scoped out what’s where. Starting tomorrow, we’ll head there to learn hunting and other stuff, so look forward to it.”
What kind of lessons was she planning that left her this filthy? A flicker of worry crept in. Saying she needed to wash off the grime first, she headed to the bathroom. After a long scrub, she emerged fresh and soft, dressed in simple clothes. She didn’t want to waste the rest of the day doing nothing.
After giving it some thought, she realized there was still something she could teach him, even at night. She told Yuda to grab the daggers she had given him. While he went to fetch them, she rummaged through her room and pulled out a thick target board and an old mercenary dagger-throwing manual—leftovers from her mercenary days. The board was like a dartboard, designed to let daggers stick easily and come out clean. There were plenty of spots around the house to hang it. She picked a good one and set it up. When Yuda returned with the daggers, she told him to throw one using his left hand. His clumsy stance made her laugh.
Handing him the manual, she told him to read it and let her know when he was done. As he took the book, a system message popped up in front of him.
[Zentia is passing down 〈Mercenary Left-Hand Dagger Technique - Rank: C〉 to you.]
[Would you like to accept?]
He didn’t hesitate and clicked accept. Dagger skills could be swapped out later if he found something better. Right now, with only Shadow Swordsmanship and Shadow Sorcery filling his skill slots, he was eager to add more.
[〈Mercenary Left-Hand Dagger Technique - Rank: C〉 has been learned.]
[〈Mercenary Left-Hand Dagger Technique〉’s Workmanship has risen from 1 to 3.]
[Mercenary Left-Hand Dagger Technique] - Rank: C / Workmanship: 3/10
A left-handed dagger technique learned only by seasoned mercenaries.
Each rise in workmanship boosts accuracy correction for dagger throws and slightly increases attack power.
At workmanship 5 or higher, the speed of drawing a dagger increases, and agility rises slightly after throwing.
There weren’t any special conditions to learn the skill, and its effects were simple—an accuracy boost and a slight increase in attack power. But that wasn’t what made it valuable to him. The true worth lay in the understanding it provided. From how to grip the dagger, to the balance of strength, to the precise snap of the wrist during the throw—detailed know-how poured into his mind. “Poured” might’ve sounded odd, but that’s exactly how it felt.
Still, like with Shadow Swordsmanship or Shadow Sorcery, knowing how to use it wasn’t the same as having experience. Following her instructions, he skimmed the manual, then mimicked her guidance, throwing the dagger. About an hour in, Zentia was struck with disbelief.
She’d had him use real daggers despite the risk of injury, just to give him a feel for it and show him the difference from the start. But then after reading the manual once, his grip, stance, everything aligned perfectly with the Mercenary Left-Hand Dagger Technique.
It mirrored the manual’s form almost exactly. Sure, he was rough around the edges but it was his first try. But the posture was flawless, so she told him to throw a few more times, just in case. The first few hit with the handle, bouncing off, but with each attempt, he steadied. Soon, the blade tips sank precisely into the board.
Astonishing talent. She tried to play it cool, pointing out his mistakes and keeping him throwing, but she found herself slipping tips and tricks into her corrections without realizing it. By the time she snapped out of it, another hour had passed.
Yuda had grown noticeably skilled in that time. His learning speed was unreal. Not just fast, but absurdly so. He wasn’t hitting bullseyes yet, but at this rate, he would d master it in a month. Maybe three or four weeks at the shortest.
‘This kid… Is he an actual genius?’
This wasn’t something you could brush off as merely “quick.”
She thought back to when she had first learned dagger techniques. Awkwardly holding a dagger in her right hand, she had followed Kaseun’s lessons. Starting with the right hand was basic dagger training, familiar territory since it was her dominant hand. Even so, it took her two days to get comfortable with stance and strength distribution. That was considered fast. The mercenary troupe had praised her as a gifted prodigy, though she’d assumed it was half-teasing since plenty outshone her.
Once she had mastered the basics, she moved to left-hand dagger skills. Using her unfamiliar left hand took three or four extra days. Throwing daggers nonstop, barring meals and sleep.
Yet here was this kid named Yuda, showing this level of proficiency in just an hour. She briefly wondered if he had already learned it from Kaseun and was pretending otherwise. But that sloppy first throw ruled it out.
This was pure, raw talent from a young boy. It was so impressive that jealousy didn’t even cross her mind—just awe as she watched him throw. His left hand started trembling, clearly straining from the effort.
“Stop.”
Yuda paused, catching his breath.
“Let’s call it here. You’ll be running around the forest tomorrow. You need some rest.”
“…Okay.”
His voice carried a hint of disappointment. Throwing daggers was fun. If he’d struggled, it might’ve frustrated him, but seeing and feeling himself improve with each toss made it addictively enjoyable.
“Bring those over here.”
He carried the four daggers to her. She held a brick-shaped whetstone, patting the sofa beside her. Sitting down, he placed the daggers on the table in front of them.
“Unless it’s made of top-notch materials, most weapons dull fast even with light use like this.”
She picked up a dagger, showing him the edge. As she said, despite only throwing, the blade had softened slightly.
“If we don’t have great weapons, we’ve got to keep them maintained. That’s where a whetstone comes in. It’s essential. So tonight, I’ll teach you how to use one. You know the basics, right? You’ve sharpened kitchen knives plenty of times.”
Yuda nodded.
“But you probably don’t know how to hone an edge. Do you?”
“No.”
“It’s not hard—just a bit tedious. Watch closely.”
With a few quick shk-shk-shk scrapes, she sharpened the dagger’s edge in an instant. He knew the basics of whetstone use from kitchen knives, but seeing her hone the edge so effortlessly was new. She had him sharpen the remaining three daggers. By the second one, a new system message appeared before his eyes.
[Having fully grasped sharpening blades with a whetstone, you’ve unlocked the talent 〈Blade Honing〉.]
[Talents are developed by repeating specific actions or meeting certain conditions.]
[They provide bonuses to actions but don’t grant stat boosts like skills or traits.]
Because they were stuff he was already familiar with, he skimmed it and dismissed it. Talents came naturally from repetition. Unlike skills or traits with slot limits, they weren’t rare, but they weren’t game-changers either. They were just nice to have. Finishing the last dagger’s edge, Zentia ruffled his hair, praising him. Her touch felt good.
“Alright, shall we wrap up for today? You’ve worked up a sweat. Wash up again even if it’s a hassle, then head to bed.”
Stretching, she stood and said “Good night” with a wave. And went to her room. Sleepiness hit Yuda too. Leaving the daggers on the table, he washed up and turned in.
Maybe it was knowing he wasn’t alone in the house, or maybe it was her ruffling his hair—whatever it was, he felt he would sleep well tonight.
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***Author’s Note***
I really love rainy days. Sure, getting caught outside without an umbrella is annoying, but when I’m home, the sound of rain through the window is just perfect.
On quiet nights when it rains, my writing flows better for some reason.
Tsk—
But it’s not raining anymore, so I’m getting sleepy. Time to go to bed.
Hope you all have a good night.
Let’s not meet in dreamland, haha.
Q: Is the Nordic side story just one part?
A: Well… I’ll write more someday??? I should, but laziness… sigh.
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