Tia's cigarette smoke seemed to have the effect of attracting beasts, as the black wolves soon began to appear. As soon as they showed themselves, Tia tapped Yuda's shoulder a few times in encouragement and then used her stealth ability.
The mastery-level C-rank stealth showed remarkable effectiveness. When Tia suddenly disappeared before their eyes, the black wolves were startled and displayed caution, but as time passed without incident, they began looking around in confusion before baring their teeth and directing their killing intent toward Yuda.
Amid the wolves' hostility, Yuda took his stance with a longsword in his right hand and a dagger in his left, assuming the ready position of the Shadow Swordsmanship. The moment he took his stance, they charged.
Without using any shadow sorcery, the wolves' movements felt extremely fast compared to yesterday. He narrowly avoided their attacks, but failing to maintain proper distance, sharp claws tore through his clothes. With the ripping sound, he moved calmly. After evading attacks and looking for opportunities to counter-attack, he dealt with the wolves, and Tia revealed herself from her hiding place in the trees. Rather than praise, criticism came first.
"Attack first. Why do you just stand there waiting for a chance to counter?"
That's easier said than done.
"Keep moving. Don't stay in one place. You're not holding a shield, and one bite could end it all. You need to be constantly mobile."
"I'm not saying you fought poorly. Using the dagger throw to disrupt the other wolves' movements was good. But if you throw a dagger without gaining any advantage from it, you're actually at a loss. You always need to remember how many daggers you've thrown."
Catching his somewhat ragged breath and brushing off the blood on his body, he nodded at her words. Not long after, perhaps drawn by the smell of blood, the next pack of black wolves arrived. This time there were four. As the wolves surrounded him from all directions and charged simultaneously, he moved as Tia had instructed. He threw the dagger in his left hand. The recently blood-stained dagger flew through the air aiming for a wolf's forehead, but this time the wolf didn't dodge and instead knocked it away with the side of the blade.
He shifted his body toward where he had swung and slashed upward with his sword. Hot blood spurted again. Watching the red blood fountain into the air, Yuda spun around. Suddenly, a wolf that had landed on the ground was baring its densely packed teeth in front of him. Yuda drove his knee into the wolf's jaw. With a cracking sound, teeth fragments flew from the forcibly closed mouth. He immediately brought down the dagger in his left hand onto its head. As soon as that wolf collapsed, two others charged from both sides. One aimed for his head, the other for his leg.
He chose to evade rather than counter. He pulled back, then kicked hard at the side of the wolf that had been aiming for his leg. Though his body was only about the size of a middle school student, his physical abilities were enhanced by his stats, exceeding those of a strong adult. The kick, as if mocking the seemingly dismissive wolf, sent it flying with unexpected impact.
"Kyaeng!"
Ignoring the wolf that was sent flying with a scream despite its heavy weight, he used 〈Shadow Swordsmanship Form 2: Slash〉 on the wolf glaring at him from nearby. Black particles fluttered in the air like snowflakes. With a sharp sound, he cut its side, and as he was about to follow up with another attack, the kicked wolf came charging back with rage. It was fast. Because of this, though he had inflicted a serious wound, he couldn't take the wolf's life.
Which would be faster—swinging his dagger or the beast's bite?
Judging safety first, he quickly moved away. But the black wolf landed and immediately lunged at Yuda. Perhaps due to its rage, its glistening teeth between bared gums looked particularly sharp. However, it wasn't dangerously so. Yuda faced the wolf with his sword and swiftly brought it down.
After collecting magic stones from the fallen wolf's body, he moved on to find the next wolves. Although the pelts could be sold for money, he didn't bother skinning them as time was precious. After all, his current purpose was to gain experience.
Smelling the blood of their kind on his body, the wolves gradually gathered. With each pack of wolves he encountered, Yuda's stiff movements became more natural, and he grew accustomed to wielding his sword. It was visible even from the outside.
'...Is this even possible?'
Sitting on a thick branch watching this, Tia tilted her head in wonder. Yuda's combat sense was exceptional. As a mercenary who had worked long enough to earn a Silver badge, she had seen many people. Among them were inexperienced youngsters worthy of ridicule and experts she admired. Most of those experts either owned Silver badges or were aspiring for Gold.
Yet Yuda's fighting style was something seen only in seasoned veterans. He captured the moments for attack and defense well. Originally, she had planned to kill all but one wolf if Yuda struggled with multiple opponents, creating a 1:1 situation for him to gain experience.
He was fighting better than she had expected. No, it wasn't just fighting well but he seemed to be adapting. He immediately applied the advice she had given. He didn't waste energy with excessive movement but quickly repositioned to create one-on-one confrontations. This wasn't the kind of sense that someone experiencing combat for the first time could develop.
Yuda was accumulating experience at a frightening pace. Moreover, he was now defeating wolf packs more stably and quickly than before. Based on the battles so far, if she had to find a flaw, it would be that his responses occasionally slowed down. It seemed to happen when multiple countermeasures occurred to him and he hesitated over which to choose. Because of this, she had to step in and help a few times, but she didn't mention it. He probably already knew.
Time and experience would resolve this.
This rapid growth was possible thanks to his traits 〈Warrior's Spirit〉 and 〈First Ruler's Blessing〉.
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[Warrior's Spirit] - Rank: S / Workmanship: Master
Natural talent in combat, instinctively captures the best moments for attack/defense.
Increases dynamic vision and reaction speed, and raises Strength and Stamina stats by 10.
Doesn't tire easily, and can temporarily continue fighting when the body reaches its limit.
[First Ruler's Blessing (Growth)] - Rank: C
Received the blessing of the First Ruler of the demon realm, Sian, the Ruler of Space.
However, most of the power is sealed due to insufficient qualifications.
Increases learning rate for knowledge and experience.
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These two traits synergized to enable faster growth than anyone else. His current skill was at bronze badge level, but his combat sense was at Silver. Given this development speed and talent...
'At the very least, platinum badge!'
Her eye for talent had never been wrong so far. In the book "Hunter of the Wind" she had been reading yesterday, there was a phrase:
-Perhaps I am witnessing the growth of a future hero right now.-
Why that phrase came to mind at this moment.
Tia smiled faintly, chewing on the mouthpiece of her extinguished pipe while watching Yuda.
He was building experience against the black wolves—said to hunt in packs, be ferocious, and devour their prey without leaving a single piece of flesh—with concise movements and precise attacks.
+++
# Heaven, 3rd Layer - Gabriel's Sanctuary
There is a temple where sacred energy flows like flower fragrance. To reach this temple, one must cross a carefully crafted arched bridge. A man stepped onto this bridge, which had no guards. On the railings, rectangular flowerpots with lilies were placed at regular intervals, so the moment one stepped onto the bridge, a subtle floral scent lingered.
After crossing the bridge while appreciating the serene surroundings, he saw seventy-seven steps leading up to the temple. Each step held a special meaning, but the man couldn't remember them all. He had only heard that there was meaning—that's all. Anyway, since there was no one in this temple to explain it, one could only speculate. No, until someone told them, no one would know that these steps held any meaning.
After climbing each step one by one, he finally reached the entrance of the temple. On either side of the entrance, pure white pillars with no patterns supported the massive roof. After looking up at the magnificent pillars and roof once, he stepped inside onto the marble floor. The sound of his footsteps echoed unusually loudly. The floor was spotlessly clean, reflecting his image like a mirror.
The temple was still empty. There were no auxiliary angels, not even any furniture. The sacred energy flowing from somewhere and the quiet conducive to contemplation were the only advantages of this temple.
Going deeper inside, he found a clear spring directly beneath an opening in the ceiling that allowed light to pour down.
Floating about 10cm above the water's surface was a woman, naked. Above her head, a golden ring, one of the emblems that only high-ranking angels could possess, emitted a subtle light, and the six wings on her back covered her naked body.
The two wings at the bottom cunningly covered her waist and thighs, the two wings above them were spread wide as if absorbing the light flowing from the ceiling, and the two wings at the top covered her chest and belly from her shoulders down. If viewed from the side, something might be visible through the gaps between the wings, but from the front, no matter how intently one looked, nothing was visible except her navel. Thanks to this, he felt nothing upon seeing her naked body.
The name of this beautiful woman was Gabriel, one of only three Holy Kings in Heaven. With green hair, she kept her eyes closed and her mouth shut as if in deep sleep.
"..."
To announce his presence, the man deliberately walked slowly without concealing his footsteps. Still, she did not open her eyes. He thought it was not a proper way to receive guests, but since he had visited without notice, he just waited. He kept waiting. Finally, tired of waiting, the man sighed softly, breaking the silence.
"Isn't it a bit much to have no reaction when a guest has arrived?"
"I'm not particularly pleased to see you, that's why."
She replied without even opening her eyes. It was a beautiful voice. However, there was some unidentifiable sadness in it. The man looked up at Gabriel with his hands in his pockets.
"Isn't that too harsh? After all, I'm practically the only friend who visits this desolate and lonely temple."
Perhaps responding to those words, Gabriel slowly opened her eyes. Clear eyes like transparent spring water appeared above her long eyelashes.
* * *
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Tip 16. In this world, there are those who take on the roles of gods. They are called Rulers in the demon realm and Holy Kings in heaven. Each exerts powerful influence on the middle realm. If you believe in them, they occasionally bestow special powers aligned with their respective tendencies.
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***Author’s Note***
Goodness!
Many of you have given me coupons while demanding the next chapter.
I, as a writer, to live up to your expectations, have eaten the coupons with the chicken—no, I mean, used the coupons to eat chicken, and poured my blood, flesh, and time into creating the next chapter.
Now, please press the recommend button and proceed to the next chapter.
The next chapter is ready for you.
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