Chương 104

Rudra opened his eyes. The freezing, biting wind of the Eternal Kingdom's forests hit his face. He took a deep breath of the crisp mountain air and let out a long, happy sigh. After dodging his mother's terrifying marriage interrogation in the real world, the freezing wilderness felt like an absolute paradise.

"Monsters and swordsmen," Rudra muttered, pulling his black trench coat tighter.

"So much easier to deal with." He looked around the quiet, snowy clearing. They were currently camped a few days north of Winston. Sitting on a flat rock nearby was Piaro. The Great Swordsman was calmly whittling a thick pine branch with a small knife. Kratos, the half-gold, half-black divine beast, was curled up by the campfire, happily gnawing on a leftover monster bone. Piaro stopped whittling. He looked up, his sharp eyes locking onto Rudra.

"You are on time, Duke Rudra," Piaro said smoothly. He stood up, giving the thick pine branch a few practice swings. The wood cut through the cold air with a heavy, dangerous whistle.

"We have two days left on our contract. I intend to make them count." Rudra grinned. He reached over his shoulder and pulled out the Staff of the Fire Lord. The dark bone shaft was still heavily cracked down the middle. Its durability was flashing a miserable red warning. His Obsidian Drake Leather Gloves were also fraying at the seams. Grid was supposed to fix them when they finally arrived in Winston, but the gear just needed to survive for forty-eight more hours.

"Don't hold back, partner," Rudra said, gripping the cracked staff with both hands.

"I'm ready." Piaro didn't waste a single second. He crossed the snowy clearing in a blur. The Great Swordsman brought the pine branch down in a brutal, vertical strike. Rudra didn't use an active skill. He just dropped his hips, anchored his boots into the snow, and threw his staff up to block. CLANG! The impact was incredibly heavy. Even with a simple piece of wood, Piaro's physical pressure was terrifying. But Rudra's foundation was completely different from three months ago. He didn't slide backward.

He didn't lose his balance. Rudra absorbed the heavy blow, letting his knees bend slightly. He instantly twisted his wrists, sliding the pine branch off his staff, and stepped directly into Piaro's personal space. He shoved his shoulder forward, throwing a rough, ugly check right into Piaro's chest to disrupt the swordsman's balance.

"Messy," Piaro noted calmly, easily shifting his weight to absorb the shove.

"But good."

"I try," Rudra laughed. He used the extremely close distance to start his swing. He didn't chop. He let the heavy bone staff loop around his body in a tight, continuous figure-eight. Thwack! Thwack! Piaro parried the heavy swings with casual, fluid motions. The two of them turned the snowy clearing into a chaotic brawl. Rudra kicked up snow to blind his opponent, used the blunt end of his staff to poke at Piaro's knees, and constantly chained his basic attacks to keep his momentum building.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. It wasn't a pretty, choreographed martial arts dance. For two straight hours, they traded blows. Rudra was covered in bruises and his stamina bar was nearly empty, but he didn't stop swinging until the system timer finally ticked down. [Daily Sparring Complete!] [Quest 'Fun and Enjoyable Training!' has been updated.] [Progress: 89 / 90 Days.] Rudra collapsed backward into the snow, panting heavily.

"One more day." Piaro lowered his branch, not even out of breath.

"Your transitions are nearly flawless. You are fighting the weight of the weapon less and less."

"I just need some food," Rudra wheezed. He didn't bother setting up his heavy cauldron. He just tossed a thick, pre-cooked slab of spicy boar meat onto the campfire to warm it up. He shared it with Piaro and tossed a chunk to Kratos. The heavy, greasy calories instantly refilled his stamina. They rested through the night, the freezing wind howling through the pine trees. The next morning, Rudra woke up feeling completely energized. Today was Day 90. The final day of the quest.

He stood in the center of the clearing, cracking his knuckles inside his frayed black gloves. He gripped the Staff of the Fire Lord. The crack in the bone looked worse today, but it just had to hold together for two more hours. Piaro stepped forward. The Great Swordsman didn't look relaxed today. A heavy, overwhelming sword aura radiated from his body, blowing the loose snow away from his boots.

"This is the final lesson," Piaro said, his voice carrying the strict, absolute authority of an Imperial Commander.

"Show me everything you have learned." Rudra didn't smile. He planted his boots firmly in the dirt.

"Come on," Rudra challenged. Piaro vanished. The Great Swordsman appeared directly in front of Rudra, unleashing a relentless, blinding flurry of strikes. The pine branch moved so fast it looked like a solid wall of wood. Rudra didn't use Abyssal Step to run away. He stood his ground.

"[Iron Guard]!" Rudra braced his staff with both hands. The heavy impacts rained down like a meteor shower. He absorbed the blows, feeling the sheer, crushing force travel down his arms. He didn't wait for Piaro to finish. Right in the middle of the flurry, Rudra pushed back. He dropped his guard, letting the natural weight of the staff pull him into a low spin.

"[Sweeping Gale]." The heavy bone staff blurred in a wide, horizontal arc. Piaro easily hopped over it, but Rudra was already chaining his next move. He rode the momentum of the sweep, spinning on his heel and bringing the staff completely overhead. He poured every ounce of his massive Strength into the downward swing.

"[Crushing Strike]!" Piaro raised his pine branch to block. KABOOM! The staff smashed into the branch. A massive explosion of orange fire erupted from the impact. The shockwave ripped through the clearing, shattering the snowdrifts and blowing the pine needles off the trees. Piaro was actually forced to slide a few inches backward in the dirt to absorb the heavy, explosive force. The Great Swordsman lowered his branch. A wide, incredibly proud smile broke across his scarred face.

"Perfect," Piaro praised.

"You have completely mastered your foundation." A blinding, golden light suddenly erupted in front of Rudra's face. The system notifications didn't just pop up; they flooded his entire vision in a massive cascade. [Daily Sparring Complete!] [Quest 'Fun and Enjoyable Training!' has been cleared!] [You have endured the rigorous, uncompromising spars of the continent's greatest swordsman for 90 consecutive days.] Rudra dropped his staff to his side, his chest heaving as he stared at the glowing blue panels.

[Your physical foundation has been perfectly tempered.] [Quest Reward: Advanced Staff Mastery has increased by 4 levels!] [Advanced Staff Mastery has reached Level 10 (MAX)!]"Finally," Rudra whispered, clenching his fists. The heavy, clumsy feeling of fighting against the weapon's weight was gone. The staff didn't feel like a tool anymore. It felt exactly like a natural, weightless extension of his own arms. He had successfully skipped a year of agonizing grinding. His mastery was officially maxed out.