‘Fellow disciple? What’s that?’
I played dumb.
My dagger technique was passed down to me by a hunter named Oliver.
It wasn’t just to respect Oliver’s privacy.
If Oliver and this adventurer named Pandan were from the same school.
Maybe Pandan could become my superior.
I might have to call a stranger I just met my senior or uncle disciple.
Unacceptable.
“No, where on earth did you learn that dagger technique…”
I tilted my head innocently like a naive snake.
Pandan looked at me and chuckled.
“To be honest, I never imagined a snake could really use a sword.”
However, just playing dumb wouldn’t make Pandan drop his suspicions.
“There shouldn’t be anyone eccentric enough to teach dagger techniques to monsters…”
He pondered for a moment, then opened his eyes wide and whispered:
“By any chance, was it an old man with white hair and six fingers?”
Where in the world would you find such a person?
I thought for a moment and then tilted my head again.
‘It might have been, or might not have been…’
“Ah…”
If I say this, even though I said “it might not have been,” people often assume on their own.
Pandan was the same.
“Could it be that the legendary founder Ferang is still alive…!”
I didn’t give any answer at all.
Ferang, it seemed to be the person who created the ‘Ferang School Dagger Technique’.
“Would you like to spar more?”
‘Sure.’
If it weren’t for my excellent memory, I would have started to forget the dagger technique by now.
If I hadn’t learned it as a skill, I would have completely forgotten it.
I demonstrated the dagger technique I learned from Oliver.
Throwing the dagger into the air.
Then grabbing it in reverse grip and aiming for the opponent’s shoulder.
“Third form, second type, low hawk hunt!”
He exclaimed in a whisper so others couldn’t hear.
“It’s all good, but striking straight down is surprisingly inefficient.”
“Really?”
“Like this, going down in an arc is strangely faster.”
I didn’t know whether Oliver or Pandan was stronger.
But unlike Oliver, who taught me with an indifferent attitude, Pandan was enthusiastic.
And an amazing thing happened.
「The proficiency of ‘Ferang School Dagger Technique’ increases rapidly.」
The proficiency of the Ferang School Dagger Technique increased.
This effect occurred every time Pandan corrected my dagger technique.
「Ferang School Dagger Technique lv1 has become Ferang School Dagger Technique lv2.」
Finally, even the level went up.
In fact, this meant that my dagger technique had many shortcomings.
Can’t be helped, I rarely had the chance to use sword techniques in real situations.
But ironically.
I was an excellent swordmaster.
“There’s no way to counter it.”
It’s not for nothing that sword qi technique is the symbol of absolute masters.
Imagine fighting against a swordsman using sword qi technique.
Think about how you would parry the opponent’s sword.
Then you have to somehow find an opening to stab or cut the opponent.
Only then can you gain the upper hand.
But since there’s no hand attached to the sword, there’s no way to attack.
It was the same for me.
Although my sword technique might be lacking, Pandan had no way to cut me from far away from the sword.
How about my sword technique!
“It’s not sword technique, it’s magic.”
Pelerian unfairly criticized, but I didn’t care.
「The proficiency of Ferang School Dagger Technique increases.」
Regardless of that slander, the skill proved that I was a swordsman.
“Haha, I think this is enough.”
Pandan put his sword away, sweating.
From talking with him.
Fortunately, the Empire wasn’t exactly like the martial arts world.
There were no sects, and it wasn’t a wuxia novel-like world.
“Do you have a title?”
‘I have a few.’
“If it’s alright, I’d like to give you one, Mr. Snake.”
But it seems there are such romantic customs and culture.
“How about ‘Snake Sword’?”
‘Snake Sword!’
It’s a naming method using the Empire’s unique ideographic characters.
Snake Sword didn’t immediately become my title.
But I really liked it.
“Hehe, then do you still want to sell swords…”
‘No.’
Of course, I flatly refused.
I’ve had enough fun now.
The adventurers set up camp outside carelessly, so I returned to where Helmut was.
Helmut was sitting and resting after washing up.
“Phew…”
He looked up at the sky with a pipe in his mouth.
I followed and raised my head to see a beautiful moon hanging.
It was a much larger and more beautiful moon than Earth’s.
“…It’s one of the best-made sword sets I’ve created. Please take good care of it.”
‘I will.’
Helmut had finished his work, so he would return to the Red Anvil Mine.
He’s very old, so I might not see him again.
“You’re going into the mountain range?”
‘Yes.’
“It’s a very dangerous place. Even if you’re quite strong, it would be dangerous to go alone.”
It can’t be much different from the great forest, can it?
Seeing that I wasn’t intimidated at all, Helmut chuckled.
“Well, it’s funny to warn a monster about the magic realm.”
That’s right.
“It might not be bad to go along with those humans.”
‘That might be good too.’
The human adventurers seemed to have a mission inside the mountain range as well.
Helmut just lay down on the flat stone floor.
He put his hard prosthetic arm under his head, and soon began to snore surprisingly quickly.
I also lay down to sleep.
Pelerian was sitting on Helmut’s hammer.
He spoke to me as I was about to sleep.
“To get to Delfram, you have to pass through the Blade Pillar Zone.”
What kind of place is the Blade Pillar Zone? If you analyze the name, you can understand right away.
Stone pillars mean stone columns.
In other words, it was a zone full of stone pillars as sharp as blades.
“Go with those humans.”
The same story as Helmut.
I never imagined Pelerian would suggest forming a party.
It was very unexpected, as he didn’t want others to discover his dungeon.
‘Is it difficult to break through alone?’
“That’s right. It would be good to use those humans as bait.”
Pelerian expounded on the dangers of the Blade Pillar Zone.
“Do you know how dangerous wyverns are? There are no more annoying flying monsters than them. And there’s not just one or two.”
Generally, I’ve never gotten along well with eight-legged things or winged creatures since ancient times.
“They dive down at a fierce speed, then bite and lift high up to drop. When the prey is shattered to pieces, they open their long mouths to chew and swallow.”
Terrifying creatures.
I dislike flying even more than swimming.
‘Well, if I go with humans, they’ll target them first.’
“That’s right!”
It was a typical Pelerian-like trick.
But I was a bit puzzled.
‘Wouldn’t it be better to go in alone? It seems like I won’t be detected if I move quietly. Isil is also a very quiet creature.’
I’m relatively small, so I shouldn’t have difficulty hiding.
But there was an answer prepared for that as well.
“The bottom of the Blade Pillar Zone is also dangerous. There are many tunnel-digging termites.”
Termites?
They don’t sound like very dangerous monsters.
Plus, I like the idea of white monsters.
“You’ll understand when you experience it. Anyway, if you go alone, the termites will consider you prey and you’ll have a hard time. They’re almost completely unintelligent, so they won’t be afraid.”
One of my advantages is that I listen well to others.
