Chapter 18 - Grinding (1/2)

Swoosh!

Breathe Will, breathe.

Swoosh!

Damn it! Wrong again! Breathe Will, breath.

Swoosh!

Sigh... Wrong again. That wasn't even close!

White was all Will could see, white was what was affecting Will, and white was all Will could think of. The snow falling around him made all of the vegetation fade away into whiteness, blanketed by a myriad of unending snowflakes.

Will was used to seeing snow; it should not have been much of a bother to him under normal conditions. But, unfortunately, he was not under normal conditions. All he had were his thin robes. He didn't even have shoes to cover his feet.

Comfort makes one lose focus, besides, I need to connect with my surroundings. Okay Will, again, breathe.

After breathing in slowly, Will grasped the rusty katana in his hands and swung forward.

Swoosh!

The sheer speed of the strike caused the very air around the young man to tremble. Any normal master of swordsmanship would call his technique a masterpiece. If he had been aiming to become the most skilled swordsman on Earth, prior to the system, then he would have long since achieved that goal. However, that wasn't his goal. And the system was now there permanently.

Again!

Swoosh!

Will had already lost count of how many strikes he had attempted since he began his training. All he knew was that he had done thousands upon thousands upon thousands of different sword techniques.

From slashes to thrusts, to cuts, to sweeps, if it could be done by using a sword, then Will had already done it countless times. One could even say his swordsmanship had arrived close to perfection. Yet he didn't want to be perfect. He wanted to be more. Or rather, to survive, he needed to be more.

Modus' words rang in his ears every time he swung his katana. Every time he failed he contemplated a truth few would fail to realize in the system. The more you fail, the closer you are to death.

....

Clap clap clap!

After Will had bisected the King, he had laid flat on the ground, completely spent. He was breathing intensely and his body was unconsciously shuddering. Not because he was tired. No, on the contrary, he wasn't really fatigued.

No, what had caused the young man to behave this way was fear. Will had developed an instinctual fear toward the king.

After having faced Modus' killing intent, Will assumed he would never truly fear anything again. Little did he know that what he had been given was but a drop from an entire ocean.

”So! How does it feel to be so close to death? It's exhilarating, isn't it? Ah, how I miss such times myself!”

Will looked up and saw Modus with a nostalgic expression on his face. Adelda, as always, was standing dutifully behind her master with her hands folded behind her back.

That bastard was probably watching! And he probably wouldn't have helped me either!

Will was angry at Modus, however the battle he had just had with the king had reawakened his sense of fear, so he reluctantly kept his mouth shut.

This did not escape Modus' sight.

Good! Very good! He has finally regained his true sense of fear. I wouldn't have to go to such lengths, but those who possess bloodlust have a habit of losing their fear of death. But young Will here has finally regained it!