Gacha Addict in a Matriarchal World

The tiger’s den…no, after barely escaping from Eve’s shop.

The next place I headed to was the Guild’s personal training ground. I needed to test out the new things I had obtained.

This time, since I wasn’t with Lydia, I could rent a suitable training ground appropriate for a 3rd-Floor adventurer.

Well, in the past, I would have just entered the Labyrinth and jumped straight into actual combat with monsters. But now, I can’t do that.

Not only because I promised not to go in alone without Lydia and Benny, but also because 3rd Floor monsters are a bit unsettling to handle alone.

If it was just dealing with monsters, I could fight only in the early stages…but isn’t exploration always accompanied by various variables?

In case monsters swarm in, or when I encounter other adventurers, or if I accidentally drop my weapon.

Moreover, when various problems arise, the monsters on the 3rd Floor are too strong to handle. Or perhaps it’s more accurate to say they’re too tough?

For someone like me, who relies on hit-and-run tactics, they’re challenging opponents.

Yet, I’m much more accustomed to sneaking up and swiftly slashing throats with just a dagger.

It’s a matter of proficiency.

Other adventurers probably experienced something similar at an earlier stage.

That’s why they emphasize party play, and not just on one Floor, but they might lock themselves in training grounds as they progress through each zone, or even pay Guild fees for veteran adventurer tutoring, depending on the situation.

Adventurers make their efforts, and the Guild has its own system to support such adventurers.

I’ve had help from Ellie and others until now, but it seems that’s no longer enough.

That’s why I visited the Guild to rent a training ground.

“Hmm. This.”

Quite an impressive size and facilities. I don’t know for sure, but isn’t this quite a treatment even among 3rd-Floor adventurers?

Of course, it’s nothing compared to the training ground assigned to Lydia.

That place is truly a conglomeration of the latest technology from Pangrave.

“Well, this is enough just to test it.”

I shove my hand into the coat pocket I’m wearing.

In an instant, space distorts, and a large sword, much bigger than the entrance, is drawn out.

Roughly shaped as if made by directly cutting it off a horn. As I sweep down the blade, it feels more like stone than metal.

The sensation from the handle in my hand was close to the heartbeat of the God of Earth I heard on the 2nd Floor.

The light yet heavy contradictory weight strongly made me aware of the presence of the blessings surrounding me.

“Hoo…”

I took a deep breath and exhaled.

The Yuren’s Swordsmanship that I drew this time is not some ancient supreme technique. Understandably, it’s a 3-star, not a 4-star or 5-star.

If I had to say, it’s probably on par with a veteran adventurer, or a talented knight who’s wielded a sword for over a decade.

It’s not at the pinnacle, but it’s sufficient to be called expert.

In the skills of someone who has reached a certain level, there’s usually a trace of the direction that person pursues.

Like how, as a writer, when you’re a nobody, no one notices if you change your pen name, but once you’ve gained some experience, people recognize you by your writing style even if you change your name.

Establishing one’s own rules and skills within oneself. That might be the baseline for a 3-star.

In that sense, Yuren’s Swordsmanship can be considered somewhat peculiar.

Basically, it is based on longsword techniques, but it completely disregards defense and focuses solely on offense.

The longsword is a versatile weapon. It can perform basic tasks with blades like cutting, thrusting, and parrying.

It can gain the upper hand by using its reach, or engage in sword binding where the sword tangles with the opponent’s weapon to directly compete in strength and skill.

The longsword is a weapon capable of performing almost everything that can be done with a sword.

Yuren’s Swordsmanship is an abnormal style that abandons all this, focusing only on attack, and nothing but attack.

Of course, this actually suits my style quite well. Above all, despite being a longsword technique, it’s a swordsmanship that focuses on offense itself rather than on the longsword, making it easy to adapt to greatswords or daggers.

I slowly raise the tightly gripped handle. The greatsword, as large as my torso, soars into the sky, and my legs firmly brace against the ground.

Though there are many openings, it’s the upper stance that allows for the fastest and strongest swings. This was the basic stance of Yuren-style swordsmanship.

“Let’s give it a try.”

Without overthinking, I simply focused on the whispers within.

The greatest advantage of the gacha is not merely the knowledge engraved in my mind but also the skills etched into my body as if from long-standing habits.

Of course, utilizing this at the right time and place requires my own research and practice, but…

The act of unfolding it in its basic form becomes as natural as breathing.

Whoosh!

The greatsword slices through the air with a heavy sound passing by. A stance with a much more forward-leaning center of gravity than the basic techniques taught by Lydia, allowing for more force.

This is not the end. It would be best if you could slice the enemy in one strike, but the longsword is not a weapon that possesses such absolute power.

Moreover, the Yuren-style swordsmanship is essentially longsword swordsmanship.

Thus, what Yuren, the founder of this swordsmanship, chose was to continuously swing the sword without rest.

Originally, the standard is to retrieve the weapon after one swing, adjust the stance, and then swing again.

Therefore, a stance with few gaps is crucial, breathing is essential, and cutting off the opponent’s flow is emphasized.

However, the Yuren-style swordsmanship does not involve such a process. It simply swings. It simply cuts. It simply kills.

It was a ruthless sword filled with such a singular determination.

This was a killing sword meant to face humans, not monsters. The intent to kill moves forward, and before retrieving the greatsword that has been struck down, the body moves.

Swoosh-!

A sound as the foot glides across the training ground floor. The body twists sideways to shoulder the imaginary enemy, and the naturally initiated rotation lifts the greatsword.

It naturally leads to a spinning horizontal slash. And this directly transitions to a thrust, the thrust to an upward slash. The upward slash to a diagonal slash.

All movements to retrieve the weapon and refine the stance are omitted, and immediately after swinging the sword, the body moves by itself to assume the stance for the next swing.

Thus, the relentless onslaught continued. It wasn’t about countering the opponent’s reactions, but more like a reckless challenge to bring out whatever could be brought out.

After a round of sword dance, I wiped my sweat with a refreshed mind.

“Heeya.”

Not bad. No, in fact, it’s good swordsmanship. However…

“This is really for fighting people…”

No matter how you think about it, this swordsmanship doesn’t seem to consider facing monsters at all.

Most monsters are stronger than adventurers.

On the 1st or 2nd Floors, one might train a bit outside or, if born with a strong physique, grow further with Labyrinth rewards, making it possible to overwhelm monsters with physical abilities.

But from the 3rd Floor onwards, it’s absolutely impossible.

While the level of monsters increases exponentially, the growth of adventurers is linear.

The intention behind the Yuren-style swordsmanship is to wildly swing at the opponent, which is extremely difficult.

Lydia’s words that adventurers are closer to hunters than knights aren’t without reason.

Perhaps the person named Yuren was a knight who fought people all his life.

So, just as shown earlier…using it as it is, is not a very good method.

“Well, I guess I’ll have to customize it.”

It was something that had to be done anyway. The longsword technique needed slight adjustments to fit both greatswords and daggers.

“Maintaining an aggressive stance against monsters continuously is realistically difficult, but the power is undeniable, so first, I need to create an opening…”

Muttering to myself, I swing the sword around in various ways.

I move as I think of it, and sometimes just swing aimlessly.

With eyes closed, like groping a platypus bill, I calmly untangle the daunting path step by step.

Fortunately, this body might not have a knack for magic, but hasn’t it shown some talent in aura and physical movements?

After spending all day locked up, swinging a sword, I managed to get the hang of it, somewhat.

I had grown considerably during that time, and even though my body had strengthened with the acquisition of a 3-star swordsmanship, was swinging a sword all day a crazy thing to do?

Half-crawling, half-groaning, I returned to Fairy and Silver Coin.

Perhaps keeping the promise of returning to adventuring once her arm is restored. A big closure notice was posted on the gate.

In a month? That’s sooner than I thought.

As I tilted my head and opened the door, I saw more customers than usual. And the staff serving in more revealing clothes than usual.

“Uh, Bunny…?”

I had given them the idea, but it was still not good for my mental health, so I quickly turned my head and headed towards the counter.

There, Lydia and Benny, who had arrived first, were chatting away in front of Ellie.

From what I overheard, they were relieved that her arm was back, and excitedly asking if they could now go conquer together.

The chair was too hard for my tired body, so I perched on Lydia’s thigh.

And then I smirked between the three startled people.

“The 3rd Floor, let’s…”

“Jonah. You smell of sweat.”

“…Let’s go take down the Floor Guardian on the 3rd Floor.”

I said that while rubbing against Lydia to mark my territory.