Chapter 4 - Get Stronger quickly with Cheat Knowledge! ~Apprenticeship Edition~

Hey, it’s me.

I have gained a title called saint or something.

To be honest…… I have grown considerably stronger than expected.

…… My cheat-like mana is quite dangerous.

Even though I say such things, I’m still only a villager.

No matter how high my mana or MP is, I cannot use high-ranking magic.

As evidence, no matter how much I use magic, my Elementary Magic level grew but is still stuck at Level 7.

Well, the surplus mana and MP can be solved once I get into the dragon’s den.

I mean, at my stage now, I could hunt demons but….. I do not want to level up yet.

There is a reason for it.

The place where I am headed for today is…… the valley behind the hill in front of my house.

Well, there is a big waterfall there and a dirty old man living in a cabin around that area.

In my village, he is branded as a weird wanderer.

Actually, when he comes down to the village, he is serviced at a higher price than normal (ぼったくり：an act of charging a higher fee for inferior goods or services, in other words, the shopkeeper doesn’t like you). Normal villagers also avoid the old man and spout gossip about him.

And if looking at the chronological order of the following events in the tutorial, a few months later, Cordelia will receive an oracle.

A great man from the capital will rush to our village and search around…… it turns out that the old man is an incredible person.

–Bernard Alabaster.

He is a swordsman who was once said to be the strongest in the Knights Order of the Kingdom.

Because he was living nearby, the chief villager lowered his head and requested him to guide Cordelia to become a swordswoman, but he refused.

Of course, that would be the case.

If you were treated as a weird person and when your identity was exposed, you’d surely feel sick if people suddenly sucked up to you.

So…… even if he is the strongest in the Knights Order of the capital, staying in the outskirts of the country, honestly, I don’t really care about those.

What’s important was his experiences.

He was born as a villager, grew up as a villager, and got married as a villager.

Besides farm work, he was blessed with three daughters, though poor, he had built a happy family.

Until that incident happened, the third year after his last child was born.

— His village was attacked by a group of orcs.

The difference in battle strength was apparent, men also gave up resisting, the village was trampled upon without being able to do anything

Women were kidnapped for sexual purposes (苗床: idk how to describe this but meh, better not know) and all the wheat storage were being plundered.

Of course, his wife and his daughters were taken away by the orcs.

–And he who had lost everything disappeared from his village.

After that…..

10 years had passed, he suddenly appeared in the Capital’s Sword Fighting Competition

Just with that, holding off the powerhouses who are expected to win in the competition, he spectacularly won and became one of the knights of the Knights Order.

Also, in those few years, he became the Order’s Commander and put all his blood and sweat into destroying orc groupings.

In actual fact, the title Orc Killer is more well-known than his real name.

And with that, after he killed every orc in the country, he retired from the Order and lived alone in this valley.

Well, to him, his remaining lifespan is like an extra.

And he is important to me just for one reason.

He is a villager– however…… even though he is only on a country level, it is no joke that he won the Sword Fighting Competition as a villager.

That’s why, I’m going to his place…… the reason for me walking now.

「Go home」

That was the first words he said to me while drinking a bottle of spirit (tl: an alcohol beverage okay, not some ghost or sth)

A man full of white hair in his 40s.

A ridiculously muscled and stubborn bearded man, living in a room with about 10 tatami mats.

If you would see his room, there are bottles and rubbish all over the place.

The room was terribly unhygienic moreover, it reeks of alcohol

「It’s not like I could just go home」

I picked up one of the bottles.

I poured the contents into a cup from the floor and downed it in one go.

The sake was bad.

The 700 yen whiskey sold in bottles in Japan are tastier than these.

「Kid…… you drink?」

「Don’t you have higher quality sake? This is just bad.」

There, Bernard-san said with a small smile.

「You’re a weird kid. Then you’re here to…… become an apprentice?」

「Yes, it’s that.」

After thinking for a while, Bernard-san shook his head.

「I said to go home. The me now cannot teach anyone. Even if I say that actually……」

I stopped Bernard-san words with my palm.

「Is it about your disease?」

There Bernard-san’s facial expression turned white

「I’ve never said it to ……anyone though?」

「Well, of course you didn’t」

I returned my words with a fearless smile.

It was fated for Bernard-san to die because of his liver cirrhosis.

Thought I know it was wrong to do so….. I took out a small bottle (tl: bribing)

「Oi…… Kid…… This is?」

「It’s an elixir」

Liver cirrhosis…… this is a magical drug suitable for treating visceral disorder

If there were is such a thing in modern Japan and there was only a limited supply of these, it will be a medicine worth over 100 million for a unit of these babies.

This medicine uses so many expensive materials as if water flowed from a tap, no wonder the production is so low.

Inevitably, it is also traded at a ridiculously high price in this world.

Bernard-san looked at the green liquid with a shocked expression and started laughing.

「Fuhaha……! Fuhahaha」

「Kid…… How did you make so much (money)?」

「…… Earned some with Healing Magic」

「You can use Healing Magic…… Still, to buy an elixir requires a large amount……」

I stayed silent for a while thinking if I should say it or not, I decided to speak the truth.

「My MP is over ten thousand」

As I said that I took my status plate out.

I said, internally ordering every section hidden beside the stats for MP and mana.

「Status plate open. I permit others to see」

And so, Bernard-san looked with big eyes.

It was a — long, long silence.

A mysterious youth who knew his disease that he had never told anyone of, furthermore, had an elixir on hand.

Moreover, he has MP and mana that a human can never have

— If he was an enemy, there is nothing as scary as this (boy).

「…… You are a yokai…… or a type of demon? Having MP of ten thousand…… There is no world that has a A Rank Mage of that calibre……」

「No, I’m just a normal human」

Bernard-san laughed as if it was a joke.

「Then, why does a MP over ten thousand monster want me as a master? If you want to learn magic, you should be in the Magic Academy in the capital of the country…… no, the capital of the empire」

「I am a villager. However the efforts I put in, the most I can reach is Elementary Magic」

After thinking for a while, Bernard-san nodded his head.

「Is seems like you have a lot of…… reasons. Then…… is that why you came to my place?」

「Yes, that was the reason I’ve saved up the money I’ve earned. It will be a problem for me if you’d die.」

「Haha…… Really, a spooky kid? Can you tell me your problems?」

「I have to get stronger. Any more than that…… I’m sorry」

「Well that’s given…… then……. Your aim is to learn Body Strengthening Technique?」

I nodded my head.

Body Strengthening Technique– a skill to strengthen the body.(edn:No shit Sherlock.)

It is different from the Physical Strengthening that I have now.

Potential power (the ATK power in the stats)as a base, Physical Strengthening is a way to further raise the power. With the body of a mere villager, the power gained does not amount to a lot.

And there, Body Strengthening Technique is needed.

That is a skill to raise the base stats and to raise the lower stats of a person.

(tl: meaning, Physical Strengthening is a multiply skill ie: n x 2 while Body Strengthening Technique is ie: n +150 to the base stats)

However, it is a skill that uses up a lot of MP, normally, there would be no one who wants to learn that skill.

Bernard-san too, to fight against the orcs…… recklessly raises his MP in the first phase. (to use this skill)

Furthermore, he is just a villager.

–Alcohol is not the reason for his disease.

It’s because I know that doping is possible.

Making full use of the shortest route (to raise MP)– for revenge, he recklessly uses his body despite being a villager.

In actuality, even if he did drink the elixir and cure the disease in his internal organs, the severe backlash that has appeared in many places of his body cannot be cured

That’s why, even if you ingest an elixir and did your best (to live I presume), he will not live long or at least not as long until his fated day (death caused by age).

「But…… You need the skill Physical Strengthening before you can learn Body Strengthening Technique? You need to first learn that skill」

Yes, I nodded my head and said.

「If it is that skill, I’m already using it」

And so, I lightly held up Bernard-san.

「……Hmm. It does seem like you are using it」

「FYI, the skill level is maxed」

Bernard-san said again with a heavy sigh.

「What kind of kid ARE you. However…… that MP is really out of the norm. I want to know something…… How did you train until you got that kind of status?」

「You can get there if you can endure the pain. And…… Kimonhou (鬼門法: direct translation is ghost door way, pls give better term for this) is also the same. Is it not?」

(en: I would assume that it is a reference to a method or technique that is used. Doing some quick searches resulted in the “hell technique”. That doesn’t sound nice.)

There, Bernard-san’s expression became weird.

「I’ll get it if you know about….. Body Strengthening Technique. Where did you…… know that…… kinjutsu (禁術: banned technique) ?」

I took a moment to gather my thoughts, and I decided to honestly say.

「I know…… most of the things」

That reply does not really answer anything.

However, Bernard-san made an expression that is of somewhat getting convinced.

「Aren’t you actually a type of mononoke (wiki, if don’t know) or something…… even if I say so, I owe you for saving my life. Then…… kinjutsu…… Kimonhou, what do you know about this?」

「To become a asura (修羅 [shura]: demigod, just google-sensei, he is always our teacher) as a human– to explosively raise fundamental status…… a way to become an oni」

「To be precise it is actually a way that drives you until you become an oni…… Do you know why was it a kinjutsu?」

「The usage of MP is enormous…… the situation where the user depletes his mana until it is empty, the soul will be used to continue strengthening the technique…… it’s like death by accident right?」

「If you have Body Strengthening Technique and Physical Strengthening, mana depletion till empty can be prevented. But– Kimonhou will continue using the soul unless stopped by the user」

With a heavy silence, Bernard-san searched for an answer.

「When mana is used up, it will be your life at stake…… it is a technique parallel to death? You still want to learn that?」

There, I laughed mischievously.

「Who do you think you are talking to?」

I continued my words with a slight smile.

「Isn’t my MP more than ten thousand?」

As if remembering something funny, Bernard-san laughed.

「Yes…… I forgot about it. It was just too illogical…… I’ve accidentally explained it like I would to a normal person…… Well, that would be fine…… If it is you…… you can surely bring out its full potential……」

Then, he patted my head, causing a mess.

「–You…… will get stronger」

「That’s what I’ve said」

I offered out my right hand.

Bernard-san strongly took my hand.

–I have to get stronger

Six years had passed after that.

Tomorrow is that day that the goblins will attack my village.

It’s also the day that the dragon comes to rescue Cordelia.

Race :Human

Occupation :Villager

Age :12 years old

Condition :Normal

Level :1

HP :12 → 50/50

MP :10420 → 12050/12050

Attack Power :15 → 35

Defense Power :15 → 35

Magic :1923 → 2154

Evasion :35 → 55

Strengthening Skill

【Physical Strengthening: Level 10 (ＭＡＸ) ]

【Body Strengthening Technique: Level 0→ 10 (ＭＡＸ)]

【Kimonhou: Level 0 → 5]

Defensive Skill

【Indestructible Stomach: Level 2]

【Mental Resistance: Level 2]

【Indomitable: Level 10 (ＭＡＸ)]

Daily Skill:

【Crop Cultivation: Level 15 (Limit Break: The Goddess’ Gift)]

【Sword Technique: Level 0 → 4]

【Taijutsu: Level 0 → 6]

Magic Skill

【Mana Manipulation: Level 10 (ＭＡＸ)]

【Life Magic: Level 10 (ＭＡＸ)]

【Elementary Attack Magic: Level 7 (Growth Limit)]

【Elementary Recovery Magic: Level 7 (Growth Limit)]

Title

【Strongest Infant on Land: Level 10 (ＭＡＸ)]

【Youngest Sage: Level 10 (ＭＡＸ)]

【Commoner’s Healing Hand: Level 10 (ＭＡＸ)]

【Saint: Level 3 (Growth Limit)]

【Devil Child: Level 0 → 10 (ＭＡＸ)]

【Heretic Mage: Level 0 → 2]

・When using Body Strengthening Technique

Atk pow・Def pow・Evasion ＋ 150 Correction

・When using Kimonhou

Atk pow・Def pow・Evasion ＋ 250 Correction

・When using Physical Strengthening

Atk pow・Def pow・Evasion × 2 Correction