CH 19

Chapter 19: *Specialty

After running away from Mari’s lecture, Yuto returned to the base dungeon.

Yuto: “It’s not like I have anything else to do.”

Just waiting silently and patiently doesn’t suit Yuto’s style.

But he also didn’t feel like doing basic training and swinging his wooden sword around.

Yuto: (I guess it’s because now I know that the training won’t help me get stronger…)

Up until now, Yuto spent the majority of his times training on his fundamentals.

But even after doing so, his Level or Skill never rose once.

Rather than waste time doing training that won’t help him Level Up or raise his Skill levels, Yuto was itching more to complete more quests.

But the Repeat Quest was perfect while Yuto waited for his long sword to be completed.

Fortunately for him, he learned that he could defeat E-Rank Monsters with the wooden sword.

Yuto: “I guess I will try to see how many I can defeat without breaking the wooden sword...”

Yuto took hold of his wooden sword which he used for many years and descended into the dungeon.

Yuto: “Hmmmm….”

As soon as he began the Repeat Quest, Yuto realized how difficult it will be to make progress.

A wooden sword is just that - a wooden weapon. Compared to a metal weapon, it is too brittle.

Every time Yuto attacks, he could hear the wood inside creak and crack at the pressure.

Yes, he can defeat monsters with it, but if he uses it the same way he would a metal sword, it would only last for a few fights.

Yuto: “I can’t just beat them with it either…”

If his wooden sword breaks, that’s the end of his questing for today.

He would be forced to retreat in that case.

Yuto thinks hard.

Yuto: “.....oh… maybe that will work?”

If the wooden sword will break if he hits something, maybe if he hits a softer spot, it would not undergo so much pressure or strain?

And the more critical the spot is for the monster, the better.

He’ll have to aim between the joints or the eyes.

In other words, their critical weak points on their bodies.

Yuto will only attack their weak points intentionally and purposefully.

Yuto: “Oh…”

The wooden sword did not suffer any strain when he did so.

Yuto: (This will work…)

Yuto is convinced and encouraged with the results.

Going forward, Yuto limited himself to only attacking the critical weak points.

If this was the Yuto before, there would be no way he could accomplish such a feat.

But he has now Leveled Up and earned many Skills.

Fortunately for Yuto, aiming for the weak points of E-Rank monsters did not prove to be very difficult.

Yuto took care to not break his wooden sword and continued to defeat his enemies.

Once he got used to attacking the Goblins’ weak points, he moved onto Killer Rabbits. After Killer Rabbits came the Kobalts. As his attack precision becomes more accurate, he continues to move up in the monster ranks.

When he first arrived at the base dungeon, Yuto did not imagine that aiming just for the weak points would turn into such a valuable training experience.

Skill is essentially technique. The higher he sharpens his technique, the more proficient he will be with that Skill.

But Yuto is adjusting how he attacks and not using a new attack or technique.

This kind of fine-tuned manipulation is refining his existing techniques with an existing Skill.

So Yuto’s stab and thrust at his enemies is in essence, a technique.

And Yuto could feel this technique become more and more refined as he progressed.

Yuto: “.....this is fun…”

Yuto was enjoying this.

Because of his Skills, he is now able to continually pierce the thread through the eye of the needle.

Feeling his improvement with each motion, he began enjoying it more and more until he completely lost himself in it.

Before long, Yuto realized that he was on the 5th floor.

His opponent was a Goblin Soldier.

It is an opponent carrying a weapon.

But Yuto manages to dodge by a hair the Goblin Soldier’s attacks.

Because it is an armed monster, the difficulty of completing his attack rose again.

But it only rose a little.

At first, Yuto had a difficult time adjusting to the difference of reach and attack zones compared to other monsters.

But he soon acclimated quickly, and thrust his sword into his opponent’s weak point.

The Goblin Soldier is equipped with a wavy sword, but his weapon will be consumed by the dungeon with him.

Yuto would not be able to use the Goblin’s weapon instead of his wooden sword.

He continued to defeat Goblin Soldiers until he arrived at the 5th Floor Boss Room.

Yuto: “....huh?”

He did not mean to go this far.

But there is a sparkle of excitement in Yuto’s eyes.

Yuto: “....wait. Let’s check my Quest status first.”

He didn’t mind challenging the 5th floor boss.

There was a Quest out there to slay it.

But from the 6th floor on, he would start fighting D-Rank monsters.

Yuto was trying to complete the E-Rank monster slaying quest, so he thought that it would be best to remain on the 5th floor until the Quest was completed.

When he opened up his Quest Log, Yuto’s eyes widened.

It was because he finished the E-Rank Monster Slayer Quest.

Yuto: “WHOA?! I’m already done with the Slaying Quest?! But I’m not tired… oh, is it because of the Endurance Skill?”

Before when Yuto spent all night slaying monsters, and he was so tired, he was barely able to walk home.

But he now has an Endurance Skill, and he’s also wearing the Endurance bracelet.

It’s probably due to these two factors that he hasn’t felt even a bit fatigued.

Yuto: “Okay, okay. How many Skill Points did I receive?”

Yuto’s eyes glittered with anticipation as he confirms his Status.

<<<<>>>>

Yuto (18)

Level 16 → 18

Skill Point 5 → 7

Skills

Fundamentals

. Physical Strength Lv 3

. Endurance Lv 3

. Magic Lv 2

. Agility Lv 3

Techniques

. Swordsmanship Lv 3

. Spellcrafting Lv 2

. Presence Detection Lv 2

Spells

[LIGHTNING] Lv 1

Specialty

[*Critical Thrust] NEW

<<<<>>>>

Yuto: “[Critical Thrust]?!”

Yuto could not believe that something he practiced would be added to his Status.

Yuto: “This...can’t be the reward for the E-Rank Monster Slaying, right? If it’s not that, then I might have accidentally cleared another Quest without knowing it.

Yuto will not gain a Skill no matter how much he trains. So he was confident that he obtained this Specialty by clearing a Quest and received it as a reward.”

And also from the name [Critical Thrust], Yuto could assume that it was related to his most recent actions.

Yuto: “I wonder if it was something like ‘Defeat Monsters only attacking their Critical Weak Points’ or some Quest like that…”

On the Skill Board, unless he checks prior to clearing a Quest, the name of the Quest he cleared will no longer appear.

This Skill Board is something only Yuto has.

If it is not a Repeat Quest, there is no chance that the same Quest will appear again, but Yuto still wanted to see the previous Quests he cleared.

Regardless, Yuto grips his fist tight and shakes slightly.

Yuto: “I’m glad the effort was worth it….”

A Specialty is the 4th Section of his Ability and Status that follows Fundamentals, Technique, and Spells.

And among the four, only Specialty does not have a level.

Similar to Fundamentals and Techniques, it gives the holder a static amount of advantages when using the move.

There are Specialties that can be obtained through training, and others that cannot.

The [Critical Thrust] falls in the first category.

The latter category contains more natural abilities that you are born with.

From what Yuto has heard, the existing 5 S-Rank Adventurers all had a Specialty they were born with.

There is one who can release a wind that cuts with the swing of their blade.

There is one who can conserve the cost of using spells.

Another who can parry attacks.

And another who can combine swordsmanship and spellcrafting.

But these are just rumors that Yuto overheard. He has actually never seen a S-Rank Adventurer use their Specialty.

The Weakest of E-Rank and the strongest S-Rank adventurer lives in completely separate worlds.

There was no way Yuto would have ever witnessed the fight of an S-Rank adventurer.

Yuto: (I’ve seen their faces a few times in the Instant Dungeon Generation Room, but it’s not like I can just walk up and talk to them…)

All the S-Rank Adventurers, either because of their skills or another reason, emit an intense aura around themselves.

At the time, Yuto was dragging his feet at the bottom of the E-Rank, and the aura was so strong that he could go nowhere near them.

But let’s get back to Specialties.

Yuto: “If I have this in my status, that means that when I try to use my [Critical Thrust], there will be additional damage added or support to make the move successful…”

The Specialty will essentially become a part of your body, and hence, why it appears in your Status.

If it is in your Status, regardless of whether you mean to or not, you will be prone to using that move more often.

Because of that, Yuto’s [Critical Thrust] will carry a certain attribute.

But it is unclear to Yuto whether this will be limited to Swordsmanship.

Yuto: “Could this attribute apply to spells?”

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CHONKY NOTES

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*Specialty (tokugi) (特技) - the word is a combination of [what you are good at] (tokui) (得意) and a move you know (waza) (技). So in essence, a move you are really good at. You can think of wrestling (German Suplex) or soccer (bicycle kick). This can apply almost to anything you do (cooking, drawing, playing video games) but it refers to a specific action you are really good at (i.e. Cooking pasta, drawing cats, playing Tetris, etc.). *Critical Thrust (kyuusho-tsuki) (急所突き) -- There is a move in Kendo which is a forward thrust/stab (突き) that aims directly at the opponent’s throat. In Kendo, you are wearing armor that protects your throat, so you won’t die if you are struck, but it’s not a pleasant experience. In Shippuu Dotou (疾風怒涛), it said this move is prohibited until High School (#random_Kendo_trivia). In Yuto’s case, this will be a stabbing thrust to any vital organs that would result in death (eyes, throat, heart, etc.). Wow, that got dark.