Volume 1 - CH 1

"Wait a minute. Are there any trials or exams to become a swordsman?"

I asked the old swordsman, feeling uneasy.

"Gahaha, don't worry, kid. We don't do anything interesting here, just pray to the gods and swear by our swords."

That's fine. "Kid?" Well, I'm probably younger than him, though.

"Then, please."

"Mmm. Now, take this sword, raise it, and pray to the heavens.

I guess the stone statue behind him is the god of swordsmen. I did as I was told and prayed.

"Your wish will be granted."

I heard a man's voice.

"Hmm?"

"Did you hear the voice of the God of Swordsmanship?"

"Yes, I think so."

"Then your new job is a success. You should take a look at your status."

I'll do as he say.

[Page 1].

[Name]  Alec

[Level]  9

[Class]  Swordsman

[Race]  Human　

[Gender] Male

[HP]  113/ 113

[MP]  52/ 52

[TP]  61/ 61

[Status]  Normal

[Exp]  360

[Next]  5

[Money]  5254

It's true that my class has changed to swordsman. Also, my HP has increased by 10. But the basic ability values, such as Strength, did not change. I'm not sure if it's because the weapons and armor don't show a modified overall ability value, but I'd like to think that there's an attack power bonus when you level up. Or maybe you just learn special skills. If you think about it in a realistic way, it would be more natural to just learn skills, but...

"How does changing jobs improve my abilities?"

I guess it's faster to ask.

"As you level up, you'll get better with your sword. You'll be quicker than a warrior and have a higher hit rate, and while you won't have as much HP, you'll have much more than a mage."

Hmmm... It's say I'm is a vanguard attacker.

It's about what I thought it would be, so let's try to raise it.

Meena also changed her job into a swordsman. It's probably a stronger class than the villagers.

I went back to the counter and asked to be introduced to a master this time. It would be a good idea to learn the basics of how to use a sword at least once.

"So, here are the swordsmen who are willing to become a master to apprentice."

He showed me a list of names, addresses, and instruction fees written on a piece of parchment. There were about ten people on the list, but there were three more on the way, so there were about forty in all. That's a lot of people. I wondered how I should choose.

The price seemed to be around one thousand gold per month. There is also a price of one hundred gold for three days and fifty gold per day, but I don't think you can learn sword fighting in three days or so.

There's a class column on the far right with the letters D and C on it.

"Is this a rating? Or is it adventurer rank?"

I asked the receptionist to confirm.

"No, the lowest rank is F and the highest is S. If your rank is D or higher, you will be able to take an apprentice. In this list, so far the best is a B-rank master. For a fee, even apprentices can take the certification test at any time, although the promotion test for C and above involves an actual test, so you'll have to wait until a date convenient for your opponent, usually a week or so."

If that's the case, it would be better to have a master with as high a rank as possible. There may be some masters who are good at swordsmanship but not so good at teaching, but I can't read that much from this list.

Besides, I'm just a novice who has just changed jobs, so taking the test is a waste of money. If I'm not taking on an apprentice, there's no point in raising my rank.

"What are your wishes, Alec-san? For example, there are those who want to teach them the basics, and there are those who just want to teach them the skills quickly."

"Hmm? I guess so. I'm fine with just the basics, but I'd prefer someone who's not too spartan and who can teach beginners carefully."

A beautiful girl would be even better, but I have Meena, and I don't want that much from my sword master.

"Then, I would recommend Welbard-san. He has a large dojo and has a good reputation among beginners."

"Hmmm, that's it then. But he'll be kind enough to teach me, right?"

I hope I'm not getting kickbacks from this dojo owner.

"Yes, because if we recommend a difficult master to an apprentice, they will soon quit being a swordsman and go to another guild. I will try my best to introduce you to masters who are looking for jobs, but our guild basically relies on certification fees as our source of income."

"I see."

"Of course, the higher their rank, the more requests they will receive, and there are many people who have become successful adventurers and become very wealthy. The first king of the Grandsword Kingdom used to be a swordsman, and he joined our guild."

"Really?"

It would be nice to become a king and enjoy all the luxuries, but I'm sure there would be a lot of trouble. In the first place, as a novice swordsman, I don't think I can make it to that class. I'm not very athletic.

After thanking the receptionist, I stopped by the weapon shop and armor shop. I have some money, and I should at least have some armor so that my master can accept me.

The fee for the Kenjutsu Dojo is one thousand gold per month. I've heard that you can learn the basics in a month, so that leaves me with 4200 gold. Now that I know I won't starve to death if I do the quests, I can put all my money into weapons.

As I walked into the weapons shop, the muscular arms dealer's father glanced at me, but didn't say anything. In Japan, it's normal for them to say "Irasshaimase" (Welcome), not "Smile" (Smile), so I felt a little strange.

Tsk, I thought I'd get the price reduction skill, but I haven't gotten it yet. Oh well, I'll get to that another time.

I used my appraisal skill to take a look at the shortswords hanging on the table. If the material is the same, the attack power will be similar, but if the decoration is beautiful, the attack power will be higher. I picked up the one that looked the best and asked the Old man of the weapon shop at the counter.

"Old man, what's the price of this shortsword?"

"That iron shortsword is 500. The others are 400."

This seems to be about a hundred more expensive. If I choose one with a high attack power at a price of 400, I might be able to get a good deal, but it would be better to buy the best one you can afford right now. I don't think I'll be coming back for a new one that often.

"Then, give me this."

I'll take one for Meena too.

"Hmm, do you have the money?"

"Is this okay?"

I pull out a silver coin from my sachet.

"Yes, I see. Well, it's a lot better than second-hand bronze, but you'd better get your armor before your sword, okay?"

"Yeah, I'll get to that later. I have the money."

"I see. Well, for a fledgling, you're pretty good at making money."

The used bronze shortsword that I bought for Meena last time sold for 20 gold, and my sword that the king gave me sold for 100 gold. It was made of the lowest-grade bronze, but I guess it was better that it wasn't used.

Next, I stopped by an armor shop and bought an iron breastplate that I'd been eyeing for a while. I had thought that leather armor would be next, but I felt more confident that iron would protect me from the swords of my opponents.

I used my appraisal skill to choose the armor with the highest protection.

"Old man, how much is this?"

"Fifteen hundred."

The muggy old man here is also unsociable.

"'So, this one's the same, huh? Give me two."

"Do you have the money?"

"Yes, I have money. I'll take that."

I put three silver coins on the counter.

"Hmm-hmm."

"Uhmm, Master, I could use some leather armor..."

Meena says, perhaps concerned about the price.

"Don't be shy. This one is more defensive."

"Huh."

"Then, I'll size you up and you can try it on."

Oh yeah, you have to adjust to the size of your body.

This was a setting that rarely came up in the game world, though.

I was worried, but I just had to retighten the belt and the adjustment was done. I heard that it is not so easy to adjust around full plate, and they sometimes make custom-made to order.

Underneath the armor, it is necessary to wear thick cotton clothes, which costs 50 gold. It's called "Under Armor".

When I tried on the armor, I found that it was indeed very tough, and it would be very painful to be attacked without it.

I asked if there was anything thicker, but he said it would be too hot and I would sweat. What a hassle.

Meena had finished her adjustments and looked much more like a swordsman than before.

I don't have the money to buy a new slave anymore, but it would be stupid to get bogged down by a monster while I'm stuck with a woman. This was fine. I should be able to make money again soon. I also have the skill to acquire rare items.

Next, I headed to the Welbard Kenjutsu Dojo that I had been told about.