After a quiet night, Duncan's injuries recovered at an alarming pace.
Whether it was the effect of his new ability, the toughness of a Level 3 body, or pure psychology—after being bedridden for a full day, he could already stagger out of bed the next morning. Yesterday he couldn't even move. Today he could at least walk.
Zald didn't find it strange at all. In his words, as long as he had enough "meat," he could restore stamina and wounds by simply eating—brute-force recovery through consumption.
That was because Zald possessed Divine Feast's Blessing—a bizarre, ultra-rare skill. When active, it converts food into permanent ability values, with the gain depending on the food's energy; recovery of stamina and wounds is basically a side effect. His stomach is abnormal enough that his "diet" includes monsters and poisons.
And that same overconfidence in his body had once cost him: during the Three Great Quests, he ate Behemoth's flesh and was poisoned. Behemoth fell to his sudden surge of power, but even Orario's best healers couldn't purge the venom—leaving him, like Alfia, lingering on borrowed time.
After breakfast, Duncan headed straight to the clearing in front of the cabin.
The "battlefield" had been partially filled in, though it was still rough and cratered. Flattening and repairing the ground used to be part of his and Bell's post-dinner chores, but with Duncan injured for a time, restoring such a large area had become difficult.
He spun his new white spear in a flourish.
After a month of training, his body and weapon had finally synchronized. Today, though, he wasn't here to spar—he was here to test his newly awakened skill.
His weapon was "Pear Blossom" (梨花)—commissioned from Gill's familia as his second personal spear. It used dragon fang and rare materials like Blessed Mightsteel, built to better absorb and withstand the force a second-tier adventurer could output. The spearhead was tough and resistant to wear; the shaft balanced flexibility and lightness. Because of its properties, it made almost no wind-sound when swung.
The price: 22 million valis, putting it in the performance tier of second-class arms. And even that was discounted—because Duncan's prospects were bright, because his previous weapon's wear rate had been insane, and because Zald paid cash on the spot.
It might still be inferior to Orario's top-grade second-tier arms—but for Duncan, this was the best he could realistically obtain right now. And importantly: it cost him nothing.
(As for the shop system in his head? That would require grinding monsters for money. No transfers, no bugged material flipping. The "god" behind it ran a strict economy.)
Duncan inhaled, tightened his grip, and silently invoked the skill:
Keen Swift Advance.
A formless force surged from inside him—sharp, cutting, predatory. Dust lifted in rings around his feet. It reminded him of "powering up" in Dragon Ball—obviously not on that scale, but the vibe was there.
At first, with the power only circulating his body, it wasn't too hard to endure.
But the moment he tried to guide it into his spear—
The weapon shuddered violently, as if it rejected the force. The once-familiar spear suddenly felt like it wanted to tear itself free from his hands.
"Ha!"
Duncan growled, clamping down harder and constantly adjusting the flow, trying to make his body and weapon align—as if taming a wild horse. The spear shaft trembled and fought him.
If this had been an ordinary spear, he suspected it would have exploded. Only "Pear Blossom's" flexibility and durability let it survive.
Someone would probably describe it as Duncan mediating a domestic dispute—like persuading two stubborn relatives to stop fighting and cooperate.
After a long struggle, he found the "key." The force finally transitioned smoothly into the spear—still thin, still unstable, but connected.
And the instant it clicked—
He felt a terrifying smoothness.
The spear became like an extension of his body. If he thought it, the tip moved. As if commanded by pure intent.
On instinct, he turned the spearhead and lightly flicked upward from low to high.
No explosion.
No dramatic shockwave.
Yet the solid ground split like tofu—carved into a deep vertical gouge that ran forward over a meter before fading out.
This wasn't magic.
It was pure "sharpness" made manifest—a spear version of blade aura. In increasing cutting efficiency, it even extended the weapon's reach: a short-range "spear aura" discharge. The distance was limited, but it finally gave him a way to threaten massive, thick-skinned monsters without relying on raw destructive power.
Then the backlash hit.
A crushing wave of fatigue slammed into him. He had to lean on the spear to keep from collapsing. Sweat had soaked his clothes—he looked like he'd been drenched.
While he'd been fighting the spear and learning the flow, Zald, Bell, and Alfia had already come to watch.
Zald spoke first, unruffled.
"It's a remarkable skill—power, surprise factor, and range are all excellent. But mastering it will cost you."
He pointed out the difference: unlike his own sword style—driven primarily by overwhelming stats—this skill demanded precision and mental control. Zald's attacks were "simple" in concept: swing a heavy sword with absolute power. It worked because his numbers were monstrous. Without those numbers, that "crude" style would be punished by same-tier opponents—though "crude" was only 'crude' by Alfia's standards.
Zald also drew a key distinction: mental stamina isn't the same as mana or physical stamina. In RPG terms, mana is more like your spell power resource; mental stamina is the focus budget that gets burned by combat, spellcasting, and precision skill use—the more exact and concentrated the action, the faster it drains. Like high-level board games: you're "just sitting there," but you can end up mentally emptied.
Alfia, for once, opened her eyes and looked at the long gouge in the earth. She handed Duncan two recovery potions.
"It boosts range and effect. The question is what it becomes once fully mastered."
Then she didn't let him celebrate.
"Next," Alfia said calmly, "try that Silence magic."
....
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