Chapter 67: Deal Or No DealFrom thereon, it was a matter of endurance. My body came to handle even dull blades, which led to me returning to the training before.

    "Dodge!" [Vincent]

    "I''m trying!" [Solace]

    Master swung around a dull blade, one that was actually quite large in size. It had a two handed grip, and a two sided blade. Even though it seemed to be longer than a meter stick, Master was swinging that thing with a single hand.

    "Block!" [Vincent]

    "How?!" [Solace]

    Master expected me to catch a blade with my bare hands. Though it wouldn''t cut me, it still hurt quite a bit.

    "Deflect!" [Vincent]

    Raising the sword up high, he swung down as I moved my hands to redirect the slash.

    ("I need to angle it!") [Solace]

    Using my own arm to riposte, I managed to send the sword down the side. It struck the floorboards, leaving a deep gash in the wooden planks.

    "Hm. Not too bad. As expected of my disciple." [Vincent]

    "Yep. It wasn''t too bad." [Solace]

    So I said, but I was sweating pretty bad.

    "I see. Then would you like me to increase the difficulty?" [Vincent]

    "H-hold on. Let''s talk about this." [Solace]

    Acting as if he didn''t hear me, Master gripped the sword with two hands.

    "Dodge." [Vincent]

    Before I could even react, I found myself facing my reflection in the blade the next instant.

    ("Uh oh.") [Solace]

    The blade slammed into my forehead, making the world around me spin. It wasn''t until I hit the ground that I realized I was the one spinning through the air.

    "Ow..." [Solace]

    I sat up, rubbing my forehead. I sincerely hoped that he didn''t dent my skull.

    "...Perhaps it was too soon." [Vincent]

    "I think so too." [Solace]

    Master gave me a strange look.

    "You weren''t supposed to say that." [Vincent]

    "Why not?" [Solace]

    "You are young are you not? Show some more ambition." [Vincent]

    "Hell no. Ambition leads to either greatness and everyone hates you, or you lose everything and everyone still hates you." [Solace]

    "...I suppose." [Vincent]

    Master sighed.

    "Well, at least your progress has been much faster than I have expected. The training will end when you are able to dodge my vertical slash." [Vincent]

    "I can dodge your vertical slash." [Solace]

    "Did I hit you so hard with it that you forgot?" [Vincent]

    "I can dodge your vertical slash if you use one hand." [Solace]

    Master looked unamused.

    "Do not play smart with me, boy." [Vincent]

    "I am young am I not? It comes with the territory." [Solace]

    "How old are you?" [Vincent] Sёar?h the ηovelFire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    I shrugged.

    "No clue." [Solace]

    "Does your status not show it?" [Vincent]

    "It''s question marks." [Solace]

    "...Strange." [Vincent]

    Master brought a hand to his chin, as if he was deep in thought.

    "Then do you know what your birthday is?" [Vincent]

    "...How does the calendar work here?" [Solace]

    "Every year holds four seasons, and each season spans four months." [Vincent]

    "What month is it?" [Solace]

    "The month of Hema." [Vincent]

    "Huh..." [Solace]

    It''s not that I didn''t expect that the culture of this world had different months, but I didn''t ask before because it was at the back of my mind.

    "How many days in a month?" [Solace]

    "Fourty." [Vincent]

    "Fourty?!" [Solace]

    "Mhm." [Vincent]

    That was a bit of a culture shock. Maybe the dates were longer because the days felt a bit shorter. Either that or I was having a bit of a fun time here so time passed by quickly.

    "Then... By my calculations... I have no clue." [Solace]

    "..." [Vincent]

    Master looked at me like I was stupid. I''m not going to say that he''s right that I''m stupid, but I''m not going to say he''s wrong.

    "Not having a birthday will be quite the problem." [Vincent]

    "Why?" [Solace]

    "Because you need to have one to register for school." [Vincent]

    "...You''re sending me to school?" [Solace]

    Master nodded.

    ("Aw hell naw...") [Solace]

    "We can figure that out later. For now, focus on your training." [Vincent]

    Raising his sword again, Master readied it with two hands.

    "...Wait." [Solace]

    "Is there something wrong?" [Vincent]

    "Before we do this, I want to make a bet." [Solace]

    Master gave me a strange look before chuckling.

    "Interesting. What do you propose?" [Vincent]

    "Let''s change the rules of my training. I graduate if I can block your attack. Also, you don''t send me to school." [Solace]

    As you can see, I really didn''t want to study again.

    "Hm. Then what will happen if you lose?" [Vincent]

    "I go to school." [Solace]

    Master shook his head.

    "You''re going regardless of the bet. There isn''t any profit for me here." [Vincent]

    ("Bruh.") [Solace]

    That was something I forgot. That said, I wasn''t sure if I had anything to give him.

    "How''s this? If you lose, you will owe me a favor." [Vincent]

    "A favor?" [Solace]

    "Indeed. You cannot refuse the favor no matter how terrible a task it is." [Vincent]

    "That''s... a bit suspicious." [Solace]

    Master gave me a sly smile.

    "Either that or no deal." [Vincent]

    ("...Damn he''s pretty good.") [Solace]

    It seemed that it wasn''t Master''s first time making a deal.

    "Alright. Deal." [Vincent]

    Master''s sly smile widened into a mischievous one, sending an uncomfortable chill down my spine.

    "As expected of my disciple." [Vincent]