When I opened my eyes, I still couldn't hear the bell.
The light seeping through the window was faint; dawn had not yet broken.
I stared blankly at the ceiling for a moment, then—the bell rang out, deep and resonant.
*Ah, I woke up early.*
I squirmed in bed for a bit before finally getting up.
When I stepped into the hallway to wash up, Ren was carrying a water bucket from the opposite direction. Behind him, Riena approached holding a small basket.
Ren spotted me first and spoke.
“You’re up early.”
“Oh, Ren. Sleep well?”
“Yes, I slept well. What about you, Hyung?”
“I slept well. These days, my eyes open before the bell even rings.”
“Seems you’ve gotten completely used to it now.”
From behind, Riena laughed softly.
“When you first arrived, you looked incredibly tired...”
“I’m still tired, to be honest.”
When I answered honestly, both of them laughed.
Riena, holding the clothes basket, tilted her head slightly.
“Are you going to training again today?”
“Yes. If I don’t go, something bad might happen...”
Ren snickered.
“That might just be true.”
“Then have a good day. You too, Ren. And you, Miss Riena.”
“You too, Hyung.”
“See you later.”
After exchanging brief greetings, I washed my face with cold water in the washroom. As the cold water ran down my cheeks, the last dregs of sleep fled in an instant.
When I opened the door of the Healing Sanctum, the dawn air rushed in first.
Going around to the back of the guild, I found Garen standing still in the middle of the training grounds.
After a short greeting, I picked up a wooden sword. Garen gestured without a word.
“Come.”
Today was different from usual.
*Clack!*
The wooden swords collided sharply.
I immediately pressed in another step and swung, but Garen deflected the attack with minimal movement.
Before I could catch my breath, a counterattack struck. The moment I thought I had barely blocked it, another blow came from an unexpected angle.
“More precisely.”
*Thwack!*
The tip of the wooden sword struck my shoulder. I gritted my teeth.
I planted my feet firmly against the ground, put appropriate strength into my wrists, and steadied my sword tip so it wouldn’t waver.
The moment I deflected Garen’s sword and counterattacked, a far stronger force than expected batted my blade aside.
*Clack!*
A low voice fell.
“Didn’t you say you wanted to learn Aura?”
I recalled the promise from yesterday. I instinctively knew that Garen was pushing me harder on purpose.
“Of course... I want to learn it.”
“Then be faster.”
*Clack!*
“More precisely.”
*Clack!*
“Don’t waver. Press on until the end.”
This time, I barely withstood one exchange.
I deflected the sword descending from above and lowered my body to counterattack. For an instant, I saw Garen’s eyes narrow slightly.
“Remember that sensation.”
At those words, my mood lifted even as my breath grew ragged and fit to burst.
But the next exchange immediately became harsher still.
By the time training ended, my entire body was drenched in sweat. As I caught my rough breath and rested the tip of the wooden sword on the ground, Garen set down a water bottle and spoke.
“Tomorrow I’ll go harder.”
“Hah, bring it on. I know you’re doing all this for my sake!”
“...Think what you want.”
Garen’s voice was a little less cold than before.
“Thank you for today!”
“......”
I smiled faintly and left the training grounds.
When I arrived in front of the guild, Mari and Kaya were waiting for me. Mari stood with her arms crossed, while Kaya glanced my way from beside her and raised an eyebrow slightly.
Mari spoke first.
“You look terrible today.”
“Garen Hyung-nim ran me ragged.”
“Garen...?”
“Yeah. He showed no mercy...”
Kaya looked over my shoulder and arm, then asked.
“Nothing serious?”
“Mmm, my shoulder and arm are a bit... Ah, and my leg too... But I’m fine.”
“You are absolutely not fine.”
“Haha...”
Mari snickered.
Kaya let out a short breath like a sigh and placed her hand on my shoulder.
The moment golden holy power touched my skin, my throbbing shoulder gradually subsided, and the dull pain that had spread to my arm gently melted away. When she touched my thigh, it felt like a heavy, lingering stiffness had been peeled away.
“You can endure this much, right?”
I rotated my shoulder once.
“Wow... It’s much better.”
“So don’t overdo it.”
“You’ll have to tell that to Garen Hyung-nim.”
Kaya glared at me slightly.
“Thank you. For healing me.”
Kaya laughed briefly, as if she couldn’t help it.
“Knowing is enough. Let’s go in.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
The three of us entered the guild together.
I no longer needed to look around. My steps automatically turned in the familiar direction.
Today’s request was once again blocking a goblin scouting party at the edge of the northern forest.
“Shall we take this one?”
I spoke while looking at the board, and Mari nodded.
“Goblins are simple enough.”
We tore off the request slip and headed to the counter.
Luce saw us and smiled first.
“You’re here.”
“Good morning, Miss Luce.”
“Yes, good morning.”
Our eyes met for a moment before Luce lowered her gaze first.
“Goblin extermination again today. Confirmed.”
Luce organized the request slip with practiced hands and held it out.
“These days, you three arrive at almost the same time.”
“Right? Don’t we seem like a fixed party now?”
As I spoke with a smile, Mari snapped at me from the side.
“Watch your words. It’s temporary.”
“Come on, but I’m doing pretty well, aren’t I?”
Kaya said from beside us.
“Yeah. You’re doing well.”
Kaya smiled faintly, and Luce followed suit.
“There have been a lot of requests for the northern forest lately, so please be careful.”
It was something said as part of her job, but her gaze had lingered on me a moment longer before she spoke.
“Yes, thank you. Miss Luce, have a good day.”
“Yes, please come back safely.”
Luce smiled briefly and closed the ledger. She seemed to have something more to say, but she simply smiled instead.
*...Cute.*
I smiled slightly and stepped out of the guild.
Mari and Kaya followed, and the three of us headed toward the village entrance.
Today, Mr. Bron Hendrick and Mr. Owen Hartwell were standing there.
Owen raised his hand first.
“Heading out again today?”
“That’s right... gotta make money to survive.”
Bron looked me over once and spoke briefly.
“You took more of a beating today.”
“You can tell?”
“How could I not?”
While I was smiling, Owen spoke.
“Please return before sunset. The northern forest has been rather restless lately.”
“Thanks for the concern. We’ll be back.”
“Yes, please come back safely.”
Owen waved his hand, and Bron spoke briefly.
“Go and come back.”
At first, I had been just a nameless outsider, but not anymore. It had been worth putting myself out there.
Then Mari spoke up from beside me.
“Anyone would think you’ve lived here your whole life.”
“I do. I live here, after all.”
“What are you on about.”
“Heh.”
Kaya opened her mouth.
“Still, it’s nice to see you getting along with everyone so well.”
“Haha. It’s all about people skills.”
“Sure, sure.”
Not long after, a battle broke out inside the northern forest.
It was four ordinary goblins.
Mari raised her hand first.
*Hwoosh—Boom!*
Two fireballs erupted in succession, and the goblins’ feet burst into flames. The moment they all flinched and lifted their feet—
I didn’t miss that opening.
I immediately charged at the first one on the right. As my sword crossed its neck, its head and body fell separately.
I immediately pivoted toward the second one. It swung its club wide, but I deflected it with my sword and used the momentum to slash deep into its side.
*Shwick!*
Without even time to turn around, I heard Mari’s voice.
“Move aside.”
The moment I stepped to the side, a massive blaze flew out and engulfed the remaining two at once.
*Boom!*
“Done.”
Mari lowered her hand and spoke briefly.
Kaya looked my way and nodded slightly.
“Now you do well even without instructions.”
“I’m learning bit by bit, I suppose.”
Mari snickered.
“That’s pretty fast for ‘bit by bit.’”
Those words lingered. I knew it too.
Compared to when I first came to this world, my body now was practically that of a different person. Nothing like the time when I used to break into a cold sweat over a single goblin.
After fighting a few more battles, we returned to the guild.
We ate lunch at the Sunset Hearth.
Mari muttered offhandedly that one scout had moved faster than expected in today’s battle, and Kaya briefly added that my positioning had gone well.
This brief conversation we shared while eating together had become one of the most comfortable moments of the day.
In the afternoon, we circled the forest again. It was less intense than the morning, but an Ironfang was mixed in, so I sweated a bit more. Even so, the rhythm never faltered.
After settling up, I was thanked for my hard work by Luce. The sensation of coins piling up in my hand was now quite familiar.
I ate a hearty dinner at the Sunset Hearth as well, then washed up at the public bath. As I immersed myself in the hot water, the day’s fatigue seemed to settle over me all at once.
Returning to the Healing Sanctum, I briefly stopped by Roy’s room.
Roy was leaning back against the bed. His complexion looked much better than before, and he seemed less out of breath when speaking.
“You’re here.”
“Hyung, you really look good today.”
“Do I?”
“Yes, you could join a party and head out right now.”
Roy laughed softly. Just that alone made him feel much better than before.
“How was today?”
“Please call me Goblin Slayer. The party’s teamwork is really coming together now.”
“So Mari and Kaya have acknowledged you.”
“Right? I may not look it, but I’ve been working really hard.”
Roy looked at me for a moment, then spoke.
“You’ve adapted faster than I thought. That’s a relief.”
Those words strangely remained in my heart. I held onto them in my mind for a moment, then shrugged.
“That’s just who I am. I’m a man who gets things done! Haha!”
“Sure. Go get some rest.”
“Yes. Sleep well.”
“Yeah, you too.”
I left Roy’s room and returned to my own.
Closing the door, I carefully took out the money I had gathered so far and placed it on the table.
Twelve silver coins and two copper coins.
I had already surpassed my goal of ten silver coins. What remained now was five silver coins to pay off the steel sword’s debt. Once that was finished, I could truly live comfortably without debt.
*Not much left now.*
Though my body was weary from washing up, my heart was light.
I wasn’t completely strong yet, hadn’t touched Aura yet, and was still full of shortcomings, but—
At least one thing was certain.
I was no longer merely enduring each day in this world. I was truly living.
With that thought, I rubbed the calluses on my palm once. The throbbing, hardened sensation was strangely vivid.
Little by little, but surely.
I was moving forward.