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Surviving in a F*cked-Up Fantasy World Chapter 6

Training

Since the last incident, when masked intruders scaled the mansion walls and were apprehended, my life has significantly improved.

 

First, the way the staff look at me has noticeably changed.

 

From being seen as a savage who once posed a threat to the young lady, I’ve somehow become… a savage who even intimidates intruders?

 

Or perhaps I’m seen as less of a threat now.

 

“Here, eat this!”
“Thank you.”

 

Maybe it’s because I’ve been acting submissively toward the young lady.

 

“You need to eat plenty, okay?”

 

Before me now is an assortment of snacks—lavish cakes, perfectly baked cookies, and various treats all laid out on a cloth spread across the ground.

 

Ever since I requested snacks as a reward last time, these occasional indulgences have been brought to me in abundance under the guise of gifts.

 

“Thank you.”
“Uh, uh-huh…”

 

But… something about the way they’re presented feels off.

 

I always eat them since they’re offered, but the young lady’s gaze seems unusually intense.

 

“…Would you like some, young lady?”
“I… I can?”
“Of course.”
“Ah, no… this is supposed to be your reward…”

 

…At moments like these, she really does seem like a child.
Well, honestly, she usually behaves this way.

 

But those red eyes of hers are the issue.

 

When they glimmer occasionally, they send chills down my spine.

 

“…Since everything here belongs to you, doesn’t my reward also belong to you, young lady?”
“…!”

 

In the end, all I need to do is remain obedient and tame.

 

To be honest, this life is far better than my days as a gladiator.

 

For someone born a commoner in the slums, eating luxurious cakes fit for nobles is a miraculous leap—a true rags-to-riches tale.

 

“Mmm, it’s delicious!”
“Please eat slowly.”

 

And so, sitting in the garden, I spend this pseudo-tea time with the young lady.

 

“I’m off to my lessons now!”

 

Still puffing her cheeks full of cake, she waddles off to her lessons.

 

Phew.”

 

Now then, shall I get going?

 

I retrieve a key hidden beneath the cushion I was sitting on and unlock the collar around my neck.

 

As soon as it clicks open, my aura begins to circulate freely, bringing a delightful sense of liberation.

 

As I thought, it’s stifling without it.

 

The feeling of being unable to use my aura constantly grates on me.
I wonder how Alden endured it.

 

Oh, right, he didn’t. He snapped it off and fled, didn’t he?

 

Come to think of it, I wonder if he’s doing well.

 

Judging by the lack of news from the Colosseum, it seems he hasn’t been caught.

If he had been, they would have made a spectacle of his execution as a warning to the other gladiators.

 

In any case.

 

Making my way around to the opposite side of my kennel, I arrive at an open training ground.

 

Technically speaking, this is the rear side of the mansion.

Since I’m the dog kept out in the yard, I stay by the front entrance of the property.

 

“You’ve arrived.”
“Yes, Lowell.”
“Please change into your training attire.”

 

Another reason life here isn’t so bad.
Recently, I’ve been getting to stretch my body here.

 

Whenever I’m idle, they call me over. At first, I didn’t know why.

 

Maybe they want to put me to use, or maybe it’s a genuine reward.
Whenever the Young Lady is at her lessons, I receive training here.

 

This mansion even has three knights.

 

The two knights who escort the young lady, who were punished for being momentarily pierced by me, and then there’s the knight who trains and oversees the mansion’s guards, including the security personnel who patrol the estate.

 

However, my role here is distinct.

 

“Shall we warm up a little?”

 

That old man.

 

When the Young Lady is in her lessons, he seems to get bored and has recently started calling me out for training.

 

“Today, let’s see you use Aura. It’s about time we assessed that.”
“Are you sure about this?”
“Confidence is a virtue, but arrogance rarely is.”

 

…He’s so calm.
To be fair, I honestly can’t lay a finger on him.

 

“Here I come.”

 

I focused my mind for a moment and circulated the Aura throughout my body.

 

As it surged through me, it filled me with vitality and exhilaration.
And then—

 

Bang!
An overwhelming power coursed through me.

 

Back in the Colosseum, I could only practice in secret and couldn’t unleash it freely.

But here, everyone already knows I’m an aura user, so there’s no need to hold back as I charged at Lowell with my power unleashed.

 

Whoosh!

 

The wooden training sword I swung with all my might cleaved through empty air.

…He vanished again.

 

Does he have some kind of special movement technique?

 

Disappearing so swiftly—it’s frustrating.
I quickly swung my sword behind me, guessing where he might appear.

 

Clang!
My strike was immediately blocked by his sword.

 

“Good instincts.”
“When in doubt, aim behind you.”

 

I pushed against the training sword with more strength, using the recoil to spin around.

 

And there he was—Lowell holding my wooden sword between his fingers.

 

“Good grief.”

 

This old man is unbelievably spry.

 

When you’re outmatched in strength and your weapon is caught, the only thing to do is let go.
I released the wooden sword and kicked off the ground.

 

Swish!
A spray of sand shot up, obscuring Lowell’s vision.

 

Taking advantage of the moment, I spun and aimed a kick at his head.
But just as my foot was about to connect—

 

Thud!

 

A powerful impact struck my chest, sending me flying into the air.

 

Thud-thud-thud!

 

“Ugh…”

 

How many times did I roll?
Spraying a little sand, and he knocks me down like this.

 

“Your split-second judgment is impressive.”
“Well, thanks for that.”

 

I tried to blind him, but he responded with a precise counterattack.
Of course, he’s an experienced fighter.

 

“By the way, what’s that technique?”
“What are you referring to?”
“The disappearing trick. Are you teleporting or something?”

 

Since the sparring was over so quickly, I decided to ask.

Isn’t it way too fast?
I’m an aura user myself and have excellent reflexes, but he vanishes entirely from my sight.

 

“…You don’t know about Fleet?”
“Uh, what’s that?”
“You truly don’t know?”

 

For a moment, Lowell looked at me as if wondering how I could be so clueless.
But honestly, I had no idea what he was talking about.

 

What even is that?
Alden never taught me anything like that.

 

“Fleet is one of the basic techniques for aura users. Who taught you aura?”
“Uh… the former Colosseum Champion. I just learned some basic forms.”
“Just some basics?”
“Yeah, I couldn’t learn much. The Champion escaped, so I had to teach myself after that.”

 

At my admission of being self-taught, Lowell gave me a disbelieving look.
Then, after a moment, he spoke.

 

 

“…In that case, I’ll teach you.”
“Seriously?”

“It’s just the basics, so you’ll learn quickly.”

 

For some reason, he said he’d teach it to me himself.

 

“First, before learning Fleet, you need to master Track.”
“…What’s that now?”
“As expected, you don’t know this either. It seems we need to start from the very fundamentals.”

 

What is Track supposed to be?

 

…Here I thought I was a decent aura user, but apparently, I’m a barbarian among the civilized.

 

Honestly, I still can’t figure out how I managed to defeat those escort knights back then.

If not for sheer desperation, I would’ve been subdued immediately.

 

“It’s good to know what’s available first. By the way, can you read?”
“Yes, I can read and write.”
“You can write, too?”
“Why wouldn’t I be able to?”

 

I had already learned how to read and write during my gladiator days.

 

…Though I have Alden to thank for that.
Being a knight, he had a wealth of knowledge and taught me many things.

 

Now that I think about it, I owe Alden a lot.
If I ever see him alive again, I should repay him somehow.

 

Though if he saw me now—reduced to being a noble’s “dog”—he’d probably laugh until he rolled on the ground.

 

“That’s good. I’ll give you some paper and a pen so you can take notes.”
“Understood.”

 

And so, I began learning from Lowell about the basic techniques for aura users.

 

According to him, there are four fundamental techniques shared by aura users across the continent:

 

Track: Enhancing one’s vision to detect rapid movements.

 

Fleet: Concentrating aura in the body to accelerate in an instant.

 

Rush: Exploding aura outward to overwhelm an opponent.

 

Guard: Forming a thin aura barrier around the body for defense.

 

“First of all, this is the basics.”

“…There’s a lot to learn.”

 

It didn’t seem like something I could master overnight, but the basics were straightforward enough.

Come to think of it, when I escaped the Colosseum and used aura to propel myself forward, it might’ve been a crude version of Fleet.

 

“Since you awakened your aura through self-study, you’ll pick this up quickly.”
“Putting everything else aside, will Fleet make me as fast as you if I learn it?”
“Well, our levels differ, and the Fleet I use is unique to the Boyd family.”

 

Ah, so there’s a difference in mastery… and a special version unique to the family?

“Do noble houses have their own secret techniques?”
“Most do.”

 

Great…
So the basics are just the starting point, and nobles improve upon them with secret techniques.

 

“I suppose I can’t learn those?”

 

I asked, even though I knew it was shameless.

 

“Of course not.”

 

As expected, the answer was no.

 

“That said, there’s always a way.”
“What do I need to do?”

 

A way?

I perked up, genuinely interested in learning that quick-movement technique.

 

“Earn more merit.”
“Not just any merit, I assume?”
“Correct. Enough to be acknowledged by the head of the family as more than the Young Lady’s pet and to be granted access to a family secret technique.”
“…Lovely.”

 

Am I supposed to spend my entire life earning that kind of merit?
How is a “dog” lying on a leash in the yard supposed to achieve that?

 

“Looks like it’ll be tough.”
“You never know. If the opportunity arises, you should seize it.”

 

Given that the masked intruders were a rare case, chances to earn merit will likely be few and far between.

 

Still, I learned the basics that day, determined to at least understand the fundamentals of aura techniques.

 

But surprisingly, the opportunity to earn merit came sooner than I expected.

 

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Surviving in a F*cked-Up Fantasy World

Surviving in a F*cked-Up Fantasy World

Surviving in a Damned Fantasy World, 망할 판타지 세상에서 살아남기
Score 7
Status: Ongoing Type: Author: Released: 2024 Native Language: Korean
The world I was reincarnated in was too f*cked up to be a fantasy world.

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