The Dwarf’s Child 4

+++

After receiving his guest, Doyun returned to his quarters and conversed with Winny via communication stone.

He relayed the guest’s identity to Winny, as this connection had originated through her introduction.

Prompting great surprise and admiration from Winny:

[How in the world did you convince that stubborn old man? No matter how I pleaded, he refused to budge.]

“Well… let’s just say old ties resurfaced.”

[I’m genuinely envious…]

Chuckling at Winny’s lament, Doyun responded lightheartedly.

The ‘guest’ who had sought Doyun were the elderly heir to the dwarven Zaccuroth and his granddaughter, having come to entreat aid from the World Tree.

Doyun recalled the old man’s words:

‘Serving the Apostle Han Doyun constitutes service to the Alliance itself. I wish to employ the techniques I had fruitlessly suppressed out of guilt for your sake, Apostle. Will you accept me?’

Doyun readily agreed – the old man now worked as an exclusive World Tree blacksmith.

How could the Guild object?

As the sole inheriting artisan of dwarven craftsmanship, Millaine’s jaw had dropped upon explanation.

In any nation, territory or organization, blacksmiths represented vital strategic assets, especially in wartime eras like the present.

An inheritor of dwarven techniques – need he say more?

Millaine had even gushed about Doyun attracting further blessings.

‘Our equipment prospects just improved immensely.’

Moreover, once the old man began displaying his full abilities, the World Tree’s prestige would skyrocket as the sole Guild possessing dwarven techniques.

An overwhelmingly positive development.

[In any case, congratulations are in order.]

“Yes. I’ll convey your regards when he contacts me soon.”

[Alright. And give him this message too while you’re at it.]

“Which is?”

[You damned senile geezer!]

Doyun chuckled heartily.

“Got it. I’ll pass that along. Ending call now.”

After some lighthearted banter, Doyun terminated the communication.

Settling into a chair by the window, he leaned against the backrest as a contented exhale released his lingering tension.

‘Once again, old connections resurface.’

Though slightly cooled by the chilly weather, the tea’s aroma felt uncommonly fragrant today.

Savoring the beverage, he listened to the pitter-patter of rain outside.

Ssshhhaaa-

Gazing wistfully through the window, a serene smile graced Doyun’s features.

Ever since his previous life, he had cherished rainy days – ironically causing most Guild members to detest such weather solely due to Enoch himself.

Yet even now, he still adored the rain’s ambiance.

And today, another would join their rainy day aversion.

Contacting Lei via communication stone – the boy had mentioned playing with Tia downstairs earlier:

“Come out.”

[Huh? Why?]

“Training awaits.”

Doyun smiled faintly in anticipation.

+++

The azure blade Yupiter cleaved towards Lei’s neck, the latter inhaling sharply as he evaded that razor-sharp strike.

Shick-

“Whew!”

Retreating, Lei’s footprints sank into the sodden mud before Doyun’s advancing steps carved deeper imprints atop them.

Amidst the pouring rainfall, the two traded blows relentlessly – blade against fist.

Again the sword thrust towards Lei’s throat.

This time, Lei flinched backwards, arching his head to narrowly avoid the deathly caress along his nose bridge, chilling lips instinctively moistening the lingering rime tracing his jugular.

‘This fucking… What razor-edged swordsmanship even cuts this cleanly…!’

At this rate, he might genuinely slay a dragon itself.

Despite lacking aura projection, Lei marveled at the sheer formidable keenness far surpassing a Paladin’s expectations.

Enoch casually swinging his blade applied the Level 5 [Swordsmanship] skill bonus, automatically imbuing devastating force and precision.

Shick-

Shiiing-

The duel raged on as Doyun relentlessly thrust and swung while a drenched, perspiring Lei desperately evaded.

Though instinctively moving with bestial agility amidst the downpour, Lei appeared unnaturally stiff somehow.

Peculiarly, his eyes remained tightly shut.

Raising his blade, Doyun shouted:

“Perceive through senses beyond sight! Expand your awareness into new realms!”

Piercing through the pitter-patter, Doyun’s crisp command prompted Lei to squeeze his eyelids even tighter in heightened focus.

Enoch had always emphasized honing one’s senses.

Due to his frail human limits, evasion had represented a priority – by the 17th iteration, his obsessive training against the Vanguard had refined his [Seventh Sense] to the pinnacle.

The splashing mud, rain’s humidity and ambient noise cluttered his senses in this crude environment, sharpening his perceptive abilities further – the very reason Doyun favored rainy conditions for training.

Doyun imparted two hundred golden years’ worth of sensory mastery unto Lei.

While the latter remained oblivious to the profound value of these ‘Razvolnic teachings’, he diligently absorbed the lessons regardless – clearly recognizing Doyun’s tutelage as immensely rewarding.

And in time, upon realizing greater truths while reflecting on the past, Lei would come to deeply appreciate his past self’s commitment.

“Focus! Don’t let those keen senses dull!”

Doyun admonished as Lei’s movements began slowing.

As a half-dragon, Lei’s base capabilities far exceeded humans by nature.

Having spat blood to attain the Seventh Sense realm with mere mortal flesh, Doyun could not fathom disregarding such heightened dragon senses.

Of course, only a madman like himself had managed prying that threshold open through sheer mental fortitude alone.

Simply grit your teeth and train. Train until the brink of insanity. If still lacking, leverage the overflowing time and willpower granted by rebirths to compensate.

Such had been his path to transcendence from ordinary human origins.

Naturally, for beings like Lei – especially those gifted from birth – comprehending such lunacy proved impossible even after reawakening from death itself.

“Hahh… Hahh…”

The blindfolded half-dragon lolled out his elongated tongue, panting heavily.

Lei could not grasp this mentality.

He could sense Doyun too had shut his eyes at some point, yet the latter still matched his movements flawlessly.

‘Is he even human?’

Just how did a mere human achieve such feats? The baffled half-dragon protruded his tongue disbelievingly.

Unable to comprehend the sheer extremes and insanity, this prodigious youth could only resign himself to perishing uselessly.

Yet Doyun merrily continued swinging his blade undeterred.

The benefits of rainy training extended beyond just that, however.

Shiiing-

Not a single droplet deflected his descending slashes.

Perfectly harmonized with the wind currents for maximum efficiency – a supreme economy of motion.

Extracting a stake from the ground, Doyun thrust it forward in a piercing lunge.

Sensing the strike, Lei recoiled in alarm, contorting his body into an impossible angle to evade – pure instinct fusing with Doyun’s imparted Hecreaux techniques.

Thwuang-

“Hurahk!”

The resulting shockwave vaporized every raindrop along the stake’s trajectory.

Momentarily, an empty cylindrical path opened in midair as if a railgun projectile had passed through.

Lacking true skill with polearms, Doyun could still effortlessly exert such destructive might through sheer stat superiority alone now.

Snapping his eyes open, Doyun’s mana-enhanced vision analyzed that shockwave in slow motion detail.

The second benefit of rainy training conditions.

Ordinarily invisible to the naked eye, the raindrops dispelled by his strikes became visible trajectory tracers on such days.

Snapping his wrist during thrusts narrowed and sharpened the stake’s striking path, surrounding droplets whirling in miniature vortices.

Enabling meticulous observation of each individual attack.

“Whew!”

Inhaling deeply, Doyun continued flourishing his offhand.

Wielding blade and stake in dual wielding style – his preferred approach lately.

During Enoch’s era, Guild members dreaded rainy training sessions, yet Sword Saint Büsker had wholeheartedly agreed with the practice.

Emphasizing ‘zonal’ concepts in swordsmanship, he keenly observed the interactions between his sphere of influence and the rain. An individual Enoch resonated with on multiple levels.

Pausing his movements momentarily, Doyun discarded the stake, raising the blade before his face to control his breathing.

“Huuu…”

The Büsker Style (Buske’s 式) breathing method – icy exhalations settling with tangible weight.

Doyun’s ki signature shifted, prompting a visible flinch from the blindfolded Lei.

Again – the Büsker Style prioritized ‘zones’.

This represented the totality of one’s range – reach, breath, senses, willpower, mana flow and more converging.

Before attaining Manifest Blade transcendence in his 17th iteration, Enoch had stood as Büsker’s equal in prowess.

In their duels, the deciding factor had been whether Büsker successfully pulled Enoch into his sphere of dominance.

While falling short of the Sword Saint’s absolute zone supremacy, Enoch too appreciated such subtle techniques, incorporating them into the Razvolnic Style.

Doyun’s blade began moving once more.

The Büsker Style’s sword strokes exude an icy chill.

Azure radiance danced around Doyun’s blade, leaving wintry traces and keen edges lingering in its wake.

The patterns imprinted in space like delicate embroidery represented Doyun’s brushstrokes painting the eponymous Büsker masterpiece (式名畫).

Blindly sensing Doyun’s sword while evading, Lei faltered in confusion.

‘What is this…?’

Heaviness permeated the air.

As if the world itself favored Doyun’s dominance, something felt inexplicably off-kilter, warping.

Lei found his breath, rhythm, reach – every flow wrested away and drawn into Doyun’s overwhelming sphere of control.

That freezing, razor-sharp imprint hovering in midair like an icy force field expanding in a hemispheric bubble.

The raindrops within slowed ever so slightly while frosty wisps crept along their surfaces, shallowly crystallizing.

Despite operating on instinct, as a human Lei could not help but lose himself momentarily, mesmerized by the sublime artistry of Doyun’s Büsker masterpiece (式).

Yet he could not stave off rising trepidation for long.

“…!”

As he crossed that zonal boundary, draconic instincts blared deafening alarms – chills running down his fully bristled scales.

‘Wait a minute, this is…’

Watching Doyun’s blade slowly rise into an overhead stance, Lei realized in dread:

‘I’m actually going to die…’

Büsker Style (Buske’s 式) Swordsmanship – Chilling Chamber

Doyun’s frosty blade cleaved his sphere of influence into dichotomous halves.