Dream Life Vol II Chapter 7.1: “A Heavy Swordsman”

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 July 3rd, 4:00 p.m.

 

 

 We departed from Kilnarc and arrived at the village of Bowden without incident.

 

 The village of Bowden was a small village with a population of about 300, surrounded by a three-meter-high wooden fence. However, the wooden fence was damaged in some places and did not do much to prevent monsters from entering the village.

 

 There are about ten inns in the village, as it is an inn on the Ars Road, a major highway, but they do not appear to be very affluent. This may be due to the fact that there are many old people and few children and young people walking around the village, and that the old people have tired and resigned expressions on their faces.

 

 I asked Guy about this.

 

 

“I heard that monsters often haunt this area, so they can’t expand their fields. I also heard that if it wasn’t worthwhile as an inn-centered village, it would have been abandoned long ago. …So, I guess young people who don’t see any hope for a better life in the village have left.” (Guy)

 

 

 I wondered why they weren’t hunting monsters.

 

 

“Why don’t they hunt monsters as we do in our village? Besides, I’m sure they could hire mercenaries here. …Why don’t they do that?” (Zack)

 

 

 Guy shook his head and explained that Rathmore Village was the exception.

 

 

“Rathmore Village is special. Without strong people like the former lord and Walt, there is no way we can stand up to the monsters. Even if we hire mercenaries, they are not attached to the village and will only do the work they are paid for…” (Guy)

 

 

 Without a powerful commander like my grandfather, and without good soldiers at the core like our squires, even a bunch of ordinary villagers would be no match at all for a slightly stronger monster, say an orc.

 

 I heard that even Rathmore Village had quite a difficult time at first, so it would be impossible for a village patrol group to stand up to the monsters.

 

 A larger village would probably have a branch of the Adventurer’s Guild, but since this is such a small village, there is no branch here. The guild probably sends out constant requests to subjugate monsters, but the distance from both Kilnarc in the south and Thornbrough in the north, where the guild has a branch, keep adventurers away from the village.

 

 Requests to hunt strong monsters is an extremely dangerous work, and the rewards are high, but for the weaker monsters, the rewards are lower. For this reason, few adventurers bother to come to this village, which is far from the town. If the village were affluent, they could probably add to the rewards, but this small village does not have the capacity to always add to the rewards.

 

 The villagers, too, believe that since the merchants come to the village regularly and that as long as they are escorted by mercenaries, their safety is assured inside the village. If this is the case, they may have concluded that it is enough to do business with the merchants without expanding the village forcefully.

 

 

 However, with such a small village, they have their hands full just producing their own food. Therefore, food for the merchant caravan would have to be bought from outside. Naturally, the cost of the food is added to the cost of the inn, but the money does not flow back to the village farmers. In the village as a whole, the inns do not generate surplus profit, and the village does not develop in the end.

 

 

(If it were a fortified city like Kilnarc, there would be a little more room for development, but as it is now, the merchants are just keeping the village alive. Moreover, in this village where information is coming in from the outside, young people don’t see a future here and are abandoning it. Maybe they could have managed if the village had a lord, but in a village without a leader, they are just trying to live day by day. I guess they think they have to do something, but they don’t have the leeway to do anything concrete. …When you think about it, our Rathmore Village is a blessed village…) (Zack)

 

 

 With these thoughts in mind, we proceeded through the village.

 

 The village itself is about 500 meters square, and the inns are clustered in the center of the village.

 

 The wagons headed east from the inn. There was a square of about 100m square, or rather a grassy field, where the wagons were supposed to be parked.

 

 

 After parting with Norton and the other merchants, the four of us went to look for an inn.

 

 The inns were all old two-story wooden buildings, and we had no idea which one was the best. Guy said he rarely came to this area, so we were at a loss.

 

 While we were struggling, Byron, the captain of the escort team, approached us and said,

 

 

“If you haven’t decided on a place to stay, why don’t you stay with us? They don’t have a lot of rooms, but it’s one of the better ones.” (Byron)

 

 

 I signaled that I would leave it to Guy with his eyes. He answered for me.

 

 

“I’ll leave it to Byron. Two rooms for two people, please.” (Guy)

 

 

 Byron nodded and led the way.

 

 He stops in front of an inn and points, “Here it is.” He is right, the building and gardens are relatively well kept, and it looks the nicest in the village.

 

 

 This impression was not changed when I went inside, and I was a little relieved to find a clean-looking room.

 

 

(I wondered what I would do if the beds were crawling with mites and lice, but this would be fine. Just the fact that he introduced us to this inn made it worth the trouble I went through with Byron.) (Zack)

 

 

 After deciding to leave the village, I asked around to Liddy, Guy, Hector, and other seasoned travelers. Among their stories, many complaints about the inn, especially about pests, were the worst.

 

 When I lived in Japan, I was in an apartment in the city, so there were no pests like mites. Bedding was dried in the sun rather frequently, and pest control chemicals were sprayed regularly.

 

 In Rathmore Village, too, there was plenty of nature around, but thanks to the cleanliness of the servants, we were free from lice and fleas.

 

 

 So I decided to see if I could work some pest control magic.

 

 The first thing I thought of was a chemical spray insecticide.

 

 It was something like Ba*san, but I couldn’t think of an insecticidal ingredient, so I gave up on the idea.

 

 The next idea was a warm-air futon dryer. The idea was to use the Wind and Fire Attribute Magic to create warm air.

 

 It was completed, but since it was a compound magic, it was near impossible to create a chant, and the MP consumption was unnecessarily high. As I was about to give up, I happened to see Liddy and she came up with a simple solution.

 

 In other words, if I did it alone, it would be compound magic, but if the two of us worked together, it would be basic magic. To achieve this, I raised the temperature of the air and asked her to move the wind.

 

 This way, both of us have spells for that. I can use pseudo-Peltier effect spell, so temperature control is easy and MP consumption is low. Wind does not need to create a strong gust, so Liddy’s workload is also reduced.

 

 The two of us had practiced many times and perfected the warm-air pest control spell.

 

 Just to be sure, I used the magic again today, but I am not sure if it killed the mites.

 

 If I didn’t feel itchy tomorrow morning, I would consider it a success.

 

 

 Since we had some time before dinner, we decided to practice swordsmanship with Guy in a nearby clearing.

 

 Sharon also learns swordsmanship for self-defense with Liddy, and the four of us work up a sweat.

 

 As expected, just practicing was a bit boring, so we began a sparring match using a nearby wooden stick as a wooden sword.

 

 

 My opponent Guy, unlike my grandfather and Nicholas, Guy’s swordsmanship was self-taught and focused on speed. He moves in small increments from side to side and takes advantage of a gap to aim at vital points such as the neck, wrists, and knees. Since becoming a squire, he has been learning swordsmanship from Grandfather, so his swordsmanship, although self-styled, is quite developed.

 

 My swordsmanship, on the other hand, is the orthodox style that I learned from my grandfather. However, I have made some modifications to it.

 

 The biggest change is that I have combined the enhancement of muscle power and reflexes under [Magical Combat].

 

 Magical Combat is a technique that channels magic power into the body and temporarily raises physical abilities, but it is difficult to use.

 

 It consumes a large amount of magic power and cannot be used constantly. It is preferable to use it instantaneously, like what I did with Byron, but when swords are clashing, the fighters must concentrate on the fight, and there is almost no time to channel magic power into the body.

 

 Therefore, I train myself to use my Magical Combat skills instantaneously when I am at a distance.

 

 

 If I used it too much, my muscles ache terribly. In some cases, I may even suffer from fractures. Muscle pain and fractures can both be treated with Recovery Magic, but I become useless if fractures occur at the critical moment. So, I am careful not to put too much strain on my body and always train with an awareness on optimal magical control.

 

 Recently, I have become quite adept at performing movements similar to the [Shukuchi], which I used on Byron, as well as acrobatic movements like those of a top gymnast. For me, this is a technique that can be a trump card along with magic.

 

 

 While Guy and I were having a mock battle, the mercenaries had gathered without our knowledge.

 

 I wondered if Byron and the others were going to train, so I asked them if we need to leave if we were in the way.

 

 Byron gave a small shake of his head and then came over to me, bowing his head and saying, “Will you spar with me?”



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