Who Says I'm Not a Proper Adventurer?
Chapter 22: Specialty: Trench Rat’s Bite

Chapter 22: Chapter 22: Specialty: Trench Rat’s Bite

After a quick drink of water, Lance set down the waterskin and turned to grab the Iron-Wrapped Wooden Shield and the heavy Training Sword hanging on the wall.

This sword was weighted to be a third heavier than an ordinary Short Sword, designed to better hone his power-generation techniques.

The reason Lance had been drawn to Castro Swordsmanship out of all the basic Combat Skills was remarkably simple.

It was a discipline purely focused on the coordination between sword and Shield.

It didn’t focus on flashy, lethal moves. Instead, it placed extreme emphasis on the transitions between offense and defense with the Short Sword and Shield. The core objective was singular: to drastically increase the user’s survivability.

For someone like Lance, who valued his life above all else, no foundational swordsmanship could have been more suitable.

Lance walked over to the wooden training dummy, which was already covered in nicks and dents.

He bent his knees slightly and lowered his center of gravity. Stepping forward half a pace with his left foot, he tucked most of his body behind his Shield.

The Short Sword in his right hand was tucked behind and to the side of the Shield, its tip angled toward the ground.

This was the standard opening stance for Castro Swordsmanship.

The low center of gravity rooted him to the ground like a nail, making it difficult to lose his balance and fall even when taking a heavy hit.

After steadying his breath, Lance’s eyes sharpened.

The muscles in his waist exploded with power, like a stiff bow snapping taut, launching his entire body forward.

The strike had no flashy wind-up. The motion was brief, but the Burst Power was immense.

It was so fast it even produced a sharp WHOOSH.

It was this same seemingly simple thrust that had allowed him to precisely claim the life of that Goblin during his first battle in the forest.

After thrusting, Lance didn’t pause for a moment, immediately withdrawing his blade and resetting his guard.

He immediately followed with a powerful step, using his momentum to slam the heavy iron-plated Shield into the training dummy.

A muffled THUD rang out.

He then quickly retreated, reset his stance, and began to repeat the entire sequence.

Thrust. Shield Strike. Withdraw. Reset.

With every thrust and every Shield Strike, he used his full strength.

Such high-intensity bursts of exertion were incredibly draining. An ordinary person would likely be gasping for breath within minutes.

But Lance’s abnormal Constitution began to take effect. The stamina he expended started to rapidly regenerate within a matter of breaths.

Castro Swordsmanship was a technique designed for combat in the narrow confines of an Underground City’s corridors or tunnels.

As such, the style had very few wide, sweeping slashes.

For one, slashes consumed several times more stamina than thrusts. For another, in tight spaces, a swinging Longsword could easily get stuck on a wall or be parried by an enemy.

But these simple, vicious thrusts could penetrate an enemy’s Leather Armor in an instant with minimal movement.

The entire training session was spent in these endlessly repeated, mechanical motions.

Such tedious, high-pressure training was an immense burden on one’s Spirit.

Normally, a novice’s focus would begin to waver and their form would break down after about half an hour of continuous training.

But Lance was like a tireless Alchemy Puppet, maintaining an intense level of focus throughout.

This, too, was thanks to his special Constitution.

Hevagmir’s Boiling granted him more than just stamina recovery. It also gave him a powerful resistance to all abnormal conditions, which naturally included mental fatigue and stress.

Just as he was approaching the two-hour mark in his training.

Drenched in sweat, Lance suddenly felt a flash of insight.

The moment he thrust, he subconsciously made a minute adjustment to the angle of his wrist.

The Training Sword, which had grown a bit dull, slid deep into the hard wood of the training dummy with a soft SHLICK, as if cutting through tofu.

It sank a full three inches deep, and he even had to struggle to pull it out.

At almost the same instant, a familiar translucent box popped up in his vision.

[Castro Swordsmanship Skill Level +1, Level 3 → 4]

[Constitution +1, Power +1]

Lance felt a surge of delight as he saw the increased Attribute Points.

’Just as I thought. As my Swordsmanship Level increases, the related Basic Attributes grow along with it.’

’Even though Castro Swordsmanship appears to focus on dexterous thrusts, its core power-generation technique still relies on instantaneous Burst Power.’

’Training that burst thousands upon thousands of times naturally has the most significant effect on Power and Constitution.’

What surprised him, however, was that when his Swordsmanship reached the Master Level (Level 4), the notification box didn’t disappear. Instead, a new line of text popped up.

[Through thousands upon thousands of repetitions, you have thoroughly mastered the secret to twisting your body’s full power into a single, focused point at the tip of your sword. You have acquired the Specialty: Trench Rat’s Bite.]

—

Trench Rat’s Bite

Specialty Level: Ordinary

Prerequisite: [Castro Swordsmanship] at Level 4 (Mastery)

Effect: All of your Swordsmanship thrusts gain an additional 5% Physical Penetration.

—

Lance stared in surprise at the new entry.

’I never expected that reaching the Master Level in a Skill could grant an additional Specialty.’

This made him realize that a Professional’s power in this world was largely determined by the Skills they diligently honed.

Even among Professionals of the same Level, their actual combat prowess could be worlds apart depending on the number and Level of their practiced Skills, as well as any derived Specialties.

’If grinding Skills can grant Specialties...’

’...then wouldn’t my Talent allow me to quickly "grind" out a whole set of practical Specialties to strengthen myself across the board?’

Lance subconsciously glanced at [Levin Archery] on his status panel.

’All I have to do is grind this Skill to the Master Level as well. If it grants a new Specialty, that’ll prove my theory.’

The thought of having found another safe and stable way to increase his power put Lance in a great mood.

’But this 5% penetration...’

Lance stroked his chin, deciding to immediately test what kind of difference this new bonus made.

He took a deep breath, raised the Training Sword, and thrust at the battered wooden dummy again.

This time, he wasn’t just going for raw power. Instead, he carefully focused on the feedback from the tip of the sword as it made contact.

’It feels completely different.’

’I thought a 5% increase would be negligible, but I was wrong.’

This time, the dull blade slid into the training dummy just as smoothly.

’I get it.’

Lance withdrew his sword and stood tall, a flash of realization in his eyes.

’The greatest effect of this 5% enhancement isn’t the increase in damage value. It’s the massive boost to the "stability" of the thrust.’

’The biggest drawback of thrusting attacks is that when you hit something hard, the tip can easily slip or get stuck due to factors like angle, force, or the curvature of the Armor.’

’That’s why Castro Swordsmanship emphasizes conserving stamina—to ensure you can penetrate Armor through multiple, rapid thrusts.’