My Lord Who Is Being Prudent! [EN]: Chapter 18

§ 18. Arnaise Martial Arts (2)

So, I arrived at the soldier training camp.

“Hoo-ah! Doo-ool!”

“Sweat today! No blood tomorrow!”

As always, soldiers were training at the training camp.

The soldiers were growing rapidly under Hans’ command.

Sian settled in a corner so as not to disturb them.

After roughly settling down.

Sian drew his sword and focused intently.

Swish!

A sharp whistling sound burst forth.

With a pounding heart, Sian checked his smartphone.

《Precise Slash (斬) 3,000 Times [0.5 / 3,000]》

“Oh!”

It went up by 0.4.

The basic effect of Soldier Training Camp Lv.1 is +200%.

And it seemed like the additional effect of +100% was also applied.

“But shouldn’t there be an excellent instructor for the additional effect?”

However, Sian had just been swinging his sword alone.

“Ah, could it be…?”

Perhaps that man is being applied as the instructor?

None other than the silver-haired pretty boy from earlier.

He was presumed to be Kyle, but it wasn’t certain yet.

And if that man is Kyle.

And if it’s being applied as Sian learning swordsmanship from Kyle.

It was understandable to receive the additional effect.

The strongest Arnaise, Kyle.

Kyle more than satisfied the concept of an excellent instructor.

No, no matter where you looked in the world, there could be no instructor better than Kyle.

Anyway.

“At this rate…”

It was reduced from 100,000 times to about 20,000 times.

“It’s still enormous, but…”

This is something.

Sian chuckled.

And just then.

Ding!

Suddenly, a new notification window popped up on the smartphone.

『Growth Buff Ticket (500 G or Watch Ad)

Contents: +300% training efficiency for 24 hours.』

– This product is only applicable to administrators.

.

.

“Growth buff?”

Looking at the contents roughly…

It seemed like using the growth buff could increase efficiency by 300%.

“Is something like this even possible?”

Sian let out a hollow laugh without realizing it.

A magical tool that lightly transcends the bounds of common sense.

An artifact called the ultimate of such magical tools,

And this smartphone, presumed to be left by Arnaise.

Somehow, common sense didn’t seem to apply to this smartphone.

Well, anyway.

If you use the growth buff in the training camp, you could increase efficiency by up to +600%.

It was like adding +6 hours for every 1 hour of training.

In terms of efficiency alone, it was an enormous efficiency of 7 times.

But.

“500 gold is too expensive.”

Sian couldn’t afford to pay 500 gold.

Of course, it wasn’t that he didn’t have 500 gold right now.

There was still some money left over after purchasing Arnaise Martial Arts.

But the growth buff is a buff that lasts for 24 hours.

In short, you had to pay 500 gold every day.

If only 10 days passed, a whopping 5,000 gold would disappear.

If only a month passed, 15,000 gold would evaporate.

The amount of money that a family of four could live on for 40 years was disappearing in just one month.

“…They’re really sucking the money dry.”

As expected of an artifact left by Arnaise.

Somehow, the level of cash spending was far beyond common sense.

Anyway, he couldn’t pay 500 gold every day.

Fortunately, perhaps because there was still some conscience.

The growth buff couldn’t only be purchased with 500 gold.

“What’s ‘Watch Ad’?”

None other than ‘Watch Ad’ next to 500G.

It seemed like you could get a buff ticket by watching an ad instead of paying 500 gold.

Sian stared at the blinking ‘▷’ button next to the buff window.

It seemed like pressing that would start the ad.

Without much hesitation, Sian pressed the ‘▷’ button.

Click.

.

.

《Are you perhaps dreaming of becoming a Paladin?》

Then the screen changed and an unknown voice was heard.

《Tanker, Healer, Dealer. A hybrid class that can encompass all of those! It’s truly the epitome of solo play!》

《Is that why? Paladins are overflowing throughout all dimensions!》

《A Paladin craze sweeping through all dimensions!》

《Are you perhaps dreaming of becoming a Paladin too?》

《Are you having such wonderful fantasies of protecting allies, healing them, and burning enemies?》

《For those people, we have prepared something not so great, but amazing.》

Tada!

《The Aegis Shield!》

《Also known as the Aigis Shield, this can block any attack!》

《It’s truly the invincible shield!》

《Is that all? The special effect attached to the shield turns the target you’re looking at into stone!》

《Automatic petrification!》

《Petrify powerful enemies and show off your power!》

《Are you amazed? Are you already itching to buy it?》

《We’re offering this amazing S-rank shield for only 1,000,000 G!》

《However, the user can also turn to stone!》

《Unfortunately, it doesn’t have an on/off function.》

《So be careful not to look at the shield when using it!》

.

.

“What is this?”

Sian was momentarily stunned.

That’s because the item that came out in the ad… was quite strange.

If the user also turns to stone, what use is it?

“But that costs 1 million gold?”

Sian shook his head.

“More than that… can you even buy items like that in Mobile Lord?”

Looking at the ad, it seemed like you could.

Even if it wasn’t such a crazy item,

If you looked for it, there seemed to be useful items.

《Everyone, did you know?》

The ad continued.

Sian continued to watch the ad.

How much time had passed?

“No, when is this going to end?!”

The ad didn’t seem to want to end at all!

Was it trying to squeeze out every last bit of the 500 gold ad revenue?

《It’s not over yet! The function of this awl is truly…》

He had been watching for almost 30 minutes, but somehow it didn’t seem to want to end!

“At this rate, I should just turn it on and do something else…”

Ding!

《The effect will not be applied unless you watch the ad directly!》

“Damn it.”

Sian had no choice but to watch the ad.

The ad continued for about 30 more minutes before it finally ended.

An ad that lasted a total of 1 hour.

《Growth Buff Applied (Training Efficiency +300%) – Time Remaining 24h》

At the end of it, Sian was able to get the buff.

“Crazy…”

But Sian already felt exhausted.

Of course, in terms of efficiency alone, it was enormous.

He could get the effect of +300% for 1 hour of investment for 24 hours.

But to have to watch this every day?

“Haa…”

A sigh was already leaking out.

And just then.

Along with a cheerful notification sound, a notification window popped up.

『[Ad Removal] (400,000 G)』

『[Unlimited Growth Buff Ticket] (150,000 G)』

『[Ad Removal + Unlimited Growth Buff Ticket] (500,000 G)』

Ding!

《When you’re frustrated with the progress, try spending some money!》

“…Bullshit.”

500,000 gold.

Are they saying that with a sane mind?

Click.

Sian pressed the X button on the pop-up notification window.

Well, anyway.

With this, he had gained an efficiency of +600%.

“Hoo! Shall we begin!”

Sian slowly got up from his seat.

#

The path to Ruben through the Dark Forest.

This place where the dense trees and jagged grass obscure the view.

Rustle!

A chilling cutting sound was heard here.

At the same time, two goblins collapsed to the ground.

“Are you alright, Miss?”

“I’m fine. What about Lucas?”

“I’m fine.”

Lucas shook the blood off his sword.

A knight who wields Aura [a type of energy manipulation common in fantasy settings].

Lucas was a skilled knight reaching the early stages of Expert.

No matter how many magical beasts lived in the Dark Forest.

Goblins like these were not threatening monsters to Lucas.

“Thank you every time, Lucas.”

“It is my job to protect you, Miss.”

“Still.”

Amelia smiled brightly.

Lucas looked at Amelia and then turned his gaze to the goblins sprawled on the ground.

A huge body reaching 1m.

Usually, ordinary goblins are not 1m tall.

But since they were magical beasts living in the Dark Forest, they were different from ordinary goblins.

Lucas knew that.

“Something’s not right.”

Lucas couldn’t shake off the strange feeling.

Just then.

“Lucas, let’s take that.”

Amelia’s voice broke through his thoughts.

He turned to see what she meant.

Amelia was pointing at the goblin corpses.

“The goblin corpses, you mean?”

Amelia nodded.

“It’s a waste to just leave them behind.”

“But…”

“Besides, we have a carriage now.”

Amelia tilted her head gently, indicating something behind them.

Following her gaze, Lucas saw the carriage led by two horses.

A carriage purchased with the profits from their deal with Ruben.

It had cost a pretty penny…

But Amelia hadn’t hesitated to spend the money.

It was an investment, in her eyes.

Because she was already calculating the profits to be made from it.

Throughout the continent, including the Empire, monster corpses were quite valuable.

Various equipment and items could be crafted from the byproducts harvested from them.

Therefore, monster corpses were a highly sought-after trade item for merchants.

And Amelia’s trade this time involved a whopping hundreds of monster corpses.

Not just ordinary monsters, but…

Magical beasts from the Dark Forest.

Even the dismantling had been clean and top-notch.

Amelia had been able to sell off the goblins in an instant.

Of course.

‘The labor costs were quite high though…’

That expense had been considerable.

Amelia briefly recalled the events at the time.

‘Cyan Elan Dur…’

Cyan Elan Dur.

The disgrace of the Marquis family.

The shame of the prestigious Elan Dur family.

A good-for-nothing known to have no abilities.

And, as expected.

Amelia’s first impression of Cyan had aligned with that reputation.

His overall dim-witted demeanor didn’t convey the dignity of a noble at all.

But.

‘He wasn’t like the rumors suggested.’

Amelia had realized this for sure during their deal.

Especially, the way he pretended not to know anything.

The way he squeezed labor costs from her.

And the exorbitant amount he’d asked for.

Well, considering the risk allowance for traveling back and forth in the Dark Forest, it was somewhat justified…

Still, he had asked for a lot.

Anyway.

‘He’s definitely not incompetent.’

In Amelia’s view, Cyan didn’t fit the description of incompetent.

She didn’t know if he was a disgrace or not,

But she could confidently say that the rumor of incompetence was false.

Anyway.

Since she had bought the carriage at a high price, it was time to make it worth it.

That’s why she wanted to load up the goblins that Lucas had slain.

“······”

For some reason, Lucas didn’t respond.

Lucas slowly turned his gaze, his mind preoccupied.

The sense of incongruity he had felt earlier was still nagging at him.

“Is it because there’s a magical beast nearby?”

“Did you… sense it?”

Lucas nodded slowly.

It was strange to encounter a magical beast in this particular location.

Of course, the Dark Forest was teeming with magical beasts.

Therefore, encountering one wasn’t inherently unusual.

He had met countless magical beasts while trading with Ruben.

Encountering a magical beast was almost a normal occurrence.

However, Lucas and Amelia hadn’t fully ventured into the Dark Forest yet.

To be exact, they were at the very edge of it.

Encountering a magical beast in such a place was quite rare.

Well, it was still possible.

As he said, this was the Dark Forest, overflowing with magical beasts.

It wasn’t for nothing that merchants avoided the Dark Forest.

But.

“They were afraid of something.”

Lucas carefully examined the goblin corpses.

A red glow had flashed briefly after their deaths.

It indicated that they had been in a berserk state.

Therefore, the emotion of fear should have been suppressed in these goblins.

However, Lucas could sense fear emanating from them.

The fear of death, rooted in their instincts.

It felt as if they had encountered Lucas and Amelia while fleeing from something.

Something so powerful that even a berserk magical beast would fear it.

Lucas couldn’t imagine what it could be.

And that direction was towards Ruben’s location.

In other words, there was something powerful enough to make the goblins flee on Ruben’s side.

So maybe…

Ruben might have already been dealt with by that something.

What awaited him at the end of this path might be a bloody scene involving Ruben.

Therefore, going to Ruben was quite dangerous.

That powerful magical beast might still be in Ruben’s vicinity.

“Let’s check it out.”

“I understand.”

He was lost in thought when…

Flinch.

In an instant, Lucas felt something eerie in his senses.

At the same time, he felt a considerable force approaching.

‘It’s not a mediocre force.’

Lucas clenched his sword tightly and heightened his awareness.

“Miss, step back behind me.”

Amelia stepped back behind Lucas with a nervous expression.

Lucas looked straight ahead again.

The approaching force.

That direction was the same direction as Ruben.

The place where the goblins that Lucas had just dealt with had been running from.

The place where there was something that the berserk goblins had no choice but to flee from.

Lucas channeled the power of Aura [a type of energy manipulation common in fantasy settings].

Woo-oong!

Lucas’s sword glowed blue and vibrated the air.

And after a short time.

When that force drew near.

“Huh?”

“······?”

Lucas’s expression shifted in surprise.

Because what emerged from the bushes was…

“Are you two…?”

It was none other than Ruben’s lord, Cyan.

‘Why is Ruben’s lord here…?’

“Why are you two here?”

‘That’s what I want to ask!’

Lucas forcibly swallowed the words that were about to spill out.

And then again.

“Oh, by any chance, have you seen any goblins running away around here?”

“Goblins…?”

Lucas tilted his head, confused.

Amelia slowly spoke from behind Lucas.

“Could you be talking about these…?”

Soon, Cyan’s gaze shifted beyond Lucas’s back.

And then he spotted the goblin corpses lying there.

“Ah…”

Cyan’s face became drastically gloomy.

As if he was one step too late, he seemed quite disappointed.

“Oh well, you caught them first, so there’s nothing I can do. Why did these guys have to run away this way…?”

Soon, Cyan turned his back without regret.

‘But what did he just say?’

‘Run away while fighting?’

‘Who? The magical beast?’

Amelia and Lucas couldn’t understand Cyan’s words at all.

Whether he was aware of Amelia and Lucas’s confusion or not.

“You two go to Ruben first. I’ll go in after doing a little more grinding. This grinding is also grinding, but the training effect is quite good.”

Ha ha.

With that, Cyan disappeared into the forest.

“······”

“······”

The two people left alone.

“Wh-wh-what is it…?”

Amelia and Lucas’s bewilderment soared to new heights.

The two stood there blankly for a while.

Like someone who had been struck hard on the head with a hammer.

Especially, the shock that Lucas received was even greater.

‘That force just now… was Ruben’s lord?’

Lucas couldn’t believe the situation that had just unfolded.

The realm of a knight is usually divided into 5 stages.

The realm where you can just barely handle Aura, Beginner.

The realm where you can handle Aura to some extent, User.

The realm where you freely handle Aura, Expert.

The realm where you dominate Aura, Master.

And the realm where you go beyond dominating Aura and create your own Aura, Grand Master.

There was also the realm of Exceed beyond that,

But that was a realm that only existed in legends.

A realm where even its true nature was not properly known.

Therefore, in fact, Master was the final realm that could be reached.

And Lucas was a knight reaching the early stages of Expert among these.

A knight who reached the realm of Sword Expert.

This meant that he was a rare talent even within the Empire.

When it comes to the best knight orders in the Empire, two knight orders are usually mentioned.

The Imperial Royal Knights.

Elan Dur’s White Wolf Orders.

And Sword Expert.

He was a talented individual who was qualified to join either of these two knight orders.

There weren’t many things that could make Lucas nervous.

‘But what was that just now…’

Lucas couldn’t comprehend it at all.

“······”

“······”

A dazed mind.

Lucas and Amelia stood there blankly, rooted to their spots.