Isekai Adventure in the Dimensional Cube

The next day, early morning.

Next to the pavilion in the Franzer family courtyard, Reiger held a wooden sword in an attacking stance, but his eyes were tightly shut.

He maintained his posture without change, his sword-holding hand showing not the slightest tremor, the entire person immobile, as if transformed into a statue of a swordsman.

"Breathe—in—"

While his body remained motionless, Reiger gently breathed in, taking in large amounts of air at times, then exhaling it.

His breathing rhythm became very strange; sometimes fast, sometimes slow, at times loud, and at times barely audible, even the volume of inhale and exhale varied.

Just a second ago, Reiger had inhaled a large amount of air, but after a while, the amount of air he exhaled was pitifully small.

Just a moment before, the air Reiger inhaled wasn't much, but when he exhaled, the amount was significant.

Reiger continued to breathe in this peculiar rhythm and manner.

As time passed, wisps of magic power began to seep out from Reiger's body, like invisible steam, emerging from all over his body and wrapping around him.

After a while, Reiger suddenly opened his eyes and finally moved.

"Swoosh!"

The sharp sound of slicing wind arose.

Reiger abruptly swung his sword as if an enemy had appeared before him, launching an attack towards the imaginary opponent.

The sound of the wooden sword cutting through the air was exceptionally clear, Reiger's speed was astonishingly fast, his wrists and arms flexibly rotating, carrying an indescribable momentum, repeatedly swinging his sword at the nonexistent enemy ahead.

Upon closer inspection, Reiger's sword motions were not only without a hint of hesitation but also incredibly fluid, smooth as if he were gracefully dancing, creating a pleasing aesthetic.

However, the atmosphere around Reiger was extremely chaotic, each swing of the wooden sword felt like it was being swung by a steel sword, giving the impression it could cut through anything, powerful and forceful, making Reiger's aura increasingly imposing.

As Reiger struck with his sword, the magic power wrapping around his body began to slowly seep into his body, as if absorbed by his muscles all over.

In this manner, Reiger practiced his swordsmanship while accumulating momentum, soon emitting an astounding oppressive force, causing passing servants to feel intimidated, and even alerting some guards.

About half an hour later, Reiger finally stopped.

"Whew——"

He exhaled a breath, which formed a small whirlwind, scattering around.

Reiger's entire body became damp, soaked with sweat, breathing still orderly but every muscle in his body trembling slightly, as if reaching his limit, yet also seeming to express joy.

Feeling the state of his body, Reiger could not help showing a satisfied expression.

"Indeed, my idea was correct,"

Reiger murmured to himself.

"With the magic power inherently in this body, once I practice swordsmanship and activate the damaged Magic within the 'gates', using that immense magic power to train my body, progress will definitely be rapid."

On this day, Reiger officially began to practice sword techniques.

That peculiar breathing just now was the breathing method included in the sword techniques he was practicing, combined with the swordsmanship recorded within, efficiently activating the magic power inside his body and getting it to start absorbing this magic power.

The results were pleasing.

Although he had only practiced for a mere half-hour, Reiger could already feel the changes in his body.

"Let's update the ability values and see,"

Reiger thought deeply and couldn't resist pulling out that vial of Loki's Divine Blood from the dimensional cube's storage space.

Reiger pulled out the stopper, poured out a drop of Divine Blood, and placed it on his forehead.

This was the role of the "Self-redemption" skill, a self-sufficient way to update ability values.

After all, Reiger couldn't touch his own back and couldn't operate on the ability values there; he could only trigger the "Self-redemption" effect in this way, leaving the task of updating the ability values entirely to the skill itself.

In such a situation, the Divine Blood seeped into Reiger's forehead and disappeared.

At this moment, if someone took off Reiger's shirt and looked at his back, they would see a screen of light flickering there.

One by one, the Holy Text floated out from the light screen, as if assembling something, undergoing some transformation, intersecting, colliding, and overlapping.

When the Holy Text returned to Reiger's back and the light screen also disappeared, a series of thoughts suddenly emerged in Reiger's mind.

Receiving these thoughts, Reiger read a set of new ability values from them.

...

Reiger Brillhaut

Lv.5

Strength: I0 → G284

Endurance: I0 → G257

Dexterity: I0 → F312

Agility: I0 → F331

Magic Power: I0 → F305

Light Armor: G

Swordsman: G

Magician: H

Good at Battle: I

.....

"Is this the ability value that has been autonomously updated by 'Self-redemption'?"

Reiger curiously examined the ability values in his mind and nodded silently.

"A total proficiency increase of over 1400 in all abilities. For my current level, such a rate of growth is quite impressive."

About six days after returning to his original world, Reiger had already trained his favored abilities—'Dexterity,' 'Agility,' and 'Magic Power,' to the F-stage, and both 'Strength' and 'Endurance' to the G-stage. Compared to those adventurers who struggled for years at Lv.5 to see any significant improvement, this was growth at a cheating level.

Of course, this rate of growth was nothing compared to Reiger's past, but he was no longer the newbie he once was; he was now genuinely the first-level adventurer.

Now that his level was higher, it was not too hard to accept the slower growth rate of his ability values.

Moreover, Reiger could no longer enter the underground city and fight numerous monsters daily.

The fact that just self-training could cause a total proficiency increase of over 1400 n just six days was enough to make any adventurer envious.

"If I could practice a supreme sword skill, I could probably increase my growth speed even more," Reiger said with a hint of regret. "Unfortunately, I can only try to choose a good advanced sword skill to learn."

This sword skill was selected from the library in the mansion.

It had a very plain name—'Steel-breaking Sword Skill.'

Practicing this sword skill offered not only a more efficient growth than typical advanced sword skills but also, later in the learning process, allowed Magic Power to be channeled over the weapon, significantly enhancing its performance.

At that point, cutting through steel, breaking enemies' weapons, and even destroying their armor would be effortless tasks.

Thus, the sword skill was named 'Steel-breaking Sword Skill.'

The effects of the Steel-breaking Sword Skill on cutting through steel and destroying weapons and armor were considered a type of magic attribute and effect.

This was the domain of supreme sword skills.

That the Steel-breaking Sword Skill touched the realm of supreme sword skills proved that although it was an advanced sword skill, it was among the most powerful in its tier, extremely close to a supreme sword skill.

If not for the fact that the Steel-breaking Sword Skill's body training, Magic Power absorption, and growth promotion effects were slightly weaker than those of supreme sword skills, it would fully qualify for the realm of supreme sword skills because of its unique effects.

This was the best and strongest sword skill Reiger could find in the mansion's library. Upon discovering it, Reiger chose it without hesitation.

Though it was somewhat disappointing not to learn a true supreme sword skill, Reiger was still quite satisfied with the Steel-breaking Sword Skill, which was extremely close to a supreme sword skill.

"I will practice the Steel-breaking Sword Skill whenever I have free time, aiming to master the 'Steel-breaking' ability quickly."

While making this decision, Reiger also picked up a wooden sword and once again began practicing.

But this time, Reiger was not practicing the Steel-breaking Sword Skill, but rather the Holy Dragon Sword Skill.

"This sword skill might not bring effective growth to my ability values anymore, but the inherent swordsmanship is quite profound. Studying and refining it can still enhance my combat skills."

Reiger was somewhat attached to the Holy Dragon Sword Skill.

After all, it was the first sword skill he had encountered, and it was quite special; Reiger was truly reluctant to completely abandon it.

"I'll set aside an hour each day to practice the Holy Dragon Sword Skill."

Reiger thought silently to himself.

So, alternating between the two sword skills and advancing his ability values and combat skills, Reiger spent a long, long time beside the pavilion in the courtyard.

It was nearly noon when Reiger was interrupted by a carriage that suddenly entered the Franzel estate.

Reiger glanced at the carriage, and then he saw Yuri and Marilyn alighting from it.

"So they did go out?"

Reiger stopped what he was doing and stood dumbfounded.

He had been practicing sword since early morning and had completely missed seeing Yuri and Marilyn go out.

Yuri, noticing Reiger's astonishment, waved at him.

Reiger responded with a wave, thought for a moment, sheathed his wooden sword, and walked towards Yuri.

"Good morning," Yuri greeted Reiger. "Were you practicing sword skills?"

"Yes," Reiger nodded in reply and asked, "Where did you go?"

"We went to the palace," Yuri said naturally, "Had some matters to handle."

As for what matters she had handled, Yuri did not elaborate, nor did Reiger pry further.

He simply looked at Yuri, who appeared slightly wearied, and exclaimed, "You didn't go out last night, stay up all night, and only return now, did you?"

"...Did you notice?" Yuri chuckled, saying, "Don't mind it, if paying this little fatigue can solve issues, then it's definitely a gain for me."

Yuri's words carried a sense as though she was hiding something.

Reiger quietly watched Yuri, choosing not to speak further.

"By the way," Yuri lifted her eyelids, looked at Reiger, and said, "Prepare yourself, we're likely to leave the capital tomorrow and return to Francesel land."

"Tomorrow?" Reiger nodded and replied, "Alright, I understand."

Yuri smiled sweetly at Reiger, then took the silent Marilyn back inside.

Reiger watched Yuri leave. After a while, he turned and returned to the pavilion to resume his sword practice.

Only this time, Reiger practiced with even more effort and determination.