Novel Full Chapter 306 : Chapter 306
Chapter 306. Let’s Move Somewhere Else (1)
After deciding to challenge the Four Calamities.
Patrick focused on his training, pushing himself harder.
In truth, it was unlikely that he would get significantly stronger in a short period just by training fiercely now.
However, simply consolidating the insights he had gained from his recent duel with the Imperial Sword Saint would be quite helpful. But…
‘Can I win?’
Still, he couldn’t be sure.
Patrick now surpassed the martial prowess of the Radiant Dragon Great Master from his past life.
Having realized the final secret art and reached the realm of the State of Profundity, the current Patrick would have survived the combined attack of the Unorthodox Alliance at the Falling Phoenix Sect without dying. However…
‘I’m anxious because I don’t know the opponent’s full strength.’
Patrick did not know the depths of those called the Four Calamities.
The duel with the Black Tortoise had been an indirect battle in a virtual space, and the battle with the White Tiger had been merely a test.
It was impossible to judge the full power of the Four Calamities based on those two encounters.
In other words, Patrick still didn’t know the extent of his opponents’ abilities.
“Tsk, I’ve gotten weaker too.”
In the old days, he would charge in without considering things like the odds of winning. But the more one had to carry, the more cautious one was forced to become.
That was true even for this Patrick Schneider.
But that didn’t mean he could just not do it.
The exact outline was still unclear, but it was certain that something big was revolving around him now.
Ignore it and leave it be?
Or just wait until something happened?
Pretending not to see a problem and postponing it was the worst way to respond.
‘I absolutely have to face it head-on.’
That was Patrick’s conclusion.
So for now, all he could do was organize his enlightenment to increase his chances of winning, even by a little.
But then…
“Grand Young Master.”
Chandler appeared and spoke to Patrick, who was concentrating on his training in his personal training ground.
“What is it? I thought I said not to disturb me unless it was serious.”
“I apologize for interrupting your training. However, a guest has arrived looking for you, Grand Young Master.”
“Who is it?”
“Yes. That is…”
After hearing Chandler’s answer, Patrick frowned and said.
“Why are those folks here?”
Patrick sighed and got up.
In any case, they weren’t guests he could simply ignore.
***
The reception room of the Schneider Grand Ducal family.
Sitting there were men with beards, much shorter in stature and wider in build than ordinary people.
The servants served them tea. But…
“Tsk, who serves tea when hosting dwarves?”
“We’re not some pointy-eared beanpoles…”
“You’re right. This is a serious problem.”
When hosting dwarves, serve beer.
If you don’t have that, other alcohol will do.
If you don’t have that either, it’s better to just give them a cool glass of water.
In the Harbor Kingdom, which had a good relationship with the Dwarven Kingdom in the past, this was common sense, but other countries didn’t know such common sense.
Even in a country like the Schneider Duchy where many different races lived.
Normally, if they received this kind of treatment, it was in the dwarves’ cantankerous nature to stand up and leave on the spot.
But this time, they didn’t.
Although they were grumbling, they had to sit quietly with their bottoms glued to the sofa.
Because…
“You should just eat what you’re given, why are you complaining? Huh?”
The temper of the human they came to meet was much more cantankerous.
“Hahaha. It’s been a while, Double Dragon.”
“It has been a while. Uh… what was your name again? Anyway, you were the head of the dwarf clan, right?”
At that, the head of the dwarf clan, Hadi, said with a hurt expression.
“Head of the pack? Doesn’t that make me sound like a bandit chief?”
“A head or a leader, they’re both a head, aren’t they?”
“Ah…”
“Now that you mention it?”
The friends chiming in from the side were more detestable than the human in front of him.
Hadi sighed and continued.
“You remember these two, right?”
“I know them. They’re your right-hand man, Sir Klaus, and your left-hand man, Sir Grot, right? My memory isn’t that bad…”
“…You got it switched.”
“Ah… since when?”
“……”
From the very beginning, you bastard.
The head of the dwarf clan Hadi, his left-hand man Klaus, and his right-hand man Grot.
The three most important figures leading the dwarf clan were the guests who had come to see Patrick.
First, after the greetings were over.
Hadi spoke bluntly.
“First of all, I apologize. I’m sorry we couldn’t visit for a long time. We also had a lot of things to take care of.”
“Well, it’s fine.”
The alliance between Patrick and the dwarves was temporary.
Patrick had a reason to crush the Harbor Kingdom, and when he looked for the force that had the worst relationship with the Harbor Kingdom, it turned out to be the dwarves.
Thus, their interests aligned, and they had temporarily joined hands to give the Harbor Kingdom a big, beautiful middle finger.
However, the alliance went only that far.
Patrick had half-destroyed the Harbor Kingdom and turned it into a duchy, and the dwarves had finally found their freedom and were able to move freely, leaving the Iron Mountains.
Although it bothered him a little that the country they left for was the Yusef Kingdom, that was not something for Patrick to interfere in.
The connection had ended there, but…
“It is not a dwarf if one does not repay a debt of gratitude.”
“Hooo… That’s a belief I quite like.”
At Hadi’s words, Patrick smiled contentedly and nodded.
Of course, whether you’re a dwarf or a human, if you receive a kindness, you should repay it. Isn’t that a given?
Of course, Patrick knew.
The dwarf clan had left the Iron Mountains where they had settled for a long time and were in the process of settling in a new paradise.
It would be a time of great expense and tight budgeting.
So he hadn’t deliberately rushed them, but…
‘If they’ve come on their own to repay the favor, well. It wouldn’t be polite to refuse. Don’t you think so too, Master?’
-Have some shame, you brat!
It felt like he could hear his Master’s scream, but he cleanly ignored it. Then, with eyes full of anticipation, Patrick said.
“So how much did you bring?”
“We brought something much better than money.”
Seeing Hadi puff out his chest and say that, Patrick had a foreboding feeling.
“You’re not trying to palm off an Academy admission recommendation letter or the relic of a saint who died hundreds of years ago, are you?”
Judging from his experiences so far, he had never seen anything decent that was given to him with the words ‘better than money.’
To such a Patrick, Hadi said.
“Why would we give you such useless junk?”
“Phew… that’s a relief. Then what is it?”
“See it with your own two eyes.”
And when Hadi gestured with his eyes, the two dwarves on either side of him brought over two wooden boxes taller than themselves.
The two, who presented the obviously luxurious boxes to Patrick, glared at each other once and then said.
“Just you wait, you stump of a bastard.”
“I’m 0.2 millimeters taller than you.”
The two snarling men, who were the leaders of the dwarf clan, opened the boxes in front of Patrick at the same time.
“This is the gift we prepared.”
And the moment the boxes opened…
“……”
Even the great Patrick couldn’t help but let his jaw drop.
Inside were two sets of twin swords, each of which could be seen at a glance to be swords of incredible fame.
A pair of white twin swords that cast a faint, pure white light, so much so that not even a faint shadow was left on the blade.
And on the other side was a pair of black twin swords with a perfectly jet-black blade that seemed to absorb light just by looking at it.
Both pairs looked extraordinary to Patrick.
“Don’t tell me this is… my gift?”
“Hmm, you choose.”
“This?”
“That’s right.”
“……”
“Are you crying?”
Would he cry or not?
These bearded stumps dared to… to move me. To move me, the great Radiant Dragon Great Master and Double Dragon Patrick Sky Schneider.
At this point…
Let’s take a moment to see why Patrick was so moved.
The sword Patrick was currently using was a cheap iron sword he bought from a mass-production blacksmith in front of the Academy.
The quality was so poor that he had bought it as a buy-one-get-one-free deal.
Why was Patrick using such a cheap, low-grade item?
‘Why else? It’s a habit I picked up because of Master in my past life.’
Occasionally, the Patrick of his past life would somehow acquire or obtain a good sword and give it to his Master.
In real combat, the superiority of a weapon could be a matter of life and death, so he took care to get his Master a good weapon.
But here’s the thing.
What’s the point of getting him one?
[M-Master? Where is the 5,000 nyang sword made with 30% refined steel that I made for you before?]
[Hohoho. About that. There is a severe drought this time, and many people are suffering, are they not? So…]
[Kuh… keoheok…]
Oh, Master… Master…
Our hopeless, pushover Master.
Anyway, he couldn’t give him anything good or expensive.
If he sold everything to help the poor and suffering, how could a famed sword be safe?
And if his Master was using an ordinary iron sword, his disciples couldn’t use expensive and good swords.
In the end, the Radiant Dragon Great Master, Jin Cheon, used a five-pun iron sword until his death, and when other people pointed it out…
[Ah, skill is what’s important, what does the sword matter?]
[No, look here, Radiant Dragon Great Master. Still, for a martial artist, the quality of a weapon is…]
[Oh, is that so? Then why did you get your ass kicked by me even though you were using a famed sword made of ten-thousand-year cold iron?]
[…Son of a bitch.]
Such conversations took place.
In short, he acted strong and as if he didn’t care. But still.
‘What swordsman in the world hates a famed sword?’
Honestly, he was soooooo jealous.
Never mind the sect masters and elders of famous and powerful sects, even a first-generation disciple used a much better sword than him. Seeing that…
[Tsk tsk tsk, all they care about is looking cool…]
Outwardly, he clicked his tongue and put on a show of bravado. But how envious had he been on the inside?
“C-can I touch it?”
“Of course.”
“Thank you.”
It wasn’t often that such pure gratitude came from Patrick Schneider.
It was proof that he was really, truly happy.
And Patrick’s emotion became even more intense after he actually held the item.
“Ooooooh…”
The first thing he reached for and held was the white sword.
And the first impression he got was…
‘It’s light.’
It was so light that he couldn’t believe he was holding a sword in his hand.
It felt more like holding a single reed leaf than a sword. But…
Swoooosh.
The feeling of cutting through the air as he swung it gently.
A thrill ran through his entire body.
To the admiring Patrick.
The sharpness that seemed like it could cut through all creation in this world and the lightness that transcended common sense.
He could clearly feel the purpose of the one who made the sword.
‘It’s for a quick sword.’
Using this would make the speed of his sword extremely fast.
And from the side, the left hand of the dwarf clan, Klaus, said.
“How is it? It is a sword made from the last Orichalcum remaining in our clan.”
“Orichalcum? Isn’t that a legendary metal from stories?”
“It’s called that because it’s so rare, but it is a real metal.”
“Ooh…”
Normally, in this case, Patrick’s question should have been, ‘It must be expensive, right?’ But…
‘I can’t sell this.’
In his past and present lives combined, this was the first time he had felt such a strong desire for ownership of an object.
He didn’t want to sell this even if he were offered a fortune.
To Patrick, who was looking at the sword with an ecstatic expression, Klaus said.
“I watched you before, and you use a swordsmanship that focuses on speed.”
“That’s right.”
“In that case, I thought a sword that would maximize that speed would be good. How is it? Do you like it?”
“What is there to say? It’s the best.”
At Patrick’s words, Klaus’ nose was about to ascend to the heavens. But…
“Tsk tsk tsk, the Double Dragon’s speed is already said to be unmatched on the continent, so what’s the point of getting any faster?”
The one who clicked his tongue and interrupted from the side was the right hand of the dwarf clan, Grot.
He continued with a displeased expression.
“The Schneider Duchy where the Double Dragon has settled is adjacent to the Great Forest. In that case, battles with strong monsters other than humans will occur frequently. Am I not right?”
“You are correct.”
In fact, he had to go have a showdown with the bosses of those monsters soon.
To such a Patrick, Grot said something that caught his ear.
“In that case, wouldn’t it be better to increase his destructive power rather than his already sufficient speed?”
“Destructive power?”
A phrase that always sounded tempting.
Certainly, an increase in attack power would be a great help when facing the Four Calamities.
“Are you saying this sword can do that?”
“Try holding it.”
At Grot’s confident words, Patrick quietly put down the white sword and picked up the black sword. And…
“Oh?”
The feeling was different.
If the white sword felt like lifting a feather, this black sword boasted a hefty weight.
“It’s quite heavy.”
Patrick was casually holding one in each hand, but an ordinary person would have been able to barely lift it even with both hands.
This was heavier than a two-handed sword.
“It’s an item made of Adamantium.”
“…That also existed in reality?”
“Of course, it is the hardest and densest metal in the world. Normally, it should be alloyed and used only to some extent, but I used it whole, trusting in your strength.”
“……”
Despite its heavy weight, the feel of the weight fitting snugly in his hand was very good.
If he swung this with all his might, just how much destructive power would it produce?
‘This won’t do.’
Unable to hold back any longer, Patrick shot up from his seat and said.
“I’ll have to try it myself to know.”
Thus, Patrick took the three dwarves and moved to his personal training ground.