Who Says I'm Not a Proper Adventurer?

"Lance... You're the worst."

"You made me cry again."

Nia sniffled, laughing as she messily wiped the tears from her cheeks with the back of her hand.

'This is wonderful.'

'So he really didn't leave me behind.'

The smile on the young woman's face was radiant, as if the letter had completely scattered all the gloom in her heart.

'However, you got one thing wrong, Lance. Everyone moves forward. On this trip, I also found scenery I want to see for myself.'

Holding back her tears, Nia eagerly took a thin crystal sliver from the hidden compartment and gently placed it in the groove on the booklet's cover.

As a faint surge of Magic Power flowed, a projection of light and shadow appeared, just as she'd hoped.

In the video,

Lance, wearing a hood, was smiling at the camera and introducing the surrounding scenery.

"Nia, this is Copper Creek Forest. You've never been here, have you?"

"Overhead, it's all towering trees as far as the eye can see. If you go deeper in, you can't even see the sun during the day."

The short, five-second video quickly finished playing.

Nia found it incredibly novel. Excitedly, she took out one crystal sliver after another and played them.

These were all different scenes Lance had recorded in Copper Creek Forest during his time there.

There was a golden sunset filtering through the gaps in the leaves, a clear riverbed covered in pebbles, and the deep, quiet, and gloomy parts of the forest.

Nia watched, completely engrossed.

Until she took out the last crystal sliver.

The image lit up.

This time, the scene was a muddy, filthy-looking swamp.

The Lance in the video had lost his earlier composure. He had a few noticeable smudges of mud on his cheeks, making him look like a messy kitten.

"Look here, this glowing stuff on the ground is Moonlight Moss."

Seeing Lance's disheveled appearance, Nia couldn't help but let out a PFFT of laughter.

However, in the final two seconds, just as the video was about to end,

a clear, pleasant female voice that definitely didn't belong to Lance suddenly came from off-camera.

"Senior, I've set it down. Let's go to the next spot."

As soon as the voice faded,

the projected light dissipated, and the video was cut off completely.

The smile on Nia's face instantly froze.

Her expression seemed to glitch, as if her brain had stopped working.

Her eyes widened, as if she couldn't believe her ears. She fumbled to play the crystal sliver again.

The video replayed.

"Senior, I've set it down. Let's go to the next spot."

This time, she heard it perfectly clearly.

'There really is another voice! And it's a young girl's voice! Who is that girl who called him 'Senior'?'

Nia subconsciously clutched the collar of her shirt. The heart that had been filled with warmth was now uncontrollably overcome by a heavy, stifling, sour feeling.

...

'Nia is probably really happy right now.'

Lance returned home, smugly speculating to himself as he took off his jacket.

'In his opinion, girls' minds were actually easy to understand. With that carefully prepared gift and the heartfelt letter he wrote, Nia's anger must have completely vanished by now. She might even greet me with a radiant smile when I go to the Guild tomorrow morning.'

With a clear conscience, Lance pulled his focus back to the important business of getting stronger.

He glanced up at the wall clock.

'It's still early. Tonight's goal is clear: grind the two Skills that are about to break through to Level 4 and force out a new Specialty. When morning comes, I'll go to the Veterans' Guild or somewhere else to find and practice a suitable Weapon Skill. Then I'll have basically met the strict Skill requirements for my class change.'

With this in mind, Lance stripped off his excess clothing and began a new round of hellish training for the day.

These past few days, however, to further squeeze out his body's potential, he had started adding weights.

Like right now.

Heavy weight bags were strapped to his wrists and ankles.

Each wrist carried 8 kilograms, each leg was strapped with 12 kilograms, and with the addition of a special vest filled with metal bars, it all added up to nearly 50 kilograms.

In total, the weights on his body reached a terrifying 90 kilograms.

Based on his Body Attributes without activating his Breathing Technique, he wouldn't have needed such an exaggerated amount of weight at all; just a few weight bags would have been enough for a good training effect.

But his normal training now involved keeping the Dragon Hunting Breathing Combat Technique active the entire time.

In that Ether Resonance State, his Power and agility had already surpassed the limits of an Ordinary person.

He had to match it with even more insane weights to make his muscles feel a tearing pressure.

And the increased weight didn't just boost the rate at which he gained Skill Proficiency.

More importantly, it was about pushing his Basic Attributes to their absolute limit.

After just two days of this extra training, his Agility Attribute, which had been stagnant for a while, had been forcefully pushed up by 1 point, reaching 7 Points.

Moreover, he had a strong premonition.

As long as he could get that core Skill to break through to Level 4 today, it would definitely bring him a huge surprise.

Hooo...

As his Breathing Technique operated furiously, blasts of scorching hot air shot from his nostrils.

The weighted training consumed an enormous amount of stamina and nutrients.

Sweat rolled down the lines of his muscles like beads from a broken string, only to be quickly dried by his rapidly rising body temperature, leaving a layer of white salt stains on his skin.

But Lance paid it no mind.

The entire courtyard was now filled with the whistling and booming sounds of his fists cutting through the air.

Like a tireless pile driver, he furiously practiced the moves of the Azure Dragon Extreme Intent Style.

From time to time, he would mix in a sharp Demon Body Technique.

Especially the Flame-Splitting Claw—the crimson trail of flames it left when swung was particularly dazzling in the night.

Lance now quite enjoyed completely draining his internal Ethereal Energy Pool without restraint during his training.

Then, he would rely on his high-intensity Breathing Technique to refill the depleted Energy Pool.

Deplete, recover.

Deplete again, recover again.

Over and over.

He used this almost masochistic method to forcibly train his body's adaptability to the rampaging Ether.

At first, using Demon Body Techniques so frantically would cause stabbing pains in his body.

Now, he could execute combos fluidly, no longer feeling that sense of obstruction when Energy flowed.

And that small Ethereal Energy Pool, under his life-risking expansion over the past few days, had been forcefully stretched to 20.5 units.

Now, even if he carelessly used the Cleaning Skill enchanted on his ring,

that tiny, insignificant consumption was not even a drop in the bucket for him.

Hah!

Just then, Lance let out a low roar.

His right claw shot out with unstoppable momentum, and the crimson trail of flames actually burst into a dazzling shower of sparks in the air.

At the same time, a familiar system notification sounded in his mind.

[Azure Dragon Extreme Intent Style proficiency +1, Level 3 → Level 4]

[Agility +1, Power +1]

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