[You've slain a Mutilator Macaque Lv.14.]
[You've obtained 80 Experience Points.]
[You've obtained 10 Swordcoins.]
[You've obtained (1) Novice Swordheart Core.]
Daru, for the last three and a half hours, has been hunting Swordspawns for three reasons: to clear his mind, to level himself up, and to unseal his sword.
He naturally made quite a bit of progress, leveling up two more times and obtaining a decent amount of Swordheart Cores, though regrettably, they still weren't enough.
Daru tapped on his belt bag to open his inventory.
He then withdrew the stack of Novice Swordheart Cores and slashed them in half using his tachi, snapping his fingers afterwards to check his status before he was forced to leave the Myriad Sword Realm.
He wanted to check his progress.
===
Bladeborn: Daru Finnley
Level 12 (7,580 to level up)
Titles: Bob's Sworn Brother [Active(Display)(Effect)]
Secondary Titles: None
Blessings: [Goddess ???????'s Minor Blessing (???? ????'s ???)]
Curses: [Yama's Displeasure (Soulbound Sword)] [Goddess Fortuna's Frown]
Strength: 40 (+2)
Dexterity: 46 (+3)
Agility: 44 (+3)
Stamina: 39 (+2)
Vitality: 29 (+2)
Perception: 54
Luck: 0 (+50)
===
Sword Status:
Name: O??mar? ??????u??
Type: Tachi
Tier: F
Status: Sealed (Swordheart Cores - 89/100)
Sword Skills: [Locked]
Passives: [Locked]
===
Daru nodded in satisfaction. Perhaps tomorrow he would be able to unseal his sword and finally learn its true name.
Wandering the Monkey Mountain, a location south of Agaron and the Critter Forest, he unfortunately didn't stumble upon quest trigger Swordspawns or hidden dungeons.
All he could do was hunt the highest level of Swordspawns in the area, the Mutilator Macaques.
But at least he was able to find his path again.
He was pursuing excellence in Swordsmanship to become a great swordsman.
However, he realized that the term was now outdated, and this was the root of his dilemma.
What he actually wanted now was to become an excellent Bladeborn—the warriors of humanity in the Sword Trials.
Being so meant that he would not only be pursuing excellence for the sake of entertainment but also for the sake of being a reliable pillar of his race.
It was a much more noble path, and Daru very much preferred to walk this one.
He realized he was only pursuing entertainment through the sword since there were no other options in the past.
Neo-Earth was simply too peaceful.
In contrast, battles in the Myriad Sword Realm were fiercer, more exhilarating, and carried the weight of true consequences.
Defeat didn't mean immediate death, but it equated to losing a third of one's life.
One cannot lose more than three times without extra lives, and according to Instructor Talon, obtaining them was incredibly difficult.
It was simply the perfect combat setting for Daru.
He couldn't help but praise the gods' ingenuity.
Having already decided to be an excellent Bladeborn instead of an excellent Swordsman, Daru planned to allot at least an hour a day for self-study.
He can't settle for just the everyday lectures. If he only had the same amount of knowledge as everyone else, how would he get ahead?
Checking the forums from time to time was also an idea he was pondering.
The only reason he was still a bit unsure about this was that, from what he heard from his classmates, the forums are quite addictive, and an hour or two would've passed without you knowing it.
This was a rather horrifying thought to Daru.
…Closing his status window, he decided to use what remained of his time to try and move towards the next area, as the experience points he was obtaining from the Mutilator Macaques were a bit unsatisfactory now.
The battles were also becoming easier.
Fighting Swordspawns four or five levels ahead of him was the sweet spot, just like Instructor Talon said.
Around seven minutes of traveling later, a massive cave entrance came into view, though it was still quite a distance away.
Daru wanted to check it out.
Unfortunately, the world warped into a white void, then to the blurred ceiling of his classroom.
Everyone's five hours were up.
Pressing a button in his slumber capsule, the transparent protection lid opened.
Daru stood up and stretched. Once again, his classmates were talking excitedly.
"Hahahaha! I told you hunting spawns together was the thing to do!"
"Yeah, although it divided the experience points among the two of us, we were able to kill those Bolo Bobcats in less than half the time we would otherwise use killing the lower-leveled Fencer Foxes solo!"
"I got a gathering quest! Hahaha! Once I clear this, I'll be half a level ahead!"
"A quest?! How?! Where?!"
"Find it out yourself, or pay for the information!"
"Damn it, Butch, how the hell are you so lucky?! Obtaining a C-Tier chestplate just like that…"
Everyone was absolutely animated once more. But the moment the B-rankers spoke, everyone listened.
They were the ones in the lead, after all, and everyone wanted to know how much they had progressed in two days.
There were two uninterested individuals, though: Daru and Sylphina.
Both of them left the room immediately.
Of course, while the B-rankers believed that the latter had the right to be uninterested, Daru didn't, and they were displeased that he left the room and ignored them.
This added to the fallen sword prince's list of "sins".
They'll make sure to make him pay when they get the chance later, but for now, they shall enjoy themselves discussing matters about the Myriad Sword Realm with just enough loudness for their classmates to hear of their feats.
In their minds, the delusional sword prince was merely desperate to grab whatever bit of attention he could before what remained of his fake reputation faded completely.