Bang!
The morning following the failed assassination attempt did not grant Adonis the luxury of staying idle. Before the sun had even kissed the horizon, the heavy door to his quarters was kicked open.
Claudia Nont Hellitrix stood there, her silver armor gleaming with a cold, unforgiving light.
She didn't ask about the bloodstain on the floor or the broken window latch.
Her eyes, sharp as whetted flint, simply raked over his form.
"Get up."
Her command was like a low vibration that seemed to rattle his very bones.
"The world does not wait for the weak to stop bleeding."
It seemed she had been aware of the assassination attempt.
Adonis didn't question further.
Thus began the twenty-nine days of hell that would redefine Adonis's existence.
The first week was dedicated to what Claudia called "Foundation of the Nomad."
It started with the runs. She didn't just want him to run laps around the garden anymore; she led him out of the Kingsbane gates and pointed toward the jagged peaks of the Iron-Spine Mountains.
"Adonis, you need to run until your lungs burn. And when they burn, run until they bleed. When they bleed, keep running until you forget you have them," she stated, galloping alongside him on her majestic warhorse while he traveled on foot.
Adonis covered hundreds of kilometers during those first seven days. His new Chaotic Harem Body was his only saving grace.
As his muscles tore, the biological manipulation trait allowed him to knit them back together mid-stride, denser and more efficient than before.
He learned to shift his weight to minimize wind resistance and to alter the elasticity of his tendons to act like coiled springs.
By the tenth day, they were no longer just running; they were traversing the neighboring Baronies.
They sprinted through the fertile plains of Barony Hestia and the marshlands of the Grey Sinks.
There, Claudia forced him to maintain a steady pace regardless of the terrain. If he stumbled in the mud, her whip would snap near his heels, a constant reminder that the environment was a foe to be conquered, not an obstacle to be pitied.
Next, as they moved through various towns and villages, the training shifted from physical endurance to the "Intelligence of the Sword."
Claudia would deposit him in a crowded marketplace of a bustling trade town like Oakhaven and give him a single objective.
"Find the man with the scar on his left thumb who is selling poisoned grain. Do not draw your sword. Bring me his name and his employer by sunset," she would order.
Adonis had to learn the subtle art of blending in. He used his face alteration ability to soften his noble features, becoming just another face in the crowd. He sat in dingy taverns, nursing a single cup of watered-down ale, listening to the grumbles of commoners and the whispered boasts of drunken guards.
He learned that the common folk were the lifeblood of information. A disgruntled blacksmith knew more about the quality of a local lord's armory than the lord's own captain. A flower girl knew which knights frequented the brothels and which ones were secretly in debt.
"Information is the first strike of any battle," Claudia taught him one evening over a campfire. "A Swordmaster who knows his enemy's heart can kill them before the steel even leaves the scabbard."
During the third week, they reached the fringes of a Tier-3 Dungeon known as "The Weeping Grotto."
Here, the atmosphere was different. It smelled of ozone, old blood, and damp earth. This was where the Dungeon Divers gathered, mostly battle-hardened men and women with scarred faces and eyes that had seen things no child should know.
Claudia forced Adonis to interact with them.
He wasn't allowed to reveal his status as a Young Lord. To them, he was just a squire-to-be.
He spoke with veterans who had lost limbs to mimic-chests and young Swordmasters who trembled as they polished their staves.
He gathered intelligence on the current "Dungeon Meta," like which monsters were migrating, what loot was being pulled from the lower depths, and which guilds were currently warring over hunting rights.
He learned about the "Order of the Gate," the organization that regulated entry. He watched as they extorted independent divers, demanding forty percent of their spoils just for the right to risk their lives.
"The world is a hierarchy of predators, Adonis," Claudia said, watching him observe a heated argument between a diver and a guard.
"The Crown claims the land, the Guilds claim the dungeons, and the strong claim the weak. Where will you fit in this cycle?"
Adonis looked at the towering entrance of the dungeon, as his eyes glowed with a faint, chaotic light.
"I will be the one who owns the cycle," he thought, though he remained silent.
The final week returned to the discipline of the sword.
Having seen the world, the people, and the dangers, Adonis's perspective on the Backdoor Severance Style evolved. It was no longer just a "deceptive" style; it was a pragmatic one.
Claudia sparred with him daily now. She used a wooden practice sword, but in her hands, it was more dangerous than a sharpened rapier.
"You rely too much on your body's endurance, Adonis," she barked, catching him in the ribs with a blunt thrust that sent him sprawling.
"Your stamina is vast, yes, but your mind must be the core. The Backdoor style is about the 'unexpected.' If I expect you to bend, then bending is no longer a surprise."
Adonis took her words to heart. He began to combine his intelligence-gathering skills with his combat. He studied Claudia's breathing, the way her weight shifted on her heels, and the slight dilation of her pupils before a strike.
He also learned to use the environment. For example: the dust on the ground, the glare of the sun, and the unevenness of the stones.
He also practiced striking not just at the "back," but at the space where the enemy believed they were safe.
And of course he didn't forget about farming Harem Force from Claudia and Millia, even though he was doing it less due to his focus on the training.
Still, it was a considerable number.
[ Harem Force: 2,465 / 2,500 ]
Affection level (Claudia): 66% (secret crush)
***
By the 29th day, Adonis leveled up twice (naturally).
His level was now 3.
The 100 attribute points had been distributed wisely.
[ Level: 3 | Exp: 25/500 ]
[ Strength: 28 (↑20) ]
[ Agility: 28 (↑20) ]
[ Intelligence: 30 (↑15) ]
[ Defense: 24 (↑15) ]
[ Charm: 30 (↑15) ]
[ Luck: 38 (↑15) ]
[ Ether: 101 (0) ]
Agility and Intelligence received the lion's share (20), allowing his mind to process information as fast as his body could move.
Strength and defense were brought to a level where he could finally carry that 200-pound boulder without acting pitiful.
Charm and luck was increased as the same, not only to look "appealing," but also to have a commanding presence that will unconsciously make other obey his words.
As the final sun set on his training period, he stood on the highest mountai overlooking the Kingsbane Duchy.
Now, Adonis Kingsbane was unrecognizable from the boy who had first stepped into the courtyard. His skin was tanned by the sun and toughened by the wind. His muscles weren't bulky, but they were dense and corded like high-tension cables.
His eyes, once purely those of a calculating scholar, now held the depth of a veteran traveler. He had seen the poverty of the commoners, the arrogance of the minor nobility, the desperation of the divers, and the cold efficiency of the military.
Claudia did everything to make him a true Swordmaster.
And now it was time for her departure.