Swordsman's Regression: Reawakened as a Necromancer-Chapter 36: Testing the Gear

The location he chose to test the gear was one of the many Training Halls in Wolsend.

Some of these Halls were owned and dedicated to academies, like the Wolsend Shield Academy and the Everlasting Star Academy in the scholar district of the city, while others were public property of the city itself.

​This was one of the latter.

The building was tall and round, like a dome. It was made of black stone and mana-reinforced glass, sitting like a sleeping beast in the center of the city’s battle district.

Percival approached the gatekeeper, a retired soldier with a scar bisecting a bushy eyebrow.

He placed five silver into the man’s waiting palm. The gatekeeper grunted, stepping aside to let him pass.

Percival entered into the vast facility. Training Halls, just like this one, were merely a grand space split into three floors.

On these floors were rows upon rows of "Training Squares" lining the floor. They resembled giant tiles, but each of them possessed massive, transparent cubes of magical energy.

These Training Squares had one simple function: From the outside, they looked like cages of magical glass, where Awakeners battled unseeable entities.

But inside? Inside, they were entire worlds.

Percival walked past a square where a Fire Mage appeared to be shooting flame balls at the air, but was actually engaged in a duel with a Snowstorm Bear.

In another, a Berseker swung his axe against the spectral charge of a Phantom Minotaur.

They were standing on ordinary squares, but they were also in unique worlds; replicas of popular Gate Worlds to hone their skills, test their weapons, and refine their tactics.

Of course there wasn’t EXP to be gained here, unless a specific Quest had sent the Awakener on a particular mission in this Hall.

Percival found an empty square in the far corner and stepped inside.

Once he entered, a translucent wall covered him from all sides, turning the square to a cube.

The noise of the hall vanished instantly, replaced by a digital silence.

A floating interface appeared.

⸢Select Simulation Environment⸥

Percival scrolled past Devilmen Crypts and Forest of Wolves. He settled on a simple Goblin Kingdom.

⸢Threats: Evolved Goblins, High Kobolds⸥

’Oh. Not exactly simple then.’

⸢Select Difficulty⸥

⸢Difficulty: Nightmare (Tier 4/5)⸥

He tapped Start.

Suddenly, the transparent walls dissolved into a dense, humid jungle.

Percival could suddenly feel breeze; he could smell the wet moss and the rotting vegetation of this goblin jungle, and he could hear birds chip and the wind howl in the distance.

With a thought, he summoned his Inventory and selected his new acquisitions.

⸢Armor: Obsidian Ironwolf Set (B-Grade)⸥

⸢Weapon: Lightpiercer (B-Grade)⸥

He equipped the gear.

The sound of metal locking against metal filled his ears as the Obsidian Ironwolf armor materialized over his body.

The matte black plates snapped into place, his pauldrons, shoulder and chest plates, his gauntlets, greaves and even sabatons.

It felt lighter than his old leather despite offering ten times the protection.

He felt the ⸢Shadow Prowl⸥ Aspect activate immediately. A cool sensation running down his legs, lightening his step.

⸢Agility: +9⸥

Then, the Lightpiercer appeared in his now empty sheath.

He drew the B-Grade sword.

Slink, it sang as he held it before him, watching the enchanting luminescent at the edges of a blade.

As a Swordsman, the blade was already perfectly balanced, as any blade would.

But with this higher-grade sword, Percival knew he could finally allow himself to use more powerful Swordsman Skills that would have shattered the steel of his earlier swords.

’Let’s see what you can do,’ he thought.

KREEEEE!

From the canopy, six High Kobolds dropped, wielding jagged scimitars. They growled at him, baring their yellow teeth as they advanced.

Percival spun his sword into a side guard, then he ⸢Grave Stepped⸥.

Swoosh!

He disappeared into blue smoke and reappeared behind the confused Kobolds.

Eekkk! One cried, trying to alert its cohort of the wolf-maned reaper behind them.

Shing!

Percival swung the Lightpiercer, creating an arc of magic that launched them into the air. The stun damage activated on impact, blinding the small beasts as they were thrown into suspension.

Percival moved at the same time, swinging and slashing his sword through their bodies that were yet to even touch the ground.

There was barely any resistance.

Kobolds had thick enough skin. But to the Lightpiercer, their skin was butter, and it was a hot knife.

The ⸢Luminous Edge⸥ Aspect ignored 15% of the target’s physical defense, which allowed the blade to slide through the Kobold’s tough, scaly hide with no deterrence.

Kobold body parts rained on the floor when Percival landed at the other end, snapping his sword to the side to fling their disgusting blood from the blade of his blessed sword.

⸢Kobolds have been neutralized⸥

The next threat, Goblins, showed up not long after.

Snarling and shrieking, they swung their clubs at him. They were disorganized.

It reminded him of his Skeletons.

Percival easily danced through them.

Unlike the leather armor, the Obsidian Ironwolf armor allowed him to pivot and slide with zero restriction.

Not that he necessarily feared damage from these pesky green beasts, but his reason for coming here was to test his new equipment.

He ducked under a massive club, and now satisfied with the armor, be thrust forward with ⸢Gale Thrust⸥.

The spiral of wind magic drilled through the Goblin’s chest, killing others that were lined up behind it.

For the rest, Percival channeled his Necromancer mana, summoning ⸢Soulfire⸥.

The azure flames erupted along the length of the Lightpiercer, and he spun it a half circle.

⸢Bladewave⸥

A crescent of blue fire and white light tore through the jungle clearing. It sliced through three Goblins at the waist, cauterizing the wounds instantly with necrotic heat.

Percival marveled at the output.

Indeed, a Swordsman’s skill was only as powerful as his weapon, but couldn’t the same be said for a Necromancer?

That ⸢Soulfire⸥ + ⸢Bladewave⸥ combo was stronger than any he had ever done prior.

This was an immensely exciting upgrade. The Sword mana and Death mana truly flowed easier now, encouraged by the high-grade conduit of his new weapon.

Confident, Percival moved on.

After slaughtering Evolved Goblins—taller, more agile variants—and more High Kobolds, he finally faced the Evolved Goblin Knight, the apex predator of this simulation.

It lunged from the side, wielding a scimitar and a machete, aiming the scimitar for Percival’s neck.

Rather than parry with his sword, Percival raised his left gauntlet.

CLANG!!

The scimitar sparked against the B-Grade Obsidian plating, barely causing a strain or a flinch from the Necromancer.

The Defense buff (+30) absorbed the shock completely.

He grabbed the Goblin Knight’s face with his armored right hand and leaped so high in the air, he heard the goblin cry for its mother, before he slammed the beast hard into the ground.

"Too slow," he muttered.

He stood up, spun the Lightpiercer, and pierced it right through the heart of the Goblin Knight.

Eeeerrrkkk, it let out a final shriek of pain, before evaporating to yellow light.

⸢Simulation Complete⸥

The jungle dissolved, vanishing like the goblins into pixels of light.

Percival stood in the center of the transparent square, his chest heaving slightly, the sword held loosely at his side.

Training continued all around him.

He sheathed the blade. Click.

’It works well enough,’ he thought. ’Most of my B-Grade and even A-Grade Skills function fine without drawbacks. I couldn’t test S-Grade Skills because of the level cap, but I doubt a B-Grade weapon could sustain them.’

’Still,’ he stepped out of the square, walking past other Awakeners jumping, yelling and slicing inside their cubes, ’I don’t expect to use my S-Grade Skills any time soon. The Lightpiercer can function as a long term weapon for me if I so desire.’

And yet...

Percival stared at his gauntleted hands.

Why did he feel unsatisfied?

Oh, he knew why.

His mind drifted back to the equipment store. To the Scythe held by the display mannequin.

Valen had said it was a liability. The attacks were telegraphed, it had poor recovery, and awkward range.

Percival knew the Merchant was right. Efficiency was the god of the battlefield. Why choose a weapon that made fighting harder?

A voice in his head whispered the answer.

’Because it’s a challenge.’

He hadn’t struggled to master a weapon in years. The sword was an extension of his soul; using it was as natural as breathing.

There was no growth in it, only maintenance.

It was the gift that came with being a Swordsman: instant mastery of any sword. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

But the Scythe? That would have been a self-inflicted war. A struggle to force an awkward, reaping tool into a weapon of precision.

’I cowarded out,’ he realized, the thought stinging his ego more than any goblin club could. ’I chose the familiar path because I didn’t want to be a novice at anything. I don’t have the time.’

He shook his head, forcing the thought away. He was right to reject the scythe.

Output was what mattered. Security was what mattered.

There was no room for vanity in a second life.

Only his purpose.

Trying to master the scythe would only distract him from his purpose. So, focus on your purpose, Percival.

He took a deep breath and stepped out of the Hall.

High above, on the observation deck, a figure watched him go.

He wore the dark grey robes of a Guild Warden, the Golden Spire sigil stitched in silver thread over his heart.

Without a word, the warden turned and hurried down the corridor, purpose in his footsteps.