It had been two days in-game—roughly twenty days in real life.
Asher was now...
"Hup! Hya!"
...doing swordsmanship practice.
Despite receiving the power of the Black Crown card, Asher still had no idea how to use it—or what it even did. Basically, he was the same as a normal player, except with some influence over the living armors and maybe a few demons.
Still, if he was going to be a king, he had to look strong.
And Asher was the kind of guy who needed to flex during battle.
So, while growing his influence over the Khavlac Region, he started daily training sessions with Gavin in the courtyard outside the throne room.
"King... is there a need… to do this…?" Gavin asked in his usual flat tone.
"Because a king has to be strong! Take this!"
What he said wasn't completely wrong—but mostly, Asher just wanted to look cool.
"As expected… of our king…" Gavin replied, completely missing the point, taking the words at face value with robotic admiration.
In the alpha and beta, Asher had been a warrior class—a melee-focused player. So he thought he could at least hold his ground against Gavin for a minute.
He was utterly mistaken.
"Kuh!"
Despite his background, Asher had always relied on system-assist combat skills—animations that moved his body for him. Now, stripped of a class and forced to fight manually, he was basically just a guy with a stick.
In this world, players could no longer simply buy power. Classless skills—ones that weren't tied to a specific class—could only be unlocked through actual effort. No shortcuts.
At first, this system was hated. But eventually, players realized something:
Rich kids couldn't pay their way to the top anymore.
If you wanted those powerful universal skills, you had to earn them with sweat.
The one Asher aimed for was:
[Slash]
Its requirement was simple but brutal:
Successfully slash an enemy two levels higher than you ten times, in three different ways.
He asked Gavin to help him train—knowing Gavin was high-level—but then he had the bright idea to say:
"Don't hold back."
Now he was paying for it.
He couldn't even scratch Gavin. And his pride wouldn't let him take those words back.
"I'll get you!"
"Come…" Gavin replied calmly.
To anyone watching, it looked like a friendly spar.
To Asher, it was hell.
He was so frustrated, he was seriously considering trying to cut Gavin in half.
Meanwhile, Gavin wasn't even trying. He simply dodged or parried. No buffs, no magic. Not even a bead of sweat—could armor even sweat?
Asher gritted his teeth. He had to figure this out.
He stabbed his sword into the ground like a cane and studied Gavin's movements.
Gavin used a longsword. Asher had a curved sabre he found somewhere. That meant Gavin had more reach.
If Asher wanted a shot, he had to disarm him first.
Gripping his sabre again, Asher took a stance.
Gavin noticed the change and mirrored it.
Without hesitation, Asher lunged—a direct thrust to the chest.
Gavin deflected it with ease.
But that was exactly what Asher wanted.
Letting the momentum carry him sideways, Asher spun and delivered a left kick to Gavin's sword arm.
It didn't do much damage—but it connected.
I can hurt him…!
He followed up immediately with a right-leg kick to Gavin's abdomen, forcing the knight to stagger back.
"Ugh…"
Gavin rebalanced himself—but it was too late. Asher charged, this time going for a diagonal slash.
Gavin moved to parry again—but Asher twisted his sabre mid-swing, using the curve to hook under the guard of Gavin's sword.
With a sharp yank, the weapon flew from Gavin's hand.
Then—knee to the gut.
Gavin bent forward.
"Now!"
Asher focused his strengthening magic, surged with energy, and struck.
Ten diagonal slashes across Gavin's chest.
Ten vertical slashes on the joints.
Horizontal slashes on the back and front.
By the time he stopped, Gavin was little more than a heap of shredded metal.
"Haah… hah… sorry… Gavin…"
"I-It's… no… problem…" Gavin replied from the pile, slightly twitching.
They both collapsed—one from exhaustion, the other from being completely dismantled.
Then—
[Congratulations! You've obtained [Slash (Superior)] for slashing an enemy 20 levels higher than yourself!]