Considering that I'll be fighting the boss monster anyway... I decided to accept Ivan's request. And immediately after doing so, he smiled at me. Though, it's weird to see an almost-skeleton face smile. "Can I ask something?" "Why are you so angry at the boss monster?" I asked him that question. -Yeah, I was wondering as well. Zephyrus and Pyro followed. Ivan became quiet at my question, and it started to scare me. I didn't show it on my face. Then finally, after a while... -Remember when I said all the servants died? I just nodded at his question. -It's not entirely true... And then Ivan declared that! -One of the servants survived. Then suddenly, his already scary face became even scarier as he got angry! And with that face... -He's the one that led the demon here. He conspired with them to destroy the territory! Ivan exclaimed in anger. -For a fucking eternal life?! His enraged voice sent shivers down my spine. I just waited in silence, letting Ivan calm himself down. Zephyrus and Pyro did the same. Ivan turned to face me. -With your current strength, you can't win against that bitch. 'His words are starting to get more vile now.' It's kinda funny seeing a skeleton curse. "Well, I already kinda expected the boss to be stronger than me." Hearing my words, Ivan nodded his head. And looking me straight in the eyes... -I'll help you get stronger. Ivan said that seriously. And before I could even respond properly... -I'll teach you how to properly wield the sword. I'll be teaching you our family's techniques. I swung my sword again and again. And seeing me do that... -Wrong! Your posture, distribution of strength, hand and feet placement... all wrong! We immediately started training as soon as I accepted his suggestion to teach me. -Place your feet and hands , and swing ... Ivan said, demonstrating a simple but clean vertical slash. I imitated his stance and tried my best to copy his moves, and with that... I swung my sword straight downward! And his words made me smile. -But that's not enough. Do it a few more times. My smile immediately disappeared after hearing that. I continued swinging my sword again and again. -Do your best, young man. He might've lost a lot of his strength, but Ivan was a very strong swordmaster before. And Zephyrus did the same. -No! Your hand is holding the hilt too firmly! And I just groaned in annoyance. After about 8 hours... "Haaa... haaa... huff..." I was out of breath, tired from swinging my sword. It felt like my arms were about to fall off. And seeing me like that... -That's enough for today. You should rest first. Ivan stopped our training. And then I let go of my sword. I immediately sat on the ground, catching my breath. I was so exhausted, hungry, and thirsty. Pyro, concerned about my condition, quickly approached me. "Haaa... I'm... huff... fine..." I said to reassure him, but he didn't seem to believe me. Zephyrus said as he flew over. And looking at him... I simply replied and nodded my head. After resting for a while, I headed out of the mansion with Zephyrus and Pyro. I then drank a lot of water in the spring, and while I was there... I also ate the last stock of Giant Boar meat I had. 'Ugh, my body is killing me...' I thought, feeling pain all over. It felt like my muscles were complaining about being overworked. But even though I want to stop the training... I need Ivan's teaching, after all. 'I need to get strong fast and leave this place.' And so, I need to endure this. After eating and drinking on the 1st floor... I cleaned up the left and middle rooms down there, killing the monster wolves and kobolds. And after doing that... I went back to where Ivan was. -You should rest properly, and after that, we'll continue the training. Ivan said that as soon as I came back. "Yeah, I'm just here to say see you later." -See you later, Ivan. Pyro and Zephyrus followed. And with a smile on his face... -Haha, yeah, see you later. Oddly enough, he didn't look scary anymore to me. I went back to the 1st room on the left. Though, before doing so... "I'll be using your room." -Feel free to. So rest up properly. Ivan said that to me. And just like that, before I knew it... 10 days had already passed. -You've really improved a lot. Ivan said, seeing me demonstrate the moves he taught me these past days. -You're not really talented, but you make up for it with hard work and pure dedication. And hearing his words... All I could do was thank him. "It's all because you're the one that taught me." I added, smiling at him. -Is that so? I'm flustered. Ivan responded, smiling. "Yeah, you don't really look like it." And I jokingly added, seeing his creepy rotting face smile. We'd gotten really close after spending so much time with each other. Pyro then approached me and congratulated me on my improvement. -You're not that weak anymore, huh. And Zephyrus kind of did the same. I responded to both of them. "Anyway, I should rest now." Normally, I would train more until I was exhausted. But today was different. I'm gonna fight the Cannibal Tiger tomorrow! I left the room with Pyro on my shoulder and Zephyrus on my head.