Chapter 18

The Game Difficulty
Is Crazy

Time passed, and the day of the outdoor training arrived.

Glen and the apprentice knights, led by Tris, moved to the northern forest of the Wordsworth territory.

First came stretching and theory lessons.

Then basic training and sparring.

After finishing the usual daily training, it was only in the late afternoon that the real “outdoor training” finally began.

And after several hours passed—

“There! Over there! A human!”

“Grrrrr!”

With growling monstrous cries, they burst out from between the trees.

A hyena’s head baring sharp fangs full of hostility. And a human-like body holding crude spears and shields.

They were Gnolls, monsters that lived in groups in the northern forest.

“Grrrk… You dare invade our territory! Don’t think you’ll return safely!”

One particularly fast Gnoll thrust the spear it was holding forward.

But that was as far as it got.

Kang—

The Gnoll’s attack was easily blocked by the sword swung by its opponent.

“Huh?!”

“Talking about ‘your territory,’ huh.”

The one who received the attack was an apprentice knight with ash-gray eyes and hair.

Glen spoke coldly.

“This place was originally our territory.”

Slash—

As the sharp blade pierced through its chest, the creature died on the spot.

“You dare kill our kin!”

“Kraaaah! I’ll tear your limbs apart while you’re still alive!”

The enraged Gnolls screamed wildly.

More than a dozen Gnolls charged at Glen with spears and swords.

Of course, Glen was not alone.

“Move! Protect the young master!”

The apprentice knights who had been standing in formation around Glen raised their shields.

The next moment, the raging Gnolls crashed into the shields—

Kaaang—

—and failed, collapsing from the impact.

The apprentice knights did not miss the opening.

“Now! Counterattack!”

Shing—!

At Glen’s command, the apprentice knights all adjusted their grips on their swords.

Then they cut into the Gnoll group whose formation had collapsed.

“Yelp!”

“Kyaaah! Cowardly—!”

The battle was completely one-sided.

The disorganized group of Gnolls was easily swept away by the apprentice knights.

“Krk! Run away!”

In the end, a Gnoll that looked like the leader declared a retreat.

The Gnoll group turned around.

But that was an opportunity.

An enemy that turned its back on Glen was the finest feast imaginable.

Thud—

Glen kicked off the ground and leaped into the fleeing Gnoll group.

A lightly swung sword.

Shraaak—

A Gnoll’s head flew into the air.

A few Gnolls hurriedly readjusted their spears to stop Glen, but it was too late.

Another slash followed.

“Yelp!”

“Kyaaaah!”

Glen’s sword cut through the chests of two Gnolls.

It was nothing short of a one-sided hunt.

The difference between Gnolls, low-grade monsters around 1-star level, and Glen, who had defeated a 4-star holy knight even by luck, was obvious.

‘How can this be…’

Tasha, an apprentice knight, muttered as she pulled her sword out of a Gnoll’s chest.

At first, she thought Glen was reckless for breaking away from the formation and charging into the middle of the enemies.

But after seeing the sword dance Glen displayed, she could not hide her shock.

Of course, she already knew Glen’s swordsmanship was excellent from watching his sparring with Tris at the training hall.

But sparring and real combat were different.

Even she, who was among the top apprentice knights, felt her heart pound wildly whenever she stabbed a Gnoll.

‘But the young master…’

He was cutting down Gnolls as if he were a blood-starved beast.

It almost felt like he had some deep grudge against Gnolls.

‘Still, I can’t fall behind. I have to do better.’

Tasha hardened her resolve, her distinctive red eyes flashing.

Meanwhile, in the center of the fleeing Gnolls, Glen was swinging his sword while cheering inwardly.

‘Ah, this is sweet!’

Shraaak—

“Kraaaah!”

Each time a Gnoll fell, happiness filled the corners of Glen’s eyes.

Anyone seeing him now would think of a berserker crazed by blood.

But there was a reason Glen was so happy while cutting down Gnolls.

This outdoor training was an incredibly good event for him.

Even while swinging his sword, Glen kept checking the system messages appearing at the edge of his vision.

《Strength has increased by 1.》
《Stamina has increased by 1.》
《Skill “Piercing Madness” proficiency has increased by 1. Current proficiency: 8/10》

‘My stats go up this much in just thirty minutes of fighting. How could I not smile?’

Gray Eden was, undeniably, an RPG game.

Although there were no levels, the concept of experience still existed, and accumulating it granted more stats.

And naturally, experience was gained in much greater amounts through real combat than through training.

In other words, hunting monsters was far more efficient for growth than swinging a sword in the air or sparring with people.

And where Glen was now was not the mansion’s training hall, but the Gnoll territory in the northern forest.

‘You have to row while the tide is in.’

If there was a chance, he needed to cut down even one more monster.

Of course, because the gap between himself and the Gnolls was so large, the stat increases were less than he had hoped.

Still, it was better than slowly laying foundations in the training hall.

Slash—

“Yeeelp!”

《Agility has increased by 1.》

‘Ah, I really appreciate this, sister.’

Glen raised the corner of his mouth.

And he praised Tris in his heart for planning monster hunting as part of the outdoor training program.

A short distance away from the forest where the apprentice knights and Gnolls were clashing.

Tris and Gregory were watching the situation from a rocky hill.

The other instructors were standing by near the apprentice knights, in case a high-level monster appeared.

“This is better than expected.”

“It truly is.”

Tris nodded.

She wore a satisfied smile.

Gregory spoke.

“Choosing a group of Gnolls as training opponents for the apprentice knights was an excellent decision.”

Even as low-grade monsters, Gnolls were intelligent beings. They picked up weapons, trained with them, and mimicked human armies.

Though they were emotional and sloppy, perhaps due to their hyena heads, they were perfect training opponents.

“Indeed. Thanks to that, they’re getting good practice forming shield formations and blocking attacks before counterattacking.”

Blocking the enemy’s attack, then counterattacking.

That was the way the holy knights of the Papal State fought.

“However, Young Master Glen… Wasn’t his action at the end a bit reckless?”

Gregory stroked his beard.

“He certainly has outstanding individual skill, but chasing the enemy alone like that is a bit…”

“You’re right, Sir Gregory. If the opponent hadn’t been low-grade monsters like Gnolls, Glen’s actions would have been dangerous for both himself and his comrades. But…”

Tris knew.

“Sir Gregory. Glen didn’t leave the formation because he got excited.”

“Yes? What do you mean?”

“Look.”

Tris pointed toward the battlefield.

Gregory narrowed his eyes.

The apprentice knights were finishing off the remaining Gnolls in formation. And dozens of steps ahead of them, Glen was slaughtering enemies.

In front of him, the Gnoll leader was fleeing with its tail tucked between its legs.

“Glen simply judged that there was no longer a need to maintain the formation.”

“…I see.”

Gregory nodded slowly.

The purpose of forming a shield formation in battle was to first defend against the enemy’s attacks.

But if the enemy threat was completely gone, there was no need to maintain it.

“Still, normally one would consider the possibility of additional attacks—”

“There won’t be any.”

Tris smiled faintly.

“We’re watching over them.”

“…Hah.”

Gregory let out a sound of realization.

A short distance away from the apprentice knights, instructors were on standby for unexpected situations.

“He thought of all that?”

“Maybe. Or maybe not.”

As Tris said, Glen might have analyzed all those factors before leaving the formation.

Or he might have simply chased the enemy in excitement, with circumstances coincidentally aligning.

And Tris believed the former was more likely.

‘Every time he spars, he tries to read all of his opponent’s moves.’

The Glen she had observed over the past few months was not someone swayed by such carelessness.

“For now, we should keep watching. It’s hard to judge from just this one battle.”

“We’ll know by tomorrow. It’s not over yet.”

Waaahhh—!

Cheers rose from below the hill.

It seemed Glen had finished off the Gnoll leader at the end of the pursuit.

“Shall we go down?”

“Yes, my lady.”

Tris and Gregory slowly descended the rocky hill.

The sun was setting.

The apprentice knights sat around the campfire at the campsite.

“Ughhh, I feel like I’m going to die.”

“Rolling us around all day and then making us fight monsters in the afternoon—she’s a demon, a demon.”

“Who planned this kind of training?”

“Lady Tris, obviously.”

If they listed today’s schedule, it went like this:

A three-hour march from the Wordsworth mansion to the northern forest, six hours of usual training at the training hall.

And then a battle with a group of Gnolls.

Perhaps because the training was several times harder than usual, the apprentice knights kept groaning.

But the return was scheduled for tomorrow.

They had to camp in the northern forest tonight.

“Ah, I want to go back, take a hot bath, and sleep in a bed.”

“Hah, even the Holy Spear Order in the capital wouldn’t train like this.”

“They train even harder. I heard they spend half the year in the forest starting from age fifteen.”

“They endure that kind of insane training? Are they even human? They’re monsters.”

“We have two who could do it too.”

“Who?”

“Tasha and Young Master Glen.”

Silence fell.

Then one apprentice knight muttered,

“With those two, it might be possible. They were no joke during the Gnoll hunt earlier.”

“Right? Especially Young Master Glen. At first I was shocked when he left the formation, but he ended up killing the leader. It’s scary when you see that.”

“But where did he go?”

Only then did the apprentice knights realize Glen was not among them.

They looked around, turning their heads.

But Glen was nowhere near the instructors or the campfire.

“Yeah, now that you mention it. Haven’t seen him for a while. Anyone see Young Master Glen?”

“I did.”

Tasha, who had been quiet all along, raised her hand with her usual expressionless face.

“Where did he go?”

“He went to practice swordsmanship.”

She pointed toward the dark, densely wooded forest.

“At this hour?”

“After training like that all day?!”

Even Tasha, famous as a training addict, was skipping personal training today due to exhaustion.

The apprentice knights stared with their mouths hanging open.

Meanwhile, Glen was busy clearing grass in a part of the forest far from the campsite.

‘I can’t just pass through the northern forest.’

Crunch, crunch—

The forest was filled with countless kinds of plants.

And among them were materials used for various items, such as elixirs and accessories.

‘They kept catching my eye.’

As a veteran Gray Eden player, Glen had noticed familiar materials throughout the day.

That was why he came to gather them, even during the evening.

“Found it.”

A clump of grass with a faint gray color. It was Girmo Grass, imbued with the power to repel evil spirits.

The corners of Glen’s mouth lifted.

Its uses were many.

With a few more materials, it could be made into an elixir, or used as an enhancement material for accessories or weapons.

‘Let’s collect as much as possible.’

Since it had many uses, stocking up would be helpful in many ways.

Just as the enjoyable gathering time was about to begin—

Crunch—

The sound of grass being stepped on from behind him.

At the same time, killing intent struck his spine.

“…!”

Without even turning around, Glen threw his body forward.

Shaaaak—

A blade sliced through the air.

It surged toward the spot where Glen had been standing.

If his reaction had been even slightly slower, he would have been cut in half while crouching.

Shing—

After rolling to avoid the ambush, Glen immediately drew his sword.

Soon, a dark figure emerged from the shadows.

Worn clothes here and there, and a black mask covering the face. By appearance and timing alone, it could only be an assassin.

“What are you?”

The opponent did not answer. He merely pointed his sword at Glen.

During the brief standoff, Glen’s gaze suddenly dropped downward.

“…?”

At the assassin’s feet, the Girmo Grass he had been collecting was crushed.

“Ha…”

With a short sigh, Glen ran a hand through his hair.

“Hey.”

The man took a stance.

Regardless, Glen continued in a cold voice.

“You won’t be going back nicely today.”

A sharp gleam filled his ash-gray eyes.