After enjoying a good tea, Celia went asleep. She hugged Kubo, and both of them wrapped themselves in soft blankets.
Left alone, Alex left the room.
That was when he noticed that he couldn't return to the room no matter how hard he pressed the knob. It turned out that he needed Celia's invitation and that her mother's relationship with him blocked the doors.
Thus, Alex entered the withered garden. He opened his system and checked his stats. His stats hadn't changed yet. But Alex believed his legendary class would accelerate his growth, and he was sure he would gain more stats than your average swordsman.
He lifted his eyes and looked at the dark sky, "I should find a sword for myself and try those skeletons head-on."
Alex didn't want to waste time.
He also didn't feel like sightseeing too much of the castle. He would rather do it with the lady by his side, and in his situation, it should be with three ladies.
He chuckled and opened his minimap.
"If the world turned into a game for them, the skeletons should've dropped some items for them. Maybe I will find the sword or other weapons around the gates," Alex pondered openly.
He went to the enormous gates.
Those gates were the first and the sturdiest defense of the whole Deathwill Castle. In the past, they had protected many citizens. Many merchants and people would go in and out through those gates.
They were so wide that they could stuff four carriages going in and out at the same time!
"Haha! There's a weapon," Alex chuckled as he spotted a few weapons littered on the ground.
Those weapons were low-level weapons. There was blood on those weapons, so Alex inferred that they were a recent loot.
'That blood should belong to the Deathwill Sisters,' Alex narrowed his eyes, 'From what I saw, skeletons have low levels. But even a low level can inflict some pain. I should be careful from now on.'
He took the bone sword.
[The White Skeleton Sword(Epic) Attack: 71~~120]
[Durability: 100/100]
Ding!
[Quest!]
[Elias Deathwill's Successor Quest! #1]
[As you have revealed your desire to learn swordsmanship in the Deathwill Castle's grounds, the mechanisms left by the former master have extended its hands toward you. By holding the bone sword, you can learn a few swordsmanship skills from the skeleton's life.]
[Chilling Slash - Slash skeletons thousand times to learn this skill. Critical strikes count as ten slashes.]
[Shattering Thrust - Thrust your sword a thousand times against the skeletons to learn this skill. Critical strikes count as ten thrusts.]
[Bone Parry - Parry the skeletons' attacks a thousand times to learn this skill. Perfect parry will count as twenty parries.]
'Elias Deathwill… The former master… Who exactly was he?' Alex looked at the first message first.
He knew that this person and his mechanisms had chosen him.
One of those mechanisms just allowed Alex to learn abilities from the bone sword. He could absorb skills from an unknown human and get a swordsman subclass in this way.
'I wonder if these mechanisms activated because I genuinely want to form a good relationship with the Deathwill Sisters.' Alex didn't know how far the magic in this world could peek into players' hearts.
It was already heaven-defying for humans to create such a game, so Alex was getting really curious.
However, the game developers had told all players beforehand that they would never answer any plot-related questions. They wouldn't explain game mechanics and intervene in the world's history.
Players and NPCs wrote the history.
Alex shrugged. He didn't care much about it. He was just glad he got an answer to his current predicament.
He disliked wasting time, so with the sword in his hand, Alex opened small doors next to the enormous gates.
He passed through it and revealed himself to the closest skeletons.
Two skeletons turned their skulls slowly. Their bones cackled, notifying others of the sudden lifeform.
Alex that lifeform bared his sword, "Let's learn swordsmanship."
As if his call stirred their souls, skeletons' red eyes shone brightly. Their killing intent surged, and they made their way toward a lone human.
Alex was one of those players who didn't fear skeletons or other monsters. It wasn't just because he knew it was the game world and that he could respawn at any time; Alex never failed to enter the battle mood.
In real life, when his friends needed help, he would always gather enough courage to stand up to them.
It was something similar right now.
Alex also didn't like how skeletons wandered around his castle. And from what he learned, Deathwill Sisters often headed outside to clean monsters.
As the master of this place, Alex couldn't chicken out. He also had people to fight for, so he easily entered his battle mood.
But it was not the best part.
Since Alex had no players around and he only spoke to the half-dullahan kid, he couldn't really distinguish this place from real life. Even though he and Celia had statuses above their heads, Alex unconsciously treated this world as the real one.
That was the best part.
He fought as if he had one life. He fought so seriously that his instincts sharpened. He saw through skeletons' all patterns, and Alex even found their weaknesses.
[Your swordsmanship proficiency has reached F Grade.]
[You have learned Bone Swordsmanship(F)]
As those messages popped on his retina, Alex swung his sword. He slashed at the skeleton, and he immediately noticed the difference in the damage!
"Great," Alex smiled with content, "Fighting with the sword is pretty fun. I feel like a real swordsman."
He laughed and locked his eyes on incoming enemies.
However, Alex didn't move. He lowered his sword instead, and he stared at the person returning home.
She wore thick black armor, so Alex could only gaze into her eyes. She had blue eyes that shone brightly like moons as if her two hues concealed two souls within.
Those eyes were similar to Celia's, so Alex knew her identity. But in her eyes, he saw much more experience and many different emotions.
Still, even those emotions were far from exciting and innocent, Alex couldn't think about her struggles. Her pretty face compelled him to look at her and enjoy her mature beauty.
[You have met one of your wives, Sara Deathwill.]
[You have met your husband, Alexander Deathwill.]
Sara tilted her head, her blonde bangs sliding to the side, "So his successor has been chosen…"
Her tone was indifferent. But who would blame her?
Sara had a daughter, Celia, so she already had her fair share of experience with the man. And then, someone totally unfamiliar becomes her husband through the game system.
She had all rights to be indifferent.
But it was a fact that Alex was chosen.
Thus, Sara paid attention to him.
"How long have you been here?" she asked.
Alex replied, "I had enough time to introduce myself to Celia and Kubo. I think we have become good friends."
Hearing her daughter's name, Sara's eyes narrowed. But then, Alex mentioned Kubo, which was utterly unexpected.
She chuckled faintly, then raised her spear. In one crescent moon slash, Sara erased skeletons around Alex.
Her tone milder, she then approached him, "I will wait for you in the dining hall."
"Sure," Alex nodded with a faint smile.
[Sara no longer feels indifferent to you.]
[Your relationship with her has increased significantly.]
[Friends.]
Her daughter's friends were her friends as well.
Alex was happy with that progress. He glanced at her disappearing back, then shifted his eyes to the skeletons.
Knowing their pattern and weaknesses already, Alex rushed at them with confidence. For some reason, he was faster and stronger.
Perhaps, the beautiful lady's smile had given him a secret buff!