Lucian left Miss Mira’s shop with his newly acquired saber.
Looking at his savings, now two thousand lighter, he couldn’t help but start thinking about ways to make money.
No matter which world you were in, you couldn’t get far without money.
Miss Mira had gifted him this blade; heaven only knew how much it would’ve run him if he’d had to buy it himself.
So, aside from studying, the most important thing for Lucian next was making money.
Rely on part-time work?
Never mind whether he even had the time right now; the pittance from a part-time job would be a drop in the bucket.
If he wanted real money, he’d need other methods.
A side hustle, maybe?
Or he could go out and hunt the monsters that had strayed into the city, harvesting their materials.
Lucian walked and mulled it over; he was in desperate need of funds.
Still turning it over, he soon reached the commercial street.
Having arrived, he got to his shopping.
Besides some necessary clothes, Lucian also picked up ingredients and seasonings to take back.
The apartment his original self had rented came with a kitchen and gas, but the original had barely used them.
For the original, as long as his stomach was full, it was fine, so he always ate at a nearby fast-food place, only about ten credits a meal.
For the current Lucian, though, that was unbearable.
He knew how to cook and didn’t like eating out.
Plus, with the Eye of Revelation, becoming a master chef was absurdly easy for him, so he might as well buy groceries and cook for himself.
By the time he’d bought everything, the sun had set.
Looking at his savings, down another few hundred, Lucian felt a little helpless.
At this rate, barring surprises, his money might not even last until next month.
So making money had to move up the agenda; it really was a troublesome business.
Carrying bags of every size, he returned to his rented apartment.
Once he’d set everything down, Lucian started on dinner.
He took out his phone and propped it by the stove, glanced at his ingredients, then began searching up master-chef tutorial videos to learn from.
He had to admit, the perk this Talent brought was genuinely intoxicating; there was a certain pleasure in knowledge simply pouring into his brain.
And once it went in, it wasn’t going anywhere, all of it mastered.
Learning and cooking at the same time, Lucian moved incredibly fast.
By the time dinner was ready, he could hardly believe he’d made it himself, especially since he used to only manage a few home-style dishes.
But what he’d cooked now was perfect in color, aroma, and taste; he felt he could go apply for a job as a chef.
Lucian tasted it.
The flavor was excellent.
He immediately grabbed his rice bowl and dug in.
Maybe it was the martial arts training earlier, but Lucian’s appetite was especially good.
He finished every dish he’d made and still wanted more.
By now Lucian had a clear sense of his current appetite.
After condensing aura, it had grown.
In this world, without money, maybe you really weren’t qualified to practice martial arts.
Muttering to himself, Lucian cleared the dishes, then picked up the saber to study it closely.
He didn’t know what the blade was made of; touching it sent a bone-deep chill through him, far beyond anything ordinary steel could compare to.
After examining the saber, Lucian used his phone to learn again, searching online for tutorials on blade techniques.
He also planned a special little experiment.
Before he transmigrated, he’d played a game: “Slack off when you’re young, and you’ll be back-dashing with sword aura in your old age…”
Could that set of techniques be pulled off in this world?
If so, then Lucian could go flying around on his blade too.
While learning some basic moves, he recalled the ones that character used in the game.
Slowly, a rough outline formed in his mind; releasing moves like that was possible.
But he’d need more moves to support it; only then could he execute the whole set he was picturing.
As for how to unleash sword aura, that was simple.
Once his aura reached the fourth stage and could project externally, he could do it with ease.
Having worked it out, Lucian’s eyes lit up.
This was awesome; the “Extreme Ghost Sword Technique” in his head was seriously cool.
And it’d be very strong in this world too.
Who wouldn’t love something both strong and cool?
Picturing himself one day flying around and clearing dungeons wreathed in sword aura, Lucian was thoroughly hyped.
He decided this was the path he’d take from now on; no matter what, he’d bring that set of sword techniques to life.
He, Lucian, would become the Sword Soul of this world!
With that thought, Lucian began devouring every sword move he could find online, right there in his rented apartment.
Useful or not, he’d learn them first.
He picked them up at a glance and mastered them on the second pass.
Lucian wasn’t the least bit worried.
Was this what you’d call getting stronger by watching videos?
At the thought, Lucian couldn’t help laughing out loud.
He watched for nearly two hours, all at 1.5x speed, learning every sword move he could, even though many were duplicates.
But Lucian didn’t skip those either; as long as it was posted, he’d watch it.
Because of that, in just a few hours, he went from a total novice with blades to a seasoned expert.
What’s more, he grew more confident in his idea, and the sword techniques in his mind sharpened by the moment.
Lucian checked the time, and finding it late enough, he stopped to wash up and rest.
The night passed without incident.
The next morning, after Lucian got up and washed, he packed what he needed, went downstairs, bought breakfast, and headed to school.
Passing the spot where the old men and women exercised, Lucian took a glance, but finding it was all stuff he’d already learned, he lost interest.
He ate his breakfast on the way.
Along the road, he noticed something odd: there were quite a few more patrol members on the streets.
Seeing them armed and searching for something, Lucian felt a bit puzzled.
What had happened?
Why the heightened alert?
Puzzled as he was, Lucian had no intention of getting involved for now.
After a few glances, he continued on to school.
When he reached his new classroom, there were already people inside.
And Lucian noticed there was a new student in the seat behind Kato.
Seeing the classmate sitting quietly and reading, Lucian felt a strange sensation.
Flaxen long hair, exquisite features; Lucian recognized her at a glance, Yuuki Asuna!
He really hadn’t expected her to be in this world too.
Did that mean there were even more of them here?
And it seemed he was surrounded by rich girls!
Your stones decide which of my books gets the extra chapters.
Vote if you want more of this one!