When Liens thought about going to the black market, it wasn't, of course, to experience some 'freshness' as Jonathan had said.
Instead, he wanted to see if he could find more clues about the God of Absolute Fairness in the black market.
After all, they had been friends for several months, and he didn't want to interfere with Ben's decision; he probably couldn't interfere now anyway.
But he still hoped that if he had the ability, he could pull Ben back at the last moment in the future.
Perhaps that one pull could save the Life of his only friend.
Therefore, he wanted to understand the God of Absolute Fairness, as 'knowing oneself and one's enemy ensures victory in every battle' had always been his way of doing things.
"The black market is only open at night. If you want to go, you can head to Kadal Avenue after 8 PM."
"Then just find any man on the street, and he can take you into the black market."
"Do you know Kadal Avenue? It's in the Outer City, near the Fifth District. Once you get there, just ask someone, and you'll find it."
Jonathan said to Liens.
"Why don't you just take me? Why do I still need to ask for directions?"
Liens looked puzzled.
"Uh... my back hasn't been too good lately, so I might need a few days to recover before I go there."
Jonathan chuckled awkwardly.
As he spoke, he deliberately patted his waist, putting on a show for Liens, as if to say, 'I'm old and can't do it anymore.'
Liens looked at Jonathan's crude performance and understood that he simply didn't want to take him there.
He thought for a moment, realizing he shouldn't have provoked Jonathan in reality, but why did he feel Jonathan was somewhat distant towards him?
Was he too blunt, making himself annoying?
Never mind, he wouldn't think about it anymore.
He was no longer the 'frail' person he was at the very beginning of the Training Camp.
Back then, he was like someone with persecutory delusions; if he felt even a hint of worry, he would immediately enter the instance to interrogate Wooly, but now...
Perhaps it was a bit of confidence brought by his own strength; he no longer cared so much about what ordinary people thought.
If there was a real problem, he would find an opportunity to kill them; after all, it was just a single sword stroke.
While thinking, Liens thanked Jonathan, "Thank you, Jonathan, um... Big Brother, for telling me these things."
"You're welcome, it's nothing. You won't blame me for not taking you directly, will you?"
Jonathan waved his hand, signaling Liens not to be polite.
"How could I... I'm already very grateful that you told me these things."
Liens replied with a smile.
"Alright then, if there's nothing else, let's part ways... I still need to exchange some things at the counter, so I'll be going now. Goodbye."
Jonathan bid farewell to Liens.
After speaking, he quickly walked towards the counter, seemingly in a hurry to exchange some items in the warehouse.
Liens glanced at him, said goodbye, and without another word, turned and left the warehouse.
"Phew... that guy is indeed very dangerous."
Jonathan felt the gaze from behind him disappear, and he let out a sigh of relief, muttering to himself.
During their conversation, a strong sense of danger suddenly arose in his heart, startling him and making his back break out in a cold sweat, even his hairs stood on end.
But very quickly, this feeling disappeared, as if it was just his imagination.
However, Jonathan knew his intuition wouldn't be wrong; he had relied on it to avoid many crises.
This was key to his ability to survive comfortably within the family, despite his ordinary strength.
"Indeed, keeping my distance from him is the right choice. What a pity, I can't go see Miss tonight."
Jonathan muttered regretfully.
Meanwhile, after Liens returned to his dormitory, he picked up his sword and began to practice his envisioned 'First Set of Body Tempering Swordsmanship'.
He created this by drawing from the fluid, balanced sword forms he had observed in his previous life, combining those with his own deep understanding of swordsmanship.
Its purpose was to move his body and prevent it from stiffening.
Liens thought of this while performing a mission in the afternoon, mainly because he found that using outdoor missions to exercise his body was too inefficient.
Earning money was fine, but relying on those gangsters to help him stretch his body was basically impossible.
They were still a bit too weak; if they were as tough to cut as monsters, then it would achieve the effect of exercising his body.
Unfortunately, it wasn't possible... so it was more reliable to train himself.
Currently, the principle of Liens's Body Tempering Swordsmanship was this:
Control the body's muscles, continuously increase physical exertion without exploding, maintain this state, and slowly perform swordsmanship.
Through this method, he could both train his control over his body and rapidly consume his stamina, allowing himself to break through his limits again and again, thereby achieving the effect of slowly increasing endurance.
This was the intended effect Liens envisioned; whether it could truly be achieved remained to be seen.
If it didn't work, he would just change it; he wasn't afraid of failure.
He named it 'First Set of Body Tempering Swordsmanship' because he hoped to create better, more complete, and more suitable Body Tempering Swordsmanship in the future.
Soon, the scene of Liens slowly dancing with his sword appeared in the dormitory.
When the other two roommates returned, they were puzzled by Liens's actions.
"What is Liens doing?"
"He's probably practicing his sword? But, isn't this speed a bit too slow?"
"Even the instructor didn't teach Basic Swordsmanship this slowly."
"Forget it, we're not close with the three of them anyway. Let's not meddle in other people's business."
"Alright, then we won't bother. As long as he's not going crazy, it's fine."
The two roommates chatted back and forth, and after that, they decided to ignore Liens and started doing their own things.
Liens, who was dancing with his sword, also noticed the two roommates.
However, seeing that they didn't come forward to interrupt his training, he continued to fully immerse himself in swordsmanship.
After some time, Liens, feeling his stamina nearing its limit, stopped his sword dance.
At this moment, he was once again the only one left in the dormitory.
My Virtual Library Empire (*) hosts the original.
Liens wiped the hot sweat from his forehead, his body feeling as if he had returned to the Training Camp.
It was that feeling of being so tired he was almost prostrated.
His clothes were soaked, and he felt as if he was bathing in sweat.
"Phew... not bad. Although I don't know if it will enhance my physical fitness, it's good for exercising my body."
"After I take a shower, I'll go into the instance to refine it. Some movements feel a bit unnecessary."
Liens thought to himself, panting slightly.
Thick clouds appeared in the sky, but they still couldn't block the bright moon from casting its silver light upon the earth.
Liens, who had been perfecting the 'Second Set of Body Tempering Swordsmanship' in the instance, realized that it was probably time to go, so he returned to reality to check the time.
"Hmm, 10 PM, it's about time. It shouldn't take more than two hours to get there, right?"
Liens got up and looked at the clock hanging in the dormitory, muttering to himself.
Then, he lay back down on his bed, preparing to complete his first exploration of the black market in the instance.
The risks of the black market were unknown, so he naturally wouldn't go there directly in reality.
It was better to use the instance to scout out the situation first; after all, he only needed some information, he wasn't going there to buy things.
Originally, if Jonathan had taken him, he would have needed to find an excuse to stand Jonathan up.
Now there was no need, which saved him a little trouble.