How a Two-Life Scoundrel Lives

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【Episode 17】

[Soul Pacifying Sword]

A sword that pacifies souls.

It reads the traces left behind in this world by The Dead during their lifetime, namely residual thoughts, and absorbs their power.

It is a mysterious ability that upholds last words and inherits unfinished legacies.

[Soul Pacifying Sword]

A sword that pacifies souls.

It reads the traces left behind in this world by The Dead during their lifetime, namely residual thoughts, and absorbs their power.

It is a mysterious ability that upholds last words and inherits unfinished legacies.

[Soul Pacifying Sword]

A sword that pacifies souls.

It reads the traces left behind in this world by The Dead during their lifetime, namely residual thoughts, and absorbs their power.

It is a mysterious ability that upholds last words and inherits unfinished legacies.

[Soul Pacifying Sword]

A sword that pacifies souls.

It reads the traces left behind in this world by The Dead during their lifetime, namely residual thoughts, and absorbs their power.

It is a mysterious ability that upholds last words and inherits unfinished legacies.

[Soul Pacifying Sword]

A sword that pacifies souls.

It reads the traces left behind in this world by The Dead during their lifetime, namely residual thoughts, and absorbs their power.

It is a mysterious ability that upholds last words and inherits unfinished legacies.

‘Residual thoughts? Unfinished legacies?’

Since [Soul Pacifying Sword] was also an ability he had never seen before, Carlisle couldn’t properly understand its meaning.

There was too little information about the Soul Pacifying Sword to know for certain.

‘Reading and absorbing the thoughts of The Dead? Last words would be what someone says right before dying. And unfinished legacies would be unfulfilled wishes from when they were alive, right? And I inherit those?’

He pondered for a long while, but couldn’t really guess what it meant.

He understood it roughly, but it seemed he wouldn’t know its true nature until he actually used the ability.

However, one thing was certain: this character named Carlisle van Sigmund had truly tremendous talent hidden within him.

Just having [Weapon Master] which immediately boosted weapon proficiency by 150% meant becoming strong was only a matter of time, and now he had the unique ability [Soul Pacifying Sword] as well?

If the real Carlisle had come to his senses and devoted himself to training, the history of this world might have changed.

To think he lived such a debauched life without knowing any of this…

Even without the Stone of Transcendence, if he had just made a little effort to awaken his latent talents, he would have become a great hero.

‘Though it might be my talent instead.’

Carlisle thought that perhaps [Weapon Master] and [Soul Pacifying Sword] might be his own unique abilities.

As evidence, when he first possessed this body, [Weapon Master] and [Soul Pacifying Sword] had been added to the traits that were reset.

[Carlisle van Sigmund]

Race: Human

Age: 23

Status: Noble

Occupation: Unemployed (Scoundrel)

Traits: Weapon Master / Soul Pacifying Sword

Title: Northern Region’s Damn Scoundrel

[Carlisle van Sigmund]

Race: Human

Age: 23

Status: Noble

Occupation: Unemployed (Scoundrel)

Traits: Weapon Master / Soul Pacifying Sword

Title: Northern Region’s Damn Scoundrel

[Carlisle van Sigmund]

Race: Human

Age: 23

Status: Noble

Occupation: Unemployed (Scoundrel)

Traits: Weapon Master / Soul Pacifying Sword

Title: Northern Region’s Damn Scoundrel

[Carlisle van Sigmund]

Race: Human

Age: 23

Status: Noble

Occupation: Unemployed (Scoundrel)

Traits: Weapon Master / Soul Pacifying Sword

Title: Northern Region’s Damn Scoundrel

[Carlisle van Sigmund]

Race: Human

Age: 23

Status: Noble

Occupation: Unemployed (Scoundrel)

Traits: Weapon Master / Soul Pacifying Sword

Title: Northern Region’s Damn Scoundrel

‘This should be enough to protect myself.’

With this much, he could definitely say that using the Stone of Transcendence wasn’t a waste at all.

“Young Master, it’s time for your training.”

Just then, Maranello came looking for Carlisle.

“Ah.”

Carlisle tossed the Stone of Transcendence, which had become nothing more than an ordinary stone, onto the bed and started walking.

“I should do it, training.”

“I hope you won’t give up today, Young Master.”

Maranello, holding his feather duster, said.

“Don’t have expectations of me. I’ll do it moderately, just moderately.”

“You cannot protect your life from enemies by doing things moderately. Your enemies have been gritting their teeth and training themselves even in ordinary times to take your life.”

“Ah, is that so?”

Since it wasn’t wrong when he thought about it, Carlisle didn’t particularly argue back.

“I can’t guarantee anything, but I’ll try to work hard.”

“Good.”

Maranello smiled slightly.

* * *

Maranello took Carlisle all the way outside the Outer Castle.

Since Carlisle wanted a quiet place where no one would see him, they had no choice but to go Outside the Castle.

The place they reached after riding horses for about 30 minutes was Old Castle Ruins that had now disappeared into the back alleys of history.

That place was a castle site that had been devastated during the barbarian invasion about 200 years ago, and now no one visited it anymore, giving off a desolate atmosphere.

“No one will notice us here, Young Master.”

“Good.”

Carlisle quickly looked around the clearing.

Though all sorts of weeds were growing wildly around the area, there was still enough space for training.

“Where is this place?”

“This is a training ground that knights used 200 years ago.”

“I see.”

Carlisle nodded.

“So you’re saying you come here in the middle of the night to oil up?”

“Pardon?”

“You’re secretly training.”

“What would this old man need to hold a sword for in the middle of the night? I’m just doing exercises for my health. Hehe.”

“Playing dumb, are we?”

Carlisle snorted and drew his wooden sword.

“By the way, don’t you need to do physical training?”

“We can skip it, so don’t worry.”

“Understood. Then, come at me.”

Carlisle swung his sword according to the Sigmund Family Swordsmanship from his memories.

Swoosh!

The sound of the wooden sword cutting through the air was so sharp that it seemed to represent how much stronger Carlisle had become.

Thwack, crack.

Maranello lightly swung his feather duster and deflected Carlisle’s sword.

The feather duster didn’t break or anything.

However, Carlisle could clearly feel that the shock transmitted to his grip had decreased to less than one-tenth of what it was before.

‘This is manageable.’

Carlisle swung his sword again, aiming at Maranello.

Thwack, crack, thwack, thwack.

Tap.

The tip of Maranello’s feather duster lightly touched near Carlisle’s neck.

“…I’m dead.”

“Swordsmanship isn’t about strength, Young Master.”

“You need to know when to apply force and when to hold back depending on the situation?”

“Yes, Young Master. You still remember.”

When Carlisle spoke while recalling the teachings of House Sigmund, Maranello smiled.

“If you just swing wildly, you’ll only tire yourself out quickly.”

“I’ll remember that.”

Carlisle took Maranello’s advice to heart and swung his sword again.

Thwack, crack, thwack, thwack, thwack, tap.

“You’re dead again.”

“Again.”

Thwack, crack, thwack, thwack, thwack, crack, tap.

“You’re dead.”

“Again.”

The sparring continued like this.

‘Hmm?’

Maranello suddenly felt that Carlisle’s skills were improving in real time.

It felt like the exchanges were getting one or two moves longer with each bout.

‘His old memories must be coming back.’

Maranello simply attributed the cause of Carlisle’s rapid improvement to that.

Carlisle had seriously trained in swordsmanship when he was young, and his talent had been quite exceptional.

In fact, what was even more surprising was his stamina.

“Let’s go again.”

“Yes, Young Master.”

Even though they had already continued sparring for more than ten rounds, Carlisle showed no signs of his breathing being disturbed.

It was just two days ago that he had been gasping and collapsing after swinging his sword a few times…

‘His stamina improved too? My goodness.’

Not only had he become incredibly strong overnight, but his stamina had also improved this much – it was truly an absurd transformation.

Just as much as Maranello felt the change, Carlisle was also aware that he had become different.

[Notification: Swordsmanship proficiency increased by 1.]

(Omitted)

[Notification: Swordsmanship proficiency increased by 1.]

(Omitted)

[Notification: Swordsmanship proficiency increased by 1.]

(Omitted)

[Notification: Swordsmanship proficiency increased by 1.]

(Omitted)

[Notification: Swordsmanship proficiency increased by 1.]

(Omitted)

He could see through the Status Window that his proficiency was increasing in real time, and he could feel it physically as well.

[Notification: Swordsmanship proficiency level increased!]

[Notification: Swordsmanship proficiency level 2 achieved!]

[Notification: Swordsmanship proficiency level increased!]

[Notification: Swordsmanship proficiency level 2 achieved!]

[Notification: Swordsmanship proficiency level increased!]

[Notification: Swordsmanship proficiency level 2 achieved!]

[Notification: Swordsmanship proficiency level increased!]

[Notification: Swordsmanship proficiency level 2 achieved!]

[Notification: Swordsmanship proficiency level increased!]

[Notification: Swordsmanship proficiency level 2 achieved!]

…and that was it.

“That’s enough for today.”

Carlisle declared the end of training.

“Pardon?”

Maranello frowned as if asking what he meant.

They had only been training for an hour and he was already stopping?

“No, Young Master. Why are you trying to stop?”

“Because it’s tiring.”

“You still seem perfectly fine though…?”

“I am fine.”

Carlisle readily admitted it.

“But I don’t want to do more.”

“You must do more.”

“Why?”

“Training, by its very nature, requires pushing your limits every single day. If you quit just because it’s a little difficult…”

“What am I supposed to do when I have no motivation?”

“Pardon…?”

“I don’t know how to express this, but I just don’t want to make an effort.”

Carlisle’s words were sincere.

In fact, Carlisle himself couldn’t understand why he felt this way.

As he had told Maranello, his stamina was more than abundant—it was overflowing.

At this rate, it seemed like he could train all night without getting tired.

Despite that, he had no motivation.

The moment his body felt even slightly weary, his mind would reject it completely.

He wasn’t sure if this was due to habits ingrained in this body, or because of the lethargy he had suffered from in his previous life.

“Young Master, no matter how talented a person may be, they cannot become strong without effort.”

“I know that much.”

“Then how…”

“I guess effort is also a talent.”

“…Young Master.”

Maranello squeezed his eyes shut as if trying to suppress a surge of anger.

“I know it sounds ridiculous, but that’s my current state.”

“…I understand.”

In the end, the training session ended in a lukewarm state, far from heating up intensely.

* * *

The next day.

And the day after that, the results remained unchanged.

His swordsmanship proficiency steadily increased, but Carlisle’s training time simply wouldn’t extend.

“Young Master, this is truly troubling. Your life depends on this. Even if you don’t feel like it, you must make an effort…”

“I know. I am making an effort. But what can I do when my body won’t move?”

Carlisle was equally frustrated.

In a few months, he would be thrown onto the battlefield, and he didn’t want his neck cleanly severed by some unknown barbarian warrior.

Even if he couldn’t train for a thousand years, he needed to at least be capable of protecting himself to have any chance of survival.

“Go inside first. I’ll do some posture practice alone before coming in.”

“No, Young Master. This old man should stay by your side…”

“Then wait at the outskirts. I’ll try doing it alone.”

“Understood.”

After Maranello left the area.

“Ugh. Ughhh.”

Carlisle gritted his teeth and tried to make an effort to try, but his body simply wouldn’t move.

As if he despised even the first letter of ‘effort,’ even moving a single finger felt difficult.

‘Am I under some kind of curse?’

He was desperate enough to even think such thoughts.

‘Was the saying that effort is also a talent not just a joke after all?’

Just as Carlisle was having these thoughts.

Ding!

The status window appeared.