I Became a Raid Boss Chapter 12

Has it been more than ten years living in this world, or have I just rolled around too much?

Now, the mories of my past life have beco quite hazy.

To be fair, I never really tried to rember them, nor did I write them down anywhere, so it wouldn’t be strange to forget them.

Instead of spending ti trying to rember those things, I should have learned survival skills.

Maybe that’s why the mories I have left from my past life are all jumbled up.

I can’t recall what I thought was important, but I rember things I thought were utterly useless.

For example, sothing like this.

In my past life, I didn’t particularly enjoy hiking.

Yet, for so reason, I occasionally found myself climbing mountains. When I finally reached the summit, I would often see vendors selling cold water or ice cream.

I couldn’t buy much since the prices were too high—probably because they had to carry heavy ice boxes all the way to the top—but I still rember the ice cream I splurged on once; it was incredibly delicious.

So, why am I suddenly talking about this? It’s because seeing Joanie, who carries food with her, reminded of that ti.

‘No, it’s probably closer to delivery food.’

I can’t believe there’s even a delivery service that cos all the way out here.

Has the Silia civilization advanced without even realizing it?

I looked at Journey, who ca as usual today, offering food.

Is it really because I saved her from so Cockatrice that she climbs the mountain every day?

And every ti, she brings different food?

‘What dedication.’

At first, I was incredulous, but now I’ve just accepted it.

It’s not like I have to bother cooking or cleaning, so it’s not a bad deal for .

However, it was a bit burdenso that she stared at while I ate.

It felt like she wanted sothing from , but I couldn’t figure out what.

At first, I wondered if she had poisoned the food, but since my mana didn’t react, it clearly wasn’t poisoned. If I were susceptible to poison, I wouldn’t have been able to survive this long anyway…

‘Today’s food is tasty again.’

So, I enjoyed the al Joanie brought without giving it much thought.

It wasn’t as exquisite as the feasts of nobility, but it was quite delicious, so I found myself looking forward to it sotis.

After finishing my al and putting down the dish, Joanie murmured sothing to Arkish again.

“Am I really wrong?”

What was she talking about?

Ignoring her mumbling, I took care of the sword by oiling it.

It was already too late to improve it, but it should last a little longer.

It was my way of showing respect to the blacksmith who helped .

Swish!

“…?”

While I was lost in thought as I polished my sword, Joanie was doing sothing strange.

Normally, she would have already gone down by now, so I didn’t even care why she was still around…

‘…What is she doing?’

Is it a dance to wish for abundance? Or is she mimicking a balloon figure?

Seeing her swing a sword while dancing, it might have so shamanistic aning.

One thing’s for sure: it’s definitely not swordsmanship.

While I was pondering, her bizarre behavior continued.

With a flourish, she swung the sword in a way that could only be described with an onomatopoeia. Finally, she stood still, her actions coming to a halt.

Then, with a proud expression, she wiped her sweat…

-“Just a little break—”

“…That’s not how you do it.”

I couldn’t hold back and ended up speaking.

If she had intended this, it would be an incredible talent.

Even from the first ti I saw her, her level of skill was unbelievable for soone holding a sword.

I doubt even a month of practice would get soone to that level.

“Phew…”

I had no intention of interfering with whatever she was doing.

Can’t you just ignore what’s in front of you if it bothers you so much?

‘Let’s think of it as paying for the al…’

I feel guilty about getting so much and then wiping my mouth clean after eating.

“Listen carefully.”

My swordsmanship differs from the formal techniques that knights learn. But that doesn’t an I can’t teach it. After all, I also learned with traditional techniques when I first picked up a sword, and by this level, it’s easy to see where things went wrong.

What I’m trying to teach isn’t swordsmanship, but sothing more fundantal.

“Don’t hold it with both hands; hold it with one.”

I removed her left hand, which was tightly gripping the sword. If you’re trying to exert force montarily, I could understand, but if you’re going to hold it with both hands from the start, why use a one-handed sword at all?

“Your grip is wrong too.”

So might call it just the grip.

But whether you’re learning to handle a sword or anything else, the first thing you learn when using a tool is how to grip it. You need to master the correct way to hold it to use the tool most efficiently.

“Hold it like this.”

This is sothing many beginner swordsn overlook. To put proper force behind a sword, shifting the center of gravity with your fingers is essential.

I demonstrated by pretending to swing the sword while adjusting my grip with my fingers.

I’m not sure if she’ll understand.

It’s more likely she won’t, but that’s not sothing I need to worry about.

“Now for the stance.”

I lightly tapped her closed legs, and Joanie awkwardly spread them apart.

You need to have the right stance to smoothly transition between attacks and defenses. Of course, the stance changes depending on what you’re fighting. There’s effective swordsmanship against humans and effective swordsmanship against monsters, so it’s natural that the basic stance varies as well.

Still, that stance from earlier was just unacceptable.

Since words weren’t getting through, I corrected her stance by physically guiding her, and she looked much better than before.

“Finally, let’s cut.”

In fact, I had one more thing to point out.

The attitude with which she handles the sword. To , that was the biggest issue.

I’m not saying to treat it like a lover or think of it as a twin. Sure, it’d be nice to cherish it, but whether soone kisses or makes love to their sword is none of my business.

But being afraid of cutting yourself with your own sword is just not right.

If you’re trying to intimidate soone, you can’t be scared while swinging your own weapon.

There’s a difference between being cautious and being foolish, and this is clearly the latter.

No matter how many tis I tell her, if she’s too scared to swing it properly, what’s the point?

Unfortunately, unlike what I’ve fixed until now, I can’t demonstrate this in action, so I decided to let it go.

‘Even if she understood what I said, it wouldn’t change anything right away.’

Could soone who trembles after hearing a few words suddenly fight courageously?

After demonstrating a few tis while wielding the sword, I stepped back a few paces.

“Now, give it a try.”

I’ve only taught the basics, but for soone with no foundation, this should be sufficient.

Joanie, who was blankly staring, suddenly seed to snap back to reality.

-“Uh, so….”

She fumbled her way through the things I taught her and took her stance.

Eventually, taking a deep breath, she swung her arm wide.

Swish!

The sound was clearly different from when she was summoning sothing while flailing the sword around.

She still shows clear signs of being a beginner, but hey, this is sothing.

Surprised by her own progress, she swung the sword a few more tis.

-“My swordsmanship skill suddenly skyrocketed! Wow, it can rise this quickly….”

I think I’ve earned my keep now.

“Yawn….”

I’m feeling a bit drowsy after eating and moving my body.

I rubbed my eyes while stifling a long yawn.

Whether she continues to practice or goes down the mountain, she’ll figure it out herself.

Even if she does sothing silly, I can catch her, so should I just let her be and get so sleep?

Hmm, it’s a tough decision….

***

After learning swordsmanship from the gravekeeper, Joanie’s repetitive daily routine began to change slightly.

She woke up early in the morning, turned on her stream, and logged into Silia.

While going to the gravekeeper with delicious food that was well-known for its taste was the sa as before,

“Hello!”

“Hello, not ‘hi.’ Say ‘annyeonghaseyo.’”

“Annyeong… ha? yo?”

“Annyeonghaseyo.”

“Annyeonghaseyo!”

Unlike before when I would go down the mountain, now I stayed on the mountain, either talking with the Gravekeeper or practicing my swordsmanship.

Perhaps there had been a change in mood, as the Gravekeeper often engaged in conversation.

Even though he still refused to reveal his na, he would correct if I spoke incorrectly, as in the case just now, and tell the right way.

“Hello….”

Joanie repeated the words the Gravekeeper had taught her softly, shedding tears of joy in her heart.

All the ti and effort she had put in wasn’t in vain…!

Since I thought of the money spent on food as tuition, it didn’t feel too wasteful…

Not really… not really…

‘…a little, just a little bit wasteful.’

It wouldn’t be a lie to say it wasn’t a small amount of money.

However, seeing her swordsmanship skills rise at an unprecedented speed eased her troubled heart.

Anyway, she had achieved her goal of befriending the Gravekeeper.

—Achieved…?

—Hmm, it’s ambiguous…

“This should an we’re friends! Other people can’t even strike up a conversation and get kicked out, but I can actually talk!”

Seeing Joanie interacting with the Gravekeeper, quite a few new players began to climb the mountain.

They ca not to defeat the Gravekeeper but to try and converse with him even once.

However, their attempts repeatedly fell flat.

[Why can’t I do it?]

I learned Granish just to talk to the Gravekeeper, so why can she and I can’t?

I can bring him delicious food too!

I can also learn swordsmanship from the Gravekeeper, pet him, and call him cute, so why?

[Comnts]

—Uh oh, why is this kid so angry?

— (Scary, Con)

—What kind of template is this?

Even when they tried to engage the Gravekeeper with food offerings, he wouldn’t even acknowledge them.

When they asked why, the wronged victims could not approach Joanie to ask directly, leading them to swarm around Joanie’s broadcast.

—Why you? Why you? Why you? Why you? Why you?

—How did you talk to him? I want to know the thod.

—I didn’t even get to see and died.

—Can’t you ask for ?

However, Joanie didn’t know why the Gravekeeper treated her differently, or why he was so lenient with her.

She had tried asking him directly, but since no answer ca, what could she do?

Today, she continued to ignore the questions flooding the chat and rummaged through her inventory.

“Today’s prepared food is….”

Drumroll.

Making noise with her mouth, Joanie smiled slyly.

There was sothing vaguely sinister about her smile.

At that mont, a bowl filled with sothing bright red popped into her hands.

“It’s none other than Volcano Fried Rice!”

************

(T/L Note: Given that the true gender of the Gravekeeper remains unknown to the players, they tend to use pronouns based on their assumptions about the Gravekeeper’s gender. As a result, many refer to the Gravekeeper using he/him pronouns.)