Bell had once again entered a state of single-minded training.
The last Status Update had shown that his abilities had not yet reached their limit. Now, what Bell needed to do was push himself to the very edge of his potential—transforming every bit of it into the foundation for his next level. That was the correct path forward.
To advance steadily according to his plans, he had to refine himself to perfection, preparing for the leap to Lv.6.
Because of that, Bell entered the Dungeon early, focusing on honing his technique and Status around the 30th floor.
Normally, a Lv.5 Adventurer would find it difficult to improve their Status without descending below the 50th floor.
But Bell was different from ordinary Adventurers.
His method of gaining experience was simple and direct. He could obtain it purely through 'training'—even without fighting Monsters. He could increase his Status just by training alone at home.
That made the 30th floor an ideal place for him to train.
"Swish!"
Three cold flashes sliced through the air almost simultaneously.
"Pfft!"
Blood sprayed from the Bugbear's massive body.
Three deep wounds appeared across its four-meter-tall frame, the cracked rocky hide and the torn flesh beneath fitting together in a seamless pattern.
"Thud!"
The giant body crashed heavily to the ground.
Bell sheathed his blade and nodded slightly.
"Hmm, done."
The technique 'Tsubame Gaeshi' had been nearly complete for some time.
He had been stuck on the final strike before, unable to bring it out because his technique and strength had not yet caught up. Now, with his improved control over space, that last strike had finally come through.
Bell took a deep breath. The world shifted once more into shades of black and white.
He drew his blade quickly, executing three slashes in succession.
From a single point, three cold arcs spread outward in a triangular formation, tracing a fan shape through the air.
Now, the 'Tsubame Gaeshi' was truly complete.
'Good. The foundation for Tsubame Gaeshi is set.'
It had taken him nearly half a year to master this secret technique.
That period had begun right after his consciousness first awakened.
It hadn't been a short process, but at last, he had mastered it completely.
'Next, I just need to apply it in real combat.'
Bell knew that any secret technique only showed its true worth after being used repeatedly in battle. Only then could it evolve further.
Fortunately, this was the 30th floor—part of the Lower Floors.
Monsters spawned here far faster than in the Upper or Middle Floors, ensuring he had no shortage of opponents to train against.
After waiting a moment, another Bugbear burst from the wall.
He vanished from sight, seized the moment, adjusted his breathing—three cold flashes appeared again.
"Boom!"
The Bugbear, just as it landed, lost all strength and collapsed to the ground.
Bell wasn't focused on the Bugbear at that moment but on his own hands.
'Stiffness appeared after the third strike.'
'The first two swings held perfectly, yet by the third, stiffness set in.'
That was something Bell couldn't accept.
If he intended to use 'Tsubame Gaeshi' frequently in real combat, this issue had to be resolved. Otherwise, it would become a fatal flaw in the technique.
A move he had honed through endless practice turning into a weakness? Bell refused to let his effort end in vain. 'Tsubame Gaeshi' still needed further refinement.
He had to figure out why he could link two strikes fluidly, but the third always caused a brief stiffness in his body.
He used another Bugbear as his test subject.
Three arcs of light flashed through the air at once. The newly spawned Bugbear collapsed lifelessly onto the ground again.
This time, with full focus, Bell finally realized why his body faltered after the third strike.
The answer was 'space.'
"Damn it… I didn't expect the shortcut I took to come with a price."
"No wonder the first two strikes didn't have this problem."
He had begun training the first two strikes before gaining the Development Ability related to space. In other words, they had been refined purely through inherited technique—standing on the shoulders of that nameless swordsman.
Because the first two were pure technique, they flowed seamlessly together.
But the third introduced an element beyond technique. That impurity disrupted the perfection of the form. Though the third strike looked identical to the original 'Tsubame Gaeshi,' in essence, it was a forced imitation.
Adding something unnecessary to perfection inevitably led to distortion—like drawing legs on a snake.
"Ah… I may have found what was missing, but since it wasn't achieved through pure technique, 'Tsubame Gaeshi' ends up being a one-time trick."
And there was still that glaring flaw.
A flaw too deadly to ignore.
'Tsubame Gaeshi' was supposed to be a flawless sword technique—he couldn't allow it to degrade through compromise.
"Forget it. At least I have time to make up for the gaps."
He temporarily set aside the issue with the third strike and turned his focus back to perfecting the second.
"Wait!"
"If I can execute a third strike by manipulating space… then couldn't I keep stacking more on top of it?"
The idea suddenly sparked in Bell's mind—and quickly flared into a blazing thought.
At that moment, another Bugbear emerged from the wall.
Bell's eyes gleamed. The 30th floor really was the perfect training ground.
He steadied his breathing, dashed toward the newly spawned Bugbear, and drew his blade.
The world turned monochrome.
Bell moved swiftly.
The first two strikes landed cleanly, followed by the third, the fourth, the fifth—and eventually the ninety-ninth.
In that black-and-white world, the Bugbear's body was surrounded by countless streaks of blade light.
The next instant, color returned—and every one of those countless slashes struck the Bugbear.
There was no scream. Only the blood-soaked Bugbear falling lifelessly to the ground.
"Phew…"
Holding his stance, Bell exhaled softly. The instant's exertion had drained him, yet he had actually succeeded.
"Who would've thought—just by messing around, I'd end up developing an entirely new form of attack."
He also noticed that his body's stiffness lingered longer than before, likely caused by excessive spatial layering.
After all, ninety-nine strikes really was overkill.
Still, the move had potential. If further research could determine the ideal number of spatial layers, he could drastically shorten the stiffness period while amplifying its power.
'It seems the final mastery of Tsubame Gaeshi really will depend on technique alone.'