A Middle-Aged Man Becomes the Strongest in Another World: The Physical Specialized Awakener - Chapter 15

The next day, after finishing my daily training, I headed to the guild in the evening and found a small crowd gathered around the bulletin board. Apparently, the call to arms for the Great Goblin Subjugation had just been officially posted.

I skimmed the notice. The subjugation was being led by the viscount’s household, and all adventurers ranked E and above were required to participate. The reward ranged from 50,000 to 200,000 rom per day, depending on rank.

The mission starts in just three days, seems a bit sudden, but judging by the reactions around me, this is pretty standard. Kisara and a few other guild staff stood by the bulletin board, explaining the mission verbally to adventurers who couldn’t read. It was clear the guild saw this as a very important job.

After gathering the info I needed, I sold off my materials and headed to the weapon shop. Since I had some extra money, I figured it was time to upgrade my gear. My mace just wasn’t cutting it anymore, not with my level ups, skill gains, and now some special abilities too.

“Hey, bud! What you ordered came in!” The shopkeeper greeted me as I entered. On a cart he wheeled out were two metal rods, training rods made from dark metal.

“Thanks! I’ll take them. Also, I’ve outgrown my current mace. I’d like to buy a new one.”

“Outgrown it already? Didn’t you just buy it like… two weeks ago?”

“Yeah, but check this out.” I gave the mace a few lazy swings using just my wrist. The shopkeeper’s eyes widened.

“Holy crap, what kind of strength is that? Even D-Ranks aren’t usually this strong.”

“Well, I did get promoted to E-Rank yesterday.”

“Seriously? No way… Wait, you’re serious. Damn. Looks like you’re gonna be a big deal. So, you want another mace? I remember you also mentioned an interest in spears.”

“I thought about spears, but it turns out brute force with a mace suits me better. Still, I’m curious about longswords.”

“Longswords, huh? They’re a lot trickier to handle than maces.”

“Yeah, I know. Just give me a practice one for now. For the mace, I want something about three times heavier than my current one.”

“Three times?! Alright, gimme a minute.”

The shopkeeper disappeared into the back and returned pushing another cart, this one loaded with three maces and three longswords.

“These are the best I’ve got right now. The longswords are technically on the cheaper side… but if you swing with your strength, cheap ones won’t survive. It might be better to invest in a good one.”

“Got it. Let me take a look.”

I tested each weapon, picking the ones that felt most natural. Choosing the mace was easy, my skills let me feel the difference right away. As for the longsword, I just picked the one that felt the most balanced.

“I’ll take these. And can you include a belt and sheath for the longsword?”

“Sure thing. That’ll be 510,000 Rom. Are you good for it?”

“No problem. Thanks.” That hit my wallet hard, but I see it as an investment in my future.

To think I’d be spending money so confidently just two weeks after arriving in this world… I’ve really changed.

The next day, I skipped the dungeon and spent the entire day at my makeshift training ground.

First, I needed to get used to the new mace.

It was a bit longer than the old one, and the head was noticeably bigger. Definitely felt three times heavier too. Swinging it felt like the first time I ever picked up a mace. 

I pictured the monsters I’d fought before and swung the mace horizontally and vertically, imagining smashing them all. Normally, swinging something this heavy would pull your body off-balance, but thanks to the special skill Stability, I could handle it with surprising control.

Stability supposedly keeps your footing steady, but in reality, it seems to manipulate your center of gravity, basically bending the laws of physics. It’s like my body instantly gets heavier when I move, giving me amazing balance. The higher the skill level, the stronger the effect.

It’s only Level 2 right now, but I can already feel it working wonders.

After about an hour of nonstop practice, the mace started feeling more natural in my hands. Probably leveled up too.

Time to move on to the longsword.

Why a longsword and not a spear? No real mystery, Anatolia the Crimson, the woman I saw the other day, looked awesome with one strapped to her hip. That was all the inspiration I needed.

I swung the sword for an hour, clearly looking like a total amateur. But eventually, something clicked. My body suddenly understood how to swing it right, my footing smoothed out, my blade aligned better.

Another hour of practice, and I’d apparently reached Longsword Lv.2. “Alright. The rest I’ll have to learn in real combat.” No amount of solo training can replace actual experience.

I set the sword down and picked up the two dark metal rods. Then I packed a third one in a bag and slung it over my back. That’s nearly 300 kilos of extra weight. I thought about running with it, but my shoes wouldn’t survive. So I took them off and ran barefoot.

Thanks to the special skill Iron Body, the soles of my feet hardened instantly. I could step on rocks without feeling a thing. I’m really starting to feel superhuman now.

After a full day of intense training, I could feel both my body and my skills growing stronger. Honestly? It’s fun. Tomorrow, I’ll unleash this power on some monsters.

The next morning, one day before the big subjugation, I had my armor adjusted and got a new buckler. Then I headed to the Boulder Dungeon and fought goblins and rock lizards with my longsword, trying to fine-tune my feel for the weapon.

For someone used to the blunt force of a mace, the sensation of slicing through enemies was… surprisingly fresh. And wow, blades are deadly. I’d heard that Western swords were more for striking than cutting, but clearly, a proper blade cuts like a dream.

That said, with my strength-boosted body, pure blunt force from the mace still packs a bigger punch. I mean, I once hit a boss-level Bearwolf in the head with full force and its skull basically exploded. That’s the power of mass and momentum.

Anyway, I feel like I’ve done everything I can to prepare for the Great Goblin Subjugation. At my current level, even a “Psuedo-King,” a lesser Goblin King, shouldn’t be a problem.

Looking around at other E-Ranks, I do feel like I’m way above average now… but I can’t let that go to my head. I’ve only been an adventurer for a little over two weeks. Can’t forget that.