Hiro sat cross legged in his room frowning, his eyes were closed and his expression showed great focus. He was trying to assess and grasp the changes in his body. Moments passed while he was in this state till finally opened his eyes sighing.

  "It's already been six days since arriving on this world, yet you haven't made any progress."

  Indifferently said B.One floating just before Hiro.

  "I just don't know where to start or what I'm supposed to do. Every rank ascension in swordsmanship is like gaining additional limbs. And I don't know how they function, worse part I don't even know they are there."

  Hiro spoke with a tinge of frustration. It was like he had hit a wall... no he was trying to find said wall to know he had reached his limit then strive for break through. There was no other way, in order to reach new heights as a swordsman he first needed to touch upon the limits of what he could already do.

  "A challenging opponent would be effective in identifying how much I've improved but this has limits of only identifying limits that have to do with fighting. The power behind each of my strikes, the maximum range of every means of attack I have. The limits of how much my body can endure. There's nearly zero chance that an opponent can make a person see every capability and shortcomings they have."

  B.One nodded acknowledging Hiro's point, right now the most important thing for Hiro was stabilise his foundation. But with no guiding hand it was like taking shots in the dark.

  Why did Hiro have a need for this?

  Simple even before fighting the demon king, Hiro had reached a rank in swordsmanship never before reached in his home world, at least not in recorded history. And before his death he wasn't even just a rank higher which made things even worse for him, like he had just passed a grade and while still learning in the grade he advanced to he got abruptly promoted to the next grade without passing the former grade. In short passing one grade but advancing two grades, to advance to higher grade he had to pass the exam of his current grade, which he knew next to nothing about. Further more he had no one to teach him, making the goal of advancing all the more difficult.

  "All of the rank advancements involve the will becoming stronger than before and undergoing respective changes. Not to mention the increase in power from one rank to the next. Starting at sword apprentice, it's just learning how to wield a sword and basic techniques, there's no difference between them and ordinary people. Then there's sword experts, at this rank a person can see and harm spiritual bodies but this only applies to those outside the physical body, ghosts and the like. But the true gain in respect to swordsmanship is that at this rank it's also possible to strengthen a sword so it becomes more durable and sharper, cutting through metals and boulders like a hot knife through butter. And their senses are several folds that of a normal person."

  For a moment while listening to B.One explain the ranks of swordman, Hiro was surprised then remembered that for most his life they were together, at least from before he became a swordman.

  "Above sword expert there's sword master, at this rank ranged slashes and stabs, is the respective swordsmanship gain. With a body that isn't as fragile as normal people, can go for a whole week without food or water and can resist various poisons without potions and healing herbs. One rank higher and it's sword grandmaster, with inhuman precision, reducing something to dust by cutting it repeatedly is possible. And upon advancing to this rank a swordman undergoes body reconstruction similar to molting. Through this process bones, muscles, veins, every organ including the skin becomes physically superior to their previous self their bodies even purifying physical toxins naturally."

  "Even higher, the rank of sword supreme grandmaster, at this rank body reconstruction can be done at will however without the benefit of the body improving, but can recover from injuries without leaving behind any scars, with enough time even lost limbs can be regrown. Respective swordsmanship gain is controlling swords with an invisible force, number of swords that can be controlled various from person to person but above twenty. And it's at this rank that the additional sense of life force is gained allowing for the detection of others not by sight, smell, hearing, touch or taste.

  Finally at the top of the known ranks, sword sage. At this rank the distinction of sword and self is lost, allowing the bestowal of swordly attributes to any object and themselves. Allowing them to cut, stab do anything a sword can with just their bodies or an object as harmless as cloth. But bestowing these attributes to a sword is even more amazing, superior to just strengthening it. The sword never loses its sharpness, becoming a blade that never dulls with the additional benefit of not rusting."

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  B.One concluded but there was still more to the ranks than what he said like how each rank not including it's introductory gains, the gains from the previous ranks become much stronger than before. Like ranged slashes, from sword master to sword grandmster the range would go up by ten times and it would go up by ten times again after becoming a supreme grandmaster and it would continue to do so with each rank up.

  Sometimes there would even be a qualitative change depending on how large the gap between ranks is. A possible qualitive change was that upon being a sword supreme grandmaster, a swordsman could sense life force which went beyond the five senses, that were being heightened from the point of being a sword expert.

  "I surpassed the rank of sword sage months ago and just recently thanks to some insurmountable wall, I surpassed the rank after sage without having to understand it. That's two ranks above sword sage, I haven't grasped a single thing about either rank. Not to mention the rank of sword sage in a way is deceptive, its idea is 'I am the sword and the sword is I, everything within my grasp is a sword'. No matter how you look at it, this suggests a conclusion to swordsmanship. Sigh, I'm ranks above sage but is it possible there's nothing I've gained in my advancements."

  "I can assure you there's gains not only that you've yet to reach the true peak of swordman path."

  (B.One how much does he know exactly, much more than what he could have learned while with me evidently but how deep does his knowledge run?)

  "Your knowledge of the world exceeds my by leaps and bounds how is that?"

  "It's nothing worth noting, any invader can access the a world's information as easily as though reading a book."

  He answered.

  "Since you know so much isn't it possible for you to help me?"

  Asked Hiro his gaze filling with hope.

  "I also wish you could hurry along as well but the knowledge I possess though accurate and beyond what you know in swordsmanship it is useless to you."

  Light in Hiro's eyes died as he asked.

  "I don't see how that makes much sense. You know what need to know but can't say it because it won't help."

  "I wouldn't say need but yes. To make a comparison what I know is every component of a car and its function but you need to drive. Telling you won't help with driving, only another driver can teach this to you or learning everything by yourself otherwise my knowledge might even serve as an obstruction. Only someone peerless can make use of what I know."

  "Car what's that?"

  Asked Hiro not even confused or thinking he had misheard, this wasn't the first time their discussions introduced new words to him.

  "You'll find out in time... Seems using it as an example was a mistake. Then I'll use an oven, I know every component and function of the oven but what you need to learn is baking."

  In terms of knowledge B.One was like an anatomist while Hiro was a baby in an adult's body, the limbs were developed to be used but he had never used them before, except by reflex there was no hope and telling him he had arms to handle all sorts of tasks and legs to move him from one place to another was useless. Only by going through self learning or watching others like himself could he learn, but B.One wasn't such a being.

  "If that's how it is so be it."

  Said Hiro giving up on the idea.

  All the ranks below supreme grandmaster had stable foundation and anyone at that rank was like a student there was little to no unknowns because countless others had passed through that point, and Hiro thanks to that accumulation of knowledge and experience reached above what anyone had reached before it could be said that his rise to the peak, more or less fit the description of sitting on the shoulders of giants. He was at the peak of the giants now, to reach even higher he had to do with his own efforts, an uncharted road there would be no progress without Hiro paving the way himself.

  "It wouldn't be hard if I could get into situations that promotes the reflex of these 'additional limbs'."

  Hiro noted, picturing how a sword expert a person who can see and harm spiritual bodies but how could they know when they never encountered or fought such entities while ignorant of this.

  (If only there was giant on giant's shoulder I could climb higher and faster...)

  Hiro paused realising the error of his thoughts.

  (Yes I could reach the peak of the second giant but what then, will I wish for a third. If there are no giants for me to climb and reach higher than I'll just have to be a giant myself. In the future unless it's necessary I shouldn't even rely on B.One for anything.)

  Thought Hiro determined to pave his swordman path, reaching its eventual destination.

  "Now that I know about the training quarters I should see if I can't make use them."

  He said thinking of what best to start with when testing his swordsman abilities. Till now he had been deducing what new abilities he had not giving time to the improvement on what he already had. And it was at this time that he heard a knock, and welcomed his guest, Aleus. Even before opening the door he knew it was him, spending time in the palace he was now familiar with its regulars' life force, able to distinguish who was who just by sensing it.

  Immediately after the two exchanged greetings, not even stepping into the room Aleus spoke.

  "The royal treasury is finally open, and I am here to take you there."

  This revelation was no surprise to Hiro, his actions in this world had gone beyond expectations for all, and there was nothing they could do to compensate him. Subjugating the fragment alongside him, that was also in their interest not to mention Hiro would play a major role in it regardless, thus mostly irrelevant to giving him something in return. As for the feast, how could that be compensation. So before they even spoke to Hiro about concealing the fact of the world's restoration, they offered for Hiro to select a number of artifacts in Akarn's royal treasury.

  (Revealing the truth of that day might result in me receiving such gifts from other kingdoms but this is just a possibility. I don't even have a desire for them, so this is best.)

  "What are we still doing here, lead the way."

  Said Hiro closing the door behind him before they left.