Chapter 119

Chapter 119

Roll...

The ball that had been rolling across the floor bumped into my foot, so I picked it up.

Thankfully, the monster’s juices that had drenched the ball were disappearing into light with the rest of the monster. My pocket wouldn’t get dirty.

A violet ball.

So the monster I had happened upon on my way here really had been the one Sharyl had told me about, the Master of the Cave...

I had thought he was pretty tough.

Charon trained his bow on me and, in a low voice, said, “Don’t touch that. It is mine.”

At this moment, Hector became startled and stopped him.

“W-wait. Stop for a moment.”

“Are you protecting him because he’s your younger brother? You disappoint me, Hector Bednicker. Did you forget that we’re in the middle of a test—”

“It’s not that. First of all...” Hector looked at me with a complicated expression. “Are you... really Luan?”

“Yeah.”

“You’re not an undead, right?”

“Please don’t say that. I’m already tired of that misunderstanding.”

Even if this was only the second time.

“So you were alive...”

“Obviously.”

“Then where have you been? Just what happened to you?”

“...”

I looked at Hector for a moment.

He was still a Bednicker. I’d brushed it off with the others, but I might be able to tell him the truth.

Maybe I would have, were Charon not right next to him.

“I’ll tell you later. I want to accomplish my goals here first.”

“Goals?”

I silently showed him the violet ball.

Hector was quick-witted, so his expression hardened as he realized what I meant.

“...You’re not satisfied with just that ball, so you’re going to take both of our violet balls as well?”

“I’m in a pretty dire situation.”

“Hah.” Charon sneered openly. “I don’t know where you were rolling around, but your skills won’t be—”

“Shut up and focus, Charon Woodjack,” Hector warned him, his voice low. “You’ll be robbed of all your balls if you let your guard down. That guy... he’s stronger than the monster we just defeated.”

“...”

Charon didn’t seem to fully believe Hector’s words...

But he did seem to realize something. He asked, “...Were you the one who injured the Master of the Cave?”

“That’s right. You guys practically stole my prey, so you have no right to complain even if I attack you, right?”

Hector interjected, “What if we willingly give you the violet ball?”

“What?”

“What nonsense.”

Charon whipped his head around to glare at Hector, and I looked at him with a bit of surprise in my expression.

If this was the Hector I knew, he would’ve never made a suggestion like that.

It was true that I’d landed a serious blow on the Master of the Cave...

But he’d escaped from me in that state.

My attack hadn’t been fatal.

Meaning they had needed to do a lot to actually defeat the monster... yet now he was freely offering to give up the reward for their effort.

Of course, Hector seems to have some understanding of my skill level...

Giving up because he would lose if he fought... that option hadn’t existed in the original Hector’s mindset.

Hector had learned to suppress his ego.

“Sorry, but that won’t do,” I responded with a bright smile.

Honestly, I was even more interested after seeing Hector’s reaction.

I wanted to check just how he had lived in the last four weeks of the training camp.

Hector let out a sigh. “I knew you would say that.”

Clang!

As he drew his sword and lashed out, I responded in kind with my Sword of Seven Sins.

I couldn’t help but whistle at our first exchange.

The power I could feel coming through my sword was overwhelming.

In our short clash of blades, I realized that Hector’s swordsmanship had improved quite a bit.

That wasn’t all.

“Elder Brother, did you perhaps spar with Instructor Tanko?”

“I did.”

As I thought.

I could feel a more beastly nature in his sword swings.

These wild movements hadn’t been part of Hector’s repertoire before, which was to be expected given he’d been receiving structured lessons from tutors since he was young.

It’s good.

His stiff swordsmanship had found some flexibility.

The fact that he had fixed his weaknesses meant that he himself had internally recognized that he was lacking.

There weren’t many martial artists who could recognize their own shortcomings.

While this was happening...

Pwing!

I quickly dodged the arrow that was fired at me amidst our spar.

“Looks like you haven’t grown at all.”

“Are you also going to judge me?”

I smirked before attacking Hector with my right hand.

Hector quickly retracted his sword hand to defend against my attack, but the power of my palm wasn’t meant to destroy, only to push him away.

“Kugh...!”

Hector’s body was lifted into the air as he was flung toward the wall of the cave.

I could see him trying to immediately regain his stance, but I threw the Sword of Seven Sins at him before he could do so.

Stab!

Perhaps it was obvious, but I didn’t want to kill Hector or even leave him with a major injury.

The Sword of Seven Sins caught Hector’s clothes and embedded itself into the wall.

It would take some time for him to escape that pin.

While Hector was busy with that, I charged toward Charon.

P-p-pwing.

Charon fired his arrows at me again. I dodged two of them and grabbed the last with my hand.

“Hah...! Then try grabbing this!”

The edge of Charon’s mouth curled as he fired just a single arrow at me.

And since he wasn’t a weak-willed individual with low self-esteem, there was a limit to what physical violence could do.

As expected, after Charon finished organizing his thoughts, he said, “...If I can maintain my rank this way, then sure, I’ll accept.”

“All right. Then let’s maintain our first, second, and third place spots like good friends.”

I put my hand forward with a smile on my face.

“One, two, three, teamwork!”

“...”

“...”

The two least expressive young heroes did not respond to my cheer.

***

After leaving Charon and Hector behind, I left the cave.

Although walking around with them didn’t feel like a bad idea, I suddenly felt a desire to be alone.

Today is Friday...

The test would end Monday night, meaning there were still three days to go.

It was neither a short time nor a long time. It was, however, just the right amount of time for me to rest.

When I had been truly focused on my training on Spirit Mountain, I had received periodic periods of rest from my master, and they had usually lasted exactly three days.

—Master definitely knows a lot. Two nights and three days is the perfect length for a rest. One night and two days is too short, and three nights and four days is too long.

Third Senior Brother, the most talkative of the bunch, had agreed with my thoughts.

And for some reason, I felt that I wouldn’t have many opportunities to roam the Forest of the Butterfly like this after the test, so I decided to treat this place as a sort of rest spot.

For now, I used the shack east of the main camp as my base and momentarily escaped my orderly lifestyle.

After napping for multiple hours, I was unable to sleep at night, so I stayed awake until morning.

I even laid down on a thick branch and looked up at the night sky to count the stars through the leaves.

During this period, I forgot about the special test, the demon lords I’d met in Hell, and the duty that had been given to me.

I didn’t even consider circulating my internal energy.

I was satisfied by this lazy moment, something I hadn’t experienced in a long time.

Food was the one pain point.

When I got hungry, I would go down to the river to catch fish to cook, but naturally, they didn’t taste particularly good.

I wanted to eat other meats and fruits to cleanse my palate, but...

Monsters vanished immediately after being killed, and although we were past the height of winter and arriving in spring, the weather was still too cold for any fruit to grow.

Regardless, my heart was very calm.

Now that I think about it, I haven’t spent a peaceful moment like this since my regression.

I wasn’t talking about the regression in the training camp.

I’d had practically no time to rest since waking up again as the fifteen-year-old Luan Bednicker.

I mean, my tendon was in danger of being severed the moment I opened my eyes.

After that, I’d nearly died during my travels in the Gem Mountains, and after coming down to the main house, I’d been swept up in many different incidents.

Honestly, thanks to my nature as a martial artist, even this hectic and tough life didn’t seem that bad...

But I also felt that everyone needed a moment to rest.

Staying alone like this once in a while didn’t feel bad.

When I felt the presence of other young heroes near me, I avoided them on purpose, and I didn’t mess with monsters as long as they didn’t enter my area.

Like this, one day passed, then two days... and then finally the morning of the final day of the training camp arrived.

“...”

I looked at the rising sun and circulated my Strongest Fire Technique for the first time in a while...

And I was slightly surprised.

I didn’t know why, but my inner core’s internal energy was settling in an odd shape.

How could I put this...

My internal and exterior energies, which had been clashing awkwardly since my regression, finally seemed to be moving in tandem.

“Ah.”

I realized something.

Even my body needed time to adapt. I needed these moments of rest so my body could settle.

Fwoosh...

I enjoyed the morning rays as I began my circulation.

A balanced body and my Strongest Fire Technique, which had reached its next stage.

The amount of internal energy that was piling up in my body increased multiple times.

Since I was on a roll, I even tried melting the mystic bead a little.

“Oh.”

As expected, it was much quicker to do so. At the current rate, I could probably melt the entirety of the mystic bead in half a year at most.

“I think... I took two steps forward today.”

I chuckled as I stood up. Clear and refreshing air enveloped my lungs.

Just four weeks ago, the morning of the forest had been quite chilly, but it had warmed up quite a bit now.

Spring would arrive soon.

“...?”

At this moment, my heightened senses detected a presence I couldn’t ignore.

The origin of the presence was approaching me quickly but silently through the forest.

I couldn’t sense any hostility yet, but...

Dash.

Soon, a young man in a proper suit appeared before me.

His face was familiar.

“You are...”

“Collector Jein.”

“Right.”

For some reason, he looked much more proper than when we’d last met.

“Do you have business with me?”

“Young Master Luan, we have been relayed the general situation from the Instructor of Doctrine. I learned of the situation as I was given the message to relay. Firstly, I wish to show my respect for your great accomplishment.”

As Jein said that, he took a bow.

When I saw his face again as he lifted his head back up, I felt a sense of goodwill from him. Even as a son of the Lord of Blood and Iron, receiving a collector’s goodwill was very rare.

Just like with Kayan, these people were hunting dogs who would raise their swords even against the direct bloodline of the house—so long as their mission called for it.

As expected of House Bednicker’s staff.

As the house placed skill and achievement above all else, even their servants and staff had similar thoughts.

I nodded.

I had a feeling I knew why he was here.

“It’s forbidden for an outsider to enter the training camp while the camp is ongoing.”

“Yes.”

“But the fact that you can confidently reveal yourself to me like this means...”

“...There is only one person who can stand above the house laws of House Bednicker.” Jein wore a faint smile as he said, “The family head has summoned you.”