Chapter 240
Chapter 240
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: EP.54 - The Knight Hates Soybean Powder (2)
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Thunk! Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!
Thwunk-!
"...Even if you're not a knight, you won't have to worry about making a living, will you?"
After trying to hammer nails with his fist—no, his palm—Lee Han found that they went in nice and smooth.
Of course, it had always been possible to hammer with a fist, but doing so without using any aura sometimes left the skin sore or caused minor injuries.
But now, without using any techniques at all and purely hammering with his bare hand, his hand was perfectly fine, and an entire chair was completed flawlessly.
Tap.
"I made this one pretty roughly, so why did it turn out so sturdy?"
The handmade chair, split and shaped purely with the edge of his hand without any tools, was crude but solid.
Of course, there were countless spots that needed smoothing, but the mere fact that this was possible with bare hands was already astonishing.
Why would you need a hammer and saw for woodworking?
His fist was the hammer, and the edge of his hand was the saw! It was as if he were proudly demonstrating that.
"Now you finally seem to understand what it means to control your imagery."
"...Do Aura Users always have to appear without any warning to feel satisfied?"
"Hehe, it's natural to enjoy mischievous pranks more as you get older."
Felicia, who had quietly taken up position behind him, grinned like a prankster as she sat on the chair he had made.
"Not bad at all."
Seemingly pleased with the chair, she nodded a few times before looking at Lee Han's upper body.
"So, give me your answer. Do you understand what it means to wield imagery?"
"...Honestly, I still haven't quite grasped it."
"Honest, as always."
"But still..."
Crack!
"—I think I get why you said to train with your head instead of your body."
Lee Han's hand edge split a thick log clean in half.
Just like an axe.
At first, he struggled a lot.
He had no clue how to "train with his mind."
But he didn't overcomplicate it; he just kept fumbling through.
- Just give it a try, whatever.
He wasn't the type to overthink things.
Not a theory guy either—he was the sort who learned by throwing himself into it and gaining something from the experience.
So instead of overanalyzing Felicia's words, Lee Han followed them literally.
Train with the mind—meaning through imagery?
So he did.
Mental training.
He imagined high-weight exercises like lifting barbells for squats, all in his mind.
But when he tried visualizing...
- Nah, this ain't it.
He obsessively dug deeper to create more detailed images.
Felicia hadn't specifically told him to focus on details; it was just something Lee Han couldn't compromise on.
His personality wouldn't allow half-assing anything.
Even if it was pointless, he lived by the creed of giving it his all.
And so, like a picky designer honing in on every detail, he focused relentlessly. The aspects he drilled into were roughly:
The posture during exercise and the muscles' trembling.
How heavy the weight he was lifting felt.
How much sweat he broke and how he got injured during workouts.
Calculating recovery time after intense training.
And various other factors—he succeeded in building an image that felt truly "realistic."
Some days, he spent the entire time just refining details and training mentally.
...Though afterward, he felt a bit of self-loathing.
Like the emptiness after fantasizing about a romance?
But there was a stark difference between romantic daydreams and mental training:
- What? When did I sweat this much?
...It affected reality too.
Confirming that his body was drenched in about the same amount of sweat as in his mental image, Lee Han was puzzled at first, thinking it was coincidence.
Drip, drip...
- ...Here we go again.
But when it happened repeatedly, it was no coincidence.
After finishing mental training with eyes closed and opening them to find himself soaked every time, Lee Han realized it was effective.
Through further trials, he learned that extreme detail and focus were key to mental training.
If either was lacking even slightly, no sweat, just self-loathing from wasted effort.
...From some point on, Lee Han worked to integrate mental training into daily life.
At first, he tried it while eating or walking.
It was tricky, but now he could effortlessly visualize basic swordsmanship or jabs even during a casual stroll.
...Though he often tripped or rolled down hills in the process, luckily no one saw—
- Puhaha! What an idiot, rolling like that!
- They say getting hit on the back of the head makes you lose your memory?
- ...Huh? Why am I here?
- ......
- Ahem.
- Hm.
There had been one instructor around, but he trusted the guy wouldn't blab.
If he did, they'd test if memory loss could be induced artificially.
Anyway, after ten days of trial and error like this, Lee Han's body was now...
"—The muscle mass has definitely decreased, but it feels like the unnecessary parts melted away."
After the fairy rebuilt it, Lee Han had thought his body was perfect.
Bones, muscles, ligaments, tendons—all brand new, in perfect golden balance.
But through mental training, he realized his body could still evolve toward greater perfection.
"Bones got stronger, sure, but my senses sharpened too? Not out of control—just precisely under my will now."
It was a wondrous phenomenon, and Felicia nodded as if it were obvious.
"The result of tempering martial prowess with imagery. Your willpower sculpted your body toward the ideal you envisioned."
"...Didn't you say you forgot all the theory?"
"It's coming back bit by bit through our talks."
"......"
"It's true, really..."
"...Who said otherwise?"
Lee Han promised not to interrogate further and asked her to explain the changes in his body in detail. Felicia grumbled but continued.
...She was convenient—always delivering despite the complaints.
"Ahem, as you know, the human body has training limits. Even those blessed by the heavens eventually hit a growth ceiling. But master willpower, and that's different."
Whoosh!
She lightly swung the wooden sword she held.
"—Things like this become possible."
It looked playful, but the result of that single swing...
Slash-!
Was anything but.
"See? That's the fruit of training the sword with imagery."
"......"
Lee Han blinked at what she had sliced.
Wow...
'A wooden sword can split clouds in half?'
...The moment he realized calling her a yokai in jest was wrong—she was a great yokai.
"—Willpower is like a guide on the path to transcendence. Something Mother often said."
Iliad handed him some tea.
After tasting the honey Lee Han gifted, his eyes widened: "Something this precious must be savored in tea!" Somehow, they ended up having tea time.
As the already rich floral scent filled his mouth with a mystical taste, Lee Han marveled at Iliad's accuracy—then Iliad mentioned "willpower."
"Yes?"
"Haha, Mother isn't great at theoretical explanations. So I'm reciting what I heard long ago."
"Th-thanks, but... now?"
Expressing mild dissatisfaction that he hadn't said this ten days ago, Iliad just smiled brightly.
"Isn't experiencing it firsthand better than vague words? I hear that's advice you often give cadets, Sir Lee Han."
"...You make it hard to argue."
'One experience beats a hundred explanations.'—A lesson he drilled into his disciples, and Lee Han couldn't refute it.
Explanations hit harder after living through the ten-day body changes.
"To add on Mother's behalf: willpower breaks human limits. For example, 'muscles.'"
"Muscles?"
"Yes. As you know, the human body is irrational. Skip workouts for a day, and muscles shrink, fat sags."
"True enough."
Lee Han knew it well.
Two years ago, overexerting to wipe out a powerful spellcaster and slave traders left him with massive injuries, sidelining workouts for over a week.
Just one week off, and muscles wasted while fat crept in—utter despair.
"...Muscles are such poor return on investment."
"Exactly. But freely wield willpower, and it's different."
"......"
"Mother said it: the more you train with will, the closer to your 'ideal.' That's the first step to breaking limits."
"...Muscles don't atrophy anymore?"
"If that's your imagery, yes."
"Then what's the Sword Saint's ideal? Oh, family secret?"
"Haha, nothing like that. Knowing it wouldn't let anyone imitate or stop her."
Iliad laughed heartily and freely revealed the Sword Saint's "ideal."
"Mother pursued the ideal of 'invincible swordsmanship.' So she swung her sword every day of her life—in reality, imagination, even dreams. Without missing a single day."
"...Not a single day?"
"Yes, from age five when she first gripped a sword—85 years straight."
"......"
...Lee Han didn't foolishly ask if that was possible.
It sounded insane, near-madness, impossible—but for an Aura User...
'Makes perfect sense.'
You can't judge them from a mortal's view.
Even if mad, you can't comprehend Aura Users.
They just...
'Do what's possible for them.'
Not crazy—they're humans doing what they can.
But since it's impossible for others, they're called "superhumans."
"Mother always imagined her strongest possible swordsmanship based on that ideal. It wasn't perfected overnight. She refined it surviving countless crises like battlefields. After decades, when it reached about 50% of her ideal... people began calling her 'Sword Saint.'"
"...Impressive."
Just hearing it inspired respect.
She merely trained what she deemed ideal swordsmanship, and suddenly she was at the pinnacle.
Aura Users' talents were truly monstrous...
"—Truly impressive. From being called 'the most talentless knight,' 'Offen family's disgrace,' 'incompetent fool'..."
"...?"
"Oh, first time hearing? It's fairly famous in the kingdom..."
Slide.
Iliad showed a picture book.
Titled The Foolish Lady Knight—mocking even in name—it wasn't just one volume.
"Part 2 is The Defeated Lady Knight, 3 is The Victorious Lady Knight—my favorites. 4, The Lady Knight's Glory, and 5, The Lady Knight's Love were embarrassing. Parents' romance feels awkward to draw..."
"......"
"Oh, there are 10 volumes total. Want them all?"
"...Isn't the author listed as 'Iliad'? Am I seeing things?"
"No, spot on."
"...Namesake?"
"Nope, haha!"
"......"
...He learned the next day from his disciples that Iliad de Offen was one of the continent's top 10 fairy tale authors, and his Lady Knight Series was a bestseller with over 100 million copies sold across the south, west, east, and central continent.