Chapter 63
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 63
Chapter Title: Back to the Snowy Mountains Again - 4
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As Camilla had said, Sian was a dragon in a well.
In other words, it wasn't that he lacked confidence. He had simply been ignorant of the world.
He had grown up in the Dark Forest from the moment he opened his eyes, raised as a hunter under his adoptive father Ian. Naturally, his standards were based on Ian, and the knowledge Ian had imparted became his benchmark for viewing the world.
He had lived in the Dark Forest, untouched by human footsteps, and only recently started interacting with people in the rural village of Lugeron Village.
Thus, the information he had about the world was nothing but fragments.
He had no idea how strong a knight truly was, what mana was, or what kind of power aura held.
Even the first knight he faced was Wolf, who bore the moniker "Black Wolf."
He was among the top-tier experts of the 4th rank knights and wielded Robera, a famed sword that, while not from the Mythic Era, stood in the ranks of legendary blades.
Combining all his abilities, Wolf was someone who had reached the toehold of the 3rd rank.
Against such a man, Sian had triumphed using his basic physical prowess and a simple long sword.
It was an incredible feat in the eyes of the world, but to Sian, it was a brush with death against Wolf that heightened his vigilance, leaving him intimidated by the power of aura that he lacked.
In fact, Sian—who had only been wounded once before, after the Black Tiger—couldn't help but react sensitively to the Holy Kingdom's paladins, who were knights like Wolf. And now that he even had children, that sensitivity had doubled.
Camilla had noticed this while observing Sian.
But as Camilla said, aura was just one benchmark, not an absolute one.
Even a mage's mana sensitivity could serve as a benchmark, as could the divine power of priests, which required absolute talent.
In that sense, Camilla hoped Sian wouldn't fixate on aura.
It was regrettable to see someone born with overwhelming divine power obsessing over something as trivial as aura.
"Aura has clear limitations."
"You're saying that after beating me like a dog?"
Camilla, who had sheathed her sword and shield, spoke while looking at Sian.
In Sian's eyes, aura probably seemed omnipotent at a glance.
It could slice what couldn't be sliced, strike what couldn't be hit, and protect what couldn't be guarded.
"That's not true. Without focusing your mind, aura can't slice what can be sliced; without deep yearning, it can't hit what can be hit; and without resolve, it can't even guard what can be guarded."
But in the end, it was still human power.
Why would even master-level knights of the 2nd rank, who could sway the continent, crave power and strive to build forces to protect themselves?
"In contrast, the miracles granted by divine power have no such constraints."
"But I can't control miracles."
The reason Sian didn't hold great expectations for divine miracles was that the one he could currently wield belonged to Hestia, the goddess of love and family.
Her miracles were ill-suited for combat, offering him no help.
And Sian had no desire to rely on uncontrollable external forces like divine miracles.
This stemmed from his nature. Raised as a hunter under his adoptive father Ian, he preferred to depend on his own strength rather than outside help.
"That's only half right."
But that was his misconception.
"Half?"
"Didn't the apostle teach you? How to subdivide Hestia's miracle and infuse vitality into others."
"Right."
Sian still vividly remembered it—the source of vitality burning at his fingertips.
"You can control miracles the same way."
"How?"
"If I knew that, do you think I'd be slumming it as a knight? I'd be a revered priest instead."
"..."
"Still, if I offer some advice, mana is the smallest unit of divinity."
"I heard that from Helen."
"And divine power is the vessel that receives divinity."
"Camilla, what you're saying is that just like I enhanced my physical abilities with mana, I could do the same with divinity, right?"
"Yes. Though it's not a method I particularly recommend."
"If it were possible, Helen would've told me ages ago."
Sian's judgment was correct.
Divinity was the power of gods contemplating the world's truths. It wasn't something a mere human could wield arbitrarily.
"But you think substituting it with vitality makes it possible?"
"Normally, it's so dangerous no one even attempts it, but with your body, Hero, it might just work."
"So ultimately, it's a gamble with no guarantees."
It was risky.
It meant using his own body for human experimentation—something no one with a normal mindset would ever consider. Yet Sian accepted it.
"Still, it seems worth trying."
It might be the fastest way to grow stronger now, perhaps even the only way to protect his family.
Sian quickly made up his mind and adapted the prayer Helen had taught him, this time invoking the miracle upon himself.
"Peaceful flames, grant me strength."
Then, a scorching energy blazed through his body.
"Urk... So that's why Helen never taught me this."
Sian grimaced in pain, as if his body were being seared by fire, and Camilla beside him felt the heat too.
It was so intense that the northern chill no longer registered to Camilla at his side.
...
Following Camilla's advice, they experimented through the night, but it was only half successful.
"The issue is sustainability."
"It's unavoidable. Since it's the power of a god and all. You should be satisfied with what we've achieved so far."
Adapting Hestia's miracle to infuse himself with vitality had enhanced his body to a level comparable to a 5th rank knight's reinforcement, but the drawbacks were clear.
For one, its sustainability was incomparably worse than mana—terrible fuel efficiency.
After one enhancement, exhaustion hit hard just 10 seconds in. Even I, who prided myself on infinite stamina, felt drained.
And the body heating up was secondary; his mind spun like he'd been drinking.
It seemed to be the aftermath of abnormal physical enhancement combined with using divine power simultaneously.
According to Camilla, though, this was mere child's play compared to other priests.
That might explain why she occasionally shot me looks like I was some kind of monster.
"The drawbacks are clear, but so are the advantages."
"Yeah."
I reviewed the strike I'd swung with Robera alongside the vitality enhancement. The forest was cleaved in two, just like the sword aura Camilla had shown.
"It'll be hard to fully deploy in real combat yet, but we don't have more time."
"I know. Just let me rest a bit. I'm beat."
"You really do look worn out this time."
"Sorry."
"I didn't say it to hear an apology, but thanks for acknowledging it."
Before heading to the snowy mountains, Sian and Camilla returned amicably to Ice Flower Village for a quick nap.
"Sian, what were you up to all night?"
Clara, who had woken early, was packing up.
He felt bad for her, but he was too exhausted to stay awake.
"Just... stuff. Sorry, gotta crash for a bit."
"Okay."
"I'll catch some shut-eye too. Dealing with the Hero left my whole body sore."
"Huh?"
This guy again.
"I said sorry."
"I think it's important to say what needs saying. I question whether you needed to keep me up all night, burning like that. Do you know how tired I am from handling you?"
"I'm sorry, but you provoked me first."
There was no need to keep Camilla around all night for the experiments. From midway, I could've practiced alone without her help.
But I needed a sandbag for performance testing, and with the memory of her beating me earlier still fresh, I took the chance for payback.
"It was too much. How strong do you think a vitality-charged strike from the overflowing Hero is? My back still hurts."
"Saying it like that leaves me speechless. Want a massage?"
"If you're offering, I won't say no."
Camilla said her piece and headed off to rest first.
I stretched and went to do the same.
Then Clara started slapping my shoulders with both hands.
Why now?
"You already got handsy with another woman?"
"What're you talking about?"
"You were doing that stuff with Camilla earlier?"
"What stuff?"
"Y'know... man and woman... doing stuff together..."
Seeing Clara blush as she stammered, it was clear she'd badly misunderstood.
I wondered what in our recent conversation could've led to that, but too tired to explain, I brushed it off and headed to rest.
"It wasn't like that. I'm gonna crash. Too exhausted."
"R-Really?"
"Really... Ugh, I'm dying."
Too drained even to reply properly, I collapsed before reaching the bed.