Chapter 124
Chapter 124
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 124
Chapter Title: Transcending Limits Through Training
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[Chapter 123 - High Knight]
The three of them were whispering among themselves while waiting for Arsen.
Were they holding a strategy meeting or something?
That thought didn't last long before one of the servants acting as referee raised a flag forward.
He lifted it high into the sky and waved it, signaling the start of the duel.
"Here I come!"
As it was a duel, Arsen shouted first before launching his attack.
His first target was Ronon, the tall spearman standing a step ahead of the others.
The plan was to strike his neck in an instant and force a surrender before he could react.
But the moment he lunged to attack, Arsen realized something off about his opponent's response.
"Oh..."
Surprisingly, the opponent reacted appropriately to Arsen's charging speed and retreated.
Considering that most would panic at a high knight's movements aimed at vital points and fail to react in time, this was astonishing.
Of course, in a one-on-one, Arsen would have chased him down and finished it right away. His movement speed was far superior, after all.
What prevented Arsen from ending Ronon was the pincer attack from right beside him.
"Strike!"
"Block the right!"
An axe, and a greatsword.
Arsen twisted his body slightly to dodge the axe, planning to smack the greatsword away and make its wielder drop it entirely.
But the knight wielding the greatsword, Shami, skillfully yielded to Arsen's strike at the perfect moment, as if he'd anticipated it.
As a result, though the weapon flew off with tremendous force, it didn't slip from his grasp.
"Hah!"
At that moment, a spear thrust from behind. Arsen tilted his head slightly to evade it.
The spear grazed past his helmet slowly. Seeing that, Arsen spun around and immediately counterattacked Ronon.
He aimed not for a vital spot but the torso—specifically, the side.
To land a solid hit, he targeted an area with a broad surface, hard to dodge.
But once again, Arsen's attack sliced through empty air.
"Again?"
The reason was simple.
Ronon had prepared in advance while thrusting his spear and rolled his body the instant he judged it would miss.
It was the movement of someone who knew full well he couldn't match Arsen in a proper exchange.
"What the hell..."
He couldn't even chase and finish him off.
Shami and Daltis had kept a moderate distance and preempted the positions where Arsen might close in.
"These guys."
Arsen completely erased any underestimation of his opponents.
What their actions hinted at was clear.
"They're skilled at fighting high knights."
Ordinary knights don't specially train techniques for ganging up on one person.
Knightly skill gaps aren't that vast to begin with, so a properly trained knight can handle one-versus-many without special teamwork drills.
In Belluan, even only Ramun could beat two proper knights, and Arsen himself wasn't confident against two knights.
But these three were not only individually exceptional but also masters of many-versus-one combat, as if they'd sparred against high knights hundreds of times.
That thought didn't linger.
As if judging that Arsen was catching his breath, the three rushed him simultaneously.
* * *
"We lost!"
"Whew, we got smashed without a breather."
After the duel ended, all four removed their helmets, faces drenched in sweat.
It had been a one-sided affair with Arsen relentlessly pressing and the three encircling, clumping, barely holding on—but the fact that it was a real fight mattered.
Thanks to that, Arsen had learned plenty.
If they fought again, he could subdue them far quicker than now.
"Officially armed, it'd end even faster, though."
With their gear incomparable to his, using relics freely, he was confident he could kill all three in under a minute.
Whether that counted as skill was up to the evaluators.
"You all did well."
"No hardship on our end. But... as Master said, you've surpassed the limit, haven't you?"
The subtle nuance suggested they knew about the essence too. Arsen nodded lightly.
"Yeah, something like that. Did Lady Hetia tell you?"
"Exactly. She didn't reign as the estate's top knight for nothing. Though, being young, Sir Arsen, your physical prowess seems even greater than Master's."
Ronon laughed heartily.
That indignation from being told to fight three-on-one was nowhere to be seen.
His laughter didn't last; he dropped a bombshell next.
"Anyway, impressive at such a young age. We're training hard too, but who knows when we'll surpass the limit."
"Pardon?"
"Hm? Did I say something wrong?"
"No, not at all. Just a bit embarrassed."
Ronon looked puzzled, so Arsen brushed it off.
"What did that mean just now?"
As far as Arsen knew, beings like him—what he called "high knights"—could only reach that realm by obtaining powerful magical essences.
Those essences came from mighty magic beasts, ma-in, or ancient ruins.
But Ronon spoke as if high knighthood was a stage achievable through training.
"I need to ask."
Soon after, the second duel began. This time, not Arsen but Anun participated.
His opponent was Dieb, the estate lord's son.
Originally, the plan was for Arsen to quickly dispatch three knights then fight Dieb, but the previous fight dragged on unexpectedly, leaving him fatigued.
More precisely, Arsen had stepped back using that as an excuse.
"Please go easy on me."
"...Likewise."
Both using spears, their duel looked downright dull.
Like two kids poking at each other with sticks, measuring distance without committing.
Arsen pretended to watch while sidling up to Hetia.
Hetia, spotting him, waved lightly.
"Good work. You fought well."
"Your disciples were exceptional."
Even after beating the three, it was just humble modesty, but Arsen shook his head politely.
Then, he circled back to what he'd overheard.
"By the way, I heard you've also surpassed the limit...?"
"My disciples told you? Well, yes."
Hetia nodded nonchalantly, though pride laced her tone.
Arsen spoke softly.
"Could we discuss that privately? About the next stage, I mean."
"Privately? Sure... let's meet after dinner. It'll be noisy until then."
Meanwhile, the duel ended in a razor-thin victory for Anun.
Dieb was highly skilled despite the loss. Against Bazkal, he'd have won easily.
And Bazkal wasn't a pushover, thanks to Arsen's diligent training.
"The knights here are on another level."
Among the estates Arsen had passed, Belluan had the highest average knight quality.
Satien's ruins city was superior, but too unique for fair comparison.
Purely as a single estate, this place's knights seemed the best.
Afterward, the exchange duels turned into a mock martial tournament at the excited estate lord's suggestion.
Even his guard knights joined, over ten competing in sequence before the lord, showing off their prowess.
The tournament wrapped up as dusk fell.
As winner, Arsen endured a nightmare: wearing a ridiculous jester hat while receiving the lord's praise.
The lord declared it embodied the victor's glory, but Arsen planned to ditch it at the next estate.
Along with punishing Bazkal, who laughed uproariously at the sight.
* * *
Thanks to the lord providing fine ingredients and liquor, dinner that night was especially delightful.
From tender young lamb without gaminess to all sorts of salty, spicy, sweet spices and rare distilled spirits—the most enjoyable meal since leaving the ruins city.
Afterward, Arsen sought out Hetia privately.
For such an important talk, he hadn't touched alcohol.
Judging by her slightly flushed face, she saw it differently.
"No drink?"
"No. Getting drunk seemed impolite."
"Oh dear, locals see heavy drinking as a virtue. Note that."
Her attitude assumed he'd settle here permanently. Arsen nodded agreeably.
Then, he made a blunt proposal.
"If it's not rude, could we test our grip strength?"
"Hm?"
Hetia looked puzzled for a moment, then silently extended her hand—wrinkled with age.
"If you wish. Not confident at my age, though."
They clasped hands and pitted their grip against each other.
Arsen's raw strength was far superior.
He was late teens, in his physical prime; she over sixty. Natural enough.
Even accounting for that, hers exceeded normal levels by a mile.
Anun or Bazkal would have screamed in agony quickly against her.
Arsen was convinced: she was a high knight.
"Enough now, it's tough."
"Understood."
Releasing hands, Arsen asked.
"Did you reach that realm through training, Lady Hetia?"
"Hm? Of course. Did you use some other method?"
Her eyes widened at the sudden question, as if he'd said something absurd.
Seeing that, Arsen was certain.
Hetia had become a high knight without essence, through another path.
"May I ask how you trained? I'd like to compare with my method."
At Arsen's words, Hetia eyed him oddly before replying.
"Nothing special. Train martial arts daily, temper the body, fight magic beasts to the death. Those three. Same for surpassing the limit—nearly died against a sand predator magic beast, reached the next stage then."
If true, she'd become a high knight utterly differently from him.
No—hers might be the orthodox path.
It mirrored the process of a commoner awakening as a knight.
Watching Hetia await his response calmly, Arsen began explaining.
"I gained this power from essences. Essences are..."
Arsen revealed the secret of essences without hesitation.
To learn high knight secrets openly from her, it was necessary.
Plus, no downside for him in sharing.
"That's why I call surpassing the realm via essence 'high knight.'"
"No way."
Pure astonishment cracked Hetia's usual composure for the first time.
Seeing her poise break was amusing, but extracting info from her mattered more.
Arsen pressed on.
"Were there knights before who reached the next stage through training?"
"Heard of one three hundred years ago."
One every three centuries. Rare indeed.
Yet in a ruins city gathering hundreds of knights, no tales of training breakthroughs—while this single estate birthed two.
He'd heard nothing of this "next stage" in Belluan either.
"Or maybe it just wasn't known?"
Essences were near-secret even in the ruins city. Unknown in Belluan too.
So perhaps self-made high knights existed elsewhere, unpublicized.
"That reminds me of something odd."
Arsen turned at Hetia's words.
She asked in baffled tones.
"Surely you didn't know I was a high knight?"
"Of course not."
Mid-reply, realization hit Arsen.
At lunch, Hetia had casually pitted him against three knights, as if certain he was a high knight.
He'd just thought her perceptive.
"You didn't sense it? Up close, doesn't the magic prick oddly? I instinctively felt you were like me."
"I... no. Nothing."
To Arsen, Hetia just seemed a strong old knight with potent magic.
Well-trained body, but that was it. He hadn't suspected her as high knight until sparring her disciples.
Further talk revealed their paths diverged subtly.
Hetia's physical boosts were strong but not as dramatic as Arsen's. Even at her peak, she lacked his power and speed.
Conversely, her magic sense was hypersensitive, senses sharpened—advantages Arsen lacked.
"Perhaps our ways are similar yet different."
Hetia's eyes gleamed with interest.
"You can't absorb that essence twice. No one surpassed limits twice via training. But what if both methods were combined for growth?"