Give Me a Reward!
“This technique I’m teaching you bears an exceedingly arrogant name, yet in truth it is nothing extraordinary,” I said. “It is merely a mental technique that allows you to operate the energy within you—your inner force—more efficiently.”
Just as Master had explained, Cheonma Shingong was not a martial art of overwhelming might. It possessed no fixed forms, nor did it grant the power to overturn the world. At its core, it simply created and widened pathways so that something indescribable could fill the inside. That was the most accurate way to describe it.
Even so, the reason my title was attached to it was simple.
Because it was already powerful enough on its own. It could transform a narrow stream into a vast, tranquil sea, and furthermore allow that sea to be utilized in endlessly creative ways. That single, yet immense advantage was what Cheonma Shingong held.
I used it to teach each of my disciples in different directions. A breathing method that dramatically increased stamina. A spear-like focus that gathered energy from every part of the body into one point. New pathways that pushed mana manipulation to its absolute limit. An impenetrable great shield. A body that became as hard as steel. A vast lake capable of converting inner force into holy power. And finally, an invisible dagger.
Each one was a slight variation tailored to the individual.
However…
Iris was the one disciple whose characteristics I could not discern at all. Because of that, I passed on the mental technique to her in a form that barely deviated from the original Cheonma Shingong. Though it could not be said to have maximized her growth potential, I believed even that much would be sufficient help for her.
The result was a trap—Iris showed no notable growth afterward. Yet today, it turned out she had been practicing exactly that all this time. Given that she was a regressor who carried memories and experience from the future, she had apparently been trying to complete it at this stage. And now she had finally revealed the intermediate process.
In exchange, she must not have shown overwhelming growth in any other area. That was why neither Master nor I had properly noticed Iris’s development.
“Haaah!!”
“Ugh!”
“Kyah?!”
Starting with Iris’s battle cry, the knights who had been holding their own until now began to be pushed back one-sidedly. To the knights, it must have felt like a bolt from the blue. The only visible change in Iris was a faint glow forming in one hand, yet they were being driven back mercilessly as if fighting an entirely different person.
A torch that did not burn for long, yet shone the brightest. That was precisely Iris’s current state.
“Master. What exactly is the youngest using?”
“It seems she is expelling her inner force externally, Gerard.”
“Is that even possible?”
“Considering my master—your Grandmaster—nothing is truly impossible.”
Gerard paused in thought, then nodded. He seemed to recall the times Master had wrapped inner force around her fingers to play with the other disciples, even if only briefly.
Still, if I had to compare, Iris’s method was slightly different from Master’s. Master would coat her arms or hands and use them like whips, whereas Iris was outright extracting her inner force and wielding it as a weapon.
“Its destructive power is certainly high. But it will come with tremendous consumption of inner force and stamina.”
“The question is whether the youngest can endure it.”
“She must have put in maximum effort in her own way. That’s why she told the knights to finish quickly. It wasn’t the composure of the strong—it was the true feelings of someone running out of time.”
While Gerard and I conversed, Iris continued to drive the knights back with tremendous force. Perhaps she thought she could now match me in conversation and no longer felt the need to hide anything. She openly displayed her dual swords, wielding them with complete freedom.
If anyone asked, she would surely claim she learned it from me. Knowing I was aware of her regression secret, she probably believed I would cover for her.
It was a little vexing that she was using my sky-like master as an excuse, but in the end, Iris showing this level of skill meant I would teach her this technique later anyway. As long as she could fulfill her role as a Hero in the end, it didn’t matter whether she used dual swords, a scythe, or even a shovel. If she could shatter the Fragment of the Demon God in the final battle and survive, everything would be fine.
“It seems my knights will be defeated.”
As Gerard said, four knights had already been knocked out. Two of them had even dropped their shields and swords. Gerard’s expression hardened slightly as he watched them.
I should probably warn him not to hold a grudge, just in case.
“Gerard. It’s not over yet.”
“Half of them have already been eliminated from combat.”
“But Iris is also on the verge of being eliminated herself.”
Just as Gerard kept his eyes on his knights, I kept mine on Iris, observing her closely. It had been about three minutes since she started going all out. Both the way she was recklessly expelling and projecting her inner force, and the fastest, most dramatic movements she had shown so far—
Even as a regressor, Iris had to have reached her limit. Considering her physical condition, lasting three minutes was already impressive.
Looking at the remaining knights, they seemed to have grasped Iris’s weakness. They had experience, skill, and above all, talent far superior to their own. They must have decided that defense was more advantageous than attack. Since they had agreed not to use lethal techniques, there was no fear of death. They had clearly resolved to endure.
Iris’s stamina and inner force had to be reaching their limits by now.
“Haa, haa!”
Iris also realized the knights had switched to endurance mode. I could sense her catching her breath for a moment and checking her condition. Since this was not a life-or-death bloodbath but merely a spar, having to suppress rather than kill was a burden on her. She might feel it was unfair, but in truth, this too was part of my plan. I wanted to see Iris’s physical and internal limits, and furthermore, to push her one step higher.
Swish—
When Iris took one step back, the three remaining knights advanced two steps. When she retreated two more steps, they advanced four. Seeing their fierce opponent repeatedly fall back, the knights closed the distance.
In that instant, Iris’s hand trembled slightly, and the breathing she had barely maintained wavered. At that exact timing, the remaining knights launched a simultaneous charge.
“Ah!”
Almost at the same time, Gerard let out a sigh. It was not a sigh of disappointment because Iris had faltered. It was admiration for Iris’s acting, which had even shaken these experienced knights for a moment. Her split-second combat sense that made them think “an opening!” and lower their guard. And her judgment ability, which was far from what one would expect of the youngest.
Flash!—
The moment the knights switched from defense to offense, Iris merged the nearly extinguished glow into the sword she was holding. In an instant, a blue light burst from the blade, and the glow erupted in streams.
“Ugh!”
The knights realized they had been tricked and were startled, but their bodies had already reached right in front of Iris.
Well, it looks like I’ll be sleeping with Iris tonight.
“Gerard.”
“Yes, Master.”
At his reply, Gerard’s figure vanished in an instant. The next moment, he appeared between Iris and the knights, and with empty hands, he knocked everyone in each direction away.
Clang!!—
“Ugh!”
“That’s enough. Youngest, you did well. You were magnificent.”
Gerard nodded with a satisfied smile. These were the elite knights he had personally selected and trained. The fact that Iris had used deception against them and succeeded must have made her quite impressive in his eyes.
“Ah… Thank you, Senior Gerard.”
Iris slowly suppressed the glow while catching her rough breath. I, who had been quietly watching the two from behind, turned my gaze to the knights. Iris had been impressive, but the knights had also shown a decent performance. Even though Iris was still far from complete, the fact that they had managed to push a Hero this far proved that Gerard’s knights were quite capable.
“Gerard.”
“Yes, Master.”
“Take the ones lying over there as well. They’ve worked hard, so don’t assign them any guard duty. Fighting the youngest to this extent is already an excellent result. You know that, right?”
“Of course. There’s no question about it.”
Gerard bowed his head and left first with the knights. He had good intuition and seemed to have noticed that I had something to say to Iris.
“How long were you planning to hide it?”
Once Gerard was gone and only Iris and I remained, I confirmed with my expanded senses that no one was around, then asked the question. Iris cleared her throat awkwardly.
“You little rascal. Were you trying to deceive your master?”
“N-no?! I-I didn’t mean to deceive you, Master. I just thought I should have at least one trump card. So I had no choice but to hide it like this.”
“I understand. Since there are things you can’t speak of honestly, you couldn’t show that side of yourself. Yet staying as a naive disciple must have made you too anxious to bear.”
“…If you were displeased, I apologize…”
I shook my head at Iris’s words. Displeased? On the contrary, I was quite pleased. Even though the technique was incomplete, the fact that she could extract her inner force like that was no simple matter. It wasn’t something that could be achieved just by expelling energy. It required extreme concentration, the skill to maintain it, and stamina as well. Thinking about how she must have trained and struggled in secret all this time, it was proof that her efforts and time had not been in vain.
“I’m not displeased, Iris.”
“Yes?”
“Honestly, my true feeling as your master is that I want to work you even harder.”
“…Um, Master? Why does the conclusion come out like that?!”
“Because the technique you showed is no ordinary difficult one.”
It was similar in form to Garam’s ultimate technique, Wolha. Though not exactly the same format, it was a method of scattering the inner force one possessed in all directions. Of course, comparing it to Iris’s current level would be unfair, but the root was the same. Not to mention the monstrous consumption of inner force and stamina.
These kids were truly skilled at overworking their own bodies.
“…Anyway, so I passed, right? I get a reward, right?”
“Hmm? Did you pass, or did you fail?”
“Of course I passed! I won, didn’t I?! Give me my reward!”
“But there were many unstable parts as well.”
“Ugh… That’s true, but! Winning is what matters! You have to keep your promise!!”
“Alright, alright. So stop shouting.”
If Master happened to hear this, there would be trouble.