Chapter 14
Chapter 14
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 14
Chapter Title: That Guy Named Kang Geohan
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“You… Do you even know what that means right now?”
“To be honest, I don’t. But do I need to?”
Having grown up as a serf, Kang Geohan lacked the experience and knowledge to judge whether this made sense or not.
In any case, he had already shown everything he could show, and the judgment was up to Kalts.
“…You mad bastard.”
“Is that your answer?”
Kalts grimaced and shook his head.
“No. That was to myself, not you.”
Kalts straightened his posture. Then, hesitating, he spoke.
“Today… I was really shocked. Do you know why?”
“…Because I used strategies that caught you off guard well?”
“No. That’s not it.”
Kalts shook his head.
“Of course all of it was surprising, but what really shocked me was… you. You used up all your mana in one go, didn’t you?”
Kang Geohan was slightly surprised. He had his InBody window, so that made sense for him, but how did Kalts know?
“Hmph! I’ve watched you train from the start, back when you had zero mana. I can accurately gauge your current skill level. But you looked like you pulled out every bit of power you’d built up in a single instant. That’s the truly astonishing part.”
Heat began to creep into Kalts’s voice.
“Even giving you the benefit of the doubt… a guy who’s had a mana stone for less than a week freely wielding mana? Fine, let’s call that genius and move on. But using up all your mana in one burst? That’s no small feat. It means you can perfectly sense and control your own mana core. I’ve never heard of such a thing. I can’t do it. Hell, even the legendary Giant Rider, Sir Herfin Galius, probably couldn’t.”
Kang Geohan quickly understood what Kalts meant.
‘Well… muscles are the same way. It’s hard to use every ounce of strength you have.’
In the fitness world, there was a term called “gluteal amnesia.”
It referred to a state where the glute muscles weren’t used often, making the nerves dull, to the point where you couldn’t even activate or feel them. It was a common affliction among modern people, often causing knee and back pain.
‘Just because you have muscles doesn’t mean you can use them right away.’
It was common for fitness beginners to do glute exercises without feeling any stimulation in their glutes, only tiring out their lower backs or knees instead.
‘That’s why, as you train, you learn to “find the stimulus.”’
For chest exercises, your chest should feel like it’s tearing. For back exercises, your back muscles should ache with that deep pump. That’s when you’ve hit the proper “stimulus.”
It took beginners quite a long training period to reach that level.
It was essentially upgrading your “motor neurons,” and it was never easy.
‘But mana is even harder than that, apparently.’
Perfectly sensing your mana core throughout your body and stimulating every part precisely.
According to Kalts, even a “legendary Giant Rider” probably couldn’t do it.
‘And I pulled it off.’
Kang Geohan could understand Kalts’s shock.
Kalts, his eyes still trembling, said,
“But… I can’t make a decision on a matter tied to my life’s work so lightly.”
Kalts held up two fingers.
“Two times. You’ve surprised me twice so far. Once with the goblins, and today.”
Kang Geohan looked straight at Kalts.
Kalts nodded and raised one more finger, making three.
“Three times. So surprise me one more time. Then… I’ll follow your words.”
“…What exactly do you mean by ‘surprise’? How surprised? To what degree?”
“Who knows? Do I need to spell it out?”
Surprise him enough to make him willingly want to become a squire. That was the meaning.
Kang Geohan slowly nodded. It wasn’t a refusal, so he’d take what he could get.
“Understood.”
“Ha… The guy making that kind of offer, and the guy accepting it… we’re both crazy. Crazy…”
Kalts glared at Kang Geohan with a bizarre expression before reaching out and grasping his hand.
Then, averting his gaze, he muttered,
“…Well, a little service fee isn’t bad. Davis!”
“Yes, sir! Sir Black!”
“Follow me. Time to collect some money.”
“Ah… Yes! Right away!”
Kalts dragged Davis into the crowd of onlookers who hadn’t dispersed yet.
‘…Service? Money?’
Kang Geohan, clueless, tilted his head and followed behind.
The squires who had bet against Davis were still huddled together, whispering.
“Does this make any sense? Has anyone ever thrown a White in the entry test before?”
“…Never heard of it.”
“Crazy… Isn’t Sir Raphael White one of the strongest Whites? They say he’s about to become a Black soon…”
“Just luck.”
“You idiot. Didn’t you see those moves? You think that’s luck?”
“…But we lost the bet. What now?”
“What do you mean? Pay up five silvers? Ignore that old geezer. What’s he gonna do? Call his knight?”
“Yeah. Our knights are Whites. A fresh Yellow knight… just dodge and brush him off.”
Kalts Black stared straight at them and called out.
“Hey, you lot.”
“Huh? Yes? Are you talking to us, sir knight?”
The squires’ eyes went wide at the sudden call from a knight. Seeing Davis and Kang Geohan following behind, their faces hardened with a bad feeling.
Kalts said to them,
“I’m Kalts Black. I’ve memorized all your faces.”
Then he jerked his chin toward Davis.
The squires’ faces turned pale. If a knight called himself Black, he was Black.
‘Black?’
‘No way… Why’s a Black Knight getting involved?’
‘Ah, damn… we’re screwed.’
He’d memorized their faces. No backing out now.
‘But why’s a Black bothering himself with squires? What’s his connection to that Yellow knight?’
‘We’re in deep.’
‘Screw this up, and… broken limbs will be the least of it.’
No matter what anyone said, Davis had the justification.
Not honoring a bet was dishonorable.
Even if a Black Knight used that as an excuse to break limbs, they’d have no grounds to complain.
Even if their White Knight superiors got upset, what could they do? Against a Black? No one would back them. They’d be lucky not to get beaten by their own furious bosses.
“Ah, we were just looking for you to pay up.”
“Oh man, we thought you’d left.”
“Here, here you go.”
Clink clink. Clink.
The squires hurriedly pulled out silver coins and handed them to Davis. Pale silvers piled up on his pouch. A total of ninety.
The squires who paid quickly scattered in all directions.
Kang Geohan stared at Davis with wide eyes.
Davis scratched his head awkwardly, took five silvers for himself, and offered the remaining eighty-five to Kang Geohan.
“This is money I could collect thanks to you, sir knight. Please take it.”
“B-But, Uncle.”
“Where would I spend it? Five is plenty. Hold onto it.”
With that, he roughly shoved the pouch full of silvers into Kang Geohan’s arms.
“Take it. You’ll need money for a lot of things from now on.”
Kalts said that with a faint smile.
The silvers gleamed white like sunlight in Kang Geohan’s grasp.
* * *
A blue sky. Against the backdrop of bright autumn sunshine stood a tall wooden tower.
The training director’s office was located there, overlooking the entire training grounds.
A tent surrounded by unusually thick, glossy premium fabric.
Inside were maps depicting areas outside the training grounds’ vicinity pinned everywhere, and mana stones of various sizes fitted with metals for better grip.
Sitting in the center, reading documents, was the training director, Junior Baron Harun Basio. He raised a hand gladly at the person entering the tent.
“Oh, Kalts!”
“Sir! Saluting the director!”
“Yeah, yeah. Come sit here.”
Waving him over dismissively, the junior baron leaned in close to the seated Kalts and said,
“You came at the perfect time. I was just reading today’s entry test report… Kang Geohan, was it? Took down Raphael? You saw it too?”
Basio Junior Baron was visibly excited like a child.
“Yes. I saw it.”
“Ooh, what happened? What kind of magic did he pull? A serf, right?”
At that question, Kalts pondered briefly before answering honestly.
“…It looked like he poured all his mana in at once and flung Raphael.”
“Huh? Pfft haha. Joking around like that? Not like you.”
But Basio Junior Baron brushed it off with laughter. Unless you’d seen the whole thing like Kalts, it was impossible to believe.
Plus, he had a far more plausible theory.
“I know all about it! Turns out he’s the guy you brought in. Must have some crazy talent, huh? You taught him a thing or two on the way here.”
“…Not at all.”
“No need to be modest. Come on, be honest. You suddenly requested that assistant instructor position you turned down before… for that kid, right? To keep an eye on him.”
“…”
“See? Cat got your tongue!”
Grinning like he’d nailed it, Basio Junior Baron soon turned serious and asked,
“But was he really that good? Talent enough to reignite your lost passion…?”
“…It’s not like that.”
“It is! Well, fine. Anyway, it’s a good day, so let’s grab a meal and talk more.”
Basio Junior Baron tidied up his papers and prepared to head out.
Kalts bowed his head deeply to him.
“Ah, I… um… sorry. I have somewhere I need to be right now…”
“…Huh? Wait, is it because of that Kang Geohan guy?”
“…”
“Pfft haha! What? You said it wasn’t!”
Kalts’s face flushed red.
Basio Junior Baron chuckled and waved him off.
“Whatever. You’ll be working here now, so plenty of chances to eat together… I’ll let it slide. Go on.”
“Yes. Thank you… for everything.”
“Enough. I owe you anyway.”
“…”
“Here, take this.”
Basio Junior Baron tossed him the instructor’s insignia.
Kalts caught it, bowed deeply once more, and left the training director’s office.
Basio smiled watching Kalts’s retreating figure.
“Kang Geohan, huh… Sounds fun.”