Chapter 31
Chapter 31
As always, when the sun began to set...
"Good work today. Dismissed!"
The old knight's booming voice signaled the end of training.
The apprentices scattered in all directions, eager to enjoy their free time.
Sera followed them toward the castle.
Today, she intended to rest completely instead of doing her usual personal training.
It wasn't laziness.
Rest was part of training too.
She wasn't a machine.
If she pushed her muscles too hard without recovery, she'd only end up injured.
"Hmm."
Come to think of it...
She was twelve now.
Only six years remained until her coming-of-age ceremony.
Whenever she thought about her age, she couldn't help feeling emotional.
Had she really spent that many years in this world already?
"Maybe I should check my status window first."
It was a habit she maintained at least once every couple of days.
It wasn't some overpowered cheat ability from a fantasy novel.
But a status window was still a status window.
Watching her stats gradually increase was one of life's simple pleasures.
Gender: Female
Height: 147 cm
Pride: -12 cm
Strength: 17
Stamina: 15
Agility: 12
Intelligence: 5
Wisdom: 5
Charm: 16
Technique: 7
Unused Points: 11
"Mmm!"
Looking at it again filled her with satisfaction.
Those numbers were excellent.
And she still had eleven unused points waiting to be distributed.
The possibilities for future growth seemed endless.
"Hehe..."
Her Charm stat still felt unnecessarily high.
And the steadily decreasing Pride value annoyed her.
But...
"Good things are good things."
The benefits far outweighed the drawbacks.
She decided not to dwell on it.
"Now then."
Checking her status wasn't enough.
She also needed a comparison.
How else could she objectively judge her own growth?
Rattle.
Returning to her room, she pulled out a worn piece of parchment.
On it were several crooked lines of writing.
The status window only displayed her own stats.
Everything else had to be recorded manually.
Male Average
Strength: 10
Stamina: 8
Agility: 6
Intelligence: 5
Wisdom: 5
Charm: 5
Technique: 5
Female Average
Strength: 6
Stamina: 6
Agility: 5
Intelligence: 5
Wisdom: 5
Charm: 9
Technique: 8
"Heh..."
There was no room for doubt.
Her body was already stronger than that of most adult women.
And even stronger than the average adult man.
At only twelve years old.
"Kuhahahaha!"
Was this the reward for sacrificing her masculinity?
If so, she could live with it.
Growing stronger was the ultimate knightly flex.
At this rate, owning a personal warhorse might not be far away.
Maybe she'd even surpass Master someday.
"I used to get discouraged because I couldn't use Aura..."
But after slicing a giant boar in half recently, perhaps she didn't need to worry so much.
She still had a long road ahead.
Yet she had acquired an absurd trait that tripled a chosen stat for sixty seconds.
And nearly all the traits she'd chosen became more powerful as she grew stronger.
"Among the apprentices, Bentley is probably the only one close to my level."
She had established the hierarchy early on, but Bentley's talent was anything but ordinary.
According to Sir Rekun, Bentley was a genuine genius.
The sort of talent that appeared perhaps once in ten thousand people.
And yet.
Even Bentley still couldn't catch up to her.
As he improved, she improved as well.
Closing the gap wasn't easy.
"I knew you were unusually strong, but not to this extent."
Recently, Sir Rekun had often looked at her with confusion.
Not suspicion.
Simple bewilderment.
After all, it made no sense.
"What in the world happened to you?"
If she were in his position, she'd probably react the same way.
By around age ten, the gap between Aura users and non-users usually became obvious.
Yet Sera remained among the strongest apprentices despite being unable to use Aura.
As a result, Sir Rekun had started wondering if she was part beastkin.
Or perhaps part ogre.
Maybe even descended from some ancient race.
Being an orphan had unexpectedly worked in her favor.
Nobody knew her origins.
Nobody could interrogate her about them.
In the end, Sir Rekun merely patted her shoulder a few times and let the matter go.
"Still, you're better than fools who rely entirely on Aura."
"..."
But why had the old man suddenly smiled back then?
Eventually they would part ways.
Getting attached would only make things harder.
"Tch."
Life really was unpredictable.
Who would've thought she'd one day feel flustered by an old man's smile?
In her previous life, the only person who made her blush was her trainer.
"Hmm..."
Maybe she should practice a little before dinner.
Praise from Master wasn't exactly common.
And she'd only received it recently.
Wouldn't it look bad if she immediately became lazy afterward?
"Ugh."
This was the problem with taking a day off.
Whenever she had spare time, she felt guilty toward Eden.
And ashamed in front of Master.
She'd claimed that rest was part of training.
But those uncomfortable feelings made the argument feel hollow.
No matter how nicely she dressed it up, she'd been living here as a dependent guest for twelve years.
More than personal ambition...
She genuinely felt she needed to become a proper knight for everyone's sake.
Sometimes she helped the cook in the kitchen.
Other times she assisted the villagers with farming.
But today...
Training had ended too late.
The timing was awkward.
"I'll count sleeping as my rest and just get it over with."
Tap. Tap.
Her leather boots fit comfortably around her feet.
But those had been a gift from Eden.
The sturdy scabbard around her wooden sword had been quietly provided by Master.
The sweet cookie she was eating had been packed by her nanny that morning.
"I need to do well."
"I need to work harder."
As those thoughts crossed her mind, her pace naturally quickened.
Though admittedly, she was pretty impressive.
There was nothing wrong with walking confidently.
"Ezekiel might be in the garden..."
The youngest apprentice had developed a severe case of fantasy syndrome.
He still spent plenty of time acting out ridiculous scenarios.
To avoid him, Sera headed toward the wall walk instead.
Calling it a wall walk was generous.
The structure was really just part of the castle's wooden motte-and-bailey defenses.
A wooden palisade.
Somehow, she found it oddly familiar.
"Hoo."
After crossing a few small bridges, she arrived.
"The air feels especially clear today."
But why did it smell like iron?
Had someone been cleaning the armory?
Well, whatever.
Looking down from here, she should be able to see the militia guarding the gate.
...
Hmm?
The militia were lying down.
No matter how incompetent they were, this level of negligence deserved a report to Master.
Had someone spilled paint on them?
Why were their clothes covered in red—
...
Wait.
Wasn't that blood?
"Gasp!"
What?
What's going on?
Why...?
"W-What is this...?"
Looking more closely, she saw fresh liquid smeared across the gate and walls.
The cold evening air suddenly felt much colder against her skin.
Instinctively, she understood.
No.
Anyone would've understood.
Something terrible was happening to Bellark.
She immediately looked beyond the gate.
At first, it seemed like a crimson tide was rolling toward the territory.
Then she realized it wasn't an illusion created by the dusk or the fog.
It was real.
"Intruders!"
A nearby guard shouted the warning.
Yet even as he spoke, his legs remained frozen.
The same was true for the dozen or so militia around him.
And for Sera herself.
At the center of the approaching crowd walked a single man carrying twin axes.
His crimson hair fluttered like living fire.
His mere presence seemed capable of crushing everyone around him.
Now she understood why the militia had already collapsed before he arrived.
Scarlet Aura swirled violently around his enormous axes.
Those who mastered Aura could release sword energy.
This man clearly belonged to that realm.
"Huff... Huff..."
Without warning, old memories resurfaced.
Her heart began hammering wildly.
The confidence she'd felt only moments ago vanished.
Fear took its place.
The sensation was identical to that day.
The day Eden lost his eye.
This wasn't fighting spirit.
It was pure survival instinct.
She tightened her grip on her wooden sword, trying desperately to steady herself.
Even then, she couldn't imagine actually swinging it.
Only after meeting those blazing crimson eyes did she finally understand.
The man invading Bellark wasn't really human.
He was something closer to a natural disaster.
And compared to him...
She was still nothing more than a child.