Parting Ways
Emerging from the lake where the Trial had taken place, we walked for a long time before finally stepping back inside the barrier.
Perhaps I had finally acclimated, as I could breathe relatively well even outside the barrier now, but there was no denying that the air inside was far crisper and more refreshing.
“So, what do you plan to do now?”
Gwen asked suddenly as I was taking a deep, greedy breath of the clean air.
At her question, I began to mentally organize my plans for the future.
Originally, I was planning to head straight to the Hero Academy, but...
I had changed my mind.
Of course, simply graduating from the Hero Academy would guarantee becoming a regular hero, but that path had its limits.
One of the things I had realized through the Trial was that I shouldn't set limits on myself. If I truly wanted to become strong, there were far better ways right now than immediately enrolling in the Hero Academy.
So first, I should...
It was then.
Seeing my silence stretch on, Gwen spoke up first.
“If you don't have anywhere to go... would you like to come with me?”
It was an unexpected proposal.
I looked at her and asked,
“Go with you? But aren't you planning to search for the Rose Sword? I would only get in your way.”
“It's true that I'm going to find the Rose Sword. But even if I do, the issue of a successor remains.”
“A successor?”
By successor, she was referring to the Holy Church's inheritance system.
Due to the nature of the 'Hero' profession, where both the individual and their holy relics are registered with the Holy Church, all relics are normally returned to the Church upon retirement.
However, utilizing the successor system could bypass this restriction.
Both the title of Hero and the holy relics in one's possession—
—could be fully inherited by a designated successor.
Of course, it still required passing the Holy Church's evaluation.
“Under normal circumstances, I would want to pass it down to my direct bloodline... but given my trait, that's impossible. That's why I need a hero who can wield the Rose Sword until my child is old enough to inherit it.”
Indeed, even if she were to have a child, her short lifespan meant she wouldn't survive long enough to see them grow up.
She needed someone to hold and protect the Rose Sword during that long interim.
Even so...
“Why me?”
No, seriously, it was a genuine question.
People stronger than me were a dime a dozen if you just looked at the Hero Academy.
So why choose me?
“Because you seem to have quite a bit of talent.”
“Excuse me?”
“To reach that level of swordsmanship at your age, especially when you only learned it from some nameless adventurer.”
Ah, is that how it looks to an outsider?
To be fair, B-rank swordsmanship was a level practically impossible to achieve naturally at my age.
Thanks to that, Gwen seemed to have a massive misunderstanding about my talent for the sword.
But...
Just because someone else misunderstood my talent didn't mean I should lose sight of my actual situation.
My Swordsmanship (B) skill, which I had acquired through inheritance rather than raw effort, was incredibly difficult to level up. Even if I trained under Gwen, my rank wouldn't rise easily.
In fact, considering Alan Flake's abysmal innate talent, I would likely reach A-rank much slower than a complete genius who had never even held a sword before.
Gwen's offer to make me her successor was undeniably tempting.
But I had to think rationally.
Becoming her successor wouldn't be good for either of us in the long run.
“I'm sorry, but I must decline.”
“I figured you would.”
Gwen seemed to respect my refusal without pushing further.
“May I ask why?”
“Yes, my swordsmanship is advanced for my age. But let's look at this objectively. If I become your successor, do you truly believe I can become a high-level hero?”
“That...”
It was highly unlikely.
Of course, becoming Gwen's successor would guarantee my status as a regular hero, bypassing the Hero Academy entirely.
But becoming a high-level hero was a completely different story.
A high-level hero, one of the top one hundred elite heroes in the entire world.
Now that my goal was not just to become a hero, but a high-level hero—and eventually, a sacred-rank hero—I couldn't afford to settle for being Gwen's successor.
“Does that mean... there is someone out there who can guide you to become a high-level hero?”
Gwen looked skeptical, finding it hard to believe.
“Yes, there is. To be precise, that person will only provide a bit of assistance; after that, it will be entirely up to me to forge my own path.”
“If such a person truly exists... then that is more than enough reason to decline my offer.”
I nodded silently.
Watching me, Gwen fell into thought for a moment before speaking again.
“Then, as a consolation, how about I give you a crash course in swordsmanship? Your level is high, but I noticed quite a few flaws in your form here and there.”
Following her successor proposal, this was another incredibly generous offer.
This time, from my perspective, there was absolutely no reason to refuse.
“Really? But why are you going to such lengths for me?”
“You really never accept anything at face value, do you? You're cautious to a fault. If I say it's out of pure goodwill, you probably won't believe me, so let's just call it payment for answering my extra question.”
The extra question she referred to was about when she needed to deactivate her Precocious trait at the very latest.
Since it was a question I had no obligation to answer, this was a fair trade that I could readily accept.
“In that case, I will gladly accept.”
Deep within a secluded forest near the barrier.
The sharp, ringing clash of metal echoed through the quiet woods.
Between the ringing strikes, the voices of a man and a woman drifted through the air.
“Pivot your left foot about halfway to the right there. That's how you generate rotational force.”
Most of her instructions were corrections of my posture.
Pivot the left foot halfway to the right...
Absolute Obedience
My foot pivoted with absolute, mechanical precision.
The subsequent movements flowed seamlessly, exactly as Gwen had demonstrated.
Starting from the lower left, the sword swept upward in a flash, carrying immense momentum toward the upper right.
It was undeniably far more refined than the swordsmanship I had been using before.
“Is this correct?”
“Unbelievable...”
Gwen looked at me with a mixture of awe and exasperation.
It was a natural reaction, considering I was absorbing every technique she taught like a sponge.
“How can you perfectly replicate every single technique after seeing it only once?”
It was entirely thanks to Absolute Obedience.
No matter how clumsy Alan's physical body naturally was, it couldn't resist the sequence of movements commanded by Absolute Obedience.
Though I still had to struggle against Alan's uncoordinated body, which constantly tried to twist out of alignment in every possible way.
It feels like I'm writing computer code.
It wasn't a joke.
The basic coding knowledge I had picked up online back when I was trying to find work-from-home jobs was actually proving useful.
“It's certainly impressive, but...”
As our blades clashed, Gwen suddenly twisted her sword.
In an instant, her blade was pointed right at my throat once again.
“...Something is off.”
That was something I had noticed as well.
Even though I was executing the exact same techniques as Gwen, there was a subtle sense of inadequacy.
It was a sensation entirely separate from the mere difference in our Agility stats.
“It's as if you're a fraction of a beat too slow. It feels... unnatural.”
Gwen sheathed her sword, sending it back into her inventory.
“Let's call it a day. That's everything I can teach you.”
Our training had continued for several days.
Within that brief window, I had completely absorbed all the fundamental forms of Gwen's swordsmanship.
I had even mastered various advanced applications. Yet, my Swordsmanship rank had stalled at B+, rising only a single sub-rank.
Of course, raising a skill rank in just half a day was an incredibly rapid growth rate, but considering I had absorbed the swordsmanship of an S-rank master, it felt sluggish.
“I honestly don't know what the issue is. But one thing is certain: my methods won't be enough to make you a high-level hero.”
I agreed with her assessment.
Simply copying Gwen's swordsmanship had its limits.
Perhaps it was because of Alan's fundamentally poor talent for the sword in the first place.
“Well, I suppose it's time to say our goodbyes.”
Today was the final day Gwen had set for us.
With her own remaining lifespan ticking away, she couldn't afford to spend too much time on me.
She would have to move quickly from now on.
“Here, Gwen. Thank you for letting me use this.”
I held out the sacred relic, Gravitus Replicant, to her.
It was the very sword that had saved my life during the Trial.
To be honest, it was hard to part with it, but now that our deal was concluded, I had no right to keep it.
It's fine. There are plenty of ways to get a 2-star relic anyway.
The Hero Academy literally handed out 2-star relics to its graduates.
It wasn't a 3-star relic, so there was no need to cling to it so desperately.
With that, the Gravitus Replicant passed from my hands back into Gwen's.
“Hmm...”
Gwen held the sword and stood still for a moment.
Since I had already bound and activated it once, she was likely re-attuning herself to the relic.
But what she did next left me utterly dumbfounded.
Drawing her primary weapon, the 3-star relic Ignis, Gwen struck it against the Gravitus Replicant.
Sssssss.
The glowing, superheated blade of Ignis began to sear and melt the crossguard of the Gravitus Replicant.
After a brief moment, a small piece of the guard chipped off and fell to the ground.
While the sword's appearance was slightly marred, it was still perfectly functional. But even so...
“What on earth did you just do?”
I couldn't comprehend her actions at all.
Why would she intentionally damage a perfectly fine holy relic, even if it was just a small piece?
Instead of answering, Gwen picked up the broken piece of the guard, placed it in her inventory, and muttered to herself:
“The holy relic, Gravitus. Completely destroyed in the Chaos Zone. Only the crossguard was recovered.”
What was she talking about?
She thrust the damaged Gravitus Replicant back toward me, who was standing there utterly bewildered.
“...Or so the records will say. In truth, it was lost, only to be found by a young Pathfinder wandering the Chaos Zone.”
The realization hit me a moment later.
“This should cover it, right?”
“Are you sure this is okay?”
“You really never learn to just accept things, do you?”
She handed me a scabbard belt designed to hold the Gravitus Replicant and smiled.
“Let's call it a parting gift. That gives you a proper excuse to keep it.”
“A parting gift?”
“Yes. Take care, kid... No, Alan.”
With those final words, she turned around.
“Gwen...”
I opened my mouth to call out to her, but stopped myself.
The warmth she had shown just moments ago vanished in an instant, replaced by her usual stoic demeanor.
Her steps were firm and resolute, showing not a shred of hesitation.
Even her petite silhouette cast a long, imposing shadow against the setting sun.
Thank you, Gwen.
In a way, I had used her.
There were certainly parts where I had deceived her.
Yet, she had treated me with nothing but genuine sincerity.
In this harsh world I had to navigate, how many more people like her would I ever meet?
Absolutely none. That was the sole reason I had waited for her for months in this place.
Out of respect, I stood still and watched her back until she completely disappeared from sight.
Now that Gwen is gone...
Once she was entirely out of view,
I tightly gripped the Gravitus Replicant she had left me.
It's time for me to walk my own path.
I turned my head and looked toward the barrier.
The time I had spent with Gwen felt, in a way, like a tutorial.
Which meant that from this moment on... the real game was finally beginning.
A farewell,
and my true beginning.
