Chapter 115
Chapter 115
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 115
Chapter Title: Guidance and Resolve
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Junian said he had to go to a meeting about my admission into the special exam.
“They'll probably approve it without much fuss. Or you can rest for a day and start tomorrow.”
“It's fine.”
To be honest, my body wasn't in perfect condition, but it probably wouldn't matter much.
“Then wait a moment.”
“Ah. Wait a moment.”
I stopped Junian just as he was about to leave.
“Instructor Ainsburn, is he still here?”
“The law instructor? What about that bastard?”
For some reason, there was a sharp edge to his tone.
Finding this odd, I asked anyway.
“I got some information while fighting Juan. He's probably a cultist, or at least an informant.”
“I see… So that was it.”
“…?”
Unexpectedly, Junian seemed to agree with me immediately.
“After you and Juan disappeared. That man suddenly claimed he was sick and requested to leave. He must have had a guilty conscience.”
“Ah… so he's already escaped?”
“He's left the camp.”
Junian's lips twisted into a smirk.
“But he hasn't completely left Bednicker territory. He'll be held at the checkpoint at the forest entrance.”
“Oh… I see even instructors aren't allowed to leave in the middle of things, huh?”
“That's right.”
As expected of Bednicker.
Instructors and Initiates alike are equal under the rules.
“I'll interrogate him myself.”
An interrogation by the current Inquisitor.
I felt a sense of awe and nodded.
“While you're at it, could you also investigate if there are any other rats?”
“The last investigation didn't yield much... but if we use Ainsburn right, we might be able to shake things up. Alright.”
Junian waved and left.
While waiting, I headed to the backyard of the Initiates' building.
There, I drew the Seven Sins Sword and ran my hand along its blade.
‘…Martial God?’
[Speak.]
The Martial God's voice answered as if he had been waiting.
Perhaps it was my imagination, but he sounded somewhat surly.
‘Are you angry, by any chance?’
[Angry? Me?]
The Martial God, who had been chuckling wryly, spoke in a stern tone.
[How could I be? You are no sniveling child. Whether to accept my advice is your choice. Fifteen is an age where one can stand on their own, now as it was then.]
‘…….’
He's definitely angry.
[In the end, you returned to this world unharmed, so your judgment was correct. I was wrong. I almost made a grave mistake. From now on, no matter what crisis you face, I will not utter a single word, so please, rest assured.]
And he seems even angrier than I thought.
Who knew a god could hold such a long grudge...
But I knew it stemmed from his concern for me, so I wasn't particularly offended.
‘I'm sorry.’
I started with an apology.
And before the Martial God could say anything, I quickly continued.
‘Truthfully, you have no idea how much I regretted it and how scared I was when I fell into hell alone. I must have regretted not listening to your advice a hundred times over...’
[…….]
‘And I realized. Ah, this is why one shouldn't ignore the words of the ancients. If you listen to your elders, you're at least halfway there…!’
[…….]
‘From now on, I will never take your advice lightly. I swear!’
[…Truly?]
‘Of course. I don't lie!’
[That statement itself is a lie.]
‘…….’
[Huuu….]
The Martial God let out a deep sigh and said.
[…While you don't seem truly repentant, I sense no falsehood in your regard for me, so I will let it be for now.]
‘Thank you.’
[But, never again… Never again step foot in hell so carelessly. Demonic energy is a power far too dangerous for living beings.]
The topic came up just in time.
I spoke as if I had been waiting for this.
‘About that. To resist demonic energy or the Demon King's authority, is strengthening a Blessing the only way?’
[What do you mean?]
‘I only have one Blessing. And it's not for combat, so it's not the type that can be trained. After being heavily exposed to demonic energy this time, I realized it's not something you can counter simply by training your mind and body.’
[Hmm….]
The Martial God spoke in a tone that suggested he was nodding.
[You are correct. You mortals may classify them as Calamity Gods or benevolent gods, but fundamentally, they are the same kind of existence. And until one reaches a certain level, the only thing that can counter the power of a god is the power of another god,]
‘Then, could you perhaps grant me a Blessing…?’
The Martial God spoke in a bitter tone.
[I am sorry, but in my current state, I do not possess such power.]
‘…….’
[However, there is a way. You can make a contract.]
‘A contract… you say?’
[The Blessing of a god can only be received by those who have inherited the blood of a hero. But the power of a Divine Beast can be borrowed without any special conditions—though you would need to form a contract, of course.]
The Martial God asked, sounding puzzled.
[You have inherited the bloodline of a hero, yet you do not know of this?]
I knew about Divine Beasts, but I didn't know you could borrow their power in this way.
‘What exactly is a Divine Beast?’
[They are beasts that have become gods. In life, they were beings known as Spirit Beasts, Phantom Beasts, or even Monstrous Beasts. Most of them are favorable toward the seven races. If they take a liking to you, the terms of the contract are not that strict.]
‘Hmm…’
[Your family inherited the blood of the dark elf Kuset, did it not? If so, the power of the Divine Beast they serve must be immense. When you have a chance, ask the person in charge.]
The person in charge... should I ask the Iron-Blooded Duke?
I nodded for now.
‘Understood. Ah, and…’
[What else?]
For some reason, the Martial God didn't seem like he was going to disappear anytime soon today, so I decided to ask everything I wanted to know.
‘I have something to ask about the White Sun Eclipse.’
[Hm. What is it?]
‘I had an inspiration for the latter half of the forms—’
I slowly explained what I had come up with on Spirit Mountain.
The relationship between the Flame Arts of the Greatest and the White Sun Eclipse.
The symbolism of the flame.
The latter half of the forms, which would be filled with evasive and defensive techniques.
After hearing everything, the Martial God nodded.
[A fine approach… Not all movements need to be offensive. The first half alone provides more than enough destructive power.]
‘Right?’
[You have a flexible mind. Very well done.]
‘…….’
The moment I heard the words "well done."
I was surprised to find my own emotions stirring.
The Martial God, seemingly unaware, continued.
[In that case, the most important thing will be the continuity of the movements.]
‘…Continuity?’
[To bind different movements into a single martial art, the transitions must be natural. For example, even if you execute the forms out of order, from the first to the last, there should be no hesitation.]
‘Ah.’
So…
Using Falling Flower after Fire Wheel.
Or unleashing Scorching Heat after Falling Flower.
It meant I had to be able to use them seamlessly not just sequentially from the first form, but even in reverse.
‘I see. That's why I was able to bind all my forms into one.’
It seemed simple once I knew it, but I felt as if my eyes had been newly opened to the world of martial arts.
‘Please teach me more about the principles of the Galaxy Sword.’
[Hmm?]
I immediately drew the Seven Sins Sword and performed the Galaxy Sword.
[Hoh….]
This was the first time this Martial God had seen my Galaxy Sword.
The Martial God exclaimed in admiration and asked me.
[Did you perhaps train in the Galaxy Sword while I was unconscious?]
‘Pardon?’
[I ask because I am surprised you have already entered the First Pivot.]
‘Ah… well, it just sort of happened.’
[I see….]
The Martial God spoke in a tone that seemed quite pleased.
[The way to reach the Second Swivel is simple. You just need to compress the sword path you just demonstrated.]
‘Compress…?’
I tilted my head at the unfamiliar concept.
[You have the blood of a dark elf mixed in you, correct?]
‘For the most part, yes.’
[Then, since you have the blood of both humans and dark elves, reaching the Second Swivel will not be difficult. However, from the Third Pearl onward, it will be difficult to reach through training alone.]
‘What does that…’
[The secrets of the Galaxy Sword are hidden within the Seven Sins Sword. And to unlock the power of the Seven Sins Sword, the essence of the seven races is indispensable.]
Is that why the Seven Sins Sword reacted to Arjan last time?
[Hmm… This is still a distant matter for you.]
‘No. It was fascinating.’
[Is that so? If you have any other questions, feel free to ask.]
For some reason, just by showing him the Galaxy Sword, the Martial God's attitude had become much more favorable.
Taking the opportunity, I performed the Thunder Heaven Steps and the Blazing Rush, then asked.
‘The first technique I demonstrated is one I recently created, and I felt a natural connection to the second movement, even though they are largely unrelated martial arts.’
[Hmm….]
‘It's too ambiguous to group them as the same martial art, but I feel that mixing them or performing them in succession could produce a greater effect. What are your thoughts?’
[The first martial art… was it perhaps created with inspiration from thunder or lightning?]
I was slightly surprised.
As expected of the Martial God, his insight was extraordinary.
‘That's right. I named it Thunder Heaven Steps.’
[A rather rustic name….]
‘…….’
[In any case, if it is a martial art born from lightning, it is not strange for it to connect naturally. Flame and lightning share similar impressions, so they are easy to mix.]
‘Yes. I thought of flame as a concept that encompasses even lightning.’
[An interesting approach….]
The Martial God said in a rarely cheerful voice.
[The starting point of martial arts is always observation. The sages of old gained inspiration by observing nature and created countless martial arts based on it. However, looking at the same thing did not always give birth to martial arts of the same nature.]
‘What do you mean by that?’
[For example, when two masters look at the sea, one might marvel at its vastness, while the other might feel fear at its unfathomable depth. Thus, the principles of nature are also subject to human interpretation. It does not matter if, after deep observation, its true nature turns out to be completely different from what we knew.]
The Martial God's next words were deeply engraved in my mind.
[For the principle of the martial art has already been carved into your heart in its own unique form.]
‘Ah…’
I let out a dazed exclamation.
A thought suddenly occurred to me.
This nameless Martial God had a personality completely opposite to Baek Rogwang's…
But if I hadn't met Baek Rogwang, I might have taken this person as my master.
[You have already learned of footwork and movement arts. For balance, you should now research body arts to move more efficiently.]
‘I understand.’
I realized what the Martial God was talking about was the concept of integrating footwork, body arts, and movement techniques that my old master had mentioned in passing, and I nodded.
“Ruan?”
Just then, I heard Junian's voice.
“Why are you lurking in the backyard? I've been looking all over for you.”
“…I find places like this calming sometimes.”
I replied as I sheathed the Seven Sins Sword.
“A perfect candidate for an Inquisitor, indeed—.”
“More importantly, what was the result of the meeting?”
“…It went well, of course.”
Junian pointed toward the forest and said.
“You can go in right now. Or you can wait for the Sword Master Teacher to get back and see him before you go.”
“It's fine.”
“Did you check the list of purchasable items?”
Junian handed me a piece of paper.
“It's almost identical to the one from the second test.”
I gave it a quick glance before handing it back.
“Nothing particularly useful here.”
“Did you even look at it properly?”
“Of course.”
“Hmm… Well, alright. Don't regret it.”
I looked at the forest.
‘Alright, then…’
Time to get started for real.
* * *
“Ca-Caron has the purple ball…!”
“……”
Hector looked at the one who said that with cold eyes.
In a way, this was the guy who had been the busiest during this training retreat.
The Initiate who had flitted about from place to place like a bat.
Hans Vander.
How should I put it…
He already looked old for his age, but he seemed to have aged another six years in the past six weeks.
“What bullshit.”
Eddie, who was standing beside him, burst out laughing and said.
“You spent all that time sucking up to Caron like a mosquito, and now you come crawling to us expecting us to just say, 'Oh, really?' and believe you? Lord Hector?”
Eddie said, looking at Hector.
“There's nothing to hear. Killing him is against the rules, so let's just break an arm and a leg and kick him out.”
“I-It's true! Lord Hector…! Please believe me…”
Hans pleaded, his head bowed to the ground.
“Listen.”
Hector slowly began to speak.
“Whatever happens in this training retreat, I had no intention of carrying any grudges from here to the outside world. The system here encourages competition, after all, so I decided that what happens in the retreat, stays in the retreat.”
“Ye-Yes…”
“But this is different, Hans Vander. If you are lying, I promise you this. The family you belong to will not remain unscathed. I swear it on my other name.”
His other name…?
After a moment of thought, Hans's face turned pale.
‘Ah, the Anatos family…!’
Hector's maternal family.
While not on the level of the Bednickers, they were a family of great power—and more importantly, their territory was located near the Vander family's lands.
Hans, who was once one of Hector's confidants, knew.
Unlike the Bednickers, the Anatos family followed Hector's will to the letter.
The current head of the Anatos family, Zenon Anatos, was Hector's maternal grandfather, and he doted on his grandson, willing to do anything he said.
Gulp…!
Averting his gaze from Hans, who was swallowing dryly, Hector muttered.
“Do you understand? I must take first place in this training retreat.”
“……”
“…Because that is the promise I made to him, to the one who died.”