Chapter 57
Chapter 57
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 57
Chapter Title: The Spirit Jade
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In the end, I returned that day without finding the underground library.
I considered spending another day or two searching, but there was no more time to delay.
I needed time to prepare for the training retreat.
Whoosh—.
I saw the fist thrusting toward me.
The pitch-black gloved fist loomed before my nose, blocking my vision, making it feel as if night had suddenly fallen.
Whoosh!
Before it became complete midnight, I twisted my head and returned to the daylight.
My opponent’s assault was just beginning.
He opened his extended fist and immediately snatched my collar.
The memory of being thrown repeatedly over the past few days made my body tense up on its own.
This time, however, I didn't struggle forcefully; instead, I added my own strength to his pulling force.
I did a somersault in the air and executed a rather stylish landing.
“...”
A smile curved on the lips of Keian, the one who had thrown me.
“An excellent breakfall.”
“...Only because you went easy on me.”
He didn't hold onto my clothes until the end, letting go midway.
If he hadn't, I would have landed in a much shabbier state.
Landing on my back or buttocks, for instance.
“It's a mock battle, after all. There's no need to go all out.”
He had a point.
This was a mock battle to sharpen our combat senses, and the goal itself was to foster mutual growth.
‘Fighting as if it were a real battle would be good, but...’
Neither Keian nor I were particularly lacking in real combat experience.
In that case, it was better to train in a way that complemented each other's weaknesses.
Ding— dong—.
A bell rang from somewhere in the distance.
This gloomy bell, believe it or not, was the sound signaling lunchtime.
We looked at each other for a moment before simultaneously lowering our guards.
“Good work. I gained a lot thanks to you.”
“The pleasure was all mine.”
It wasn't just empty praise.
Over the past week of intense sparring with Keian, I had almost completely eliminated the disconnect between my mind and body.
If it hadn't been someone of Keian's skill, it would have taken several more weeks.
The finer the adjustment, the more you need a high-level opponent.
In any case, I felt relieved, as if I had finally finished one of my assignments.
“It's finally tomorrow.”
Keian, who was following a step behind, said in passing.
“So it is.”
He was talking about the training retreat.
It starts tomorrow, so we have to leave this evening.
With nothing else to do, I planned to eat lunch, pack lightly, and depart immediately.
“I'm told there are a total of 43 participants in the training retreat.”
“Hmm. Is that a lot, or a little?”
“It's more than last time, and more than the average. Moreover, they say this year's class has an unusual number of exceptionally talented individuals.”
“Is that so?”
“The third son of the Helvin family, the youngest daughter of the Lubieta family, and although he didn't participate in the Blessing Ceremony, the only son of Ranger Hyde...”
I roughly committed the names Keian mentioned to memory.
“And there's also the third daughter of the Goodspring family.”
The news that Seren was attending was rather unexpected.
For someone from the Goodspring family, there was no particular merit in participating in a Bednicker training retreat.
In fact, considering the relationship between the two families, participating could even be a disadvantage.
It could be seen as her feeling dissatisfied or lacking something in the Goodspring curriculum.
It wasn't something the family would encourage.
‘She's not unaware of this, I'm sure.’
She was peculiar in many ways, but she wasn't stupid.
“I heard the carriage to the training camp departs in the afternoon.”
“A carriage?”
“They say you can't bring anything other than clothes and a weapon. I heard all basic necessities will be provided there.”
“I see.”
It's convenient having him tell me everything I need to know without my having to ask.
Having a competent butler is a wonderful thing.
I felt like I could understand why the others in the mansion coveted Keian.
Is there anyone else in the Bednicker family as versatile as him?
‘Can I bring the Seven Sins Sword?’
I thought about it for a moment but decided to just take it.
I don't really use it as a weapon, but since it looks like a sword, I probably won't be stopped.
The only other thing that might be an issue is the magical tool I received from the Iron-Blooded Duke, but it looks like an ordinary ring, so it should be fine.
After eating and washing up, I changed into the lightest clothes possible and was about to leave my room when a sudden knock sounded.
“Come in.”
“Yes.”
And the person who appeared was an unexpected face.
“You're... uh...”
“It's Jain.”
Right, Jain the Collector.
The one who refereed the match between Hector and me.
I hadn't forgotten.
I'd thought it was a name that didn't suit his appearance.
“What do you want?”
“The Family Head commanded me to deliver this to you, Young Master.”
He then held something out to me.
It was a very luxurious-looking wooden box, which opened automatically with a click, as if some mechanism had been set.
Inside was something that looked like a red jewel.
“What is this?”
“It is a Spirit Jade.”
“A Spirit Jade? Ah—”
The elixir the Iron-Blooded Duke said he would give me.
Its name was Spirit Jade.
I looked down at the so-called Spirit Jade with narrowed eyes.
‘Elixirs often have strange appearances, but...’
Can I even eat this thing?
It's too big to just swallow, and if I chew it, I feel like my teeth would break.
“Then, I will be on my way.”
“Wait.”
Jain paused his departure and looked at me with a 'what is it now' expression. He was a strangely impolite yet formal fellow.
Are all Collectors eccentrics?
“I need a bit more of an explanation. Did the Family Head say anything else?”
“Not particularly.”
“Hmm...”
Seeing my troubled expression, Jain spoke.
“However, if you require an explanation of the Spirit Jade, I can provide one.”
“Oh. Please do.”
“This is an elixir called a Spirit Jade, or Manifested Spirit Jade. It can only be obtained from a very small number of spirits.”
“From a spirit?”
“Of course, spirits do not have a physical concept. Naturally, you cannot gain anything by defeating them. That is generally the case, but a crazed spirit is a little different.”
“What's a crazed spirit?”
“It is a spirit that has, quite literally, gone berserk. It's what they call a spirit that has lingered too long in the phenomenal world and unintentionally manifested. I hear that for a spiritual being, obtaining a physical body is no different from a fall from grace.”
Gaining a body is a fall from grace...
It was a concept I couldn't understand at all, but since spirits don't belong in the category of living beings in the first place, I figured it could be possible.
“Judging by its color, it seems to have been obtained from a fire spirit, and a top-tier one at that. I heard the Family Head went to the Tasmas volcanic region recently; perhaps he acquired it there.”
“How do I take it? Can I just eat it?”
Usually, the better the elixir, the more likely it is to change into an easily absorbable liquid or jelly-like form the moment it enters your mouth.
Which meant that even though it looked like a jewel at first glance, it might be surprisingly easy to consume...
“An ordinary Spirit Jade might be like that, but... well. You will probably have to dissolve this one slowly to digest it.”
“Aha. Like rolling ice in my mouth?”
“Not like that. You do it with mana.”
Right. I thought as much.
I was just joking because his expression was so stiff.
I nodded and said,
“Thanks for the explanation.”
“Then I will be on my way.”
This time, Jain really left, and I immediately held the Spirit Jade in my hand and tried to infuse it with mana—that is, internal energy.
“...Oh.”
My hand grew hot.
The moment it touched my mana, the hard, metallic-like object’s outer layer peeled back slightly, and an energy of extreme yang was slowly absorbed into me...
I instantly understood what Jain meant by 'dissolve and absorb'.
‘This is incredible.’
The extreme yang energy flowing from the Spirit Jade was so pure that even I, a practitioner of the Flame Arts of the Greatest, needed no special refinement.
It meant I could absorb it and take it in almost as it was.
‘Moreover—’
The benefits I could gain from the Spirit Jade probably weren't limited to just increasing my internal energy.
As I infused it with mana, I grasped its general structure. This Spirit Jade was built to become harder the deeper one went.
In other words, the process of dissolving it would consume more internal energy and mental strength as I progressed...
In the grand scheme of things, the very process of dissolving this Spirit Jade would be a form of training.
By the time I fully digested the Spirit Jade, wouldn't my own level have increased significantly?
“...Just like the Family Head.”
He doesn't just give a reward and leave it at that; he also provides a clue to become stronger.
It was just like the Iron-Blooded Duke, who prioritizes his children's growth above all else.
“Good.”
For the time being, I should keep the Spirit Jade on me at all times.
The only problem was that I had no suitable way to store it, so for now, it seemed I had no choice but to just carry it around.
What if someone at the training retreat makes a fuss about it?
“I'll just say the Family Head gave it to me.”
* * *
Later, after eating and washing up, I changed into the lightest clothes possible and left the mansion.
A large carriage was waiting in front of the mansion's main gate.
A knight standing in front saw me and smiled brightly.
“Greetings! Young Master Ruan.”
“Hello. Good evening.”
“Haha. It hasn't warmed up yet, though. Off to the training retreat, are you?”
“Yes.”
“Please, get in.”
I nodded and boarded the carriage, where I saw an unexpected face.
“...Ugh.”
It was Hector.
He had an expression as if he'd seen something he shouldn't have, and when our eyes met, he furtively averted his gaze.
“What.”
“...What do you mean, 'what'?”
“That's not the face you make when you see your youngest brother.”
“Y-Youngest brother.”
Hector turned his head away with a disgusted look, as if he'd bitten into a bug.
Come to think of it, running into him wasn't all that unexpected.
He was of Bednicker blood, too, which meant he naturally lived in the main family's mansion.
There was nothing strange about us sharing a carriage that was parked in front of the main gate.
Anyway, I sat down across from Hector.
The fortunate thing was that it was a luxury carriage, so the inside was spacious.
‘A strange carriage.’
The seats were plush, and there was a pleasant smell inside.
But aside from that, there were no windows.
This meant there was no way to see outside, and if my senses weren't mistaken, it seemed sound from the outside was blocked as well.
The kind of carriage you'd use to transport a prisoner.
Of course, I could guess the intention.
It was probably to hide the exact location of the training camp.
As I was thinking, the door opened slightly, and the knight from before poked his head in.
“We will be departing immediately. Have either of you forgotten anything?”
We both nodded at the same time.
“Understood. The journey is expected to take about three hours.”
“That's a long time.”
I don't know the exact size of the Butterfly Forest.
But if a three-hour journey was required in a carriage this well-equipped, it wouldn't be strange to think it was as far as the distance between towns.
This was also a distance from which you could never return to the main house without knowing the exact route or direction.
“If you get hungry during the journey, please let us know. We can provide some simple refreshments.”
“Okay.”
The knight bowed and left.
‘Have we started moving?’
It seemed so.
Although I couldn't really tell, since I didn't feel the usual clattering of the carriage.
“...You seem to be on good terms with Sir Walter.”
As I was spacing out, Hector unexpectedly spoke to me.
I thought for a moment before realizing that the knight who had greeted us was named Walter.
“We're not on bad terms.”
“How? You've only been at the main house for a short time.”
“Brother, are you being sarcastic right now?”
“N-No, that's not it.”
Hector shook his head and then said,
“Sir Walter is a member of the Iron-Blooded Knights, and a man of immense pride at that. He's skilled enough to have been named to the special detachment handpicked by our uncle.”
By uncle, he meant the captain of the Iron-Blooded Knights, Luke Bednicker.
“Aha. So that's why.”
“What do you mean?”
“I fought him once. He was a better fighter than the other knights.”
“You fought him?”
Hector looked bewildered.
For the past week, I had spent all my daylight hours in the training grounds.
But naturally, the training grounds were not a place I used alone.
The knights watched me spar with Keian, and some of them, unable to suppress their fighting spirit, challenged me to mock battles.
Since it wasn't a bad thing for me to fight various people, I accepted...
...meaning that Walter was one of the better fighters among those knights.
When I briefly explained the situation, Hector muttered with a bitter expression.
“So you've earned the recognition of the Iron-Blooded Knights.”
“Don't exaggerate. We just sparred a few times.”
“That *is* earning their recognition. They would never fight an opponent they don't acknowledge.”
After saying so, Hector looked at me.
“Ruan Bednicker, though I lost in our duel, the training retreat will be different. There, I will definitely score higher than you.”
He declared this with a serious face, as if he had made some kind of resolution.
Suddenly, I recalled the Iron-Blooded Duke telling me to aim for first place.
‘Don't tell me he was told the same thing?’
It seemed likely, but I didn't bother to ask.
After that, the conversation died down, and I was able to sink back into my thoughts.
My Eldest Martial Brother came to mind, memories of the Spirit Mountain flickered past, and finally, my master's image appeared.
-Do not let your guard down.
The words my master had said from beyond the mirror.
-Remember this, youngest.
-If not for our meeting today, you would have died a month from now.
A week has already passed since I heard those words.
Which means there is a high probability that a great crisis will befall me in about three weeks.
And the training retreat lasts for a total of six weeks.
In other words.
‘...Does this mean I might die during this training retreat?’
For no particular reason, I looked at the wall of the carriage.
Somehow, I felt a desire to see the scenery outside.