Chapter 73
Chapter 73
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 73
Chapter Title: The Cheerful Rebellion
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My daily routine at the training camp starts a little earlier than the other cadets.
4 AM.
Without even making my bed, I sit cross-legged and focus my consciousness on the Spirit Jade.
“…”
A familiar warmth spreads through me.
It’s the perfect temperature, one that coaxes a pleasant drowsiness, yet the true power contained within is immense.
Simply absorbing the gentle warmth seeping out of it into my core would be a significant achievement in itself.
But neither the Iron-Blooded Duke, who bestowed the Spirit Jade upon me, nor I would be satisfied with just that.
I gripped the Spirit Jade so tightly it left an imprint on my hand.
At the same time, I roused the fire ki built up in my body and slammed it head-on into the Spirit Jade.
*Fwoosh…*
How should I describe this process…?
It’s like melting fire with fire.
While physically impossible, the circulation of internal energy and true power has always been somewhat abstract.
Different people might even perceive the same energy in completely different ways.
In any case, I was certain my method was correct.
The Spirit Jade’s warmth had now become a scorching heat, more searing than comforting.
‘This is it.’
My fire ki and the Spirit Jade’s heat.
The two yang energies mingled together, rushing through the meridians all over my body in a cyclical flow.
This flow was similar to the most basic form of internal energy circulation used to build one’s power, but its efficiency was several times greater.
Not only did it increase my internal energy, but it also maximized the effects of the Flame Arts of the Greatest, accelerating both my recovery and training.
This was the reason I could function perfectly fine on just two or three hours of sleep at the training camp.
“Phuuu…”
I finished circulating my energy just as the sky outside began to lighten.
Today’s session was very satisfying… but the size of the Spirit Jade in my hand was not much different from when I first received it.
There’s no need to be hasty.
I’m looking at this as a long-term project from the start.
It will probably take at least half a year to completely melt the Spirit Jade, won’t it?
“Hmm…”
I massaged my stiff neck and pondered for a moment.
Should I go out to the clearing and stretch?
Or should I get a little more sleep?
My usual routine would have me choose the former, but today is the special exam.
They even let us skip the daily morning run we’ve never missed, so I could feel the instructors’ intention: they wanted us to face the exam in peak condition.
‘I’ll just sleep.’
The moment I lay back down on the cramped bed, I felt a vibration. *Vrooom.*
It wasn’t the Spirit Jade.
The Seven Sins Sword, which I had placed by my head, was trembling faintly.
‘The Martial God?’
[…]
From the lack of response, it seemed he wasn’t awake.
I stared at the Seven Sins Sword for a moment, then realized it was slowly shifting toward a certain direction.
Toward the clearing.
‘Is something out there?’
After a brief moment of thought, I grabbed the Seven Sins Sword and stood up.
I carefully descended the creaking stairs, passed through the lounge, and stepped out of the building.
*Whoosh-.*
A chilly wind swept across the dimly lit clearing.
It was a time when the area was usually deserted.
In fact, I had never run into anyone while stretching in the clearing at this hour, but today, someone was already there.
A little kid swinging a massive hammer under the waning moon.
Only then did I realize why the Seven Sins Sword had trembled.
“What are you doing out here?”
“…Blond Bednicker?”
Mir looked at me with a surprised expression.
When I just stared at him without a word, he averted his gaze and replied.
“…Uh. Just warming up.”
This kid was as terrible a liar as he looked.
“I see…”
It looked like there was a story there, but prying wasn’t my style.
Ignoring Mir, I decided to stretch since I was already out in the clearing.
As I slowly loosened my stiff joints and did some exercises, I felt a gaze on me.
“…What about you? What are you doing here?”
“Just warming up, too.”
“I-I see.”
Silence fell again after my short reply.
But for some reason, I could feel Mir hesitantly inching closer.
‘I have a feeling this is going to be a pain.’
I subtly stopped my stretches, about to head back inside.
“…Aren’t you nervous?”
Just as I expected, Mir stopped me.
I asked in an awkward posture.
“Nervous about what?”
“The special exam is today… I was just wondering if you ever think, what if I don’t achieve anything here.”
He hesitated, then added.
“…Blond Bednicker, you’re also treated like an outcast in your family, aren’t you?”
So he knew about me.
And from his tone, it seemed he felt a faint sense of kinship with me.
“I’m similar to you… I was born this small, even though I’m a giant. ‘Shorty,’ ‘Pipsqueak,’ my brothers and even my own people all mocked me. Even my parents considered me a disgrace…”
Mir’s voice began to tremble slightly.
“Then… at some point, my body stopped moving properly whenever I faced an opponent bigger than me.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s just as I said. The bigger the opponent, the more my mind gets jumbled up and my body freezes… It feels like I’m not me anymore.”
*Plink.*
A teardrop fell from the tip of Mir’s chin.
“…That whirlwind woman was right. I won’t be of any help in this exam. I’ll just be a burden to you all. So… if it comes to that, abandon me.”
“…”
I pretty much got it now.
The reason for Mir’s poor performance despite possessing such immense strength.
And the reason he had made such a pathetic showing during the fight with the giant centipede.
The wind blew again.
The pre-dawn winter wind was cold.
Mir, who had been standing there blankly, shivered and hastily wiped his face.
“Pr-Pretend you didn’t hear that!”
“What?”
“For me, a proud giant and a descendant of Ymir, to show such a side of myself is—.”
“Hey, you know what?”
The Frost Giant Ymir.
I pulled that name from the depths of my memory and spoke.
“The story about how the Frost Giant Ymir was cursed and became small.”
“…Huh?”
Mir looked at me, rubbing his eyes vigorously.
“I read a lot of myths and heroic tales when I was young. I read about Ymir back then. It’s one of the stories, about a time Ymir was shrunk by a trickster god.”
“Shrunk… as small as me?”
I smiled and answered.
“As small as you.”
“Ooh…”
“Ymir was lying in a field, heartbroken, when an ant spoke to him.”
—O great Frost Giant. A typhoon will soon strike, and it will sweep away this entire field. Can you please stop it?
“Ymir shook his head.”
—Your plight is pitiful, but I am now much smaller than my own fist. I have no confidence I can stop a massive typhoon.
—But… you still look enormous to me.
Mir tilted his head.
“What does that mean?”
“From an ant’s perspective, whether you’re a human or a giant, you’re just incredibly huge. How would it know which peak beyond the clouds is the highest? All it knows is that they’re high.”
“Umm…”
“It’s not directly related, but those words made Ymir realize something.”
—I am certainly smaller now. So what? To the ant, I am still big. That means size is ultimately relative, and what’s important is how I think of myself.
—Though my body has shrunk, my heart has not.
Mir repeated my words in a daze.
“…My heart has not shrunk.”
“And with that, he ran out and tore the typhoon apart with his bare hands. As expected of a trickster god’s doing, his body had shrunk, but his strength remained the same.”
Mir’s eyes were now sparkling.
“You withstood the giant centipede’s tail whip with your bare body, didn’t you? With no mana or Blessing, just your physical form. That’s something no one else in this training camp can do.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, probably not even including all the instructors.”
I said with a grin.
“So let’s show them in this special exam. The cheerful rebellion of you and me, the outcasts who were looked down on by our families.”
“A cheerful rebellion…!”
Mir waved his hands around.
He looked just like a little kid who couldn’t contain his excitement.
“Thank you! Blond Bednicker!”
“My name is Ruan.”
“Ah…!”
Mir beamed and said.
“I’m Mir Giant!”
“I know. Anyway, go back to your room now and get at least a little sleep. You haven’t slept a wink, have you?”
“How did you know?”
“Your dark circles are down to your chin.”
“U-Umm…! I will! I will sleep with all my might! Thank you! Blond… no, Ruan!”
“Don’t sleep with all your might, just get some shut-eye…”
But Mir was already gone.
I watched the dust he’d left behind and muttered.
“So simple.”
That’s right.
Mir Giant was a simple guy.
And the advantage of simple guys is that they can cheer up with just a little bit of comfort.
The fact that my clumsy attempt at consolation could revitalize him like that said it all.
And yet, he had been down in the dumps for this entire training camp.
That meant there wasn't a single person around who would offer him even this simple encouragement.
…Perhaps not just in the training camp, but in his entire life.
If that was the case, maybe the confident attitude he sometimes showed was just an act?
After all, those who have nothing are often the loudest.
I looked at the spot where Mir had been standing.
A descendant of Ymir would be a big deal, a very big deal.
If he had become a hero later in life, I would have heard about him at least once, just like the others—.
I had never heard anything about a giant named Mir.
If that was the case…
Could it be that the Mir Giant of the past died at this training camp?
* * *
At last, morning dawned.
For the first time, the daily pre-dawn run was canceled, and all the cadets gathered in the clearing, for once in top condition.
Of course, the atmosphere was still awkward.
Usually, there would be chatter here and there before the instructor arrived, but since the teams had just been formed, everyone seemed to be sizing each other up.
Soon enough, an instructor appeared.
It was Martial Teacher Huan again.
“Good morning, cadets. Did you all sleep well?”
“…”
The Martial Teacher smiled warmly at the unresponsive cadets.
“Haha. It certainly wouldn’t be strange if you had a restless night… Well then, let’s get straight to the point.”
And with that, the Martial Teacher began to explain the exam.
“First, there are no set boundaries for this special exam. This means you cadets are free to go anywhere in the forest. However, this time, not a single instructor will be deployed. Do you understand what that means?”
Huan’s signature smile faded slightly as he spoke.
“It means that if the worst should happen, do not expect any help. Remember this. The Bednicker training camp gets real from here on out.”
“…”
“The exam period will be a total of three days, in other words, 72 hours. Attacking other cadets is against the rules; if caught, you will be immediately disqualified from the exam and receive demerits. Now, team leaders, please submit your purchase lists to me and receive your supplies.”
At his words, the cadets who were team leaders stepped forward.
It seemed that the high-ranking cadets like Caron and Hector were mostly chosen as team leaders.
“Ruan.”
Someone called my name.
I turned to see Seren, and for a moment, I didn’t recognize her.
Her voice was much lower than usual…
But more than anything, it was strange hearing her call me by my name when she always just called me ‘hey’ or ‘you’.
“What?”
“This is where it gets real.”
“What?”
Seren repeated words similar to what the instructor had just said.
But her tone was somehow strange.
Though the words were the same, they felt like they carried a completely different meaning.
“Be careful. And don’t let your guard down.”
“Of course I will. But you seem pretty relaxed, don’t you? Got time to worry about others.”
Seren didn’t react to my joke as she usually would. She just stared at me with her glass-like eyes.
“Don’t die.”
“…”
I blinked.
Was this simple concern?
Was this special exam so dangerous that one could lose their life?
Something was different.
For some reason, at that moment, my Master’s words came back to me.
There was no time to ask further.
It was soon my turn, and I submitted my list to Huan and received my supplies.
When I looked back again, Seren was already gone.
“…”
I took a moment to reflect.
Over the past week or so, hanging out with Evan and the other cadets, my tension had eased considerably.
It wasn't just me; most of us had probably felt the same.
—*Twenty percent.*
—*That means, out of all of you here right now, at least six or seven will not leave this place alive.*
…At some point, we had all forgotten the Hunting Teacher's warning.
Everyone, perhaps, except for Seren.
Looking back, Seren’s expression had been serious ever since the training camp began.
What did she know?
I didn't know.
But I had a feeling that, as I was now, she wouldn't answer anything I asked.
I guess I had no choice but to face it head-on.
Huan smiled faintly.
“Then let the second special exam begin.”
And so.
The special exam that I would never forget began.