Chapter 67
Chapter 67
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 67
Chapter Title: Broad Connections Are Less Important Than Solid Ones. (1)
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Broad connections are less important than solid ones.
'Who was the greatest talent you've ever seen in your life?'
Most people in the empire would answer this question like so.
"Marquis Harkur."
"Who else could compare to him?"
The supreme hero, Marquis Harkur.
He was the epitome of the greatest talent.
Some say:
"But his daughter is no slouch either. Especially Lady Jenny!"
"Ah, true. She shattered every academy record."
His daughter, Jenny Harkur, was the greatest.
Having inherited her father's talent, she had become an even greater hero across generations.
Others say:
"But isn't Scarlett amazing too?"
"Ah, the Blood Empress. Yeah, definitely. A hero with power rivaling that of a hero candidate."
"She takes after her father completely."
Scarlett, who possessed the Hero's Quality yet wielded strength comparable to a hero candidate.
Wasn't she the pinnacle of talent?
Some nobles say:
"But Marquis Sain is incredible in terms of talent too."
"His resourcefulness... We could all learn from it."
"He's neither a hero nor a hero candidate, but you can see why he's the heir to the Harkur family."
Sain Harkur, Marquis.
His political acumen and administrative skills were talents in their own right.
The Harkur family alone showcased their greatness.
And it spoke volumes about how absurd the founder, Marquis Harkur, truly was.
So, to those who call them the greatest talents, people ask:
'Who was the greatest talent you've ever seen in your life?'
Jenny Harkur says:
"My father was amazing, but Big Brother Kane is the best."
Kane.
The man in charge of training the Harkur family's private soldiers, the academy's first commoner teacher, and now thriving as an adventurer instructor.
But he was just a commoner with no aptitudes whatsoever.
So why did they call him the greatest talent?
Sain says of him:
"He's the person I respect most. No one in this world has knowledge as deep and vast as his. Nor does anyone possess his level of curiosity and ambition."
An endless thirst for exploration.
A burning desire for more knowledge.
And the ingenuity to apply it all.
If those could be called talents, then no one surpassed Kane.
That was Sain Harkur's view.
Scarlett says:
"Big Brother Kane? A freak. Honestly, can you sit in one spot for twelve hours straight without eating, just reading books? The same book twenty times over? As far as I know, he's the only one who can."
His relentless diligence.
That too was an extraordinary ability.
If he encountered an unknown language, he'd learn it by reading other books.
Upon discovering something new, he'd scour books and materials on the subject for days on end.
If something didn't click, he'd pore over that single book for a day, two days, dozens of times.
Witnessing this, Marquis Harkur had once remarked:
'I've seen countless heroes, hero candidates, demons, and monsters in my time. But that guy's a first.'
Even Marquis Harkur, who had met myriad geniuses and calamities, acknowledged it.
There was no one like Kane.
Kane, recognized by the greatest talent himself.
Yet he saw himself as just an ordinary guy with a single D-rank aptitude.
What kind of person was he, exactly?
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ A sharp-eyed beauty clad in form-fitting black leather armor faced off against a man in comfortable training clothes who still exuded an air of composure. Both gripped wooden daggers.
It looked like they were sparring.
At a glance, it seemed obvious the man would overwhelm the beauty.
His body looked solidly trained, while hers had the slender lines of a typical stunner.
But reality was the complete opposite.
Because the beauty was S-rank adventurer Veronica.
And her opponent was the novice instructor Kane, who had only been properly training his body for about a month.
In truth, Veronica was teaching Kane real combat through these sparring sessions.
Originally, he'd been paired with adventurers learning dagger arts from her who were at similar skill levels.
But now, Kane was the strongest when it came to dagger combat.
No one but Veronica could match him anymore.
'Incredible growth. Even if the others aren't proficient with daggers... Against seasoned adventurers...'
Veronica marveled at Kane's absurd progress.
Just one month.
Before, he was scrawny from never exercising properly.
Now, his body was toned enough to show through his training clothes.
To a stranger, he'd look like someone who'd trained for half a year.
It was the result of theoretically optimal training.
Combined with his unique obsession and effort.
It was so intense that when he'd been doing strength training for two hours straight, Veronica had worriedly told him to rest.
'Don't worry. I'm definitely taking breaks in between.'
Saying that, Kane ended up completing three full hours.
Efficient exercise and efficient rest.
Together, they produced dazzling physical development.
Adding in basics like stretching and running, plus martial arts training, meant nearly five hours of exercise a day.
His body couldn't help but improve.
And it wasn't just his body that had grown explosively in that short time.
His dagger skills had leaped forward to match.
"Here I come, Veronica."
"Okay, come at me."
Pababat—!
Kane lunged with speed incomparable to a month ago.
Veronica simply observed his movements without budging.
Sak—!
Then, his dagger shot toward her face.
But to Veronica, it was laughably slow.
No matter how much Kane had improved, he was no match for her.
Whoosh!
She dodged with a slight tilt of her head.
But in that instant, Kane vanished from her sight.
"...?!"
In that fleeting moment, Veronica realized.
Kane had discarded the thrusting dagger and moved somewhere else.
'The face thrust was to block my vision, huh.'
A solid plan.
Against a superior foe like Veronica, you had to induce carelessness and strike unexpectedly.
Blocking vision forced that lapse.
And in such cases, the attack would come from...
"Behind."
Ttak!!
Kane drew the dagger from his bosom to strike her nape, but Veronica swiftly blocked.
"Tch."
Realizing his attack had failed, Kane retreated, and Veronica turned to face him again.
"Impressive. If it weren't me, you'd have gotten them."
Her battlefield-honed senses, judgment, and reflexes had saved her.
Otherwise, she'd have been hit.
It was a clean, no-frills ambush.
Just too predictable.
"Behind is too obvious in an ambush. Above, the side—or if you can use the ground, striking up from below is good too."
Veronica regripped her dagger, signaling her turn.
"...Haha."
Kane let out a hollow laugh.
A few seconds later, he lay sprawled on the floor with a massive lump on the back of his head.
"Veronica really is amazing."
An S-rank adventurer.
Her wall was incredibly high.
But that didn't mean Kane was weak by any means.
As mentioned, no one else could spar with him now except her.
Of course, he wasn't as strong as Veronica.
If he were already, that'd be truly ridiculous.
No genius, no matter how talented, could grow that much in a mere month.
If anything, his dagger skills alone could handle a B-rank adventurer.
'Near-perfect movements aligned with theory. Eyes that read opponents' habits and weaknesses, sharp judgment. With a stronger body and more combat experience...'
She thought he might reach her level sooner than expected.
Honestly, he had no innate talent.
He wasn't a genius who could mimic perfectly or grow effortlessly.
He simply applied his 100% understood theory, using knowledge and keen observation to mimic potential.
That made it all the more impressive.
And chilling.
'...Meaning this absurd growth isn't limited to daggers.'
Excluding innate magic or special abilities, any technical skill could be mastered and grown this quickly, just like daggers.
Probably all technical abilities in this world.
Because Kane's knowledge was so vast and deep that no one could fathom its limits.
'If he masters them all and applies in real combat...'
What kind of monster would emerge?
She couldn't even imagine.
He lacked the heroic or hero candidate's innate physical prowess.
Or Veronica's natural aptitudes.
He might never be the strongest.
But he could become the most versatile.
"......"
Kane, the man who gave Veronica chills, stared at his hand gripping the dagger tightly.
'Definitely stronger. Worth memorizing all that dagger theory, even if it seemed pointless.'
The moment accumulated knowledge proved useful in reality, showing results.
This thrill was irresistible.
When perfect efficiency built his strength and stamina.
When his dagger skills surged.
More than the joy of growth itself, seeing knowledge applied in practice was pure fun.
His own ridiculous growth rate wasn't that important to him.
He'd simply discovered the joy of realizing what he'd learned.
'At least I won't get beat up wherever I go now.'
He no longer saw himself as weak.
He figured he was plenty strong.
'With theory and effort alone, anyone can get as strong as those with aptitudes.'
Of course, he still believed if he could do it, so could others.
In any case, his dagger mastery had risen substantially.
Kane's eyes began wandering to other pursuits.
'Maybe learn something besides daggers? There's still so much out there.'
The joy of growth.
Knowing he could feel it elsewhere too.
He started to get excited.
It reminded him of the days he'd pored over books in unknown languages dozens, hundreds of times to master them and their contents.