Chapter 11
Chapter 11
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 11
Chapter Title: The Start of Training (3)
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It was a thought that anyone who had ever measured their mana would have at least once.
Johan Redner, a master among masters.
Just how strong was he?
How much mana did he have?
It was a burning question, but who would dare ask the Swordbreaker such a bold question as, "Hey, how much mana do you have?"
Meanwhile, the one who had thrown out that very bold question that no one else would dare was busily calculating in his head.
'Let's see. If certified first dan is 1,000, then certified ninth dan would be around 10,000, right? But he's a master, after all... maybe 50,000 to 100,000?'
They said 100 mana produced about twice the strength of an ordinary adult, so 50,000 was an utterly astronomical figure.
However, Johan's nonchalant answer far surpassed Yuri's imagination and calculations.
"My mana? Well, last time I checked, it was a little over a million, I think?"
Screeech—.
Yuri yanked the cart to a halt in shock, whipping his head around with a crack.
"Wha... what? How much did you say?"
"Are your ears clogged?"
"A m-million?"
"Yeah."
"Really?"
"Argh, just believe me!"
"You're not messing with me?"
"...You little brat."
Seeing Johan's face scrunch up as if he were truly wronged, Yuri sensed he was telling the truth.
He let out a genuine sigh.
"My god, a million... Is that even a number a human can reach?"
At that question, Johan shrugged his shoulders proudly.
"Of course, a typical master would be around 500,000."
"...That still sounds like a lot."
"Hey now, that's just 500,000! Only I hit a million!"
Yuri couldn't help but inwardly agree as he watched Johan's nose held high.
'Well... yeah, you'd need at least that much to pull off those insane feats.'
The miracle Johan had shown still lingered in his mind.
That overwhelming power that had blown away cliffs and mountains in one go.
Since the man had displayed that level of might, a million mana made sense.
And with that, a fierce curiosity surged up again.
Yuri didn't hold back this time either.
"Then... what about the Sword Lord? How much mana does the Sword Lord have? You've clashed with him twice, old man, so you should know, right?"
"......"
Johan's face stiffened slightly at Yuri's question.
He looked at Yuri, pondering.
'How will this kid take it?'
Even after knowing the Sword Lord's strength, would Yuri have the guts to feel any fighting spirit toward him?
Would he get cold feet and give up before even starting?
With that thought, Johan couldn't help but snort.
'Who? This guy?'
It had been just over a month since he'd been with Yuri.
He knew more about what he didn't know than what he did.
Even so, there was one thing he could say he definitely knew about Yuri.
That was...
'This guy's just like me.'
His personality was a real pain in the ass in all sorts of ways.
And like him, that pissy personality didn't care about rank or status when it kicked in.
With a slight smile, Johan opened his mouth.
"The Sword Lord's mana has never been officially measured."
"So unofficially, it has?"
"Yeah. And one of the few people in the world who knows the Sword Lord's unofficial mana figure is yours truly!"
"Ooh! So how much is it?"
"Heh heh, wanna know? If you do, say, 'Esteemed Johan, please bestow your mercy upon this lowly worm!'"
"Esteemed Johan, please bestow your mercy upon this lowly worm! Please!"
"...Don't you have any pride?"
"Pfft, why waste pride on something this trivial?"
"You little... "
Johan scowled at Yuri's attitude of tossing aside his pride like an old rag without a second's hesitation for what he wanted.
'This is different from me.'
He would never bend like that.
So he revised his thinking on Yuri's personality.
If he was 'prideful pissiness,' then this kid was 'prideless pissiness.'
"Ah, so how much is it! Why do you keep dragging it out?"
With Yuri's urging, Johan let out a small sigh and spoke.
"The Sword Lord's mana is estimated to be over 5 million."
"...Huh? D-did I hear that wrong?"
Yuri rubbed his ears for a moment, wondering if he'd misheard.
Suspecting something wrong with his own hearing.
"How... how much?"
"Five million."
But Johan's repeated answer confirmed his ears were fine.
Instead, Yuri's lips parted slightly.
'F-five million?!"
Was that even a conceivable number?
It was so overwhelmingly unbelievable that it didn't feel real.
But Johan's words weren't over.
"At least 5 million mana."
"......"
"The device that measured mana back then maxed out at 5 million, and it overheated and exploded mid-measurement while the Sword Lord was channeling his mana. That's why it's at least 5 million."
"Crazy......"
Yuri muttered, utterly floored.
"Is that... even human?"
Johan quickly picked up on Yuri's mutter.
"Human? Does that seem human to you? If someone lifts a single rock with 100 mana, the Sword Lord could shatter a mountain with the same!"
"......"
"Is a guy like that the same as us? You really think so?"
Yuri flinched at Johan's tone.
He looked at Johan with slightly widened eyes.
'The old man's... trembling?'
Johan's voice rang in his ears.
There was a faint tremor mixed in.
"That guy's a monster. A real monster who doesn't weaken with age but grows even more ferocious and stronger!"
But it wasn't fear.
'This guy's... happy right now?'
Johan's voice was trembling, but it was filled with irrepressible joy and excitement.
As if he were thrilled just by the fact that the Sword Lord was so strong.
A thick, mad glee.
Overwhelmed by the vivid emotion radiating from Johan, Yuri couldn't say a word.
Misreading his expression, Johan grinned.
"Scared? Of how strong the Sword Lord is?"
Snapping back at the question, Yuri shook his head.
"Nah, not scared exactly... more like it's daunting. Can I even catch up to the Sword Lord's mana? How long would it take to get there?"
Johan let out a dry chuckle at Yuri's response.
'Would you look at this guy? Already thinking of catching up?'
Most wouldn't even dream of it, but then again, Yuri wasn't most people.
Johan chuckled.
"You probably won't catch him till the day you die. There's an uncrossable gap between you, who's just taking your first steps, and that old monster who's lived nearly a century."
"You're talking about time?"
"Yeah. The years that the most talented person in history has spent honing himself is an iron fortress that won't crumble easily. An iron fortress so high that weaklings can't even dream of scaling it!"
"But you said it yourself, old man. Mana is a general measure of strength, but it's not everything."
"True. In this world, it's commonplace for someone with 1,000 mana to lose their head to someone with 500."
"If strength was determined solely by mana, then the martial body technique we're gonna develop together to beat the Sword Lord... we wouldn't even bother trying, right?"
"Right."
"Then we're good."
"What do you mean?"
"It means beating the Sword Lord isn't impossible."
"......"
Johan's words failed him this time at the utterly casual tone.
Seeing that, Yuri grinned.
"Didn't the Sword Lord say it himself? That he'd give everything to whoever kills him?"
The so-called era of the Sword Lord.
No one alive today didn't know of the Sword Lord's declaration.
Countless people had tried to kill him, and rivers of blood had been spilled to claim the seat of the one absolute.
But no one had ever succeeded in usurping the Sword Throne.
Then, fifty years after that declaration, on the northern continent.
A rookie who had just taken his first step made a bold proclamation.
"Simple enough. I just gotta take down the strongest guy, and the whole world is mine, right?"
"......"
Johan stared silently at the grinning Yuri for a long while.
Then he let out a small laugh and tossed out a single word.
"Heh heh, you mad bastard."
He smacked the cart with his prosthetic leg.
"Don't get cocky, rookie! Save that nonsense for when you can pull Bungbung for seven days and eight nights without passing out!"
"...That Bungbung or Bongbong or whatever isn't the name of this rickety old cart, is it?"
"Hey, old things have spirits dwelling in them. Don't you gotta give a name to something with a soul?"
"......"
Yuri vowed once more.
Before they reached Yollam, no matter what, he would!
Smash that Bungbung thing to pieces!
As Yuri steeled his resolve, Johan smacked Bungbung again with his prosthetic.
Tap tap—.
"Alright, I'll be generous. If you make it to Crom in two days, we'll move straight to the next step!"
"Next step?"
" Mana initiation!"
"Really?! You're serious?"
"Hey, have you ever known me to lie?"
"You're lying every time you open your mouth, old man!"
"Not this time!"
It was a four-day journey from where they were to Crom Harbor.
Halving that to two days was no easy task.
But after three weeks of grueling cart-pulling torture, Yuri had no choice but to bite at Johan's offer.
"Alright! Hold on tight!"
Gritting his teeth, Yuri poured power into his legs, and Bungbung shot forward.
"Hyaaah!"
And so began the desperate dash.
Amid the echoing shouts full of grit, Johan smiled at Yuri's round head bobbing ahead.
'Mad bastard.'
It was pure lunacy for a rookie without even mana to talk of toppling the Sword Lord.
But if it was this kid saying it...
'It might not be total madness.'
Johan's smile deepened.
* * *
The world's strongest were represented by one superhuman and twenty-two masters.
First, the single superhuman.
The one bearing the title of transcendent human was, of course, Sword Lord Luke Rider.
And beneath him were the twenty-two masters.
Twelve of them hailed from Yollam, and enthusiasts called them the Twelve Swords.
The swords of the Sword Lord produced by Yollam.
Though called the Sword Lord's swords, not all served under him.
Most operated freely on their own.
But one was different.
The First Sword of the Twelve Swords, Gordon Crowden.
Another title for him was Captain of the Black Sword Corps.
The position that handled all of Yollam's internal affairs in the Sword Lord's stead.
Thus, he reigned as Yollam's undisputed number two.
Just minutes ago, an urgent telegram had arrived for that Gordon.
The moment he saw the words on the small paper his adjutant handed him, his brow twitched faintly.
For Gordon, who rarely showed emotion, even that subtle change was highly unusual.
"The Black Dragon Token has returned?"
It meant one of the Black Dragon Token holders had used it to recommend someone.
Of course, that alone wouldn't have caught Gordon's interest.
"The returning Black Dragon Token's owner is Johan Redner? And a new Black Dragon Token has been issued... to someone recommended by that Johan Redner?"
"Yes."
"Hmm......"
A low groan escaped Gordon's lips at the adjutant's reply.
'Someone Johan deemed worthy of using the Black Dragon Token?'
If the one using it hadn't been Johan Redner.
And if the recommended one hadn't received the token.
This would have been brushed off as trivial.
'But it's that Johan. The one the Sword Lord has his eye on.'
Thus, this matter couldn't be overlooked.
As he briefly pictured Johan's face, Gordon's gaze landed on the last line of the telegram.
And then.
"...What?"
For the first time in ages, a stunned exclamation burst from Gordon's mouth.
"Huh?!"
"Captain, what is it?"
Even amid the adjutant's startled cry, Gordon kept rereading the final line.
[The tenth Black Dragon Token holder, Yuri Holland, used a technique presumed to be an Avatar in the qualification exam.]
'An Avatar?'
If his eyes weren't failing him, the word "Avatar" was indeed written there.
Gordon knew full well what that meant.
'I need to report this to the Sword Lord.'
Of course, verifying the information's authenticity came first—that was his job.
Gordon ordered his adjutant.
"Track down Johan Redner's location and bring in the squad leader who sent this report."
"Understood."
"And this guy......"
Gordon checked the name on the paper once more.
"Find out everything about Yuri Holland. In detail."
"Yes!"
The adjutant bowed shortly and left the office. Gordon mulled over the name Yuri Holland again.
'Yuri Holland, huh......'
A kid who became a Black Dragon Token holder on Johan's recommendation.
And presumed to wield an Avatar as well.
If all this was true...
'Even He would take interest.
He had a hunch that the Absolute One's attention might stir Yollam into a frenzy.