Chapter 229
Chapter 229
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 229
Chapter Title: The Trial of the Holy Grail (3)
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Right after emerging from the trial, Kalt collapsed spread-eagled in the grass. He looked like he didn't even have the strength to twitch a finger.
'Fatigue does linger, though.'
All the injuries sustained inside the trial vanished the moment he stepped out. But the mental exhaustion seemed to stick around.
"Pushing through four times in a row will do that."
I let out a wry chuckle as I perched on a stump.
Kalt wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and spoke.
"I really thought I was done for."
"You've already died three times—what's one more?"
"...Now that you mention it, yeah."
He looked utterly drained.
Cardi had warned him it was three times max, but he'd pushed for four. Being tired was only natural.
'Does the number of attempts vary based on how close you are to transcendence?'
The thought crossed my mind.
Cardi said three, but Kalt had gone for four.
'Whatever, we'll figure it out eventually.'
"So."
I grinned at Kalt.
"How's it feel to be a transcendent now?"
Kalt had passed the trial.
That meant he'd reached the transcendent realm. It was my first time witnessing a transcendence firsthand, so I was curious about what changes he'd undergone.
"Not entirely sure. No dramatic shifts or anything—just feels like my body's got a bit more pep in it..."
"You don't know?"
"Yeah. Probably need to swing my sword around a bit to really get a sense of it."
Swing my sword to get a feel, huh.
I clapped my hands with a smack.
"Wanna spar with me?"
"...Pardon?"
Kalt gave me a sidelong glance, then sighed and rubbed his eyes.
"The moment I become transcendent, the Transcendent Slayer comes knocking..."
"Transcendent what?"
"Transcendent Slayer. Slayer of transcendents."
What the hell was that?
As I tilted my head, Kalt slowly pushed himself upright.
"They call people who can lop off dragon heads Dragon Slayers. So, someone who can wreck transcendents must be a Transcendent Slayer, right? You know that already, don't you, Senior?"
"Know what?"
"That you've already turned two transcendents into half-cripples."
"Oh..."
The Sword Demon was bound by a master-servant contract.
The Madman had half his contract authority in my hands.
In a way, neither could fulfill their roles anymore, so "half-cripple" wasn't far off.
'Huh, you're right.'
I've already wrecked two transcendents.
No good comeback came to mind, so after a moment's thought, I raised my arm. Middle finger pressed to thumb, I pointed my extended index finger at Kalt.
"Make that three."
"...Pardon?"
Snap!
A spark crackled with the flick. A burst of mana shot out, and the spell formed in an instant, hurtling toward Kalt's forehead.
⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡ Spell-Smite Point-blank mana strike
A point-blank spell.
But Kalt dodged it effortlessly by tilting his head back—as if he'd known exactly where it was coming from.
Boom!
Spell-Smite slammed into the ground behind him.
Kalt himself seemed surprised, eyes wide as he glanced between his back and me... then grinned.
"I'm not the same as before, Senior."
A smile brimming with confidence. Suppressing the urge to smack it off, I shot back.
"You just said you weren't sure about the difference."
"You don't really know until you move, right? Now that I have, I can feel the change."
Kalt brushed off his clothes and stood, hand drifting to his waist. He drew a single sword.
Shing.
A chill metallic ring accompanied the silvery blade. He lightly swung it toward one of the trees in line.
Slash.
A light swing.
A clean arc from the silvery blade.
I was about to think nothing had changed when—
Tick, tick-tick.
Falling leaves scattered by the wind began splitting one by one. The sword strike had been aimed at the tree, but it hadn't affected the tree at all.
Tick-tick-tick-tick.
The shredded leaves rained down.
I stared at Kalt, eyes wide.
"Whoa, what the fuck?"
It was almost magical swordplay.
I clapped. Kalt swung a couple more times at the air before turning to me.
"I've been observing Sir Kuntel's swordsmanship closely since the battlefield. Observation is my specialty, after all."
The talent of a Tracker.
The ability to observe and comprehend.
"So, theoretically, I understood the 'motions and processes' behind Sir Kuntel's techniques... and how they led to their results."
Of course, understanding didn't mean I could use them.
He muttered as he sheathed his sword.
"But now, it's different."
Kalt smiled happily.
"Not yet, but if I keep training like this... I feel like I can reach it. So this is what Sir Kuntel meant by 'breaking the limits of growth'."
I watched him fondly stroke the hilt and spoke.
"They say that's what the transcendent realm is like. Never experienced it myself, so I wouldn't know."
Perfect swordsmanship in any situation through expanded techniques and reinforced physique. And most importantly, overcoming growth limits.
「There aren't dramatic changes like that. If there are, it's because everything you've built up explodes out once the wall crumbles.」
In the end, it's the realm of effort.
What you've built won't betray you. That was Uncle Kuntel's favorite saying.
"...Come to think of it, that's odd."
Kalt stroked his chin, eyeing me.
"You're not transcendent, are you, Senior?"
"Nope. Never felt the wall, never crossed it."
"...Yet you suppress transcendents."
"It just works."
"How?"
"No idea."
I'd never really pondered it deeply.
Uncle Kuntel, the foremost expert on transcendence, had called me "weird" too. If even he didn't know, how could I?
"I just live with it."
Kalt still looked puzzled and pressed on.
"You're not some special constitution like the Divine Archer, Saintess, or Hero, are you? Senior, are you even human? That seems the most plausible..."
"If I weren't human, would I be suffering like this?"
Chasing after lifespan, barely hanging on.
"Well, I'm not totally clueless."
I muttered, chin in hand.
"In the end, that wall only appears when you feel limits, right? From what I've heard, it's that gut feeling of 'I can't beat them' or hitting an uncrossable growth cap."
Kalt nodded.
I shrugged nonchalantly.
"If it's blocked, just go around. Done."
"Doesn't seem like that kind of wall..."
Then I dunno.
I shrugged again.
"Anyway, congrats, Kalt."
On reaching transcendence.
On achieving the dream he'd longed for.
"Now I can really work you to the bone."
"...Pardon? What?"
As Kalt's eyes bulged, I patted his shoulder—my way of saying "looking forward to it."
What's good about good subordinates?
I can dump the chores on him without worry. A smile crept across my face.
"Here's to more of the same."
"...Can I quit now?"
"You can?"
2.
Mana Trading professor's office.
Lania scribbled away, calendars and academy curricula spread across the table. After teasing her pen for a while, she looked up.
'Not easy.'
She'd drafted a three-year plan.
Putting her mental outline into writing was tougher than expected.
"This'll do."
She nodded at the rough framework. Minor tweaks later, but it was solid for now.
「You too can do it, transcendent! 」
What a punchy title.
She'd jotted it lightly, but the path to that goal was anything but.
'Confirmed the Grail works fine, but...'
The Grail's trial had difficulty beyond imagination. Something she'd overlooked.
Even Kalt, inches from transcendence, had barely passed. What he'd told her afterward far exceeded her estimates.
「It was Sir Kuntel's form from when you faced Gani Kalt.」
The strongest swordsman.
Landing a 'single blow' on him.
That was Kalt's trial.
'No clue how it calibrates difficulty exactly, but...'
For her marked students to clear something like that... she had no sense of the time it'd take.
'Knew it wouldn't be easy.'
This changed her view of the Grail.
It let you become transcendent without losing anything—not some easy miracle relic that lowered the bar.
The plan was shorter than pre-Grail, but still no cakewalk.
"Three years ahead."
The turning point in three years.
She had to complete the plan by then, no matter what.
The second and third truths.
The Madman's whispers.
The ancient kingdom of Arcadia.
Her eyes calmed as she recalled recent sights and experiences. She double-checked the framework multiple times.
Three years.
Long if long, short if short.
Before full 'training', she needed to quantify directions and levels.
"Guess I should take a look first."
At what form their trials would take.
3.
Mana Trading professor's office.
"Pardon? Among the people you've faced, who was the strongest?"
Belnoa blinked at the out-of-left-field question.
'Ideology check?'
Probably better say Professor Lania or get branded and buried in assignments.
"Yeah. The strongest. Someone who felt like a wall to you."
But her serious expression suggested more depth. Belnoa pondered before speaking.
"...Honestly, the one who scared me most was the Heretic."
The city at night.
That entity from her kidnapping.
"It felt alien—like its very lineage was different. Not even the same kind of life..."
Hard to put into words.
As Belnoa floundered, Lania nodded.
"I get the vibe."
I've been through it.
She added.
"Besides that. Someone you admired, wanted to reach."
"That'd be... Professor Lania."
No bootlicking—this was real.
During the Heretic rout, Belnoa had seen Lania load lifespan onto the scales. That radiant glow was etched deep.
"You charging at the Heretic, scattering platinum starlight—that's probably..."
"Fuck."
"...Pardon?"
Lania pinched the corner of her eye.
"Kinda suspected, but this complicates things. Ugh..."
She groaned, then whipped her head to Rak beside Belnoa.
"Rak, what about you?"
"Hm."
Rak stroked his mouth.
"First, the wall I felt was the Sword Demon, Drakai. That final technique..."
"But didn't I rip him apart?"
"True."
"So in your head, the strongest is..."
"The great Professor Lania."
"Drop the 'great'."
Lania sighed.
She eyed Belnoa and Rak pityingly.
"You two... are gonna have it rough. Real rough."
A look they couldn't comprehend.
Author's Note
Hoeak