Chapter 102
Chapter 102
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 102
Chapter Title: Chapter 35: Hundred Seas (3)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“Cool.”
Rebecca hugged Undine tightly as she watched the boy gracefully moving across the pristine white training ground.
Endairon smirked at his contractor like that. Then he turned his gaze back to Jamie.
‘A human even younger than my contractor. But his talent is impressive, alright.’
He had grasped and accepted everything after just a few words.
But that was the extent of it.
There were geniuses like that aplenty in the world.
Rebecca herself had formed a contract with him at the tender age of ten.
Talents on par with that boy were a dime a dozen if you looked.
That was what Endairon thought. Until just ten seconds ago.
Boom!!!
The change happened in the blink of an eye.
“Young Master!”
An immense light filled the training ground to overflowing and began bursting outward.
Endairon forcibly pulled himself into the present realm and erected a massive wall of water to shield Rebecca.
The water wall shook violently, threatening to crumble.
-Such tremendous power!!
Zzzing-
It was energy so potent it made the air itself resonate.
Endairon bristled his blue mane and assumed a battle stance.
The power of an upper spirit alone surpassed that of an Expert-level knight—it was a walking disaster.
A force still beyond Rebecca’s capabilities.
Normally, it would have been forcibly reverse-summoned, but Endairon had been summoned to the present world under the Spirit King’s direct decree.
The Spirit King would bear all the resulting causality, so there were no issues.
Yet Endairon never had to enter combat.
“……Wow.”
Rebecca let out a soft gasp of admiration.
Endairon smoothed down his raised fur and focused on the spectacle unfolding before them.
Pure white mana enveloped Jamie, scattering beautiful particles of light.
Having placed the finishing stroke on the final form of Hundred Seas, Jamie exhaled softly. Then, as if mumbling to himself,
“Was that a bit much?”
At the same moment, three figures descended from midair.
It was the Welton Count, the Valle Viscount, and Hamilton.
Trailing behind them came the Welton family knights in orderly ranks.
The Valle Viscount immediately summoned two upper spirits to guard his daughter.
“Are you alright?”
“I’m fine.”
“Thank goodness.”
The viscount let out a short sigh of relief at the sight of his unscathed daughter. Then he turned to the Welton Count.
“Jamie!”
The count spotted his son standing in the center of the training ground.
Hazy dust still lingered, drifting through the air.
The entire floor of the training ground was etched with fissures.
They were mere cracks, but anyone familiar with the material would never dismiss them lightly.
‘Ellinium,’ a special alloy that could withstand even aura. A metal boasting ten times the hardness of steel.
What on earth had happened to inflict cracks on Ellinium?
“What in the world……”
Jamie scratched the back of his head sheepishly at the count’s bewildered expression.
Hamilton stood beside the count with a similar look on his face, while the knights behind them stood at attention with swords drawn.
“Ah, well……”
“Are you unharmed?”
The count approached with a face full of worry.
As he did, he heightened his senses and scanned the surroundings, seemingly convinced enemies might be nearby.
Jamie quickly corrected his father’s misconception.
“I-it was me.”
“……What?”
“It was me, Father.”
The approaching count halted in his tracks.
Jamie continued scratching his head as he surveyed the area.
The training ground was a total wreck. He hadn’t intended to go this far. He thought he’d controlled his power adequately.
‘I didn’t realize even holding back would do this.’
A newly devised spell.
Though calling it a spell was a bit of a stretch.
It was something he’d improvised by harnessing the mana resonating in sync with the flow of Hundred Seas.
He couldn’t even cast it outside of performing Hundred Seas.
The problem was its overwhelming power.
Hundred Seas dominated space by spreading out resonating mana on a wide scale. The spell Jamie created concentrated that mana at his toes—at a single point.
It was meant to heighten spatial dominance even further, but it exceeded all expectations, collapsing the entire dominated space in the process.
‘Thank goodness it was the training ground.’
Only cracks marred the floor, but he could feel the entire space having twisted under the massive impact.
“You did this?”
“Yes.”
The count still looked incredulous.
“While performing Hundred Seas, I sort of…… lost control.”
“P-performing Hundred Seas?”
Hundred Seas was a footwork technique devised by the previous family head, renowned for its extreme difficulty. It was absolutely not something a novice could tackle.
The count glanced at Hamilton standing behind him, who bowed his head as if at a loss for words.
It seemed Jamie’s account was true, after all.
The count straightened up and addressed Jamie once more.
“You truly performed Hundred Seas?”
“Yes.”
“Hah……”
The count looked around again.
How could anyone call this the aftermath of Hundred Seas?
It would have been far more believable if he’d botched a magic spell and caused an explosion.
Hundred Seas wasn’t supposed to be a destructive technique like this.
It didn’t possess such raw destructive power.
The Welton Count was the foremost master of Hundred Seas among all the family’s knights.
“What exactly did you do to turn the training ground into this while performing Hundred Seas?”
“Well…… I tried incorporating some magic.”
“What?!”
“I focused the mana dominating the space at a single point…… and it ended up like this. I’m truly sorry!”
Jamie apologized with utmost sincerity.
The count was left speechless by his son’s words.
Was it even possible to blend magic into Hundred Seas?
‘Hundred Seas is already perfect as it is.’
The count wasn’t one who hadn’t tried.
He had experimented with various methods to upgrade Hundred Seas.
But there was nothing to add or subtract. No matter what he attempted, Hundred Seas was complete in its original form.
Yet Jamie had succeeded. He had amplified its strengths and transformed it into an offensive technique.
‘Because he’s a sorcerer.’
The mana used in martial arts was the same as that in sorcery. But the ways they were employed were entirely different.
Jamie had successfully fused those disparate methods.
Was it possible only because he was a child so deeply beloved by magic?
‘No. This is……’
The count gazed at his son, whose face was still etched with guilt.
He couldn’t quite put a label on it. But one thing was crystal clear.
‘A child loved by everything.’
Not just magic, but martial arts as well.
It was in his nature from birth, transcending even the Welton bloodline.
As the count stood mute, Hamilton stepped forward.
“My lord.”
The count didn’t respond.
But Hamilton pressed on.
“It’s confirmed as of today. I knew it before, but my own greed made me want to verify once more. And now I have.”
The count’s eyes turned to Hamilton.
“Teach the young master the Single Origin Sword.”
Single Origin Sword.
The Welton family’s secret swordsmanship.
A supreme sword art that only those of direct Welton blood could learn.
Its greatness was matched by the prerequisite of rock-solid fundamentals—without them, one couldn’t even attempt it.
That was why Hamilton had been assigned as his instructor. And now, Hamilton was declaring he could no longer serve in that role.
“Jamie, do you know what that is?”
“What……”
“Hundred Seas is the footwork created by the previous family head—my father, Cherbil Welton.”
“I heard about it from the instructor.”
“Then do you know this?”
“What else?”
“Out of ten commissioned knights, only two or three can master Hundred Seas.”
The reason every Welton knight mastered it was simple: those who couldn’t had left the family.
Hundred Seas itself served as the ultimate test of a knight’s worthiness. That was why the Welton knights were so formidable.
‘That’s not what he told me?’
Jamie stared at Hamilton with wide eyes.
Hamilton had said it was footwork for commissioned Welton knights. He hadn’t mentioned it was so advanced that only two or three out of ten could master it.
‘Even knowing it’s for commissioned knights means it’s no easy feat.’
No wonder.
Even as a sword beginner, he’d thought the difficulty was absurd.
Without Endairon’s advice, he would have agonized over it for days longer.
Anyone overhearing Jamie’s thoughts would have been stunned. He was confident he could master it within days.
Something others might spend a lifetime pursuing.
The count swept his gaze over the training ground once more.
This was the scene his son had wrought. Built by handpicking only the finest experts at great expense.
He didn’t regret the money spent. It wasn’t ruined beyond repair. Even if it were, it wouldn’t matter.
He simply couldn’t believe his son had caused it.
‘Two colossal talents.’
The count pondered.
Was it truly coincidence that a child with such immense gifts had been born into the world?
The global situation was trending toward unrest.
Several nations had already begun war preparations. The Zenith Church had barricaded itself in silence, but war was their only remaining path.
War would erupt within a few years.
A true world war, claiming countless lives.
So, was it coincidence?
That a child of such talent had been born into the Welton family?
He didn’t know. The count was no seer. He possessed no prophetic gifts. If only his mother-in-law were still alive.
But before all that, it was time to rejoice.
To celebrate his son’s tremendous talent. A child still needed praise.
“Jamie.”
“Yes.”
The count called to Jamie, and Jamie replied.
The two regarded each other in silence.
The count spoke first. He drew a gentle smile and placed a hand on his son’s head.
“You did wonderfully.”
His son, who usually made a face whenever he ruffled his hair, smiled brightly for the first time today.
“Thank you.”
“Starting tomorrow, I’ll be the one teaching you.”
“Really?”
“Yes. But first, go thank Hamilton. He was your teacher, even if only for a few days.”
“Of course.”
At the count’s instruction, Jamie approached Hamilton.
Hamilton chuckled at the young master and placed a hand on his hip, striking an instructor’s pose.
“Trainee!”
“Yes, sir!”
“Your training under this instructor is hereby complete!”
“Yes, sir!”
The sudden shout drew everyone’s attention to the pair.
The count watched from behind with an amused glint in his eye.
“The trainee performed this instructor’s training diligently and to perfection.”
“Yes, sir!”
“Thus, the trainee is qualified.”
“Yes…… qualified?”
“You’re still a trainee under this instructor! Who told you to speak casually?”
“Yes, sir!”
Jamie bellowed energetically from his tense, disciplined stance.
Hamilton smirked and removed his red hat and sunglasses. He placed them atop Jamie’s head and over his eyes.
“This is a gift from the instructor to the trainee who completed training with excellence.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“This instructor doesn’t know the Single Origin Sword curriculum well, but know that it’s a grueling path befitting its high difficulty.”
“No problem!”
“That’s a fine stance!”
“Yes, sir!”
“I hope you grow into an outstanding knight. That is all.”
“I learned so much!”
“I learned much as well, Young Master.”
Hamilton, who always wore a stern expression, broke into a soft smile. Jamie returned the smile and nodded.
“Here’s to working well together from now on, Sir Leonardo.”
They clasped hands and shook.
It had been a short but intense three days.
Even for Jamie, with his wealth of experiences from his past life, these three days were profoundly special. Memories he would cherish for life.
Hamilton smiled warmly as he declared the training’s end.
“Dismissed!”