Chapter 100
Chapter 100
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 100
Chapter Title: Lightning, Ice, and Life
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“Yes!”
Everyone except the wizard replied in unison. Dabi first turned his gaze to Didi, who was seated to his right.
“Didi?”
“Yes. Captain. I consistently trained by wearing low-grade magic armor for four hours a day.”
“And the results?”
“At first, I couldn’t last even three minutes before collapsing, but yesterday, I managed about ten minutes while still able to move.”
Didi’s face remained expressionless as always. But amid that, a faint trace of confidence lingered at the corners of her mouth.
“Good work. Impressive results. I had faith in you, especially since you consumed the Ancient Wolf core.”
“I was surprised too. I could barely handle low-grade magic armor at first, but I adapted to mid-grade right away. But doesn’t the Ancient Wolf core lack an effect that increases strength?”
“Instead, it boosts stamina.”
Dabi applied the core’s effects he had personally experienced to a knight’s abilities.
“Of course, without basic strength, you can’t withstand magic armor. But what magic armor drains from a knight’s body isn’t strength—it’s stamina. So as long as your stamina holds out, it can cover any shortfall in muscle power.”
“……”
“That’s why I pushed you hard this time to force you toward that approach. I was certain it would yield results.”
“……”
A flicker of surprise crossed Didi’s face as she listened to the explanation.
It had been four years since she consumed the Regar core. Yet Dabi, who had eaten his core just days ago, had realized more than she had.
“Starting tomorrow, we’ll begin full-scale mid-grade magic armor training. At the same time, we’ll start basic Gale Blade training, so prepare accordingly.”
“Understood. But isn’t the Gale Blade only possible from mid-grade magic armor onward?”
“It’s just a matter of time anyway. No harm in getting a feel for it early, right?”
It was a hint that she would soon handle mid-grade magic armor. Didi murmured “Knight Expert” softly and nodded.
“Then next, Kyle.”
Dabi turned his head to the left, and only then did Kyle, having finally shaken off the chill, take a slow deep breath and respond.
“Whew… For now, I’ve completed the initial mid-grade magic armor adaptation training as instructed.”
“You can jog for thirty minutes while wearing mid-grade magic armor?”
“Yes.”
“And your spars with Rinen?”
“I lost most of them.”
“T-That’s because! I was wearing mid-grade magic armor!”
Rinen jumped in urgently to defend Kyle. Dabi shook his head and held out his palm toward Rinen.
“Doesn’t matter. I didn’t expect victories from the start. How many spars per day?”
“As instructed, five per day. The first day, I thought I’d die of exhaustion, but two days ago, I felt like I could do one more. The Ancient Seal core’s effects are starting to shine.”
“The key is lung capacity. What impact do you feel increased lung capacity has on a knight’s combat power?”
“Endurance. My staying power is incomparably stronger than before.”
Kyle inhaled deeply and clenched his fist. Dabi smiled faintly and nodded.
“You start full-scale knight skill training tomorrow too. Next, Rinen.”
“Yes! I thoroughly completed the training regimen you assigned, Captain. Five spars a day with Sir Kyle, two hours of jogging daily, but…”
Rinen rattled on without pause, then suddenly his eyes glazed over, and he face-planted into the table.
Thud!
“Rinen!”
“Huh… Huh? No, I’m fine. Just got dizzy all of a sudden.”
Everyone was startled, but the person in question lifted his head again, wearing an unconcerned expression.
“I’m good now. Really.”
“Your nose okay? That was quite the slam.”
“Yes, Captain. It’s fine. So fine it’s surprising even to me.”
“Must be the core’s effect. The Ancient Bear core greatly boosts durability.”
“Oh?”
Rinen’s dazed face suddenly lit up with joy.
“That’s it! T-This! It really doesn’t hurt! My face barely hurts!”
He began slapping his own face with his palm. Dabi gave a wry smile, waved his hand, and stopped the excited Rinen.
“Stop that, Rinen.”
“Huh? Oh, yes. Sorry.”
“With the core consumed, your real growth starts now. The training so far was important, but what’s ahead will be even more so.”
“Yes. Understood, Captain.”
“Then finally, Meredes?”
“I accomplished what you instructed.”
Meredes swung her arm through the air with an expressionless face.
“Now I can use the Gale Blade barehanded, without holding a sword.”
“……”
A small twitch appeared at the corner of Dabi’s mouth for a moment.
“Really? In just twenty days?”
“You assigned it because you thought I could achieve it, didn’t you?”
“Well… I figured you’d get there eventually. In five months at the fastest.”
“It wasn’t that difficult.”
Meredes shook her head as if it were nothing.
“I actually succeeded on the tenth day of training. But what’s the point? Its power is far inferior compared to using it with a sword.”
“Point? There’s plenty of meaning.”
Dabi raised his hand and mimicked Meredes’ motion.
“I’ll teach you the details starting tomorrow. That ends the knight order meeting. Before full training today, let’s lightly check your progress so far. Everyone, to the training grounds.”
“Captain.”
Kyle stood and asked.
“Before training, there’s something I’d like to confirm. Do you know His Highness the Prince’s future schedule?”
“His Highness?”
“There’s a lot to report on merchant guild matters. Including the issue of recruiting to fill the Guardian Knight Order as you previously instructed. Have you heard anything about His Highness’s movements after parting with him at the Dark Mountains? It’d be great to know when he’ll return.”
“……I forgot to mention that.”
Dabi nodded and sat back down.
“His Highness headed first to the Jairut Mountains to request that the ogres there join the war that will erupt in a year.”
“You mean the Mag ogres. They’d be a huge asset in the war against the otherworld.”
“After that, he’s going to the Albius Kingdom to investigate traces of Arch Wizard Trombone.”
“Ah! That old man’s at least decent.”
Tolarri, who had been listening, clapped and said.
“Among Arch Wizards, that is. Including me.”
“……And finally, he plans to eliminate another Arch Wizard presumed to be hiding in the Albius Kingdom—Zect.”
“Zect? Why that old man?”
Tolarri asked in surprise. Dabi fixed a grave expression on Tolarri.
“His Highness said Zect is connected to the sponsor.”
“Sponsor? Zect’s with that bandage guy too?”
“That’s what he said. His Highness plans to cut off the loose end before that one grows stronger or transforms into an otherworld monster.”
“I see……”
Tolarri tilted his head with a gloomy look.
“Zect was one of them too. Hmm… That’s a shame.”
“So after eliminating Zect, His Highness returns to the mansion?”
Kyle asked. Dabi, who had been nodding, suddenly widened his eyes and shook his head.
“No, he said there’s one more thing after that. To obtain a new ultimate divine magic, he’s stopping at a place called Naipia.”
“Naipia? Where’s Naipia? Do you know how far it is from here?”
No one could answer Kyle’s question. Dabi stood again and said calmly.
“I don’t know either. But we can’t just sit around waiting. The entire knight order, assemble at the training grounds now!”
* * *
The western continent, home to the Payud Empire, can be broadly divided into four regions.
Farthest right is the Land of Death.
It’s said that long ago, this was once human territory with various nations coexisting.
But after endless massive wars, they all perished, and in their place, the Necro Army—undead legions—took over, turning it into the Land of Death.
Of course, I personally obliterated Necro Army Lord Crock and their core base, Necropolis, so no worries about backlash.
Still, the Land of Death is teeming with endless undead hordes… Without a lord, they’ll eventually wither away.
To the left of the Land of Death, in the central-right of the continent, lies the continent’s prime real estate, surrounded by various mountain ranges.
The Payud Empire.
The entire area could be called imperial territory without exaggeration. Sure, there’s plenty of untouched land to the north, but that’s just natural order—pure wilderness.
To the west of the empire, in the central-left of the continent, lie the Albius Kingdom and a bunch of minor nations clustered together.
Excluding Albius, most lack proper nation-scale organization, endlessly fighting each other and wasting their strength.
Further west lies a region called the “Roof of the World.”
Naipia.
It spans nearly thirty percent of the continent’s area but is a remote wasteland where hardly any humans live.
With average elevations of thousands of meters, it combines extreme cold, extreme gales, extreme dryness, and extreme blizzards.
It’s also the sanctuary of the gods.
“To think I’d come here in my first regression year.”
Thick tree roots endlessly coil around the sheer cliff face.
This is the sanctuary of Uren, god of earth and life.
Direction-wise, somewhere in southern Naipia.
No way to describe the exact location. No nearby cities or villages as reference points. Nature all looks the same from afar.
That’s why my first time finding this place took months of pure suffering. Even in my previous ninth regression, I didn’t nail it in one go…
“The Lord’s Eye is handy.”
From the sky, via the Lord’s Eye, I easily spotted where the flows of life converged. Saved a ton of time.
“Dryad.”
Without delay, I summoned the tree spirit. The tall tree that appeared gasped repeatedly at the cliff dozens of times larger than itself.
“My god. This place… Unbelievable.”
“Do you know where this is?”
“This is a sanctuary.”
The tree spirit creaked as it turned toward me.
“Contractor, why did you summon me here? Is there an enemy I need to fight?”
“As if. But since I called you, mind giving me some fruit? Running low on food and drink.”
“You didn’t summon me just to use as a lunchbox, did you?”
The dryad looked baffled but dutifully produced fruit. I bit into a peach-scented one and sighed in relief.
Ahh. This is it.
Humans need fresh, juicy food like this. Three days of just dried meat and sugar bars had me thinking scurvy.
“Whew, feels alive. Now, can you clear those roots there?”
Halfway through the fruit, I pointed at the cliff ahead. The dryad turned back and asked quietly.
“You mean remove the tree roots blocking the sanctuary entrance?”
“Yeah. That’s right.”
“I must obey the contractor’s orders without question… But I can’t make an exception this time.”
“Refusing?”
“Not refusing. But do you know whose sanctuary this is?”
“I do. Uren’s, right?”
“How did you even find this place?”
“From a book. In the secret library under the Grand Temple.”
“The Grand Temple… The central hub for priests serving the five gods.”
The dryad finally nodded as if it made sense.
But in truth, I didn’t get the info from the Grand Temple library.
It came from a terrifying being the polar opposite of life.
Necro Army Lord Crock.