Chapter 25: Scars of the Wind
The 'Mountain Rabbits' waited longer than expected. They had been waiting within the Marquis Hoover territory for a full two months. In that ti, the season had entered the heart of sumr, where the sunlight beca harsh and heat mirages rose from the ground. No matter how large a rcenary group might be, it was a long ti to endure without commissions, so the mbers scattered throughout the castle to focus on making money.
"Ah, damn it!"
"Hehe, how are you going to keep losing like that?"
"Shut up."
Those without families to care for went to gambling dens and lost money, but most of the veteran rcenaries went out to repair castle walls or deliver goods to nearby villages, earning even small amounts of money. So the situation for the newcors wasn't any different.
"Hey~ Co quickly and load up!"
"Yes!"
At the eastern dock of the marquis territory, adjacent to the wide river, the fishern's cleanup work was in full swing. Calix and thirty other newcors were attached to various small fishing boats, unloading fish. Moving the cargo from fishing boats to carts was purely manual labor requiring human strength, so groans naturally flowed from Volga's mouth.
Kkeuung-koong!
"Hey, you bastard! Handle it gently! Everything will get damaged!"
"Ah, old man, I handled it gently enough! Will dead fish die again?"
"This bastard... Don't you want to get paid for the day? Want to just leave?"
"I was talking to the fish."
"......"
Ahh. Where had the dignity and honor of the 'Mountain Rabbits' disappeared to? When Calix spoke, everyone was impressed. But Volga's current appearance, bowing his head to a fisherman's threats, was truly pathetic beyond asure. Look even now. Romance, Wheatley, and Kotchap were looking at him with pitiful eyes.
"What! What! I have to make a living too!"
"Who said anything, sigh."
"Why are you sighing! I am Volga from Bamba village, from Angalia!"
"Angalia... Bamba village... Is that place okay?"
"Looking at your condition, it seems like that place is really hard to live in, too. You obviously look ssed up."
"Th-this......"
Really bad guys. They die for Calix's words, but whenever they get a chance, they talk back to him. So Volga looked toward his friend with pleading eyes for help, but unfortunately, he wouldn't even make eye contact once. In reality, Calix was learning about the world by eavesdropping on the fishern's conversations.
***
For Calix, the Marquis Hoover territory was like a huge learning site.
The places he had experienced were only the prison-like Ashapel house of his childhood, the magic stone mines, battlefields, and underdeveloped territories.
In contrast, 'Silver Marika', the center of the Marquis Hoover territory, was one of the kingdom's major logistics centers.
Nomads crossed over from beyond the western border for trade, and the huge river system to the east connected through the central-southern part of the Astria Kingdom all the way to the eastern region.
Naturally, people with dark skin like Hadiya and Zahira could be easily found on the streets, but Calix focused on the conversations they exchanged rather than the distinctive appearance of the desert tribes.
'I heard Goral rose to the position of Grand Chief.'
'Grand Chief... Is that like a king?'
'Look at this person, you weren't from the desert, were you? A Grand Chief is next to a king. Think of it as similar to our Marquis Hoover's position.'
'Ah, I see. I was born in Marika, even though I look like this. But, he's not going to invade here, is he? Isn't he soone who likes to fight?'
'Invade where? These days, they're too busy fighting among themselves. There are over nine Grand Chiefs now.'
'Oh my.'
Even if it wasn't imdiately helpful information, there was fun in accumulating knowledge. The fishern's conversations were the sa.
"Damn it. Father, the net tore again."
"Well, we've been using the sa one for years, so of course. Tear off so fishing line and tie it."
The father and son leading the small fishing boat had various conversations while repairing the old net. Sumr was the season when the most fish were caught. The waves beca calm, and feather-scale carps were coming up through the riverbed for spawning. It was truly like a living storybook.
"For spawning season, we're not catching many. Maybe because the water is warm."
"Hmm, it's probably because they're coming up the river upstream. If we wait, the ti will co."
"I heard thorn-stingrays are caught well downstream."
"Don't believe what those boat guys say. They all mix lies when they talk. Over there, they're probably saying behind our backs that feather-scale carps are caught well instead. Aren't southern folks originally cunning?"
Types of fish and sumr characteristics, and even that there were many accumulated feelings between western and southern people. Various information piled up neatly in his head. It was then.
"My lord, please rest for a mont."
"?"
"Yes. I heard you're an official rcenary. Leave the nial work to your subordinates and rest your bottom."
Calix didn't refuse the kind offer and entered the shade tent, receiving a cup of water.
"I heard it was you rcenaries who brought the corpse of so knight from Duke Saitz or sothing. Is that right?"
"Yes."
There was a reason for the friendly attitude of the territory's people. The fact that the 'Mountain Rabbits' had killed a knight from the Saitz family and reported a conspiracy against the Marquis Hoover family had gradually spread.
Dudududu-
Just then, a mounted ssenger heading outside the castle walls could be seen on the road beyond.
"Hmm, are they really going to war? For people like us who make a living from the water, it's a big worry. After autumn, the Niboria guys will invade. The Saitz are crazy bastards. Even if we combined our forces, it wouldn't be enough... The ssenger who just passed is probably our Marquis calling soldiers from neighboring territories."
"I see."
"So, haven't you rcenaries heard any news separately?"
"......"
What the old fisherman really wanted to ask ca out at the very end. It was a question he couldn't answer.
"......I understand. Well, if war breaks out, it's you rcenaries who'll have fire fall on your feet. This old man asked a rude question. Please forgive ."
"It wasn't a rude question. You have reason to be curious. But about the Niboria Empire invading... Are there any rumors going around? Are there stories heard from the north?"
Calix also brought up the question he most wanted to ask. It had already been two months since staying in the Marquis Hoover territory. Since he couldn't go around openly asking about news of his mother, he was probing like this whenever conversations related to her ca up.
"Rather than special rumors going around, it's because the sa thing happens every ti. Ah, co to think of it, I did hear sothing from that Bondi guy. He's a rchant I deal with......"
"......"
Asking back would be foolish. Calix suppressed his emotions strongly and urged an answer with silence.
"......He said this year might be particularly hellish. I heard a new marquis in the empire's south is sharpening his sword. The na was......"
"Father, really, it's Ashapel. Marquis Ashapel. Are there any bastards who like to lead the charge as much as those guys? They're experts at slaughtering people. How could you forget that?"
"Quiet, you bastard. You try getting as old as . You'll be the one going to the farm with a net!"
Finally, he had obtained the first piece. If it was a new Marquis Ashapel... It must be Yaleyan Von Ashapel. His maternal uncle and the person responsible for separating him from his mother. While it might be insignificant information to soone else, it had symbolic aning for Calix.
***
Individual martial prowess, that is, what does 'strength' stem from? It could start from muscular strength. Through two months of physical labor, Calix's muscles, which had once focused on building bulk, had broken down into fine pieces and settled firmly.
Kaaang!
Agile movent and quick reaction speed could also be important. The basic condition that enables recognizing enemies and evading opponents' attacks.
Huiiik!
"Good dodge! Very nice!"
Or if not that, it could be the overwhelming performance of the neural accelerator.
[Reality Acceleration 2.0x]
Paang-!
Calix kicked off the ground again and charged at the opponent before him. His sparring partner was combat specialist Zahira.
Huriririk, shuwaaaaak!
She swung her long, flexible sword, completely occupying the space around her. Befitting a weapon that was coiled and stored around the waist, the blade that exceeded the length of ordinary swords stirred up dust storms around her. Through periodic sparring with Zahira, he had grasped the characteristics of long-range weapons, so judging the situation wasn't difficult. Since the opponent's will to defend was clear, he shouldn't go in deep at this mont.
[Combat Enhancent Activated]
[Reality Acceleration 2.2x]
[User achieves swiftness]
However, Calix... Squeezed into the opponent's attack range. He took one more step, then another, forcibly opening and entering the space she occupied. What reason could there be to push himself so hard against an opponent he had never once beaten?
Again, let's return to the first question. Individual powerlessness, that is, where does 'defeat' stem from? It could be due to physical inadequacy or due to weak neural accelerator performance, but in most cases, it stemd from loss of judgnt. The current Calix fell into the third category.
'I went in too deep. To avoid... It's too late.'
He quickly recognized his mistake with his outstanding talent, but Zahira's flexible sword had already gently sprung up and left its mark.
Pusik-
"Stop! That's enough!"
"......"
"Cook comrade, you're bleeding. You got a light cut on your cheek. If I hadn't held back, blood would be gushing from your neck. Why, did you want to draw a picture on that pretty face?"
Gregor's words were particularly harsh today. Calix couldn't offer any excuse to the old rcenary's tongue-clicking and Zahira's disappointed gaze. His heart was urgent, but more than anything, he was angry. At himself.
"Stay still. You'll scar. I'll bring Lady Ella."
"Comrade, why are you so angry? You've been doing well up to now, but what made your heart urgent? Did you want to hug that vicious woman? Did you feel love? Kkeuung, then you've definitely gone crazy."
"......"
"Or is it because we're leaving soon?"
"......Are we leaving soon?"
"That's right. Our captain comrade has returned. We'll leave Hoover... Within a week at the latest."
"Marquis Hoover territory."
"Right."
After Zahira went inside the monastery. His disappointnt in himself grew deeper as the conversation continued. He had learned from Zahira how to face various weapons. From a level where he could barely exchange five attacks and defenses, he had gained the ability to engage in long battles, and although he had never beaten her, he learned how to seize timing and press attacks.
'But I fought forgetting all of that. Calix, you were blinded by greed.'
And this was surely because of childhood mories. Yaleyan Von Ashapel. Calix had t his second maternal uncle. He-
'Emitted golden light. In comparison, how far have I co?'
The current Marquis Ashapel was soone fitting the expression of elite class, supre knight. Perhaps he had beco even stronger than back then. That fact continued to disturb his mind.
"Cook comrade?"
"......Gregor. How strong are the supre knights? Could I face them?"
"You? Hmm, if you charge in like you just did, you'd beco like a fish charging at castle walls. It ans you wouldn't even be able to reach them in the first place."
"......"
"Why, did having a goal make your heart urgent?"
"......Gregor, you're truly wise. I can't hide it."
Whether the old man knew Calix's heart or not, he grinned and stroked his beard at a few complints. He was honest about everything.
"Aha! I've figured out your heart. Cook comrade, you wanted to use 'Wind Scars’, didn't you?"
"What?"
"Cutting with wind even when the blade doesn't reach. You coveted that, right? There would be no better ans to close the gap with Zahira."
"That's not it......"
"But comrade, have you ever been to a desert?"
The misunderstanding left him speechless for a mont. Calix was about to correct it when a question that ca back a beat faster made him look puzzled.
"Desert?"
"There's sothing called sand swamps there. They look just like regular sand on the surface, but the mont you step on them - tak - a person's body sinks right in. It's better if several people travel together, but when alone, there's no trap more terrifying. The more you struggle, the deeper you get buried."
"......Then what should you do?"
"Surprisingly, if you stop moving and lean back like lying down, you won't sink any further. Then, if you slowly crawl out, you can finally escape. You're no different."
"......"
"Comrade, don't think urgently. Just because the neural accelerator supports you doesn't an everyone can use 'Wind Scars'. The answer cos to those who are prepared, not to those who hurry."
"......"
There was so misunderstanding mixed in, but the answer was the sa in the big picture. There was no need to hurry his steps toward the Marquis Ashapel family yet. If he could receive such great comfort from a story he had never heard before, who could disparage him as a senile old man? At least not Calix. He seed to always receive precious advice without giving anything in return.
"Thank you, Gregor. It was a great help."
"But you still have to try it?"
"What?"
"My, what a frustrating comrade I've seen. You have to struggle in a sand swamp to realize, 'Wow, I really did sothing stupid!'"
"......"
"Stand facing that wall! Dance of the Wasteland, Chapter 8! Wasteland Saw!"
"It's not saw, it's blade-"
"Ttak! Don't talk back!"
Calix couldn't predict his behavior at all... And ended up laughing softly. Just how wise was this old man going to be? Ashapel was no longer in the young man's mind. Neither was his foolish behavior from monts before. Only a lightened heart remained. Right. For now, it was enough to concentrate while standing facing the wall.
"Again, Chapter 8! Cook comrade, what is it?"
"Wasteland Saw!"
"Right! Wasteland Saw! The final movent of 'Dance of the Wasteland' is to gather all your strength and swing. What's important here isn't swinging strongly and quickly. Wind Scars isn't completed simply with neural accelerator output alone. Theoretically, it's possible from the edge of mid-level output (green). But if you don't know how to gather strength in one place, you can never reach it even with higher output."
He knew the stance. In the 'ti he could observe but not enjoy', he had dismantled and absorbed each of Gregor's stances one by one.
[Reality Acceleration 2.0x]
Also, since it wasn't a matter of neural accelerator output, he didn't use combat enhancent either.
"So rember the basics! Why do we sing about basics, basics? Because there's nothing better for crushing those below!"
"......"
"No, what I an is... Hmm, proper stance! Proper body! Proper dish! Proper mind!"
However, the sword tip soon drooped to the lower left. Center in the lower body, leading with the right shoulder, but relaxing the strength.
Tadak!
Right after stepping forward with the left foot in a narrow stride, the upper right side of the body sank down to the floor with the shoulder as the pivot. Soon, it rose back up in response to the sword's rotation. And strength was applied only when the sword needed to be swung, at the very mont when montum reached its peak.
Dance of the Wasteland, Chapter 8, Wasteland Saw.
Huwaaaaang!
"......"
"......"
In the targetless swing, only the screams of split wind scattered through the air. He didn't achieve any particular gain, but personally, it was satisfying enough.
"It didn't... Work well. I guess it's still premature."
"To cross the line, enlightennt is necessary. If it could be completed with just one movent, who couldn't use it? But your heart feels refreshed, doesn't it?"
"Yes, that's right. Thank you, Gregor."
"Hmhmhmm~"
The old rcenary humd, then suddenly faced the wall and took his stance.
"I'm in a good mood. Our cook comrade is good because he's not arrogant. Cunning but knows how to be humble. So I'll show you directly. There won't be a second ti. Watch carefully."
"......Yes."
Gregor took the sa stance as Calix had just before. But there were subtle differences in the distribution of strength contained within and the process of extending his arm. He was smooth even in his preparatory stance, not applying excessive force to any part.
Huuuuuk-
At the sa ti, the materialized steam rising above his shoulder symbolically indicated the concentration of power. The final chapter of Dance of the Wasteland, Wasteland Saw. Soon, the mont Gregor's neural accelerator emitted intense color, the blade extended forward with the handle part leading.
Shuwaaaaaa-aak!
And then, the blade that reached the striking point cut down an imaginary enemy. From right above the handle all the way to the tip of the blade.
'That was it. The reason for extending from the handle. It was to use every part of the blade.'
Also, Calix realized. Though the cutting motion was long, 'the position where the blade cuts’ was fixed at one point from beginning to end. So that the concentrated power wouldn't leak out, pouring it all into one place.
'Ah...'
It was ti for reflection. He thought he had analyzed it sufficiently, but in the end, he hadn't looked into the intention behind each movent. anwhile, right after stopping his swing, the old rcenary glared at the opposite wall with fierce eyes. Though the blade had swept through empty air, its afterimage had transford into wind with form, flying in a straight line.
Pasak!
Hudududuk!
Soon, after a small noise, sand dust fell from the monastery's brick wall, which was second to none in sturdiness. A result that didn't match the grandiose na 'Wind Scars'. But the experienced rcenary ran toward the wall with his shield, scurry scurry.
Puuk-
Before anyone could stop him, he stuck his hand into the wall. The solid brick crumbled half-way the mont it touched his grasp, so there was no way the li serving as adhesive would be intact.
Suuuk!
The brick was pulled out like extracting tofu.
"Cook comrade, do you see? This is Wind Scars. You can cut without touching. I swung as weakly as possible, but if the skill level improves, you could cut through armor, too! Of course, even with sufficient neural accelerator output, it's not an easy realm to reach. Especially for rcenaries like us. Since the neural accelerator's stability is poor... Anyway, you'll need to work harder, won't you?"
"Yes. Really... Amazing."
"Uhahahaha! Comrade, you really have a talent for putting wind in people's hearts! Use that ti to practice more instead. Success once isn't the end. To use it in actual combat requires constant effort!"
At the sincere praise, Gregor laughed while holding a brick in one hand, but unfortunately, that's when Zahira, who had gone into the monastery, returned with a priest.
"Calix, Lady Ella is away for a mont, but Saint Edan (a mid-level administrator of the religious order) said he would treat you personally... Wait, Gregor. What's that?"
"......Huh? Huhh?"
"What you're holding in your hand right now."
"Uh......"
The fortunate thing was that Gregor recognized that he shouldn't be honest at this mont, and the unfortunate thing was-
"Zahira!"
"Yes, Gregor. I'm asking what you're holding in your hand right now."
"The, the cook comrade said he wanted to hug you!"
"......"
"He loves you! Passionately! Very hotly!"
"This fucking......"
That his subsequent excuse wasn't very desirable.
Reviews
All reviews (0)