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Chapter 94

Side: Cordelia Allston

Deep in the mountains, inside a cabin.
Near the cabin, right by the waterfall—I found my head pressed against the cliff.

An iron claw gripped my right hand.
A rock pressed against the back of my head.

Relentlessly, it pushed and pushed.

「Ugh…」

The pressure on my head was intense, as if caught in a vice, and my skull felt like it was about to crack.

「But seriously… you’re so damn weak. No wonder Lute struggles with you,」

Muttered Liu Hai, the pink-haired ponytailed hermit.

「That’s exactly why… I seek to learn from you… like Lute once did… in the past…」

I can’t keep relying on Lute forever.

As I, right now, am weak and helpless, I’m no good.
I have to become strong enough to stand shoulder to shoulder with him on the battlefield…

But right now, we can never have an equal relationship.

「I’ve told you, right? If you can land even a scratch on me, you’ll have potential to be accepted. If you can’t even do that… I’ll send you to hell as payment for wasting my time. I’m not exactly free, you know… wasting my time is a serious offense.」

This person seems to have the rumored difficult personality.
Isolated from the world for over a thousand years deep in the mountains… It seems he didn’t live there without reason.

「Well, is this the end?」

With my head still in his right hand, the hermit raised his left hand high.
If his fist were to strike now, my head would undoubtedly burst like a smashed watermelon.

—It’s over now.

That’s what I thought as I closed my eyelids.

Then, after a few seconds, the hermit spoke to me.

「Aren’t you going to beg for your life?」

「I’m prepared.」

「Ah, I see.」

With that, the hermit aimed for my head and swiftly threw his fist.
With a deafening sound of destruction, the back of the cliff disappeared, and a massive crater formed.

However—

「Why… did you stop…?」

It wasn’t my head that vanished.
His fist landed on the cliff wall, several feet away from my head.

「I don’t have a hobby of killing people for no reason. Anyway, I see you’re actually prepared… Truth be told, I was stopped by Lute.」

「Stopped?」

「Your way of doing things… is absurd. An ordinary person with ordinary resolve wouldn’t be able to keep up with you. Instead of going through the hassle of making a Villager stronger, why not just directly train the hero… I’ve heard something like that before.」

「Well, he’s always been overprotective.」

「Doesn’t seem like there’s much difference.」

For a while, the hermit shrugged in silence.

「So, what about the Magic Academy?」

「I’ve already submitted my withdrawal request.」

「And your duties as a hero?」

「I’ve informed the World Union that I’ll be on indefinite leave through a letter.」

「Isn’t that causing trouble for your family?」

「I’ve sent all my possessions home by mail. Since it could become a liability issue, I’ve told them to live in seclusion in the mountains.」

With a wry smile, the hermit said,

「Good job. It seems like you’ve truly abandoned everything to come here.」

「So, what now?」

「I’m not taking you as my disciple because I care about you. I’m only taking you as my disciple because it benefits me. They’ll probably start making big moves soon… I want at least one pawn I can use.」

「Them?」

「I’ll tell you later. But we’re running out of time. We’ll have to finish you up in a way that might get you killed, whether you like it or not. Is that okay?」

Without hesitation, I immediately nodded in agreement.

—And six months later.

「Thank you for everything.」

Standing in front of the cabin where I spent the past six months, I bowed deeply to my mentor.

「Hey, I don’t do this soft mentoring crap where I get thanked, you know? Tell me the real deal.」

Well, it’s better not to try to sugarcoat things with this person. If I don’t speak my mind, I might end up half-dead again.

「Well, I almost died every day… There were many times when I wanted to kill you. It wasn’t just once or twice.」

With a wry smile, I said, and my mentor nodded with delight.

「That’s good. Anyone who doesn’t feel that way after going through that kind of hell… is a saint. They’re not human, and I don’t want to have anything to do with them.」

With that, I bowed to my mentor once again.

「But thanks to you… I’ve become stronger. Please let me express my gratitude. Thank you very much.」

「After all this, you’re still capable of saying thank you… Well, it’s typical of you, isn’t it? Well, six months… It was the first time I trained a hero, but your growth rate was truly outrageous. You had much better potential than Lute, huh?」

「While I appreciate your words… reducing it to just ‘because I am a hero’ is quite disheartening.」

At this point, the mentor flashed a boundless smile and said jokingly,

「Well, can’t argue with that. It’s all thanks to your unbreakable spirit.」

「Yes. Because there was someone who continued to show me an unyielding spirit. I can’t afford to lose to him.」

「But a few more years… might be a luxury. Artificial Great Calamities are likely to occur worldwide, and the time limit is around here. So, what will you do?」

「Considering what I’ve been told, it seems it will indeed begin, right?」

「Yeah, it will definitely begin.」

「In that case, I’ll return to the World Union and fulfill my duties as a hero. And you, Master?」

「I’ll do my thing as well. I am… the leader of the Dragon King and his merry band of raiders.」

「Then…」

「Hold on. I have a parting gift.」

The mentor returned to the cabin and handed me a sword.

「It’s the Fire-God Slayer, Hino-Kagutsuchi… an ancient relic passed down since ancient times. It’s a god-killing magic sword that bears the name of the god who burned Mother Earth. Perfect for a wild horse like you.」

With that, the mentor slapped my shoulder.

「Now, go and impress him! Show your best work to Lute, your white knight prince!」

「Yes!」

And so, I descended the mountain and headed towards the country where the Magic Academy was located.

—Holy Knights

—Fighters

—Mages

—Hermit

—Sages

—Villagers

—And Heroes

In this world, occupational aptitude in combat abilities gives such a despairing gap that it cannot be easily summed up in words like ‘innate talent.’
Naturally, if a hero walks a path similar to Lute’s, their growth rate will be incomparable.

—In the end, what profession will sit atop the strongest seat in this world—no one knows yet.