Chapter 71. Stimulation (4)

A space filled with pure white light.

Within it stood a towering wall and a girl holding a spear.

Thud— Thud— Thud—

Theresa relentlessly thrust her spear at the wall.

The wall before her eyes was already densely marked with the traces she had left over a long time.

A wall filled with thousands upon thousands of holes, like a giant beehive.

Thud— Thud— Thud—

As she thrust her spear at the wall, Theresa felt puzzled.

‘Was I… in the middle of training?’

Thud— Thud— Thud—

At the same time, she realized.

‘Ah… it’s a dream.’

It was a lucid dream.

A dream where one is aware that they are dreaming.

But that awareness soon faded, and confusion took over her mind.

‘Is this a dream? Or is it reality?’

Theresa was bewildered.

Whether this was a dream or if she was training in reality.

When did she start doing this?

Everything was unclear.

So she gave up thinking.

‘…It doesn’t matter.’

What difference does it make if it’s a dream or reality?

She had always been thrusting her spear.

In reality.

In dreams.

Theresa was so obsessed with thrusting her spear that the boundary between the two worlds had almost collapsed.

There was only one reason for this.

To bring down the wall before her.

Thud— Thud— Thud—

She thrust her spear relentlessly, for that one purpose alone.

And finally.

Thud—

Crack!

The wall, riddled with holes like a beehive, finally collapsed.

Crash.

As the giant wall crumbled into fist-sized rocks, a light shone in Theresa’s eyes, which had been dull like those of a rotten fish.

‘Ah!’

It was a sense of ecstasy.

The overwhelming emotion of finally bringing down the wall.

With this, Theresa slowly stepped forward.

Through the rising dust.

Beyond the wall that had blocked her path.

One step.

Two steps.

And three steps.

When she had taken exactly three steps.

The dust settled, and her vision cleared.

What was revealed was…

‘Ah…’

Another wall.

Not the one she had just brought down, but a pristine wall.

And it was even higher and thicker.

One wall had been brought down, only to be replaced by another in front of Theresa.

As always.

‘…’

Theresa’s eyes, which had been filled with ecstasy, quickly turned dull again, like those of a rotten fish.

She gripped her spear.

‘Again…’

Thud— Thud— Thud—

Without a word, Theresa walked up to the wall and began thrusting her spear again.

As always.

Thud— Thud— Thud—

* * *

Juri tilted her head in disbelief at the unbelievable story and asked.

“Deformed child?”

“Besides that, there were many other nicknames. Cripple, inferior child, and so on. The Winchester family is a well-known family, so when a controversial issue finally arose, people couldn’t help but gossip about it.”

“Wait, that cripple, you mean someone who has some kind of physical disability…?”

“Yes, that cripple.”

“But Theresa Winchester seemed perfectly fine, didn’t she?”

Although she hadn’t seen her for a long time, Theresa had never shown any signs of discomfort.

In fact, she seemed healthier and stronger than most people.

She was far from being called a deformed child or cripple.

In response to Juri’s question, Johann answered immediately.

“Indeed, she has already been thoroughly….”

“…Old man, say one more word.”

Shiver.

“I’ll bite and hold on like a dog even if my bones shatter.”

“Ahem, a-anyway! It’s true that the nickname for the child of the Winchester family was ‘deformed child.’”

“But she’s perfectly fine, right?”

“Tsk, she may look fine on the outside.”

“Then…?”

“That child was a child who should not have been born in a martial family.”

“…What do you mean by that?”

“Do you know how a family’s reputation is established?”

“Why are you suddenly talking about something so random?”

“Because of their power? Wealth? Excellent martial arts? Of course, those factors do have an influence. But what makes a prestigious family truly prestigious… is bloodline.”

Juri still looked confused, so Johann continued his explanation slowly.

“To be precise, it’s the talent passed down through generations that makes a prestigious family.”

“Ah…”

Building power.

Accumulating wealth.

Mastering martial arts.

All of these are human endeavors, so talent is essential.

And the descendants of a family that has risen to the ranks of a prestigious martial family would naturally excel in martial arts.

This was a given.

But this given…

Was not the case for Theresa.

“As one advances in their realm, they inevitably face a wall. Whether the realm is shallow or deep, one must overcome or break through the wall to progress. And so-called geniuses face walls that are ridiculously low compared to others.”

The walls that geniuses face are not just low.

They are thin and easy to break, and while others might face a wall after ten steps, geniuses might face one after a hundred or a thousand steps.

Thus, their growth is naturally faster.

But Theresa’s situation was different.

“Theresa… is said to have a constitution that frequently encounters walls from birth.”

“Is that even possible?”

“Just as there are geniuses, there are also dullards. So, it’s natural that there are people who face walls more frequently than others.”

“…That makes sense.”

“Well, Theresa is not a dullard. In terms of basic talent, she is undoubtedly outstanding. However, the problem is that she faces walls far more frequently than her talent would suggest.”

It wasn’t just that she faced more walls.

Theresa’s walls were higher and thicker than others.

To break through and overcome them, she had to put in several times more effort and time than others.

“In a martial family where the talent for mastering martial arts is highly valued, her unusual constitution is… akin to a curse. That’s why she was called a cripple and a deformed child.”

Seeing Juri’s silence, Johann continued slowly.

“Think about it. Even if you start at the same point and reach the same realm, you can advance with one step, without even facing a single wall.”

“…”

“But Theresa has to face… ten, a hundred, or even more walls to catch up to the distance you cover in one step.”

Juri asked cautiously.

“Then… what happens?”

“Are you really asking because you don’t know?”

No, Juri knew.

She was just asking to confirm her thoughts.

To see if her understanding was correct.

Noticing this, Johann answered in a calm voice.

“People in this field are often stuck at a wall for years, or even decades, feeling frustrated and pulling their hair out. Some even go mad from the deep frustration. Facing several times more walls than others… is unimaginable suffering for people like you and me.”

“…”

“If she had been born into an ordinary family, her curse might not have been a problem. But the family she was born into is the Winchester. A prestigious martial family, the Winchester.”

If Theresa had given up on living as a martial family’s child, her life might have been a bit easier.

But the Theresa Juri saw had not given up.

If she had given up, she wouldn’t have entered the cradle.

She wouldn’t have been so fanatically dedicated to training, thrusting her spear even when she fainted.

“Ah!”

Juri let out a short sigh.

Her face slightly dazed.

‘…I see.’

She finally realized.

The frustration and irritation she felt when seeing the unconscious Theresa.

The source of those unpleasant emotions.

It was…

‘Disgust.’

Disgust towards herself.

‘Theresa, she…’

Her skills were not inferior to Juri’s current level.

And that was the result of Theresa’s efforts, despite her curse.

She had survived the Yellow Dragon Squad purely through her own efforts.

She had pushed herself relentlessly to achieve the top rank in the 49th batch.

Even after that, she didn’t stop.

Theresa had immediately started training after the sparring session.

And she had pushed herself to the point of fainting.

On the other hand, what about Juri?

‘When was the last time I trained so intensely?’

Since entering the Forest of Beginnings, she hadn’t really trained properly.

‘Was I so busy that I couldn’t even train?’

No, that wasn’t the case.

She could have trained whenever she wanted.

In fact, even if she had reduced her sleep, she could have continued training despite her busy schedule.

Before entering the Forest of Beginnings, Juri had lived such a life.

That’s why she had grown so quickly.

But just this morning.

[Maybe I can afford to relax a bit?]

She had thought this while walking through the forest path.

Juri laughed at herself.

‘Can I afford to relax? Me? What have I done to deserve it?’

Taking fifteen steps in the Hundred Steps of Consciousness?

Dethroning the Sword Master?

‘That… wasn’t something I achieved, was it?’

Her limit was just ten steps.

The Sword Master didn’t even notice her at that point.

It was only after taking fifteen steps that she managed to.

It was only because of the martial current Johann created that the Sword Master came down from his throne to her.

‘And I had been taking all that credit for myself.’

Realizing this while seeing the