Chapter 9: The Beginning of Training (1)

A fierce desire to become stronger.

This burning ambition, which Yurie had never felt before, was etched in her mind, and Johann noticed this change.

‘Damn, I only wanted to crush her pride… but it seems I’ve fanned the flames as well.’

An ordinary person would have been discouraged or given up in the face of the overwhelming power he had shown.

But Yurie found her goal and motivation in the power he had demonstrated.

And this was something Johann was very pleased about.

People with motivation and goals tend to grow quickly.

‘Perhaps I should add a log to keep her fire from going out?’

Thud.

Johann, who had straightened his body, looked at Yurie and spoke.

“What I want to confirm through you is the effectiveness of the new Machi technique I’ve created. I should mention, however, that this is an incomplete Machi technique.”

“...”

“Until now, I’ve been building the framework of a new Machi technique based on my experience and knowledge… and from now on, you and I will work together to add muscle and flesh to that framework.”

“...”

“This will likely be a long and arduous process that will take quite some time. It might be so painful that you’ll want to give up every day. If… you want to give up, you can run away at any time. I won’t stop you. But….”

Johann paused, his eyes flashing.

His voice grew stronger.

“If you don’t run away and endure the entire process… if this leads to the completion of the theory I’ve established!”

Swish! Thud!

The sword was sheathed, and Johann grinned, pointing at Yurie with his finger.

“Once you master it, you’ll be able to give a proper beating not only to my face but also to the face of the Sword Master. After all, it was created for that very purpose.”

“...”

“How can you handle it?”

In response to Johann’s provocative question, Yurie tilted her head.

‘Is he really asking me this now?’

Run away?

Can you handle it?

The unyielding Yurie, who had challenged the Sword Master twice and survived, the Machi technique created by Johann based on his own experience.

Would she run away when the opportunity to truly become strong was right in front of her?

It was an absurd suggestion.

Swoosh.

Heat rose in Yurie’s eyes, and the corners of her mouth curled up slightly.

“Can you handle it? How about you, old man? I don’t half-ass anything I start. Don’t run away later, saying you’re tired or can’t do it.”

“Hmph, brat, you talk big. Let’s see who runs away first.”

The youth and the old man.

Two gazes, one golden and one gray, yet strangely similar, met in the air, sparking a clash.

The staring contest, fueled by pride, continued for a long time.

Then...

“Old man...”

A slightly sulky voice from Yurie broke the silence.

“Do you know something?”

“What is it?”

“I was already planning to leave. So, I’ve been preparing quite a bit of money, items, and food... in short, I’ve been preparing a lot.”

“Hmm? That’s good. You can take those and leave right away.”

“Yeah, but... they’re gone now.”

“Huh?”

“They’re gone. They disappeared just now.”

“...?”

“You blew them all away. Along with that.”

Yurie pointed with her finger at the place where the cliff and her hideout had been.

“...”

“...”

Silence fell between them.

Whistling wind blew through the now empty space where the cliff and mountain had once stood, swirling around Yurie and Johann.

Facing the wind, Yurie glared fiercely.

“Old man.”

“...”

“I like it when you show off your strength... I do! But!”

“...”

“What about my clothes? My food? Most importantly, the money I painstakingly saved for two years, no, eight years?!”

With each resounding word from Yurie, Johann’s gaze sank lower to the ground.

“That... don’t dwell on such trivial matters...”

Johann tried to timidly protest.

“Trivial? Trivial?! Are you saying the eight years of my life, where I shed blood and sweat, are trivial?!”

Hiss!

Johann completely averted his gaze, seeing a black cat cub snarling right in front of him.

Thus, the first staring contest, fueled by pride, between Yurie and Johann.

Hiss!

Ended with Yurie’s victory, accompanied by continuous snarls.

* * *

The vanished mountain and cliff.

The gaping hole that appeared in their place.

Gunter’s lips parted slightly at the sight.

‘Good heavens?!’

The report of the cliff and mountain suddenly disappearing came in early in the morning.

At first, he thought it was a prank, but it wasn’t.

A mountain had truly vanished overnight.

Ashraf was certain it was the work of Johann Redner.

He said no one else in the vicinity could have done such a thing.

This certainty only made Gunter more astonished.

‘Is this really something a human can do?!’

He had heard of the Master’s reputation, but he never expected it to be this extreme.

‘If this is what a Master can do… what kind of power does the Sword Master, called a demigod, possess?’

The power of the Sword Master, who had defeated Johann Redner twice, creating such an unbelievable miracle.

It was unimaginable.

Gunter, who had been standing there in a daze for a while, clenched his fist tightly.

Crack.

‘The unyielding Johann Redner, and the Yurie Holland he chose.’

He had heard that they had left Irons.

During the time he was in the cradle, Yurie would grow under Johann Redner’s guidance.

And he had a strong premonition that he would meet Yurie Holland again someday.

‘When that time comes… I don’t want to lose.’

Even though Yurie had been chosen by Johann instead of him, it wasn’t because he was lacking.

He wanted to prove this to the Yurie Holland he would meet in the future.

‘I need to push myself even harder.’

Yurie would grow rapidly under the systematic and excellent training methods of a Master.

To defeat such a Yurie, he had to work harder and more than her.

Having made this resolve, he couldn’t help but feel a bit envious.

“What kind of training method must it be to receive from a Master?”

Gunter, with a slightly envious and melancholic smile, soon wiped it away and returned to the estate.

For today’s training.

Looking forward to the day he would see Yurie again.

* * *

Midday.

Yurie and Johann, who had left Irons, were preparing lunch in a forest.

“Hm! Huhuhuh.”

Yurie, whistling.

“...”

Johann, silently frowning.

Unable to bear Yurie’s continuous whistling, Johann finally voiced his complaint.

“You emptied my wallet, and this is the best you can offer as a treat, just a roasted rabbit?”

“Eh, just a roasted rabbit? Wait a bit. I’ll bring you the special roasted rabbit, Yurie Holland style.”

“A gilded rabbit is still just a roasted rabbit. What do you mean by a special roasted rabbit...”

“Stop grumbling. If you want to eat this at all?”

“Grr.”

Johann groaned, closed his mouth, and grumbled to himself.

‘That… leech!’

Johann, who had lost all of Yurie’s wealth due to a very, very minor mistake.

When Yurie kept grumbling, he shouted, “I’ll compensate for it, so what’s the big deal?!”

That was his second mistake.

As if waiting for those words, Yurie emptied Johann’s wallet.

‘Even if all the wealth he’s accumulated is less than half of what he took from me...’

But with Yurie, the victim, insisting it wasn’t enough, glaring and arguing, Johann had no choice but to hand over his entire wallet.

Johann gnashed his teeth at the now thin wallet.

‘I can withdraw travel expenses from the bank, but...’

The fact that he had been swindled by a fifteen-year-old kid was very annoying.

‘The great Johann Redner, being scammed by a kid who hasn’t even dried his blood! ’

One thing was now clear.

‘This kid… won’t starve to death even in the cradle.’

Johann, who had inwardly clicked his tongue, looked at Yurie, who was roasting the rabbit with a pleased expression.

Yurie was applying something to the rabbit.

“What’s that?”

“Oh, this? It’s a mix of dried Angora root and various herbs. It removes the gamey smell when roasted and adds flavor.”

While explaining, Yurie’s hands didn’t stop.

The speed at which she hunted the rabbit, the process of preparing it, the way she carefully saved the skin, and the method of roasting the meat.

Everything was done very efficiently and skillfully.

For someone her age.

This caught Johann’s eye.

“Where did you learn such things?”

“Learn? I just picked them up naturally over about eight years of trying not to starve to death.”

“Eight years? You said you’re fifteen this year, right?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“Huh… So you’ve been wandering alone since you were seven? Where’s your hometown?”

“Don’t know.”

“You don’t know your hometown?”

“I just wandered around after leaving the place I used to live. After that, I struggled to survive and ended up in Irons.”

“Huh…”

Surprise appeared on Johann’s face.

Although the continent was at peace due to the Sword Master, the world wasn’t easy for a mere seven-year-old to wander alone.

Even with the transcendent power of a demigod, surviving alone was a different matter.

A demigod wouldn’t provide food or money.

‘No wonder this kid became such a worldly, old-soul type… She learned the ways of the world at a young age.’

A child who had lost her innocence and purity after realizing the harshness of the world.

That was the current Yurie.

Johann, who had been staring at her for a moment, asked.

“Do you have any parents?”

“If I had them, would I be in this state?”

“Are they deceased?”

“Don’t know.”

“What do you know, then?”

“How would I know if the parents who abandoned me are dead or alive?”

“...”

“Still, there was an old lady who took me in and raised me… but she died eight years ago. We weren’t particularly close, so don’t look at me with pity.”

Yurie’s indifferent and calm voice left Johann speechless.

‘I had a rough idea from her initial wariness and personality, but…’

It seemed Yurie had experienced a much harder life than he had imagined.

With no response from Johann, Yurie shot him a sly look.

“What’s with the sudden census?”

Johann, taken aback by her sharp reaction, relaxed his stiff face and said playfully.

“If you die, I’ll have to send you back to your family, won’t I?”

“Ah, stop it! Spit it out! Spit it out three times!”

“Huhuhu.”

“Bad omen! Why would I die? Spit it out quickly!”

Their bickering continued for a while until the meat looked ready to eat.

Yurie, who had taken a big bite first, asked.

“So, when are we starting that experiment or training?”

Yurie’s eyes sparkled as she asked.

Although he seemed like a quack, Johann was indeed a Master in terms of his power and reputation.

What would he teach her first?

What kind of Master-level training method would it be?

She hoped it would be a meaningful start to truly becoming strong.

Her heart raced with anticipation.

As if reading her thoughts, Johann grinned and answered.

“I was planning to start today, even without your urging. Hehehe, eat well and rest up. This will be your last feast.”

“That sounds promising.”

“Don’t whine later that you can’t do it.”

“It won’t happen.”

Yurie answered firmly and confidently.

But it didn’t take long for her confident expression to change.

A moment later.

Yurie alternated her gaze between Johann and the object behind him.

“Old man, what’s that?”

“What, have you never seen a cart before?”

Replied bluntly, Johann tapped the old cart.

After a brief absence, he had returned with a cart that looked like it had rolled for ages.

Confused by his answer, Yurie tilted her head.

“I’ve seen one before. I’m asking why you brought it. We don’t have that much luggage to need a cart, do we?”

Before she could finish, Johann chuckled.

Then, he quickly climbed onto the cart, propped his prosthetic leg on the railing, and said.

“Now, pull it!”

Yurie was momentarily stunned by his authoritative command.

Naturally, she asked if she had heard correctly.

“...This? Pull? Me?”

“Who else? You or me?”

“Why should I pull this?”

To her fundamental question, Johann crossed his arms and replied.

“Tsk, foolish child. Do you know what you lack the most right now?”

After a moment’s thought, Yurie answered.

“Probably mana, right?”

But his response was a derisive snort.

“Pfft? Mana? What kind of ridiculous nonsense are you spouting? What you lack the most is stamina, stamina!”

“What are you talking about! I have great stamina!”

“Compared to ordinary people, yes, but the ones you’ll be competing against can carry a boulder for days without breaking a sweat. Compared to them, you have subpar stamina!”

“Subpar stamina?”

“To survive, you need to consistently build up your physical strength and energy from now on! Only then can you harmonize with your soul. So, stop complaining and pull it!”

“What are you talking about?”

“Don’t worry. I’ll make you run faster than a horse from now on. Hehehe. So, move quickly, or are you going to stand there and stare?”

Thud! Thud!

Johann’s prosthetic leg repeatedly hit the cart.

His actions clearly showed he had no intention of getting off the cart.

Yurie’s eyes narrowed.

“...Old man, I’m just asking, but...”

“What?”

“Are you just using training as an excuse because you don’t want to walk?”

“...”

“Isn’t that it?”

“...”

“Isn’t it?”

Johann didn’t answer Yurie’s repeated questions.

Instead, he averted his gaze and loudly tapped the cart with his prosthetic leg.

“Huh! What do you know, brat! Back in my day, if a Master told us to drink sewage, we’d do it without a word, you hear me?!”

“...Really disgusting.”

“This brat, if I say to crawl, you crawl! Who are you to talk back?!”

Look at him, look.

His extremely forced and old-fashioned outburst left Yurie speechless.

‘What? A Master-level training method? A meaningful first start?’

There was none of that.

No, it was right not to have any expectations.

“Brat, why aren’t you pulling yet! What? Can’t you do it? Do you want to give up? Over something like this? Tsk, I must have misjudged you!”

Johann, softly goading and shouting loudly.

Yurie was strongly convinced by his behavior.

‘This old man… is really a quack.’

A Master is freezing cold.