Chapter 487

Even though I tried to help with work, I only did simple labor because I didn't know how to do things like tanning or leatherworking. So even if I tried to help, I couldn't help all day. However, I didn't completely give up personal training just because I was helping with work. I tried to control the flow of magic rather than emitting it, unlike the previous magic enhancement, with the feeling of controlling it, although it was difficult to consider it personal training. Lena and Arta always came to watch me, so I couldn't really consider it personal training. "Are you a teenager?" "...." I almost forgot, but when I heard those words from Arta, some emotion that I had forgotten suddenly rose in my heart. How old am I really? That kind of thing almost came out. But still, a teenager. I should have passed that stage a long time ago just by looking at my current state! Arta laughed at my expression. "No, why are you so angry? It's not like it's going to work." "Do I look young?" I thought he was a calm and collected person at first, but he wasn't at all. He kept throwing a few words that made me annoyed. Of course, if I really fought back, I could crush him, but it wasn't the time for that. Actually, it wasn't just making me annoyed, but rather he was watching and telling me what to do. Even if I heard that my rough flames of magic enhancement were responding to my emotions, I couldn't say anything about being a teenager. "Don't try to control all your magic while releasing it. You're not capable of that yet. First, get used to controlling a moderate amount of magic enhancement while gradually increasing the amount." "I know that." "Then why aren't you doing it?" "If I do that, when will I ever...!" I was about to shout nervously, but I shut my mouth. I know that growing little by little is the best way right now. But when will I be able to completely control my powerful magic that I have by doing that? In the end, I couldn't get rid of my anxiety. When I suddenly tried to burst out, Arta hit Lena and said, "Right? He's angry, isn't he?" "Stop bothering Reinhardt!" -Smack! "Ouch!" In the end, Lena got angry. "I am calm." "I gain peace of mind." "I am peaceful." "I gain peace of mind..." "I am calm." As I sat quietly in the field, muttering those words, Arta's face turned pale. "Um, I'm sorry. I was too harsh." Maybe he thought I was crazy and talking nonsense, but I wasn't really crazy, was I? "Shouldn't you take a break...?" Lena also thought my behavior was a product of madness, and urged me with a pale face. Yeah. "I couldn't deny that repeating calming words to myself seemed like a crazy thing to do. The place Lena and Arta took me to was the outskirts of Rizai, where there was a large waterfall. I couldn't help but stare at the waterfall in awe as I didn't expect such a large waterfall in this place. Children were swimming in the deep valley where the waterfall poured, while villagers were doing laundry below the valley. It suddenly dawned on me that it was summer. Arta suggested that we go for a swim, but I refused, saying that I didn't like children. Arta teased me about being similar to and different from Ellen, who also didn't like children. Lena defended me when Arta hit her to provoke me, and I repeated calming words to myself. Arta apologized for being too harsh, and Lena urged me to take a break. Arta commented that I seemed to have a lot on my mind." "Whenever something doesn't work out, just think of it as taking a break."

"A break?"

Arta looks at me quietly.

"Yeah, if we can't do anything and it's not working out, we should at least take a break. Not being able to even rest is really ugly."

"Right, Linehart, you seem like you need to take a break. You look like you have no room to spare."

They both don't know that I'm the demon king or that I'm the ruler of the country of Edina.

But I continued to feel anxious and restless. That's why I felt like I had no room to spare in my actions.

Taking a break.

Just resting without any thoughts.

Is that possible for me?

Spending a day here without gaining anything feels meaningless. It's a feeling of guilt that this meaninglessness doesn't give me anything.

But I couldn't deny Arta's words that not being able to rest is an ugly thing.

I ran without a break for two years, saw more cruel things than necessary, made cruel decisions, and had to stand at the crossroads of difficult choices.

What will change if I rest?

How long do I have to rest to find peace in this confusing mind?

I don't know.

-Splash!

-Get him!

-Ah, stop it! Stop!

I look at the children playing in the water without any worries.

And I look at the pouring waterfall.

Resting.

I don't know how to rest, but I wanted to do something strange.

An action that I would never do normally.

An action that I can do in this place, at this moment.

"Swim?"

"No."

I started to stand under the pouring water of the waterfall.

Without enhancing my magic, with just my bare body.

Lena and Arta start to look at me like I'm crazy when I suddenly stand under the waterfall.

-Splash!

-What are you doing?

-Oh, what's he doing?

The children also start to look at me like I'm a strange person.

It was something I did because I thought it was a cliché that people get enlightenment by doing this kind of thing.

Of course, there was no enlightenment, and it just hurt like my skin was being peeled off.

It hurt so much to be hit by the pouring waterfall without enhancing my magic.

The strange thing was that the physical pain somewhat made me forget the mental agony that felt like my mind was going to break.

Since then, whenever I have time, I sit under the waterfall and meditate.

* * *

I know that I can't be refreshed by meditating under the pouring waterfall.

It's actually a big problem if I'm refreshed. I hope to have something I can do in this world, so it's a big deal to get some enlightenment and ascend.

I don't know anything about asceticism or its meaning.

I just received the feeling that physical pain dilutes mental agony to some extent.

It's not asceticism based on religion or belief, it's just physical asceticism.

Without using magic and with just my bare body, if I hit the huge waterfall all day long, I couldn't even move my body properly because it was so sore.

If I went back in that state and collapsed, I could fall asleep like I was unconscious without even thinking about anything.

"...Why do you keep coming back soaked in water these days?" "I am cleaning my path."

"....?"

It was amusing to see Luna's bewildered expression at my words.

Enduring such pain without using magic to protect my body was quite agonizing.

But what was funny was that my physical abilities had already surpassed the level of the culprit.

No matter how difficult it was, after falling asleep in the throbbing pain that shook my entire body, except for some pain, my body returned to its original state the next day as if nothing had happened.

It was impossible for me to not think at all in my current state.

Therefore, by treating my body harshly, I made it impossible to pay attention to external matters.

It was a simple and ignorant method, but it was clearly effective.

I couldn't say that I didn't think at all, but by being hit by the rushing water that hit my entire body, I could understand to some extent what the state of "mu" was.

Honestly, there was no need for such grandiose words.

I just hurt and hurt, and I didn't think about anything.

There were also funny moments.

"You were teasing me about being in puberty, but now you're acting like an ascetic?"

At first, Arta teased me, but now he sat next to me and let the waterfall hit him.

"Hmm... should I try it too?"

Even Lena, who was screaming in pain, came into the waterfall, saying she wanted to try it too.

"Ah!"

"Hey! Why did you come!"

Although Lena was in pain, she also ran away screaming because her clothes were half torn off by the pouring water.

With her face distorted, she lifted her clothes and went back to the village.

Arta was also trembling his lips next to me.

It was natural, but I could tell that Arta liked Lena.

I sat next to Arta under the waterfall.

"I was born and raised here! You're the first outsider to do something like this!"

"Who would do such a strange thing?"

"I guess I know it's a strange thing!"

Arta giggled as he let the waterfall hit him.

In the summer, the children were always in the valley, and the older brothers and sisters were doing the feat of being hit by the waterfall, so the kids were curious and came to try it too.

Usually, when the waterfall hit their heads, they would scream and run away, but there were also those who endured it.

"Hyung! Is this fun?!"

An unnamed village boy shouted at me.

"Is it fun?!"

"I don't know!"

Why do something that is not fun and only hurts?

The children asked me, but I couldn't understand the reason either.

However.

Every time the waterfall hit my head and body.

I could clearly feel the stagnant dirt in my heart being peeled away by that shock.

-Shooaaa!

The fierce sound of falling water shook my ears loudly.

But my mind was gradually becoming calm.

I could clearly feel that noisy calmness, where there was only the sound of water pouring out into the world.

Magic enhancement is a power for battle.

I awakened my magic enhancement during my fight with Oscar de Gradia. "I have awakened all my powers, including self-hypnosis, magic enhancement, and telekinesis, through fighting. It's a unique way that is far from universal. I cannot deny that I was given such power due to the inevitable circumstances that I faced. In normal situations, I should have been seriously injured or even dead, but I managed to move on to the next level. It was ultimately like cheating. Now, I am a yoga master who can no longer be found. That teacher must have been a considerable expert, and he must have taken on his role in the Gate incident. The yoga master's lessons were basically similar to hypnosis. Breathe in, breathe out. Breathe in, breathe out. Eventually, we all fell asleep. And when we woke up, we were refreshed without knowing the source. After that, Ellen and I took a special class after awakening magic enhancement. The yoga master did not teach magic enhancement as a means of fighting. He talked about how to control the mind and flow of mana. Magic enhancement is a power that greatly increases physical output and is specialized for combat. But is it really just for combat? The yoga master seemed to approach magic enhancement and other things that circulate ki as a way of cultivating the mind, like a mental exercise. Luna, Ronan, and Arta were the same. They focused on meaning rather than strength. Magic enhancement is not a power that enhances combat power, but a psychological action in which the strength and sophistication of the mind are manifested as physical strength. I was not mentally strong. I just endured and endured. A broken mind actually affects the body. It can easily lead to tears, hyperventilation, or numbness in the hands and feet. The collapse of the mind disrupts control over the body. Of course, the opposite is also possible. The pain in the mind is actually painful in the body as well. If the strong mind of someone affects the body, can someone substitute their strong mind for actual strength? -Kwarrurururur. The pouring sound of the waterfall hits my whole body intensely, almost like a thunderstorm. I have solved everything through fighting so far. That's why I thought that if I used magic enhancement vigorously, emptying and filling it repeatedly, I might be able to do something. But strictly speaking, I was on the path of the heretic. Awakening power through fighting is not something that originally happens. It happened too often, and before I knew it, I thought it was natural to awaken power through such miraculous fights. Ellen, who is my goal and direction, thought the same way. Also, I couldn't get out of the idea that magic enhancement is a means and tool for fighting. Magic enhancement." A means of enhancing physical abilities by allowing magical power to flow through the body. However, this is not a problem that should be approached in that way. As the yoga master taught, it is a law in which the mind and spirit affect the body through magical power. Therefore, it must be approached as a problem of the mind and spirit. The collapse of the mind disrupts control over the body. The protagonist realizes that awakening power through fighting is not something that originally happens. He acknowledges that he was on the path of the heretic. He realizes that magic enhancement is not just for combat, but a psychological action in which the strength and sophistication of the mind are manifested as physical strength. He acknowledges that he was not mentally strong, but he just endured and endured.