Chapter 72: Chapter 73

I started my day earlier than other young heroes, at four in the morning.

Without bothering to make my bed, I took the lotus position and focused my mind on the mystic bead.

“...”

I could feel a familiar warmth from it.

It was a good temperature that didn’t make me feel tired, but the power held within was extraordinary.

Just from receiving the warmth slowly emanating from it into my inner core, I felt significant progress happen within me.

However, just like the Lord of Blood and Iron himself when I was gifted this mystic bead, I couldn’t be satisfied with just this alone.

I gripped the mystic bead firmly in my hand, enough to create a mark on it.

Simultaneously, I ignited the fire ki accumulated within my body and faced the mystic bead head-on.

Fwoosh...

How could I describe this process...

It felt like trying to melt fire with fire.

It was an impossible phenomenon in reality, but it wasn’t as if internal energy and true ki were limited by those concepts.

If different people encountered the same energy, they would react to it in different ways.

Regardless, I was sure that my current method was correct.

The warmth of the mystic bead became heat, and at this point, it started to feel more hot than cozy.

This is it.

My fire ki and the mystic bead’s heat... as the two yang energies mixed, they began to run through my veins and circulate through my body.

This flow of energy was the most basic method of accumulating internal energy, but its effectiveness was currently multiple times better than normal.

In addition to enhancing my internal energy, it also amplified the effect of the Strongest Fire Technique, accelerating my healing and circulation.

That was the reason I was fine even though I’d only been sleeping two to three hours a night since the training camp started.

“Fuu...”

Around the time light began to trickle in through the window, I finished circulating.

Although today’s meditation was very satisfactory, the size of the mystic bead in my hand didn’t seem to have changed at all.

But I didn’t need to be hasty.

In the first place, this was a long-term project. I expected it to take at least half a year to fully melt the mystic bead.

“Ugh...”

I massaged my sore neck as I took a moment to think.

Should I go out to the track and run for a bit?

Or should I sleep a little more?

Usually, I would’ve chosen the first option, but we had the special test today.

Since we didn’t have to do the usual morning run today, I could tell that the instructors wanted us to be in our best condition for the special test.

Let’s just sleep.

As I lay back down on the narrow bed, I felt a small vibration.

It wasn’t the mystic bead. The Sword of Seven Sins next to my head was shaking.

Martial God?

[...]

It didn’t seem like he was awake...

I looked at the Sword of Seven Sins for a second before noticing it was moving in a specific direction.

It was moving toward the field.

Is there something outside?

After pausing for a second, I grabbed the Sword of Seven Sins and got up.

I carefully made my way down the creaking stairs, through the lounge, and out of the lodge.

Fwooosh.

Wind was blowing through the empty field.

There usually wasn’t anyone out here around this time. Honestly, I had never seen another person out here when I came out at this time to warm up.

Today, though, someone was here.

A small kid was swinging her hammer under the slowly fading moon.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

Mir looked at me in surprise.

“...Gold-Hair Bednicker?”

As I continued to silently look back at her, she turned her face away.

“...Ehm, I’m just warming up.”

She was a terrible liar.

“I see...”

It seemed something was going on, but I wasn’t the type to dig deeper into something like this.

I ignored Mir and decided to warm up myself since I was here anyway.

As I was stretching to loosen up my dull joints, I felt someone’s eyes on me.

“...So what are you doing here?”

“I’m warming up as well.”

“I-I see.”

Silence fell again.

But for some reason, I could feel Mir hesitantly approaching me.

I can tell this is going to be troublesome.

I slowly stopped my exercise and began to turn away...

But as expected, Mir grabbed me.

“...Aren’t you nervous?”

Stuck in an awkward position, I asked, “Nervous about what?”

“Today’s the special test... What if we don’t get a good result... Stuff like that.” She hesitated for a moment before continuing, “...Gold-Hair Bednicker, aren’t you also treated as an outsider in your own house?”

She knew about my situation.

And considering the way she was talking, it seemed she felt a sense of kinship toward me.

“I am similar to you... Even though I’m a giant, I was born this small. ‘Small kid’, ‘little bean’... It wasn’t just my siblings, I was made fun of by all the others. Even my parents considered me an embarrassment...” Mir’s voice began to thin. “After that... at some point, I found it hard to move when meeting someone bigger than me.”

“What do you mean?”

“As I said. When someone is bigger than me, my thoughts become a mess and my body freezes... I-I feel like I’m not myself when it happens.”

Drip.

A teardrop fell from the edge of Mir’s chin.

“...It’s as that tornado girl said. I won’t be of any help during this test. You probably expected that. So... if the situation calls for it, abandon me.”

“...”

I understood a bit better now, the reason Mir wasn’t getting good marks even though she was so strong, the reason she’d given such a pitiful showing in her fight against the giant centipede.

The wind blew by once more.

The morning wind in the middle of winter was cold and biting.

After standing there in a daze for a moment, Mir shivered before quickly wiping her face.

“F-forget I said anything!”

“What?”

“For a proud giant and the descendant of Ymir to show something like this—”

The Frost Giant Ymir.

Those words dredged something up from my memories.

“Hey, have you heard the story about how the Frost Giant Ymir was cursed to become small?”

“...Eh?”

Mir stopped rubbing her eyes and looked at me.

“I read a lot of myths and heroic tales when I was young. Naturally, I read stories about Ymir as well. This is one of his stories: Once, due to a trickster god, Ymir ended up becoming smaller.”

“By smaller... like me?”

I smiled.

“Like you.”

“Oh...”

“Ymir was lying in the field, heartbroken... but then an ant came up to talk to him.”

—Great Frost Giant, a storm will soon come through here and sweep all of this field. Could you please stop it for us?”

Ymir shook his head.

—I pity your circumstance, but I have become smaller than even my fist. I cannot hope to stop the great storm.

—But... you’re still great in my eyes.

Mir tilted her head.

“What does that mean?”

“From the perspective of the ant, humans and giants are both huge. Do you know which of the peaks above the clouds is the highest? You only know that they’re tall.”

“Ehm...”

“Anyway, Ymir realized something when he heard that.”

—I have become smaller physically. But so what? To the ant, I am still great. Size is subjective; what is important is how I see myself.

—Although I have become smaller, my heart has not shrunk.

Mir seemed dazed as she repeated my words.

“...‘My heart has not shrunk’.”

“He stood up, ran toward the storm, and ripped it apart with his hands. Due to the trickster god’s prank, he had become smaller, but his strength was unchanged.”

At some point during my tale, Mir’s eyes had regained their sparkle.

“You endured the swipe from the giant centipede’s tail with your own body. Without any mana or a blessing, with just your body... No one else in the training camp could have done that.”

“Really?”

I grinned.

“Yeah. I doubt even the instructors could have managed it. So let’s show everyone in this special test. You and me, who have both been ignored by our families... our great rebellion.”

“Great rebellion...!”

Mir waved her hands up and down.

She looked like a small kid who couldn’t hide her excitement.

“Thank you! Gold-Hair Bednicker!”

“My name is Luan.”

Mir smiled brightly.

“Ah...! I’m Mir Giant!”

“I know. Anyway, go back to your room and sleep for a bit. You didn’t sleep at all last night, right?”

“How did you know?”

“You’ve got dark circles under your eyes.”

“Ehem...! I will! I’ll sleep as hard as I can and wake up at full strength! Thank you! Gold-Hair... no, Luan!”

“Don’t sleep too hard, only for a bit...” I started to say

But Mir had already left.

As I stared at the dust cloud she’d left behind, I mumbled, “Simple.”

Yeah.

Mir Giant was a simple girl.

But the benefit of being simple was that she could recover her mood easily.

I had said all that because she’d ended up getting energized by my messy consolation.

For some reason, she had been depressed the entire training camp.

It seemed she hadn’t had anyone around her to give her such simple encouragement.

...Maybe it wasn’t just the training camp. Maybe it was her whole life?

Then had her occasional shows of confidence just been an act?

The fewer things one had, the louder they were.

I looked in the direction Mir had left in.

As one of Ymir’s descendants, she was among the greatest beings.

If she had become a hero in the future, I would’ve at least heard about her once like the other kids here.

But I had never heard of a giant named Mir.

If that was the case...

Mir Giant had probably died in this training camp.

* * * * *

* * * * *

Day finally broke.

Since we didn’t have the usual morning run, all the young heroes were ready at the field, fully energized for the first time in a while.

Of course, the mood was still turbulent.

Usually, they’d be talking amongst themselves before the instructors arrived, but this time, since the teams had only been created recently, everyone seemed wary of each other.

In any case, the instructor showed up on time.

It was once again Juan, Instructor of Martial Arts.

“Young heroes, did you sleep well?”

“...”

The Instructor of Martial Arts smiled at the silent young heroes.

“Haha. Well, if you stayed up all night, that’s not unexpected... Let’s move on to the main topic.”

The Instructor began to explain the test.

“Firstly, for this special test, there is no specific area you must stay within. You may go wherever you wish within the forest. However, none of the instructors will intervene in this test. You understand what that means, right?”

Juan’s signature smile faded a little as he spoke.

“Do not expect any help even if a situation arises. Keep this in mind: the Bednicker training camp officially starts now.”

“...”

“The test shall last for three days, a total of 72 hours. Also, attacking other young heroes is forbidden. Violators will fail the test and have their points deducted. All right, team captains, come hand me your purchase orders and receive your items.”

At that, the captains of each team stepped forward.

It seemed most of the captains were those who had good achievements, like Charon and Hector.

Suddenly, someone called out to me.

“Luan.”

When I turned, I saw that it was Sellen, but I mistook her for a moment.

Her voice was much lower than usual...

And it was odd for her, who always called out to me with “hey,” to suddenly use my name.

“What is it?”

“It’s real now.”

“What?”

Sellen had said something similar to what the instructor had just said.

But for some reason, the way she’d said it was a little odd.

Although they’d said the same thing, it felt like their meanings were completely different.

“Be careful. And don’t let your guard down.”

“Obviously. But it looks like you’re confident. You’re even worrying about someone else.”

Sellen didn’t react as she normally would to my joke.

She looked straight at me with her glass-like eyes.

“Don’t die.”

“...”

I blinked.

Was this just simple worry?

Was this special test so dangerous that I could lose my life?

Something was odd.

For some reason, at this moment, I remembered the words of my master.

I didn’t have time to ask for clarification.

It was now my turn, and I gave my list to Juan and received my items.

When I turned around, Sellen was no longer there.

“...”

I took a moment to look back on myself.

For about a week, I had mingled with Evan and the other young heroes and had let go of a lot of tension.

It wasn’t just me. The others had probably let their guards down somewhat as well.

—Twenty percent.

—That means that among those present, at least seven of you won’t make it out of here alive.

...That meant that at some point, we had ended up forgetting the warning given to us by the Instructor of the Hunt.

Except for Sellen, it seemed.

Thinking back on it, Sellen’s expression had been serious the entire time she’d been at the training camp.

Did she know something?

I couldn’t say for sure.

I had a feeling that she wouldn’t tell me anything even if I asked her.

I could only face things head-on.

Juan gave a bright smile.

“The second special test will now begin.”

With that...

An unforgettable special test began.