Chapter 7….
Thirst (2)
When Yuri abruptly cut straight to the point, Johan clicked his tongue softly.
“Tsk, you brat. If someone treats you to a meal, the least you could do is say thanks, don’t you think?”
“Let’s call it even for using my house.”
“And bringing you all the way here doesn’t count as payment?”
“And whose fault was it that I passed out?”
At Yuri’s refusal to yield even a single word, Johan let out a silent, incredulous chuckle.
Definitely not an easy one.
Despite Johan’s fearsome reputation as a master and wielder of the Unbroken Sword, the boy named Yuri showed not the slightest hint of intimidation.
If anything, he was even more guarded.
From that attitude alone, Johan could roughly guess what kind of storms the child had weathered to survive this long.
The more you provoke a kid like this, the harder he’ll push back.
Someone like Yuri required trust to be built gradually—by giving him what he wanted in measured amounts—rather than constant provocation.
And right now, what the boy wanted was likely the reward from their deal.
Wiping his grease-stained hands on his pants, Johan spoke in a low voice.
“What you thought was a curse… is something called a Manifestation.”
A flicker of light passed through Yuri’s eyes.
“Manifestation?”
“Manifestation. Also called the embodiment of one’s inner image, or an avatar. It’s a term for the advanced spiritual art displayed by those who have reached the realm of a true master.”
“……”
“Originally, the human body can exceed its limits by strengthening physical power or using mana. But no matter how gifted a genius may be, the spiritual domain is not something one can easily approach.”
Johan’s explanation was a lecture on the embodiment of the inner image—something countless people would give up fortunes to hear.
For someone stuck at the official Ninth Rank, it would be worth a mountain of gold.
And yet, that lecture began inside a shabby cave.
“After long years of training the body and one’s energy, if one gains a particular trigger, one can approach the spiritual domain.”
“A trigger? What’s that?”
Johan tapped his head with his index finger.
“This. Right here.”
“Your head?”
“More precisely, the brain inside it.”
“What about it?”
“Inside the human brain lies an entrance connected to the spiritual realm. The ‘trigger’ is opening that entrance.”
“……”
“Those who manifest an avatar can open what’s called the spiritual aperture—the so-called ‘lid.’ Normally, this lid opens and closes. But…”
“But?”
“In your case, that lid is constantly open.”
Yuri’s face went blank.
“So… this isn’t… a disease or a curse?”
A hollow expression settled over him.
No wonder… no wonder I couldn’t find it!
For years he had searched desperately for a way to remove his supposed curse. The reason he never found an answer was simple.
He had been searching in the wrong category from the start.
If it wasn’t a curse or illness, how could he find it among those?
And on top of that, it was a technique only those who had reached the realm of masters could wield.
How could ordinary people possibly know about it?
As Yuri sat in stunned disbelief, Johan continued.
“Of course it’s not a curse. It’s the greatest treasure that countless people spend their lives searching for. But… in your case, it’s no different from one.”
“…?”
“The realm you’ve reached is meant to open only when soul, energy, and body are in harmony. But you—only your soul has grown abnormally large. That’s why…”
“My body is collapsing because the balance is broken?”
Johan’s eyes gleamed at Yuri’s precise deduction.
“Exactly.”
Coughing blood. Losing consciousness.
All of it had been signs of physical collapse.
Yuri, who had finally uncovered the truth he had carried for years, asked with trembling eyes:
“Then how do I survive?”
“You balance your soul, energy, and body. And you learn how to open and close that lid at will.”
“If I agree to your deal… you’ll teach me that?”
“Of course. Heh heh.”
Yuri narrowed his eyes slightly at Johan’s amused grin.
“And what exactly do I have to do? What do you gain?”
“Nothing much. I simply want you to diligently learn what I teach.”
A question mark practically appeared above Yuri’s head.
“That’s strange. So what I gain and what you want are the same?”
Johan grinned.
“What I’ll teach you isn’t the martial doctrine I once practiced, but something newly condensed—something I’ve recently completed.”
“Is it good?”
“Of course! Do you think something created by me would be some cheap patchwork doctrine? However…”
“However?”
“There’s just one tiny issue. Its safety hasn’t been verified yet.”
“……”
Yuri’s gaze turned icy.
“So you’re saying… I’d be your test subject?”
“Well. If you insist on putting it that way.”
“Could I die while training it?”
“It’s not impossible.”
“…Couldn’t you teach me something else?”
“Do you think that’d work?”
Yuri’s expression grew colder and colder. Johan merely shrugged.
“You’re dying either way. Better to try something before you go.”
“Earlier you said I had to prove whether you needed to save me, like you’d let me live once things were verified! Why does it suddenly end with me dying no matter what?”
“When did I lie? If nothing happens while you train, you live.”
“And if something does?”
“Then you die.”
“You scammer!”
Johan snickered at Yuri’s outburst.
“So? Don’t want to do it?”
Yuri’s veins bulged at Johan’s crescent-shaped, infuriating eyes.
But he couldn’t say no.
He already understood.
This might be the first and last chance to extinguish the burning wick of his life.
If I miss this chance… will my body even last until the next?
Mana and the body could perhaps be learned elsewhere.
But Manifestation belonged only to masters—rare beings in the world.
When would he ever meet another?
And even if he did, would they teach him?
No matter how many times he thought it through, he couldn’t envision a “next chance.”
Damn it…
This was utterly disadvantageous.
And that was precisely why the old man was so confident.
You slippery old geezer…
Letting out a deep sigh, Yuri lowered his gaze.
“…What are my chances of living?”
“That depends entirely on you.”
“Damn it…”
The curse was quiet—but it was acceptance.
Johan cackled.
Thus, on a day at winter’s end—
Across a small campfire—
An ambiguous relationship was formed:
Master and disciple.
Experimenter and test subject.
* * *
In a spacious room lit by a roaring fireplace, Ashraf and Gunter sat facing each other.
Silence lingered as Gunter recalled what had happened earlier.
What on earth was that?
The Unbroken Sword’s appearance. A boy his own age named Yuri. The chain of events that followed.
It had all been deeply shocking.
Sensing his son’s thoughts, Ashraf spoke.
“What Yuri displayed today was the realm known as Manifestation.”
“…What is Manifestation?”
Ashraf shared what he knew. Even then, it was merely something used by masters who had reached the highest realm.
But that alone was enough to shock Gunter.
“So I must compete with someone like that in the Cradle.”
Yuri had also passed the Cradle’s test. That meant they would enter the same cohort.
“Are you worried?” Ashraf asked.
“Not worried. Burdened.”
Warmth filled Ashraf’s eyes.
That boy…
If Gunter believed something impossible, he would have said he was worried.
But “burdened” meant it was a challenge worth overcoming.
“There’s no need to concern yourself with him. Lord Johan and Yuri won’t be heading to the Cradle.”
Gunter tilted his head.
“Why?”
“Do you know how the Cradle was formed?”
Gunter nodded.
“Yes, roughly.”
The southern edge of the continent held a massive lake—Lake Montparche—named in the ancient tongue as the Dragon’s Egg.
Sword Sovereign had gathered immense resources and created an artificial island there in just half a year—an act the world called madness.
Now, decades later, it had grown into a vast territory known as the Dragon’s Cradle.
“It may be treated like an academy now,” Ashraf said, “but it’s closer to a military zone. A lawless land ruled by the survival of the strong.”
Originally it was the Sword Sovereign’s domain—and still was.
“No one enters freely without permission. Even Johan Redner.”
Once inside, one remained for at least five years.
“He wouldn’t send off a disciple he struggled to obtain. Especially not one… so obviously unbalanced.”
Ashraf was certain.
There were only eleven months until the next intake.
Correcting Yuri’s imbalance in that time?
Impossible.
He smiled faintly at the thought.
After their agreement, Yuri was about to lie back down when Johan spoke casually:
“We’re leaving.”
“Leaving? Where?”
Johan stared at him as if he’d just said something ridiculous.
“Where else? The Cradle, of course.”
