Chapter 9 …
The Beginning of Training (1)
A burning desire to grow stronger.
For the first time in his life, such longing carved itself into Yuri’s mind—and Johan noticed the change.
Heh. I only meant to bruise his pride… but it seems I’ve fanned the spark into a flame instead.
An ordinary person would have been crushed or given up after witnessing the overwhelming power Johan had displayed.
But Yuri was different.
He had found a goal—and motivation—in that very display of strength.
And that pleased Johan greatly.
A man with purpose and motivation grows quickly.
Well then… shall I toss a log onto that spark to keep it burning?
Step.
Turning his body, Johan looked at Yuri and spoke.
“What I intend to verify through you is the effectiveness of a newly created martial body art. I’ll say this in advance—it’s incomplete.”
“……”
“So far, I’ve built the framework of this new art based on my experience and knowledge… From now on, you and I will work together to put flesh and muscle on that skeleton.”
“……”
“It’ll likely take a long time. Grueling work. Painful enough that you may want to quit every single day. If… you ever decide to give up, then run. I won’t stop you. But—”
Johan paused. His eyes flashed sharply.
“If you endure every step without running away… if the doctrine I’ve established is completed because of that!”
Shrrk—thud!
The sword slid into its sheath. Grinning, Johan pointed at Yuri with his index finger.
“Once you master it, you’ll be able to land a proper blow not only to my face—but to the Sword Lord’s as well. That’s why I created this art in the first place.”
“……”
“Well? Can you handle it?”
At the provocative question, Yuri tilted his head.
Is that even a question?
Run away?
Can he handle it?
The Unbroken Sword, who had survived two duels against the Sword Lord.
A martial body art created from his experiences—specifically to counter the Sword Lord.
And he expected Yuri to run when true strength was within reach?
Ridiculous.
Flare—
Heat blazed in Yuri’s eyes, and the corner of his lips curled upward.
“Can I handle it? Old man, can you handle it? When I start something, I don’t half-ass it. Don’t you dare get tired later and run off yourself.”
“Heh heh, listen to this brat—nothing but talk. Fine. Let’s see who runs first.”
Boy and old man.
Golden eyes and gray eyes—strangely alike—met midair and sparked.
Their pride-fueled staring contest lasted quite some time.
Then—
“Old man.”
Yuri’s voice turned slightly sullen.
“You know something?”
“What?”
“I was actually planning to leave. That’s why I’d been saving up money, goods, food… you know. I’d prepared quite a bit.”
“Oh? Good. Then pack it up and we can leave right away.”
“Yeah, but… it’s gone.”
“…What?”
“Gone. Just now.”
“……?”
“You blew it all away. Along with that.”
Yuri pointed toward where the cliff—and his hideout—had once stood.
Silence fell between them.
Whoooosh—
A cold wind swept through the empty space where a mountain and cliff had once existed, swirling between the two.
Yuri’s eyes bulged.
“Old man.”
“……”
“It’s fine to show off your strength… sure, whatever! But—”
“……”
“My clothes? My food? And more importantly—the money I scraped together over two years—no, eight years?!”
With each shout, Johan’s gaze slowly sank to the ground.
“Th-that’s… no need to cling to such trivial things…”
“Trivial?! You call the eight years of blood and sweat I poured into that trivial?!”
Hiss!
Faced with a black cat hissing furiously in his face, Johan fully lowered his eyes.
Thus ended the first pride-fueled staring contest between Yuri and Johan—
Hissss!—
with Yuri emerging victorious.
* * *
The vanished mountain and cliff.
The vast emptiness left behind.
Gunter’s lips parted slightly.
Good heavens…?!
The report had come early in the morning—a cliff and an entire mountain had disappeared overnight.
At first, he thought it must be a prank.
It wasn’t.
An entire mountain had truly vanished.
Upon hearing the report, Ashraf was certain it was Johan Redner’s doing. There was no one else nearby capable of such a feat.
That certainty only deepened Gunter’s shock.
Can a single human truly do something like this?!
He had heard of the fame of a Master, but never imagined it to this extent.
If those called Masters are like this… then just how powerful is the Sword Lord, who is called a Transcendent?
The Sword Lord had defeated Johan Redner—the Unbroken Sword—twice.
The scale of that power was beyond imagination.
After standing in a daze for a long time, Gunter clenched his fist.
Crack.
Unbroken Sword Johan Redner… and the one he chose, Yuri Holland.
He’d received word that they had left Irons.
While he trained in the Cradle, Yuri would grow under Johan Redner’s guidance.
And someday… he had a strong premonition he would meet Yuri Holland again.
Next time… I don’t want to lose.
Yuri had been chosen in his stead—but he wanted to prove it wasn’t because he was lacking.
He wanted to prove that to Yuri when they met again.
I’ll have to push myself even harder.
Yuri would grow rapidly under the systematic and superior training of a Master.
To surpass him, Gunter would have to work even harder.
Though he steeled his resolve, he couldn’t help feeling a little envious.
“I wonder just how incredible training under a Master must be.”
With a faintly lonely smile, Gunter turned and headed back to his territory—
to complete that day’s training,
looking forward to the day he would see Yuri again.
* * *
By midday.
Having left Irons, Yuri and Johan were in a forest preparing lunch.
“Hm-hm! Hoo-hoo-hoo~”
Yuri hummed cheerfully.
“……”
Johan sat nearby, scowling silently.
Unable to endure the humming any longer, he complained.
“You emptied my wallet, and this is the grand feast you offer me? Roasted rabbit?”
“Hey now, don’t say ‘just’ rabbit! Give it a minute. I’ll present you with Yuri Holland’s special roasted rabbit.”
“You could gild a rabbit in gold and it’d still be just a gilded rabbit…”
“Stop grumbling—unless you don’t want any?”
“…Tch.”
Johan fell silent, grumbling inwardly.
That shark of a brat!
Thanks to a very, very minor mistake, Johan had blown away Yuri’s entire fortune.
When Yuri kept complaining, Johan had barked, “So what? I’ll compensate you!”
That had been his second mistake.
As if waiting for those words, Yuri had shaken down his wallet completely.
Even if it was his life savings, it couldn’t have been half of what he took from me…!
But as the wronged party, Yuri insisted it still wasn’t enough—eyes blazing—and Johan had ended up handing over everything.
Staring at his now-thin wallet, Johan ground his teeth.
Travel funds can be withdrawn from the bank later…
But being swindled by a fifteen-year-old brat stung his pride.
The great Johan Redner, scammed by a snot-nosed kid!
At least one thing was certain now.
That brat won’t starve to death in the Cradle, that’s for sure.
Clicking his tongue, Johan watched Yuri happily roasting the rabbit.
Yuri smeared something onto the meat.
“What’s that?”
“Dried angora root mixed with some herb powders. Roast it like this and the smell disappears. It seasons it too.”
Even while explaining, Yuri’s hands never stopped.
From swiftly hunting the rabbit, to skillfully dressing it, carefully preserving the hide, to roasting the meat—everything was efficient and practiced.
Far beyond what one would expect of someone his age.
Johan’s eyes gleamed with interest.
“Where’d you learn that?”
“Learn? I just rolled around trying not to starve for about eight years. Picked it up along the way.”
“Eight years? Aren’t you fifteen this year?”
“Yep.”
“So you’ve been wandering alone since seven? Where’s your hometown?”
“Don’t know.”
“You don’t know?”
“I left where I used to live and just wandered. Then I struggled to survive, and before I knew it, I was in Irons.”
“……”
Johan was stunned.
Though the continent had been pacified by the Sword Lord and no great wars raged, it still wasn’t a world kind to a lone seven-year-old.
Even possessing transcendent power didn’t guarantee survival.
Power didn’t provide food or earn money.
No wonder he’s such a worldly old man in a child’s body.
A child who had seen the ugliness of the world too early.
That was Yuri.
After a moment of silence, Yuri shot him a sidelong glare.
“What’s with the sudden background check?”
“If you die, shouldn’t I at least return your body to your family?”
“Hey! Don’t jinx it! Spit three times!”
Johan chuckled.
“Why would I die? Spit already!”
Their bickering continued until the rabbit was done.
Stuffing his cheeks with meat, Yuri asked,
“So when does that experiment—or training—start?”
His eyes sparkled.
Though the old man seemed like a fraud half the time, his strength and reputation were undeniably those of a Master.
What would he teach first?
What would a Master’s training look like?
Yuri’s heart pounded with anticipation.
Grinning, Johan replied,
“No need to rush. We start today. Eat well and rest. It’ll be your last supper.”
“Sounds promising.”
“Don’t start crying later saying you can’t handle it.”
“That won’t happen.”
Yuri answered confidently.
But that confidence didn’t last long.
Moments later, he stared back and forth between Johan and the object behind him.
“Old man… what’s that?”
“What does it look like? Never seen a cart?”
Johan slapped the worn-out cart beside him.
After briefly disappearing, he’d returned dragging a cart so battered it was a miracle it still rolled.
Yuri tilted his head.
“Why’d you bring that? We don’t have enough luggage to need a cart.”
Johan smirked.
Then he hopped onto the cart, hooked his prosthetic leg over the railing, and declared—
“Pull.”
Yuri blinked.
“…This? Pull it? Me?”
“Who else? Me?”
“Why would I pull this?”
Folding his arms, Johan replied,
“Foolish child. Do you know what you lack most right now?”
After thinking, Yuri answered,
“Mana?”
Johan snorted.
“Mana? What nonsense are you spouting? What you lack most is stamina. Stamina!”
“I’ve got great stamina!”
“Compared to commoners, sure. But your future opponents can carry rocks weighing dozens of kilos and run for three days without sweating. Compared to them, you’re trash!”
“Tr-trash?!”
“If you want to live, you must strengthen your body and energy relentlessly! Only then can you harmonize with your soul. So stop talking and pull!”
“I’m not a horse.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll make you run better than one. Now move! Planning to waste daylight?”
Thud! Thud!
Johan smacked the cart with his prosthetic leg—clearly not planning to get off.
Yuri narrowed his eyes.
“Old man… just asking.”
“What?”
“You’re not just too lazy to walk and using ‘training’ as an excuse, right?”
“……”
“That’s it, isn’t it?”
“……”
“Right?”
Johan avoided his gaze and thumped the cart again.
“You insolent brat! In my day, when my Master told me to drink a bucket of sewage water, I drank it without complaint!”
“…That’s disgusting.”
“When I say do it, you do it! Where do you get off talking back?”
Yuri stared, speechless.
Master-like training? A meaningful beginning?
Yeah. Right.
“You won’t pull? What, can’t do it? Giving up already? Over this? Hah! I must have misjudged you!”
As Johan taunted him loudly, Yuri reached a firm conclusion.
This old geezer… really is a fraud.
A Master, my foot
