Ch.1515. The Warrior’s Gaze

The chill of the snow-covered plains was still severe. However, it wasn’t completely unbearable.

Before, it had been so cold that it felt like diving into ice water naked in the dead of winter, but now it was more like rolling in snow while wearing layers of clothes.

“Honestly, I didn’t think you would come back,” Rex said, tightening his collar.

[Why did you think that?]

“Well… because we hadn’t met for three months.”

When the giant asked with a puzzling smile, Rex blinked and replied. It was exactly as he said.

The giant had disappeared the day before the tragedy struck the village. Quite some time had passed since then, and only today had he finally shown himself again.

[I have always been waiting for you in this place.]

For Rex, this was a difficult answer to accept. Then why hadn’t he appeared until now? Rex had also been waiting for their meeting. After all, he had been burning with desire for greater power.

[Perhaps you were unconsciously rejecting the dream.]

“…What?”

[Your expression suggests you have some idea what I mean.]

As if those words had hit the mark, a shadow fell across Rex’s face. His eyes, staring into empty space, seemed to reflect something other than the snowy plains. Memories buried deep in his heart resurfaced vividly.

[Losing someone precious is truly the most painful experience of all.]

The giant murmured as if he had clearly seen into Rex’s mind. Rex found himself nodding without realizing it.

After his father’s death, Rex had thrown everything else aside for a while and swung his sword like a madman. As if he wanted to escape from an unbearable reality.

The giant’s words made sense—it wasn’t the giant who had rejected the dream, but rather Rex himself.

But even that brief escape was now over. Rex looked up at the giant with blazing eyes.

“I want to become stronger. Incomparably stronger than before.”

[That is truly the path I wish for you to take. My warrior.]

The giant grinned with a satisfied expression and burst into laughter. The sound was so thunderous that it seemed to shake the entire world as if struck by lightning. After laughing for quite some time, the giant continued in a subdued voice.

[I believe you now know well what must be done to gain greater power. My warrior.]

“You mean fight, kill, and dedicate honor to you?”

[Yes. In that sense—your previous battle was truly splendid. Though he was merely an insignificant apprentice knight, he was still far superior to you in skill. Normally, it would have been impossible for you to win even if you died and came back to life, but you did well.]

“…It wasn’t my battle alone.”

Rex was sincere. He could never have won by himself.

Until the final moment, he couldn’t guarantee victory. Perhaps he might have failed to overcome the wall and been defeated in the end. If it hadn’t been for his father’s sacrifice, or if explosive energy hadn’t surged from the mark, surely…

[Enough. That’s in the past now. Anyway… since my servant has accomplished more than expected, as his master, I should provide a suitable reward.]

The giant waved his hand, cutting off Rex’s wandering thoughts.

“Ugh!”

Rex groaned at the sudden pain stabbing his eyes. His vision was dyed with bright light, and he couldn’t see anything. His pupils burned as if molten iron had been poured into them.

After a moment, the pain disappeared, and his vision returned to normal.

Rex covered his eyes with his palm and fumbled as he spoke.

“What is this?”

[It is the second blessing.]

Rex carefully removed his hand from his face.

He noticed snowflakes fluttering and falling at a distance. They appeared so clearly that, with slight exaggeration, he could almost feel each thin crystal individually. The sudden enhancement in vision made him dizzy, making it difficult to maintain his balance.

Not only that, but the unique sense often called the sixth sense had also sharpened. He felt as if he could know what was behind him without turning around.

[It is a power called the Warrior’s Gaze.]

The giant looked down at the staggering Rex with an appreciative expression and explained.

[It has various effects, but to explain intuitively… yes. It enhances your physical senses. You’ll feel it more when you enter combat. Since it consumes mental energy, I suspect you won’t be able to maintain it for long at first. You’ll need to make consistent effort to use it properly.]

“…Effort, you say?”

[Don’t you already know? As the mark embedded in your heart grows, the rest of the blessings will also become more powerful.]

It meant that what he needed to do hadn’t changed. Rex barely managed to regain his balance. The newly acquired power was quite tricky. As the giant said, it would take considerable time to master it.

It was a difficult path, but undoubtedly worth it.

[So, do you have any goals for the future?]

“Yes.”

Rex answered without hesitation to the giant’s question. As he had told his family, he would first head to the nearest city. If possible, he planned to become a mercenary.

[A mercenary, one who always carries death by his side. Very good. But is that truly enough for you?]

“…What do you mean?”

[What is the future you truly desire? That’s what I’m asking—whether you can be satisfied with being merely a mercenary.]

“I…”

Rex was silent for a moment, then shook his head. Becoming a mercenary was just a means to an end. It could never be the destination.

Why did I resolve to become stronger? There was another reason why I received power from the giant before me. That is…

“I’m going to become a hunter.”

Rex voiced the thoughts he had been harboring all along. Deep determination was visible in his dark blue eyes.

[Oh? A hunter, you say? Are you going to hunt beasts?]

“No. I’m going to clean up those garbage who are worse than beasts wearing human disguises. All of them, as far as my power reaches.”

[So you mean to become a human hunter. Not bad at all. Indeed, you are destined to live as a swordsman.]

The giant muttered to himself with a faint smile. Then suddenly, he turned his head and stared somewhere. Rex also shifted his gaze accordingly.

The snow-covered plain was empty without even a single tree, but the giant narrowed his brow. As if he could see something.

[I’ve said all I needed to say and given you the blessing, so go back now. I hope we meet again soon.]

The giant then stretched out his arm. Rex sighed as he watched the approaching palm. He wondered how long this would continue.

Not long after, Rex’s figure disappeared. As soon as he vanished, the relentless snowstorm suddenly stopped as if it had been a lie.

In a world enveloped by quiet silence, the voice of the giant—Kaordix—who remained alone, echoed.

[You’ve developed quite good eyes. I look forward to your future.]

***

The night was short. As always, Rex woke up at dawn, stretched, and looked around his room.

As he neatly folded his blanket and carefully touched the items he had been using, he felt an indescribable feeling. It was bittersweet, and his heart was racing a little—it felt strange.

Before heading to the living room, Rex checked his attire. He wore several layers of thin clothes and draped over them the cloak he had received during his coming-of-age ceremony. He attached a dagger to his waist.

His belt had four pouches for various items. However, it was slightly larger than Rex’s waist. It was the belt Gert had used whenever he went hunting, and now Rex had inherited it.

In his bag were preserved food sufficient for several days, a small amount of wine, and travel money. He also packed a thick sleeping bag and flint in case he needed to camp outdoors.

He had stuffed in anything else that seemed necessary. As a result, the bag was quite heavy. It would have been burdensome before he received the mark. Rex checked his condition one last time and opened the door.

“…Huh?”

In the living room, his mother and Anna were already up, preparing food.

Soft white bread, stew, and large pieces of meat were appetizingly arranged on plates.

Rex looked at Anna with a puzzled expression.

“What? Is there a problem?”

Anna retorted with a pout in response to his gaze. Rex scratched his cheek with an awkward expression.

“No. Just, you didn’t show your face until the end yesterday, so I thought you were still upset.”

“Hmph! When was I ever upset? Never! Don’t misunderstand. Just… even a dead goblin looks good after eating, you know. No, that’s not what I meant…”

Anna, who had been snapping at Rex, trailed off and blushed.

“Anyway, you’re so stubborn that you won’t listen no matter how much I try to stop you! You probably won’t be able to eat well for a while, so at least your last meal should be hearty. So you don’t starve to death out there. Got it?”

Rex stared blankly at Anna. She flinched and quickly turned her head away. She crossed her arms and tapped her fingers irritably, then glanced back to find Rex still alternating his gaze between the steaming food and her.

Finally, unable to bear it any longer, Anna shouted.

“What’s with that look? Just eat already!”

Only then did Rex sit down with a grin. Anna stomped on the innocent floor.

She felt exposed and was angry, but she couldn’t bring herself to take it out on her brother who was about to leave. After all, he was her brother who shared the same blood. Her precious little brother—she was afraid she might never see him again.

It would have been nice if she could express her true feelings, but that was too embarrassing. That’s what being seventeen was like.

Rex’s mother, who belatedly came from the kitchen with wooden cups, gestured to him.

“Yes, it’ll get cold. Son, eat up.”

“Thank you, Mom.”

Rex brought the wooden cup his mother handed him to his lips. It must have been warmed beforehand, as a warm sensation spread throughout his body.

Rex ate the food eagerly. He couldn’t leave anything behind.

It was a lot for a single meal, but that made the care his family had put into preparing it all the more evident.

How early must they have gotten up for me? This is too much for just two people to make. They must have been watching constantly to make sure the food didn’t get cold… The more he ate, the more complicated his thoughts became.

After cleaning his plates, Rex wiped his mouth and said,

“That was delicious. Mom, and Anna too. You must have worked hard.”

“…Good to know. So, are you leaving now?”

Anna asked with a prim face.

“Yes. I need to set out as quickly as possible to reach a suitable resting place before sunset.”

Rex got up, opened the door, and stepped outside. Anna and his mother followed behind him.

The sky was still dark. The dawn breeze carried moist dew. The damp humidity that touched his skin was actually welcome.

It’s a good day to leave, Rex thought.

“Oh? He’s out!”

Several people were gathered in the yard. When someone spotted Rex and called out, all eyes turned to him at once.

It was a completely unexpected situation, and Rex just blinked silently. He had planned to leave quietly to avoid causing a commotion in the village, but word seemed to have spread quickly. Who could have…?

“Haha, Rex. Where do you think you’re sneaking off to? That won’t do.”

Tom spoke in a playful voice. Beside him stood Joan, who kept glancing around awkwardly as if there was something interesting nearby. Rex’s eyebrow twitched. Was it you?

“Don’t be too hard on him. Joan tried his best to keep it secret. He’s just too transparent. He spilled everything after I asked a few times, but anyway. Were you going to leave without saying goodbye? How could you try to disappear without a word?”

“Haha…”

At the reproachful tone, Rex could only laugh awkwardly, unable to find words. Tom pointed at the people with his finger.

“You know all these faces, right? They wanted to express their gratitude to you.”

Everyone gathered there had received help from Rex three months ago.

They each held something in their hands—gifts for Rex. There were snacks for his journey, small amounts of money, bundles of herbs, and various other items.

“I-I can’t accept these.”

“Come now. It’s nothing much, so don’t refuse and just take them.”

Despite his flustered protests, Rex found his arms full of gifts before he knew it. Since it would be awkward to keep refusing their goodwill, Rex finally opened his bag and put in the items people had given him.

“Thank you.”

By this point, his already bulging bag looked like it might burst.

‘…Will it be okay?’

Rex ignored the fleeting anxiety. No way, he thought. It was a sturdy bag that could hold many things. Please hold up…

As Rex shouldered the bag, the people nodded in farewell and withdrew.

Tom looked Rex up and down and said,

“That sword—I’m glad I gave it to you. It suits you.”

His gaze stopped at Rex’s waist. Rex also looked down. A greatsword with a blade almost as wide as a palm was tied to his belt with a strap.

The greatsword had originally belonged to the village chief, but Rex had been carrying it for the past three months. When he tried to return it, Tom repeatedly refused.

He said that since he didn’t know how to use it and didn’t have the strength to protect it, Rex should keep it. If he didn’t want to use it, he could sell it for money instead.

Although it was burdensome, it worked out well for Rex. A sword of such quality wasn’t something one could acquire just by having money.

“Take care. I’ll go ahead. I’ve gotten busy since becoming the village chief. I thought it would be easy, but there’s surprisingly a mountain of things to handle.”

“Goodbye, brother.”

Tom waved his hand. Joan also seemed to be leaving with him, half-turning his back as he spoke.

“Hey, I’m going too.”

“Alright. Try to get along better with Anna.”

“Huh? Why bring that up! Anyway, don’t get hurt.”

After Joan left as well, the atmosphere that had been bustling just moments ago became as quiet as a dream.

“I’ll be heading out now. Don’t worry about seeing me off. Go back inside. It’s cold out here.”

Rex said. But Anna and his mother insisted on following him to the village entrance. As if they had to watch him leave.

“Be careful.”

“…I will.”

“Don’t get hurt acting like an idiot!”

“I said I will.”

Rex shook his head as he moved forward. He didn’t look back. Nevertheless, he could feel their gazes. They would probably watch from that spot until he disappeared from sight.

He wanted to give one last greeting, but he held it back.

Not long after, all traces of the village vanished. Rex finally turned his head.

Morning had fully arrived, and the darkness that had thickly covered the sky was fading away. The village where he had lived his entire life now looked as small as a dot.

Would he ever be able to return? It was a question he couldn’t answer with certainty. But one thing was clear: his family would always be waiting for him there. And Rex believed that when he finally returned, they would welcome him with joy.

“Let’s go.”

Rex gripped the strap of his bag.

And with that, he took a bold step toward a world he had never experienced before.