Ch.383EP.80 – The Knight Makes a Vow Once More (1)

Plop, plop, heavy raindrops began to fall.

Pitter-patter.

The raindrops gradually increased, and judging by the size and movement of the dark clouds, it didn’t seem like it would stop after a light shower.

In a sense, this rain couldn’t be more unexpected.

Just 30 minutes ago, the sky had been bright and blue, but now it was darkened as if that clear sky had been a lie.

This was probably…

“As expected of a sacred mountain. It’s rejecting us before we’ve even started climbing.”

“We might die if we’re not careful.”

…evidence that the mountain was angry.

“Should we turn back then?”

“No, that’s not an option.”

“Oh dear…”

They continued their playful conversation despite the mountain’s apparent anger, but soon…

BOOM!

Their expressions hardened.

Lightning began to strike from within the dark clouds, poised to fall at any moment.

As if saying: if you want to climb this mountain, be prepared for this.

“This won’t be easy…”

“Still, we have to climb it, right?”

“Of course.”

Playful yet supremely confident, they proceeded to climb the mountain.

Arrogantly so.

Rumble…

Sacred Mountain Vulcan merely displayed its anger toward these arrogant, impudent primates.

*

*

*

Pitter-patter!

…Gravel rained down on his head.

Thwack!

Pebbles of various sizes fell, mercilessly pounding his back and head. For an ordinary person, this could have resulted in serious injury, but fortunately, the gravel couldn’t leave a single scratch on his body.

He certainly had a sturdy physique.

“Who asked you to show off how tough your body is? I told you to dodge.”

“……”

“Ah, you can’t hear me, of course.”

Caesar knew that no matter what he said, the other person wouldn’t hear him.

After all…

“I told him to do this, but I didn’t think he’d actually attempt such an extreme training method.”

The other person had sealed more than 80% of his senses.

Even Caesar was impressed.

“Mmm…!”

Stagger…

Ihan’s appearance was quite a sight to behold.

His eyes were tightly wrapped with a blindfold to block even a speck of light, his ears were completely sealed with some magically treated earplugs that blocked all sound, and his nose was completely sealed with wax.

He was breathing only through his mouth, but even that was covered with a water-soaked mask.

It would be no exaggeration to say that all sensory functions except touch had been sealed.

What made it even more intense was…

“He’s been like this for nine hours already.”

Despite more than 9 hours passing, he hadn’t rested for even a moment.

Caesar thought he was quite determined.

Having done similar training himself, he knew how it felt.

Being in a state with senses sealed like that causes tremendous physical and mental stress and is incredibly unpleasant.

Even the sense of time disappears, and negative thoughts endlessly multiply.

That’s why he was impressed, despite the lack of visible progress.

‘Not only is his body tough, but his mind is equally strong.’

How many fools were there with strong bodies but weak minds?

Caesar, who would become furious at those who called themselves warriors despite their mental weakness, could only feel admiration now.

Even in his youth when he trained passionately, it wasn’t at this level of intensity.

‘Young people these days are frightening, truly frightening! Haha!’

However…

Thwack!!

“Still a long way to go though.”

Ihan, hit again by the gravel Caesar threw, scratched his head in confusion.

…wondering why he couldn’t dodge even though he knew it was coming.

* * *

What Ihan was doing now was not circus practice, but rather calibrating his [Domain].

According to Caesar:

– “I’ll say it again, but Domain is no different from growing a new sensory organ and body part. So mastering it overnight is impossible. Some people’s skills actually deteriorate after entering the Domain because they get swallowed by it. But if you can calibrate your Domain and handle it like your own limbs, your skills will advance significantly. …Advance to the point where you can respond to superhuman movements.”

Domain wasn’t simply about having more sensitive senses.

“It’s closer to a supercomputer that receives all surrounding information in real-time and processes it into usable data.

If you can handle it skillfully, you could respond even to mysteries of space and time.”

– That was Caesar’s explanation.

‘What are mysteries of space and time? Like time stop or something?’

Ihan had a random thought, but what was important now was…

Thwack!

‘Ah, hit again.’

Ihan had been hit by gravel hundreds of times today alone. While it didn’t hurt, it was natural to feel annoyed at being hit by gravel, and his brows furrowed involuntarily.

But no matter how much he concentrated and tried…

‘I really can’t get the hang of it.’

His [Domain] was still a complete mess.

How could he describe the feeling?

‘…Like becoming an octopus?’

Even as he said it, he wondered what kind of feeling that was, but there truly was no way to describe this bizarre sensation.

And since there was no better way to explain this grotesque sensation, he felt frustrated.

“Huff…”

“Are we done for today?”

“It feels like I’m just torturing my body.”

Ihan unwrapped all the bindings around his body and inhaled the fresh air.

It was refreshing after a full nine hours.

“If your body feels tortured, you’re doing it right. Torture it again and again. And when you adapt to that torture, you’ll adapt to the Domain as well.”

“…How long will it take?”

“It took me about 2 years, I think?”

“……”

“Haha, well, I took longer because I had no one to help me. In your case, you have me as an advisor, right? It’ll end much sooner, so don’t worry.”

As Caesar said, he generously provided guidance whenever Ihan asked for advice.

True to his monk origins, he was generous with his teachings and didn’t hold back on advice and warnings about handling the Domain.

Thanks to that, even though it had only been two days, Ihan was able to firmly grasp the basic information about Domain, and he felt fortunate to be making progress, even if just half a step at a time, with Caesar’s help in training.

“It’s a shame that such a reliable advisor is leaving tomorrow.”

It was unfortunate that this stroke of luck wouldn’t last much longer.

Caesar shrugged at those words.

He was also regretful, but…

“Can’t be helped.”

Rumble!

“The mountain is rejecting me.”

The weather on Vulcan was ominous.

Like a bolt from the blue, as they say?

The day was clear, yet thunder kept rumbling continuously.

As if in anger.

…It was evidence that the mountain was rejecting Caesar.

“Our guys were fine staying for almost a month, but why is it only doing this to you…?”

“Who knows the criteria of a sacred mountain? Well, if I had to guess, it might be because I’ve fought many ‘wandering mysteries’ in the past, so it might dislike me for that.”

“Wandering mysteries?”

“Mazes or fogs made of mysteries, or plants, animals, and people—different from magical beasts but in some ways more terrible. You occasionally encounter them when traveling around the continent getting involved in incidents.”

“…Ah, I think I roughly understand. I’ve encountered a few in the past too.”

Something came to mind.

Among the large slave trading organizations Ihan had destroyed in the past, there were those who sold such things.

Those who sold flowers or trees in human form, or turtles and butterflies as intelligent as humans.

“Mystery hunters disguised as slave traders.”

“They’re just people who no longer exist in this world. I freed the wanderers or whatever they were called too.”

“……”

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Somehow I see another reason why you’re loved by the sacred mountain.”

“?”

“Hmm, sometimes I wonder if I should have resolved things through dialogue rather than with my sword.”

It was a murmur tinged with slight regret, but Ihan was certain that even if that man went back in time, he would act exactly the same way.

Above all, he only expressed regret in words; it was obvious that he had no real regret about his choices.

‘Well, a man called the Mercenary King wouldn’t be weak enough to regret his past.’

Although they had known each other for just over 3 days, that was the kind of person Caesar appeared to be to Ihan.

Someone who definitely accomplishes what he sets his mind to.

Someone with the determination to crush even regret.

Such a remarkable person.

One might ask how he could hold someone in such high regard after knowing them for such a short time, but at least from Ihan’s perspective, he was indeed remarkable.

“Hmm, a bit of advice—be careful. Helping mysteries is a good deed, but you never know how that act will come back to you, and the way mysteries express gratitude often brings misfortune to fragile humans. For example, they might suddenly transform you into a woman as a token of gratitude.”

“…How is that a token of gratitude?”

“I told you, they express gratitude in their own way.”

“That’s just being a nuisance.”

“Indeed it is. …Still, well.”

Whoosh!

“—It’s less disgusting than human malice.”

In an instant, Caesar lightly tossed a pebble he was holding.

However, the result of that light toss was…

BOOM!!

…brutal and destructive.

Enough to damage the lush forest.

“If you damage nature like that, Vulcan will hate you even more.”

“Then let it hate me. Tomorrow’s me will deal with future problems, hahaha!”

“…What a remarkable person.”

A demeanor that was beyond shameless—downright dignified.

Remarkable in many ways.

Ihan shook his head and looked in the direction where the pebble had been thrown.

—At the pests emitting a foul stench.

“Y-you’re going too far. C-couldn’t we at least t-talk…?”

“……”

“Haha, y-your gaze is t-too scary…”

Crack.

Crunch.

…These were pests regenerating despite their bodies being reduced to rags, and Ihan found it sickening.

“This is why rural life is so tiresome.”

Too many mosquitoes coming to suck blood.