episode_0042

*****

Effort does not always bring results. Lee Hwa-in, who has only been awakened for a year, has always felt this fact keenly.

‘Flame of the End’, known as Hero Surtur’s potential. There will be few people who would deny that it is a powerful potential. The flame boasts absolute attack power, and its power alone made the hero Surtur the subject of protective supervision.

However, if you ask whether that potential is good potential, not many people will nod their heads. No matter how powerful it is, if you can’t use it properly, it’s like a pearl necklace on a pig’s neck. Even painters who were accustomed to pain had the limit of applying flame only to the blade of their sword.

Additionally, absolute power is not necessarily a good thing. Since it is impossible to control his strength at all, Hwa-in cannot use his potential properly even in the practice barrier, and he has to be very careful when dealing with villains that are not monsters. Otherwise, the flame will take the opponent’s life in an instant.

There are many cases where uncontrollable power is just as bad as not being used.

Of course, despite such adversity, the painter did not give up. If you can only apply flame to a sword, you only need to train the sword itself. The sword is a commonly used weapon among the awakened.

Unfortunately, those expectations were soon shattered.

“I’m sorry, but you have no talent.”

‘Gi Swordsman’, the swordsman at Cheon Myeong High School whom Lee Hwa-in first asked to teach, declared that as soon as he saw Hwa-in. Prosecutor Ki continued speaking, not paying attention to the painter’s confusion at the sudden declaration.

“Of course, I know that you are working hard to have a means that does not require the use of flames. But if it can’t be done, it can’t be done. Do you know what the two most important things are in martial arts training?”

“Uh, so, is it effort?”

“That is not necessary, it is a basic premise. The answer is ‘talent’ and ‘time’. An ordinary person who trained for 10 days cannot beat an ordinary person who trained for 100 days, and an ordinary person who trained for 100 days cannot beat a genius who trained for 100 days. Of course, if there is either one, it could work out somehow. The results of a match between an ordinary person who has trained for 10 years and a genius who has trained for 1 year are different each time.

But unfortunately, you have neither.”

There is no point in picking up a sword until you are in high school when you don’t have any potential related to martial arts. When the painter realized what those words meant, he felt something throbbing in his heart.

“But you still don’t know. If you keep trying, keep trying… .”

“Hmm. I don’t hate that either. In fact, I know several prosecutors who had no talent and started late, but showed amazing growth.”

The painter’s eyes sparkled with anticipation at the hopeful story. But in the end it was only a harbinger of negativity.

“But they are no longer in this world by now.”

“Yes… ? Are they really all dead?”

“Of course. There’s no way it’s possible to improve your skills just by practicing if you don’t have the talent or the time. They all threw themselves into grueling combat. And while their skills were rapidly increasing, one mistake cost them their lives.”

Prosecutor Ki seemed to be asking with his eyes, ‘Do you have that level of determination?’ They even give up their lives to become stronger. You’ll probably die, but you’ll be one step closer to becoming stronger.

This was the first thought that came to Hwain’s mind when he heard that fact.

Do we really have to go that far?

“… okay. It’s not as simple as you think. If there is no reason, there is no need to commit suicide.”

What did you read in the painter’s eyes? Swordsman Ki withdrew his gloomy eyes and gathered his momentum.

There was absolutely no hint of disappointment in that voice. There was only the calmness that it was natural.

“I will teach you about the sword. Because my sword focuses on deceiving the opponent, not on direct attacks. Regardless of the power of the sword itself, you probably decided that it would be effective as long as it hits the flame, right?”

“Ah… , yes. With that in mind, I applied.”

“The choice itself was not wrong. However, it will be difficult to learn properly in your current state, so I will train you from the basics. In my opinion, you are not yet at the stage to discuss the shape of the sword.”

When the painter heard that, he didn’t know what it meant, but now he vaguely understands it. Among the sword-wielding heroes I met at Cheonmyeong High School, there was not a single one who lacked the basics of Hwain.

I did not regret learning the sword. Even though his skills were lacking, it was the standard for Class A at Cheonmyeong High School, where geniuses gathered. The painter’s sword, which had solidly trained basic defense, saved his life several times.

But was that a worthy reward for the effort? Does the pain of swinging a sword every day until your hands become blisters and calluses match the result of being a half-hero who is still no match for anyone in your class and who cannot use flames?

In the days when I suffered from such an overwhelming gap that even if I tried, I would fall behind, but if I didn’t try, I couldn’t even race.

The boy met a girl.

“What are you thinking about during training? Concentrate, your hands are slowing down! Move faster!”

“Pfft!”

Hwa-in, who was instantly pulled back to reality from the past that seemed to escape reality, urgently drew the magic sword sideways. Paang. The sound of magical power clashing with magical power rang out cheerfully.

But that wasn’t the end. Countless winds of magical power were blowing in from the front. The difference was that each had a different density of magical power, and the commonality was that if they were all hit, it would hurt terribly.

If this were a real situation, I might have been able to handle it all. But right now, the training was to not use magic power. There were limits to following attacks with muscles that were not strengthened by magical power,

“Ugh.”

In the end, the wind hit the painter’s solar plexus.

“Achacha… . It must be really painful.”

The girl in front of him, Ami, seemed worried, but for Hwa-in, considering the fact that Ami was the one who blew the wind, there was no feeling of gratitude at all. Of course, the current painter could barely control himself as he winced from the pain of being hit in the solar plexus.

Ami looked up for a moment and saw a melting red sky. The space that the caster, Fine, had collapsed and opened up is being unraveled. In the blink of an eye, the surrounding landscape changed from a barren land to an empty lot with a shining night sky.

It was already mid-October and the night was quite chilly, but the bodies of the two people running around were red with heat.

“Hey, sit down properly and rest. If you lie down because you’re covered in sweat, the back of your head will be a mess.”

“No… . It’s impossible… .”

Unlike Ami, who was sweating to some extent but still fine, Hwain was completely exhausted, as if he had just run a marathon, and couldn’t even move. Seeing that, Ami clicked her tongue and went to sit by Hwa-in’s bedside.

“Lift your head for a moment.”

Although he was exhausted and reflexively followed Ami’s instructions, Hwa-in did not have enough time to observe the surrounding situation. The pain in my entire body, including my solar plexus, and the lungs and heart that constantly breathe heavily while demanding oxygen were something I couldn’t get used to until I got used to it.

“Now, take a deep breath as much as possible. Yeah, something like that. Right, right.”

Still, in the end, I just got tired from moving my body. If you lie still and catch your breath, the relaxation that was missing will come back.

“Okay, are you okay now? But still in my body──”

So Hwain barely opened his eyes and realized that Ami’s upside-down face was looking down at him. That was enough of a clue for the painter to know what kind of situation he was in.

Once you become conscious of it, many things are bound to bother you. A soft sensation on the back of your head, a pleasant smell that subtly mixes with your breath, or two red eyes looking straight at you.

When that thought struck the back of his sweaty head, Hwain raised his upper body as if bouncing and twisted his body in the accompanying pain.

“That’s because he suddenly stands up. Now, lie down a little longer.”

“It’s okay, I’m feeling better now… , ugh.”

The painter tried to reject the tempting offer, but unfortunately, his body was honest. In the end, Hwa-in’s head had to return to Ami’s leg with just a light tug from Ami.

Did he realize that focusing on recovery would be a faster way out? A little bit of strength disappeared from the painter’s body.

“Let’s end today’s training here. Because it’s not good to do too much.”

“I just said it wasn’t too much training… ?”

The training that Fine had done a little while ago was an extension of the magic power training that he had done yesterday. It was a type of training in which wind winds of different magic densities were pouring in, but if one could not see them through magic vision or missed them in the rush, the wind winds would hit the painter’s body mercilessly.

Although it was an extension, it seemed like the training had skipped three or four steps from just seeing the magical light in the fingers, and in fact, unlike yesterday, the painter was almost half-corpse. If training is just this bad, how terrible is ‘too much’ training?

However, ARMY nailed it once more as if it wasn’t a joke or an exaggeration.

“Excessive things are not allowed here. I’ll do it when I get back to Cheonmyeong High School, so I’m looking forward to it.”

The confident grinning figure felt like a male reaper to the current painter.

However, it was ironic that the envoy was the Chinese’s only companion. Unlike the other teachers at Cheonmyeong High School, Ami’s special training gave Hwain a strange confidence that he was on the right path.

‘Maybe it’s my confident attitude.’

Seeing the confident figure who did not even think that he would be wrong, a smile came out of the painter’s mouth.

If you think about it, Ami has been like that since the first time we met. Regardless of whether it’s a crisis or not, their always smiling appearance and confident attitude make you wonder, ‘Wouldn’t ARMY do something even in this situation?’ It made me think, and in fact, it is no exaggeration to say that we have overcome several recent crises thanks to ARMY.

The painter was a little upset about that. The image of him confidently walking forward in the face of hardship, believing in himself, was the very image of the hero he admired. Right now, I felt like I couldn’t do that.

It was strange to see myself feeling resentful at the same time. After entering hero school, he realized that he had no talent. Therefore, when I saw a promising next-generation talent like Eonryeongsa, I was only envious of him, but I did not feel angry at being left behind.

But for some reason, I didn’t want to lose to ARMY. I didn’t want to show this guy that I was inferior and inferior.

Is it because he is, at least formally, the team leader? The painter responded to that question by shaking his head. I didn’t mind handing it over to ARMY at any time as it was something like a team leader. Since Ami herself was refusing to do anything, she just took on the role.

If not… . It may be because, other than Raon, who is like family to her, she is the only person who convinces her that she has potential. To confirm that hypothesis, Hwa-in imagined Ami giving up on herself.

‘Honestly, I didn’t know that even if I didn’t have talent, I wouldn’t be like this.’

‘Wouldn’t it be okay to stop doing special training now? There won’t be any results anyway. yes?’

ah.

Sure, this hurts a bit.

“… ? what’s the matter? My face suddenly became pale. If you have any pain in your chest, please tell me right away.”

“No, it’s okay. That’s not it.”

In Hwa-in’s mind, the coldly dismissing Ami and the worried Ami in front of him overlapped. Anxiety filled the painter’s heart as what he thought was a simple imagination took on a strange realism.

“… Hey, it’s me. Can I become a proper hero?”

In the end, those words came out of the artist’s mouth half-heartedly.

‘What did you say all of a sudden, it was so unexpected. ARMY must be embarrassed too.’

“A proper hero, why suddenly?”

In fact, Ami suddenly blinked as if wondering what she was saying. But I didn’t gloss over those words as a joke.

Even though he didn’t understand, seeing the way he was trying to understand, the painter continued to say the words he had kept in his heart.

“Because of me, the people around me are caught up in Genesis’ attack, but I’m weak and of no help. Of course, you said it was helpful last time, but that isn’t enough. At least, I have to do something about what happened because of me… . I think so.”

To do that, you have to become strong.

That’s why I became a hero.

Hwain’s inner thoughts that he has ‘never told anyone’ until now. After hearing Hwain’s confession, Ami closed her eyes for a moment as if thinking about something. Her golden hair sways slightly in the blowing wind.

How long had it been like that? When Ami opened her mouth, what came out of her mouth was not an answer but a question.

“So, why did you want to become a hero?”

Did you not listen seriously to what I said? That was the first thought that came to the painter’s mind. Haven’t I tried my best to explain it so far?

But before Hwa-in could protest, Ami’s palm covered Hwa-in’s vision. Hwa-in regained his composure at the sight of him as if his story wasn’t over yet.

“I heard why you have to become a hero. So, if possible, I would also like to hear why you wanted to become a hero.”

“The reason I wanted to become a hero… .”

The reason Lee Hwa-in became Hero Surtur was because it was ‘a good situation.’ If you were a student at Cheonmyeong High School, you could receive some protection from Genesis’ attack and it would be good to develop your own skills, so you only took the test with Raon.

Actually, I had some luck. Originally, he would have failed the entrance exam, but the school saw his potential and enrolled him as a probationer.

So, the reason why Hwa-in chose the path of a hero was simply because the situation turned out that way. There was no dream or passion there.

Painter, who remembered that far, shook his head to shake off the thoughts. It felt very insincere for the girl who answered his complaint seriously to reply, ‘There is no such reason,’ but the painter was fed up with himself for not being able to answer anything else.

“It’s better to think carefully. Forcing yourself to do something you don’t want to do will only make you unhappy. The important thing is not that you become stronger. You become happy.”

“But if I don’t get stronger, Genesis will take me──”

“It’s okay.”

Looking up at the night sky, along with the starlight, the girl’s smile fell on the artist.

“In that case, I will save you.”

“… … .”

Somehow, I couldn’t look straight at that confident face. However, because it seemed like turning his head would reveal his bright red ears, the artist raised his hands and covered his face.

‘… I’ll save you, huh.’

If it had just been a little girl talking, I might have felt special. Would you have believed it if a big adult had told you? Maybe you were skeptical.

But what he is talking about now is the girl who saved him several times.

That’s why the painter didn’t know what to say about how he was feeling right now. In the end, the limit was that I could barely move my mouth and come up with something resembling an answer.

“… huh. I’ll think about it seriously.”

“I like that. You don’t have to worry about becoming stronger too hastily.”

“Yes. I will do that.”

Even with empty words, Ami could not be said to be large. But for now, it felt like he was being protected by a big back, so Hwa-in put down the burden that had been weighing on his shoulders for a moment and closed his eyes.

Suddenly, the painter realized one thing. Ami says that she will save you in times of danger. It resembled the words of a hero who gave him hope for life amidst the pain of burns and the fear of death.

Did you say what you heard then? No, if I remember correctly, I only talked about the rough situation. There is no way Ami would know what she heard. Is it a coincidence? Otherwise──.

The thought didn’t last long. The painter’s tired body chose to let his consciousness rest rather than consider the thoughts that came to his mind.

*****