EP.229 Trial of the Holy Grail (3)
Right after escaping the trial, Kalt lay flat in the grass. He looked utterly drained, as if he had no strength left to even move a finger.
“Seems like exhaustion is always left behind.”
All the injuries sustained within the trial became nonexistent the moment one stepped out. However, it seemed the mental fatigue lingered.
“Well, it’s no surprise after crashing into it four times in a row.”
I sat on a stump with a wry smile.
Kalt wiped the cold sweat off his forehead and said.
“I thought I was going to die. Seriously.”
“What do you mean? You’ve already died three times.”
“…Now that I think about it, that’s true.”
He looked quite worn out.
He had gone beyond the three attempts Kardi had warned him about, so it was only natural that he felt tired.
‘Is the number of challenges proportional to how close one is to becoming a superhuman?’
That thought suddenly crossed my mind.
Kardi warned about three times, but Kalt went beyond, attempting four.
‘Well, I can figure that out gradually.’
“So,”
I said to Kalt, keeping a smile.
“How does it feel to become a superhuman?”
Kalt passed the trial.
That meant he had reached the realm of superhumans. Since it was my first time witnessing the birth of a superhuman, I was curious about the changes occurring within Kalt.
“I’m not quite sure. It’s not like there’s a dramatic change, but I feel a bit more energetic…”
“Not sure, huh?”
“Yeah. Maybe I need to swing my sword a bit more to get the feel of it.”
Shooting sounds like “bang!”
“Wanna have a duel with me?”
“…Huh?”
Kalt looked at me with a perplexed expression before he sighed and rubbed his eyes.
“Is it really a superhuman slayer coming after me right after becoming a superhuman…?”
“Superhuman… what?”
“Superhuman slayer. Superhuman slayer.”
What’s that? As I tilted my head, Kalt slowly stood up.
“People call those who easily decapitate dragon necks ‘dragon slayers’. So, if one can easily take down superhumans, that makes them a superhuman slayer, right? You know, senpai?”
“What’s that?”
“You’ve already made two half-wits out of the superhumans.”
“Oh…”
The sword demon was bound by a contract.
The braver also had half of the control of the contract in my favor.
In a sense, both had become incapable of doing their roles, so referring to them as half-wits wasn’t entirely incorrect.
‘Oh, so I’ve really messed up two superhumans?’
I couldn’t argue that point, so after a moment of thought, I raised my arm, pinching my thumb and middle finger together, pointing my outstretched index finger at Kalt.
“Now there are three, then.”
“…Huh?”
Snap!
With a flick of my finger, a spark flew with a tidik as the mana ignited and the instant spell shot toward Kalt’s forehead.
Smite.
A spell launched from close range.
Yet, Kalt simply tilted his head back to evade the spell. It was almost as if he knew exactly where the spell was aimed.
Boom!
Smite hit behind Kalt.
Kalt seemed surprised himself, his eyes widening as he looked between his back and me… before breaking into a grin.
“I’m not the old me anymore, senpai.”
It was a smile full of confidence. Fighting back the urge to smack him, I asked Kalt.
“But just now, you said you couldn’t tell the difference?”
“Well, usually you wouldn’t know until you move, right? Once I did, I could feel the change.”
Dusting himself off, Kalt placed his hand on his waist. He held a sword.
Shing.
With a cool metallic sound, the silvery-white blade was drawn. Kalt lightly swung the sword towards one of the trees lined up.
Swish.
The swing was light.
The trajectory of the silver-white blade was clean.
Just as I thought nothing had changed, suddenly…
Tick, tididik.
The leaves scattered by the wind began to split apart. The sword strike had aimed at the tree, but the swing caused no impact on the wooden trunk.
Tidi-didi-didik.
The finely chopped leaves fell like rain.
Eyes wide, I stared at Kalt.
“Whoa, what the hell?”
It was a strike nearly akin to magic.
I applauded enthusiastically. After Kalt swung the sword through the air a couple more times, he turned to look at me.
“I’ve been observing Kuntel’s swordsmanship since the battlefield. Observing is my forte.”
His talent as a tracker.
The ability to observe and comprehend.
“So, theoretically, I understood the movements and processes that Kuntel’s techniques go through… what results they lead to.”
Of course, understanding didn’t mean one could use it.
Muttering that out loud, Kalt sheathed the sword.
“But now, it’s different.”
Kalt smiled brightly.
“Not right away, but if I continue training like this… I feel I can definitely reach it. So this is what you meant by ‘breaking the limit of growth’.”
Looking at Kalt tenderly adjusting the sword handle, I spoke.
“They say that’s what superhuman levels are about. I wouldn’t know since I’ve never experienced it.”
To demonstrate perfect swordsmanship in any situation, extending techniques, strengthening the body, and, most importantly, overcoming the limits of growth.
“It’s not that there aren’t dramatic changes. If there are dramatic changes, it would be when all that’s been built up breaks out because those walls are destroyed.”
Ultimately, it boils down to effort.
What one has built will never betray them. That was something Kuntel used to say all the time.
“…Speaking of which, this is strange.”
Kalt touched his chin as he looked at me.
“Senpai, aren’t you not a superhuman?”
“True, I’m not. I’ve never felt those walls or crossed them.”
“…Yet you can suppress superhumans.”
“Turns out it works.”
“How?”
“I’m not sure.”
I had never considered it deeply before.
In the first place, Kuntel had also asserted that it was ‘strange.’ How could I know something even that well-versed with superhumans did not?
“I just live thinking that’s the way it is.”
Even with my words, Kalt still seemed puzzled, continuing to question.
“Senpai, could you be classified as something special like an archery master, saint, or hero? Are you perhaps not human? That seems to be the most credible…”
“If I weren’t human, would I be suffering like this?”
I was currently struggling against the constraints of my lifespan.
“Well, I do have some ideas.”
I muttered with my chin resting on my hand.
“In the end, I believe to breach those walls one must feel the limits, right? From what you just said, it’s when you have an instinctual realization of ‘I can’t handle this’ or when the limit of growth becomes insurmountable.”
Kalt nodded.
I said indifferently.
“If you hit a wall, can’t you just go back?”
“I don’t think that’s the kind of wall it is…”
Then I didn’t know either.
Shrugging my shoulders, I said.
“Anyway, congrats Kalt.”
For reaching the realm of superhumans.
For accomplishing the long-desired dream.
“Now I can assign you jobs without worry.”
“…Huh? What did you say?”
Kalt stared wide-eyed as I patted his shoulder in a gesture of goodwill.
What’s so great about having good subordinates?
The mere thought of being able to relieve myself of burdens going forward made me smile.
“Looking forward to working with you.”
“…Can I quit?”
“What do you mean?”
—
2.
Mana Trading Studies Professor’s Office.
Rania spread a calendar and a curriculum for the academy all over the table, scribbling something. After a while of scribbling, she lifted her head.
‘This isn’t easy.’
What she had drafted was a plan for the next three years.
Putting into words the thoughts she had in her mind was turning out to be more challenging than expected.
“This is probably enough.”
Nodding at the framework of her plan, Rania knew adjustments were needed later, but for now, it was sufficient.
“You can do this, superhuman!”
It was indeed a hefty subject.
While she wrote it lightly, the path to that goal was by no means easy.
‘I confirmed the Holy Grail’s abilities, but…’
The trials of the Holy Grail had a difficulty level beyond imagination. That was something Rania had overlooked.
Even Kalt, who was inching towards superhuman levels, barely passed the trial. The difficulty Kalt later described was far beyond her expectations.
“It was like what Kuntel looked like when facing Ganikalt.”
The ultimate knight.
To deliver a “single blow” to such a knight.
That was the trial presented to Kalt.
‘I don’t know how exactly the difficulty of the trials is measured, but…’
To even envision her students overcoming challenges of such immense difficulty… She had no idea how much time it would require.
‘I knew it wouldn’t be easy.’
This necessitated a change in how she viewed the Holy Grail.
The Holy Grail was merely a means to enable one to become a superhuman ‘without losing,’ not a treasure that reduced the difficulty of attaining superhuman status.
Although the plan had shortened time compared to before acquiring the Holy Grail…
The fact remained that it wasn’t going to be simple.
“Three years from now.”
A turning point that will arrive in three years.
Before that moment, she needed to finalize the plan, even if it meant pushing herself hard.
The second and third truths.
Whispers from the braver.
The ancient kingdom of Arcadia.
Rania’s eyes dimmed as she recalled her recent experiences. She repeatedly checked the overall structure of her plan.
Three years.
A long time if seen as long, short if seen as short.
Ahead of the full-fledged ‘training,’ Rania felt the need to quantify the direction she needed to pursue and the level.
“I should at least take a look.”
What form her students’ trials would take.
—
3.
Mana Trading Studies Professor’s Office.
“Huh? Who was the strongest among the people I’ve met?”
Belnoa blinked in response to the somewhat abrupt question.
‘Is this a philosophical test?’
Of course, saying “It’s Professor Rania” would result in being branded and cursed with relentless assignments… Was this kind of philosophical verification something like that?
“Yeah. The strongest person. Someone you felt was a wall.”
However, observing Rania’s serious expression, it seemed this was no lighthearted inquiry. Belnoa pondered it thoughtfully.
“…Honestly, the person I felt the most fear from was the Gletus.”
The city at night.
The being he saw when he was kidnapped.
“It felt alien… like the whole essence was different. It didn’t even seem like a life of the same kind…”
It was an emotion hard to articulate with words.
As Belnoa floundered, Rania nodded.
“I understand what you mean.”
I had experienced it too.
As Rania continued, she added.
“But aside from that… Who do you find admirable, someone you think, ‘I want to reach that level…’?”
“That would be… Professor Rania.”
It was genuine, not just sycophantic.
During the repulsion of the traitor, Belnoa had watched as Rania poured her life into the balance. The radiance that engulfed every corner was deeply engraved in Belnoa’s mind.
“The scene when you dashed at the traitor, scattering platinum starlight, was probably… just…”
“Damn it.”
“…Huh?”
Rania squinted her eyes, pressing them shut tightly.
“I had this feeling, but it got a bit complicated. Hmm…”
Groaning, Rania swiftly turned to look at Lac sitting next to Belnoa.
“Lac, how about you?”
“Um…”
Lac stroked his chin and opened his mouth.
“First off, the opponent I felt the wall against was the Sword Demon, Draka. I sensed the wall during the final moments of facing his technique…”
“But didn’t I shred that apart?”
“Indeed.”
“Then, in your mind, who’s the strongest?”
“The great Professor Rania.”
“Can we drop the ‘great’ part?”
Rania sighed.
Glancing at Belnoa and Lac with a pitying look, she said.
“You two… seem like you’re really going to struggle…”
Belnoa and Lac exchanged confused glances.
A comment from the author (author’s note)
Hoeeek!
