Chapter 234
‘What did I just do?’
Of course, none of the people here were blind—they all saw and understood what Encrid had done.
‘Dodge, close in, strike.’
A sequence of moves anyone could do.
But it was different. Even if anyone could do it, to do it so effortlessly was another story entirely.
If Encrid had pulled off such a result using some unusual swordplay or trick, they would’ve admired his cleverness—but they wouldn’t have been this shocked.
“Hm?”
The half-giant’s eyebrow twitched. So did Swallow Blade’s. Swallow Blade suddenly gripped his sword tightly.
It was a reflex.
‘If he tried that on me, could I stop it?’
He could—if he saw it coming.
‘But what if it started before I noticed?’
Even though the weather wasn’t cold yet, he felt a chill like a gust of wind.
Swallow Blade let go of his sword and rubbed his arm for no reason.
He shivered, goosebumps rising.
‘What’s with this guy?’
It had only been a few days.
And it wasn’t just Swallow Blade who was surprised.
Everyone else—including Rem—was startled too.
But none of the squad showed it outwardly.
In truth, they’d gotten a little used to it. It wasn’t the first time something like this had happened; they just didn’t show their surprise anymore.
‘What did he just do?’
Rem stroked his chin and thought. Audin had a similar idea.
‘Even if the Isolation Technique changes your body…’
Could talent appear where there was none?
Audin knew his own eye. He could see what the Isolation Technique did to a body.
He wasn’t a talent judge like Frok, but he could recognize talent.
And to him, Encrid wasn’t someone who’d stepped into the realm of talent.
He wasn’t a genius. Not even what you’d call a prodigy.
‘Just persistence.’
That stubbornness that didn’t know how to give up.
Never backing down from any hardship a god sent his way.
That’s what put him here now.
Audin saw the will of God.
God asked: Will you give up? Why? Because you didn’t get what you wanted? Is that where your faith ends?
That’s how your flower of faith withered.
That’s how your spring ended.
That’s how your season ended.
“No, Father.”
Audin muttered.
Ragna didn’t even glance at Audin saying this right next to him.
He didn’t hear it at all.
He was too busy watching Encrid.
‘Again?’
He’d changed.
That was all. He changed, Ragna was surprised, and now he realized it.
Watching Encrid’s growth had become routine.
How did he improve? How could he change so much?
He gave up looking for a reason. Knowing wouldn’t change anything, and he couldn’t know anyway.
And if you asked, you’d just get a predictable answer.
“Just did my best.”
Sometimes he’d joke:
“Turns out I was a genius.”
That’s all you’d hear.
So there was no point asking. Just accept it.
Everyone was shocked, but the most surprised was Edin Molsen, who got hit.
Next was Encrid himself.
“Again!”
Edin Molsen jumped up and shouted.
For someone who’d just been struck, he seemed strangely fine.
Truth was, Encrid had held back at the end. If he hadn’t, the count’s son might’ve been coughing up blood.
So he pulled his punch, which is why Edin Molsen could get up and run his mouth again.
Encrid blinked three times.
He was processing what had just happened.
‘Ah.’
A brief realization struck, little sparks in his head.
‘Pell.’
Why had he gone so wild trying to beat the Shepherd of the Wilderness when he first met him?
‘Because he’s a genius.’
Younger than him, a genius. He gave off the same feeling as the brat who’d knocked Encrid down the first time he set foot on the continent.
In short, Pell was a genius.
That genius raised his own skills to match Encrid’s growth.
In those repeating days, even if Encrid kept Pell from drawing his sword, a sword-wielding Pell was formidable.
His habits changed often, and he fixed bad habits on the spot.
Encrid might have been the one trapped in repeating days, but his opponent changed too.
That’s why he couldn’t feel his own growth.
Pell’s talent was just too great.
‘Thanks to Pell.’
So obsessed with that sword, he failed to see it clearly.
No—he knew his opponent was amazing, but hadn’t realized how much he himself had changed to keep up.
Once he understood everything, Encrid spoke.
“All right.”
He nodded to Edin Molsen’s challenge.
He wanted to move, to feel it again, to properly grasp and confirm it.
“…You.”
Even the rapier swordsman seemed shocked, unable to continue. His eyes trembled as he stood there, mouth open. Encrid simply faced Edin Molsen.
“Don’t count on the goddess of luck!”
Edin said fiercely, as if the last match had just been luck.
Edin slashed his sword again.
Whoosh.
Encrid dodged ‘in advance.’ When fighting Pell, he had to read movement from the feet, shoulders, hands, arms, waist, everything.
Otherwise, he’d get cut and the match would end just like that.
What he gained from that—
He fully opened the Gate of the Sixth Sense and used it. His senses flared, reading his opponent’s every move.
It was the reward for countless duels and crossing the river of death.
Encrid dodged Edin’s sword, pressed down on Edin’s wrist, hooked his left foot behind Edin’s heel, and pushed his chest with his palm.
Edin tried to resist, but even though he’d attacked first, Encrid stole his position, balance, and timing.
With a whoosh, Edin was airborne.
He hit the ground with a thud, mouth gaping like a fish.
Now that he thought about it, the first time they met—when he’d mistaken Edin for a coachman or guard—he’d floored him with the same move.
Valaf Style Martial Arts—Breaking Balance.
“Are you all right?”
Encrid asked. Edin’s face turned red. Two duels, two nearly identical results.
And the second time, it was the same technique as before.
He couldn’t even blame it on the goddess of luck.
Edin wasn’t shameless enough for that.
He got up.
“I lost.”
Edin spoke and turned away. Then, just before leaving, he glanced back and asked,
“Did you really forget my name?”
Encrid stared at his face for a moment.
You’d think he’d remember. He usually had a pretty good memory.
But nothing came to mind.
What would happen if he admitted it right here?
Before Edin Molsen’s face could contort—
“Brother, he was just provoking you. Why ask?”
A clear voice called out.
It was, obviously, his mixed-blood brother.
At Audin’s words, Edin clicked his tongue, turned away. He looked frustrated, but maybe a bit relieved too—strangely so.
Audin stared at Encrid with a blank face. There was no reading his emotions in those eyes.
Encrid turned away.
There were others.
Swallow Blade, the half-giant, Count Molsen’s guard, the rapier swordsman.
“Who’s first?”
At his question—
“Me.”
No sooner had he asked than the answer came. The half-giant stepped up, thumping her shield.
“Let’s fight.”
Up until about four hundred days ago, Encrid had been obsessed with sparring with these people.
He fought. He never backed down. And in that time, some things had changed.
It wasn’t something Encrid did intentionally, but some changes just happened naturally.
The half-giant’s fighting spirit was burning.
Even she knew she felt different than usual.
‘Whatever he just did…’
This man before her really had a talent for making people want to fight him. He even made her rethink how she used her sword and shield, morning and night.
Most of all—
“I’ll break you.”
He had a knack for provoking competitiveness and the desire to win.
Had she ever wanted to win against someone this much before?
No, it was a first.
So, the half-giant’s lips twisted upward. It was a smile—a laugh.
Encrid found it a little absurd.
‘She was always expressionless, wasn’t she?’
That he remembered clearly. Even if he’d forgotten Edin Molsen’s name, he remembered the half-giant’s face, specialties, and skills.
When Encrid raised his sword, the half-giant flicked it with her own.
Ting.
It was a greeting.
Soon, a shield covered his view.
A gray wall—the half-giant’s specialty and a technique he’d been hit by many times before.
Back then, he had to use footwork to break through and counterattack, but now, he didn’t need to.
As the shield came up, Encrid charged straight in.
He didn’t try to circle, didn’t use fancy steps.
It was a straightforward charge.
Encrid pressed close to the shield, switched his sword to his left hand, and laid the blade flat against the top of the shield, twisting his stance so his right foot pressed against the lower outside of the shield.
His body naturally pressed to the side of the shield, right hand bracing the lower middle.
The force coming at him was intense, but being so close, the half-giant couldn’t see all of Encrid’s movements.
No matter how skilled you are, if you can’t see, you get caught.
Encrid used a modified version of a Valaf Style Martial Arts move—Lifting Throw—against the charging shield.
“Well done, brother!”
Audin shouted without thinking.
Encrid ignored it, focusing on what he’d intended to do.
Whoosh.
He reversed the incoming force, lifting from below.
If Encrid’s strength had been lacking, he’d have ended up like a mantis crushed under a wagon, but he had the heart of monstrous strength.
During the repeating days, his heart had grown stronger and sturdier, making his blood race.
Right foot and right hand pushed out, left hand and torso supported, and he threw upward.
Taking a silent breath, bracing his core, he heaved up and over.
The sight of the half-giant flying through the air was enough to make everyone’s eyes go wide.
She’d never experienced being thrown like that by someone else’s strength.
Shocked, she flew.
It was almost like he’d ignored the laws of nature.
As she sailed, she instinctively aimed her shield beneath herself as she landed.
Thunk!
Using the shield for a sort of breakfall, she wasn’t badly hurt.
But her defenses lagged behind for a moment.
Encrid’s sword was already at the giant’s neck, blade stopping just at the skin.
The half-giant realized she’d lost.
“…Did you just throw me?”
She asked in surprise.
“Why? Is it your first time? Everyone has a first.”
Encrid answered like it was nothing.
His sharp tongue sometimes acted before his mind.
“I see.”
The half-giant acknowledged her defeat. Of course, Encrid didn’t think losing meant she had to leave.
And this time, luck was on his side.
His opponent hadn’t fully gauged her own strength.
The sudden change had left her unprepared. She wasn’t someone who should lose so easily—Encrid knew that better than anyone.
That’s why he could say it.
“Let’s do it again tomorrow.”
At his words, the half-giant stared at him.
Big brown eyes. She’d never shown any emotion in those eyes before, but now it looked like there was something.
“You really are a strange one.”
The half-giant said. Then she added, “Yeah, let’s do it again,” and stood up.
It looked bold and hearty.
“Damn, you really tossed her.”
Rem expressed his own admiration from behind.
“Care to spar with me too?”
Really, was the half-giant the only one Encrid had affected?
There was also the bodyguard, quietly burning with his own resolve.
Encrid rotated his arm.
‘Just now…’
Didn’t that monstrous heart pound even stronger?
No wonder Rem was impressed enough to say, “You really tossed her.”
He must have seen it.
That his heart was pulsing out power even more dynamically.
This too was something gained from the repeated todays.
“Good.”
Encrid nodded. He was starting to really enjoy himself.
This was the process of recognizing and utilizing his own changes through sparring.
How could it not be fun?
The duel with the bodyguard was different from the half-giant.
The bodyguard was cautious from the start, his sword focused on absolute defense.
Encrid began slowly, then gradually accelerated his swings.
Watching, the rapier swordsman realized Encrid was measuring what he could do right now.
Naturally, a question arose.
‘What the hell is this guy?’
How could someone change so much in just a few days?
It’s not as if he’d suddenly learned some amazing technique.
It was just that every technique he had—
‘Became refined.’
It looked as if he’d risked his life, testing his skills countless times. You could sense the confidence that comes from such time. You could see the stubbornness of someone who had swung his sword over and over to find the right way.
It wasn’t a bad thing. Anyone who’s wandered countless times on the wrong path doesn’t hesitate once they find the right one.
You could see traces of all that in his sword swings, his steps.
‘How?’
Right now, Encrid’s body showed the weight of time. He couldn’t understand how, but it was certain.
The rapier swordsman saw that.
It truly was something impossible to comprehend.
Their duel lasted quite a while, but in the end, the bodyguard lost.
He’d been at a disadvantage from the start and focused solely on defense.
No, you can’t win against someone like this while hiding your real strength. The count’s bodyguard had held back.
But that didn’t matter.
Only then did the rapier swordsman step forward.
He faced Encrid. From the other end of the training hall, it was the moment to press down and overwhelm with pressure.
“Even if your skills have improved, nothing will change.”
You’ve honed your abilities?
So what’s changed?
‘Will’ is the domain of the innately gifted.
If it were possible just by wanting it, by trying, by having enough time,
‘Anyone could do it.’
Then there wouldn’t be so few knights in the world.
If effort was enough, the number of knights would double.
That’s why he was sure.
This opponent could never withstand his pressure.
“Step back.”
With those words, the rapier swordsman summoned his will.
At once, intangible blades arose.
Encrid responded by knocking aside every invisible blade he saw. That’s what he had always done.
But now, things were different.
Shing.
Encrid sheathed his sword.
He didn’t need to swing it. The moment he faced the pressure, he realized it.
