Chapter 102

Posted by Kuze, ? Views, Released on January 26, 2025

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Episode 102. The Talent of Knowing When to Give Up (5)

Among the trio, Taragon is inevitably considered the weakest.

It’s a matter of talent and effort. He wasn’t as talented as Anis or Luke, nor did he work as hard as them. Falling behind was only natural.

But he was the first to successfully injure Jairo.

Taragon, who craves praise, should have been happy, but there was no smile on his face. Instead, he looked depressed.

“Why the long face, Taragon? It’s not a fatal wound, but you were the first to land a hit.”

Anis tried to comfort Taragon, but Taragon shook his head.

“Brother! I practically cheated. It’s nothing to be proud of.”

“Cheated? All I saw was you brilliantly using dual enchantment and boldly closing in on Jairo to shoot an arrow.”

“No. My dual enchantment is far inferior to yours or Sir Luke’s. How could I have landed a hit on Jairo? It’s all because… I spent a week analyzing Jairo.”

“How is analyzing Jairo cheating?”

“Because it has nothing to do with archery or martial arts. In the Southern Sword Tournament, there’s no time to leisurely observe your opponent. Besides, it took me a whole week to notice Jairo’s attack patterns. I was only able to shoot an arrow into his shoulder by exploiting a flaw in his habits. It won’t work in a tournament, let alone in real combat… It’s cheating.”

“…Hmm.”

Anis stroked his chin. Taragon had a point. Luke, who was listening nearby, also stayed silent, unsure of what to say.

At that moment, Keter, who had been listening to the conversation, stepped forward.

“Number 3. I misjudged you.”

Taragon, interpreting this as “You’re a despicable trash!”, looked crestfallen.

“I thought you were a talentless mediocrity.”

“I’m sorry, Instructor… My desire to defeat Jairo was so strong that I resorted to cheating. I’ll withdraw from training…”

“Listen to the end. You have talent. The talent to know when to give up.”

“…?!”

Even if there are many types of talent, the talent to give up? Neither Luke nor Anis had ever heard of such a thing.

“You said you observed Jairo for a week. That’s because you gave up on defeating Jairo from the start. You were certain you couldn’t perform the dual and stacked enchantments I taught you.”

No matter how you looked at it, it didn’t sound like praise. Taragon, as well as Luke and Anis, looked puzzled.

“Number 3. You can see yourself objectively. Not too little, not too much—just your own level. That’s why you know when to give up boldly.”

If you can’t see yourself objectively, you won’t know whether to keep going or give up.

You might not give up because you regret the time spent, or you might not give up because you don’t want to admit your own incompetence. That’s why there are so many reckless people who don’t give up even after experiencing failure.

Of course, among them, there are those who, despite repeated failures, eventually succeed.

But very few people can try again after failing. Some people’s lives end after just one failure. Opportunities aren’t distributed equally to everyone.

If you’re from a prestigious family, you have the chance to try again after many failures. That’s an undeniable fact. But there’s no guarantee that you’ll succeed.

There’s no tree that won’t fall after a hundred strikes. But challenging isn’t about striking the same tree a hundred times. Each challenge is about striking a new tree.

Even if you challenge a hundred or a thousand times, if your axe doesn’t change, the tree won’t fall. What needs to change isn’t the goal, but the person striving to achieve it.

Taragon was that type of person.

If I can’t chop down a tree with an axe, no matter how many times I try, if I have no talent for axe-wielding, why should I stubbornly stick to the axe?

I’ll use a saw to slowly cut down the tree over time. If that doesn’t work, I’ll replace the axe blade with a much better one.

That was Taragon’s unique talent, different from others. He didn’t stubbornly stick to just one way to solve a problem.

“As you said, in real combat, there’s no time to leisurely analyze your opponent. You have to predict what attack your opponent will make based solely on the angle of their arm, the shape of their weapon, and the stride of their foot in real-time. But you’re not that kind of genius. Nor is it wise to blindly fight your opponent. If you’re at a disadvantage, create an advantageous situation. Don’t fight where and when your opponent wants. Choose your own advantageous place and time to fight. Even if it’s cowardly and petty, living is better than dying bravely.”

Keter glanced at Luke and Anis.

“That doesn’t mean Number 1 and Number 3 are fools for not analyzing like you. They did analyze, but not as deeply. They spent that time honing themselves instead. It’s a difference in method. Each becomes stronger in their own way. This isn’t cheating. It’s the right path. All three of you are doing well. You’re doing well.”

Keter’s mood changed in an instant. His face twisted as he raised his fist.

“Too slow. You’re growing too slowly. Are you planning to wait until Jairo dies of old age? From now on, rest time is reduced from 30 minutes to 20 minutes.”

“Ugh…!”

Taragon, who had been smiling at Keter’s praise, now cried at the harsh announcement.

The trio’s time of hardship passed relatively quickly. Day by day, they visibly grew thinner. It was only natural, given the extreme physical exertion every day and the meager meals.

But their attacks became sharper and faster. All according to Keter’s plan.

‘If you try to control your movements with just muscle strength, you can only move within common sense limits. So, I’ll eliminate the muscles. You’ll have no choice but to use aura to compensate for the lack of muscle strength.’

Moreover, for nobles like them, ‘hunger’ is an unfamiliar pain. It’s not something you can endure just by trying.

Keter promised them. If they defeated Jairo, he would prepare a feast. Setting a reward greatly boosted their motivation.

In front of the trio, Keter berated them for their slow growth, but in truth, they weren’t slow. They were fast. But not fast enough for Keter.

‘It’s already been two weeks. They’re now on par with Jairo, but it’s still a long way to subduing him. At this rate, it’ll take another three weeks.’

One more week.

That was the last time Keter thought they had.

‘Squeezing more out of their stamina and mental strength is impossible. If I use an elixir to restore them, the poison they’ve built up will disappear. They’ll grow complacent again. There must be another way to make them grow…’

Snap!

Keter flicked his finger.

He had thought of a way to make the trio grow rapidly. A technique they had never experienced before.

“It’s been a month, hasn’t it? Time to see that guy.”

Keter headed to the prison.

* * *

The prison where Baydant’s knights were held.

Originally, there were seven, but six were released after the Baydant family paid the ransom.

The last remaining person was Dragon Spear Jordic. The ransom negotiations had stalled.

Sephira and Baydant had smoothly negotiated the ransom for ordinary members at 20,000 gold and for Vice-Commander Arbold at 90,000 gold, but they were stuck on Jordic’s ransom.

No, Baydant was even more upset. Basil had demanded 500,000 gold for Jordic.

“500,000 gold? That’s too greedy, Lord Sephira. Let’s compromise at 200,000 gold.”

In response to Bolos, the Branch House Lord of the Baydant family leading the negotiations, Basil drew a firm line.

“400,000 gold. I won’t release Jordic for less.”

Basil had been told by Keter that he could demand ten times as much, but holding prisoners also consumed a significant amount of manpower, and he needed money for the upcoming Southern Sword Tournament, so he compromised a lot.

But he had no intention of releasing Jordic easily or at a reasonable price. Out of spite.

For now, he would release the knights for money, but next time, he would eliminate them on sight.

“…It will take time to prepare 400,000 gold in cash. I’ll issue a promissory note instead.”

“Cash only.”

“Fine. See you in a week.”

The Baydant family was also participating in the Southern Sword Tournament, and Jordic was their rising star. They needed to prepare for the tournament as soon as possible.

This negotiation had taken place three days ago. Now, with just two days left before Jordic could return to Baydant, a visitor arrived.

Jordic, who had been meditating facing the wall, pricked up his ears.

“It’s not meal time. Is it finally time for release?”

Clank, the prison door opened. The person who walked in smacked Jordic on the back of the head.

“Release? You’re rotting here forever.”

Feeling the pain first, Jordic heard Keter’s voice and jumped up.

“You! You finally showed up in front of me!”

Jordic, who had sworn thousands of times to tear Keter apart, lunged at him.

But his strength and aura were sealed. He couldn’t do anything to Keter with movements slightly better than an ordinary person’s.

Keter pushed him down with his foot and sneered.

“Dragon Spear Jordic? More like Worm Jordic.”

“Grrr… Just wait until I get out of this prison. You’re a dead man.”

“Perfect timing. I came to make you an offer you can’t refuse.”

“Want to hear a secret? Then you’ll have to pay the price. You think you can hear my secret empty-handed?”

Jordic, who had just been shouting about tearing Keter apart, had a bit of drool at the corner of his mouth. A result of being conditioned by Keter’s torture methods.

“Let’s make a bet with that secret. If you lose, you tell me a secret. If you win, I’ll release you right now.”

“What?! Release?! You’re not trying to trick me, are you?”

“I swear on Sephira.”

But Jordic wasn’t the type to take that at face value.

“What kind of bet? You’re planning to bring something I can’t possibly win.”

“I said it’s an offer you can’t refuse. A match. If you win the match, I’ll release you.”

“Fight with my strength and aura sealed?”

“I’ll release all of it. I’ll even give you your spear back.”

“……”

Jordic’s eyes narrowed. Keter’s conditions were too generous.

“One-on-one?”

“Yes.”

“Where will we fight?”

“The training ground.”

“You’re not planning to impose any other restrictions, are you?”

“No.”

“Hmm. Lastly, who am I fighting?”

Jordic was confident he could beat anyone from Sephira. But he wasn’t sure about the Lunar Knight Commander or the Lord of Sephira.

“A retired knight.”

“A retired knight…”

In this world, retirement has two meanings. Either you retire because you’re dead, or you retire because you’re old. If it’s the latter, it’s either a 2-Star or 3-Star Knight. The possibility of it being a 4-Star or higher is zero.

Once aura reaches a certain level, aging slows down. Achieving the 4-Star realm suppresses aging, allowing one to maintain a middle-aged appearance even at 80.

So a retired knight is definitely either a 2-Star or 3-Star. Of course, someone who has retired without dying by now would have a high level of skill and experience—

‘But still, it’s just a knight from an archery family.’

Jordic was certain he couldn’t lose.

But would Keter not know that? There must be some other trick.

‘Ah, I see. He wants to test our family’s secret spear technique, Moonlight Spear Technique!’

No matter how great a technique is, it always has a weakness. It might not be obvious, but the Moonlight Spear Technique definitely has a weakness.

‘Heh heh heh, so that’s it. He wants to analyze our family’s Moonlight Spear Technique to counter it. Well then, I’ll accept this match.’

Jordic laughed inwardly but spoke with a serious expression.

“It’s a bit fishy, but I’ll trust you and accept the match.”

“An offer you can’t refuse, right? Follow me. I’ve already brought your weapon to the training ground. I’ll release the seals there.”

Keter had prepared everything, confident that Jordic would accept the offer.

Jordic headed to the training ground, reviewing his plan in his head.

‘Stupid fool. You think I’ll dance to your tune? I don’t even need to use the Moonlight Spear Technique against a retired archery knight. I’ll win with just Lannachar.’

The fundamental basics of spear technique, Lannachar.

Lan, spinning the spear outward—

Na, pulling the spear inward—

Char, thrusting the spear to counter.

Simple as it may seem, this basic technique is the foundation and entirety of spear technique.

Keter led Jordic to the deserted 4th Training Ground.

Luke, Taragon, and Anis were the first to greet Keter. Then they saw Jordic beside him and widened their eyes.

Jordic didn’t recognize the trio and just frowned.

‘What are these beggars? The stench of rot is reaching here. Tch.’

He looked around. Where was the retired knight he was supposed to fight?

At that moment, Keter handed him a cross spear from the side. He released the strength seal and the aura-suppressing bracelet.

“You’ll need to use every ounce of strength you’ve ever had to survive.”