The Hero Disciple Is Back - Chapter 71



70. The Master thought, ‘It won’t work after all’

I decided to try to become stronger.

So what should we do to become stronger?

Of course, effort is important. It is important, but… Unfortunately, effort does not always lead to good results. In this world, there are far more people who work hard than those who do not. However, only a very small number of people achieve the treasure of success because effort alone does not solve everything. This is truly a sad and cruel truth.

But still, effort is important. In a world where the difficulty level is so high that effort alone is not enough, it is natural that you cannot achieve anything without even trying.

Effort is the basics

So what is important to become strong?

that….

It’s knowledge.

If talent doesn’t work, there is no other way than to gather knowledge and find a way.

Today, I decided to take the time to gather just such knowledge.

I’m talking to the strongest being.

“Ahem!”

Hatchling Rhea, who wears a white gown and glasses that an alchemist would wear, which she magically created, and even coughs to show off her ‘I am a teacher’ vibe.

That sight was so cute that I couldn’t help but laugh, but I somehow held it back because I knew that my teacher would get angry if I showed it.

“So, are you ready for class, Jade?”

“Yes, sir.”

“You did a great job!”

As he said that, he flew in front of me and patted my head. Hmm. I didn’t expect this class to be serious… But he was cute, so I decided to ignore it. Cute is cute, and cuteness is forgivable. … Ahem.

Ouch!

I had to experience an eerie feeling. It was as if someone was looking into my body from head to toe… .

I could instinctively feel that it was Leah who had done it. Right now, Leah was looking at me perfectly. I guess this is also one of the dragons’ special abilities. Is this really… a perfect race?

“I think Dad needs to know how the wind feels.”

“How does the wind feel?”

“Father, your source is no longer simply an aura, but the energy of nature. So wouldn’t it be a shame not to apply it?”

“…ah.”

I was definitely applying the mana of nature. I was applying it, but… . The source and foundation of it was ultimately the experience I had accumulated during my time as a mercenary. No matter how high-quality the ingredients were, if the chef who cooked them only had experience cooking in a tavern, there was no way he could properly handle them. It was no different for me. I thought I was studying and applying the mana of nature in my own way… . But there were bound to be limitations.

‘… If it’s nature’s mana, then it’s certainly possible to apply nature’s power.’

Fire, water, earth, wind

You might be able to handle one of the four major attributes. Maybe one of the more difficult ones, like light and darkness… .

‘So… I had a treasure, but I didn’t know it was a treasure?’

Although I used that treasure well, it was only at a ‘good’ level. If you were to ask if I really used that power properly, perfectly, and effectively… I couldn’t shamelessly give a positive answer.

‘Is this why it is said that those who lack learning or those who do not want to learn cannot hide their shortcomings?’

When nobles or knights talked like that, I thought they were just talking nonsense, but seeing this, I guess I can’t just ignore it as nonsense.

‘… Or maybe I was just lazy from the beginning.’

From the first time I picked up a sword

From the time I started working as a mercenary

I certainly did my best to survive. No one can deny that. Because I, my soul, knew better than anyone else that I did my best to survive.

but

If you ask me if I really did my best to become strong… .

I couldn’t think of anything to say.

It’s not like I didn’t try hard to become a Grade A mercenary. However, it was an effort to survive, out of necessity. It was never an effort to become stronger. Trying to become stronger to survive and becoming stronger to become stronger are different.

Becoming strong in order to survive is only a means to survival, but trying to become strong for the sake of becoming strong is literally everything. You risk everything just to become strong. It is bound to be different from prioritizing survival.

‘Was I just a lazy idiot who thought I was smart?’

As you climb the mountain of life, you sometimes come across such people. People who treat the people who are climbing the mountain with all their might as fools, and people who are struggling and climbing down there as fools, and people who just sit there and treat everything as fools. You tend to see people who just sit there and talk and do nothing, as if they think they are something or are incredibly wise.

I’ve seen a lot of those kinds of idiots, too. There are a lot of them in the mercenary industry. When one of those idiots goes out to the battlefield and dies, another idiot shows up and starts making noises. When he dies again, another idiot takes his place and starts making noises again. It’s a vicious cycle of idiots.

But then I found out that I was that kind of guy too?

… it couldn’t be anything other than a possibility that I neither wanted to imagine nor accept.

‘If it’s a direction you don’t want to think about, then just don’t think about it.’

It’s not like I had any great pride in my past life… If I had lived a bad life, I could just say, “Oh, I guess that’s how it was.” I try to correct my mistakes and become a better me in the future. That’s all I can do, and I just don’t want to do anything else, so I just don’t do it.

Doing what you want to do and not doing what you don’t want to do. This was one of the survival skills you had to learn if you wanted to survive as a mercenary.

“So you’re saying that I can control the mood of the wind… the wind attribute well?”

“Yeah! Dad can do it in no time! Maybe he can become an all-rounder who can perfectly handle all the attributes! No, Dad can do it!”

All-rounder

It literally means that he can handle all attributes. Among humans, only one legendary great sage, not a very small number of people, was able to reach the level of an all-rounder.

In the first place, being an all-rounder was a privilege only available to dragons, who were perfect beings. Naturally, it wasn’t something that other races could do just because they wanted to. Rather, it was safe to say that it was a miracle that the legendary great sage who had reached a level that was absolutely unattainable had created.

Leah was saying that I could reach such an absurd level of miracles.

‘They say that if a parent fools their child, they end up ruining the child… . But it turns out that this holds true even if the roles of parents and children are reversed… .’

I couldn’t help but laugh awkwardly. Still, I couldn’t help but feel good when I thought that my daughter liked me that much.

“… The reaction is strange.”

Leah, who was very perceptive, half-opened her eyes and stared at my face with suspicion, as if she thought I wasn’t a perfect being.

In times like this, it’s a good idea to quickly change the subject.

“How can I know how the wind feels?”

“It’s simple! Just summon the spirit!”

government ordinance

Since they appear in countless fairy tales, it is impossible not to know about their existence. However, if you ask if spirits are close to people, you can only shake your head. Even in this world where all sorts of amazing things happen through magic or divine power, there is a realm of mystery that is not easily accessible, and spirits are included in that realm of mystery.

Everyone knows that it exists. However, we cannot contact it even if we want to. Does it sound easy for people to talk to nature? Of course it cannot be easy. It is not something that can be done just by wanting to do it. That is why many people have tried to meet the spirits, but none of them have succeeded.

“The spirits… .”

“Teeet! You shouldn’t be weak-hearted already!”

It stung. To be honest, I couldn’t help but feel stung because I was thinking, ‘It’s not going to work out anyway.’

“The important thing is to have the will to do it!”

“Do you think you can do it?”

“What’s important is the obvious mindset that you can do this much!”

Hmm… .

People who are overly confident say, “I can definitely do this!” and start off with determination… I wasn’t that type at all. I always tried to analyze things carefully and listened. It was only natural for me to have an unfamiliar experience of blindly rushing in with only confidence.

‘My daughter says that. I think I’ll just try it once.’

Because Leah was the teacher and I was the student.

From noble mtl dot com

If the teacher tells the student to do something, isn’t it natural that the student should do it?

So I closed my eyes.

And he called the wind spirit.

Of course, I believe they will listen to what I have to say.

After about a minute passed like that… .

‘There’s no way it’ll work…’

It can’t be that easy

It was when I was about to open my eyes.

-Over here!

-I’m here to tell you!

-Over here! Over here!

Suddenly, numerous voices began to ring in my ears.

‘…Huh? Is this okay?’

… This is what happened.

… so embarrassingly, utterly embarrassing.