CHAPTER 69

Encrid had a dream.

There was a flower field and a woman.

"I'm going to rely on you for a while, just so you know."

She had an aura of mysterious charm.

Even though Encrid rarely took a second look at women, she seemed hard to forget.

The dream was chaotic.

First a flower field, then a black river, then a ferryman appeared, then the woman, and suddenly a panther.

'Why are you here?'

He asked inwardly, and the panther shook its head and then turned away as if pouting.

Finding it adorable, Encrid couldn't resist and scratched the top of its head with his fingers.

Grrrr.

He had heard that the lake panther was a fierce beast, but at moments like this, it was just like a cat.

It purred in satisfaction, a sound that Encrid found comforting.

Then he briefly opened his eyes, finding it hard to distinguish between dream and reality.

The woman he saw in the flower field and the black river was in his arms.

And she was naked.

He blinked, and the woman disappeared, replaced by the top of the panther's head. It must have been a dream.

'For a dream...'

The lingering weight in his arms, the scent and warmth that couldn't have come from a small panther, left a strange impression.

'This dream feels too real.'

Then sleep overtook him again, and Encrid didn't resist the pull.

When he woke up in the morning, the panther, which never left his side until he awoke, was nowhere to be seen.

"Panther, Esther."

He recalled the name he had given in his half-asleep state.

Then he saw the lake panther standing stiffly in one corner.

It was hiding so well in the shadows of the quarters that it was hard to spot unless you looked closely.

With eyes as blue as a lake and fur as black as ebony.

It walked across the floor with delicate steps and then sat gracefully in one spot.

It settled on a leather mat made for it to rest on, of course, a heated leather mat.

'From nothing to luxury overnight.'

The sight of even a panther grooming its claws on a heated mat was remarkable.

There was jerky laid out, probably brought by Big Eyes or Rem.

The panther lazily cut the jerky with its claws and began to chew it.

But why did he feel so empty?

Because the small animal that warmed his arms in the morning was gone?

Or was the dream too vivid?

He felt he could draw the naked woman from the dream with precise detail.

Of course, he had no talent for drawing, so it would be a mess.

But the memory was that clear.

'She was beautiful, indeed.'

Her beauty was exceptional, almost comparable to the Fairy Company Commander, who boasted an inhuman beauty.

"What are you thinking so hard about?"

"I had a dream, and it stuck with me too vividly."

Esther looked at Encrid. The panther's gaze was peculiar.

When he mentioned his name in the dream, the impression might have been stronger than he thought.

For someone with weak willpower, just that could have been mentally impactful.

So, what should he do?

Should he find a way to use the panther's body to do something about it?

The panther became serious.

"What kind of dream was it?"

Rem asked, rolling up in the leather mat.

"Are you a caterpillar?"

"That's right. I'm a caterpillar. A big-mouthed caterpillar. So feed me breakfast. Otherwise, this weak caterpillar will starve to death."

This guy was definitely half-mad.

Encrid ignored Rem's words. He was the kind of guy you could do that to.

"So what kind of dream was it?"

Rem asked again. Encrid scratched his chin and replied.

"It was a strange dream."

"Strange?"

Rem tilted his head. Since only his head was sticking out, he expressed everything through his face and head. That in itself was a talent.

"I saw a naked woman."

"Grrk! Cough, cough!"

'Hmm?'

Encrid's eyes turned to the panther.

The panther was coughing repeatedly, as if a piece of jerky had gotten stuck in its throat.

"Esther?"

The panther ignored the call, its head still buried in the floor.

It was a panther that exuded mystery from the moment they first met.

A beast among beasts, the owner of the Green Pearl.

A lake-eyed panther, the Lake Panther.

Such a fierce beast was now coughing and drooling on the floor.

"Ugh!"

It seemed like it might die from choking.

"I've never seen a panther die from choking on jerky, so was she pretty?"

She was extremely pretty.

But he didn't answer. What was the point?

It was just a dream, after all.

"Aren't you moving too slowly because it's winter, Rem?"

Encrid said, getting up.

Once he stood, he realized there wasn't a part of his body that didn't ache.

Just moving was painful.

But staying still at times like this only made things worse. He knew that from experience.

That didn't mean he needed to train. In the past, he might have pushed himself harder out of impatience.

But he knew that doing so would only damage his body further. Since learning that, he had set boundaries.

He wasn't as impatient as he used to be.

'Rest is also part of training.'

Countless swordsmanship instructors had said that.

If you stretch your body adequately today, tomorrow will be a bit more comfortable. The monk exercises he learned from Audin should suffice.

"So, was she pretty or not?"

"What does it matter? It was just a dream."

He gave a vague answer and went outside. It was cold again today. His whole body ached, but he started to stretch.

He didn't think much. In fact, after sparring and rolling around, things became clearer.

It was always a question.

'What should I do next?'

For those with talent, the so-called geniuses, they say the path becomes clear even if they don't seek it.

Finding what they need at the moment and identifying what they lack is also a talent.

So, what about those without talent?

They try this and that.

That consumes time. They start at a different line.

That's why a great teacher is necessary.

A teacher who can point out what one lacks is always a treasure.

This time, the Fairy Company Commander played that role partially.

The remaining gaps now needed to be filled by someone else.

"Audin."

In the morning, Audin always comes out. Cold? He doesn't care about such things.

So much so that people around call him the praying bear.

It's not just his size that earns him that nickname.

"Yes, brother, it's a good day, isn't it?"

A sharp cold wind whistled between them. The Border Guard is in the northernmost part of the Pen-Hanil continent.

It's a particularly cold region within the Pen-Hanil continent.

Thanks to the overcast sky, the surroundings looked mottled even though it was morning.

But Audin was always like this. If the sun rises, he greets it; if it rains, he accepts it.

Of course, he doesn't say "good morning" on snowy days.

"It is."

Encrid replied. What does the weather matter?

Actually, it was a good day. Any day where you learn something new is a good day.

"Teach me wrestling."

Encrid was always straightforward. He did things as he always did.

His goals and will were clear.

Because he always treated his squad members like this, the current relationships were formed.

Audin tilted his head.

To him, this guy was a truly unique person.

Seeing his skills improve in just a few days, he wondered what kind of luck he had to become like that.

Encrid, the Squad Leader, was like a burning flame to Audin.

A flame that doesn't realize it's burning itself and scorches its surroundings.

Because of this, the flame illuminates and warms the area around it.

When he was trying to turn his back on the world and had almost given up.

That's when he first encountered this human in the squad.

"What are you doing right now?"

It was their first meeting. Encrid was swinging a club in front of the barracks. Not just any club, but something made by tying together three water-soaked wooden sticks.

"Strength training."

Would swinging something heavy really build strength that easily?

It might, but it wasn't an efficient method.

It would be fortunate if his body didn't get damaged from it.

Audin thought he would quit after a few days.

But Encrid didn't. Each day was the same. Whether he was on the battlefield, on duty, in the rain, or in the snow.

He would even carve out time from his sleep to swing his sword.

Audin recalled how he was back then.

"Desolate." He could sum up his former self with those two words.

Radiating gloom, he had asked:

"Your skills are terrible. Why do you keep doing it every day?"

"I'll get better if I keep at it."

He didn't show any sign of being upset. He answered calmly and continued his training.

Seeing that, Audin felt like he had been struck by lightning.

'How can he be like that?'

What drives him?

What kind of belief does he have?

There was no scent of faith.

Effort is said to be a talent too, but if you weren't born with anything, even effort can't be sustained.

Encrid was that kind of person.

A person betrayed by his daily efforts.

Yet, despite being betrayed every day, he kept moving forward.

'What are you?'

Since then, Audin consistently observed the Squad Leader.

The more he watched the Squad Leader, the more his own reasons for despair seemed insignificant.

'Faith is not something practiced for a reward.'

That day, Audin started praying again.

"Brother, at this rate, you'll ruin all your joints."

After that, he started to oversee the Squad Leader's training bit by bit.

Audin could read the human body. He had a talent for seeing people's potential, almost as much as Frog did.

If Frog was called a talent identifier,Audin, through acquired effort and talent, became a body reader who could assess the extent of physical training.

From his perspective, Encrid had to work twice as hard as others just to build his body.

His natural build was like that.

Even the quality of his muscles wasn't very good.

Does that mean he should give up?

No. The Squad Leader he knew wasn't that kind of person.

"You need to start by building your body. Are you okay with that?"

Audin asked. Despite the biting cold wind.

After observing the Squad Leader and praying again, Audin always thought it was a good morning.

Except when it snowed, of course.

"Whenever you're ready."

"It will be painful."

"That's okay."

Encrid thought it would be better than dying.

"It will hurt."

"No problem."

It would hurt less than being stabbed to death countless times by a sword.

"What I'm going to teach you now is not the monk's exercises. It's a technique I developed myself. It's called the 'Isolation Technique'."

The name sounded ominous, but he also thought it sounded promising.

If he was going to learn something, he might as well learn it properly.

It was the words of the best martial artist Encrid had ever met, whether among his squad members or otherwise.

"The Isolation Technique."

The fourth technique after The Heart of the Beast, Blade Sense, and Focus Point.

"It's training that you will understand with your mind and perform with your body, brother."

"Got it."

"Then, let's begin."

Audin's tone was calm. Encrid nodded as if it were a matter of course.

And then.

"Arrrrgh."

A groan, rather than a scream, began to emanate from one side of the training ground.

"This is just the beginning, brother."

Encrid began to wonder if the deity Audin prayed to every day was a demon.

The exercises he had done before were literally just warm-ups.

Audin called them the basics at every opportunity.

"We'll build strength in the muscles by lifting weights based on flexibility. Let's begin."

Audin massaged various parts of Encrid's body and then put him in a strange position.

It was a position that felt like it would tear his muscles apart.

Why, while lying down, did pressing his heels against his buttocks make the muscles in the front of his thighs feel like they were going to tear?

Audin held Encrid's legs down himself.

Encrid felt as if Audin's hands were iron shackles.

Such was the strength.

With his limited understanding of the body, Encrid had to learn the movement of his muscles through his body.

"It will be easier if you think of it as dying a couple of times."

He was already thinking that. It was indeed a series of terrible pains.

So much so that he wondered if it would be better to just die.

"Urrrgh."

A strange groan started to come from Encrid's mouth.

"It's okay. I know the limits of the Squad Leader."

'Why do you know my limits?'

In truth, Audin seemed like a madman.

Encrid couldn't help but think that.

Yet, he secretly enjoyed it. Because he expected to gain something from this suffering, Encrid groaned and suffered, but he smiled.

"Judging by your expression, you seem to have some leeway."

No, he didn't have any leeway.

The demonic priest Audin dismantled, broke, and tore apart Encrid's body countless times that day.

At the end of the season, on a winter day.

After three days of developing flexibility.

"Lift it."

Lifting heavy stones and performing restricted movements followed.

"Inhale, exhale. Control your breathing. Fill your abdomen with air. Do it with abdominal pressure, brother."

The Isolation Technique wasn't a skill used for combat.

It was a technique for remodeling one's body.

For half a month, Encrid endured it, feeling like he was passing bloody stools.

Then it became somewhat bearable.

After another half a month passed.

"Is it manageable?"

It wasn't as difficult as before. There was no comparable pain. It had been tough at first, but it was worth it.

So, another half a month passed, making it a total of one month, and his body began to change.

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