310 – That was a really awesome match. (1)
The novel written by Gordon was read and passed over moderately, but some of its content became a topic of contemplation for Ghislaine.
‘Even the moment of attack, no presence is sensed and it is absolutely invisible….’
If there is a significant skill gap with the opponent, it is possible. However, according to Gordon’s setting, it was close to some sort of power unrelated to the skill gap. In a way, it was more dangerous than ‘the power to destroy anything.’
Just thinking about it is terrifying, but in reality, that kind of thing is impossible. It was merely a realm of imagination.
‘Even the Saint could not use such abilities.’
Even the Saint, who borrowed the goddess’s power, could not perform such nonsense.
If it were someone else, they would have just chuckled and moved on, but Ghislaine felt a small curiosity there.
‘What if I really encountered an enemy with that kind of power? Or a being with a similar ability?’
If it were the realm of her past life, she would respond by encompassing all the surrounding areas within her senses. But if she still couldn’t sense the presence?
Even if such powers do not exist in this world, one could still face similar situations against someone more skilled.
‘I need to find a way to avoid instant death and counterattack.’
To avoid instant death, she would need a body capable of withstanding any attack.
Those who mastered mana naturally developed their physical abilities. Through training, the body would naturally absorb mana, changing the constitution.
As the realm increases, the senses become sharper, and strength or recovery abilities become even more enhanced.
Even so, the human body does not become as hard as steel. Knights don’t just gather mana and wrap themselves in it while fighting for no reason.
To exert stronger power, mana must be artificially drawn from the core and returned to the body. If mana manipulation is not done properly, most of the defensive abilities sharply decrease.
This means that even someone who has mastered mana can be harmed by a regular person’s attack if they let their guard down.
At times, that gap allowed for successful assassinations. If the opponent is also someone using mana, they can inflict lethal wounds.
‘But what if my body can automatically block attacks and even deliver shock to my opponent?’
At least against enemies lower or on par with herself, she would not be caught off guard. In chaotic battles where many are fighting, it would be quite helpful too.
The weak, no matter how many they gather, couldn’t inflict even a scratch on her.
If she could just build such a body, she would become much stronger than she is now.
‘Let’s give it a try.’
There are various methods to create a new technique.
The most orthodox one involves creating a theory through extensive research and then safely developing it through numerous experiments.
The second way is just to throw caution to the wind and clash recklessly. It’s dangerous, but the speed is unmatched.
Ghislaine preferred the latter.
Whoosh.
Taking out a dagger, she immediately stabbed her own arm.
Swoosh!
Blood gushed out where the blade sank in. The moment she stabbed, mana gathered and produced a faint repulsive force, but it wasn’t enough.
The attacking force was stronger, and the speed was faster.
‘Too late, and insufficient.’
Her body must instinctively react before she can sense anything. The moment the skin is injured, mana must automatically be drawn from the core to protect the body.
That was the first step. The counterattack was a problem to think about later.
Swiik…
Since it was a shallow stab, the wound healed quickly.
Ghislaine sharpened his senses. From now on, his body had to remember what he was doing at all times.
In his past life, he had received countless wounds, but he never practiced such foolish training. Instead, he focused more on evasion and defense.
But now it was different. He had to evolve his own body.
‘Shall I put in a little more effort?’
Papapapapack!
He swiftly moved the dagger, making wounds all over his body. Then, he concentrated his senses around the wounds.
The amount of mana gathered around each wound was subtly different. The wounds got slightly larger the further back he went.
It was evidence that his body’s reaction speed still couldn’t keep up with the speed of his attacks.
‘I need to do this for a few more days.’
There was no need to go to the training ground to practice. During the day, Ghislaine took care of on-site tasks or trained, and at night, he worked on paperwork, stabbing himself in the office.
After several days of his clothes being torn and soaked in blood, Belinda began to suspect something.
‘What’s going on? This happens even on days without sparring?’
Everyone knew that Ghislaine was a training fanatic. Therefore, no one found it strange when his clothes got damaged frequently, but lately, it had become odd.
While Belinda was suspicious, Ghislaine’s training grew more intense.
‘Is it because I’m hesitating unconsciously?’
Daily self-harm made his senses develop to an unimaginable level. Even when he stabbed deeply, mana would gather at the moment of the stab, ending up as shallow wounds.
However, the reaction speed steadily increased and then suddenly stopped improving at some point.
It seemed to be a problem arising because his own attacks were staying at a certain level.
He was still attacking at the level of a novice knight as his body couldn’t keep up yet. His body instinctively knew that, so it couldn’t break through the limits.
Ghislaine knew well how to solve this problem.
‘To surpass my limits, I must truly put my life on the line.’
He squinted his eyes and stared at the dagger for a moment before imbuing it with mana.
He couldn’t actually die, but he had to instill the tension into his body and mind that death was possible.
‘This should be…’
Cold sweat began to flow down Ghislaine’s back. Just one mistake or a late reaction would mean death.
He had no intention of artificially raising his mana. In that moment of stabbing, his body had to instinctively move for survival.
Taking a deep breath, he slowly lifted the dagger.
And at that moment, Belinda, who had been sending suspicious glances for days, ambushed Ghislaine in his office.
Clack!
“Young Master! What on earth are you doing at night that your clothes look like this… Aaaah!”
Belinda screamed as soon as she entered.
What met her eyes was Ghislaine, inserting a dagger into his own heart.
*
‘Half a success.’
Ghislaine thought as he lay on the bed.
The moment he stabbed his heart, the dagger went in halfway. If it had gone in just a little more, his heart would have been completely destroyed, and he would have died.
But the rapidly gathered mana blocked the dagger. His excellent healing abilities started to recover the wounded heart immediately.
No matter how good his recovery was, a wound on the surface and an injury to an organ were different. Suddenly getting a big injury and losing a lot of blood could only lead to slow recovery.
If Piote had arrived just a bit later, he might not have died, but he would have faced significant aftereffects.
If it had come, I wouldn’t have died, but I would have been left with some serious repercussions.
“Young Master! Why are you acting like this again? Could it be because you saw Lady Amelia again recently? Are you longing for her again? You’ve become a great lord; what do you lack that you’re still hung up on an ex? If you’re going to act like this, just find a match quickly and settle down!”
“…No.”
“Then what is it? Is it because of that stupid bet? Are you actually worried about losing this time? I’m seriously fed up with the Chief Officer and Alfoy!”
“…That’s not it either.”
Ghislaine looked around. The retainers in the territory were all gathered here. She expected this.
Claude, yet again, pushed his way through the crowd with an exasperated expression.
“Are you trying to make me a laughingstock again? If you think you can’t win, just surrender! What’s with that pride of yours?”
“…No.”
Despite Ghislaine’s apathetic response, Claude shouted with frustration.
“Everyone’s just blaming me! Because I made the bet, the Lord is causing this commotion again! Just because people love me, you’re going to take advantage of that? Lord, do you really want to see me lose my mind?”
Alfoy chimed in from the side, grumbling.
“I’ll just call it a draw, so let’s cut 10 years. Stop being so stubborn. Don’t you realize that every time this happens, I get into trouble? I’m ‘the man who defeated the gods’! Ugh, I’m so embarrassed.”
Claude and Alfoy were again pressured by the retainers. Why do they keep messing around and making the Lord uncomfortable?
The shock from when he drank the poison was surprising, but later, Ghislaine understood that it was training. However, stabbing your heart with a dagger was obviously not training.
Where in the world is there such a foolish training?
Everyone thought that this time, the prideful lord couldn’t control his temper and harmed himself.
Ghislaine, who was contemplating whether to just kick him out like before, sighed and gave a brief explanation. She thought it was only natural to keep discouraging him this time.
“It’s a new training. It’s dangerous, but I’m controlling it, so you don’t have to worry.”
Belinda asked with a still suspicious look.
“What kind of training is that? Who in the world does that kind of training! How is that helpful?”
“Um, well, what I mean is…”
Ghislaine explained her hypothesis roughly. It was more about assumptions and imagination than detailed theory, but the intention got across.
After hearing the explanation, everyone just blinked for a while. After a moment, Belinda said with an incredulous expression.
“So you were doing that kind of training to see if you’d die if hit by a transparent creature that has no presence?”
“Well, it’s not exactly that… I suppose I was inspired by it?”
“…Young Master, sensing presence is just a difference in skill. If it has no presence and is invisible, such a creature doesn’t exist in this world.”
Vanessa chimed in from the side.
“That doesn’t make any sense based on the laws of physics. Even with magic, there’s the amount of energy required to accelerate an object from a standstill to a certain speed, and if it’s a massy object, that phenomenon would activate…”
As she began her lecture, Ghislaine hurriedly interrupted.
“It’s not strictly that! I’m just trying to train my defense to prepare for any ambush at any time, so stop worrying and get back to work. Aren’t you all busy?”
“Enough with the worrying, let’s get to work. Isn’t everyone busy?”
The people warned against any more training, believing that they were already strong enough, but Ghislaine remained unmoved.
Ultimately, Claude shrugged his shoulders and said, “See? I clearly tried to persuade him. The Lord rejected it.”
Alfoy nodded along, claiming, “I definitely made a concession. I did nothing wrong.”
The two, having been threatened by several others once again, left with high spirits.
This incident quickly spread among the territory residents.
They were shocked and quickly retrieved Claude and Alfoy’s portraits to poke fun at them.
“Why can’t the Chief Officer just leave our Lord alone? He’s going to win again this time anyway!”
“We have to tell the Saint to rain down some divine punishment!”
“Alfoy is the same! He’s rude even to the Saint!”
Claude and Alfoy’s reputations hit rock bottom. In fact, considering they were already at rock bottom, it would be more accurate to say they fell below ground level.
The loyalty of the territory residents towards Ghislaine was extremely high. Naturally, they laughed at Claude and Alfoy, believing Ghislaine would emerge victorious.
However, the two had become hardened unlike before. No matter how much they faced curses and mockery from the residents, they didn’t flinch.
“I hear we have a lot of people trash-talking us.”
“Just the limits of the ignorant ones.”
Claude and Alfoy stood on the castle’s balcony, each holding a glass of wine.
With elegant grace, Claude said, “What will you do once you’re free, Alfoy?”
“Probably finish my succession classes at the Mage Tower, and later take over the tower. Under my watch, the tower will reclaim its status as the best in the North.”
“Such ambition you have. A man who can defeat a god.”
“What about you?”
“I’m thinking… about becoming the lord of a small territory.”
“Such an honest choice for you. Living leisurely like that wouldn’t be bad either.”
“Yeah, I’ve worked hard all this time.”
The two exchanged soft smiles, knowing each other’s hearts without saying a word.
Claude raised his glass. “You could be a great tower lord.”
Alfoy raised his glass as well. “And you could be a good lord.”
They clinked their glasses with smiles.
Watching from behind, Wendy made a grimace and scoffed at the two.
*
Aside from Ghislaine’s self-harm incident, there weren’t any significant changes in people’s daily lives. Despite the surrounding discouragement, Ghislaine continued her bizarre training.
And just like that, a month flew by.
Whoosh.
Two days before the promised date, the rain began to fall. Claude smiled as he looked out the window.
“The weather is nice.”
With the heavy rain, the ground would surely become muddy. Moving on such ground would only deplete their stamina further. The experimental participants would have a hard time even moving during the mock combat.
It was a situation that couldn’t help but bring a smile.
“Two days from now…”
Claude closed his eyes to calm his mind.
Today, two days before the decisive battle.
The sound of the wind and the eerie rain hit the office window.
The calm before the storm.
He had refrained from replying to those who laughed at him from the territory, who continued to mock him.
Whether the lord was incompetent or he was the one lacking, the results would tell.
That was… the way ‘Gambler’ Claude chose to live.
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