â Korin Guardians (5)â
âLetâs end it here for the day.â
Master said, dismissing us once she was done looking over everyoneâs postures and progress one last time.
âItâs already night. I didnât realize it because the sun was up the whole time.â
ââŠFood.â
âKorin! Do you want to drop by the city and have a bite to eat?â
âShall we?â
It was very likely that we would have to stay behind till late quite often from now on, so it seemed like a good idea to find a place to have dinner together or look for ingredients and cook at home. Fortunately, our office was in a good location and it probably wasnât going to be hard to look for a nice restaurant.
âCan you stay behind for a bit, Korin?â
âMaster?â
I gazed at her for a while, before turning to the members of my guild.
âYou guys can go without me.â
When I sent everyone else back, Master Erin hopped forward and started caressing my head.
âYou were excellent today. I could see a lot of your expertise in the fine and profound details, let alone your fundamentals.â
âItâs⊠still far from being enough.â
There was something I noticed during the fight against Tates Valtazar when our spears were aligned.
He wasnât going all-out. He didnât even use everything in his arsenal, and yet I had been absolutely crushed.
âDonât feel too concerned about what happened with Tates. I am here to help you reduce that gap.â
âThank you.â
Standing on her toes, she caressed my hair one more time before retrieving her spear through the Rune of Return.
âThe reason I told you to stay behind is to help you grasp the dormant power inside you â the one that you canât fully control yet, which right now you are just using as a storage for aura.â
âYou mean the Aura Core of Sebancia DukeâŠ?â
âWhat a nostalgic name. He was an outstanding person.â
âDo you know him?â
âOf course. Because he used to be my disciple 800 years ago.â
âHuh?â
The Great Hero, Sebancia Duke, who used to have absolute status 800 years ago was one of her disciples?!
âMhmm. That was when I was roaming around the continent. It was only for 3 years but in his youth, he learned from me before going out into the world.â
After that, in reminiscence, she added how there used to be a rumor about her being an unaging witch.
âThat young boy became a great hero after 20 years of time. It wasnât so good towards the end, butâŠâ
I told her about how I met Sebancia Dukeâs soul in the library. She replied in awe, seemingly unaware of the fact that Sebancia Dukeâs grimoire had been inside the campus.
âIt must have been put in by one of my disciples from 100 years ago, Arum. Back when we were building the Great Library, there was a lot from my collection but there was also the contribution of my disciples.â
It was things like this that made me think about how human relationships tended to mysteriously link over time.
âThe fact that Sebanciaâs Aura Core ended up in your body, could perhaps be the work of fate.â
Master then said while tapping my spear with herâs.
âTry activating that power.â
I touched the Aura Core inside me â the one that used to belong to Sebancia and pulled out aura from it.
?1st Demonic Spear, Darkness?
âSebancia used to embed the power from his Aura Core into his weapon, but what you are doing right now is not the correct way to use it.â
She rested her spear on my Silver Spear which was now tainted in darkness. When she did, the dark aura that used to dwell in the Silver Spear started moving over to her spear.
âHuh?â
âThis is evidence that you have yet to master your control over aura. Besides, most importantly, it is because you havenât understood the nature of Sebanciaâs aura.â
Her spear that finished absorbing every bit of aura was now pitch black. She raised the spear high into the air⊠before striking down as if drawing a cross.
?2nd Demonic Spear, Heaven Falling on Five Dragons?
âKwaaaaaang!
A roar resonated across Paradise. The mighty spread of aura sliced apart the distant clouds and injured the earth below.
âThis is one of the skills that he polished time after time to behead the five evil dragons that were bringing chaos to the kingdom. As for the result⊠Iâm sure you know that already.â
[Look. This is the heaven-defying power â the one I used in my youth to kill a dragon.]
I couldnât help but gulp as I looked at the damage done to the world. It was something that would come out in the legends⊠Well, it might not be anything strange considering how he was a legendary hero himself.
âRight now. You have three things to work on.
âFirstly, be used to the manifestation of the Sun.
âSecondly, increase your skill with the spear even further, until you can truly master the Void.
âLastly, you must perfect this power that Sebancia has left behind for you. You must learn how to embed the aura into the weapon using the 1st Demonic Spear, and use the 2nd Demonic Spear to release it, and also learn its final form.â
Master said with a smile while holding her white, glistening spear which regained its luster after releasing every bit of dark aura it had swallowed. It was a perfect and wonderful demonstration of aura manipulation. How much time would it have taken for her to reach that level? And how long did Sebancia take to reach that stage?
âWill I⊠be able to do it?â
It was then. Suddenly, her spear started flying at me. I used my spear to block that sharp, piercing attack and the clash of the two spears created a fluctuation in the air around us.
-GuuuuuungâŠ!
The air continued to resonate as howling blades of wind surged out in all directions. It was a simple stab â just one stab and yet⊠it was followed by all sorts of world-quivering phenomena.
âWho do you think the one standing before you is? I, myself, am the first guardian of this world; the master of countless heroes. I am the Goddess of Heroes.â
Danann of Justice.
Master of Heroes.
Guardian of Humanity.
âI can assure you as the one who has raised innumerable geniuses, that you truly have the talent of a hero. Your talents are real.â
âWell⊠I also do think so myself.â
âFufu. And Iâm not just talking about your talent with the spear. You are talented in something that, believe it or not, is by far the most important thing for anyone looking to fight.â
âAnd⊠what would that be?â
âConviction. An unbending conviction that lets you pronounce your presence to the world. That is the aptitude, talent, and foundation of a hero.â
Even though itâs not like Iâm full of myself⊠there are actually a lot of big shots that spoke positively about me.
Lunia and Garrand the Sword Emperor were such examples, and even in the last iteration, Master had chosen me instead of Park Sihu. Even in this iterationâŠ
[You have the right to inherit everything I once had.]
Sebancia Duke had chosen me as his inheritor. Like what Master said, there might be something about me that made them acknowledge me.
âI will pass down everything I have to you and perfect you. You will become the hero that will save this world, becoming stronger than anyone else.â
Saying that it was a gift to the one who volitionally vowed to become a hero, the goddess gave her blessings.
***
After the training was over, Master and I left Paradise and walked down the streets together.
âThe restaurants seem to have changed a lot.â
âHave you not been here as Chairman Eriu?â
âThat was a puppet after all. I did pretend to eat sometimes to avoid suspicion but that was it.â
It appeared that for her, who had been sealed for 80 years, meals were just a way to avoid suspicion.
âAh, but Clara sometimes brought me food. Is it true that people eat raw fish these days?â đ§đâŻâŻđ€âŻđŁđŻđ°đ·âŻđ.đđ°đ
âYou mean sushi?â
âYes. Clara was appalled by it. That seems to be one of Huaâs favorite dishes though.â
âLetâs try it one day.â
âSure. Any time.â
We started walking again. Even though she should have been here a few times as the chairman, she seemed quite excited now that she was walking down the streets with her true body.
âBy the way, how did it feel manifesting the Sun?â
ââŠHonestly, it still feels like my inside is churning.â
It was possible to continue manifesting the Sun thanks to the infinite mana supply of Shadow Paradise but that came at the cost of my body. Making sure that it stayed there on top of swinging the spear was quite a horrendous experience.
âYou have to get used to it. Claiomh Solais has already acknowledged you as its owner.â
âIf I could compress the power of the SunâŠâ
âŠI would be able to reenact the ability of the all-powerful King, Eochaid Bres, who had pushed Park Sihu and me into a corner in the last iteration.
That would literally make me the God of the Sun, but there was another prerequisite that had to be met for that to happen.
âDonât push yourself too much. If you overcome the trial at the Treasury, Mag Mell⊠You will receive Airgetlam of Nuada, made personally by Dian Cecht.â
Dian Cecht, and Nuada⊠When saying those names, there was a flicker of reminiscence and nostalgia in her eyes.
ââŠWere they your family?â
âYes. Dian Cecht, Nuada and Lugh⊠We were all part of a family, because we â the Danann were one big community.â
Danann.
The race that used to reign over this land before humans â the so-called gods.
This continent, which was created by the Sky Titans, and enriched by the Danann, was invaded by the Goidels. They absorbed the goodwill and teachings of the Danann and eventually rebelled against the gods, opening up the era of heroes.
Buried in greed, they took Paradise for themselves, which was recorded in the Book of Invasions of Erinn.
The Danann thus fell from grace. Everything crumbled down, with the future weighing on the shoulders of a young Danann who had the same name as Paradise.
âLooks like I have gotten old, seeing how I feel nostalgic out of the blue.â
âThat has nothing to do with age. Everyoneâs like that.â
âFufu⊠I donât think you should, considering how young you are butâŠâ
Master turned towards the sky with a blank gaze. She stared at the dark night sky as if relying on the stars above to reminisce about the past.
âThey have all left. They left after fulfilling their duties. At times, I used to resent my ancestors for leaving preemptively, while leaving everything behind in my hands.â
A thousand years.
There was most likely no one in the world who could understand what was going through the mind of the final Danann, who had been quietly fulfilling her duties for over a thousand years.
âThat must be why I was so delighted. Valtazar â Tates⊠was a child left behind by the ancestors. When I realized that I wasnât the last of my kind like I had originally thought⊠I must have become too emotional.â
She blankly lowered her gaze towards me.
âI made a very big mistake in the past, and I have the duty to rectify it. Do you understand what I mean?â
âAre you⊠really going to involve yourself?â
âI canât leave it to children, can I?â
This topic had been a constant source of dispute for us. I wanted to hide her in the Shadow Paradise as much as possible but⊠in the end, I couldnât dissuade her.
âAdults canât hide behind children. Even if something bad were to happen to me, IâŠâ
âErin.â
âHuh?â
When I suddenly called her by her name, Master widened her eyes into circles and looked straight at me while blinking her circular eyes. Looking down into her eyes, I forced her next to the wall and declared.
âIn the future, I lost a lot of my companions. To Fermack, Dun Scaith, Dumnorix, and Eochaid⊠my comrades were killed, and there were many people I couldnât save.â
âKo⊠rin?â
âThat includes you.â
âBut this⊠is something I must doâŠâ
âNo. This time, itâs different. I wonât let a single person slip by. No one will be left to die.â
âUhtâŠ?â
This might be a form of obsession and me being stubborn, but if I really was someone worthy of being chosen by the God of the Sun, by the system, and by the Master of HeroesâŠ
âYou are not going to die this time. Because I will save you.â
âBut thatâsâŠâ
âTrust your disciple. You said I have the qualifications of a hero, did you not? Erin. All you have to do is trust me and stay behind my back.â
Perhaps I was being arrogant. Maybe I was way too self-centered.
âI will not disregard the misfortune of the good. Ever since I engraved that vow onto this body, I have never given up on you.â
ââŠâ
âSo donât act like you have lived enough or like you are ready to leave the world in front of your disciple. Ask anyone here and theyâll say you look like my younger sister.â
âThatâs just because I donât ageâŠâ
âIt doesnât matter if you have lived a long life or not. Both you and I still have a long way to go. We can continue to live while anticipating what will come tomorrow.â
Facing her, who still seemed dumbstruck, I floated a wide smile.
âE~verything will turn out just fine. I am sure it will.â
âFufuâŠâ
At last, she started to smile again. She appeared dumbfounded seeing a youngster like me acting like an adult.
âRight. You are an adult.â
âOf course. I am obviously a very mature adult if you consider my experience from the future. Iâm 22.â
I was actually over 40 but⊠that was beside the point.
âYou are still wayyy~ too young. Compared to me.â
âNope. Everyoneâs a friend above 20.â
âReally?â
âSo go out, have some delicious food, make friends, buy nice clothes and enjoy your life. You have someone who is willing to do all of that together right next to you.â
â???â
Master looked around, before turning back to me with flushed cheeks for some reason.
âThen can you do that with me, Korin?â
âWhy not.â
I was actually talking about Lady Josephine but⊠well, I guess she wasnât here right now.
âLetâs do everything together.â
âAh~ Iâm so lucky! I wasnât expecting such a fortune to arrive near the end of my life⊠Uht!?â
She was acting like this was the end of her life again so I chopped her head with my hand. Master Erin gazed up at me in stupor with blinking eyes after being hit by her disciple all of a sudden, but I brazenly opened my mouth.
âYou look so pretty and young but thatâs all for nothing when your mind is so old! Cynicism and pessimism are far from being helpful.â
âUmm⊠Right.â
âThe amount of time you have lived until now doesnât mean anything. Stand up. Make your back straight! Bring your chest out! If you have the belief that everything will be fine, you can be considered young no matter how old you really are.â
âHaha. Where did you learn to say these things?â
âThey all come from the honesty of my heart, beautiful lady.â
Holding onto her hand, I kissed the back of her hand and looked at her with a smile.
âSeriously⊠I canât beat you with words.â
âA master shouldnât be trying to beat their disciple.â
The reason I went back in timeâ
The reason I shouldered the destiny of saving the world instead of the player.
It was all because I was one hell of a greedy bastard, who wanted to save everyone.
This was something I could not back down on.
The world saved by me needed to have everyone in it. No one was allowed to be out of that picture.
That night, I pledged to myself yet again.
***
Germain Luther was a spy dispatched by the Old Faith.
His role was to save Captain Laurent, who was arrested while attacking Hua Ran under the command of Bishop Renault Lusignan, as well as gathering information from Merkarva and sending it to the headquarters.
The original plan was to save Laurent in collaboration with the Tower of Mages, but unfortunately for them, the stupid mages of the Tower ended up ruining it.
After Elder Morushtan was arrested by Saintess Estelle, they became too hasty and were in too much of a rush.
This was why he didnât like the heretics of the Tower⊠And yet despite all that, they still had the guts to tell him to find out the date of Elder Morushtanâs relocation to the Grand Chapel of Zeon.
It was incredibly irritating, but Germain was the only one inside the Academy who could gather meaningful information so there was a lot on his shoulders.
âHuuâŠâ
It was great that he was able to smooth his way into the Academy without raising any suspicion, but because of the aggressive actions of the special ops of the Old Faith and the rash terrorist attack of the mages of the Tower, the Academy was currently on full alert mode.
He was stopped no matter where he went and gathering information became a lot harder, meaning that it was going to be an arduous battle.
As a single student, who was a mere freshman, it was difficult to find reliable pieces of information.
That day was the same as always. Germain was walking across the campus without any success.
âHoh~. Look who it is. Itâs one of our promising juniors, isnât it?â
Someone amicably spoke up to him. It was a very familiar voice.
âUmm⊠Senior?â
âHow are you doing these days? Doing alright?â
A 2nd-year Senior threw his arm around his shoulders with his usual wild-looking smile on his face. Germain was quite fond of his open attitude that easily let him befriend anyone.
âHaha. We just finished our interim exams so⊠I can finally take a breather now.â
âOh yeah? It is a lot harder in your 1st year, because of all the other subjects that you need to take apart from your electives.â
That was one of the other problems that deterred Germain from gathering information. Although the Academy was well-known for giving a lot of spare time, that was only for the 2nd years and above.
Freshmen students had to learn survival skills, map-reading skills, and whatnot, so it was incredibly difficult to find time apart from late afternoons.
âOh right, Junior. Do you remember my offer?â
âUmm⊠By offer, you meanâŠ?â
âI just created a Guardians Guild. Itâs hard to find someone with good skills like you even from the 2nd year students after all. So, how does it sound?â
Thoughts on joining our Guild?
[Be mindful of the help that comes when you need it the most.]
Germain Luther was still too young to be rational enough to understand that concept.