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Chapter 91: Hermit of the Black Forest (4)

“...Again,” said Crockta after he took a few deep breaths.

He shook off the sweat dripping down his face. He was too tired to move, and all of his joints screamed in pain. His neck felt stiff from tensing up in all the near-death encounters with Xantimur’s blade; the blade had grazed past his neck numerous times.

“I thought you were going to turn Ogre Slayer into Dragon Slayer? Have you already given up?” asked Xantimur.

“Not yet!” shouted Crockta.

As he focused deeply, mana rose from the Ogre Slayer, and his mind entered the pinnacle realm. Time slowed down as he became one with the world, and he began to break the laws of the universe with his greatsword.

Crockta swung his greatsword with the pure intent of killing his opponent. Xantimur swung his sword at the same time. Within their slow world, their minds clashed against each other countless times. All of the different possible trajectories that their swords could take played out in their minds and collapsed between them.

Now, at the end of it all, the final stroke of destiny was unfolding before them through their swords. It was a seemingly inevitable conclusion. Their battle ended with Crockta’s sword slicing through the air and Xantimur’s blade hovering by Crockta’s chest. It was a crushing defeat that did not allow excuses.

“One thousand nine hundred eighty-one,” said Xantimur.

Crockta had died almost two thousand times today. He calmed his breath and reviewed what had just happened in his mind. However, he still couldn’t tell how he should have responded. So, instead of thinking, he raised his greatsword yet again.

“Again,” said Crockta.

The trainees who had been watching them marveled at Crockta’s grit. The ogre who had been the first to fight against Crockta raised his fist in acknowledgment of Crockta’s fighting spirit.

Crockta looked at Xantimur. There wasn’t any change in the latter’s expression. Xantimur just calmly raised his sword without a single drop of sweat on his body.

Xantimur was a dragon and a master swordsman. It was an impressive combination. Crockta couldn’t imagine how powerful Xantimur would be if he transformed into his actual form. However, Crockta was filled with admiration rather than awe for Xantimur. Crockta believed he could infinitely overcome his limits in the world of Elder Lord. He had learned to defeat an ogre with a sword even though he was just an orc. It had been the same for Shakhan who had hunted the Behemoth. He had defeated the powerful monster with a single arrow. Crockta was certain that he could defeat Xantimur one day if he put in enough time and effort.

“One thousand nine hundred eighty-two,” stated Xantimur.

“Argh...” muttered Crockta.

He still needed work though. Due to his wounded leg, Crockta limped when he tried to get up. He understood the importance of training and repetition. Although a single decisive strike was enough to kill an enemy, one had to live through a thousand sunrises and ten thousand sunsets to arrive at the point where one could deliver that one strike. The one who swung the blade ten thousand times would be killed by someone else who swung the sword ten thousand and one times.

“Let’s stop here,” said Xantimur.

“I can keep going,” replied Crockta.

“You can, but I can’t.”

“You seem fine.”

“I’m hungry,” said Xantimur with his characteristically cold expression. “Rest and diet are more important than training.”

It was what a personal trainer at a gym would say. Nevertheless, Crockta nodded in agreement because it was true.

Before they knew it, the sun had set the sky ablaze on the horizon. It was a beautiful twilight. Trainees began to enter the castle one by one for dinner, and Crockta saw Tiyo and Kiao bickering in the distance. Crockta then followed Xantimur and arrived at a banquet hall. Inside, a long table extended to the end of the room, and seats were lined up in a row on each side of the table. Xantimur sat in the seat of honor, and Crockta, Tiyo, and Anor sat near him as guests.

The chandelier at the ceiling of the banquet hall scattered light everywhere, reminding Crockta of a waterfall. The fragments of light shining on the food made the dishes glisten and look even more appetizing.

“Such amazing food,” commented Tiyo.

“It’s the work of lizardmen. They are epicureans,” explained Xantimur.

Tiyo then wrapped a napkin around his neck and deliberately imitated the manners of a gentleman. He took a bite of the meat on his plate and closed his eyes while he savored the flavors of the dish.

“Wow, what is this? It has profound flavors that suit my palate,” said Tiyo.

“It’s gnome meat,” replied Xantimur.

“...!” Tiyo spat out the meat and stared at Xantimur with a dumbfounded expression.

Nevertheless, Xantimur took a bite of the meat with the same expressionless face.

He said, “It’s a joke. It’s just beef.”

“You... How could you say such a horrible thing with a serious face?!” protested Tiyo.

However, he stopped immediately after. He rolled his eyes for a second and then erupted in laughter.

“Hahaha! Is that so? What a great joke! Hahaha!” Tiyo spoke with a sudden change in attitude. “This kind of offensive joke means nothing to me! Hahaha!”

Crockta realized that Tiyo was trying to act like a man with a big bowl. Tiyo then opened his mouth wide and stuffed a bunch of food in his mouth. He swallowed all of it in one gulp.

“Your bowl is so big,” remarked Xantimur.

“Haha! Is that so? You shouldn’t be surprised! I am a gnome with a big bowl!” Tiyo puffed his chest with pride.

Crockta silently shook his head in dismay at Tiyo’s behavior.

However, watching this scene gave Crockta an epiphany about the unpredictability of life. A man who had initially seemed cold and harsh was making fake compliments to be considerate, and another man who always seemed bold and fearless acted timid sometimes. Sometimes, things happen as expected, and sometimes, new selves emerged from unexpected situations. A man could only become a tough man after experiencing all of these things and tempering himself. Tiyo and Xantimur hadn’t always been like this. They had developed into their current state due to their unique pasts. Everything in the world revolved around cause and effect; there couldn’t be an outcome without a trigger.

Crockta raised his fork. The tip of the sharp fork gleamed, reflecting the light from the chandelier. The light that fell from the chandelier had a cause; the source was the light illuminating the room. Crockta swung his fork. The world slowed down.

Crockta aimed for the steak on Xantimur’s plate with the pinnacle of movements. Until now, he had expressed the power of the pinnacle by aiming for the outcome of slashing the enemy’s throat, but he now calculated the processes for the desired outcome through reason, strong will, and imagination! He imbued the fork with that epiphany.

When Crockta’s fork neared Xantimur, the latter extended his fork to defend his steak. Their forks crossed and intruded on each other’s space. Within the battle of forks, Crockta sometimes successfully took Xantimur’s steak, had his steak stolen, or missed. There were times when they dug into each other’s steak and ripped it apart. They exchanged numerous possibilities in their minds through that interaction. Crockta put his will into action and distorted causality.

“The Pinnacle state is becoming one with the world,” was what Xantimur had said. Crockta gritted teeth upon recalling the dragon’s words. “But there is a state beyond that, where you can wield the world according to your will. ... The world calls those who achieve that state ‘Heroes.’”

The world shook.

Before Crockta realized it, a whole steak was dangling from his fork, while Xantimur’s fork was frozen in midair. Crockta had managed to snatch Xantimur’s whole steak.

“This is...” Crockta uttered.

He felt like he had just discovered the clue to attaining the Hero-Tier. Like a butterfly causing a gust of wind by flapping its wings, Heroes started small but ultimately changed the world. He wanted to immediately put his greatsword into action.

“Hahaha!” Crockta laughed. He smiled contentedly as he called out, “Xantimur!”

“Yes?” replied Xantimur with a pitying expression. “If you thought the steak was that good, why didn’t you just ask for more?”

“...!” Crockta tried to fight the claim. “It’s a misunderstanding. That’s not—!”

Tiyo also clicked his tongue. “Tsk, tsk. Regardless of how hungry you are, it’s rude to snatch someone else’s food, Crockta!”

“Th-That’s not it,” said Crockta.

However, everyone around him was looking at him with cold eyes.

“Orc friend kyak! You need to learn proper table manners kyak!” criticized the goblin.

The ogre also looked disappointed. Most of the others in the banquet hall were not on Crockta’s side. Crockta wanted to protest further, but he decided to keep his mouth shut after seeing Anor heap some food onto his plate.

“Here, have some of mine,” said Anor.

Crockta gave up defending himself and looked down at the plate in front of him. The steak was certainly tasty. Crockta shoved a piece of meat into his mouth with his head hung low.

“Bul’tar...”

***

“It’s nice here,” said Anor.

Anor, Tiyo, and Crockta were all staying in the same room. Xantimur’s castle felt like a different world because they had been camping and sleeping out in the open ever since departing from Nuridot.

Anor had just finished a hot bath and changed into his pajamas, and his soft skin was glistening. Crockta was reminded that Anor was a member of the beautiful elf species. Anor’s face shone in the dimly lit room.

Tiyo also looked nice after washing up and putting on the pajamas that they had been provided with at the castle. With his newly immaculate appearance, Tiyo had an affluent air to him, but he still looked adorable like a child of royalty.

“Yeah!” agreed Crockta.

Unlike the other two, Crockta’s face appeared even more frightening than usual.

“I wish we could continue staying here...” muttered Anor.

Nevertheless, they all knew that wasn’t possible.

“We don’t have a lot of time,” said Tiyo.

“Yeah...” replied Anor.

Their goal was to face the chiefdom orcs after acquiring the help of dark elves and visiting the Temple of the Fallen God in Nameragon. They were enjoying a brief period of peace right now, but a horrendous war awaited them further north.

“Crockta, when should we leave?” asked Tiyo.

Crockta closed his eyes, lost in thought. Training while residing at the castle would help them greatly, but they couldn’t stay here forever. He tried to gauge a reasonable amount of time.

“At most, one week,” answered Crockta.

“One week...” muttered Tiyo.

“Won’t we see some results by then?” asked Crockta.

Tiyo nodded. “It’s a shame we have to leave.”

He had grown close with Kaio, the goblin archer, after bickering with him so much.

“We can come here again sometime.”

“Again...?” questioned Anor.

“Yes,” said Crockta with a smile. “It’d be nice to return here and spend a long vacation after defeating the chiefdom and bringing peace to the north.”

“Ohh... That sounds good,” replied Tiyo.

“I’m looking forward to it,” said Anor with a laugh.

“I will be even stronger by then and flatten Kiao’s nose,” added Tiyo.

“Haha, you can’t flatten his nose in a week?” said Crockta.

“I don’t want to admit it, but he’s quite good. It would be tough with just one week,” replied Tiyo.

Crockta agreed with him. It was difficult to defeat these monsters who were aiming to reach their pinnacle state. Xantimur wasn’t the only one who was strong in the Black Forest. It was a dangerous place filled with countless strong beings.

“Even one month wouldn’t be enough for me,” expressed Crockta.

He had experienced the beginning of a new state within him, but he was unsure whether he could defeat the black dragon Xantimur any time soon. Nevertheless, Crockta was certain he could do it one day.

“Good work, everyone,” said Anor while rolling around leisurely on the bed.

He didn’t seem worried about anything as he repeatedly burrowed his face into the soft blanket.

“Let’s train hard tomorrow,” said Tiyo.

“Yeah,” replied Crockta.

“I will turn off the lights,” stated Tiyo.

“Everyone, good night,” said Anor.

That’s how the first day came to an end in the Black Forest.

***

Some time had passed by, and Crockta was now able to hold out against Xantimur for much longer than before. Xantimur’s counting of Crockta’s deaths had dwindled to silence a long time ago.

Crockta was currently swinging his greatsword and driving Xantimur into a corner. He could now arrive at a pinnacle state instantly, as if he were turning on a switch, and then slash his opponent. Nonetheless, Xantimur remained a formidable opponent as expected. Crockta was able to truly experience what a talented swordsman Xantimur was when they fought in their pinnacle states. Yet, even Xantimur was not at the level of a Hero. How strong did one have to be to possess Hero-Tier strength?

“Crockta, is your goal to kill the chieftain?” asked Xantimur during the spar.

“Yes,” replied Crockta.

The more he learned about the chieftain, the more he realized that he needed to get rid of that orc. The chieftain was a dangerous figure who not only threatened the northern region but the southern region as well.

“It won’t be easy,” commented Xantimur.

“Would it be hard for you to defeat him?”

“Perhaps.”

Crockta stopped in his tracks while wondering, ‘Is the chieftain that strong?’

“Are his abilities stronger than yours?” asked Crockta.

“That’s probably not the case,” answered Xantimur as he calmed his breathing. “But there are many ways to become strong. There is more than one path to sharpen one’s strength.”

“What do you mean?”

“You will learn in the future.”

Xantimur swung his sword, and it collided against Crockta’s greatsword with a clang.

“Just focus on me for now,” said Xantimur.

“Haha, understood.”

Crockta and Xantimur continued sparring together. The spars had initially been one-sided with Crockta being overwhelmed by Xantimur, but that gradually changed as Crockta managed to fight back more and more. Xantimur was going easy on him, but Crockta had improved a lot.

That was the same for Tiyo.

“Ahhhhhh! General, evolve!” urged Tiyo.

He closed his eyes and focused his attention on the General. Its appearance gradually changed; its muzzle opened up, and its barrel expanded. The General transformed into the Vulcan, a cannon!

“I failed to make it into a regular cannon, but this also has its charms,” said Tiyo.

He aimed the Vulcan at Kiao, who had a displeased look on his face.

“Stop doing little tricks like that! You should aim to fire one decisive shot with your heart!” exclaimed Kiao.

“Shut up. If I don’t make it the first time, then I will fire two shots. And if that doesn’t work, then I will fire four, eight, ten times!” shouted Tiyo.

“You stubborn gnome kyak!”

“You close-minded goblin!”

The bickering pair glared at each other.

Kiao shook his head, raised his short bow, and nocked an arrow on the bowstring. A frightening aura rose from him like a dragon with a pearl in its mouth raising its head in the background. Kiao aimed his arrow, which had the power of a storm condensed inside, at Tiyo.

However, Tiyo could put up a fight now. He aimed the muzzle of the Vulcan at Kiao. The Vulcan rotated and prepared to fire numerous magical bullets as Kiao’s arrow departed from his bow.

“Kyuoh! Kyah kekiyo kuaek!” Kiao cried out spiritedly in the goblin language.

A powerful storm arose, shaking Xantimur\'s lair and stirring up a whirlwind. Tiyo stood on the battleground like a candle flame about to go out. He was engulfed by the terrifying tempest.

“...!”

The trainees who were watching the face-off between the goblin and the gnome swallowed nervously. They wondered if the gnome was about to get crushed from the force of the arrow.

However, a flash of light that resembled a strike of lightning suddenly appeared inside the storm. It was accompanied by thunderous gunfire! Tiyo’s Vulcan attacked the storm with a barrage of magic bullets.

The two forces clashed with unstoppable strength. The power of Kiao’s storm tore apart time and space, but Tiyo’s iridescent magic bullets put up a formidable fight. It was a battle with both of their powers stretched to their limits. The battle ended with a bang as the arrow’s storm and the General’s destructive power created a giant explosion and then died together. Kiao and Tiyo were blown away by the shockwave and sent flying into the sky.

A mushroom cloud swept through the training ground. After the smoke dissipated, a goblin and a gnome were sprawled on the training ground.

“Ugh... As expected... you’re strong...” muttered Tiyo.

“You have grown so much. Impressive kyak...” said the goblin.

The two exchanged glances while lying on the ground. Then they showed a thumbs-up sign to each other.

When they first ran into each other at the Black Forest, they were busy mocking each other and pointing their thumbs down. Now, they acknowledged one another.