Chapter 185

Chapter 185:  Ready.

After Beryl had mastered the Wave Swordsmanship.

“Uaaaah, I got himmm!”

“I did it toooo! You damn bastard, Ghast!”

“Heeek, heeeek, those damn persistent freaks.”

All across the training grounds, the roars of knights echoed as they took down the Ghasts.

Maybe it was thanks to that.

Once they had experienced their moment of enlightenment, the knights were now able to perform both the Manjo and Ganjyo styles as naturally as breathing during combat. Some even managed to imbue their blades with waves.

Watching this, Hardin smiled with satisfaction and thought to himself.

‘These guys… maybe they’re more tenacious than I gave them credit for?’

It had been three and a half months since training began.

Considering there was still a month left until their journey to the canyon of Veritarun, they were now at least two weeks ahead of schedule.

Unable to suppress a smile, the corners of Hardin’s lips twitched.

“Lord Young Master, is something wrong?”

“Hm? What do you mean.”

“Your expression just now… it looked a bit off. Are you feeling unwell?”

Manton, who had been standing beside him, asked with a concerned look.

Since he’d been assisting Hardin with instructing the other knights after “graduating” from Wave Swordsmanship, he was naturally at his side.

Hardin cleared his throat and replied.

“Hrmm, it’s nothing.”

“…I see.”

At that moment, Beryl, who had his arms crossed, let out a deep sigh and said,

“Geez. You really are clueless, aren’t you?”

“…What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You’re proud right now, aren’t you? Huh? You’re proud because the knights of Daphne are pulling off the sword techniques you taught them splendidly. Isn’t that right, Lord Young Master?”

“……”

This bastard… why is he only sharp at times like this?

Hardin turned his head to the side to avoid eye contact.

Then Manton shook his head and responded,

“No way. We still have a long way to go. There’s no way Lord Young Master would be satisfied with just this much. Isn’t that right?”

“Y-Yeah… I guess so. Hrm!”

As Hardin nodded with an awkward smile, Beryl mumbled with a pout,

“Doesn’t seem like it… looked like a satisfied smile to me.”

Cough! Cough! “Anyway, whoever hasn’t finished off their targets, make sure you wrap it up yourselves. I’ve got something to take care of.”

“Yessir, good luck.”

“Understood.”

As the two bowed slightly, Hardin disappeared and made his way toward a nearby wooded hill.

---

A short while later. Beneath a waterfall, in a place overflowing with mana—

“Fuuuuu, guess it’s about time I wrap this up too.”

Crashhhh!

Hardin dumped a handful of elixirs from his backpack onto the ground.

‘Heart of the Sea.’

An elixir that carried Daphne’s secret recipe, created by mixing various marine herbs with the poison of the Skull Puffer found near Mudside.

It was the same stuff he'd fed the knights before the Kreveion Subjugation in the past—except now, he had made this much of it.

Since it wasn’t a particularly high-grade elixir, it didn’t have much of an effect on someone at Hardin’s current level, but with how many of them there were…

‘These are just support, nothing more.’

The true core of this training lay in something entirely different: Hardin’s months-long meditation at the Blue Hole, and the contemplation behind forming a new structure for the mana and core built up in his body.

This time, the goal Hardin had in mind was…

‘To maximize the efficiency of my core.’

His current core took the form of two fused together.

Originally, that bastard Shagrath had eight of these cores linked together.

‘But my body can’t handle that.’

That was only possible for him because of his absurdly massive body.

Even now, Hardin was already nearing the limit of what his body could withstand from the output of just two cores.

So instead of simply increasing the number of cores, he’d chosen to focus on maximizing the efficiency of the mana within them.

The simplest way to do that—

‘Is to extend circuits throughout my entire body.’

Mana circuits—one of the most standard and universal methods by which knights stored mana inside their bodies.

Not only were they highly stable, but the more circuits one had branching far and wide, the more efficiently one could absorb and release mana.

That’s why for high-ranking knights, it was standard to have their bodies densely woven with mana circuits from head to toe.

Of course, Varlach had done the same in the past.

So the conclusion he came to was this:

‘I’ll merge the strengths of both the core and the circuits.’

Cores enabled explosive absorption and release of mana.

They had an overwhelming advantage compared to mana circuits—but naturally, they came with downsides.

Having explosive power meant unavoidable mana loss during the process.

While the incredible rate of mana absorption helped mitigate some of that…

If he could just solve this issue, there was no doubt it would result in a dramatic increase in power.

On top of that—

‘I’ll extend as many mana circuits across my body as I can, anchored from the two cores.’

Right now, Hardin’s body already had two cores at its center.

If he built circuits branching out from that foundation, he could generate them at a speed incomparable to an ordinary knight.

Using the mana accumulated through nearly a year of training, along with more than a hundred Hearts of the Sea—

He would use all of it to overlay mana circuits onto his body.

His immediate goal: to build the densest circuits possible along his dominant right arm.

If he could just succeed in this...

‘I’ll reach at least the minimum level needed to face Veritarun.’

Of course, he couldn’t claim the process would be easy.

Creating mana circuits centered around his cores—

Even that insane bastard Shagrath had never attempted such a thing.

‘I can do it.’

I am Varlach Daphne.

The one destined to become an immortal knight—never to be defeated by anyone ever again.

“Fuuuuuuuu.”

Hardin took a deep breath, then firmly gripped a Heart of the Sea and shoved it into his mouth, one after another.

Crunch, crunch!

With the thick aroma of marine herbs, the neutralized poison and mana flowed into his body.

He devoured every single Heart of the Sea he had prepared without pause.

‘Damn, this hurts like hell.’

It felt like his esophagus was on fire, burning away.

And when it passed down into his stomach, the pain grew even worse.

“Grrraaaaah…”

His body trembled violently, and beads of sweat formed on his forehead, dripping down.

“Don’t resist—just follow along.”

I’m kind of in a rush right now.

Hardin unleashed nearly half the energy stored in his cores to combat the toxins inside his body.

In an instant, a surge of blue light enveloped the green energy.

Rumble! Crack!

The energy inside Hardin’s body roared as if thunder were crashing within him.

The pain intensified with every passing moment.

Cough!

Blood dripped from his nose and mouth.

The refined mana he had accumulated over so long clashed against the mana tainted with poison from the Hearts of the Sea.

The two forces continued to collide, neither side yielding as they battled for dominance.

Well, the outcome was obvious.

“Ptuh! Damn nuisance.”

Hardin spat out a clump of blood from his mouth and wiped the nosebleed away with a swipe, a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips.

And then—the green energy was completely purified, replaced by a surging, vivid blue light that shimmered like the sea.

It had become the first sacrificial offering to strengthen his core.

“Alright then… let’s get to it.”

Hardin directed this massive energy toward the right side of his core.

‘Stretch long… far… as far as possible.’

Squelch, press…

Like shaping a lump of clay, he elongated the mass of mana and pushed it outward toward his right arm.

A long line of mana began to take form.

“Fuuuuuuuu.”

Hardin took deep, steady breaths, trying to stabilize the line as much as he could.

Once the trembling of the mana subsided—

“Grrrrghhhh!”

Hardin clenched his fist tight, his whole body trembling.

Then, the surface of the extended mana began to ripple—

Crack! Crackle!

Bit by bit, it split apart, spreading out like tree roots.

Soon, it began to attach itself to his veins, forming distinct structures of their own.

It was as if he had extended mana circuits throughout his entire body in a single instant.

Of course, this…

‘Is gonna friggin’ kill meeeeee!’

…was putting tremendous strain on his body.

The blood vessels in his eyes burst, and the core in his lower abdomen flared up to its limit.

He looked as if he could collapse from mana rampage at any moment.

But even so—

“You think I’m the only one who can’t pull this off?! Don’t screw with me!”

Hardin gritted his teeth and roared with all his might.

Even his subordinates had fully mastered Wave Swordsmanship.

He had completed every single preparation for this moment…

So how could I, the Young Master, fail now of all times?

---

—We’ll die here.

The pathetic words he had once hurled at his subordinates came back to him.

What a shameful thing to say.

The enemies they’d face in this upcoming battle… while the caliber may differ, they were cut from the same cloth.

No—given the current strength of Daphne, they might even be stronger.

Which meant…

In order not to repeat the same foolish mistake as back then—this was something he had to accomplish no matter what.

Even if it cost him his life.

“UAAAAHHHHH!”

He let out a scream, sharpening his consciousness to its very edge.

It felt like being submerged in the boiling water of hell itself.

A normal knight—or even those so-called Sword Saints—would never be able to remain sane in this level of agony.

But—

---

—C-Commander! Please, save us!

The memories of the past drove Hardin forward.

“Ggrrrhhh…”

Crack, crack.

It felt like he’d grind his molars into dust.

His face turned purple, and his core thrashed wildly, as if it could shatter at any moment.

How long had he endured that hellish stretch of time?

Spluuuurt!

This time, black blood poured from Hardin’s mouth like a waterfall.

It was a state of literally stepping back from death’s doorstep.

Haaah, haaah, haaah…

Even so—there was still fire in Hardin’s eyes.

Because—

“Father. Eldest Brother. And all you damned bastards…”

Vmmm!

From the core to the right arm.

He could feel the thick, lengthy mana circuit now branching out into countless limbs.

Those branches now transferred the immense mana emitted from Hardin’s core to the right side of his body with almost no loss.

Hardin stood up and drew the sword at his waist.

Then, he took a stance and infused his energy into the blade.

Vmmmmm! VMMMMMMMM!

It began with a Gyre.

And then—the energy that had condensed in the blade gathered at its very edge, reaching its absolute peak.

“Hhhhup!”

He thrust the sword forward.

The core, the mana circuit, and the sword in Hardin’s hand—

The three elements aligned as one, and then—

BOOOOOOM!

A torrent of blue light surged out with devastating force.

Shockwave.

The technique said to only be usable by knights of at least 3-star rank.

But this… this wasn’t the same. Its sheer intensity was on another level.

The instant the flash reached its destination—

BOOOOOOM!

It swept away everything in front—trees, rocks, all of it—without leaving a trace.

Moments later—

SSSSSSHHH!

What lay before Hardin looked like something hit by grand magic: a massive path carved into the earth.

“See? I may look like this, but I’m not the kind of guy who makes the same mistake twice.”

Just watch me.

Hardin collapsed on the spot, his shoulders heaving up and down.

And yet—there was a bittersweet smile tugging at his lips.