Episode 4
“I brought you the fattest kids in my house, so please understand.”
“I don’t need all of them, and if the quality is low, I’ll have to make up for it with quantity. Bring one more with the right ones.”
Morris said intimidatingly, thrusting in his large body.
I was silent for a moment in my absurd mind.
Then Maurice and his gang, thinking I was frightened, glanced at each other and laughed at me.
But inside I was very calm.
After avoiding life-threatening mutants and finally experiencing death, I was not easily shaken by anything.
‘I was going to put up with it because this wouldn’t happen if Mr. Harbert came.’
Looking at the twists and turns, it seems that it is wrong to go over finely.
I tried for a long time to coax Maurice.
But Maurice was stubborn.
“Really, this seems too far-fetched. Then I’ll show it to the chief, and if the chief says the same, I’ll do what he says. Okay?”
I’ve never seen the chief scold Maurice.
Perhaps because of his lack of education, Maurice became increasingly intolerant and tyrannical.
However, perhaps because he knew the heart of the chief who cared for him, Maurice did not act recklessly in front of the chief.
“It’s my job to manage the taxes, so why are you talking to my grandfather! Yes. I don’t want to bring them, right? Then I’ll see you later when the official comes. It’s all your choice.”
The dispute between us ends as an internal matter, but when an official from the county gets involved, the problem becomes serious.
Avoiding taxes is a felony.
Meeting a greedy official could cost you dearly, regardless of the truth.
‘What to do with this bastard? Should I do whatever I want and ask the village chief to compensate me?’
At that time, I was contemplating whether to accept Maurice’s insistence or not.
A heavy male voice came from behind.
“It seems like we have different opinions. Is there anything to worry about? We just have to decide whose claim is right with a duel.”
Uncle Herbert was standing where he heard the voice.
***
Harbert left the wagon driver behind and ran to the village first on his horse.
Back home after 6 years.
The people changed little by little, but the unchanging scenery of the village gave me a new impression.
From noble mtl dot com
After surviving at the cost of his brother-like friend Yorick’s life.
After overcoming countless deaths for 10 years, he rose to the position of the enemy of the Knights.
If he wanted, he could join the Knights of the White Leopard, the royal guard of the Earl of Stoke, and even aim for aristocratic status.
Tired of the war, however, Herbert gave up all his posts and chose to spend the rest of his life as the lord of his hometown.
‘His name was Ian.’
Rather than the masculine appearance of Yorick, the child resembles his beautiful wife and looks quite pretty.
It would have been possible because he was a young child who was less stained with the dirt of the world, but the bold image of him asking to pass on the mana simbeop came to mind.
‘If you haven’t forgotten your promise, I’ll keep it too.’
Except for a few geniuses, to become a high-ranking samurai requires systematic training and painstaking efforts from an early age.
Herbert heading to the battlefield can’t train Ian.
He had no choice but to promise that if he trained enough until he returned, he would teach him the mana simbeop.
If Ian wanted to become a knight, I also thought of doing my best to support him.
The problem was that in order to be appointed as a knight, you had to go up to at least 4th level, but it was judged to be a little difficult given Ian’s mana talent.
However, if he resembled Yorick, his strength and motor skills would be excellent.
Since he was still young, he still had plenty of room to grow as long as he had the basics in place.
‘It’s different depending on how hard you try, but with Yorick’s mana simbeop, there won’t be any problem in climbing to the third tier.’
Herbert knows two mana techniques.
One is the black panther mana simbeop he received after becoming a knight of the Earl of Stoke, and the other is the yorick mana simbeop obtained through Yorick’s death.
Mana simbeop is divided into five grades: lowest, lowest, middle, upper, and highest.
Among them, from the middle level and above, they are treated like treasures, and sometimes life-and-death fights take place to obtain the simbeop.
The black leopard mana mental method belonging to the intermediate level cannot be passed on to others without the Count’s permission.
It’s not a moral issue, it’s because of restrictions through the Mana Oath.
In the end, the only mana simbeop he could pass on to Ian was the Yorick mana simbeop he had created.
Those who have a genius talent for mana even create their own mana simbeop.
Harbert was a genius among geniuses who realized mana at the late age of 30 and rose to the 7th rank in just 10 years.
Yorick’s mana sim method had much better performance than the lowest sim method on the market.
While struggling with how to roll Ian to grow into a great warrior.
Herbert arrived near the Manor House.
Herbert, who has risen to the 7th rank of the samurai, has a sense that far exceeds that of ordinary people.
He listened to the sound of Ian and Maurice arguing in the manor house.
After listening to the story for a while, Herbert had a good idea.
‘It’s just fine. I can check to make sure I haven’t forgotten the promise.’
The Kingdom of Blanton has a culture that worships strength.
Due to this, there exists a duel trial, which is a long tradition and custom, and in case of disagreement and ambiguous judgment, anyone could get his opinion through a duel.
Herbert said quietly as he crossed the door of the Youngju House.
“It seems like we have different opinions. Is there anything to worry about? We just have to decide whose claim is right with a duel.”
Everyone was surprised by Herbert’s sudden appearance.
He had heard that Harbert was taking over as lord, but he had heard that he had some time left before he arrived.
Morris, in particular, only knew that his heart was falling.
A situation in which he was acting out of nonsense.
If Herbert had not suggested a trial by dueling, he would have been anxious to see if he had made a bad impression.
“Hello, Nari.”
“Yes, Maurice. How are you?”
“Yes, sir. Thanks to you, I’ve been fine.”
“It seems like yesterday that I followed Uncle Waldo around when I was little, but in the meantime, a lot has changed.”
“I’m sorry, sir.”
Maurice lowered his head in shame when he saw Herbert’s strange smile.
“What do you have to be sorry about? A duel will determine the right or wrong. If you agree with me, come and stand here.”
Maurice, who hesitated for a moment at Herbert’s words, gritting his teeth and went out into the clearing.
“Ian, you too.”
“Yes. Lord.”
Ian bowed to Harbert and walked out after Maurice.
Ian and Maurice faced each other.
Ian had a good physique, but Maurice was big enough to believe that he was an orc.
When the burned face was added to that, he looked like a mercenary who had been on the battlefield for a long time.
Maurice was confident.
Because of his inferiority complex due to his appearance, he had frequent fights since childhood.
With his natural physique and athleticism, he had never lost a fight before.
‘Baby Ian. I was going to fix it sometime, but it worked.’
Hesitation due to old memories.
And since there was no proper justification, he never punched Ian even if he had a fight with him.
By the way, Herbert made a good cause.
Maurice was annoyed every time he saw Ian.
Because of his ugly appearance, he received invisible cold treatment from people no matter how hard he tried.
However, Ian couldn’t help but feel annoyed when people favored him just because he was handsome.
Morris thought the world was too unfair.
If he himself looked like Ian, he would have been able to laugh and be friendly with people.
‘Because he’s like a son of a b*tch. Emily, Sienna and Dorothy. They all love you. Just because he has a good-looking face.’
Nothing breaks a young man’s heart like love.
Especially if it’s unrequited love.
Moments after Ian and Maurice face each other.
Herbert exclaimed loudly.
“What are you looking at? Start!”
oh oh oh-
At the same time, Maurice screamed and punched Ian in the face.
His voice was loud, but his movements were simple.
His fists were clenched tightly and his lower body was stable.
He watched Ian’s shoulders and feet with his eyes and prepared for an attack.
‘This kind of guy is like a fistful.’
The moment Maurice’s fist was about to hit Ian’s nose.
puck!
Maurice sat down on his knees, feeling a tearing pain in his stomach.
He was clearly on the verge of being punched in Ian’s face, but in an instant, Ian’s fist was stuck in his stomach.
Maurice could not hold back the rising vomit and vomited it up.
I couldn’t even make a sound because of the pain I felt in my stomach and the vomiting coming up from my throat.
‘Nonsense. How is this possible? It’s against the rules for a handsome guy to even fight well!’
So far, Ian hasn’t had a single fight.
Of course, I thought that fists would not work for me.
Maurice was furious when even the parts he thought were superior to Ian disappeared.
At the same time, like an illusion, I felt a burning sensation in my lower abdomen.
As he lifted his head with difficulty, holding back the nausea, he saw Ian’s eyes looking down at him pathetically.
‘b*tch. Why are you staring at me like that!’
At that moment, Maurice’s anger reached its peak, and the heat in his lower abdomen that felt like an illusion spread throughout his body.
“die!”
Maurice felt an uncontrollable force and reached his fist toward Ian’s chin.
No, I was trying to stretch.
f*ck!
Ian’s knee hit Maurice’s chin, and Maurice’s eyes opened and he fell backwards.
“Hoo.”
Herbert, who watched the scene, opened his eyes wide in surprise.
Ian fought better than Herbert expected.
The simple and agile movement without unnecessary was a movement that could not be seen unless the body was trained.
But Ian’s display was commendable, not surprising.
It was Maurice that surprised Herbert.
‘Where did you learn it? Did you realize it yourself?’
Mana is the source of the world.
Everything from a tiny grain of sand to the sun in the sky is just another form of mana.
Although mana exists everywhere, recognizing and dealing with it is a separate issue.
If you can’t even feel the blood flowing through your body right now, what about mana that you can’t even detect with your five senses?
‘Morris was a genius. Uncle Waldo would be very happy if he knew.’
Nevertheless, there are geniuses in the world who can make things that are thought impossible possible.
When the heart beats fast, the blood vessels pulsate and feel the blood flow indirectly.
Those who have a natural talent for mana perceive mana through the shaking of the soul the moment their emotions are maximized.
Just as Harbert realized mana through Yorick’s death.
Maurice possesses mana, albeit weakly.
Ian knocked out Maurice with one shot.
I could guess how much effort Ian must have put in to defeat an opponent wrapped in mana with his bare body.
However, Maurice’s talent was in a different dimension that could not be reached by effort.