Chapter 101 : Witch Blacksmith (2)
Chapter 101: Witch Blacksmith (2)
‘As expected.’
The fact that the Mana Heart had been created in the lower abdomen instead of the heart meant that the Grand Warrior had learned martial arts.
‘I asked just in case I was mistaken. Now it's certain.’
His ancestor, the Grand Warrior, had mastered the Martial God's martial arts.
Moreover, there was no doubt he had reached a realm so extraordinary that he could defeat a transcendent being.
“By any chance, did the Grand Warrior leave anything behind? For example, a swordsmanship manual.”
“No. My friend didn't want to pass down his secret art through written words. To begin with, he never seemed to have any intention of teaching his swordsmanship.”
“So he never taught it to anyone else?”
“As you know, swordsmanship requires a matching mana cultivation method. But none of the warriors were able to learn the Grand Warrior's mana cultivation method. So what would have been the point of leaving it behind? That's also why I was so surprised. Just how did you manage to learn my friend's swordsmanship?”
“That is...”
Leon hesitated.
The reason Leon had been able to learn the Martial God's martial arts was because of the memories of his previous life.
And most people did not believe in previous lives.
Moreover, this world did not even possess the concept of reincarnation.
Even if he explained it, he doubted Circe would understand.
Instead, Leon chose to describe his previous life indirectly.
“When I was five years old, it suddenly came to me. The mana cultivation method and the swordsmanship.”
“There were no signs beforehand?”
“No.”
“How strange. My friend gave me the exact same answer.”
“…What do you mean by that?”
“My friend, the Grand Warrior, was just like you. He said that one day he suddenly came to understand a mana cultivation method and swordsmanship. To be honest, I was bewildered. Creating swordsmanship is something even formidable experts find difficult. And the swordsmanship the Grand Warrior used was incredibly profound. I couldn't understand how someone could suddenly comprehend something of that level overnight... but now I think I finally do.”
“You think you do?”
“It must have been Solar's Blessing.”
Circe pointed toward the sky as she spoke.
“I don't know if you're aware, but Solar shared a portion of His power with the Grand Warrior. I never knew exactly what He had shared... but after seeing you, I finally understand. What Solar bestowed was knowledge. Swordsmanship, mana cultivation methods, and many other martial arts. I could never understand how a warrior could wield such profound martial arts... but after seeing you, it all makes sense.”
“……”
Leon barely restrained himself from denying her words.
He wanted to blurt out that it wasn't like that at all.
After all, the reason he had mastered the Martial God's martial arts was because of the memories of his previous life.
It seemed his failure to explain everything had led to a misunderstanding.
‘No... is it really a misunderstanding?’
A thought suddenly crossed Leon's mind.
The similarity between the Grand Warrior and himself.
To everyone else, both had suddenly come to know mana cultivation methods and swordsmanship overnight.
From there, Leon formed a hypothesis.
What if the Grand Warrior, like him, had awakened memories of a previous life?
At that instant, Leon's eyes gleamed.
It was an incredibly convincing possibility.
What if the Grand Warrior had been the Martial God in his previous life and had simply regained those memories?
Of course, there was still the possibility that wasn't the case.
Nevertheless, Leon felt certain of his hypothesis.
‘I remembered my previous life. There's no rule saying no one else could.’
More importantly, another theory lent even more credibility to it.
What if the power Solar had bestowed was actually the ability to awaken memories of a previous life?
‘Honestly, out of every theory I've considered until now, this one makes the most sense.’
In the Martial Alliance, the Martial God had been said to reach the Realm of Life and Death, a realm where one comprehended the boundary between life and death.
The Peak Realm, which surpassed human limits.
The Mysterious Realm, which surpassed that wall once more.
And finally, the Realm of Life and Death, which transcended even the wall beyond that wall.
There was a reason he had earned the title of Martial God.
‘It was said that those who reached the Realm of Life and Death could shatter mountains and split seas.’
And a warrior's body excelled at deepening the mastery of such a realm even further.
‘Even I, an ordinary third-rate ronin, reached the Transcendent Master Realm.’
With the Martial God's talent, he must have surpassed even the Realm of Life and Death and reached an even higher realm.
Leon trembled.
He couldn't suppress the thrill coursing through him.
A realm beyond the Realm of Life and Death.
‘In the Martial Alliance, the Realm of Life and Death was called the Realm of the Gods.’
If that was true, then what realm had the Martial God reached when he defeated the Evil God?
‘He must have attained a realm capable of slaying an omnipotent being.’
Only then did he understand.
Why everyone kept saying he possessed the same power as the Grand Warrior.
The only difference between himself and the Grand Warrior was that one had been the Martial God, while the other had merely been a third-rate ronin.
‘Ridiculous. Just because I remembered my previous life, they think I possess the same power as the Grand Warrior.’
The thought was so absurd that a chuckle escaped him.
Seeing Leon react that way, Circe looked puzzled.
“Why are you laughing like that? Was my guess wrong?”
“I laughed because you were too accurate. It's just that... I realized the power Solar bestowed wasn't anything extraordinary.”
“Oh? May I ask why you think that?”
“Even if I explained it, you wouldn't understand. If I had to say one thing, it would be this—the power Solar bestowed can only truly be handled by someone like the Grand Warrior.”
Of course.
How could someone compare the talent of the Martial God to that of a mere third-rate ronin?
He himself hadn't even been anyone remarkable in his previous life.
Simply recalling those memories could never be enough to defeat someone comparable to a god.
‘Now I finally feel relieved.’
Until now, whenever the thought crossed his mind that his strength wasn't the result of his own efforts but rather the power Solar had bestowed...
Leon had secretly been deeply unsettled.
The strength Leon desired was strength he had earned himself.
He had even considered discarding any power that had been handed to him on a silver platter.
But every one of those doubts disappeared after this conversation.
‘I'd wondered why Circe said it was fate that we met.’
Now he finally understood.
‘Solar... You've been watching over me all along.’
The anxiety and doubt he had carried in his heart had all been swept away.
That was more valuable than anything else.
At first, Leon had believed the reason he met Circe was because of the sword.
To a swordsman, a sword was no different from a part of the body.
And naturally, the stronger one's body, the better.
So he had assumed Solar had arranged their meeting for that reason alone.
But He truly was a god.
His perspective was completely different from that of someone like Leon.
‘My heart feels warm.’
Until now, Leon had disliked the fact that a god had been intervening in his life.
That feeling completely disappeared because of this incident.
He felt as though he could overcome any hardship that awaited him.
Leon barely calmed his excitement before speaking.
Watching his expression, Circe looked at him curiously.
“Hmm... I don't know what happened, but it seems everything worked out. In any case, now that I know what kind of swordsmanship you use, the only thing left is forging your sword.”
“Grandma, everything's ready in the workshop.”
Just then, Bestie announced that the preparations were complete.
Circe rolled up her sleeves slightly and smiled.
“Looks like it's time to show my skills after a long while.”
Uuuuuuuung-!!
The moment she spoke, the machinery began operating with a head-splitting roar.
The gears turned repeatedly, and heat gradually spread from the mechanisms.
Fwoosh-!!
In an instant, the workshop became unbearably hot.
For a moment, Leon questioned his own senses.
Just moments ago, the room had been pleasantly cool.
Yet in the blink of an eye, the temperature had completely changed.
It was hard to believe, even while witnessing it with his own eyes.
Leon murmured in amazement.
“So this is a witch's workshop...”
“You'll probably be staying here for about three days.”
“How fascinating. I heard your grandmother isn't in good health. Is it really alright for her to stay in a place like this for so long?”
“Mm... that's fine. As long as she takes her medicinal herbs on time.”
“Come to think of it, you said you came to gather medicinal herbs when you were surrounded by goblins.”
“Yes. I never expected to run into goblins.”
“It couldn't be helped. How could mere humans ignore the arrangements of a god?”
“I guess that's true.”
Bestie laughed innocently.
Watching her, Leon thought,
‘Her personality is as gentle as her appearance.’
It really was strange.
Bestie, Circe's granddaughter, gave off a completely different impression from her grandmother.
To be honest, he even questioned whether they truly shared the same blood.
After all, humans sometimes took in and raised children who weren't related to them.
Leon suspected Bestie might be a similar case.
As evidence, Bestie was noticeably weaker than Circe.
She had nearly been killed by goblins capable of slaughtering grown men.
There had been three of them, but goblins were fundamentally weak demonic beasts.
Anyone who had learned even basic magic or swordsmanship could easily kill them.
‘It can't be helped. I'll help her gather medicinal herbs.’
Leon decided to help Bestie despite the inconvenience.
After all, she had nearly died to mere goblins.
Although Solar had intentionally arranged that situation...
Perhaps because he had witnessed it himself, he simply couldn't feel comfortable letting her go alone.
Moreover, her grandmother, Circe, was forging a sword for his sake.
Even beasts repaid kindness.
How could he, a human, fail to uphold even the most basic sense of gratitude?
When Leon suggested accompanying her to gather medicinal herbs, Bestie smiled brightly.
“Sounds great!”
With those words, Leon and Bestie stepped outside the cabin.
“The medicinal herbs are where we first met. I was supposed to gather them before, but everything happened so suddenly that I forgot.”
“I see.”
As they chatted while walking, they soon reached their destination.
“Please wait here. If someone isn't experienced like me, they might damage the herbs while digging them up. It won't take long.”
“Understood.”
Leon nodded in agreement.
As he quietly waited, the pungent smell of blood lingering in the air made him frown.
‘Is this... from the goblins I killed earlier?’
Come to think of it, the goblin corpses he had left here were nowhere to be seen.
Had wild animals eaten them?
‘That wouldn't explain why there aren't any traces left behind...’
How strange.
He could smell the blood, yet the bodies that should have been producing that scent had completely vanished.
‘Could it be because of Circe's barrier?’
Circe had said that, thanks to the barrier, there was no need to worry about demonic beasts.
She had even remarked that Leon entering the barrier in the first place was something that shouldn't have happened.
At the time, he hadn't fully understood what she meant.
Now, he thought he did.
“I'm done!”
Just then, Bestie returned with a smile.
The scent of medicinal herbs mingled with the smell of fresh earth lingering on her fingertips.
She must have gathered them with great care.
Leon asked,
“Is that everything?”
“Mm... Normally, yes. But since you're here, Leon, I'm feeling a little greedy.”
“Greedy?”
“I mean outside the barrier. Normally, I can't go out there by myself.”
“I see.”
Leon nodded in understanding.
Bestie was weak enough to lose even against goblins.
If she encountered bandits, she wouldn't even be able to resist before being kidnapped.
On top of that, she was exceptionally beautiful.
If she were ever captured, nothing good would come of it.
“Very well. Times like this are exactly when it's worth being a little greedy.”
“Yay! Thank you!”
Bestie grinned happily.