Episode 407
“Ugh, damn it. You idiot!”
Thwack!
The club Nigel was holding slammed into Zeke’s stomach.
“Ugh!”
He doubled over, clutching his abdomen, and collapsed to the ground.
Nigel glared at him, grinding her teeth.
“You butcher! You still can’t shake off those assassin habits… I told you to put your will into the sword, not your killing intent!”
Zeke crawled to grab his sword, panting heavily as he glared back at Nigel.
“My will… This is my will.”
Nigel pressed her fingers to her forehead, frowning deeply.
“Ha, this trash talks big.”
She tapped the club against her palm and approached the fallen Zeke.
“It seems it’ll take a lot of effort to extract that deep-seated killing intent from you.”
As Nigel advanced, exuding a terrifying aura, Zeke flinched. As a top hitman for the McCain Cartel, he thought he feared nothing. But now, he realized he was wrong.
”…Master. On second thought, maybe that wasn’t my true will. Can we try again?”
“It’s too late for that, you fool!”
Nigel’s beating commenced.
The club, infused with her formidable energy, pummeled Zeke’s body thoroughly.
“Ugh! Master! Please, spare me…!”
“Shut up! You idiot! Today, I’ll grind that killing intent out of you!”
Through Nigel’s relentless thrashing, Zeke managed to erase the remnants of his hitman days.
And as he endured the blows from the energy-infused club, his body adapted, surprisingly unlocking his mana core.
Nigel’s theory that getting beaten would somehow work was proven right.
Standing before her once more, having traversed time and space, Zeke found himself breaking into a cold sweat.
Nigel eyed him suspiciously.
“What? Why are you looking at me like that?”
“It’s nothing. Just… remembering the old days.”
“Get your head out of the clouds, or you’ll regret it. I can’t believe I’m teaching a human the art of true will. The end times must be near.”
She shook her head and looked at Zeke.
“Try activating the solo spell again.”
Zeke steadied his breathing and summoned his willpower.
Rumble!
A powerful energy enveloped him, but it was distinctly different from Nigel’s.
Nigel tilted her head, puzzled.
“Hmm, this isn’t right. Why is it like this?”
She realized that Zeke’s method of invoking the solo spell was similar to hers, yet his energy felt hollow.
Nodding to herself, Nigel spoke.
“There’s only one answer to this.”
She walked over, cut a thick branch, and began whittling it with her sword, infusing it with her will.
In no time, she had crafted a smooth club that fit perfectly in her hand.
Zeke broke into a sweat at the sight of it.
‘That… that looks just like…’
It was almost identical to the club that had beaten him senseless in his past life.
Nigel turned to Zeke, holding the finished club.
“Let’s get to it. You’ll get it eventually if you keep at it.”
The club, brimming with her teaching spirit, flew towards Zeke.
For a whole week, Zeke endured Nigel’s beatings, relearning the basics of true will.
“Again! You idiot!”
With a string of curses, the club flew at him once more.
Nigel’s energy-infused strikes were excruciating, even for Zeke, who possessed an immortal body.
Thwack!
“Ugh!”
Zeke gritted his teeth against the pain that seeped into his bones and got back up.
Knowing that his healing factor would quickly mend his injuries, Nigel had no qualms about hitting him harder.
At some point, she even started focusing on how to hit him to cause the most pain.
And indeed, the club, imbued with her will, hurt more than ever.
Ironically, the more he was hit, the more Zeke’s true will began to function properly.
But it wasn’t just Nigel’s beatings; it was Zeke’s desperate attempts to avoid her relentless blows that led to his progress.
Yet, he couldn’t quite close the final gap.
‘Why is my true will different from Master’s?’
After much contemplation, Zeke finally had a hunch.
He recalled when he first met Kaishir and used his true will, only to be told it was a “pseudo-technique mimicking dragon speech.”
Since then, he had sealed away his true will until he acquired the dragon speech skill.
“I think the difference comes from the dragon speech skill I use.”
Nigel frowned at his explanation.
“What’s dragon speech?”
“Since I’m human, I can’t fully harness the true power of will. So, I use dragon speech to draw on the power of words, adding it to my will.”
Nigel nodded, finally understanding.
“Hmm, so that’s why it felt off.”
After a moment of thought, she addressed Zeke.
“Show me this dragon speech of yours.”
At her request, Zeke demonstrated pure dragon speech, without invoking his true will.
“Burn.”
At his command, a fallen branch on the ground burst into flames.
Nigel looked at him incredulously.
“What is this? Isn’t this just dragon magic?”
“I’ve heard that dragon speech is necessary to perform dragon magic.”
Nigel nodded.
“I see the problem. Dragon speech involves imbuing words with will to make them reality. But in true will, words don’t hold much meaning. What’s crucial is concretizing the image within.”
“Concretizing the image?”
“That’s the foundation of true will. Didn’t you know that?”
Nigel had assumed Zeke understood the basics since he wielded true will so well. She hadn’t taught him the fundamentals.
She drew her sword and summoned her will.
“How does my energy appear to you now?”
It felt like solid steel, as it had before.
“It feels like the strength of steel.”
“Good. Now, what about this?”
Suddenly, Nigel’s energy shifted.
‘Huh?’
Zeke sensed a massive, ancient boulder-like presence from her.
“A boulder…?”
Nigel nodded, releasing her energy.
“Do you see the difference? The energy of steel and the energy of a boulder are both manifestations of will. But how you visualize them changes the power of true will.”
Zeke quickly grasped her explanation.
“Manifesting a concrete image… The double spell involves deeply imagining and expressing it with will.”
Watching Zeke rapidly absorb the essence of true will, Nigel began to understand why her past self had taken on a human disciple.
She swung her club with a flourish, shouting.
“Alright, now do it! If you fail, you’ll get another beating!”
Zeke gripped Bahamut and gathered his energy.
This time, he didn’t rely on dragon speech but used the power of his soul to channel his strength.
Sizzle―
The energy of true will rippled from Zeke’s body.
It was rougher than when he used dragon speech, but he could control it with his own will.
He infused the energy with a vivid image.
‘An impenetrable fortress.’
He envisioned a solid fortress, channeling his will into it.
Rumble―
Nigel watched in astonishment as a massive fortress seemed to materialize around Zeke.
‘A human can truly wield true will.’
Until now, she hadn’t believed Zeke could fully master true will.
She thought his dragon heart allowed him to mimic it imperfectly with dragon speech.
But now, she couldn’t deny the power emanating from him.
“Phew.”
Zeke withdrew his will, realizing that this method consumed more energy than using dragon speech, but it was imbued with genuine intent.
‘This is true will.’
Moreover, unlike before, there were no side effects like headaches, perhaps because he was much stronger than in his past life.
Zeke approached Nigel, who was staring at him in disbelief.
“Master, how was that? Did I do it right?”
Snapping out of her daze, Nigel shouted, flustered.
“Don’t get cocky just because you managed the basics!”
Zeke was momentarily taken aback.
‘Master praised me for the first time.’
In his past life, he had never done anything right, only receiving scoldings and beatings. But now, he had finally shown her something.
Zeke felt as if he was slowly healing from his past traumas.
Watching Zeke’s pleased expression, Nigel felt her temper rising.
She tossed aside the club she was holding and drew her sword once more.
The seemingly ordinary arming sword began to glow with an intense energy, transforming into a formidable weapon of immense power.
Nigel glanced at Zeke and spoke.
“I’ll make sure today’s lesson is etched into your very being.”
“Uh, Master? Can we take a short break…?”
“Silence! There’s no such thing as rest in my vocabulary!”
Forced into an endless sparring session with Nigel, Zeke found himself pushed to his limits.
Yet, thanks to his breakthrough skill, Zeke managed to surpass the barriers holding him back and mastered the true essence of his power.
A week later, Zeke had learned the remaining parts of the technique he hadn’t mastered in his previous life.
Rumble!
As Nigel parried Zeke’s sword, charged with the full force of his newfound power, a massive wave of energy erupted around them.
Nigel deftly deflected Zeke’s strike, concealing his presence and moving stealthily into Zeke’s blind spot.
Zeke, in turn, expanded his defensive aura, preparing to counter Nigel’s attack.
Crash!
After a fierce clash, the two stepped back, catching their breath with swords still in hand.
Nigel was the first to lower his weapon.
“That’s enough. Any more would be pointless.”
Zeke, now capable of wielding his power at Nigel’s level, couldn’t help but smile at the acknowledgment.
Seeing Zeke’s grin, Nigel clicked his tongue.
“You fool, the true power of the technique begins with the double spell! Don’t forget, you’re still far from catching up to me!”
Zeke chuckled at Nigel’s bluster.
Having overcome his past life’s trauma with his master, he could now face her without fear.
“Thank you for your guidance, Master.”
At Zeke’s words of gratitude, Nigel turned her head sharply and sat down at a makeshift table in the corner of the wooden house.
Zeke immediately began preparing a meal, pulling various tools from his inventory.
In his past life, Zeke had always prepared meals for Nigel, who never seemed to bother with food on her own.
As Zeke laid out the dishes, Nigel’s face lit up, and she eagerly began to eat.
Watching her stuff her cheeks full of food, Zeke handed her a glass of water.
“Please, take your time, Master.”
Though once a source of fear, Nigel had saved him in his past life and taught him much, allowing him to survive.
Zeke had always regretted not being able to apologize to the Nigel of his past life.
Sensing his thoughts, Nigel spoke while tearing into a piece of bread.
“Don’t make that face.”
“Sorry?”
“At first, I couldn’t understand why my past self took you in and sent you back… but now, I think I get it a little.”
She looked at Zeke and continued.
“Accepting you and releasing you from the pact were my choices. So there’s no need to feel sorry or indebted to my past self.”
Nigel’s words were exactly what Zeke needed to hear, as if she could see right into his heart.
Embarrassed, Zeke scratched his head.
”…I really can’t win against you, Master.”
“Hmph, it’ll take you a few hundred years to catch up to a great master like me.”
With a chuckle, she resumed her meal with gusto. Then, Zeke spoke up, looking at Nigel.
“Master, there’s something I’d like to ask you.”
Nigel frowned at the sudden change in atmosphere but then responded with a hearty tone.
“What is it? Go ahead and ask. The food’s good today, so I’ll answer.”
Zeke looked at Nigel and slowly asked.
“Master, are you… a dragon?”