Chapter 86: Courage (Part Two)

Ancestar retracted the foot he had stepped forward with and carefully observed the previously ignored Ollie. Despite her small stature, she concealed terrifying explosive power. If he ignored her appearance, she was a worthy opponent.

Ollie also stopped crying. She was nervous. Her left hand gripped the Grimoire, and Mana condensed in her hand. A Spell Model began to weave.

Ancestar felt the condensing Mana. His heart pounded fiercely—it was a potentially fatal danger! He had just begun the path of Wizardry and hadn’t truly chosen a path yet, but at this moment, he sensed the terror of a Wizard.

“Little girl, I mean no malice!” Ancestar quickly raised both hands, signaling his harmlessness.

Ollie looked at Ancestar seriously. The Wind Blade in her hand gradually took shape. Her eyes briefly glanced at Arno, who was packing the food.

“You are a contractor, too? Why are you here?”

Ancestar noticed Ollie’s gaze and replied, “I just unintentionally became a contractor and was wandering the fortress. I happened to see this scene. This boy is very resilient. I admire him.”

Ancestar had his own pride. He was the last inheritor of the esoteric Thought-Flow Knight Training Method. He had faked his death to escape the pursuers and came to the notorious, chaotic Monster Wilderness. He hadn’t expected to accidentally become a so-called Wizard Apprentice here.

Through the Introduction to Wizardry, he already knew what a Wizard was: a group of humans who researched supernatural power, and who had systematized and theorized their knowledge. In this respect, they completely surpassed his own martial art style.

However, he still had his pride. He always considered himself a Knight. He wanted to combine the essence of his training method with the Wizard’s path, but he hadn’t yet found a starting point.

Arno’s tenacity caught his attention. He wanted to approach Arno further.

“He is my family. You are not allowed to go near him!” Ollie raised the Wind Blade high, protecting Arno like a hen protecting her chick.

“Respected young lady, I mean no offense. But this boy is very unusual. I admire him. I want to teach him some skills, so he doesn’t end up with a bruised and battered face again. That is all.” Ancestar said seriously.

The Wind Blade in Ollie’s hand gradually dissipated. She suddenly bowed 90 degrees to Ancestar and said, “I misunderstood you. Please, you must teach him.”

The two followed the unaware Arno back to the relief home together.

Along the way, Ancestar learned more about Arno. He was a boy who, despite being a mortal, firmly believed he possessed the qualities of a Hero.

In the eyes of others, Arno was an oddity, but to Ancestar, this boy possessed the most precious quality: immense courage. He dared to carry the burdens and problems of others on his shoulders.

This was exactly the person Ancestar had been searching for—a passionate young man, just like his younger self.

“Ollie, Ollie! Look what I got!”

The bruised and battered Arno called out excitedly, gathering the teenagers who had lost everything in the attack by the dark worshipers.

Having only eaten diluted vegetable soup, their stomachs rumbling with hunger, the crowd looked weakly at Arno, then lowered their heads.

Arno didn’t immediately distribute the food. Instead, he went inside to look for Ollie but couldn’t find her.

Just as he grew anxious, Ollie walked in through the doorway.

“I was looking for you! Come on, let’s share the food. There’s meat!”

The teenagers heard Arno’s words, smelled the meat inside the opened cloth bag, and rushed forward excitedly.

“Wait! Wait! No snatching! This piece is for Ollie. The rest is for you all.” Arno commanded and shouted simultaneously.

“Here, I saved a piece for you.” Ollie smiled widely at Arno, swallowing her tears, and handed him a piece of cured meat.

In the afternoon, Arno practiced alone in the courtyard, recalling and attempting to imitate the movements of the boys who had beaten him that morning.

“Young man, do you want to learn some formidable moves?” Ancestar walked straight in and said to Arno.

“Who are you?”

Ancestar did not answer. He raised his fist and swung it at the ground of the relief home’s courtyard. His entire fist sank into the ground!

“Do you want to learn power like this?” Ancestar asked again.

“I want to!” Arno said without hesitation.

From that day on, Ancestar took Arno to the nearby refuse heap to train every afternoon and ensured he had sufficient meat to eat.

A month later, Arno’s ability to withstand blows and evade attacks greatly increased. The boys who paid with food to hit him could barely inflict any substantial harm.

“Melancholy Uncle, why do you only teach me how to take a beating and how to dodge? Why don’t you teach me how to fight back?” Arno asked Ancestar, pestering him after a training session.

“Arno, I want you to consider: why do you fight?” Ancestar asked Arno with a serious expression.

“Because I am a Hero,” Arno smiled, showing his eight teeth to Ancestar. “A Hero must be able to fight.”

“Then, what, in your opinion, defines a Hero?” Ancestar continued to ask Arno.

“A Hero is someone with the ability to protect the weak and save the good-hearted.” Arno’s voice suddenly softened. He thought of his father, a hunter with great character but no power, who was ultimately left hanging on a tree branch to be dried by the wind.

Arno could never forget his father’s eyes. They were not eyes of despair over losing his life, but eyes of guilt over his powerlessness to save everyone.

“I want the same quality as my father, but I must possess greater strength!” Arno suddenly shouted.

“Arno,” Ancestar said gently. “I already understand your intention. Will is a form of strength. You possess resolute courage. If one day you transform your courage into power, you will become a Knight far stronger than me!”

“I will teach you the secret tradition of the Thought-Flow Knight Training Method. Now, swear the oath with me!”

“Humility, Honesty, Compassion, Courage, Justice, Sacrifice, Honor, Loyalty!

I swear to treat the weak with kindness.

I swear to bravely oppose all tyranny.

I swear to fight against all wrongdoing.

I swear to fight for those who are defenseless.

I swear to help anyone who asks me for aid.

I swear never to harm any woman.

I swear to support my brother and comrades-in-arms.

I swear to be sincere with my friends.

I swear to love devotedly until death.”

Arno repeated the entire oath, sentence by sentence. Ancestar drew his longsword and laid it flat on Arno’s shoulder.

“Now, you are a Knight.”

“You must strictly hold yourself to the Eight Virtues and choose one of them as your fundamental creed!”

“What is a fundamental creed?” Arno asked, somewhat confused.

“A fundamental creed is the belief that defines who you are—the thing you believe in most fiercely.” Ancestar said seriously.

“As long as I possess fearless courage, I can become a true Great Hero. Courage is what I believe in most!” Arno thought of his father, then of his father’s unwavering gaze, and his own gaze grew firm.

“Then, in the name of Courage, I shall teach you the Thought-Flow Knight Training Method. This is an accumulated wisdom summarized by our predecessors—a method of breathing, walking, and resting. As I understand it now, it is about adapting to the ubiquitous rhythm of Mana, unifying the self with the natural rhythm.”

“When you truly unify with the natural rhythm, all your ordinary movements will be mastered with ease. Legend says that in the distant past, one Knight infused his creed into the rhythm and gained strength comparable to a Hero.”

Arno was excited by Ancestar’s description.

“Melancholy Uncle, have you unified with the natural rhythm? And how do I infuse my creed into the rhythm?”

“I have not yet. I hope you can achieve it. As for how to infuse your creed into the rhythm, that Knight did not pass down the method. We must explore it ourselves.”

Arno was not discouraged by Ancestar’s answer. Instead, his fighting spirit rose even higher.

“Then I will use my Courage to infuse the rhythm and become the next Knight with strength comparable to a Hero!”

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