Chapter 6: Before becoming a hero(1)

One month.A lot had happened during that time.

First, two new rookies joined the Iron Shield.

Of course, the public opinion wasn’t great at first, even without taking Dig, who always complains, into account.

Not only Hans and Sophia, who founded the guild with Isaac, but even Ras, who respects the master, showed discomfort.

This was because it conflicted with Gideon’s way.

Survival of the fittest.

The law of the jungle.

Only the winner is right.

That was Gideon’s way. Even if there was clear evil in front of you, if someone defines it as justice, and if that person reigns as the strongest in Gideon…

Then it is not evil but justice.

And the guild currently reigning over Gideon was the Hades Guild.

They had proven their strength long ago by subjugating Leviathan, one of the Three Great Disasters from the Deep Sea.

“Take women and money—that is what makes a hero.”

As Hades took control of Gideon, the heroes naturally began to follow the Hades Guild’s tendencies.

But now, they had taken in orphans without any benefits?

Like the saying, ‘the protruding nail gets hammered down,’ standing out could result in getting crushed and receiving all sorts of checks. Especially for a new guild, the opposition would be even harsher.

“Swing harder!”

“Yes!!”

However, whether Isaac knew this or not, he was peacefully training Zeke again today.

Zeke swung his sword as Isaac had instructed.

Isaac clicked his tongue.

“The more I watch, the more impressive he is. He’s going to be something big.”

It wasn’t for no reason that he was the protagonist.

Despite only learning the sword for a month, Zeke was already standing out.

In just one month, he managed to defeat Dig in a sparring match.

[“That’s cheating! It’s cheating! The master taught you a secret technique, didn’t he?!”]

[“That couldn’t be true.”]

[“He’s only been learning for a month. How could I have taught him a secret technique?”]

[“Gahhh!!!”]

Of course, Dig may have been lazy with his training, but even so, he was at a level where he was called a hero in Gideon.

At the very least, he wasn’t someone that should be caught up with in just a month by a complete novice.

But Zeke had done it.

Even now, he was growing every day, his progress almost unbelievable.

While talent played a role, the greatest factor was his effort, which bordered on madness.

Look at him now—he swung his sword so hard that not only his grip but even the veins in his wrist burst.

Isaac, noticing this, clicked his tongue and said,

“I told you that you need adequate rest, didn’t I?”

“I know… but…!!”

“But your body doesn’t seem to understand that.”

“Even after training ended, on your days off, you continued swinging your sword. Isn’t that right?”

Isaac, who was still closer to being a modern person, didn’t originally have such keen insight.

Yet the reason he could say this was because of the novel.

In the novel, Zeke worked himself to the bone, literally shedding blood and sweat daily, in order to repay Isaac.

Thanks to this, he grew stronger quickly, but as a side effect, his body weakened.

So, in the original timeline, he coughed up blood every time he fought.

It became a meme about him being a sickly, beautiful young man.

However, Isaac wasn’t entirely correct in his thinking.

‘I want to become like Master as soon as possible…!!’

Zeke had always wanted to be a hero, but what truly ignited that desire was Isaac.

The first person to affirm his dream was a hero, no less.

How could he not push himself?

As a result, Zeke was pushing himself much harder than in the original story, all because he wanted to follow the person he admired.

“That’s enough for today.”

“I can still do more!”

“I need to work harder! Only then can I reach you, Master!”

Isaac pondered in his mind. Working hard wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, but too much effort could be worse than too little. However, he couldn’t just force Zeke to stop.

‘I need to make him understand with his head. Only then will he accept it and act on it. This is a good chance to loosen up Isaac’s character setting a bit.’

At the same time, if he could get Zeke to understand, it would be killing two birds with one stone. Isaac sighed and sat down.

“Do you think I’m strong?”

“Huh? Isn’t that obvious?”

Despite the sudden question, Zeke answered quickly. Isaac was the guild master and founder. Of course, he had to be strong—there was no way he could be weak.

“I wasn’t strong from the beginning.”

“But didn’t you have talent?”

“No, I didn’t.”

“What?”

“If anything, I lacked talent to a painful degree.”

Isaac shook his head at Zeke’s response. Zeke, clearly taken aback, couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He had assumed Isaac had become strong thanks to overwhelming talent.

“You’ve seen me practicing only Iaido, haven’t you?”

“Now that you mention it, you were always training in Iaido.”

“Yes. What did it look like to you?”

“To be honest… it seemed inefficient.”

Drawing the sword, cutting, and then sheathing it again. To young Zeke, it looked incredibly inefficient. Wouldn’t just swinging the sword normally be stronger?

Isaac, of course, knew this. It was an obvious truth that even a child just starting to learn the sword would understand. A bitter smile spread across Isaac’s face.

“That’s because it was all I was allowed to do.”

“Huh? What do you mean…?”

“I am a fool who can’t even swing a sword properly.”

A talent cursed by the sword. No matter how much he practiced, he was never allowed to master even basic swordsmanship. Zeke, unable to believe it, spoke in disbelief.

“Is that even possible?”

“I suspect I committed some grave sin in a past life, but I don’t know the details myself.”

“But didn’t you cut down goblins with a sword in the village?”

“That’s why I only trained in Iaido.”

Only then did Zeke understand everything. The act of simply drawing the sword from its sheath was all Isaac was capable of. It wasn’t even proper swordsmanship, yet it was all he could do.

“Feel free to despair and break as much as you want.”

“But don’t be impatient. Don’t give up.”

Because the time will inevitably come.

Zeke saw himself reflected in Isaac. A powerless version of himself, trapped in a village and unable to do anything. Surely, his master had also swallowed countless moments of despair while growing.

And yet, he never gave up. He kept swinging his sword, proving himself in the end. That was undoubtedly a great achievement. But still…

“Why did you stick to the sword, Master?”

Despite his efforts to hold it back, Zeke couldn’t resist voicing the burning question deep in his chest. Why did Isaac insist on the sword?

If the sword didn’t work, weren’t there other ways? A spear, an axe, a hammer—he could’ve chosen a different path. Yet, his master stubbornly clung to the sword. Why?

“What choice did I have?”

Zeke’s golden eyes were fixed on Isaac. Even as he wondered how a guy could have such a pretty face, Isaac didn’t let the mood sway him and responded immediately.

“Because I’d already fallen in love with it.”

As if recalling a distant dream from the past, Isaac closed his eyes and faintly smiled. Yes, he had simply been stubborn about something he loved.

A fool’s honest answer.

“Love.”

Zeke’s lips moved on their own. Just as he couldn’t give up his dream of becoming a hero until the very end, his master must have felt the same.

“Thank you, Master. I’ve realized something because of you.”

There was no need to rush. It was okay to feel despair at the overwhelming gap and to feel broken inside. As long as he didn’t give up, one day, he too could become like that.

Thanks to Isaac, Zeke had finally come to understand. Even without talent, he had realized something important, all because of his master, who stubbornly clung to what he loved.

‘Phew, that was close.’

Isaac, meanwhile, was sweating bullets on the inside. Zeke’s last question had been a critical hit. If you don’t have talent, then why didn’t you just try something else?

This kid.

Is he a genius?