Chapter 188

Mutant (1)

Ludwig was exactly forty-nine years old. He would soon turn fifty.

As a human in this world—and especially as a soldier—he had lived a remarkably long life.

The experience and renown he had accumulated over those years were more than sufficient to earn the respect of others.

Ludwig himself was well aware of this. He believed he had lived a fairly long life by human standards.

He was a veteran who had witnessed the birth of both the previous Hero and the current Hero with his own eyes and had accumulated extensive combat experience.

Humans, beasts, undead, monsters—he had fought countless enemies to defend the Holy Kingdom of El Dorado.

Although age had forced him to withdraw from the front lines, his abilities had not deteriorated in the slightest.

Those who knew how to use mana tended to grow stronger as they aged.

Even if their physical abilities declined, they could compensate with refined mana-circulation techniques or internal-energy cultivation methods.

In that regard, Ludwig could be considered the finest of teachers.

Yet even someone like him would inevitably encounter things he could never have anticipated.

‘What in the world is this man?’

Grylls went beyond astonishing into downright bizarre. That was Ludwig’s assessment after examining his abilities.

Just as everyone needed clothes tailored to their size, martial arts were no different.

Every person had a weapon that suited them, and the proper method of using that weapon differed from person to person.

Ludwig could wield every type of weapon freely, but he used a sword because it suited him best.

‘Teaching martial arts to a gorilla would be easier than this.’

At the very least, a gorilla still had one pair of arms and one pair of legs.

It might possess an absurdly large physique, but it could still wear clothes made for a human.

Grylls was different. It was as though he had grown an extra arm and leg, making it impossible for him to wear ordinary human clothing at all.

The reasons Grylls possessed such a bizarre structure could roughly be summarized as follows.

‘It’s not that he can’t fight. In fact, he’s fairly talented.’

First, judging solely by the talent he displayed, he was close to being a genius.

If he were not compared to catastrophic anomalies like the Hero or Ash, he would have gained considerable fame as a promising prospect.

Ludwig would need to examine him more thoroughly to determine the true depth of his talent, but Grylls was unquestionably an unpolished gem.

‘There are a few rough spots, but they can easily be corrected.’

The fact that he had clearly taught himself was another reason Ludwig rated him so highly.

Grylls moved his sword and shield according to things he had heard or seen somewhere before.

What Ludwig liked most were his eyes.

They never stopped moving.

Even while assessing his surroundings, Grylls never neglected to observe his target.

‘The problem is his aura.’

However, the second point presented a problem that directly contradicted the first.

Mana—or more specifically, aura.

The sheer volume of Grylls’s aura was abnormal.

It reminded Ludwig of the Sword Saint of old, who had been infamous for being stupidly powerful.

‘What did he do to make his aura this enormous?’

Neither Asella nor even Ash, whom Ludwig had once fought, had strayed from the orthodox path.

Train in martial arts, control mana, and refine it into aura.

That was the proper path.

But this freak had none of that.

He had completely skipped the entire process.

It was like a plant that refused to bear fruit and instead continued growing nothing but its stalk.

Worse still, that stalk was tremendously thick and sturdy.

His very existence shattered common sense.

Could the abundance of medicinal herbs in the Forest of Four Seasons have made it possible?

‘If that were possible, every wealthy man and noble would look like him.’

Ludwig had observed countless talented individuals during his nearly fifty years of life.

Among them were people who had consumed vast quantities of precious medicines since childhood.

Yet even for them, those medicines had only increased the duration of their aura. They had never enlarged its sheer volume like this.

‘I can’t tell whether he’s gifted with aura or utterly hopeless at using it....’

If his talent had merely been mediocre or deficient, Ludwig could have helped him compensate.

But the problem here was that he possessed far too much.

And an even greater problem remained.

This was not the end of it.

Crackle!

“What do you think? Pretty useful, isn’t it?”

The final—and decisive—reason was Grylls’s cold energy.

When Ludwig first saw it, he had wondered what fresh absurdity he was witnessing.

He already knew that the color of Grylls’s aura was unusual, but the instant it touched an object, that object froze solid.

Everything before this had merely defied common sense.

This ability existed completely outside Ludwig’s expectations.

Neither Asella nor Ash had ever transcended the limits of martial arts, but Grylls had.

‘This is... magic.’

It was an ability that closely resembled magic.

Yet it was not true magic.

No one in recorded history had ever managed to imbue aura itself with an elemental attribute.

Perhaps some of the legendary weapons from ancient tales had possessed similar abilities.

Even then, however, the power had resided entirely within the weapons. No human had ever displayed it directly.

Grylls was unlike anything Ludwig had ever seen—a person who could only be described as a mutant.

Perhaps living in the Forest of Four Seasons had caused him to develop strength suited specifically to the forest.

‘First of all... Whew....’

Ludwig rubbed his face with both hands.

He could not even begin to imagine what sort of clothes Grylls should wear, let alone what size they needed to be.

Was this how a scholar felt after discovering a creature completely unknown to academia?

Fortunately, Grylls had not literally grown an extra pair of limbs.

There was nothing Ludwig could do about his aura for now, so it seemed best to set that issue aside and begin by teaching him martial arts.

‘Sword-and-shield warriors possess excellent balance, but they can also end up as masters of nothing.’

The primary advantage of a sword-and-shield warrior was their exceptional balance between offense and defense.

However, apart from that balance, they possessed no particularly outstanding strengths.

It was a combat style best suited to infantrymen or beginners.

‘Still, a shield will serve him better until he learns Aura World.’

Aura World was a highly advanced aura technique known as Protective Aura in the Central Plains.

It was a technique that could only be learned after mastering Aura Blade.

Until then, using a shield was far more efficient.

Perhaps things would have been different outside, but this was the Forest of Four Seasons. Grylls had probably chosen his equipment with survival in mind.

‘I should teach him the fundamentals first. For now, he only needs to grasp the principles.’

That was Ludwig’s conclusion.

For the time being, he would help Grylls understand the underlying principles.

As for the metaphorical extra limbs he had grown, Grylls could figure out how to use them himself.

They had plenty of time.

Once Ludwig had fully recovered, he intended to begin a thorough analysis.

‘...But how am I supposed to explain any of this?’

There was also one enormous problem: interpretation.

Instruction would be much easier if they could communicate, but that was currently impossible.

Ludwig would have liked to learn Grylls’s language, but that was not something he could accomplish overnight.

‘I’ll have to write it down instead of speaking.’

Ludwig asked Grylls for a sheet of paper and a pen.

He then swiftly wrote down the problems and variables he had observed.

[Your abilities are excessively bizarre. That does not mean they are bad. However, teaching you martial arts feels like trying to teach someone with an extra arm. I will do my utmost, but it will be your responsibility to internalize what I teach you.]

True to his rigid and steadfast nature, Ludwig’s assessment was thoroughly objective.

Grylls posted Ludwig’s writing in the gallery exactly as it was.

After reading the gallery’s translation, he blinked.

‘Is he saying I’m so stupidly powerful that he has no idea how to teach me?’

I could not decide whether I should be pleased.

It was good that I was strong, but the adjective preceding it bothered me considerably.

Still... it was not necessarily bad.

At the very least, it meant I was not completely beyond help.

‘He said he’ll teach me, so I’ll have to wait until he recovers.’

Whatever happened, helping Ludwig recuperate took priority.

I continued feeding him honey to speed up his recovery.

Not only was it high in calories, but the honey also possessed minor healing properties.

It was perfect for Ludwig, who still could not eat anything but porridge.

“It’s far too sweet.”

“Delicious, isn’t it? You need to keep eating.”

Our inability to communicate resulted in a minor tragedy, but Ludwig forced himself to swallow the honey regardless.

Once I had made sure he could rest comfortably, I headed outside.

Evening was approaching, so it was time to head upriver.

“Kyuuuuuu!”

“Kkiiiing!”

“Prrr.”

When I stepped outside, I found the giraffe awake.

It looked healthier than Ludwig.

Wonmo and the baby raccoon were using the giraffe’s neck as a slide.

The giraffe did not appear particularly displeased. In fact, it seemed to be smiling as though it found them adorable.

It was heartwarming to see that the animals had already become friends.

‘I really do have a lot more mouths to feed now.’

The raccoon family could take care of themselves, but I was worried about the others.

Before, I had been able to stockpile a reasonable amount of fish. Now, however, we would probably consume the entire catch in a single meal.

Things would become even more difficult once winter arrived.

This time, I would have to endure a true winter.

“Hm?”

I had just returned from fishing when I saw it clearly.

Ludwig was drenched in cold sweat, as though he had contracted some kind of illness.

He was pretending to be fine, but he could not conceal his body’s reactions.

Startled, I hurried over to him.

“What’s wrong? Are you sick somewhere?”

I urgently placed a hand on his forehead, but he did not have a fever.

There was still something that worried me, however: the amputation.

The operation itself was concerning enough, but his foot had been completely black with rot before that.

The infection he had contracted then might only now be progressing.

‘Even elixir can’t cure diseases....’

Just as my mind filled with worry—

Grrrrrrrroooooowl!

An enormous sound erupted from Ludwig’s stomach.

“Hrrrgh...!”

He clutched his abdomen and doubled over.

Only then did I understand.

More precisely, I remembered what had happened to me.

After first eating the fasting pills, I had spent quite some time running back and forth to the toilet.

I had assumed Ludwig would be fine because he was a knight, but apparently not.

‘All he’s eaten so far is fish porridge and honey, right?’

No wonder he was suffering.

I hurriedly supported Ludwig and led him outside.

At the very least, I had to preserve the man’s dignity.

Someone might wonder how he could possibly suffer from sudden diarrhea when he had barely eaten anything, but the exact same thing had happened to me.

Grrrrrrrgle!

“Ghurk...! Grrgh...!”

“Please hold it in!”

I felt like crying.

***

Fortunately, the catastrophe I feared did not occur.

It might have been the greatest crisis Ludwig had ever faced in his life.

His stomach must have begun hurting so abruptly that he could not even think about moving.

Still, the crisis had passed.

I would need to construct a separate toilet as well.

“Can you move now?”

“₩%.”

Then I discovered another astonishing fact.

Ludwig recovered within a single day.

Perhaps it was because I had continuously fed him honey yesterday, or perhaps it was because of the fish.

Much of the color had returned to his haggard face, and he could now walk by himself.

He still limped because of his prosthetic, but he no longer staggered.

‘He did receive elixir as well.’

Perhaps he could begin eating fish instead of porridge today.

After briefly considering that, I got straight to the point.

“Here. Take this sword.”

“We’re not going to fight immediately. Just loosen up your body.”

I communicated through gestures, and Ludwig nodded as though he understood.

Even after his body recovered, exercise was essential.

Furthermore, he needed to adapt to his new foot.

More importantly, I still had to build the animals’ shelter. I was short on time.

I was resuming construction on the shelter I had begun designing yesterday when—

“Grylls.”

“Yes?”

Whoosh!

Ludwig appeared to call my name before throwing something at me.

The first object was the Heavenly Demon’s sword, followed by my shield.

After catching them, I looked at him with an expression that asked what he wanted me to do.

Then, to my surprise—

Curl.

Ludwig crooked the fingers of his sword hand, beckoning me to attack him.

Was he saying that his body had recovered and he would now teach me a few moves?

It felt wrong to fight someone who had only just recovered—especially someone wearing a prosthetic—but...

‘He says he’s fine.’

There was no harm in sparring once.

I equipped the sword and shield.

‘Wait. Come to think of it, this is a real sword—’

While I was distracted—

Swoosh!

Ludwig, who had been standing some distance away, appeared directly in front of me in an instant.

‘No, wait...!’

This man has a prosthetic foot!