Chapter 56 - A Wall Is a Wall.

"Just think of it as stretching your muscles. Brother."

The core of Audin's Bare Body Training was isolating and stretching each individual muscle in the body.

"Ugh."

A groan naturally escaped Encrid's lips. The muscles in the back of his thighs felt so tight they were about to snap, but Audin completely climbed onto Encrid's folded back and pressed down with even more weight.

Sitting down and reaching his hands to his toes, Encrid opened his mouth.

"I'm dying."

"Is that a threat?"

"I'm saying *I'm* dying."

His voice was as quiet as a mosquito's. It really felt like his muscles were going to rupture. If he just took a few more breaths like this, they really would!

Only when he was hovering right on the limit did Audin finally take his hands off his back.

"This is the basics."

Audin repeated the word 'basics' several times.

Folding one leg inward to press down on the pelvic muscles.

Grabbing a pillar or something similar with one hand, bending halfway down, and twisting the body.

Twisting, stretching, and squeezing the body.

Yes, squeezed.

There was no word more fitting than that.

After squeezing the body out like wringing laundry, he would be drenched in sweat.

'Isn't this actually a method of torture?'

'If the basics are like this, does the advanced course just dismantle a person?'

Miscellaneous thoughts crossed his mind, but to put it simply, the effects of the gymnastics Audin taught him were absolutely excellent.

It was agonizing while doing it, but once it was over, his body felt remarkably lighter.

And it wasn't just lighter.

Heat circulated through his body. With his heart pounding and warmth spreading throughout his entire body, the cold became much more bearable.

"Eating well, resting well, and moving well is how you endure the cold. Brother Squad Leader."

Audin said with a smile in his eyes.

Encrid nodded. Training the body was a familiar part of his daily routine.

And the physical suffering made his brain spin even faster.

His rapidly spinning brain continued its thoughts. Making him think of the assassin who had come to kill him in this repeated today.

'That skill.'

He couldn't even see how the flying dagger was thrown.

Encrid was also quite confident in throwing flying daggers, but...

'I can't even compare.'

It was an outstanding skill. Regardless, it was a problem that could be solved simply by preparing for it.

Approaching and stabbing was the first pattern.

If that didn't work, he threw a flying dagger.

'Should I say it's thin and low for a wall?'

The Boatswain of the Black River had said that walls would continue to appear before Encrid, but...

'If it's only this much.'

It was easy. That was what he thought. Which was why he was acting so relaxed like this.

"Here, look. Is this hard? Is this?"

Rem must have suddenly gotten excited, because he popped out of bed and perfectly copied the movement Encrid had just done.

Every part was smooth, without a single hitch. Seeing his fully stretched body, it was obvious at a glance that he had extraordinary flexibility.

"Let's build up some flexibility, huh?"

This bastard, he was strangely annoying. No, he was inherently an annoying guy.

"You're saying this is hard? This?"

Rem kept sneering, but Encrid briskly ignored him, and Ragna, who had been watching Rem and Encrid with half-closed eyes, made a move.

He was also the possessor of an outstanding talent for using his body.

It was only natural that one needed to know how to handle their body properly for their swordsmanship to surpass a certain level.

As such, Ragna also perfectly recreated the movement. He specifically chose to do the exact move Encrid had been groaning over—doing a split while bending at the waist—showing that Ragna was an annoying type too.

"Have you developed a hobby of twisting your bodies around?"

Jaxon, who had returned from sleeping off-base, spoke as he walked in. To him, it looked like a den of lunatics.

Encrid was catching his breath, completely drenched in sweat.

In front of him, a crazy barbarian had his waist folded and his hands gripping his toes while showing a beaming smile.

And next to him, a lazybones was sitting in a full split.

'Have they all gone crazy together?'

"We were learning a training method to overcome the cold. Brother."

Audin summarized the situation. Looking entirely uninterested, Jaxon bypassed them and headed to his own spot.

Since it was almost time for him to go out for duty, Encrid stood up and opened his mouth out of pure curiosity.

The dagger the assassin had thrown was of a shape he had never seen before.

"Have any of you ever used a dagger shaped like this? For throwing."

"What's that?"

"No."

"I haven't. Brother."

He had just finished explaining the hiltless, throwing blade.

Rem, Ragna, and Audin spoke, and Big-eyes naturally kept his mouth shut because he didn't know, but Jaxon frowned and then relaxed his brow.

"Where did you see that?"

"I haven't seen it yet."

'I'm about to go see it now.'

"Did it happen to have a round groove carved into the hilt area?"

Jaxon asked without even sitting down. He was holding his coat in his hand, about to hang it up on one side.

"Yeah."

There was no need to rack his brain. He had just returned from getting hit by that very blade in the repeated today.

There was a round groove at the end.

"Why are you asking that?"

Rem asked as he got back into bed.

"Just heard about it somewhere."

As Jaxon spoke and turned around, the blue-eyed black panther emerged from Encrid's bed.

The panther that had burrowed into his arms to sleep last night had finally opened its eyes.

It was a creature that really loved beds and sleep.

As if it were cold, it shivered as soon as it woke up and then stretched its body out long from front to back. Seeing this, Encrid stroked the panther's back from its head to the tip of its tail, when Jaxon's voice rang out.

"If possible, avoid it. It's called a Whistle Dagger."

"A Whistle Dagger?"

It was a name he was hearing for the first time.

"It's a nickname given because of the sound it makes when thrown, and it's a weapon primarily favored for assassinations. They're difficult to handle, but if you meet someone who handles them properly... well, run away."

Jaxon's tone was cold as always, but kind.

However, the content was the problem.

'Run away?'

'Against a guy who just knows how to throw daggers a little?'

Purr.

Perhaps enjoying the petting, the panther let out a pleasant purr.

Seeing that, Big-eyes tried to pet it, but the panther instantly bared its fangs fiercely.

"Aw, alright. I got it."

If he got any closer, it looked like it would bite him hard.

At first, Encrid had worried about what to do if the panther harmed a squad member, but he quickly folded those worries away.

Because no matter how fast or agile the panther was, it wouldn't be able to do anything to Rem or the other squad members.

They only needed to worry about Big-eyes being careful, but the panther looked incredibly clever just at a glance.

He had lived with it for a few days, and there had been no problems.

Encrid gently stroked the panther's head and said.

"Don't hate him too much. I'll be back from duty."

Encrid stood up from his seat.

"Please continue the Bare Body Training gymnastics. It will be helpful. Brother."

He didn't specify what it would be helpful for, but Encrid could figure it out right away.

What was the one thing Encrid lived deeply immersed in?

The sword.

He meant it would be helpful for his swordsmanship.

"He's not wrong."

Rem nodded. Ragna and Jaxon's heads also bobbed in agreement.

They were all thoroughly responsive when it came to matters concerning Encrid.

It was truly a fascinating thing. These were people who didn't pay attention to most anything else.

Encrid stepped out of the barracks for his duty.

He had thought it was just a repetition of the same event and thus relatively easy, but his thoughts got a bit tangled up because of Jaxon.

His mind was complicated.

'Avoid it? Run away?'

'With my current skills?'

'Even if I fight head-on?'

He should have asked about that.

No, he would find out if he tried it from now on.

The price was his life and today.

But he would gain just as much in return.

He wouldn't regret it.

Despite meeting death countless times, Encrid had no intention of wasting any today.

Even if there were todays sacrificed out of some necessity.

Even in such situations, he tried to gain at least one more thing before moving on.

The instinct that the repeated todays had given him.

That instinct whispered to him.

That the weird-looking Half Fairy assassin bastard would not be an easy opponent.

"My goodness, Spellbreaker upper-grade soldier, sir!"

Jack and Bo were exactly the same. They highly praised Encrid and softened up the mood.

It might have worked if he had looked at them without knowing.

Knowing what he knew now, their intentions were glaringly obvious. They were inflating his ego with excessive praise and smoothing out the atmosphere to induce a moment of carelessness.

'Looking at it like this, they're incredibly meticulous.'

'They go to these lengths even when the assassination target is just a mere soldier?'

'Are they perfectionists?'

While deducing the opponent's personality as he recalled the Half Fairy's face, he arrived at the market.

"There's a filthy amount of people here."

Jack stuck close beside him, making idle chatter. From the opposite side, Bo also narrowed the gap.

"Yeah."

He replied while watching the guy wearing rags approaching from the front. Then, he suddenly spread his arms out to the left and right.

SMACK!

This time too, only Jack got hit, and Bo dodged.

Encrid boldly twisted his body to the side.

His body was stiff from the cold, but Audin's gymnastics had helped.

His body was far less stiff than it had been on the first 'today' he faced.

Before he even had time to draw his sword, he grabbed Bo by the collar, and Bo reflexively threw a punch.

With the boldness provided by his Heart of a Beast, Encrid watched the trajectory of the fist all the way to the end, predicted it, and snapped his head to the side to dodge.

*Fwip. * The fist brushed past his earlobe. What followed was Encrid's time.

He tightened his grip on the collar and twisted, choking off Bo's windpipe.

"Ghk!"

The bastard let out a groan.

"Hup."

Encrid took a short breath and swung Bo to the side, intending to use him as a meat shield.

Even if he was relatively light, the weight of a fully armed adult male was loaded onto his arm.

Lifting him, he twisted his waist and swung him using centrifugal force.

As he turned his body halfway, pulling Bo toward him, the Half Fairy, who had thrown his rags off backward, entered Encrid's line of sight.

It was the moment their eyes met. The fairy seemed to be mocking him.

'Why in this situation?'

'I just got myself a human shield on my side?'

He should have been flustered. Because the assassination target had predicted and reacted to the board the assassin had set up.

The Half Fairy remained entirely unbothered. Along with a sneer, he simply flicked his hand.

The moment the assassin's hanging hand brushed his chest. It was a streak of light. It was lightning. The dagger flew at a speed that literally couldn't be caught by the eye.

A streak of light matching the speed of the assassin's hand touching his chest and snapping forward.

Before he could even fully swing Bo to block his front, the dagger flew right in and embedded itself near his heart.

PWHEEE!

Only the whistling sound pierced his ears belatedly.

The pain that arrived along with a thwack informed him of what the assassin had done and what had happened to him.

He had thrown a dagger, and it was lodged in his heart.

"Damn."

His instinct had been right.

The opponent was not an easy mark. Just looking at his dagger-throwing skill from a moment ago, he was far from an ordinary opponent.

'Then what if I just don't let him throw the dagger?'

Even though a dagger had struck his body, all the people around them perceived was Encrid and the two soldiers arguing.

"Let go!"

Bo, whose collar was still being grabbed, shouted as he kicked Encrid in the stomach. The strength drained from his grip. Encrid took the kick to the stomach and let go of the collar.

A dagger was lodged in his heart. It would be weirder if he were fine. He gagged, and blood spilled from his mouth.

As he dropped to one knee, holding out against collapsing entirely, the Half Fairy, who had approached closely before he knew it, asked a question.

"You predicted it, didn't you? Was their acting that bad?"

People around them shrieked and screamed, but the Half Fairy didn't care about that at all.

It seemed as if the only thing that mattered was right here, just the two of them.

"... Why?"

He asked, sparing his last breath. Even amidst the surrounding screams and commotion, the assassin heard Encrid's voice perfectly.

"Why am I asking? Because I'm curious. It was like you knew and reacted."

Encrid gave a faint nod and caught his breath, gathering his final strength to speak.

"Their acting was awful. Even a passing dog would laugh at it."

The fairy nodded, then flung his hands to the left and right.

THWACK-THWACK!

At close range, a wave of his hand sent two daggers flying.

Encrid saw the tips of the blades buried into Jack and Bo's foreheads.

Two grooves, whistling flying daggers, Whistle Daggers.

"Th-That..."

"Wh-Why..."

Unable to continue their words, the two collapsed backward with a thud.

The Half Fairy stopped after acting that far.

Encrid knew Rotten was behind them. But Rotten hadn't pounced in this situation.

He was probably hiding somewhere.

The Half Fairy hadn't gone so far as to kill Rotten. Or who knew, maybe he would hunt him down after this was over.

Regardless, that had nothing to do with Encrid.

"Persistent Lovers never lose their prey."

At the assassin's words, Encrid nodded.

"Right."

"Aren't you surprised?"

"Should I be surprised?"

"Well, normally they're surprised."

'Sorry, but this is already the third time.'

Instead of being surprised, Encrid grabbed the dagger stuck in his chest and pulled it out.

SQUELCH.

As the dagger lodged in his heart was pulled out, agonizing pain surged in.

Blood poured out of his pierced chest.

As Encrid's vision quickly clouded over, the assassin spoke.

"You're a funny guy."

'Yeah. Am I?'

'I'll show you something even funnier.'

Encrid thought as he closed his eyes.

At the exact same time everything went black, he saw the Boatswain.

"Heh-heh-heh."

He mocked him without a word. He looked exceedingly entertained. Although his eyes, nose, and mouth couldn't be seen, and even his gestures weren't clearly visible, the feeling the Boatswain conveyed came across perfectly clear.

The Boatswain's mocking was brief. Because after the blackout, a new morning dawned again.

* * *

"Good morning."

Springing out of bed, Encrid grabbed Audin, briefly listened to and learned the gymnastics, and then the moment he saw the returning Jaxon, he grabbed his sleeve and dragged him outside.

The moment his sleeve was grabbed, Jaxon tried to shove the person away, but stopped when he saw it was his Squad Leader.

"Huh? Where are you going?"

Rem asked from behind.

"I have something to ask."

Jaxon of Equivalent Exchange surprisingly knew a lot. Big-eyes was well-versed in general public information, but he really had to go through Jaxon to obtain information more important than that.

He had earned the nickname Jaxon of Equivalent Exchange because he also doubled as this kind of information broker.

He would give what the other person wanted, but the other person also had to give what he wanted.

"You know about the Whistle Daggers, right?"

Jaxon furrowed his brow.

"Where did you hear about that?"

Observing Jaxon's reaction, Encrid determined that the Whistle Dagger was no ordinary item.

"Tell me. About the Whistle Daggers."

"... Is this a trade?"

Right now, he was not a squadmate but Jaxon of Equivalent Exchange.

"Yeah."

The price didn't matter. It was a conversation that would disappear if he repeated today.

And even if he were to welcome tomorrow, he could just pay him back.

However, having realized on only his fourth today that this was a wall he couldn't overcome, he had a premonition that this conversation would be forgotten.

A wall is a wall. There is nothing that can be easily overcome.

The Boatswain's mockery turned into words, sounding as if he could hear them.