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Chapter 76

Vivian, whom they had brought from the now-defunct Santa Maria, which had lost their leader, had exceeded all their expectations.

“What’s with this kid?! She’s insanely good!”

“Hehe...” Vivian chuckled shyly at Frances\' high praise and affectionate pat.

A high-rank wind spiritualist was already a top-tier asset, but there were different levels even to the dexterity of handling spiritual arts. If one gave full reign to the spirits, the power and precision of their attacks would be inconsistent, as they would often be influenced by their mood and environment.

However, Vivian could summon the ideal form of wind with flawless precision, even if she received complex instructions.

“I’ve done this a lot in Santa Maria! At first, I made mistakes and got scolded, but after doing it for five years, I got the hang of it!”

Frances, looking aghast, asked, “How many times a day did you do this?”

“Once I got used to it, about thirty times a day? Before that, I would sometimes do it more than a hundred times in a day. When it was like that, I had to drink mana potions because I didn\'t have the power to call my friends. But now I’m fine without having to take any!”

“...Being overworked by that trash, Conrad, became a stepping stone for your growth. No wonder you seem more experienced than a ten-year veteran.”

Ninian looked at her sister with a mix of anger, pride, and sorrow. Frankly, she didn’t even know what to say, considering that her growth in spiritual arts was due to being exploited under a scam contract.

Frances, wearing a similarly bitter smile, looked over at Ninian and said, “Come to think of it, Vivian has more experience at sea than you. She’s been to the Fifth Sea District and handled more types of missions, and higher in level, right?”

“Ugh...! You’re... not wrong.”

Though Ninian had lived longer as an adventurer, her experience was mostly limited to missions which restricted solo actions during her five years of hard work. In contrast, Vivian’s name was recorded in the reports of a Rank A expedition team. The difference between them was huge.

Feeling a mix of frustration at the fact that she had fallen behind her sister, whom she was supposed to protect, Ninian accepted the truth with a frown.

“Hey, I’m just joking, so don’t take it too seriously. Besides, aren’t you learning archery from Leonard? If your skills continue to grow, getting reassessed to Rank A won’t be hard.”

“Ah, you’re right, Captain,” Ninian replied, her face brightening at Frances’ remarks.

“Although my arrow can only respond to one hundred attacks for now, I still feel twice as strong as before. If I could improve it to respond to a thousand different attacks, getting to Rank A should be easy.”

“Hmm? Is that something like a mastery level in archery?”

“She’s still only at the basic stage,” Leonard interjected. He threw a glance at Ninian before advising, “The archery I’ve taught you only considers responding to ten thousand attacks a level beyond a novice. You haven’t even reached that yet. Getting complacent now will only make your journey longer.”

“...I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Then you shouldn’t have time for idle chatter.”

Unable to withstand Leonard’s reproach, Ninian slumped her shoulders and returned to the shooting target. She had left her position to watch Vivian train and was now paying the price.

Staring at Ninian’s back with an exasperated look, Frances asked Leonard cautiously, “How is Marianne? Is she doing well?”

“She’s not bad,” Leonard replied, turning his back. He had just finished teaching Marianne swordsmanship.

They were in a training room within the hull of Aquamarine.

Reflecting on her training, Leonard offered his objective evaluation. “Due to her extensive combat experience, she’s developed unrefined movements, gaps in her defense, and she’s being predictable. It took some time to correct those.”

“Oh, and how did you do that?”

“I kept aiming for her weaknesses until she recognized them herself. After getting hit the same way a few times, she eventually noticed. It took only four or five tries to correct them, proving she’s quite talented.”

With a nod, Frances agreed to Leonard’s evaluation and asked again, “If managing to correct it in four or five tries makes Marianne talented, what about gifted and ordinary individuals?”

“I haven’t taught ordinary individuals, but the gifted usually grasp it within ten tries.”

“What about geniuses?” Frances continued to ask.

“Once.”

Leonard’s eyes recalled the opponent he had fought the day before.

“Christopher Conrad... He was a genius. Even after losing an eye, he quickly regained his sense of distance. If he had a weakness, he didn’t allow for it to be exploited twice. He’d work on it so that no one would detect it ever again.”

That was why Leonard couldn’t kill Conrad back then, not until the latter had taken the secret drug. Even though Leonard didn’t go all out, his opponent was still strong. Whenever he was ready to deal the killing blow, thinking he was one step ahead, Conrad evaded it as though he was two steps ahead.

Conrad didn’t even have a proper defense or evasive techniques, but he nonetheless held on. Despite going up against a formidable swordsman, he survived thanks to his sheer talent.

If Marianne had the rare talent of one in ten thousand, Conrad was a genius on a whole other level. He was one in a hundred million.

If a whelp can’t look up to the sky, it won’t even become an Imoogi.

Conrad had had the potential to reach the Transcendence Tier, but he had wasted his time on alcohol and women, dying as a mediocre magic swordsman. It was proof that talent alone hadn’t been enough.

Most of the Absolute Realm masters, like the Supreme Ten Venerables or the Seven Absolutes, were not considered geniuses. Great talent often consumed itself, leading to arrogance which blinded one’s eyes.

Despite being a genius, Sword Emperor Yeon Mu-Hyuk had crossed the wall of the Creation Realm not spurred on by arrogance, but driven by his obsession to become stronger.

“...I heard Galano has returned.” Leonard shifted the topic away from old memories. “Since I’ve finished helping Ninian and Marianne with their training, I think I’ll go visit him.”

“If you’re going to see Galano, I’ll come too,” Frances replied.

“Huh? What for?”

Her face darkened before answering, “I am also acquainted with Galano and his brother, Dentuso.”

“Dentuso... He was one of the three Transcendence Tier experts in the Aquamarine Expedition Team, right?”

“Yeah. He was strong, wielding a spear larger and heavier than himself.”

Rumors had it that Dentuso could sink a ship with a single throw of his spear and kill massive monsters in one strike. He used to be a spearman in Aquamarine’s vanguard.

On their final days, he was also the one who stayed behind with Njord to hold off pursuers and went missing after. They couldn’t have survived in such dire conditions.

“As the new captain of Aquamarine, I should meet the family of a member who stayed with the former captain until the end.”

“He might resent you.”

“If you recruit him, he’ll have to see my face anyway. Better to face it sooner, right?”

Leonard eventually nodded in agreement.

“...All right. Let’s go together.”

***

Orichalcos, the First Sea District of the Atlantis Maritime Alliance, was a bustling and affluent area thanks to its characteristics. The amount of goods flowing into the Central City Atlantis was literally enormous, so much so that even with tens of thousands of workers laboring all day, the workload often carried over into the next day.

However, the brighter the light, the darker the shadows.

Certain areas in the Central City remained underdeveloped, either due to geographical or political reasons, and the people who had fallen behind or had been marginalized by the fierce competition in the city gathered to form a slum.

“It seems Galano lives in this area.”

The streets were in such disarray that large stones and tree roots jutted out everywhere. Leonard kicked aside the debris obstructing his way as he moved forward. Seeing his display of strength, the people in the alleys who had considered picking a fight with him backed off. Just from his kicks, it was clear he was not someone to be messed with.

That was exactly Leonard\'s intention.

These people are weak against the strong and strong against the weak. Just a little display of strength and they’ll meekly back off.

He didn’t want to waste time with some street thugs.

As the two of them searched for Galano’s address, which they had received from Bermuda, they found themselves on darker and more deserted streets. This area was so decrepit that even with a well-drawn map, it proved quite the challenge to navigate it.

Eventually, they arrived at their destination.

“Hey, who are these kids?”

“You’re both annoyingly good-looking. Are you lovers?”

“Nah, this ain’t no place for a date. Do you have any business with our boss?”

In front of Galano’s residence, several muscular thugs were lounging around, exchanging words upon seeing the pair. It seemed they were the gang loitering around Galano, just as described in the list Frances had compiled.

Their average skill level appeared to be around the Fourth Degree External Force Tier. Not bad, but not nearly enough to make a name among Atlantis’ many adventurers.

They look like bandits, but their eyes lack any real malice or murderous intent. They’re not really bad guys, so to speak.

Killers often had bloodthirsty eyes and an unmistakable brutality in their actions. Unless someone was innately driven by bloodlust, like the Heavenly Killer Star, they grew more vicious the more they witnessed and committed murder.

Leonard, being highly attuned to such bloodlust, could tell these thugs were harmless despite their appearances.

“We’re here to see Galano.”

One of the thugs stepped forward as though he was the representative of the gang.

“If it’s a job request for the boss, go through Bermuda. Otherwise, you’ll be severely punished.”

“This isn’t a job request. We’re here to recruit him as a member.”

“Member? Recruit the boss?”

The thugs exchanged puzzled looks before bursting into laughter.

“Hahahaha! Hey! Stop playing and go back!”

“Yeah! Boss is strong, but that’s about it!”

“Every time he tries to go to sea, he gets drunk out of his mind and doesn’t care about what the clients say!”

Frances frowned as she realized that Galano was in a worse shape than expected, but Leonard remained impassive as he gave the thugs a second chance.

“It’s up to Galano himself to accept or decline the offer. I have no business with you guys. Step aside.”

Leonard’s cold warning caused the thugs to stop laughing and rise to their feet, flexing their muscles ominously under their clothes.

It was a threatening display, but Frances held back a laugh and took a few steps back, anticipating that Leonard’s third warning wouldn’t be a verbal one.

“...This kid has a nasty mouth.”

“Right? Maybe we should teach him some manners.”

“I get that you want to show off in front of your girlfriend, but you might get seriously hurt. Better be careful.”

The three of them were nearly two meters tall, casting looming shadows over Leonard as they closed in. Despite trying to intimidate him, Leonard could tell that they had no intention of killing him. They just wanted to scare him off.

Realizing that, Leonard let go of his sword and clenched his fists, looking slightly disappointed.

“...I won’t kill you.”

They probably didn’t realize that their soft approach had just saved their lives.

The thugs, startled by the sudden escalation to a fistfight, instinctively responded with punches and kicks. Their pride wouldn’t allow them to use weapons on a young boy who hadn’t even drawn his sword.

“Arghhh!”

“Ouch! My bone, he hit my bone! Wait, ughh!”

“Uuurgh!”

In the eerily quiet slum, Galano’s neighborhood suddenly echoed with squeals as though pigs were being slaughtered.