175 – Nymphs and Efforts Do Not Betray #2
“Demigod Chiron was called the educator of heroes…! He wrote a magical book to teach all heroes individually and effectively, and that is 「The Way of the Hero」…!”
Morales, who rarely showed interest in anything, was extremely agitated. It seemed he couldn’t calm down, almost like someone who had a mosquito bite on their foot, waving his hands from side to side.
“That book, 「The Way of the Hero」, must certainly have personalized training written for each individual…! Because Demigod Chiron is the expert in hero training…!”
Chiron.
It was the name that referred to the centaur sage.
He was said to be the instructor who raised well-known heroes like Hercules, Theseus, and many others.
Instructor.
At that name, I felt the face of someone I met long ago coming to mind.
The instructor who taught the first batch of students was a strict person, even being called a tiger.
He was skilled enough to handle both me and Kang Cheol-Min at the same time with ease─.
“Yikes…! I smell a nostalgic scent…! Nymph technique, beating wildly!”
Thud thud thud-.
Morales was beating me up, allowing me to snap back to reality.
I almost wasted time falling into a nostalgic reverie!
“So, Morales, what you want to say is that Chiron is an amazing person, and that the book he wrote is also incredibly great, right?”
“That’s exactly it…! Even the daughter of the goddess I serve came to receive training from Chiron…!”
I see.
Anyway, it seemed that Chiron was a remarkable person.
Flipping through 「The Way of the Hero」, which was said to have been written by such a great person, I found the following content written inside.
『Training List – Expected Reward Upon Completion』
『Reward – Endurance 1 NP』
『Pet Core’s head pat 0/1 time』
『Pet Core’s leg massage 0/1 time』
What kind of training content is this?
Is there a probability that the book is wrong?
Could this book be fake?
However, judging by Morales’s attitude, it seemed unlikely that this book was fake.
Above all, the fact that S Ranker Achilles conquered this book and became known as the strongest was proof of that.
“Hey, what training contents are written in it? In my case, I remember having to collect 10 C Rank magic stones, meditate for 2 hours, etc.”
Achilles, the original owner of the book, asked me with interest.
I opened the book and showed its contents to Achilles, but he said the training details wouldn’t be visible unless you were the person concerned.
Now that ownership of the book had passed to me, it would just look like an old blank sheet to Achilles.
I decided to explain a portion of the written content for the curious Achilles.
“It says that if you disclose the training details, you have to undergo a penalty. I want to ask about the items written here, but what is this penalty?”
“Oh, that was there. The penalty is… quite tricky. Since the penalties are adjusted individually like the training contents, it’s usually better to avoid them.”
Penalties tailored individually for each person?
What kind of penalty would torment me, I wonder?
That’s scary.
If it’s something like “Write 10 recommendation posts for Seo Ye-rim,” it would be really tough.
I ought to refrain from disclosing the training contents.
“By the way, it states that if I conduct the training in the list, my endurance will increase by 1 NP. What does 1 NP mean?”
I asked.
Since this was about the reward and not the training content, I thought it would be fine to ask.
Achilles nodded and replied.
“1 NP means the equivalent of one Nymph. It means that when you train, the endurance of one Nymph increases. That’s quite generous. I usually increased by 0.1 NP at a time.”
I became even more confused.
But the opportunity to rise up was a good thing.
If such a book had appeared before me, who had been stuck at the D Rank for ages, I would have been thrilled, regardless of the training contents or rewards!
I decided to be purely happy.
“Mu haha!”
# # #
“The Nymphs said they would return in the evening.”
The Nymphs had set off for the waters off Hios Island.
According to a message I received on my phone, they seemed to have discovered some kind of sealing tablet.
They also found a large pyramid.
“What pyramid?”
A pyramid is not an Egyptian structure but rather a Greek one, right?
I wondered what a pyramid was doing at the deep seabed of Greece.
After pondering, I realized that in a world where Elves and Nymphs actually roamed, having a pyramid located in Greece might not be that surprising after all.
People should always maintain flexible thinking.
“Anyway, I have free time until evening.”
Achilles had rushed off to perform crack subjugation and guild requests.
I was floating in time in Greece, and Ari was quite happy.
“Senpai, could you spare some time? There’s something I’d like to try!”
Ari asked me for some time.
I felt thankful and guilty towards Ari, who had flown all the way from Korea to Greece to worry about me.
I thought this was an opportunity to resolve those feelings and repay her.
“So, is this what you wanted to try?”
Swish swish-.
I looked at Ari, who was petting Kkungkkungi.
Kkungkkungi seemed to drift off to sleep under Ari’s touch.
Just then, Ari pulled out a small syringe and jabbed it into Kkungkkungi’s body.
“Alright, it’ll sting a bit.”
Grrr…!
Kkungkkungi, seemingly furious about the sudden injection, fluffed up his tail and dashed off into the distance.
Morales hurriedly chased after Kkungkkungi.
“Ah! You can’t run away…! You need to take a bath…! You have to wash off all the dirt and dust on your body…!”
Morales, before becoming a muddy Nymph, had dreamed of being a soap Nymph. So, it is said that they are quite adept at washing and cleaning.
“I got him…!”
Morales caught Kkungkkungi and began bathing him in the bathroom that was part of the hotel room, creating a frothy mess.
Kkungkkungi seemed even angrier now after being jabbed by the syringe and soaked, looking like a soaked mouse.
Grrr…!
Pat pat pat-!
After washing, Kkungkkungi shook off the water from his body in all directions.
He looked just like a dusting machine whirring around at a car wash.
As Kkungkkungi scampered away, Ari turned to me.
“Kkungkkungi has finished all its vaccinations. Since he often goes outside, I think it’s good to give them various preventive shots. Rats can get Mana Black Death…”
Mana Black Death.
It is said to be a deadly otherworldly disease transmitted by the C Rank giant rat demon known as the “Black Death Mouse.”
While harmless to humans, it’s lethal to hamsters and rodents.
Afterward, Ari measured the length of Ahn Ahn’s horn and inspected the state of Kkungkkungi’s web under a microscope, diligently checking the health of my animals.
I wondered how everyone’s health was.
To be honest, I had just been letting them run free.
I thought it was best to let them be free.
Also, since they were animals from another realm, there were no specific guidelines, so I had nothing to refer to for managing the health of my animals.
“How does it look?”
I asked with a slightly tense feeling.
Looking at the charts while operating her tablet PC, Ari replied.
“Except for Kalilnoi looking a bit overweight, everyone seems to be healthy!”
Phew, phew…!
The slightly overweight Kalilnoi spread its wings and cried out in a high pitch.
Then, it waddled around the hotel room, as Kalilnoi was a tiger owl who preferred walking over flying.
It probably felt that since it had a significant injury to its wing, long flights were difficult, so it walked on the ground more often, leading to weight gain─that should be it.
“Kalilnoi’s wings have nearly healed. The feathers are shining with luster, and the grip in its legs is good. Though it has gained a bit of weight, it seems lively.”
“That’s because I’ve been feeding it garlic and mugwort every day.”
I felt a bit of pride in Kalilnoi’s lively state.
Ari, however, frowned as if she couldn’t understand, saying, “You feed garlic to an owl?”
Her expression was like that of a homeroom teacher looking at a student who had written “Emiya Kiritsugu” on the list of people they admire.
“ The reason I fed garlic was─.”
Chit chat.
I explained once again that Kalilnoi being a Nymph and that there might be a possibility of returning to being a Nymph if it ate garlic and mugwort.
“Oh….”
Ari’s pupils were shaking vigorously, getting larger and smaller repeatedly.
Clap-.
Ari now began to clap.
“Well then, senpai, please lay down here as well. I will conduct a simple examination.”
Swish-.
Ari laid me down on the bed.
I lay down with a slightly awkward feeling while Ari checked my mouth, shined a flashlight in my eyes, and so on.
Suddenly, I burst into laughter.
“Mu haha.”
“Why are you laughing?”
“No, I just felt that you, Ari, have really been living hard.”
I recalled old memories.
When I first met Ari, she wore a tattered school uniform that looked like it had been chewed on multiple times, and her hair was crooked as if she had cut it herself. Her wrists and ankles were extremely thin.
She had felt like someone who would fall over with just a light push and never get back up.
Perhaps she resembled a baby deer that had just been born and rolled in the mud?
Now, Ari had grown so much.
Indeed, efforts and time do not betray.
As I looked at the well-grown Ari, I vowed to also work hard moving forward when Ari clapped her hands.
“Senpai, I’ve taken your blood and checked various things, but it seems there are no major issues! It seems you didn’t suffer much damage even in the overloaded crack!”
“Really?”
I said as I got up from the bed and put my outer garment back on.
Seeing me, Ari took off her white coat and laid down on the bed.
“Then, this time, please examine my body.”
