Chapter 206

A building that had long been untouched by human hands, now reduced to ruins.

Amidst the overgrown weeds nearby, people knelt in unison. Time flowed on without waiting for them, yet they remained untouched by its passage, frozen in that moment.

“A lot of time has truly passed. I didn’t feel it before, but now it’s clear. Just how long have we been turned to stone?”

“Should we rebuild the house?”

“Is there a need? We’re heading south to the Empire. This place should remain as a memory. A faded, lost memory of ours.”

Anna sighed as she spoke. So, they decided to only set up a temporary shelter for now.

The large sum spent by the Princess was not in vain. All the items they had bought from merchants along the way finally found their use.

Food, clothing, and materials to set up tents poured out from the jars. Among them was even an adventurer’s camping set made in the Magic Tower.

“Truly, the Empire’s goods are of high quality.”

Leon stripped off his old clothes and changed into new ones, then suddenly began to lament.

“I wonder what our ancestors would think of us. They gave their all to protect the plains from humans, yet here we are, abandoning the beastmen and fleeing to human lands.”

“True. If someone could just drive Epirna away, we wouldn’t have to feel ashamed before our ancestors.”

“Stop talking nonsense, Sir Urban.”

Roka, too tired to even get angry, tossed out a retort and turned her head. Coincidentally, her gaze landed on Yanid.

“Why not ask her? She might be interested in the new Beast King position.”

“No.”

Yanid refused bluntly. Roka didn’t give up.

“She’s a beastman too, you know. A half-dragon, half-human.”

“What nonsense. A true beastman must be of pure blood. How can someone mixed with human blood be a beastman? Only pure-blooded beastmen are qualified to be Beast King.”

An old gray wolf scolded her. It seemed that being mixed with human blood was a bigger disqualification than not being a beastman at all. I thought anyone strong enough could do it, but apparently not.

“So, those who want it aren’t qualified, and those who are qualified don’t want it? Why not just vote for the Beast King then?”

“That’s how it used to be.”

The gray wolves nodded.

“Back then, before we realized the rats were the most numerous.”

“The Beast King wasn’t chosen that way, but the leaders of the Beastman Kingdom were. I still remember. Back then, it wasn’t a king but a consul.”

Roka was at a loss for words. It was clear she just wanted to hurry to the Arctic. The Princess, too, seemed uninterested in getting involved, remaining silent since earlier.

“Leon. Help me out. I need your Flame Energy.”

At that moment, Sir Urban called for the lion. Then he continued in a low voice.

“Ordinary fire can’t refine the core inside. Only the culmination of one’s life, their Power Techniques, can melt such ore.”

“Use Power Techniques to melt the core?”

“What’s contained within is a person’s life. It’s only natural to melt it with the Power Techniques that are the culmination of one’s own life. Or, do you want to try melting it yourself? I see you have the Power of the Sun.”

“…How do I do it?”

The old man gestured to Roka.

“Follow me. I’ll show you how.”

“Can we come and watch too?”

“No need. You’ll have to leave her alone and come back out anyway.”

Come back out? The Princess and I exchanged glances.

“In the end, this refining is up to that wolf. I’ll just set the stage, but I won’t be watching. It’s a very delicate process. Having others watch might ruin it.”

We knew nothing about this field, so we had no choice but to trust the master’s words.

As we nodded, he led Roka inside the ruins, now covered in spiderwebs from years of neglect.

And after a while,

Urban came out alone, leaving Roka inside.

*****

In this world, there are people who have their own fields where no one else can follow. Sir Urban is at least qualified to call himself the world’s best in his field.

Without a word, he handed Roka a cushion to sit on. Once the girl sat down, he then handed her a large hammer. An old, rusty hammer that looked like it might crumble if a spider crawled on it.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve held this hammer.”

He sighed. It was a feeling he hadn’t experienced in a long time.

Though much time had passed, to him, it felt no different from yesterday. Even though time had flowed differently for him and the hammer, the feel of it in his hand hadn’t changed.

“Hasn’t too much time passed?”

Roka looked at the rusty hammer with a worried expression. She feared it might break if she used it to strike iron.

The hammer’s quality looked worse than even the ones from the village blacksmith. It seemed inferior even to the crude forges made of earth by villagers.

“People who first meet me always say that. What’s important isn’t the tool, yet they doubt my reputation when they see it. The hammer isn’t rusty because time has passed. It was like this even when I swung it a lot. A craftsman isn’t swayed by tools—that’s what makes them a craftsman.”

A splendid forge and skilled assistants. Advanced equipment from the Magic Tower might help create excellent weapons. But the weapons made that way are just mass-produced swords.

You can make high-quality weapons, but you can’t make weapons that transcend quality. That’s the inevitable limit of mass production. Urban doesn’t make such things.

Even if he makes the same pickaxe, he tailors it to the person who ordered it. He knows it’s stubbornness, but he doesn’t compromise. Every time he makes the same item, a different piece is born.

What he pours into each swing of the hammer is his soul, his heart, and his passion. That’s why he’s a master.

But he doesn’t show off. He doesn’t boast or act superior.

His reputation wasn’t built by himself. Like a needle slipping out of a bag, even with a calculating heart, his fame naturally grew.

“But that’s not what truly matters. So what if the hammer’s a bit rusty? When I take my stance, my body becomes as stiff as a tree trunk. Just as a tree naturally extends its branches, I naturally extend my arms.”

“No matter how vast the world or how strange its wonders, once I hold the hammer, all I think about is the red-hot iron.

When you focus like that, your heart naturally pours into what you create.

Even if it’s made from ordinary materials, it can transcend the limits of the raw materials. The old man smiled at the skeptical wolf.

“Do you believe in the power of the heart?”

“No, I don’t. Don’t talk like a peddler.”

“I believe it. I think pure heart power can influence and change the world.”

The girl, already a Master, just shook her head. Influence the world with heart power? If the world were that easy, everyone would already be as strong as they wished.

The heart can be the driving force for magical power or the source of movement for the body.

But pure heart power alone, without the help of the body or magical power, can’t really do anything. If she had trained in mental techniques like Grimudo, it might be different, but Roka didn’t even know about such things.

“Until now, I only had a hunch, but now I have proof. I’ve seen the traces left by someone who reached that very state I’ve been thinking of. He must have been a being so great that no one in the world could follow.”

Experience is a mirror to the past. Wisdom is a mirror to the future.

When experience and wisdom combine, you can know more than with just one. Urban no longer explained his theory. He was confident it was correct.

“Find the core sleeping within you. Even if ordinary people can’t do it, you’re a Master. You should at least have some awareness of your own heart.”

“How exactly do I do it?”

“Search. Find the heart of another that’s lodged within you. Melt it with your Power of the Sun.”

Here I am. Please pull me out.

The core within Roka, seen by Urban, kept calling out like that. Ever since she became a Master, the core had been ready to become a sword at any moment.

But she had just become a Master and was still confused, having poured her energy into creating the Devouring Technique. With everything happening in the Eastern Plains, she hadn’t noticed the core trembling within her.

Instead, it was someone like Urban who noticed. What’s meant to happen will happen when the time comes.

Something clearly not her own, lodged within her heart. When Roka saw it, it saw her too. It trembled, asking if she would finally look at it now.

The core was ready. It was the girl who wasn’t.