A Wild Man Has Entered the Academy

When have I ever felt like I was up against a ‘wall' in my life? It must have been after I fell into the forest, when I had my first proper confrontation with Porori.

Back then, I was terribly weak, while Porori was incredibly strong, even at that time. Countless were the times when a single blow from him would knock me out cold.

Yet, as the days passed, I gradually narrowed the gap, and eventually, I was the one to triumph. Leaving my mark of victory was just an extra perk.

Thanks to that, I realized walls could be overcome with effort. The thrill of that realization is something I cannot forget, even as time goes by.

"I will help you control your fury every weekend from now on until the day comes when you, Brother Sivar, can trigger it yourself."

"What happens when he can control fury on his own? The key issue is maintaining his sanity, right?"

"We will find out when the time comes. Fury, after all, is a type of awakening ability. There's a high likelihood of retaining your rational mind."

"Awakening ability?"

Luna tilted her head as Lize explained, looking as if she’d just heard the term for the first time.

She still has much more to learn than she knows. Even with her talent that defies time, there are things that experience cannot fill.

Now returned to her Saintess mode from the Martial Saintess, Lize explained slowly with a slight smile.

"It’s a technique that lifts all your abilities, including physical prowess. It consumes a lot of mana and stamina, but the effects far outweigh the costs."

"Is it like the enhancements that clerics provide to physical abilities?"

"Similar, but different. It’s not about others; you need to activate it yourself. Luna, if you want, I can teach you as well."

"Really?!"

Luna’s eyes sparkled at Lize’s straightforward offer to teach her. There she goes, taking the easy way again.

Anyway, awakening abilities can be simply understood as ‘buffs'. These are buffs that cannot be cast on others and can only be self-triggered.

The downside is they consume a lot of stamina, so they are usually triggered as a last resort. One typical example would be Hector, who wraps his entire body with lightning.

"Yes. But there are many conditions. First, your body must become accustomed to mana. Second, greatly increase your stamina. If you're unable to meet even one of these conditions, it will be difficult to use."

"The first can be dealt with through condensation and refinement, but what about the second? What's the stamina threshold?"

In Soul World, the minimum stamina required to use awakening abilities is 100, which doesn't last long.

Like minimum and recommended system requirements for a game, if 100 is the minimum, then the recommendation would probably exceed 120.

"I'll let you know in due time. If you're on par with Kara, that should be enough."

"Me?"

Kara blinked in surprise when suddenly mentioned, her green eyes brimming with questions.

"You can use awakening abilities, too, can’t you, Kara?"

"Yes. Well… I hardly use them unless it’s actual combat."

Training was literally just training, so they would have sparred with their bare bodies. Even using awakening abilities wouldn't have changed the outcome.

It means that even Kara feels the burden of utilizing awakening abilities. It must be even more troublesome for followers of Gulak.

Even Hector has to surround his entire body with powerful lightning, which is hard to handle without a strong body and stamina.

"You heard, right? This means that, for now, it's best to work on building your stamina. There's a reason people say stamina is akin to national power."

"Yeah…"

As the conversation came full circle back to training, Luna wore a gloomy expression. She seemed tired of it.

Once she learns something, she never forgets it. But repeating it for mastery is what makes it tedious.

"If you wish, I can help you increase your stamina in a short time. As long as you're willing to follow."

"I'm in!"

"Good. Then visit here whenever the classes end. Rod will allow it, right?"

"Do as you please. There's not much I can do about it anyway."

Someone struggled to escape from hell, while she willingly entered it.

I cast a sympathetic glance at the cheerfully smiling Luna. She has no idea what choice she's just made.

‘The training that makes even game characters vomit.'

Players chosen by Chaos are dragged away by Lize, and they receive countless trainings from her.

The process is so harsh that the playable characters actually vomit. Not an exaggeration but an actual vomiting animation.

But Lize, relentless, keeps the training going, holding onto them till the end despite their attempts to escape every time.

‘But Luna wasn't even chosen by Chaos, is she just giving it away?'

Lize is discerning, so she may just have taken an interest. Kara has her own routine, so that's why she doesn't interfere.

Still, training under Lize can make one strong in a short period, if one can bear it.

I sent my silent condolences to Luna, who is about to taste hell. I wondered if she’d gradually become more haggard as days go by.

"Shall we wrap things up now, Brother Sivar?"

"Yeah."

"I know you need to recover, but could you please listen to what I have to say?"

I don’t want to. I wish to stay here longer. I shook my head as my response.

After receiving the mark of death from Lize, I was seeking consolation to soothe the disquiet in my heart. Of course, Ellie was the one consoling me.

The form of consolation was very simple. Ellie gave me a warm embrace and patted my back.

I actually wanted to bury my face in Ellie's bosom but given the circumstances, a hug was all we could share.

‘It was really ghostly timing.'

Originally, she wasn't supposed to be here. But she had shown up at just the right time.

As soon as Ellie arrived, I approached her with a gloomy face, and she accepted my whining with an open heart.

"Please tolerate a little more. Sivar is scared, you see."

Ellie certainly knows my heart. She's as quick-witted as Kara.

And I delved deeper into her comforts as Ellie patted my back. A cozy feeling enveloped my entire body.

Perhaps because of the genuineness of the embrace, my mind, cluttered with fear, gradually found peace.

I could feel her bosom but strangely, I had no ulterior thoughts. I felt only comfortable emotions.

"Well, it must have been pretty scary. The shock was quite big, so perhaps we should talk after you return to the residence."

"Okay. Sivar agrees, right?"

Ellie asked, and I nodded. That was enough for me.

I slowly disentangled myself from the hug, and Ellie's face came into view.

Her cheeks were tinged with a slight blush, matched with a brimming, happy smile. It seemed I had hugged her a bit too tightly.

I embraced without controlling my strength, so it's understandable. I’ll have to apologize later.

"It wasn't uncomfortable, was it? Your chest must've felt tight."

"Not at all."

If anything, I felt recharged. My heart, once filled with fear, was now painted with stability.

Besides, that question should've come from me. I hugged her hard enough to turn her face red, but she didn't make a sound.

"Thank God. From now on…"

"Don't talk nonsense and let's hurry up. We can't stay put here forever, right?"

Ellie was about to say something when Kara’s words sliced through our conversation.

Kara’s voice had such a resonance that it clearly pierced my ears. I turned to look at her.

Kara stood with her arms crossed, a displeased look on her face. I wonder why she looks like that.

"And you, Ellie. If you mollycoddle Sivar too much, you'll spoil him. You have to set some limits to your indulgence."

Kara then proceeded to criticize Ellie's actions. It was true that I’d often wheedle Ellie.

Ellie seemed aware of that, nodding her head. But the follow-up was quite reasonable.

"Just let this go, sister. Sivar came from living in the forest. He might be only starting to understand what loneliness is."

"By the way, a hug is an excellent remedy for loneliness. It can even relieve depression."

Lize added weight to Ellie’s explanation. She's well-versed in medicine and far more experienced.

It was true that every night, I would be hit with an inexplicable sense of loneliness and solitude. It kept me awake in a different way.

Which is probably why I felt so joyful come morning. There’s a reason why humans are called social animals.

"Really? Then there’s nothing else to be done."

Kara seemed convinced that it was pointless to argue further, especially after Lize’s corroboration.

She glanced at me, then put her fist to her mouth, coughing lightly. She then took a subtle peek around and spoke up quietly.

"…but I'll help out a bit too. Just hugging, right?"

"Huh? What?"

"You can't go through it alone, Ellie. Remember I told you before? I’d help whenever."

She did say that, albeit laden with potential misunderstandings. But that doesn’t hold much significance.

She probably didn’t expect it to be brought up now. Ellie’s golden eyes began to sway nervously.

"That's okay! I can handle it myself. And you have your own training to do, right, Kara?"

Ellie tried to remain composed, but her voice wavered. She must've been considerably flustered.

Kara seemed to ignore the awkwardness, responding nonchalantly as if it didn't concern her.

"Ah, hugging is a piece of cake. It's something I did with Sivar during training, after all."

"Huh, you hugged during training? What do you mean by that?"

"Do you know grappling? The Saintess must be aware of it, right?"

"Of course. It’s techniques involving grappling the opponent to the ground or choking them out. It inevitably requires physical contact."

Once again, the Martial Saintess provides a kind explanation. She's a treasure trove of knowledge, with expertise in both medicine and martial arts.

Upon hearing this, Ellie’s eyes shook even more violently. She clearly hadn't expected such a response.

She struggled to find the right words, then shifted her gaze to Luna for confirmation.

"Is, is that true? Lu, Luna, you train together, right?"

"Yeah? Correct? I do it too, so what?"

"Lu, Luna, you too?"

"There's a problem?"

Luna's tilt of the head suggested sincere confusion. Meanwhile, Ellie’s face was a live broadcast of emotional transformation.

Amid the chaos of the situation, only I stood there dumbstruck. By the way, Rod had already left to return home.

"Now, don't be greedy."

Kara's voice pierced my ears in the midst of it all. Upon hearing her words, I immediately looked at her.

She wore her signature mischievous smile. Didn't she just say something about greed?

"What did you say just now? It didn’t sound like the common tongue."

Evidently having sharp hearing like mine, Lize asked Kara. To that, Kara replied breezily.

"It's nothing. Just talking to myself, to myself."

"That's the Tatars language, right?"

"Yes. Saintess, are you familiar with our language?"

"No. The Tatars language was quite chaotic when I was making pilgrimages. I've heard that Hector has unified it, has he not?"

So it was the language of the Tatars. But why did I feel like I understood it?

[Faith is increasing!]

And what are you now?