Chapter 121: Castaway on a Deserted Island (2)

A corner of Rocky Isle, once the habitat of the Kreveion.

 Kkyeeeek!

"Good job, Kkokko! This time, over here!"

 Kkyeek! Kkyeek!

"Nice, well done!"

On one side, under Beryl's command, the Cockatrice was diligently spitting out petrifying venom and stacking it into a stone tower. On the opposite side...

"You lot will be doing special training with me here to prepare for a ‘Naval Combat’."

"Naval Combat… sir?"

Standing with a confident expression was Hardin, while the Daphne Knights looked on in a daze.

‘What the hell is he talking about?’

‘Did I hear that right?’

At Hardin’s words, the knights froze stiff, and a heavy silence fell.

Then, Manton scratched his forehead and cautiously raised his hand.

"Um, Young Master…"

"What? Speak."

"Wasn’t our family’s strategy to wait in position and launch a defensive battle when the Count of Tread’s forces land on Mudside Beach?"

"Oh, that? Yeah, it was."

Hardin nodded casually, as if it were no big deal.

"But… you’re saying you’re going to prepare for ‘Naval Combat’, sir?"

"Yeah, the family can handle the defensive lines just fine on their own, so we need to do something different. That’s why we’re repairing the ship."

"Ah…"

With his arms crossed, Hardin flashed a grin, then exchanged a serious look with Manton.

A gleam in his eyes—bright, unwavering, and unmistakably mad.

In that moment, everyone present realized instinctively.

‘He… he’s dead serious?’

‘…We’re screwed.’

‘So the armor plating on the ship was really…’

This wasn’t a joke.

Manton shouted urgently.

"That’s impossible! Naval combat? There’s absolutely no chance we could win a sea battle against the Count of Tread’s forces!"

It was only natural to say so.

The Count of Tread hailed from a family with a long history of operating ports.

That meant they had high-performance warships, skilled sailors, knights, and conscripts—all seasoned and experienced in naval warfare.

In contrast, they had virtually no experience in naval combat.

And yet, and yet…

‘He’s seriously going through with a naval battle?’

Just as bewilderment swept across the entire knight order, not just Manton—

Hardin responded without a moment’s hesitation.

"Yeah, that’s right."

"Excuse me?"

"There’s no way we’d win in a naval battle against those guys. Just like you said."

"Then why on earth…"

As Manton gave him a confused look, Hardin let out a smirk and continued.

"Because we don’t need to win."

"What?"

"In this war, as long as we don’t lose, that’s enough. And the training you’re about to go through is for exactly that."

"I really don’t understand what you mean."

"You don’t need to. This is something you’ll only get once you see it with your own eyes and feel it for yourself."

"Huh…"

Just as Manton and the other knights wore troubled expressions—

Hardin scratched his chin and stared intently at them.

‘Let’s see here…’

In that moment, a faint blue glow—barely perceptible—rose over Hardin’s eyes.

His senses sharpened, and he began to see thin blue lines spreading like plant roots across the knights’ bodies.

Mana circuits.

One of the most critical elements used to describe a knight’s level—circuits that store and release mana.

And Hardin… was ‘feeling’ them through his uniquely heightened senses.

‘They’ve definitely grown quite a bit since before.’

Compared to when he first encountered them, each one’s circuits had at least doubled—some even tripled or more.

Considering how he’d relentlessly hammered them nonstop just to expand their vessel, this was a natural result in some ways.

Of course, compared to the subordinates he had during the days of Varlach—whose bodies were filled with circuits from toe to fingertip—these guys were still nowhere near that level...

‘But the size alone is good enough now.’

Currently, most of them were at the level of 1-star masters, but just in terms of the size of their mana circuits, they were large enough to potentially aim for mid-2-star and beyond.

On top of that, Beryl and Manton already had circuits at the level of 3-star knights.

The problem was that their actual skills were far behind the state of their bodies and circuits.

The reason was simple.

‘Their mana control is still underdeveloped. Severely.’

A knight’s skill was determined by four capabilities.

Physical strength, swordsmanship, mana circuits, and mana control.

If even one of these was lacking, it was impossible to fully reach one's proper level. And these guys, in particular, lacked the ability to manipulate mana precisely—to control the attraction and repulsion forces in fine detail and move quickly and smoothly.

Of course, it wasn’t like Hardin had neglected that part without reason while training them.

Up to this point, just growing their vessels and teaching them basic techniques had been enough to handle most situations. More importantly...

‘It’s far easier to attain mastery after growing the vessel first.’

Someone like Hardin, who could handle mana manipulation as naturally as breathing thanks to his past life’s experience, could afford to develop control first without issue...

But knights who lacked intuition—if they trained only in mana control from the beginning—would often make no progress in their training for the rest of their lives.

That was why Hardin had chosen to grow their vessels first.

If the circuits spread farther throughout the body, if their bodies could hold more mana inside… naturally, controlling it would become much easier.

Of course, even this only relatively made things easier—none of it was actually simple.

Hardin let out a huff through his nose and gave a dry chuckle.

‘So what if it’s hard? Am I supposed to just give up then?’

This war wasn’t something Hardin could win with his own strength alone.

And the support those guys were hoping for from the princess? That wasn’t coming.

To turn the situation around and defend the port, they not only needed a solid strategy, but also the minimum level of strength necessary to execute it.

That’s why this training had to succeed—no matter what.

Hardin raised the corners of his mouth in a slow, sharp grin.

"I’ll guarantee you one thing."

"……"

"By the time this training is over, every last one of you here will have advanced by at least one rank."

"What do you mean by that?"

"What do you think I mean? I mean exactly what I said. A 1-star will become 2-star, a 2-star will become 3-star."

"Excuse me?"

In stark contrast to Hardin’s confident tone, the knights’ faces were filled with disbelief.

‘Advance in rank?’

‘This isn’t some child’s game…’

No secret manuals, no support from their house, not even remarkable talent—these knights were, at best, ordinary.

For them to advance in rank was a feat that could take decades of effort—if it was even possible. For some, it would always be an impossible wall.

And yet now he was saying they’d level up through training? When the Count of Tread could invade at any moment?

‘If it were that easy, we would’ve done it already!’

‘Give me a break…’

Honestly, all the knights here acknowledged Hardin’s capabilities.

Everything he had shown so far was impressive, and they had, in fact, grown stronger under his training.

But raising their actual rank—that was an entirely different matter.

Even if he was a Young Master, some things were simply not possible.

As doubt clouded their faces, Manton cautiously asked,

"So then… what kind of training are you going to put us through?"

Hardin grinned.

"It’s simple. You just need to be able to do one thing."

"Just one thing?"

"Come with me. I’ll show you."

Without another word, Hardin turned and walked off—heading toward the sea.

‘What’s he thinking?’

‘Just one thing?’

As the knights tilted their heads and followed, Hardin arrived at the edge of Rocky Isle.

Swoooosh! Swaaaaah!

Amid the crashing waves, he stretched out a finger and pointed to a small rocky outcrop about ten meters away.

"The method’s simple. Walk to that spot without falling into the water."

"……Excuse me?"

What the hell did he just say?

The knights all blinked in confusion. Mikkelsen, unable to hold back his frustration, asked,

"Are you telling us to make a huge leap and land over there?"

"Did you even listen? I said ‘walk’—you have to walk there."

"What in the world are you even saying…?"

How were they supposed to walk on water?

Just as everyone wore confused expressions—

Step.

Hardin calmly placed his foot on the sea.

"Uh?"

"What the…?"

It was definitely water.

The kind of surface that should’ve swallowed his foot with a splash the moment he stepped on it.

But somehow…

Splash, splash.

Hardin walked peacefully—like the sea beneath his feet was solid ground.

He advanced without a single wobble.

As if he were demonstrating a miracle of the gods.

"Wha—?"

He had walked about ten steps forward when—

"Heave-ho."

Hardin lightly stepped onto a jagged rock jutting from the sea in front of the island and turned around.

"This is all you need to do. Easy, right?"

"…Excuse me?"

Everyone’s eyes widened in disbelief.

"If all of you manage to walk to this rock, training ends there."

"……"

A heavy silence fell—until everyone erupted simultaneously.

"…How did you do that?"

"How on earth are we supposed to do something like that?"

Hardin gave a shrug, then lifted one foot.

"The method’s simple. Just release your mana toward your feet…"

Vmmmm—

In that instant, a blue glow began to pool and ripple beneath Hardin’s sole.

"Then you form a perfect balance between the repelling and attracting forces. Like this, and this."

The glow beneath his foot stilled.

Completely stable, as though undisturbed—frozen in perfect calm.

"When you do that… you can walk like this."

Hardin proceeded to walk across the water, heading back toward the knights.

‘How is that even possible?’

‘Damn… mana control can go that far?’

The knights’ eyes trembled as they stared at Hardin.

And once again, a grin tugged at the corner of Hardin’s lips.

‘Well, it’s not easy, of course.’

At the 1 to 2-star level—in other words, the level of a novice knight—mana circuits rarely extended far beyond the lower abdomen.

Which meant that in areas like the fingertips or toes… the farther the distance from the circuit, the more exponentially difficult it became to manipulate mana.

Hardin was performing that level of mana control as if it were nothing.

Tap!

Back on land, Hardin crossed his arms and spoke.

"You don’t need to be as perfect as I was. Even if your ankles get wet—or your knees, for that matter—as long as your whole body doesn’t go under and you make it to that point, it counts. Simple, right?"

"Simple… you say?"

Did the definition of the word simple change without us noticing?

Then Hardin added something else.

"Oh, I forgot to mention—until this training ends, none of you are allowed to leave this island."

"Excuse me? What do you mean by that?"

Mikkelsen frowned as he asked, and Hardin snorted.

"What do you think I mean? Exactly what I said."

"But then… where are we supposed to sleep?"

"Sleep? There’s plenty of space all around for that."

Hardin swept his hand outward, gesturing to the surroundings.

"Th-then what about food? Water?"

"We’re surrounded by ocean, and the sea is full of fish. What’s the problem?"

Hardin gave a carefree shrug.

‘We’re screwed.’

‘He’s seriously not joking?’

Despair painted the faces of the knights.

"Alright then, training… begins."

And at the corner of Hardin’s lips, an eerie smile appeared.

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