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Chapter 8
Based on the point where the training sword had struck, the steel scarecrow’s torso split to the left and right.
Although it wasn’t completely severed, this alone was enough to clearly show how much his strength had increased thanks to the Giant Strength trait.
“If Giant Strength is already this powerful… then what about Colossal Strength…?”
If the Giant Strength trait alone could cut a steel scarecrow in half, what could the original and superior version, Colossal Strength, do?
“Could it even destroy a steel scarecrow completely?”
After recalling Lena’s extraordinary strength from a past life, he concluded it might indeed be possible.
“No wonder they dominate as a transcendent family.”
A transcendent family, powerful enough to wield national-level influence with just a single household. Among them, the Titans were said to be able to rule solely by strength even if their family fell from prominence. That didn’t seem like an exaggeration at all.
“Anyway, for now, I should use this to practice controlling my strength.”
He gathered his thoughts about the Titan family, steadied himself, and picked up the training sword again.
The target was the steel scarecrow he had just struck.
“One span deep should be enough.”
His goal was to cut exactly one span deep. Setting that target, he swung the sword at the scarecrow once more.
Meanwhile:
“Is that really a steel scarecrow?”
“And that’s a training sword Roizen’s holding, right?”
“Yeah… both seem right.”
Not just the trainee paladins, but even the instructors were watching.
“Senpai, you mean you could actually cut that with a training sword?”
“Hmm, I’ve only seen a steel scarecrow split in half once before…”
Even though training should have already started, everyone was just staring at Roizen striking the scarecrow.
“…Wait, senpai. What happened to the steel scarecrow?”
“It split in half.”
“No way… split in half?”
A junior instructor, already impressed that Roizen had cut the scarecrow halfway, now couldn’t believe that someone had completely split it.
“Did someone awaken their sword energy during training?”
The junior guessed it might be possible if sword energy had been awakened mid-training, but the senior shook their head.
“No, it wasn’t sword energy—pure strength alone.”
“…Is that even possible?”
“Normally, it wouldn’t be.”
“Exactly, normally impossible.”
The instructors ran simulations in their minds, imagining how much of a steel scarecrow they could cut using only strength and technique, without activating their cores.
“Even at full power, maybe just one span deep would be the limit.”
“Yeah, that seems about right.”
“Have you tried?”
“Hmm, it was quite a while ago, though.”
At most, one span deep. Cutting deeper than that with pure strength alone was impossible.
“So who’s the person that actually split it in half?”
The senior asked, and the trainee paladins perked up, waiting for an answer.
“That would be…”
But the answer didn’t come from the senior instructor.
“Ta-da! That was me!”
“…Gina-senpai and Heron-senpai?”
“What brings you here at this hour?”
“Just stopped by on my way to the dock.”
“Then don’t disturb the class and head off quickly.”
“Wow… my friends came to visit after a long time, and you’re just telling me to go? That’s harsh, right, Heron?”
“Hmm.”
“Long time my foot—you come by all the time.”
“Hmm, that’s true.”
“Still, I even agreed to your request and temporarily became a graduation exam instructor at this odd hour, and you can’t even say thanks? That’s cold!”
“That’s why I bought you food. Dinner, even late-night snacks!”
“Hmm.”
“Yeah, I ate well. But class? You and these guys are just watching.”
“Hmm.”
“…”
“See? No words to say.”
“Observing another paladin’s training is also part of the lesson.”
“Wow… how did my friend get so shameless?”
“Hmm.”
Unable to respond to Gina’s claim about shamelessness, the senior instructor stayed silent, and the junior instructor continued the conversation.
“Um, Gina-senpai?”
“Hm?”
“Did you really split a steel scarecrow in half?”
“Yes, back when I was a trainee paladin.”
“A trainee…?”
“Yes. We were comparing who was the strongest among our peers. Since we couldn’t hit each other, we used a scarecrow instead. I split a steel scarecrow in half and came in first place.”
“I-I see…”
“For reference, Heron was second, and this guy only managed a single span, so he came in last.”
“Hmm.”
“Geez, enough with the useless old stories!”
Though embarrassed, the senior instructor’s irritation didn’t affect the junior or the trainee paladins, who barely cared that he had come last.
“So you really broke it during your trainee days?”
“Wow….”
“Waaah….”
“Woooah…”
Everyone admired Gina, more fascinated by the fact that she split a steel scarecrow than by anything else.
Heh.
Relishing the attention, Gina cast a curious look at Roizen.
“Even if that was me, what is he…?”
Though not as impressive as her own achievement during trainee days, the newly graduated third-class paladin cutting a steel scarecrow that much was still absurd. Surprised there was someone else capable of such a feat, Gina studied Roizen carefully.
“I’ll have to keep an eye on him, like during the graduation exam.”
As expected, practicing strength control using scarecrows was far from easy.
He spent the whole day until the training hall doors closed, but ultimately failed to reach his goal.
To be precise, he only succeeded halfway.
“I never managed to do it with the wooden scarecrow.”
He managed a single-span cut with the steel scarecrow but never succeeded even once with the wooden one, not until sunset when the hall closed.
“Still, I think I’m starting to get the hang of it…”
Though he wanted to practice more to perfect it, there was no time left.
“This comes first, then.”
Early in the morning, a priest arrived at the dormitory with a mission scroll.
“Exterminate rat-type monsters…”
The mission was titled Extermination of Rat-Type Monsters. Monsters resembling rats could reproduce exponentially if left unchecked, so regular extermination was necessary to control their population.
“Does it matter which type of rat monster it is?”
Rat-type monsters were broadly classified into three kinds. While waiting for a mentor, he wondered which type he’d face, when someone began entering the dock.
“Gina?”
Gina Harper, the temporary graduation exam instructor.
“On a mission?”
He assumed she must be on another task since a second-class paladin wouldn’t normally mentor a rookie, but surprisingly, Gina introduced herself as the mentor and extended her hand.
“We meet again. It’s been a while since I last had a mentoring task, so I’m counting on you.”
“Gina as my mentor? Why? How?”
Typically, a third-class paladin handles mentoring rookies. Second-class paladins, core personnel of the order, were only assigned to instruct. In the understaffed Underlake Cathedral, Gina, effectively the strongest, was mentoring a rookie? That shifted his question from why to how.
“…Yes. I’ll do my best.”
He shook her hand, and as they clasped hands:
Squeeze.
“…Hm?”
Gina’s grip was strong—not a casual handshake, but one meant to assert her strength.
Squeeze!
“…Ah!”
He reflexively resisted, startled, then quickly relaxed. Luckily, Gina released her grip without issue.
“Shall we get going?”
She led the way to the boat at the dock, and he followed, still dazed.
“Did I manage to control my strength…?”
Though his control was still rough and he could have easily crushed her hand, he had apparently succeeded in adjusting his strength momentarily.
“Still, I’ll be careful.”
After crossing the lake with Gina, he began patrolling Zone 1.
“Now, where should we look for rats?”
Gina seemed to be testing him as soon as they left the dock. He briefly considered, then pointed a direction.
“This way.”
“Why do you think so?”
“All rat-type monsters—Shade Rats, Filth Rats, Glutton Rats—prefer dark and damp places.”
He pointed toward a shadowy corner of Overlake, with almost no sunlight—the perfect environment for them.
“Not bad, looks like you studied hard.”
Gina approved and followed his lead. Soon, as expected, they found rat-type monsters.
“Shade Rats.”
Dark-furred, hiding in shadows, eight in total.
“Zzzt?”
“Zzziik!”
“Pip, pip, pip!”
They immediately became hostile instead of fleeing. Drawing his sword, he prepared for battle.
Gina stepped back.
“You can handle that on your own, right?”
“Huh?”
She gestured to the Shade Rats.
“You took care of the wolves in Zone 2; a few rats in Zone 1 shouldn’t be a problem.”
“…Well, yeah.”
Though she was right, this was supposed to be a cooperative mission. Normally, she’d join the hunt. But Gina crossed her arms and completely took on the spectator role.
“Testing my skills?”
She clearly wanted to gauge his ability.
“Just watching my graduation exam performance wasn’t enough, huh.”
He understood her intention, drew his sword, and advanced confidently.
“Alright, let’s make some progress here.”
