The Failure Marquis Is A Genius [EN]: Chapter 152

18. Mermaid: Smirking Bastard

After the sparring match with Theodore at the training grounds,

The participation of our group in the martial arts tournament was naturally decided. However, since four contestants were required, the Sage Orneo was excluded.

The reason Orneo was excluded was because he lost at rock-paper-scissors. Everyone threw a fist, but the old man, who was the only one to throw scissors, slapped his own hand in regret.

Anyway, the final contestants were me, Zion, Kembel, and Theodore.

After realizing he was the weakest, Theodore spurred himself on to train even harder. To give him experience points, I became his sparring partner.

“Your flank is open!”

“You need to swing towards the back!”

“Your footwork is off again. Are you a fish-brain?”

“I told you not to call me a fish-brain!”

“Oh, right. Then a fish-cake brain.”

“Don’t call me either!”

Of course, my teachings weren’t exactly kind.

He was stuck with the strange notion that merfolk were stronger than humans.

‘That’s a very dangerous thought.’

There were often people in the Arnia Continent with limited perspectives like Theodore.

‘They’re weak because they’re commoners.’

‘They’re weak because they’re foreigners.’

‘They’re weak because they’re women or children.’

Going into a fight with such narrow-minded views is a shortcut to an early death.

Unless you have the insight to gauge your opponent’s level or special skills, it’s always right to be vigilant. There’s a saying that even a lion gives its all when catching a rabbit.

Fortunately, Theodore wasn’t an arrogant jerk obsessed with authority. He genuinely thought humans were weak, but once he was repeatedly defeated by us, he readily admitted he was wrong.

He kept asking for guidance and lost every single time.

The taste of defeat was bitter, but Theodore improved faster than ever. He was originally called a genius within his tribe, so it was clear he was getting stronger every day.

Two days before the martial arts tournament.

Theodore was sprawled out on the training grounds, covered in bruises.

He forced himself up, gasping for breath.

“I request another sparring match.”

“No. You need to rest now.”

“No. I can do more.”

“Lie down before I break your legs.”

“······”

I noticed something while crossing swords with Theodore many times.

As expected of a merfolk, he naturally had strength and agility, as well as excellent reflexes and resilience.

Even his spear techniques were considerable, and his high combat sense made him good at improvisation.

But he also had clear weaknesses.

This wasn’t just Theodore’s problem.

Perhaps because merfolk are overconfident in their own bodies, they relatively neglected or half-assed their mana training.

When I asked him about mana training because the blue mana swirling around his spear was running wild, I got an unexpected answer.

“Mana? What’s that?”

“I’m talking about the energy you’re putting into your spear.”

“You mean the blessing of the sea.”

“The blessing of the sea?”

“Yes. The sea bestows blessings upon those with talent. It’s a natural way to get stronger.”

There’s no systematic system at all.

They believe that if you diligently train your external strength, your internal strength will naturally follow.

In other words, it’s like saying your math scores will go up if you study English.

‘That’s amazing.’

The rest is covered by the merfolk’s unique strong physique.

I don’t know whether to say it’s amazing in some ways or ignorant.

“Human, I’ve been feeling a lot lately as I keep losing to you.”

“That’s a relief then.”

“Until recently, I thought I could easily win a martial arts tournament. I was confident I could defeat anyone who came out.”

“You’ve changed your mind now?”

“Yes. I’ve lost confidence. I was a frog in a well [an idiom for someone with limited experience]. I got carried away because people around me praised me as a genius. Deep down, I was confident I could make it in Poseidon City too.”

Theodore’s shoulders drooped as if he had lost his spirit.

“I want to get stronger. But I feel like I can’t do it this way. I want you to tell me exactly what I’m lacking. Please!!”

The warrior knelt down on his own.

Considering his once high pride, this situation itself was quite unexpected.

“Aren’t you already learning while getting beaten?”

“It’s not enough. I don’t know what’s missing. I have a feeling I’m going to stagnate if I stay like this.”

So that’s what a genius is like.

He’s aware of his shortcomings.

I know what he’s lacking.

The problem is whether to point it out or not…

I looked around for a moment.

The Swift Wind tribe was peaceful today as well.

The adults had gone out fishing and gathering, so the village was deserted.

The children were running around cheerfully with their faces covered in mud.

A rural village that is always kind to outsiders.

If Theodore were to fall after losing in the martial arts tournament, or even winning, it was a scenery that would disappear.

‘Should I help a little?’

I rummaged through my subspace [a personal storage dimension].

I wondered if there was anything useful.

Then I spotted something.

I waved my hand and took it out.

[Subspace Gourd]

[You have retrieved the Water of Life]

It was the Water of Life I obtained from the Eastern Great Forest.

After resolving the conflict in the Elf Forest, Sasha gifted me a considerable amount of spring water.

As soon as the baby dragon Coco drank the spring water, it grew, and the elven warriors temporarily raised their level, so the Water of Life contained a powerful energy.

However, the elven warriors consumed excessive amounts under the guise of blessings, which paralyzed their reason and ruined their bodies, but in fact, there was no better elixir than this if you followed the recommended dose.

As soon as I received the Water of Life, I gifted it to those around me, and as a result, my companions made considerable progress.

I gave away all the gifts and had some left over, so I stored them in my subspace, and it seemed like it would be perfect to use it on Theodore.

Theodore recognized at a glance that the liquid sloshing in the glass bottle was a special substance and fixed his gaze on it.

“What is that?”

“It’s water you need to drink.”

“You want me to drink this?”

“Yes.”

You might think it’s a waste to use the Water of Life on Theodore, but it’s okay. I can get as much additional supply from Sasha as I want. More than anything, I drank it so much in the past that it was useless to drink more.

The law of elixir preservation.

The effect of repeatedly consuming the same elixir decreases rapidly.

This was a rule that applied to me as well.

“Can I just drink it?”

“Yes.”

Theodore gulped it down in one gulp.

I gave him a little more than the amount an ordinary expert master could handle.

He had a strong merfolk body and had been repeating intense training, so I calculated that he could handle this much.

“Ugh!”

“Don’t just stand there, sit in a lotus position.”

I forced him to sit down and put my hand on his back.

“I’m going to let the energy flow, so don’t resist.”

Theodore didn’t even have time to answer and was sweating profusely.

He was controlling the energy swirling inside.

My dual mana flowed into his body.

The energy raging violently inside tried to assert itself, but it was no match.

Dual mana is a seasoned veteran with maxed-out experience.

It easily suppressed any clumsy resistance.

It grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and guided all the energy in a specific direction.

“Remember the flow.”

Mindset is a systematically diagrammed formula of mana flow.

I only taught him the basics of the best mindset a thousand years ago, who grew up in the countryside and had talent but had limited knowledge.

Theodore sweated profusely but tried hard to circulate mana according to the path he was taught.

My role is up to here.

Theodore has to do it from here.

I took out the dual mana and recovered it.

After that, he diligently pierced his blood vessels and rotated mana as taught. The energy that had been raging fiercely until just now calmed down and became calm.

In the end, Theodore also awakened the dual mana. The Water of Life is the essence of green mana extracted from the Elf Forest, and the energy that Theodore, who was originally a merfolk, handled was blue mana.

Flash!

Theodore opened his eyes.

His eyes were much deeper than before.

He had taken a step forward as a martial artist.

His eyes were red.

Hearfelt tears streamed down his cheeks.

I’m also a martial artist, so I know that feeling.

What was that feeling like at that time?

It’s similar to winning the lottery.

He jumped up and hugged me tightly.

“Thank you! My benefactor! You knew the answer.”

“Of course.”

“You can call me a fish-cake brain from now on. Make fun of me for the rest of your life.”

“Okay, fish-cake.”

Theodore, who was stunned for a moment as if he didn’t know I would really call him a fish-cake, thanked me again.

“You have done so much for me. But I don’t know what to do for you.”

“In that case, you have to solve the problem in front of you first. First, devour the martial arts tournament. You can do it now.”

A powerful energy overflowed over Theodore’s shoulder. Now a true expert-level genius merfolk warrior. I was looking forward to seeing how much the fish-cake guy would perform.

* * *

The day of the martial arts tournament dawned.

It was a clear day without a cloud in the sky.

The tournament venue was an empty lot in the north, close to Poseidon City.

The reason the location was chosen here was purely for convenience.

All of the staff and officials running the tournament were dispatched from the center, so they chose this location.

It hadn’t even started yet, but there were already a lot of people gathered.

Numerous northern tribes participated, and many people visited from Poseidon City.

It was a tournament with the honor and pride of several tribes at stake, but the biggest concern was the survival of the Swift Wind tribe.

“Can the Swift Wind tribe win?”

“Well, according to a reliable source, there’s an ace on their side.”

“It’s just one person. He has to all-kill four people by himself, so the chances are slim.”

“Is it the first time in a hundred years that a tribe has disappeared entirely? It’s going to be a historic event.”

Betting is essential for tournaments.

A basket went around and money began to gather.

The Swift Wind tribe’s odds were a whopping 9 to 1.

That’s how many people thought there was no hope.

Nevertheless, there are always underdog bets.

Hoping for a windfall, one merfolk tried to bet on survival.

That merfolk’s wrist was grabbed by a friend next to him.

“What’s wrong?”

“Don’t do it. Please don’t cross that river [an idiom meaning ‘don’t take a risk’].”

“What are you talking about?”

“I’m telling you especially because I’m close to you. Today, betting on the favorite is the answer.”

That merfolk whispered something in the ear of the underdog betting merfolk. Then the underdog merfolk’s eyes widened.

“Are you sure? The Butcher Brothers? The Steel Heart tribe recruited those not-even-merfolk?”

“Shh! Be quiet. Let me explain exactly. There’s a warrior named Theodore in Swift Wind, right? He’s strong. But can he beat all the Butcher Brothers by himself? I guarantee you, he’ll be lucky if he beats even one of them.”

The merfolk who was about to bet on the underdog quickly bet all his money on the favorite. Relief was written on his face.

“Phew, that’s a relief. I would have wasted my money if it weren’t for you.”

“If you’re thankful, treat me to a drink, thinking you’ve earned some free money.”

“Okay.”

Compared to the excited outside, the inside where the participants were waiting was full of tension.

In particular, the Swift Wind tribe, whose entire tribe’s survival was at stake, was so quiet that even the sound of swallowing could be heard.

Other tribes only came to see the games, but the Swift Wind tribe came to cheer with everyone, men and women, who could walk.

Then, a strange group of people came into the Swift Wind tribe’s area and caused a commotion.

“Oh my, it’s already a funeral home atmosphere.”

“Don’t you think they’ve guessed their fate?”

“Their eyes are no different from those of slaves trapped in a pen.”

The visitors were warriors from the Steel Heart tribe.

The way they walked, swaggering, was very bad.

Some warriors openly drooled and smacked their lips, saying, ‘That one looks plump and delicious to eat.’

Of course, warriors from the Swift Wind side came out and blocked the intruders, including Blake.

“Who do you think you are, bringing your dirty muddy feet here! Get out of here.”

Blake, facing Theodore, sneered.

“Who is this! Isn’t this the hope of Swift Wind!”

Exaggerated pose and excited tone.

Anyone could see it was ridicule.

“It’s disgusting to breathe the same air as you. Get out of here.”

“Call Jane. I have something to talk to her about.”

“My sister said she won’t meet you.”

“You’re throwing away your last chance. If you had come now, knelt down and apologized, I would have spared you from going to the pen [likely referring to enslavement].”

“How dare you!!”

Swords were drawn and pointed at each other.

A touch-and-go situation.

Now is the time to step in.

‘Sage, please.’

I signaled to Orneo with a wink.

The old man immediately understood and waved his oak staff.

At the same time, a huge water bomb was created in the sky.

When it reached a certain size, it fell vertically.

Splash!

Would it be like a waterfall?

The water that fell coolly as if a hole had been drilled in the sky only soaked the Steel Heart tribe.

The warriors, including Blake, instantly became drenched rats.

Some warriors couldn’t withstand the water pressure and fell awkwardly.

“Which bastard!”

I approached the angry Blake.

With the same rotten smile he had on his face earlier.

“It looked like it was going to rain today. Shouldn’t you have been more careful?”