How To Live As A Third Son Of A Failure [EN]: Chapter 149

‘But that’s only half the answer.’

I had figured out Hashunar’s ability and how to counter it, but a crucial problem remained.

The first thing to consider was why Lordain was able to defeat Hashunar.

There are many reasons to list: his monstrous mana, overwhelming swordsmanship talent, or the unique, overbearing aura he cultivated on the battlefield.

But if I had to pick the most significant factor, it would be Lordain’s unique, monstrous intuition.

Also known as a sixth sense, an ability that cannot be logically explained.

‘Like having eyes in the back of his head, a crazy talent.’

Could I possibly exhibit such an extraordinary ability unique to Lordain?

The answer is no.

Frankly, even if I brought Lordain here and asked, ‘How do you use it?’ I wouldn’t get a clear answer.

It’s imprinted in his subconscious, like breathing, impossible to explain.

I, an ordinary citizen at heart, cannot copy an ability that even he can’t explain.

‘Then there’s only one answer.’

If I can’t copy his innate talent, I’ll use this superior Cain’s body to imitate it through acquired means.

Of course, forcing a sense that wasn’t there to begin with won’t be easy.

But there is a method that has been most effective throughout the ages.

That is to imprint it on the body itself, not just the consciousness, through repeated practice.

Afterward, I headed straight to the log cabin, gave Ilia some instructions, and then went to a wide-open field suitable for the plan.

About ten minutes later, Ilia appeared with a face full of questions.

“Did you call for me?”

“Oh, you’re here?”

“Yes.”

“What about what I asked you to bring?”

“I brought it, but… why did you suddenly need this?”

Ilia tilted her head, showing me the composite bow and quiver she held.

“I have uses for them.”

“Are you thinking of hunting? If so, I can just do it for you.”

“No. First, give me those arrows.”

Ilia handed over the arrows with a reluctant expression, and I immediately began to roughly hammer the arrowheads with the pommel of my dagger.

“Young Master, why are you suddenly doing that…?”

“I’ll explain now, so listen carefully.”

After listening to my plan in silence, Ilia’s face gradually became filled with bewilderment.

“What on earth are you talking about…?”

“Do I have to explain twice? It hurts my mouth.”

“It’s not that I don’t understand.”

“Don’t even think about objecting. It’s necessary.”

Sensing my firm will from my resolute words, Ilia reluctantly nodded.

“…Understood.”

“Good! Then let’s start right away.”

“Right away, you say?”

“You’ve handled it a lot, right? Or is there another problem?”

“It’s not that, but…”

“Then let’s not waste time. Time is of the essence.”

At my urging, Ilia hesitated a bit before disappearing into the forest.

After confirming her departure, I took a light breath, then covered my eyes with the long cloth I had prepared and tied it tightly behind my head.

‘Shall we begin?’

A plan to catch up with Lordain’s abilities, even if only through acquired means.

The first step in that plan was to completely block vision. Eyes would only be a hindrance when dealing with Hashunar’s abilities.

‘Good. I can’t see anything.’

The moment my vision went dark, subtle senses that I hadn’t usually noticed were awakened.

I realized once again how important the information conveyed by the eyes usually is. My body flinched at even the slightest movement of a small sparrow far away.

“Let’s start!”

I announced the start with a shout so that Ilia, who was far away, could hear.

How much time had passed since then?

I had awakened my senses, but I couldn’t feel Ilia’s presence.

Well, that’s only natural. Ilia is a skilled warrior, so hiding her presence or killing intent would be very easy.

I wonder where she is now. No, focus, focus. I can’t see anything, so I keep having random thoughts.

It was then. A cold sensation ran through my head, and my spine tingled.

Swish!

A violent sound tearing through the air echoed through the forest.

Where is it? Where will it come from? The left? How far?

Tension filled my entire body.

Then, I instinctively turned my head from side to side, even though my eyes were covered, and I couldn’t help but laugh at my own ridiculousness.

Thwack!

The arrow that flew in struck my left shoulder, and the pain that erupted spread throughout my body.

‘Damn it! I can’t tell at all?’

Normally, arrows aren’t a very threatening attack to a knight.

Because they have superhuman dynamic visual acuity and a strong body that can move based on that information.

But now that my vision was blocked and I had no way to obtain information, my excellent physical abilities were useless.

Just like right now.

The arrowhead was dulled, so it had no penetrating power. But because of that, I had to absorb the kinetic energy of the arrow with my whole body.

“…”

There’s a saying that you can’t even scream when the pain exceeds a certain level. And that was definitely true.

It hurt. It hurt so much. It was ridiculously painful.

Before I knew it, I knelt down on one knee and stretched both hands behind my back.

But the area I was hit was in a place that my hands couldn’t reach due to the structure of the human body. Maybe that’s why it felt several times more painful.

“Y-Young Master!”

Surprised by my appearance, Ilia hurriedly ran over and quickly took off the cloth covering my eyes.

“Are you alright?”

I saw Ilia looking down at me with a worried face as my vision cleared.

“…”

On the other hand, Ilia’s eyebrows drooped as she saw my pain-filled expression.

“Maybe you should find another way…”

“No, I’ll keep going.”

I shook my head as if making a vow to myself.

There’s definitely no more effective method than this. The training I need most right now is to rely solely on my senses.

I had considered having Ilia attack directly from a blind spot, but that was meaningless because I could clearly feel Ilia’s presence even unconsciously.

Hashunar would probably attack suddenly while erasing his presence, unlike Ilia.

From that point of view, arrows are the most suitable no matter how I think about it.

If there’s enough distance, Ilia can erase her presence, and the speed of the arrows isn’t much slower compared to Hashunar’s sudden attacks.

“Excuse me for a moment.”

Ilia loosened my shirt, examined my shoulder where I had been hit by the arrow, and sighed softly.

I could roughly guess what condition it was in without hearing it. Even now, every time Ilia’s hand brushed against me, the tingling made my hair stand on end.

“This is too dangerous. You could seriously injure your bones.”

“It doesn’t matter. You know I can recover from that much.”

At my words, Ilia couldn’t find any more words to dissuade me.

As a knight, she knew very well what level of recovery humans who manipulate mana have.

I struggled to get up and took a deep breath.

“It’s okay. I can handle it.”

“…How long are you planning to do this?”

“Until I instinctively sense the danger and my body reacts at the same time?”

“Can you… get used to this?”

“I don’t know. But isn’t it better than not trying?”

Ilia made a face as if she was fed up with my answer.

Well, I know this plan is absurdly reckless, but I can’t help it.

I’ve finally figured out the answer with great difficulty. I can’t give up because of mere pain in this situation, can I?

Clap!

I clapped my hands to clear the air and gestured to Ilia again.

“Then let’s start again.”

* * *

They say praise makes even whales dance.

But now I had a slightly different thought.

If what was directed at the whale was not praise but pain, wouldn’t that whale be able to fly in the sky too?

‘It would definitely fly. For sure.’

Thud!

Kalandart’s eyes widened when he saw Ilia and me enter the log cabin late in the evening.

The reason is obvious. The first is the sight of my shirt torn like a rag, and the second is the bruises that are so blue they’re almost black, visible through the torn gaps.

“W-What’s that mess?”

What kind of mess is this?

You could say it’s a desperate struggle to catch up with a talent like Lordain.

Or maybe I’m discovering a new side to masochism!

‘Too lazy to explain.’

I staggered into the house and threw myself onto the bed.

It’s strange. The sheets should be soft, but why does it feel like I’m being beaten all over with a baseball bat?

I bit my lip tightly at the aching pain that chilled my bones, and rolled my still-okay eyes to gesture to Ilia.

“…He sustained injuries during training.”

How amazing. She understood just from a gesture.

On the other hand, Kalandart’s expression upon hearing Ilia’s words was quite a sight to behold.

“H-He’s a mess.”

“What? A mess?”

“W-Well, it’s true.”

Well, I can’t really deny it.

Right now, I look like a street bum who’s been gang-raped for days.

Still, look at the way this guy talks.

“S-So, is that why you w-weren’t around for a few weeks?”

“Yeah.”

Ilia and I had been so focused on training that we had set up camp in the mountains, not even wanting to waste time sleeping.

That’s why he was so surprised by my appearance now. Because it was completely different from what it was just a few weeks ago.

“Ilia.”

At my call, Ilia carefully grabbed my shoulder and helped me up again. Of course, I groaned at the pain that flared up in the process.

Kalandart, who flinched as if sharing my pain, carefully opened his mouth.

“A-Are you okay?”

“…Do I look okay?”

When I answered with a face that didn’t know whether to cry or laugh, Kalandart scratched his head.

“S-Sorry.”

“Anyway, how have you been?”

“H-How have I been?”

“Yeah.”

“N-No… I w-was curious about the rest of Rahenna’s story, so it w-was hard.”

Kalandart put his hands together and started fidgeting with his fingers.

He’s such a consistent guy that I want to punch him in the face.

“Good.”

“Huh?”

“I’m feeling generous. I’ll tell you all the remaining stories tomorrow.”

Kalandart’s face lit up at the words that I would tell him all the stories that I had been teasing him with little by little.

“A-All the stories?”

“Yeah. If you do me a favor.”

Kalandart, who had been grinning, became gloomy again with a look that said, ‘I knew it.’

“Don’t be too disappointed. It’s not that difficult.”

“W-What is it?”

“Take Ilia and go to the city.”

“The city?”

Kalandart’s eyes widened.

“Yeah, the city.”

“W-Why suddenly the city?”

“Because there’s something I need to take care of.”

Ilia, who had been silent, looked at me at my words.

“What do you mean, something to take care of?”

“There are a few things, right? Lihas, and so on.”

Unlike the original plan, I’ve already spent more than a month here.

Lihas probably thinks he got lost in the mountains and separated from us. No matter how much he wandered, he wouldn’t have been able to enter the barrier.

Then he would have returned to the city that he had used as a base, but even after that, I haven’t shown up for almost a month.

At this point, even a fool would start to have all sorts of suspicions.

Belatedly, Ilia nodded as if she understood my thoughts.

“Sir Lihas was there.”

“He’s probably waiting eagerly.”

“What are you going to tell him?”

“I can’t tell him the truth. Make up an excuse about security. Tell him I’ll explain later.”

“Understood.”

“Send those to their respective recipients as well. Use the fastest messenger. I don’t care how much it costs.”

Ilia began to carefully examine the bundles of letters that I pointed to on the corner shelf.

“Blue Wind Merchant Guild, Capital, Wind Nest, Lord Ruth… There are a lot.”

“I’ve been stuck in the mountains, so I don’t know why there are so many things to do. Anyway, I’m going to take care of it all at once, so don’t forget to send them properly.”

“Understood.”

Ilia nodded and looked at me as if she had remembered something.

“We might be able to stop by a store on the way back, is there anything else you need?”

“No, you don’t have to go back.”

“Yes?”

“Prepare with Lihas and come to this nearby village to meet me. Bring some clothes too. I can’t go around looking like a beggar.”

Ilia narrowed her eyes as I flapped my shirt, which was torn in all directions.

“You mean come to meet you…”

“Today, Kalandart will send you to the city with him before he sends me off.”

Kalandart will send you.

Ilia’s eyes widened as she knew what that meant.

“Young Master?”