How To Live As A Third Son Of A Failure [EN]: Chapter 178

* * *

After resting at the Sky Fortress, my companions and I searched the Blue Mountains for a suitable training spot.

After a full day of searching, we found a small basin a few hours away from the Sky Fortress.

It was the perfect location, with enough space for a training ground and a cave beneath the canyon surrounding the basin. It had everything we wanted.

Of course, with such ideal conditions, it was already occupied by Ice Trolls, using it as their den.

“It seems there are already occupants.”

“Ruth, it’s your turn.”

“Am I just a hunting dog to you?”

“Just do as I say.”

After ordering Ruth and Ilia to take care of the Ice Trolls, I decided to return to the Sky Fortress with Rahel to retrieve the supplies and luggage we hadn’t brought.

We were heading back to the Sky Fortress when it happened.

“What’s that?”

A black dot was flying from the direction of the Sky Fortress.

At first, I didn’t think much of it, assuming it was a bird of prey, but then the dot began to grow larger.

“Could it be a monster?”

“Well, it’s definitely not a person.”

Rahel answered my question with a look that seemed to ask if I was stupid.

It was a dumb question. Feeling a bit embarrassed, I licked my lips and placed my hand on the sword hilt.

“The watchers said that wyverns appear very rarely, so it might be one of those.”

I tensed up, thinking it might be a giant flying monster, but the identity of the black dot turned out to be surprisingly familiar.

A rich white mane and a yellow beak were the first things I saw. Then, I noticed the upper body, which looked like a white-headed eagle magnified tenfold, and the lower body, which was shaped like a lion.

If that was the case, there was no room for doubt.

It was a griffin.

“It’s a monster, but… it’s a monster I know.”

“Is that the one you healed?”

“Unless another griffin suddenly appeared, it probably is.”

The creature I had healed when I came to the Sky Fortress last time was getting closer and closer.

The wind whipping through the Blue Mountains fluttered its rich mane, and its huge wings gave the illusion of watching a light aircraft.

The creature flew in with a dignified appearance and opened its yellow beak wide to let out a cry.

Peeeeek-!

The cry echoed in all directions, carried by the rugged ridges of the Blue Mountains.

“That’s quite a spirited cry.”

“It might make your ears fall off if you hear it up close.”

I chuckled and took off the hood I was wearing.

Would it remember me? Or did it just come over because it saw a person? I’d know soon enough.

As the griffin got closer, the wind it created whipped my hair around.

I raised my hand to sweep the hair out of my face as my vision was obscured. Did it recognize my face when it was revealed? The griffin, which had been gliding smoothly, landed roughly in front of me.

The griffin’s sharp claws slipped, leaving long scratches on the dirt floor.

Stopping right in front of me, the griffin opened its beak again and looked at me.

Kaaaak!

Whether it was angry or threatening, the creature made a harsh noise and slowly approached me.

“What is it even saying?”

“It seems to be saying hello.”

Ah, right. Rahel could communicate with animals.

The griffin was a beast close to a divine creature, so it wasn’t strange.

“That’s a pretty fierce way to say hello.”

I gave a wry smile and took a step forward, cautiously reaching out my hand.

I wondered if I would get pecked by that big beak, but contrary to my worries, the creature calmly accepted my touch.

The creature’s mane felt as soft and warm as it did back then.

Then, the creature suddenly started nudging my waist with its beak. It looked like it was searching for something.

Was it looking for salted meat?

“I don’t have any right now, you.”

Did it understand my words? The creature glared at me and snorted.

Whack!

Then it flicked its stiff tail and struck my thigh.

What was this thing doing?

“It seems to be telling you to ride it.”

I let out a hollow laugh at Rahel’s translation.

“Ride it?”

Was it going to take me to the Sky Fortress?

I glanced at Rahel, and she smiled faintly and waved her hand.

“I’ll go back to your friends. You can go to the fortress with this creature and get the luggage.”

After speaking, Rahel turned around, and I was left alone, staring at the griffin with distrustful eyes.

“If you drop me, you’re dead.”

Contrary to my worries, flying with the griffin was more pleasant than I thought. The distance that would have taken several hours on foot took less than half an hour on the griffin.

Not being restricted by terrain was so great.

Realizing the importance of hippogriffs [a creature with the front half of an eagle and the hind half of a horse] once again, I packed my luggage at the Sky Fortress and rode the griffin back to the basin.

“Young Master? What’s that creature? Ah, could it be the griffin you saved before?”

“Yeah. We can talk about it later; let’s unload the luggage first.”

At my words, Ruth began to pull the luggage off the griffin’s saddle.

Even though we had the Sky Fortress, we would be staying in the basin cave for most of our meals and lodging, so the amount of luggage we brought was considerable.

To think it wouldn’t even look tired after carrying all that luggage, it really was a divine creature.

“How’s the basin?”

“Just as you see it.”

The cleanup seemed to be mostly finished. Rahel seemed to have gone out to set up a barrier as we had discussed at first, and Ilia was moving the troll corpses to set them on fire and cleaning up the blood that had soaked the ground.

“Wow, is this the griffin? It looks so cool.”

Ruth, who had moved the luggage, came over and reached out to touch the griffin, but the tail, which flew like a whip, struck his hand.

“Uh? This thing? Is it picky about people?”

“I’d reject you too if I were it.”

“Excuse me? Young Master, why would you say something so hurtful…?”

“Quiet, it’ll be dark soon, so let’s finish up quickly.”

“Young Master!”

I forcibly pushed away Ruth, who was making a tearful face, and began to look around the basin that would be used as a training ground.

* * *

After investing some time, the basin became so clean that one couldn’t believe it was once used by Ice Trolls.

And on that reborn basin, Ilia and Ruth stood facing each other.

The two of them began to glare at each other as if they had been waiting for this moment.

There was no warm-up. They knew each other’s skills better than anyone else. Therefore, the sparring began with full power from the start.

Crimson energy flowed from Ruth’s eyes as he opened them. And that energy soon spread throughout his body.

Ruth’s lips curled up at the corners. He smiled with a look of exhilaration, as if he had released something that had been suppressed.

“Here I come, Ilia.”

Ruth, who had gripped his sword with both hands, kicked off the ground.

‘Knight of Fire.’

Why was Runcen given such a title?

That question was answered the moment I saw Ruth’s current appearance.

It was extremely overbearing. His will to crush his opponent with a single blow, without having to swing twice, was pouring out.

The crimson energy frosted and burned on Ruth’s sword, which he held with both hands, and Ruth became a red meteor shower, plunging down on Ilia.

“…….”

Ilia, seeing him, also gave her all.

Having summoned her incarnation, she calmly took a stance, befitting Aslahina’s reputation as the Ice-Blooded Swordmaster.

Then, Ilia seized a moment and unleashed a sword strike filled with a chilling blue energy.

And that movement was already familiar to my eyes. I had the memory of facing Aslahina directly with swords in Elven Lake.

‘If those two clash…’

Who would win?

No one knows the answer. After all, they weren’t fighting to kill each other.

But there’s no need to compare their strength. What I wanted was for them to get used to the power of the incarnation.

Goooo!

The falling red meteor shower and the blue fangs that were unleashed to block it collided.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The sound of impact was heard as Ilia’s sword bit into Ruth’s steadfast attack, and the exchange flashed by in an instant, as if in fast forward.

The two, who had finished a round of clashes, distanced themselves again.

“When did you get so strong?”

The first to speak was Ruth, who was rubbing his wrist with a look of being fed up.

“……It’s difficult for me if you say that after holding back.”

Ilia also took a deep breath, struggling to lift her knee, which had been half-bent.

It seemed that they had inflicted internal injuries on each other due to the all-out collision.

“Oh. I thought, how strong could a kid be, so I went a little easy on you.”

“…….”

Ilia’s eyebrows twitched at the word ‘kid’.

“But you were stronger than I thought? So I’m going to go all out from now on.”

“How childish.”

“What? Childish?”

Ruth smiled and kicked off the ground again, rushing towards Ilia.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

As I listened to the resounding roar again, I felt like I knew how the two of them felt.

They had been with me, always seeming to be chased by something. They probably didn’t even remember the last time they swung their swords without any worries.

But here, unlike before, there was no need to be conscious of anyone’s eyes, nor was there any reason to save their strength in preparation for the dangers that might come at any moment.

All they had to do was pour out everything they had, and then just rest in a limp state.

That promised comfort made them unleash everything they had been suppressing.

“I’ll have to erase all memories of last year’s Great Forest. To think you were hiding such power.”

Rahel, who had been watching the two of them, let out a small groan.

Well, it was the first time Rahel had seen the power of the incarnation being fully displayed to others.

Ah, there was also the black-haired man? Let’s just say that guy couldn’t be helped.

“They’ve grown a lot in the meantime.”

“What kind of power is that? I’ve lived for quite a while, but I’ve never heard of such power before.”

“Hmm, you can think of it as the legacy of the Great Emperor.”

“The Great Emperor? Are you talking about Bellancus?”

“Yeah, well.”

Originally, it was a technology created by Jescal and the Chief Court Wizard who experienced a crisis due to the Second Race War that would occur in the future, but…….

Well, that doesn’t matter. After all, the royal family itself is nothing more than the legacy of the Great Emperor, right?

“……He left behind a terrifying power.”

“We have to get stronger. Considering who we’re up against.”

Rahel nodded at my words and turned around.

“That’s right. So you come to the cave too.”

“Yes?”

“Are you just going to watch? Wasn’t the reason we came here because of you in the first place?”

She was right. Ruth and Ilia’s training was only a secondary purpose, and the most important thing right now was for me to fully control the power I had.

“Will those two be okay?”

“They’ll stop on their own when they get tired of fighting. There’s a barrier anyway, so you don’t have to worry about anything else.”

I nodded at Rahel’s confirmation and followed her into the cave.