Chapter 9: Will There Be a Chance?

Chapter 9: Chapter 9: Will There Be a Chance?

Under the moonlight, Isha’s outstretched arm froze in midair.

She feigned a casual stretch, retracting her arm as if simply loosening her joints.

Hesia had no idea what he had just missed.

He looked at Isha’s pouting, blushing cheeks and her obviously peeved expression, and a bad feeling settled in his stomach.

’Is she still angry about that William guy from earlier?’

At the thought of William’s vile words and lewd innuendos, Hesia’s gaze grew cold.

The memory of Isha unhesitatingly stepping in front of him, drawing her sword to defend him, warmed his heart all the more.

’What should I do now?’

In the web novels he’d read in his past life, this was the moment when you were supposed to help the girl get even.

Even though he couldn’t beat that omega-chinned guy right now, he should comfort her first. Then, once he got stronger, he’d go looking for William.

Suddenly, Hesia felt that reading all those novels had paid off.

After all, he wasn’t some dense, clueless guy; he knew the playbook.

"Isha? About earlier..." Hesia called out tentatively.

Isha snapped back to her senses, her eyes darting nervously. Her voice carried a hint of barely concealed panic. "You... You should go talk to Master Edwin yourself!"

After saying that, she turned and quickened her pace before he could even react, as if afraid he would press her for details.

She practically jogged away, disappearing down the night-shrouded path and leaving Hesia standing alone under the moonlight, his thoughts in a tangle.

...

The next morning, the sun was shining brightly.

Behind the small house Edwin rented, on the training ground packed hard from use, Hesia was running laps around the edge of the field, huffing and puffing.

Sweat soaked his thin, coarse-spun tunic. His breath came in ragged gasps, and his feet felt as heavy as lead.

The Elder Knight Edwin stood in the center of the field with his arms crossed, his salt-and-pepper beard bobbing with his stern words:

"Hmph! I heard all about it from Isha yesterday!" Edwin’s voice boomed, thick with frustrated anger. "You skipped training, and then you had the nerve to tell her you weren’t coming back?!"

The more he spoke, the angrier he became. He stormed over to Hesia, blocking his path.

"What’s the point of showing up to train now! If word of this gets out, people will think I, Edwin, am so incompetent I can’t even hold on to an apprentice! It’s a disgrace! I’d lose all face!"

Hesia stopped, panting heavily, and was just about to explain, "Master Edwin, I..."

"Shut up!" Edwin cut him off without ceremony. "Don’t you know your own situation?

Back then, if you hadn’t knelt at my door for three days, swearing you wanted to learn, I never would have taken you in! I only agreed out of pity! And what’s the result? You have less patience than a goblin counting copper nails!"

He grew more and more agitated as he spoke, spittle flying from his lips.

"If Isha hadn’t stopped me yesterday, I would have stormed into your miserable hovel, dragged you out of bed, and given you a sound thrashing!"

The words were barely out of his mouth when Edwin’s hand shot out! Before Hesia could react, a powerful grip clamped onto his arm and the collar of his tunic!

"Whoa?! Master! Wait!" Hesia cried out.

But despite his age, Edwin’s strength and skill were far beyond that of a weakling like Hesia. With a twist of his torso and a surge of strength from his arm, he hoisted Hesia clean off the ground as if he were plucking a chicken!

"I can’t believe you came to me today! Perfect. Saves me the trip! I ought to give that donkey-kicked backside of yours a few more whacks!"

Hesia dangled in the air, his legs kicking futilely. "Master Edwin! Calm down! My butt was already kicked by a donkey, so you shouldn’t kick it too! Otherwise..."

This only made the Elder Knight angrier. He raised his foot, preparing to give Hesia’s backside a solid, mid-air punt.

"Master!"

Isha hurried over, stopping Edwin just in time.

"Master, don’t be angry! He... he helped me out of a tough spot at the ball yesterday. Please, just let this go and teach him again."

The moment Edwin saw Isha, the anger on his face vanished, replaced by a gentle expression.

He was genuinely and completely pleased with this exceptionally talented and hardworking apprentice.

His grip loosened as he began to speak. Hesia fell to the ground with a THUD, clutching his backside and grimacing.

"I can’t teach him. It’s impossible. The boy’s constitution is too poor; he can’t even endure the most basic Power training. Any more practice would just be a waste of time."

Edwin turned to Isha, his tone becoming gentle. "Isha, I have some news for you. We’ve received a reply from the Saint Vinnica Knight Academy!"

Isha’s eyes instantly lit up.

Edwin’s face beamed with pride. "Official enrollment is in two months. There’s a group leaving town next week, and I’ve already arranged for you to go with them!"

The Saint Vinnica Knight Academy was one of the most prestigious knightly institutions on the Lola Continent.

Despite her young age, Isha had not only mastered the Entry Level [Holy Light Strike] but had even grasped [Belief Guardian], the signature skill of a Junior Knight.

That, combined with a personal letter of recommendation from Edwin, had secured her the opportunity for advanced studies.

This should have been incredibly good news.

Yet, as she heard the news, an inexplicable wave of disappointment washed over her.

Her gaze drifted involuntarily toward Hesia, who was still sitting on the ground and rubbing his sore backside.

Hesia pushed through the pain and got to his feet, genuinely happy for her. "Isha, congratulations! When I get the chance, I’ll definitely come visit you at Saint Vinnica!"

Watching Hesia’s sincere smile, Isha felt a lump form in her throat.

’Will there be a chance?’ Isha silently asked herself.

Yesterday’s words echoed in her ears—"He doesn’t have long to live!"

Hesia’s silent acquiescence, coupled with Master Edwin’s assessment of his physical condition...

She forced a smile and gave a soft, "Mhm."

...

「On the way back.」

Although Hesia failed to secure the opportunity to continue training, Edwin’s parting words gave him even more critical information.

Before Hesia left, Edwin had patiently explained many of the fundamentals of becoming a Professional.

As it turned out, the barrier to entry for learning the basic skills of any given Profession on this continent wasn’t as high as he had thought.

Skills like the Warrior’s "Brute Force Slash" and the Ranger’s "Precise Shooting" could theoretically be learned by anyone.

However, if one’s natural Power or agility Attributes didn’t meet the minimum requirements, mastering the skill was nearly impossible, even with knowledge of the training methods.

Mastering the basic skill of a Profession was the minimum criterion for determining if a person was qualified to continue down that path.

Once mastered, the very act of using the skill would, in turn, slowly enhance the corresponding physical Attributes, creating a positive feedback loop.

Therefore, in theory, it was possible for one person to master the skills of every Profession.

You might even see a Knight clad in Heavy Armor Charge an enemy, only to suddenly conjure a Fireball and detonate it in their face.

Of course, such a sight was exceedingly rare.

After all, if someone had a Magic Talent, why would they waste precious time on tedious Power and agility training?

The Knight’s "Holy Light Strike," on the other hand, required a certain amount of Will on top of its Power requirement.

Hesia couldn’t even meet the most basic Power requirement, so his Will was a complete non-starter.

That was why Edwin had determined that any further training on Hesia’s part would be a complete waste of effort.

After hearing all this, Hesia only became more convinced of his plan.

If the skills of Professionals were essentially techniques based on physical Attributes, then in theory, Extraordinary Creatures born with powerful physiques should also be able to master them!

’This plan should work!’

The only problem was...

He had no idea how.