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#(The energy from inside my body permeated the earth.

Then, this time, as if the earth was lending its own strength, it spread through my body in reverse.

[Whoo...]

Usually, the power of mana used many forms that borrowed nature's energy.

The way to store the energy of nature in the body was called the breathing method, the part that held that energy, the heart, and the conversion of nature’s energy into the power of the body was called the training method.

But this method was unlike any I knew.

Swoosh!

My body adapted.

I mastered what the man had learned over several months, if not years, with my ability and adapted it to my body.

[It feels… like stealing.]

<The King of Heroes asks if you realized that only now and says that life should be lived by stealing the wisdom of old men.> 

<The King of Heroes says the library door closes when an old man dies, and they are proud of the intelligence they gained.> 

[It’s actually ‘When an old man dies, a library burns to the ground.’] 

<The King of Heroes shudders and cries that they made a mistake.> 

[Of course, it makes sense to close the door too! If the door is closed, you can't use the library!] 

<The King of Heroes says yes, that's right, and then smiles broadly as if they had never cried.> 

[Haha...]

Flattering the King of Heroes was also a difficult task.

-Huung...

This body's owner slowly stretched out his fist with the energy he had gathered.

-Baang!

As he stretched out his arm fully, the wind exploded.

“…So you felt the Dignity of the Golden Power.”

“Pant… Pant... Y-Yes.”

With just one punch, I felt as if I had exhausted all my stamina, and my breathing quickened.

[It’s still immature.]

I could tell because I was in his body.

It wasn't that all of his strength was exhausted with a single attack, but I could see he hadn't properly achieved the Dignity of the Golden Power yet.

Even the old man in front of me knew that.

“…Amitabha. You still have a long way to go. You are inexperienced, like a newborn baby falling as soon as he takes his first steps.”

“Pant… Pant...”

“However, even a baby will one day take a step... two steps and then three and go into the world. Amitabha, I allow you to go into the Martial World.”

When I heard those words, I felt something explode in my chest.

Rather than joy or happiness, I felt a content sorrow in attaining his respect.

My body quietly bowed.

"Thank you… Master.”)#

***

-Ring!

[You have returned from the <Hero of Shaolin>’s memory.]

[Jeoksan, who lost his parents when he was young, was saved thanks to Hyeseung finding him on the road, but he was born with Excessive Yin Disease and was unable to learn inner power, so he was an outsider in the circle.]

[However, Jeoksan's emotions were tainted with anger when he heard his enemy had appeared, and Hyeseung made him learn the discipline of Shaolin to control his mind.]

[Jeoksan was allowed to enter the Martial World after learning some of the Shaolin's discipline.]

[Could not confirm the power of discipline learned by Jeoksan.]

-Ring!

[Acquired the skill 「Dignity of the Golden Power」.]

It didn’t show how many people Jeoksan saved.

<The King of Heroes says it is because the martial arts that Jeoksan learned are not B-Grade.>

<The King of Heroes says that if you upgrade this ability in the future, you will be able to master the rest.>

“…Okay!"

I opened the status window and checked the skill I had acquired.

-Ring!

『《B: Dignity of the Golden Power》

Effect: You can use Shaolin's Golden Power.』

I didn't know where Shaolin was, but this ability was the only power that could be used without mana.

'I guess it was a country that developed toward martial arts?'

My body itched, wanting to use it.

I didn’t know it back then because I had been confined in the duchy, but I liked learning something new.

The duchy judged me to have no talent, but perhaps my talent could be this passion for learning.

<The King of Heroes understands you're happy, but they want you to open all the other cards first.>

“Indeed, I won't have time if I don’t start now.”

Watching the sun go down, I had time for a short break before dinner.

I opened the status window and clicked on the hero card.

***

Duchy of Widia.

As the right-hand man of the Ryzen Empire, which considered the Golden Dragon its guardian deity, this duchy held more power and prestige than the rulers of most kingdoms.

Unlike other dukes and aristocrats, the Duchy of Widia valued talent.

It didn't matter if one were a slave or a commoner; if someone had talent, he would give them a chance to excel, and if they had no talent, even if they were someone from his family, he mercilessly looked down on them.

Such ability-centered work became the stepping stone to raise oneself in the Duchy of Widia.

Currently, in that duchy, Eisen Ron Widia, the lord of the Duchy of Widia, was reading a letter about the child he had forgotten.

To be precise, it was about an outcast judged to have no talent.

“…”

Duke Eisen kept an eye on the letter as he tapped on his desk repeatedly with the tip of his finger.

In this empire that gave opportunities even to bastards, and the Duchy of Widia, which gave unlimited opportunities to the talented, there was one boy abandoned by both.

Yet according to this letter, something had happened to that boy.

“…He changed.”

Since he was still a child with the Duke's blood, the servants of the duchy put the letters sent about him directly at the top.

So Eisen, who quickly received the news, pondered.

“Is that possible?”

At Eisen's muttering, the butler quietly pouring tea beside him spoke.

“It is.”

“The grounds?”

“There are three.”

"Tell me."

“I think one is due to disposition. Young Master Locke… came into the duchy at a young age with no clear memories, but unlike other boys and girls, he had to grow up with low self-esteem.”

The butler glanced at the Duke when he called Locke young master, and when the Duke didn't react much, he waited.

“Self-esteem...”

Locke, possessing no talent, had to grow up in a closed space where he learned nothing except how to read.

It was only natural his self-esteem would be terribly low.

“But for some reason, he improved his self-esteem… is that it?"

"It's just my guess."

“Can he break the head of an instructor who has mastered mana with that guess?”

“About that, I would like to say… that we didn’t know about his talent.”

"We didn't know, huh…?”

“Young Master Locke has a body that cannot learn mana. He cannot master mana, but couldn't he have a talent for swordsmanship?”

Locke had only held a sword for four days at most.

Since he could not master mana, the Duke judged that he had no talent and didn’t bother teaching him anything.

“And the last one?”

“I would like to suggest… that someone help him.”

“Help… you mean someone inside the duchy?”

"It's just a guess, so please take it lightly."

He was unaware of his disposition and talent, but those two were somewhat convincing.

The last one, someone else’s help, was absolutely impossible.

The place where Locke was located was unknown even to his servants, and only Tessrun was there to manage things.

He recently sent a useless person to teach him how to hold a sword because of the Academy, but it was unreasonable to think he taught Locke diligently.

“…”

The Duke read the letter carefully again, noting the spot where the ink was badly smeared.

It was natural for the ink to smudge a little with handling, but not usually this much. In other words, Tessrun wrote something, erased it, and wrote it again while it was still wet.

‘What did he erase…?’

Tessrun knew something. What was that something?

Duke Eisen tapped at his desk again.

The butler quietly stepped back and leaned against the wall to hide his presence.

The butler was well aware of his habits when he concentrated.

Only after a long time had passed did Duke Eisen suddenly stop.

“Evan.”

"Yes."

“Is there a tutor we can quickly hire?”

“I will immediately search for one.”

“Try to find a tutor who is as good as possible and a swordsmanship instructor.”

“A… swordsmanship instructor, sir?”

Since Locke couldn't use mana, he had to learn how to hold a sword.

"Yes."

"All right."

Evan followed the Duke's orders without question.

“You may leave.”

"Excuse me."

Evan quietly left.

He walked down the beautiful long hallways of the Duke's mansion and looked at the sky beaming through the windows.

“…I guess we can’t ignore the issue of bloodline after all.”

His murmurs went unheard.

***

-Ring!

『[Status Window]

Name: Locke Ron Widia

Age: 14

Status: 「Mana Rejecting Body」, 「G: Spirit of the March」, 「S: Super Intuition」, 「C: Mathematics Prodigy」, 「□□」

Disposition: 「F: Courage of a Child」, 「D: Charisma of the Kitchen」, 「G: Fool’s Sigh」, 「□□」, 「□□」

Martial Arts: 「B: Dignity of the Golden Power」, 「G: Taekwondo Kick」, 「D: Wind Step」, 「□□」, 「□□」

Skill: [Hero Draw] [Saving Abilities] [Hero Fundamentals] Number of Cards: 1』

-Ring!

“…I think I got it.”

He said there were many ways to see memories, but after opening six cards, I knew roughly what format they would take.

First, it seemed that most of the cases where memories were directly injected into my head were when I acquired the ability corresponding to [Status], such as with 「Spirit of the March」, 「Super Intuition」, 「Mathematics Prodigy」.

All three skills were imprinted in my mind.

As for [Disposition], it was as if I went directly into the hero's memory and confirmed the hero's disposition.

Just like when I first got 「Courage of a Child」, I saw the memory of a chef's judgment in a moment of crisis in the skill 「Charisma of the Kitchen」, and I saw the memory of an honest fool always challenging something new in 「Fool's Sigh」.

Meanwhile, [Martial Arts] was like a projection of my body.

Entering the body of a national team member, I learned the martial art of Taekwondo and the footwork of a man who loved the wind.

There might be other formats, but these were the ones I’d experienced so far.

“There is one left.”

<The King of Heroes cheers on the chosen one with the cheering stick they brought.>

Feeling nervous, I clicked 【Hero Draw】.

-Ring!

[Congratulations!]

[You have won the A-Grade hero <Hero of the Thousand Year War>.]

"War…?”

A-Grade?