I Became the Youngest Disciple of the Martial God

Evan had likely begun learning Raven before hed even hit puberty.

Hed likely begun learning swordsmanship at an age when even holding a toy sword would be difficult. Starting at that age would make the boundary between martial arts and everyday life hazy.

Traces of his swordsmanship could be seen when he was walking, eating, and doing mundane activities.

What would happen if he tried to forcibly stop using the swordsmanship that had been ingrained so deeply into his body?

Naturally, he would start tripping over himself, just like he was now.

Evan! Fight properly!

Evan flinched at my shout, but he still didnt use Raven.

This guy... His condition was poor from the start...

Since this was a real fight, there was no point in me pressing him further.

Crunch!

Soon after, Sharyls mace crushed the spiders head.

The spiders eight legs wriggled for a moment before it collapsed.

Uwaaaah!

Mir continued to wail away at the spiders corpse.

Evan dropped his head low.

Sharyl wiped her face of the spiders blood and let out another sigh.

...This is even worse than I expected.

Agreed.

***

Breaking a habit was a difficult task, even more so when it was related to martial arts.

People often say that in a contest of skilled experts, the one who first identifies their opponents behavioral patterns is bound to win.

For that reason, the more a martial artist trained, the more effort they had to put into breaking their bad habits.

Of course, there were side effects to this.

By trying to forcibly break a habit, they could mess up the movements they had learned properly with it.

Why was I talking about this now?

Because it seemed like, for Evan, Raven was the totality of those habits.

Generally speaking, martial arts are best learned young.

I recalled the words my master had told me not long after Id arrived on Spirit Mountain.

But that isnt without downsides. An untrained body is not fit to carry out all martial arts, so even if one learns all the movements properly, it is natural that there will be mistakes. A childs learning capability will absorb even those mistakes without filtering them out. This is one of the reasons a master is required for early education in martial arts.

Hmm...

That is why, Youngest, in some ways, you are lucky. Your head has already hardened as much as it can, so we can quickly fix your mistakes.

Of course, fixing those mistakes was carried out physically in the form of his fists...

...Anyway, what I wanted to say was simple: Evan shouldnt let go of Raven.

Even if he really wanted to, trying to get rid of it in such a short amount of time would be detrimental to him.

As if to prove my prediction right, the next few times we encountered monsters

Dieeeee!

...Kugh! S-sorry!

Mirs and Evans situations did not improve.

Sharyl and I were the only two holding our weight.

With a serious expression, Sharyl said, ...It seems we should try collecting rather than hunting.

Hm...

Since the first battle, Sharyl had been speaking to me a lot more, but it looked like it was because I was the only one she considered worth talking to.

I was a little thrown off, but I understood how she felt.

Since Evan, the one whose performance Id been most counting on, was now in that state, Sharyl had become the teammate I had to rely on the most.

Wont it be difficult to hunt with those two with us? Sharyl asked as she glanced back.

A few steps behind us, Mir and Evan were trudging along.

I took a moment to think.

Mirs trauma and Evan straying from his path...

Neither of these were problems that could be solved in a short amount of time.

Even 72 hours wasnt enough time to take care of them.

Honestly, between the two, I was more worried about Evan.

Although Mir seemed disappointed in herself due to her current state, she wasnt despairing.

Evan, however, was spaced out entirely.

Disappointment in Raven, guilt toward his father, and doubt in his decision...

There was probably a storm raging in his heart right now.

I nearly let out a sigh.

Being a teacher wasnt an easy job.

A teacher contemplated with their student, gave advice, and ensured their student went down the right path.

But what were these people who called themselves instructors doing?

When he needed help, they couldnt even do that and instead damaged his psyche.

Those guys are the grand masters?

...Of course, I shouldnt group them all together and curse them as one.

From my perspective, the Instructor of the Hunt was a pretty good teacher.

Calzark as well.

Of course, I think well be tight on time if we change our plan to collecting... Hey, are you listening?

I am. I think we should change our plan.

What?

I think well need to use all three days.

Sharyl blinked.

I said, Were still within the range of the instructors.

What do you...

Look closely. Although its faint, there is a path here. The grass is a little lower where were walking.

Sharyl took a look around us, but she didnt seem to notice what I meant.

Honestly, it was to be expected.

No matter how much hero education one received as a child, why would a noble lady go out into the wild mountains?

What was important was that wild forests were even more of a mess than where we were.

Of course, I didnt think the instructors were anywhere near us.

Isnt it because its been used a few times? Maybe a carriage went through here.

Theres one more piece of evidence. Didnt Instructor Juan say that if we attack other young heroes, well immediately be disqualified?

...Ah!

* * * * *

* * * * *

An exclamation mark appeared above Sharyls head.

Thankfully, she wasnt dull.

Immediate disqualification... means the instructors can track the movements of the young heroes.

Yeah. So if we dont go too far, we should be able to spend the three days in relative safety.

There was probably a restricted area within a certain range of the training camp.

If Id known this was going to happen, I wouldve bought the sleeping bags. They hadnt even been that expensive.

Well, theres merit in what youre saying. The monsters we fought back there werent that strong. Shary looked at me with a different look in her eyes. Luan Bednicker, Im seeing you in a new light. Although its not as much as Sir Hector, I guess blood really doesnt lie.

Hey, do you like my brother?REad updated stries at n//vel/bin(.)com

Not at all! Sharyl shouted loud enough to scare the two walking behind us.

You couldve just said no. Why did you have to scream so loudly?

How rude...! Im taking back everything I said about you!

Sure.

I ignored Sharyls tirade and looked up at the sky.

Although I couldnt see much due to the canopy... I could still tell due to practicing the Strongest Fire Technique.

The sun was slowly setting.

Lets look for a place to spend the night. Do you have experience sleeping outside, young lady?

No.

As expected.

I took a moment to think.

I think itd be best to stay in the trees, but Im worried about the cold.

It was the middle of winter.

Nights in the forest would be deathly cold, and we didnt have any tents or sleeping bags to keep ourselves warm. Just sleeping as we were was a death sentence.

We can just light a fire.

In the trees?

No, just light a campfire on the ground and take turns on watch.

Hmm.

It was a pretty decent suggestion for a young lady...

But it didnt sit right with me since this was the Forest of the Butterfly.

My gut was saying that his place was more dangerous than the Gem Mountains.

Even if were still inside the area the instructors control, we still need to be careful...

It would become troublesome if the fire drew the attention of monsters.

Evan, who had been standing there and spacing out for a while, finally spoke up.

...How about not sleeping?

I didnt know when hed started listening to our conversation, but evidently he had.

However, I shook my head at his suggestion.

No. Staying up for one day is fine, but our condition will crumble from tomorrow onward.

It would be fine if we just accomplished our objective tomorrow, but if we didnt, the risk was much too high.

And searching through the forest at night is too ineffective. What can we see when its so dark?

E-ehm...

He wasnt one to act stupid at a time like this. It seemed he still wasnt in his right mind.

Why dont we just sleep in a shack! Mir suddenly shouted.

At that, Sharyl responded with a clap of her hands.

A shack! Woah! What an A-M-A-Z-I-N-G idea! Then should we start cutting down trees? Since were surrounded by them, we shouldnt have any problems! You stupid giant!

What are you talking about? Why would we need to cut down the trees?

Then is a shack just going to fall out of the sky?

Mir pointed forward.

Theres one right there!

...Huh?

Hoh.

In the direction she was pointing, there really was a shack.

...I dont think Im tired enough to start hallucinating.

Hey, in this forest, is there anything that can cause illusions? asked Sharyl.

Who knows...

An illusion...

Since that could be the case, I focused fire ki into my eyes.

As I did, my vision brightened and I clearly saw the form of the shack.

This was my fire eyes.

It wasnt much; it was just a skill that allowed me to see the movement of mana a bit more closely...

I dont think its an illusion, though it could be a trap.

Hmm...

I looked at my team members for a moment before nodding.

Ill go first to check it out. You guys stay here on standby.

Will you be all right alone?

Its more dangerous to go together.

Sharyl nodded.

...All right. If you think youre in danger, send us a signal.

A signal? How?

Lets just use these two.

Sharyl used her arms to make an O shape.

This is safe.

And then she crossed her arms into an X.

And this is danger.

Hm. Can you show me them again?

Safe, danger...

One more time.

Safe, danger.

One last time...

Evan stopped Sharyl from grabbing my throat.

Taking that view as my payment, I moved toward the shack by myself.

It truly was more dangerous for multiple people to go at once, so Id acted as if I was the best for it, but it wasnt as if I had any skill with stealth or disguises.

But I felt like I was a better choice than those younglings, so Id volunteered.

Hmm...

Looking closely at the shack, it seemed ordinary. It was a little small, but I couldnt see any problems with it.

I couldnt feel anyone inside either.

However, despite those facts, my guard heightened.

...I could smell blood.

I put my Sword of Seven Sins into its sheath.

Unlike other people, letting go of my weapon wasnt a sign that I had become more nervous; it was so I could fight with my bare hands.

In any case, this shack didnt even have a window. There was a small chimney, but it wasnt big enough for a person to fit through...

In the end, after counting myself down, I slammed the door open.

Right away, I realized that my nose hadnt been wrong.

Inside the shack was a corpse.

...

It was drenched in blood, but I could see the bodys clear orange hair.

I knew that face.

The girl had a complex about her freckles and was a bit too talkative.

However, due to her bright personality, it was difficult to hate her.

Pam was lying in a pool of her own blood.