The Regressed Mercenary’s Machinations Chapter 312

Episode 312 Fishing is going well. (1)

Claude stepped forward and asked.

“What kind of training is it?”

You have a lot of work to do, so why are you asking me to help you train? Up until now, Youngju has trained alone. If I had to pick one person to train with, it would be the fight with Gillian.

Jiselle said as if it was no big deal.

“Just continue doing what you were doing, and tell the knights to surprise me. I won’t fight back, and I won’t hold you accountable for attacking me. However, you should minimize or not use your mana. Of course, I won’t use it either.”

“He’s talking crazy again,” Belinda asked, her eyes blinking.

“Master? What kind of training are you trying to do now?”

“Well, it’s part of the training I was doing before. To put it simply, I’m trying to increase my body’s defenses by getting hit.”

“… … Usually, you get a bone ache like that, right? You should be able to do that much.”

“It’s okay. You know my resilience, right? I’m just increasing the intensity of my training a little.”

“Don’t do that. It’ll be dangerous if you get attacked without using your mana properly.”

Once you reach a level where you can use mana, your body will become somewhat stronger without you having to consciously wrap it around. This is because your entire body will be filled with mana to some extent.

That’s why your senses become sharper and your motor skills improve even if you don’t necessarily raise your mana.

A person of Jiselle’s level would have more mana stored in his body than the average knight.

But that also has its limits. Human skin is weaker than you think. If you don’t use your mana properly, it’s impossible to defend against steel weapons.

Despite Belinda’s protests, Giselle shook her head.

“No, I need it right now. It won’t take long. Just try it for a few days.”

“Why on earth are you doing that?”

“I think if I just do a little more, my senses will go up a notch.”

Jiselle’s training was currently at a half-success level. If she just kept going a little longer, she would be able to block the mana attacks of the beginner knights with her body.

However, the training of stabbing oneself and having one’s body automatically react to attacks eventually stopped growing.

This is because I already know where to stab in my head before I even attack. Now, I have reached a point where just thinking about stabbing causes my mana to rush to that area.

‘This won’t do. There’s no point in knowing and reacting.’

The ultimate goal was to reflexively block and counterattack any surprise attack that occurred anytime, anywhere.

I thought about asking the dwarves to make a device, but that would also have to have a set pattern, so it would not be enough for Giselle’s goal. The best training is actually in combat, and if that is difficult, it should at least be similar to combat.

Belinda was astonished at the outrageous training method that Giselle had come up with.

“Now, please, can you not be careful? What kind of knight could possibly attack you here!”

The master of this territory is Jisel. Who would be able to attack such a person with peace of mind?

“I think there will be a lot.”

Claude nodded at Giselle’s words. Belinda, however, objected.

“No! I won’t allow that! If you get even one scratch on your body, Master, I won’t let you stay still. Do you understand?”

“Gisselle said playfully at her threats.

“Belinda, try it too. I’ll buy you some Charnel. Just hurt me.”

“Your Majesty! Don’t play such dangerous games!”

Flutter!

Papapapapapak!

Dozens of daggers poured out from all over Belinda’s body.

Jiselle was startled and immediately drew up her mana. The momentum was so strong that she couldn’t help but use her mana.

Tata tata tang!

Some I struck away with my hand, and some I dodged by moving my body backwards.

As the daggers fell, Giselle looked at Belinda with bewildered eyes.

She turned her head slightly and muttered.

“No, it’s just… … I’m a little upset because you won’t listen to me, so I wanted to end it quickly… … It’s not like I want anything in particular… … Ah, that’s what’s stopping you.”

“…….”

Coincidentally, Belinda started first. No one objected anymore.

Jiselle cleared her throat and spoke to Gillian.

“If you just attack them all at once, it seems like you won’t be able to train, so choose someone to attack each day while you train. If they manage to inflict serious damage, you’ll get gold as a reward.”

“……All right.”

Gillian thought about trying to stop him, but ended up just sighing. It was obvious that he would just push through no matter what.

Thus began the training to attack the lord. The knights, who were hesitant at first, soon became interested in attacking Giselle.

Jiselle didn’t really fight back. She only avoided attacks that seemed a little dangerous, and took shallow attacks with her body.

And that’s while suppressing mana as much as possible.

So even though he was a genius, he was often hurt. Those who hurt him were immediately rewarded.

Gold coins fall every time you hit it? No one would just pass by a walking treasure chest.

“Here it comes! My gold!”

“I’m eating today!”

“This is your chance to beat the lord!”

There were also some knights who attacked Giselle with somewhat personal feelings, regardless of the reward, but regardless of the reason, the knights attacked Giselle diligently.

Since they can’t just follow Jiselle around and fight all day, they are only given one chance a day.

Since there was a limit to the number of attacks, the ambush methods became more and more sophisticated. Everyone started acting like assassins without anyone asking them to.

They would figure out Jiselle’s path in advance and hide there to target her, or they would suddenly attack her while she was doing her work.

“No, it had this effect.”

Jiselle also smiled happily at the unexpected side effect. Everyone’s skills improved considerably as they practiced concealment and hiding with all their heart.

It was thanks to meeting each other, getting advice, and thinking things through in our own way.

This situation was actually what Jiselle had hoped for. It was a technique she was practicing to block attacks she wasn’t aware of.

‘I need to kill my senses more too.’

The problem is that Jiselle’s senses are too good. Because of the difference in skill, she knows where her hidden opponents are, so the effectiveness of surprise attacks has decreased somewhat.

I had no choice but to somehow dull his senses as much as possible.

Push!

Suddenly, Gordon appeared and smiled as he grabbed Giselle’s arm.

“Hehehe, my skills have improved a lot, right?”

“Hmm, it’s become quite useful.”

“I need you to give me money because I’m hurt.”

“Okay, try a little harder.”

‘Hehehe, it worked.’

I clearly told them to suppress mana as much as possible, but everyone was secretly loading up on mana because they wanted to get money.

Strangely, as the days went by, the wounds did not heal as well.

Rather, Jiselle left it alone as if it was a good thing. It was clear that as the opponent increased the amount of mana, her body was not able to keep up.

Of course, it wasn’t easy. If you cut too quickly, you’ll get hurt before the mana can block it.

‘The body needs to react faster.’

As long as you activate your senses and are conscious as usual, there is no problem. You can dodge the attack before it even reaches you, and you can even block it by emitting mana.

However, in a state where the senses were dulled, there was a limit to how much mana could be channeled into the body even after noticing that it was being attacked. It was still not possible to properly block attacks that exceeded a certain level.

‘Hmm… … Maybe I should turn up the intensity a bit more.’

The body must sense the danger of survival and change. In fact, the training was showing some effect after the knights started attacking.

Jiselle wandered around the castle every day, lost in the same worries. Then one day, as she was walking as usual, someone stopped her in her tracks.

“why?”

The one who blocked my way was Ascon. He spoke with a very arrogant expression.

“Can I attack too?”

“Huh? You don’t know how to use Mana, do you?”

Now, it was not easy to wound Giselle with normal attacks. Even if Giselle consciously suppressed her mana, a sword that was not loaded with mana would only slightly cut her outer skin.

To that extent, it is not possible to give the body a sense of crisis or elicit a proper response.

But Ascon continued speaking as if he really wanted to try it.

“Why is there a chance only for knights? I want to try it too.”

“Okay, give it a try.”

“You give me permission?”

“I told you so.”

“Then I will try a mental attack.”

“……?”

Before Jiselle could say anything, Ascon’s mouth opened first.

“Hey, you piece of shit, because of you, I almost died from not being able to eat properly at this age and only eating powder XXXX, XXX, you piece of shit XXXX XXXX XX, you f*cking XXXX who only lives for today, XXXX! You creatively crazy kid, XXXXXX… … .”

“…….”

The annoying curses kept pouring out. It seemed as if there was some sadness as well.

Behind Giselle, who was laughing in disbelief, Belinda, who had heard the news, came running with a devilish expression.

Ascon was dragged away by the soldiers along with his horse, ‘Sibari’, and thrown into prison.

As if nothing had happened, Jiselle’s training continued.

As the pace seemed to be slowing down a bit, Giselle increased the number of people who could participate in the raid and the number of times they could be restricted. She also relaxed the mana restrictions more than before.

From then on, the knights attacked Giselle more and more boldly.

Jiselle now took on dangerous attacks, sometimes getting seriously injured and being carried away, and once almost having one of her arms completely cut off.

“Your Majesty! Please stop!”

“My lord, it is becoming more and more dangerous.”

“This is not training, this is overwork.”

Belinda and all the other vassals began to try to stop him. His body had been covered in wounds for a long time, and the more wounds he had, the slower his recovery became.

Still, Giselle remained steadfast.

“No, I’m starting to get the hang of it now.”

The body doesn’t lie. The change started the moment the heart was stabbed.

Even without realizing it, my body automatically maintained a state of tension, and with each attack, the speed at which mana flowed into that area increased little by little.

The senses have become indescribably sharper. Even though I have deliberately suppressed and lowered them, they have become much sharper than before.

There, effects that Giselle had not anticipated began to appear.

‘This is… … .’

Every day, I am injured and attacked. After going through several near-death experiences, my body begins to find new ways to survive.

There is a limit to the speed at which mana moves from the core. Beyond a certain point, the speed does not increase.

So, the body naturally tried to distribute mana little by little throughout the body.

Even though Jiselle wasn’t conscious of it, the same effect as activating the Level 1 core throughout her body was appearing.

‘Huh, I knew this would work.’

This was a technology that Giselle had conceived of and attempted a long time ago.

If you keep activating mana throughout your body, it will gradually be consumed. To properly replenish the consumed mana, you need to practice or get enough rest.

A skilled player like Jiselle would be able to recover a little bit by just breathing, but eventually, all of her mana would be consumed.

There was also the problem of having to consciously continue to use mana.

‘So I tried to increase the reaction speed.’

Now, Mana was constantly moving on her own to protect her body.

Even, it replenishes the mana that is being consumed little by little, just like breathing through the skin and respiratory organs of the entire body.

It’s a very small amount, incomparable to when you do mana training, but it’s still absorbing the mana around you.

When faced with the threat of death every day, the human body undergoes amazing evolution.

‘I guess I need to work on my training method a little more.’

I got a feeling of how the mana is moving in my body right now. If I use this, I can improve my training method once more.

‘Maybe… … based on this, I might be able to increase the core more than in my previous life.’

In my previous life, the limit was to create 5 cores. The problem was that the more cores I had, the more burden it put on my body, but it was also a problem that my mana was rapidly consumed.

However, with only 5 cores, Jisel was able to rise to the highest position as one of the 7 best players on the continent. It was difficult to find a rival for him on the continent.

I felt that if I used and developed my current enlightenment, I could achieve even more.

“Good.”

Jiselle smiled pleasantly. The training that started with a brief moment of inspiration gave her a clue for the future.

As the core of stage 1 began to turn on its own without your awareness, your body began to gradually become accustomed to that state.

And the effect was amazing.

“I came today too!”

Ten knights suddenly appeared and swung their swords at Giselle from all directions.

Their swords were all surrounded by a faint blue glow.

An attack that can be said to be at the level of a beginner knight.

Up until now, even attacks of this level were enough to inflict damage on Giselle’s body. This was because Giselle had suppressed her own mana.

So this time, Jiselle didn’t raise her mana. She just accepted the attack with her whole body like usual.

Kaka kaka kang!

“……?”

The knights who succeeded in their attack had a questioning look on their faces.

Why does cutting a human body make a sound like hitting steel?

The reporters who confirmed the situation expressed their shock.

“What, what is it!”

“What happened?”

“You used mana, right? You said you didn’t use mana?”

Jiselle’s body was intact. Her clothes were torn, but there were not even the slightest wounds on her skin.

At the knights’ shouts, Giselle only then glanced over her body and nodded.

“Hmm, I guess this will do for now.”

Even if you don’t consciously use mana, you’re always using a level 1 core. That’s why the knights’ attacks don’t work at all.

Of course, the knights didn’t really use their strength. They only attacked at the level of a truly beginner knight. If they had used their strength to cut properly, they could have inflicted a significant wound.

“As of today, the training for the Yeongju raid is concluded.”

Now you don’t have to practice being surprised anymore, because you have laid a new foundation, even though it is still weak.

What we need to do going forward is to further develop and strengthen this. Naturally, the goal was to activate the 2nd and 3rd stage cores and aim for higher levels.

The knights looked slightly disappointed at the declaration of the end of the raid.

‘Oh, the side income has been quite good so far.’

‘I wish I had done just a little more.’

‘They say that the taste of hitting the lord was also good.’

The biggest regret was that the fun was gone, but that wasn’t all. The knights had the same thoughts as they watched Jiselle leave the room in a fluster.

‘You’re becoming more and more of a monster.’

I thought it was some crazy practice, but it really worked. The knights who were thinking about trying it themselves soon shook their heads.

Because only Yeongju could do such a crazy thing.

* * *

The development of the estate was going smoothly. There was a lot of work to do, but when was there ever a time when there was no work in Fenris?

Since we had done this several times, we were all used to it and there were no problems with the process.

Demolishing old settlements, consolidating villages, and refurbishing fortifications. Expanding necessary workshops and finding ways to use Desmond’s abundant resources more efficiently.

Road construction is also underway here. As roads are built, the movement of resources is also faster, so the speed of territory development is incomparably faster than before.

Of course, that doesn’t mean there are no problems.

Claude was racking his brain as he looked at the mountain of papers piled up.

“Hmm… … . We still have a shortage of administrators.”

Killed all of Desmond’s vassals.

Although they were able to select useful people among the lower-level officials through thorough interrogation and investigation, the territory was so vast and there was so much to do that they were bound to run out of people.

“Ha, where should I get you another one now?”

There were so many rumors about him going around in Seiron Academy that it seemed like it would be difficult to bring him there anymore. In the end, I had to bring people from somewhere else.

“For the time being, we cannot increase the workload any further.”

Right now, the workload is so tight that one person is doing the work of almost ten people. We really can’t afford to have more work.

The Yeongju Fortress is focused solely on training, as if nothing new is happening. It seemed like they could just focus on training the soldiers and developing them.

One day, when Claude was feeling so relieved, Giselle burst through the door and came in and said.

“I’m going to start something new now.”

“…….”

“Establish the Fenris Magical Institute and create a magic corps.”

Claude’s face suddenly distorted.