Chapter 469

A promising talent, one who should’ve become an S-rank hero in the future with the grand title of “Weapon Master,” had ended up expelled?

Se-Hoon had never thought he would hear such a thing, which made him unable to stop his mouth.

“Why did you expel him?”

What could’ve possibly happened for Ludwig—someone who practically went crazy over talented prodigies—to expel one so ruthlessly?

“

Hmm...

Technically, it wasn’t expulsion. It was more like he withdrew. He left without a word, so it was processed that way on paper.”

“He left himself...?”

Was being taken down by Sung-Ha in a single strike during the tournament really that traumatic? Sure, being praised as a genius and prodigy your whole life only to be crushed by someone your age could be a devastating blow. But... the Manuel Se-Hoon remembered was the type who would’ve turned that shock into fuel and burned with even greater motivation.

Is he mentally fragile because he’s still young?

Compared to his barbaric pre-regression version who fought nonstop every day, the Manuel he currently knew certainly was more like a civilized person. Though even then he still didn’t seem mentally weak.

Whatever the case, it’s probably for a reason I couldn’t have guessed at all...

Falling silent, Se-Hoon was pondering over what to do about the unexpected information when he heard Ludwig’s voice again through the rippling space.

“Do you want to meet him yourself?”

“...You know where he is?”

Didn’t Ludwig just say Manuel had left without a word?

“I assigned a security team to him just in case. When a student becomes top-ranking in their class, there are plenty of reasons for the Demon Force to target them.”

“

Ah.

So that’s how it is.”

It made sense that Ludwig took precautions. Despite Manuel being unexpectedly crushed by Sung-Ha, he still ranked among the most talented students in Babel—a place filled only with geniuses. Given that, it was no surprise that the Demon Force would be desperate to eliminate him in advance.

I guess it’s definitely not purely out of kindness.

If protection was the only goal, Ludwig could’ve just contacted the Muren Monastery to assign people. But he didn’t, making it clear he was planning to help Manuel if anything happened and use it as leverage to convince him to return to Babel.

Well, I guess it’s not a bad thing.

Originally, Se-Hoon had only intended to meet him while also gathering info on the Muren Monastery. Now, though, he just genuinely wanted to know how the butterfly effect had caused it all.

“In that case, please arrange it for me.”

“Understood. Just wait a moment.”

Once Ludwig’s voice faded away, Se-Hoon awkwardly glanced at Kwang-Soo.

“Sorry. I didn’t expect things to go like this...”

“Don’t worry about it. We’re making good use of the time, anyway,” Kwang-Soo dismissed, waving it off like it was nothing. “Besides, it’s obvious that the kid has been bothering you. When something keeps weighing on you like that, it’s better to face it directly. Otherwise, you might regret it later.”

Accepting the sincere piece of advice based on Kwang-Soo’s own experience, Se-Hoon nodded.

“Thank you for being so considerate.”

At those words, Kwang-Soo immediately flinched like he had just seen something he shouldn’t have.

“Why are you making such a big deal out of this...? Just treat me better normally.”

“I always try to treat you with the utmost respect, Professor.”

“Bullshit.”

As Se-Hoon and Kwang-Soo passed the time by exchanging their usual banter, a small gate opened in front of them before they heard Ludwig’s voice again.

“I’ve set up a place over there. You can go straight through.”

“Thank you.”

“I don’t know what you plan to do, but please do your best.” There was a subtle but obvious request to persuade Manuel to return to Babel, no matter what.

Smiling wryly, Se-Hoon responded, “I’ll do my best.”

Woosh-

Stepping through the gate, Se-Hoon and Kwang-Soo felt the surreal sensation of leaping through space washing over them before they arrived at their destination.

Vast fields stretched to the horizon, the view dotted with agricultural equipment. And a bit away from them, in the middle, stood a brown-haired young man holding a hoe: Manuel Ortega.

“...”

“...”

Although their gazes met, no words were exchanged, as if they had agreed to it beforehand. In truth, though, Se-Hoon was just shocked by the unexpected sight, whereas Manuel was simply wondering why someone had come looking for him.

In the end, it had been Se-Hoon who was the first to collect himself and break the awkward silence.

“

Um...

hey... have you been doing alright?”

“Well... I’ve been getting by.”

“That’s good.”

“Yeah.”

“...”

“...”

𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

The silence returned just as quickly as the conversation had lasted—which was only natural because Se-Hoon had only been close to Manuel in a previous timeline. With barely a handful of meetings, they were practically strangers now.

He seems okay, at least.... Where do I even start?

At a loss, Se-Hoon tried to come up with something. However, before he could, Manuel scratched his head and pointed to the side.

“Whatever it is, let’s take this to the rest shelter. This area’s set for summer conditions, so it’s kind of hot here.”

“Oh, yeah. Professor, let’s go.”

Putting everything on pause, the three of them headed to a nearby shelter and sat side by side on a shaded bench. Thankfully, Se-Hoon had gathered his thoughts by then, so the awkward silence didn’t return.

“Did you decide to quit being a hero?”

“Huh?

Ah...

so that’s what this is about.” Realizing why Se-Hoon had come, Manuel gave a small laugh. “Hard to say. Maybe I did, maybe I didn’t. It’s... kind of tricky.”

Manuel tapped the ground with his hoe, clearly in thought.

“It’s a bit of a tangent, but... have you ever thought about what comes after the war?”

“After the war?”

“Yeah. A world where the Demon Force has been eradicated and peace has returned.”

“...”

Se-Hoon frowned slightly. Such a thing... he had never once thought about that, not before or after his regression.

It was never something I had the luxury of considering.

From always being busy desperately trying to survive the apocalypse, he was now always busy trying to prevent it. Naturally, he had never spared a thought for the future beyond that.

“Up until early last year, it still felt like a distant future. But things have changed a lot, haven’t they? Everyone’s more or less convinced we’re going to win.”

“That’s... true.”

“And once that set in, I started thinking more about the future. Whether the way I’m living now is really the right path.”

Like most prodigies, Manuel had trained harshly from a young age to become a hero and fight against the Demon Force. But he had never really complained about that life either—he had always believed it was a duty he must bear as someone gifted in martial ability.

Thanks to Se-Hoon, though, the war was actually nearing its end. Feeling that fact deeply, Manuel began reexamining the duty he’d been taking for granted.

“What people expect from me is to fight against the Demon Force. So once they’re gone, the attention will vanish too, and all the skills I’ve honed until now will become useless.”

“...”

“I’m not saying my life has lost all meaning or that it’s no longer worth living anymore. It’s more like... I’ve just started wondering what

else

I can do.”

Manuel fiddled with the hoe in his hands.

“I’m not strong enough to fight on the front lines like you or Sung-Ha.”

He had lived his entire life for the sake of battle—but now, the battlefield for him to fight on was disappearing. And so Manuel left Babel to find something he could do outside of fighting.

There’s... really nothing I can say about this.

If Manuel had been mentally crushed by his loss to Sung-Ha, Se-Hoon would’ve tried his best to persuade him to return to Babel. After hearing his story, though, Se-Hoon now knew the defeat was only a trigger.

It was a fact he had to accept: the battle-crazed Weapon Master Se-Hoon had known was long gone.

Maybe... it’s better that he’s changed.

Looking at the future ahead, perhaps it was actually a good thing for Manuel. Instead of wandering from battlefield to battlefield and dying a meaningless death, he was trying to build a new life for himself. That had to be better.

Whether he sees it that way... I’m not sure.

Stuck on the strange undertone of resignation in Manuel’s tone, Se-Hoon carefully asked, “Are you sure you won’t regret it?”

Breaking away from the life path followed for decades to search for something new... was never easy.

“...I don’t know.” Manuel looked out toward the fields. “If I can’t find a proper job doing this, I might end up regretting it and feel like I wasted my time...”

He fell silent, thinking for a moment. Then his expression relaxed.

“But so what? Regretting a little doesn’t mean your life is over, right?”

“...”

“Don’t be so uptight about it. We’re both still young. There’s a lot of life left.” Smiling, Manuel stood up. “Something’s bound to work out as long as I don’t give up.”

“...”

Manuel’s smile—not with that hollow, weary expression he knew, but a genuine one—made Se-Hoon feel a strange emotion. Compared to the battle-hardened Weapon Master he knew... the one in front of him felt closer to his true self.

Maybe... he really has found something.

Just like how Kwang-Soo had originally been an ordinary man with no ties to swords, it was entirely possible that those born after the upheaval also had new paths to follow. And it seemed... that Manuel was the first to set off toward one—because of the butterfly effect Se-Hoon had set off.

“...Yeah. You’re right.”

With a light heart, Se-Hoon also stood up. If Manuel had chosen that path for himself, then he had no reason to interfere. Although it was a bit of a shame, in truth, he didn’t feel bad about it.

“I hope everything works out. Stay strong.”

“You too.”

Without either of them saying who should go first, they naturally reached out and shook hands. Then, upon letting go, they both went on their separate ways—

“...What the hell are you doing?”

Kwang-Soo broke his silence, looking at Se-Hoon with a dumbfounded expression upon seeing him about to leave.

“Oh.”

Remembering the original reason he had for coming, Se-Hoon scratched his head awkwardly and turned back to Manuel.

“Uh... actually, I wanted to ask you a few things about the Muren Monastery. Do you have a moment?”

“Huh? What about the Monastery?”

“I got intel that the Demon Force has had an eye on the Muren Monastery for quite some time.”

Naturally, Se-Hoon couldn’t get into the details about Doppelganger, which was why he just gave a vague explanation.

“What... is that for real?” Manuel’s eyes widened.

“It’s not fully confirmed yet. That’s why I wanted to ask you—since you’re an insider but currently outside the organization—if you found anything that seemed suspicious.”

“Hmm...”

Manuel fell into thought, going through his memories, when he suddenly mumbled, “Wait... could it be that person...”

“That person?”

“Well... uh...”

Manuel hesitated, unsure whether it was right to talk about internal affairs with an outsider. It didn’t take him long to recall Se-Hoon’s reputation and his reason for asking, though, which made him open his mouth.

“You’ve heard of the Cave of Trials in our temple, right?”

“I’ve heard of it.”

In fact, Se-Hoon had even visited it before he regressed. After all, it was one of the Muren Monastery’s most famous training locations.

“It’s not well-known to outsiders, but there’s actually a monk who’s been training within for decades.”

“They’ve been in there for decades?”

That insane place where even seasoned heroes couldn’t last half a day? Even Se-Hoon, who’d experienced every kind of hell, couldn’t fathom it.

“Of course, hardly anyone believes it. Most think it’s a made-up tale or that they died after failing to get out.”

“But from how you’re bringing it up now...”

Once Se-Hoon trailed off, Manuel nodded.

“That monk... really exists.”

Although Manuel hadn’t seen them for himself, the head monk, Tenzin, had spoken of them before.

“The Head Monk told me this: ‘Though a sinner who cannot show their face, they are also a seeker who craves martial prowess more than anyone.’”

“...”

“Back then, I just thought that monk had committed some terrible crime in the past, but...”

What if that “sin” meant they had turned from human to demon? Understanding where Manuel’s story was heading, Se-Hoon thought for a moment and nodded.

“Thanks for telling me this. I’ll make sure it’s handled cleanly so that no innocent people get caught up in it.”

“Yeah. Please do.”

With that, they parted from Manuel, and Se-Hoon turned to Kwang-Soo.

“That monk... is probably Doppelganger, right?”

“Most likely.”

Getting confirmation, Se-Hoon furrowed his brow. Doppelganger, who had infiltrated the Muren Monastery decades ago, and the head monk, who had knowingly harbored her in secret.

I don’t know what connection Tenzin has to Ha-Rin... but he’s definitely suspicious.

Even though Kwang-Soo had said it was probably nothing, Se-Hoon’s belief was that it was best to confirm everything. And since his suspicions about the Muren Monastery were now stronger than ever, it was time.

Se-Hoon looked at Kwang-Soo.

“It’s time to visit the Muren Monastery.”