Ludger quietly watched Phantos.
In the way Phantos stared into the campfire with a faint smile, Ludger saw no pretense, no falsehood. He spoke as if it were easy, but Ludger understood very well how difficult it must have been for him to bring those words out.
For Ludger understood Phantos’s position better than anyone.
‘Phantos aims to bring down prey he should never even be able to reach. For that, he pursues strength.’
That was a natural mindset for a warrior.
And in one’s own field, the desire to reach the absolute summit was something mages shared as well.
They, too, wished to reach the end of magic—the pinnacle of the arcane.
And so they labored endlessly.
‘But effort alone does not accomplish everything.’
Even during his days as a Seorn instructor, Ludger held one conviction firmly.
That talent does, in fact, exist.
When someone speaks of the difference in talent, people who value effort above all argue back. Ludger knew that well enough.
He was already well aware of the importance of effort.
But talent could change even the value of that effort.
Consider a genius and a mediocrity.
If both of them spent a full year working equally hard in the same field—would they truly reach the same realm?
A genius overwhelmingly surpasses the mediocrity.
What the mediocre one barely reaches after a full year—
that point lies far behind a genius after merely one month.
And considering that even geniuses exist across levels, one month might actually be an exaggeratedly long comparison.
Should the mediocre try to catch up to the genius through effort?
‘Geniuses also ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) put in effort. In fact, because their results show so clearly, they almost never hit walls or face despair.’
For the mediocre, it takes a long, long time before their effort bears fruit.
And in that long stretch, they confront countless doubts.
They falter, they stray, they collapse.
This is why talent is important—extremely important.
‘But this is the difficult truth. If someone lacks talent, must they simply stop at a reasonable point and live content with that?’
Those who see mountains they cannot climb usually lower their heads.
That applies to geniuses as well.
‘Geniuses, because they have never tasted failure, advance without end. But sooner or later, they will face a wall. A genius greater than themselves—a higher, unreachable talent.’
Many geniuses break at that very moment.
They have no tolerance for failure.
Even those who drove others into despair and jealousy throughout their lives forget that they, too, can one day feel despair before someone else.
However—
There exist certain kinds of people in this world.
People who, even when facing a wall, refuse to bow.
People who throw in everything they have just to climb a mountain that cannot be climbed.
People who never lower their heads.
They always straighten their necks and stare directly ahead.
Ludger called those people:
‘The ones possessed by madness.’
Yes. It was madness.
No sane person would do such a thing.
Because they were mad, they crashed forward without caring for trivialities like possibility or impossibility.
Of course, madness usually leads people astray.
Black mages who disregard life for stronger magic were the classic slaves to such madness.
But the madness Ludger pursued was not that.
A person with true madness should be the one wielding it, not being consumed by it.
‘Even mediocrities possess such madness. And a mediocre person with madness can surpass even a genius.’
Naturally, some geniuses possessed that same madness.
‘But realistically, simply having that mindset does not make someone strong. It must be accompanied by matching effort.’
That was why knights and mages who remained in history were praised by the masses, yet poorly regarded by those close to them.
They gave up love, abandoned family, and lost themselves in their own world.
They sacrificed much.
Perhaps everything.
To see the end, they poured their entire being into only one thing.
Shaving away and scraping down their lives, sharpening themselves to a single point—
Just to pierce their goal.
‘Only that. Without love, without comrades, without family. They discarded even happiness and desire as living beings.’
Could that be called living?
Could that be called happiness?
Were they not simply machines, moving only toward their goal?
To Ludger, Phantos belonged to that category.
Phantos had not been without moments that could have broken him.
His first failure was when he faced Ludger.
After that, even when seeing Grander, he must have felt the same. And again when he lost to Lutus.
And what of the Elemental Lords? Or those who wielded divine power within holy war?
Even so, Phantos never gave up.
Despite having great talent and potential, he still looked higher.
He worked for it, and he climbed higher than before.
And even now, he wished to ascend further.
At least, right before meeting Ludger again, Phantos stood at a crossroads.
There was a line before him.
Just a little more—perhaps a single step—and he would cross it.
The moment he crossed that line, Phantos would head toward a place from which he could never return.
Abandoning everything, living solely to become strong—a monster.
“You ended up making your choice, it seems.”
“Yes.”
At the final crossroads, Phantos chose to step back.
“If it were the past, I would have cut it down without hesitation, calling it unnecessary. I might have even severed it with my own hands, thinking I was becoming weaker.”
Phantos picked up a log placed beside him and threw it into the fire.
Fwoosh!
The flames flared up violently and shot into the sky.
“If I had remained ignorant, I wouldn’t have wrestled with such thoughts. But once I learned, ignoring it became difficult.”
So Phantos kept challenging the Water Elemental Lord for a long time.
Hoping that smashing into that wall would someday reveal an answer.
“But it didn’t come easily. The more time I poured into seeking it, the more impatient I became. In the end, there was nothing but doubt.”
And when he was about to break amid that doubt—Ludger returned.
Phantos hesitated. Should he go to meet him or not?
“When I heard you were back, I decided not to go see you. Even when you contacted me, I deliberately ignored it.”
For that man—
That man who vanished for three years and finally returned—
what had become of him?
Ludger saw through Phantos’s heart.
“You were afraid.”
“Stupidly so.”
Phantos did not deny it. He nodded like a man mocking his own foolishness.
“I was afraid to face you. The moment I confronted the possibility that you might have changed, I felt the last rope I was holding onto would snap. So I avoided you.”
Yes.
Now he admitted it—Phantos admired Ludger.
Outwardly he treated him as prey he must inevitably defeat, but deep inside, he looked up to him.
For Ludger was the man who never broke.
A man of steel who ultimately fulfilled his mission—a pioneer.
“But in the end, I came here. I knew I’d come eventually, but I didn’t expect it to be this soon.”
“So? How was I, after you saw me again?”
“You’ve changed. That much is certain.”
“Is that so.”
“But at the same time, you’re exactly the same.”
As Ludger looked at him with a questioning expression—what did that mean?—Phantos handed him another piece of roasted meat.
“The man I first admired was someone prepared to abandon everything for his goal. And indeed, he had cast most things aside.”
When Phantos first met him, Ludger had abandoned his own life, discarded his name, and lived sharpening only his strength.
He thought that was the reason for Ludger’s power—but after getting to know him, he realized it was not so.
Ludger had not abandoned anything.
He seemed as if he had thrown things away, yet he still reached out to people.
He looked as though he would ignore any means for his purpose, yet he cherished his comrades.
He appeared upright as steel, yet he was more shaken than anyone.
And yet—
He did not collapse.
He did not stop.
Even with lingering attachments.
Even with doubts.
Even while regretting the past—
He never threw them away.
He carried even the pain with him.
He accepted even that pain.
“I realized it. True strength cannot be pursued in such a sly, twisted way.”
Facing Ludger again, fighting him again—Phantos felt his old memories return.
Yes. This was it.
The reason he had admired this man.
The reason he could genuinely look up to him.
Why had he forgotten something so obvious?
The answer had always been right there.
“Yes. If it is poison, then you must swallow even that poison—that must be true strength.”
Hearing Phantos’s answer, Ludger stared blankly for a moment—
then his shoulders shook as he let out a laugh.
“Heh-heh. Yes. Maybe it really was fate that I came to find you this soon.”
“There is no such thing as fate. Everything is carved out by one’s own hands.”
Phantos teased him.
“You, of all people—who pursued that and forced it into reality—don’t understand that?”
“Hahaha!”
At last, Ludger couldn’t hold it in and burst into a loud laugh.
Phantos looked at him and laughed as well.
Though they had no alcohol, the two of them laughed louder and happier than the drunkest men.
Their laughter rose with the scattering embers, joining the sky.
* * *
The sun rose.
Ludger had prepared to depart since early morning.
“Where do you plan to go now?”
“There are many people I still haven’t met. I intend to visit them one by one.”
“You’re volunteering for troublesome work.”
“It’s worth enduring.”
Phantos smirked as he took up his harpoon.
He looked as though he were about to head out for a hunt—
but his steps did not lead toward the sea.
Instead, the opposite direction.
Toward the continent’s center.
“You’re leaving?”
“Yes. It’s been far too long since I showed my face. I should go see my old comrades.”
“They’ll probably faint from shock.”
“Or maybe I simply miss seeing their faces.”
Wishing Ludger good fortune, Phantos departed.
Watching his back, Ludger turned toward the Earth Elemental Lord.
The creature, shaped like a giant land turtle, stared straight at him.
“What is it? Are you coming with me?”
The Earth Elemental Lord gave him a look asking if that was acceptable.
“Well, if you want to watch my journey, I won’t stop you. But you must not be seen by others.”
Nodding as if not to worry, the Earth Elemental Lord looked unexpectedly cute with that massive turtle body.
“Then let’s go.”
Ludger stirred his mana.
He had already decided who he would visit next.
The distance from here was not too great, so finding the person wouldn’t be hard.
With the shadows, Ludger crossed space.
Even if not “far,” it was still a distance that would take several days by train.
But for Ludger, it amounted to no more than a brief instant.
At last, he arrived at a peaceful, beautiful countryside.
Traces of the northern climate remained, keeping the air slightly chilly; villagers were peacefully going about their day.
“Huh? Who’s that man?”
“Never seen him before. And where’s he headed?”
“That way leads to the Unsho family. Maybe he’s a guest?”
The villagers seemed quite flustered by the sudden appearance of an outsider.
Visitors seldom came here, which contributed to their reaction.
Ludger ignored it and walked toward his target.
The Unsho family’s estate—the place the villagers were murmuring about.
The mansion on the hill was neither poor nor extravagant.
It even seemed built modestly on purpose, to avoid contrasting too sharply with the villagers’ homes.
From that alone, Ludger could roughly grasp the owner’s personality.
“U-um, sir.”
A farmer gathered the courage to call out to him.
“What is it?”
The farmer seemed surprised by Ludger’s polite reply.
“Are you going to the Unsho estate right now?”
“Yes.”
“May I ask for what reason?”
The villagers must have mistaken Ludger for someone with ill intent toward the Unsho family.
“I’m going to meet a friend.”
“F-friend? Do you mean Miss Catherine? The one who returned three years ago?”
“So she returned safely. Yes, that’s correct.”
Hearing Ludger’s answer, the farmer’s suspicion visibly lessened.
Unlike other nobles, Ludger did not look arrogant—if anything, he looked dignified.
Thinking he must not be a bad person, the farmer brightened.
“Oh my, then you should’ve said so earlier! She’s probably out in the fields by now, not in the mansion.”
“I see. Then where should I go?”
“I’ll guide you! Follow me!”
The farmer kindly led the way.
After several minutes, they saw a group of people in the distance.
They were working diligently in the fields—people Ludger recognized.
And one person immediately caught his eye.
‘Catherine.’
Wearing comfortable work clothes, Catherine straightened her crouched body when she noticed Ludger approaching.
“It’s been a while.”
Ludger walked up to her and greeted her.
Catherine stared at him—so focused she didn’t even wipe the dirt from her cheek—
and then—
“You sure took your sweet time!”
She hurled the large potato she’d been holding straight at Ludger’s face.