The Second Salvation Myth of a Retired Regressed Hero

+++

“Today, we will conduct a mana affinity test!”

After breakfast, the first lesson of the second week began.

“All of you should have received basic explanations about mana during the first week! From the second week onwards, before accumulating mana in your heart, you will have time to gauge your own mana affinity!”

Doyun brought up his status window as the instructor explained.

[Mana Deficiency]
You were born in a place without mana, and lived your entire life in a place without mana. Your magic channels are clogged with dust, tightly sealed and hardened. Your body cannot accept mana.

‘This is troublesome.’

The chronic acquired trait ‘Mana Deficiency’ that hindered Earth-born apostles.

Because of this, Earthlings had to struggle for the first few months to unblock their channels. Depending on their aptitude, it could take up to a year.

Of course, this did not apply to Doyun, who was once called a hero in his previous life. In fact, his talent for mana control was unparalleled, even among his otherwise mediocre abilities.

As soon as he entered the Cradle, Doyun focused on unblocking his channels every night in his room.

While it took others months or even a year, he only needed about 3 weeks.

But…

‘I still need 2 more weeks.’

The [Mana Deficiency] trait had not disappeared from his status window. His channels were still blocked.

Over the past week, he had only managed to unblock the aorta and vena cava running from his heart to his head, legs, and arms.

Although he had made considerable progress for the speed to be ramped up now, his smaller blood vessels were still completely clogged.

Doyun’s body could not yet accept mana.

Fortunately, the instructor’s following words put Doyun at ease.

“By the way, today’s test will not be reflected in your Cradle grades, so don’t worry! Don’t feel burdened by grades or the instructors’ gazes, and focus on gauging your own mana affinity!”

As the instructor said, far more instructors than usual had gathered on this field.

Seeing even the Headmaster, who oversaw the entire Cradle, it seemed that all instructors except for the essential on-duty staff had assembled.

A lesson ostensibly aimed at helping students determine their growth direction by knowing their mana affinity.

But in reality, it was a scouting effort to identify promising talents.

Among them, the archery and ranger instructors who knew of the boss monster killer’s existence were especially wide-eyed, closely observing the students.

‘We must identify them in this test!’

They were determined to find the boss monster killer before any other instructors at all costs.

The Cradle’s curriculum lasted 8 weeks, and official recruitment could only take place after its completion.

Currently, only these two knew of the boss monster killer’s existence, but eventually, everyone at the Cradle would find out.

And the guilds sponsoring these two were medium or small guilds that lacked the resources to recruit the boss monster killer in a bidding war.

However…

‘If we discover the boss monster killer early and sell that information to a major guild… our lives will change!’

They would receive an immense bonus and be guaranteed high positions as professional scouts within the guild.

A boss monster killer was that valuable a gem.

The instructor who had been speaking exited, and the one in charge of the testing, a unarmed combat instructor, took over.

“The test is simple! You will come up one by one and receive a measured amount of mana from the instructor. In that state, you will strike this magic alloy plate.”

The instructor pointed at the blue plate beside him.

“The plate will change color according to the impact transferred to it. From the degree of color change, you can see how much your body has been enhanced, in other words, how well your body accepts mana.”

A remarkably simple and intuitive test. This allowed the results to be visible on-site, for both the students and all the instructors to see.

Even though questions were not yet permitted, a naive student raised his hand. The instructor frowned. Well, give them an inch and they take a mile with such antics.

But this was an important occasion with all instructors including the Headmaster present. There was no leeway to maintain discipline through corporal punishment one by one.

“Before the test, there is always this question: ‘How do you distinguish between cases where the body is well-enhanced due to high mana affinity, and cases where someone simply struck the plate hard due to innate strength?'”

At those words, the student who had raised his hand slowly lowered it.

“Don’t worry. A human fist enhanced by even a small amount of mana is stronger than the fist of an orc who has undergone extensive combat training. In other words, while there may be some margin of error as you mentioned, it will be negligible compared to the enhancement from mana.”

That’s why they conducted such a large-scale test specifically for mana alone. Mana was generally considered the most important of the five stats.

Of course, that didn’t mean the strength stat was completely useless. Strength was also a crucial factor in combat ability.

But the students here at best had strength levels of 1 or 2.

While there was a world of difference between levels 8 and 9, the gap between 1 and 2 held little significance. A mere level 2 could not produce any meaningful margin of error.

At least for them, the instructor’s words held true.

Of course, the instructors were completely unaware that Doyun’s strength was level 5, and that he practiced martial arts as a supplementary weapon.

“Any questions?”

Perhaps feeling tense before so many instructors, most students did not raise their hands.

In the ensuing silence, only one person raised his hand confidently.

A 2m tall giant, mottled with black spots, a rugged appearance, and a shining golden nose-ring.

A minotaur, Torn.

“What happens if I break the plate?”

He asked the instructor in a rough voice and speech.

At his question, some instructors smiled, while others scoffed. The former were amused by the overflowing passion and fighting spirit of the new apostle, while the latter found the fledgling’s ignorant arrogance laughable.

This was also a recurring annual question.

The instructor who received the question was among the former. To ease the tense atmosphere, he threw out a simple joke.

“If you do, I’ll even give you a kiss.”

At those words, the relatively younger instructors couldn’t help but burst into laughter. Unintentionally becoming the butt of the joke, Torn frowned.

“It was just a joke. But seriously, if someone does manage to break the plate…”

He trailed off in thought. Since it would never actually happen, he could say whatever he wanted, right? They had pushed the students hard enough, so why not give them some motivation for a change?

“You’ll be exempted from any lesson you want going forward. Even the morning jog you all hate so much.”

At those words, the eyes of the silently seated students lit up.

To them, this test was merely a public punching show to show off in front of the female students.

But now, it had become a tantalizing goal they had to pass.

‘Exempted from lessons?’

The reason Doyun took interest was not because of the childish desire to skip the dreaded morning jog.

‘If I skip lessons, I can focus on unblocking my channels.’

His fist unconsciously clenched with strength.

Concealing his identity as Enoch and building a reputation as an apostle were separate matters.

No matter how much Doyun excelled, no one would think the great hero who died 100 years ago had been reincarnated.

In his previous life, Enoch was always surrounded by righteous and courageous companions. They had all been inspired by Doyun’s heroic tales.

To build such comrades and gain influence, he needed a reputation.

And achieving high grades at the Cradle would be the first step.

For that, unblocking his channels as soon as possible was his top priority.

‘Should I use Hecleus’ technique?’

Doyun opened his status window. His endurance stat, representing physical defense, was level 4. Would that be enough to withstand that reckless technique?

Hecleus was one of the most trusted comrades of the hero Enoch Ruszvolnik in Doyun’s previous life.

The fool fought barehanded, using only his body, leading people to call him the Fist Saint.

Hecleus’ Fist Style, as tough as its founder, placed immense strain on the body.

As far as Doyun knew, the Fist Saint himself was the only one who could perfectly withstand the recoil of those techniques.

Even Enoch at the pinnacle could only partially mitigate the recoil during crucial moments, essentially just mimicking it.

‘I’m not sure how much level 4 endurance can handle.’

But he didn’t dwell on it long.

According to the instructors, the vitality stat wasn’t just simple stamina, but encompassed a broader concept including recovery ability.

And Doyun’s vitality ability was level 7, an abnormally high stat for a student.

Perhaps this vitality stat could withstand the recoil from a single use.

‘…Surely no one here would recognize it?’

Doyun looked around. None of the instructors appeared old enough to have witnessed Hecleus’ style 100 years ago when it was practiced.

He dismissed the possibility that the Fist Saint’s style had spread in his absence.

In the multiple regressions where he had encountered Hecleus, the man had desperately sought a disciple but could never find anyone capable of enduring his insane style.

As a result, even during the fight against the Demon Lord, he could only envy the Sword Saint’s beloved disciples while sucking his thumb.

So if Doyun used the Fist Saint’s style here, no one would recognize it.

‘Let’s do it.’

Steadying his mind, he clenched his fist tightly.

A belligerent aura boiled up from within, causing the veins on Doyun’s arm to bulge prominently.