The Second Salvation Myth of a Retired Regressed Hero

‘So this is what skill corrections mean…’

He circulated his mana again. He could definitely feel it. With a skill created, the movement of his mana had changed.

Through endless practice of a technique, the body eventually moves automatically without meticulously conscious effort – the technique is engraved into the body. This is referred to as ‘mastery’.

Until now, Doyun had to directly exert his mana control, spreading it through his body via his channels.

But now, simply by raising the will to move his mana, it automatically flowed through his channels and body without direct manipulation.

It felt as if his level of mastery had risen another step. ‘Increased proficiency’ would be an apt description.

‘By adding corrections to techniques and showing growth levels through levels, this blessing is no trivial matter.’

Of course, Doyun’s proficiency in the Războlnic’s Flow Mana Cultivation Method was not at level 1. From the beginning, this was a technique Enoch himself had created and cultivated for decades.

Even so, the System displayed the skill level as 1. And as the skill level rose, it would apply further enhanced corrections.

Naturally, raising the skill level would become more difficult the higher it went, compared to lower levels.

‘For instance, I can receive the same growth rate as others from a head start far ahead of them.’

The same would likely apply to dimensional immigrants who had already cultivated special techniques from their original dimensions before crossing over.

Since this was a blessing meant to facilitate the apostles’ growth, it seemed focused more on promoting growth rather than indicating current levels.

‘I had planned to solely focus on physical and mana cultivation to regain my previous life’s strength…’

With this, he could aim even higher.

Doyun clenched his fist tightly, gripped by a rising sense of exhilaration from within.

‘It seems I’ll have to devote energy to skill training as well.’

The burning desire for cultivation that had lain dormant in Doyun for 25 years began to reignite.

+++

Doyun skipped all classes in the second week.

While the other students were assigned to their respective position-based classes starting the second week, Doyun had not been.

Of course, everyone expected Doyun to join the unarmed combat class. But contrary to expectations, Doyun chose the javelin class.

‘I have nothing more to learn from martial arts or swordsmanship, so what’s the point of going. I might as well learn something new.’

The martial arts Doyun had trained in his previous life were swordsmanship and unarmed combat for when he didn’t have a sword.

Despite being given hundreds of years, Enoch Ruszvolnik’s 18 lives had been a continuous struggle. And as someone born dim-witted, he lacked the time to invest in swordsmanship and martial arts.

Continuing to skip classes would draw the Headmaster’s attention. If he had to attend classes anyway, he wanted to learn something new – something he had long felt the need for.

Thus, he set his sights on javelin throwing. Since his previous life, he had struggled with ranged attacks.

“You only want to focus on javelin throwing?”
“Yes. Is that possible?”

It could be seen as a rude request, essentially judging the instructor’s prepared curriculum as useless.

But the javelin instructor nodded. He rather liked this student Han Doyun.

Regarded as a genius in fist styles in this batch, Han Doyun. With the unlimited class exemption promised by the Headmaster, he could have just skipped to the unarmed combat class and slacked off.

But remarkably, he took the initiative to learn something new, and thankfully chose javelin throwing.

Focusing solely on javelin throwing was an efficient choice, even if a bit regrettable. Even if he was just starting javelin throwing, would he really use it over the fist styles he had already mastered?

The instructor wanted to respect the rational choice of this remarkable student.

“Very well. But with other students present, I cannot allocate separate time just for you. I can only guide you in javelin throwing during their self-training sessions. For the rest of the time, you’ll have to train on your own.”

“Yes. That will be enough. Thank you.”

Doyun bowed his head slightly. The instructor nodded in satisfaction. Proper etiquette was another pleasing aspect. When dealing with people from various dimensions, one inevitably grew tired of all sorts of oddballs.

“Alright, then let me rearrange the curriculum order a bit… I’ll move the javelin throwing lesson to tomorrow. Study the theory with the other students tomorrow.”

“Thank you.”

Doyun’s full-fledged training had begun.

+++

In the Headmaster’s office at the Cradle.

There, a slovenly old woman in a cleaner’s uniform was meeting with the Headmaster. She was the elderly woman in charge of cleaning the dorms.

“Yes… it was definitely… black blood from internal injuries…”

She spoke to the Headmaster in a raspy voice.

The old woman had been working at the Cradle for far longer than the Headmaster, cleaning the students’ dorms.

With her experience, she knew exactly what the black blood scattered across Doyun’s room floor meant – traces of internal injuries from excessive mana cultivation.

It wasn’t an uncommon occurrence. Occasionally, overeager new apostles made such mistakes.

“From the amount of blood… it wasn’t a one-time mistake. He must have endured the internal injuries while continuing to push his body…”

The Headmaster nodded. This would normally fall under the dorm supervisor instructor’s purview, but Han Doyun was a student the Headmaster was paying special attention to. Thus, the news had reached him.

‘So this was why he was confined to his room for a week.’

The inherent limitation of being an Earthling – mana deficiency. He had struggled to overcome it.

‘But still… enduring internal injuries while cultivating mana?’

He clicked his tongue. Was that even possible? It required an unfathomable mental fortitude, practically ascetic.

Moreover, he had only recently arrived as a new apostle two weeks ago.

‘Quite the stubborn one.’

An excessively reckless act. But as an instructor, he couldn’t help but smile with satisfaction at the passion displayed.

Stubbornness. Mental fortitude. Grit. Whatever word was used to describe it, it was one of the most crucial conditions for growing stronger.

Innate genius in fist styles. And an excess of mental fortitude. The more he dug into this student, the greater the treasure he found.

And the more his worth was revealed, the greater the regret grew.

‘If not for his mana deficiency… he could have left a major mark in history.’

All sorts of guilds would have offered him dazzling conditions to recruit him, supporting him through major guilds to maximize his potential. His name would have spread across the continent.

He was a regrettably wasted talent.

He paused as he was about to summon a doctor with a call stone. With internal injuries severe enough to cough up a bowl of dead blood, there was no way he hadn’t sought medical treatment yet.

Another thought crossed his mind instead.

‘It would be better to enhance his regenerative ability.’

Mana deficiency and its aftereffects couldn’t be resolved through a day or two of cultivation. It might even be an impossible task.

Then, given his personality, he would likely continue to push himself like this every time he cultivated mana, at least until resolving his mana deficiency.

A suitable healing elixir came to mind, focused on enhancing regenerative abilities – not particularly rare but quite cost-effective and usable.

Of course, he couldn’t just give it away for free. While providing medical treatment was only natural, supplying elixirs was another matter that would violate fairness.

‘Then…’

He picked up another call stone. Soon, the old cleaning woman left, and the Deputy Headmaster entered – the person overseeing the Cradle’s specific operations after the Headmaster.

“You called?”

“Regarding the upcoming tournament exam, let’s add an item to the prize pool. I’ll sponsor it personally.”

“Pardon? So suddenly?”

The Headmaster simply smiled wryly. Watching a talented individual’s growth was always rewarding.

Amidst the daily external pressures on the Cradle due to the boss monster killer incident, this was truly a refreshing delight amidst the hectic days.

+++

Woong-

Swish!

Doyun’s javelin pierced through the air and struck the dead center of the target.

The javelin instructor shook his head in seeming exasperation as he watched Doyun’s throwing form.

‘What an astounding growth rate…’

Despite personally guiding Doyun over the past week, the instructor could scarcely believe his growth.

This student, praised as a genius in fist styles, surprisingly possessed an innate talent for javelin throwing as well.

Although he had only taught Doyun javelin throwing, it was enough to tell – he was a javelin genius.

Doyun picked up another javelin stuck in the ground and threw it at the target again. Another bullseye.

And then…

Ding!

[Skill ‘Javelin Throwing’ has been created.]

A translucent system notification appeared before his eyes.

“Phew…”

Doyun caught his breath and operated the system window.

‘It’s finally here.’

Compared to the two skills he had acquired earlier, the pace was excruciatingly slow. Naturally, since this was a new field he was learning, unlike techniques he already knew.

He now understood the lesson content about each skill being invaluable.

‘This is probably still an astoundingly fast pace compared to others…’

In fact, creating a skill through just a week of practice was an absurdly rapid speed in itself.

This was due to Doyun’s innate trait [Acquired Genius].

[Acquired Genius]
(You were born dim-witted but changed even your own nature through tens of deaths and hundreds of years of effort. You do not struggle to learn new things and can quickly hone existing ones. This is not innate enlightenment, but seasoned experience from a vast amount of experience. Therefore, your growth is based on what you have seen and learned.
A correction is applied to your growth rate. This is proportional to the years you have lived.
A correction is applied to the form of your growth. This is based on your experiences.)

Even with the corrections from this trait, creating a single skill was this arduous – how much more so for others?

It made him keenly feel the importance of skills.

‘Now that I have a skill… let’s see the effects.’

Doyun felt his heart pounding. The skill correction effect for his mana cultivation method had been truly remarkable. What would it be like this time?

Doyun rotated his wrists, raising his senses. The ideal javelin throwing form naturally manifested in his mind – his proficiency had drastically increased due to the skill correction.

“I’ve gained the Javelin Throwing skill.”

Doyun casually mentioned it to the instructor before grabbing another javelin set up beside him.

“Wh, what did you say?!”

For a moment, the instructor thought he had misheard. Not just the content of Doyun’s words, but his nonchalant attitude in saying them.

“I’ll throw now.”

“Wait! Did you really gain the skill already?!”

“Yes.”

Without looking back at the instructor, Doyun assumed his stance.

The instructor’s ramblings gradually faded away. In the tranquil world, someone seemed to be reciting in a crisp voice inside his mind.

‘Sir Hero.’

It was the voice of Zik, a member of the hero Enoch Ruszvolnik’s guild and the greatest javelin thrower of his time.

‘Draw your right hand holding the javelin far back, and extend your left arm sharply forward as a sight.’

Hold the javelin lightly, focusing solely on precision. Bring the shaft beside your ear, aligning the javelin tip precisely with your line of sight – complete single-point aiming.

‘Aim with the javelin. Load with your body. What is shot is not a mere long stick, but the weight of your entire body and being.’

Twist your waist and expand your thighs. In this moment, his entire body became a tautly drawn archery bow.

‘But what is released is not an arrow, but a heavy cannonball.’

The limit of his body’s tension traveled up his shoulders and arms, flowing into his forearms and wrists. And the moment that energy reached his palms…

‘Step forward.’

His body weight, his stance’s tension, his muscular strength, the accelerating step forward.

‘Imbue all that energy into the ‘line’.’

That is javelin throwing.

‘Like this?’

TWANG!

With a sound akin to a gunshot, the javelin traced a perfectly straight line forward.

By the time the instructor and students registered the vicious sonic boom from the air being torn apart, the javelin had already reached the target’s edge.

The moment the line of the javelin collided with the surface of the target…

KWANG!

The javelin shattered the target and continued tracing its line.

After traveling a considerable distance, the javelin finally lost momentum, piercing a hole through the outer wall before drooping its head toward the ground.

Doyun told Zik with an awkward expression:

‘Um… was that okay?’

Zik slowly moved his hand in a heavy applause.

‘Excellent, Sir Hero.’

With that applause, he dissipated like a mirage from Doyun’s mind, leaving a lingering echo and a sense of longing and regret in Doyun’s heart.

Zik had perished on the final journey to defeat the Demon Lord. He could never see him again.

Doyun looked down at his own palm. It felt as if his palm had completely detached and flown away along with the javelin – his palm was tingling.

Doyun recalled the description of his trait [Acquired Genius].

‘A correction is applied to the form of your growth. This is based on your experiences. So that’s what it meant.’

The javelin throw Doyun had just unleashed was remarkably similar to that of Zik, one of his comrades from his previous life. While the level of completion couldn’t even be compared, the form itself was akin.

Zik had never taught Enoch javelin throwing. The voice that had rung in his mind wasn’t a mere recollection.

It was a projection based on Doyun’s experience of witnessing Zik’s javelin throws countless times.

The one who taught him javelin throwing was the javelin instructor. And yet, Doyun’s throw was Zik’s.

A correction was applied to the form of Doyun’s growth based on his experiences. In other words, as Doyun’s techniques grew, they would resemble the techniques of the people in his memories.

The essence of the countless geniuses he had watched over hundreds of years was being passed down to Doyun.

‘…Not bad.’

He unconsciously clenched and released his fist. Savoring the lingering sensation of Zik’s technique in his palm. The nostalgia for a comrade he could no longer see. An unconscious motion to appreciate it.

The instructor and surrounding students had frozen, gaping at Doyun with awe-struck expressions. Doyun remained completely oblivious, his gaze fixed solely on his palm.