Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The unmarked common graves in the South District
A delicate and pretty young girl in a white dress continuously dug her fingers into the earth. However, the soil on the ground was very solid. Although her hands were already covered in scabs from the digging, she did not have the slightest intention of stopping.
The hole in front of her was already more than ten centimeters deep and half a meter wide. Blood-stained soil could be seen everywhere around the edges of the hole.
This place was deserted except for a few people who came to visit the graves. While minding their own business, they glanced at the girl from afar. People who went mad from the death of their relatives were not a rare sight. Hence, this was not their first time witnessing actions like these.
People came and visited the graves before leaving after that. The sky was filled with dark clouds from one end to the other. The snowfall kept increasing until the ground was covered in a thick layer of white snow. The young girl shivered from the cold and both her hands had turned a slight purple. The digging even caused her wounds to become badly frostbitten. Despite her strong body that was the product of constant training and the fact that she was currently wearing special warming underwear, long periods of going without rest and the lack of food consumption caused her physical strength to deteriorate.
Despite her broken fingernails, the young girl did not regret her actions at all and continued to dig downwards.
Unfortunately, the soil was extremely solid. Moreover, there were some rocks inside that were even harder than the ground. Some of the broken rocks even got embedded into her skin, causing the girl’s forehead to drip with sweat from the pain.
“Tesna! Why did you run here?! Come back with me!” A tall and muscular man spoke in a stern voice while standing beside the young girl.
“This is a test,” Tesna glanced at the man. “Big brother, you should go back. It’s cold here.”
“Can you just give up and stop bothering yourself just because you lack Willpower? Test? Who would test you by making you dig the ground until your hands are covered in blood?! Go! Go back with me!” The man took long strides over and grabbed Tesna. His great strength and Willpower instantly made it somewhat impossible for Tesna to retaliate.
“Let me go!!” She began to resist.
“Your hands will become useless if you keep digging!” The man was so furious that he could not think straight. “You’re just a normal person who can’t practice Willpower! If those people hadn’t teased you, would you really think that there was someone who could change your Appraisal?!”
“This is my decision! Let go!” yelled the girl as she bit the man’s arm.
“Do you want to die?!” The man instantly flung her off in one go. When he saw that his own arm was bleeding from the bite, he immediately became angrier. “If our old man hadn’t asked me to take care of you before he died, do you really think I’d be willing to care about you?!”
“I told you, you don’t have to care about me,” Tesna fell and sat on the snowy ground. Her cheeks were red and tinged with purple but it was unknown whether it was from her rage or the cold.
She and this man were not blood siblings. She had followed her father when he rebuilt his family with the man’s mother which meant that they had no blood relations. When her father was still here, she could still live a pretty good life even though she had no natural endowments. However, now that her father was gone, their family property was completely occupied by her older brother’s mother who had started to treat her coldly.
Although her older brother spoke fiercely, he was actually constantly looking after her. On the surface, he would say that he did not care if she died but he was endlessly concerned about her.
However, her older brother was about to get married and start his own family now. She had also grown older and did not have any reason to let him take care of her anymore.
She had to become independent and walk on her own path.
“You can go home. I’ll take care of my own matters,” said Tesna loudly.
Her older brother nagged her for some time here but could not change her mind. He finally gave up and went home angrily. Nonetheless, he could not help but leave a thick pair of leather gloves and a shovel before he left.
Unfortunately, Tesna turned a blind eye to this and continued using her bare hands to dig the soil.
It was not her first time doing something like this. Someone had lied to her before but she continued to trust them. Later on, an incident had almost occurred but she pressed on with a hint of wishful thinking that their promise would definitely become reality one day if she kept on trying. If she had given up and in the unlikely possibility that her wish actually became true, all of her past determination would be completely wasted, no?
Far away, Garen hid in mid-air silently and watched Tesna unearth the soil. He saw that she was not wearing the gloves or even using the shovel at all. Her fingers were about to be wrecked from the digging. Garen himself was somewhat unconsciously moved by this as well.
After all, he had merely said some words before the other party carried out his orders completely. Disciples and subordinates like her could not simply be encountered randomly.
“I’ll observe her for a little longer before I continue…”
Among the two people, one of them dug while the other watched as time passed slowly.
Tesna’s older brother came over to look a few more times. His anxiousness grew stronger every time.
Other than him, no one else from their household came over to show concern. Tesna was initially already sidelined from her entire household. Now, there were people who asked about the reason for her stupid actions as well. Apparently, her reasoning for this was to become an apprentice? She had coincidentally encountered a supposed battle skill powerhouse who simply told her to do this. However, no one had expected that this girl would actually believe his words.
The young ladies in her household sneered and said that she was stupid. She actually believed that a person whom she randomly met was a powerhouse? Even if he was a powerhouse, how powerful could he actually be if he was merely one who practiced battle skills? Could he be stronger than a Mech Pilot? Of course not.
In order to go this far to learn battle skills, the word ‘stupid’ was not an adjective that could describe her accurately.
However, this was not the only stupid thing that Tesna had done and everyone had gotten used to it. Meanwhile, the core of their clan named Dosrin was a member of their household whose Willpower had reached level three. Moreover, he was about to get married and everyone was busy planning this elegant and expensive wedding. Therefore, a normal person like Tesna without any natural endowments had been sidelined in her household long ago. Her father was incapable while her mother did not acknowledge her at all. If it was not for her older brother who took care of her, her share of the monthly allowance would have been taken away long ago.
On the second day, Garen walked over slowly from afar and stood beside Tesna to observe her. He watched her dig until she was dripping with fresh blood. Tesna glanced at him before digging even more desperately.
Among the two people, one of them looked on while the other dug. Neither of them opened their mouths to speak.
At noon, the black clouds lessened slightly, allowing faint sunlight to cascade down from the middle of the cloud layers.
A group of young girls who were gorgeously dressed walked over from afar and encircled their surroundings with some cash. They stood far away and looked at Garen and Tesna who was standing and digging respectively.
They clearly came to amuse themselves at this strange sight.
“Is that the combat master who told her to dig the ground? He doesn’t look too bad. It’s a shame that he’s crazy though.”
“When crazy meets insanity. Isn’t that a good thing? Two people who want to pass on the extinct battle skills. What a coincidence that it’s the most cliched scene right out of a novel. I think Tesna has definitely read too many novels.”
“Her fingers are going to be wrecked soon. Nonetheless, Tesna’s perseverance is not bad,” there were some people who were sure of their opinions of her.
“Perseverance? Can an insane person persevere?! I’m suspicious that this girl might not have pain receptors. I feel pain when I look at her so how could she endure it for so long? Previously, she practiced her battle skills desperately as if she was crazed as well. In the end, her body was almost wrecked by the training. If her older brother hadn’t discovered this, she would have died in an unknown place long ago.”
The group chatted and laughed. After observing for some time and sizing Garen up, they could not feel any Willpower from his body at all. Thus, they finally decided that this man was a conman who had tricked her. However, this conman still dared to stand here and watch her. It was highly likely that he was a conman with mental problems.
Crowd mentality was a shared trait among everybody. When they saw that an audience had gathered here, more people joined them quickly to watch the action here.
However, once the novelty had worn off and the weather grew colder, people gradually left when they felt that it was meaningless.
Currently, the bones in Tesna’s fingers were already frozen and frostbitten. She was numb to the pain but continued digging downwards continuously.
“Enough,” Garen finally opened his mouth.
“This pit is enough,” he said lightly.
“Enough?” Tesna was slightly shocked and stopped slowly. She looked at the pit in the ground that was filled with traces of blood and her own two hands that were already completely damaged. Perhaps they would need to be amputated?
This thought stirred in her mind. Would it be worth it? For the sake of battle skills.
However, her question was answered with unprecedented confidence. It was worth it!
This was the only path that allowed her to strengthen herself. It was her only hope as well. Those who had Appraisals and natural endowments would never understand her suffering.
“Now, jump inside and bury yourself there.”
Garen’s following words made her widen her eyes suddenly.
“Of course, you’ve passed the first test. This is the second one. Remember to leave your head out.”
Tesna glanced at Garen before looking at the pit in the ground. She had never expected that the second test would require her to bury herself alive.
Garen’s face was completely expressionless. He merely looked at her flatly.
“Unwilling? Then consider it as if I hadn’t said anything.”
“No,” Tesna jumped into the pit at once and started using her hands to bury herself in the surrounding soil endlessly.
Moments later, coupled with the heavy snowfall that cascaded downwards continuously, she quickly buried herself until her only her two arms were exposed outside. Once she extended her arms into the pit, she stopped moving completely and allowed the heavy snow to gradually bury her.
Soon, the members of her household realized that there were new changes once more. They ran over to observe the couple again.
When they realized that it was a new trick, these people started becoming lively instantly. They pointed from afar as if they were looking at a performing monkey in a circus. They chatted and laughed while eating some snacks that they brought from home.
Tesna was hungry and thirsty while her entire body was purple from the cold. The density of her blood flow had increased while both of her eyes were blinded. Her entire body was exhausted of all strength. She could only instinctively bite the snow beside her mouth and consume it. However, since the temperature of the oral cavity was too low, it took a long time for the snow to melt.
She felt like she might die soon.
However, Garen was still looking at her indifferently on the side while remaining above.
“What if he’s really just tricking me?” This overpowering thought escaped from Tesna’s mind.
“You can choose to give up anytime,” echoed Garen’s voice faintly.
Tesna opened and closed her mouth but could not make a single sound. She was silent. She would fall terribly sick even if she gave up and returned now. Whether or not she would survive was another unknown variable.
It had reached this stage…
“Will she die?” The laughter of the other young ladies who were watching from afar echoed endlessly. During this period which was also a time of war, the deaths of one or two people would not attract any attention at all.
The war made it difficult for Blackboard Region to maintain its basic order of society. Everyone could only rely on their own strength now.
