The Butcher raised his fist as he covered it in calibers.
"I took the damage you suffered. So by all definitions, aside from pain, you had nothing else to deal with. You could regenerate using [Butcher], yet you all fought like pussies, taking your time to avoid damage and only striking when certain of victory."
Lars who got annoyed at being belittled answered in anger. "You say that like it's a bad thing, such tactics are effective in minimizing damage and ensuring the ability to fight the next battle."
"That is true. But only if you have the luxury to ask your opponent to wait for you to be done. Isn't the reason you are all exhausted due to the fact you got surrounded by over three monsters each?"
Geo who stood up feeling vengeful bellowed his response. "AND THAT'S THE PROBLEM YOU SICK FUCK! YOU KEPT CALLING MONSTER AFTER MONSTER WITHOUT PAUSE! WE WOULD HAVE REALLY DIED!"
Hiro then placed his hands on his waist as he exhaled, the act showed how disappointed he was. The butcher then straightened up and explained.
"You have led a good life if you have never fought outnumbered. I wonder how you tell your enemies to not attack while you dance with one of them? The stronger you get the more people will stand against you. If you believe you will never get outnumbered you are a fool."
He then took a wolf skull from his inventory and held it in his hand. "When I was in the Frozen dew forest while sleeping I got attacked by a pack of ten Forest wolves. nine at levels 65 and one at 90. If I fought like you guys I would have died. The biggest difference between us? You guys still believed you have a tomorrow I didn't."
The three men opposite Hiro froze, taking on ten monsters at level 65 and up. They almost died with just three! Knowing that there came more to the story they listened patiently.
"To me, what existed at the moment was only me and them. Nothing else. If I did not manage to kill them all I would die. It was that simple. I gained [Butcher] in that battle, but I used [Integrity of the Faithful] and level-ups to heal. Do you want to know what is the cost of healing for [Integrity of the Faithful]?"
As no one responded the reincarnator continued to speak like doing a monologue. "You heal by multiplying the damage by five times. Once you successfully endure the pain the skill will heal your wounds. Unlike you guys, I craved not survival but victory. I went into that battle willing to endure any hardship so long as I won."
Aurum who understood the implications asked in trepidation. "Then the times you healed us without [Butcher]…" Hiro interrupted him as he answered. "Yes, I endured five times whatever pain you three experienced. Anyway back to my story. I could not wait for the wolves to surround me so I attacked them instead. I aimed for level-ups to get me through the battle."
Lars and Geo who thought their master got a kick from humiliating other people like a sadist grew silent. How could you call a person who endured five times what you did, to be someone who didn't understand pain?
"I didn't fear pain nor death. Any time I fought, I fought with the intent to die. With each kill, the odds tipped in my favor. To reduce their numbers I gave flesh in order to cleave bone. The pain almost turned me insane, but I won. I got stronger. And as I chase strength, I won against anything and everything in that forest.
Hiro then raised the wolf skull in his hand as he spoke.
"Similar to these fuckers, whenever they bite, they never let go. If you fight me, know that I will kill you or die trying. Maybe it was why the level 90 ran away from me. Because he knew I only looked human but was in fact similar to them."
The butcher examined the object in his hand before throwing the wolf skull to Aurum as he continued. "Second problem, you do not look beyond the battle. You faced level 40~45 monsters, do you think it ends there? What do you think will happen in the future? Will you only fight those on your level or lower?
"No, there will always be someone stronger. Meaning, each battle you have is just one in a string of battles from your birth to your death. The next hurdle you get will naturally be higher. And unless you fight knowing that is the case. You will forever be short-sighted.
"You fight not only to survive, but you also fight to learn and dominate your opponent. You do this so it helps you survive the battles in the future. Repeat this process enough times and your combat experience will become unfathomable to most people."
The butcher then stood up as he prepared to leave, "Well, all expectations I had for you three are gone. So get some food and rest easy, from here on to the next city you need not fight. I will take over. I will sell you three when we get there, you will only die if you remain in my service. Maybe some other people will accept you for your skills and cherish you. But at least you no longer need to fight as hard no?"
Hiro then left the tent and began doing combat drills with his swords. The San-Baka who just got lambasted felt ashamed. Piecing together Hiro's reply it sounded like the world telling them, "It seems you do not desire strength as deeply as you believed. Stop lying to yourselves and just enjoy an easy life instead."
When the break ended and the Caravan packed up, the San-Baka went not to the carriages but to the front of the lead carriage with swords in hand. Hiro noticed the change in the disposition of the three. Their eyes burned with a scorching hunger, a desire so powerful and desperate it overthrew common sense.
As Hiro understood what kind of mindset and emotion needed to go into forging such will; He didn't say anything and allowed the caravan to resume his journey. Different from yesterday, the youths no longer fought cautiously. They aimed only to kill their opponents in the fastest way possible.
They got their arms eaten, their legs destroyed and almost died numerous times yet they never retreated. The boys moved to hunt everything in their path. The stronger they got, the better they fought.
By the third day, they could avoid most attacks just by sensing the air. They then learned to analyze and predict monster behavior. Next, they capitalized on weak points further increasing their hunting prowess.
Like monsters, they grew without pause. After each battle, they would celebrate for a minute before analyzing with Hiro what they did wrong. By correcting each mistake they improved leaps and bounds. Unlike humans, monsters didn't fear pain or damage. Monsters defied common sense and moved only to kill. And like weapons forged in real-time, the San-Baka were being tempered.
Less than 5 years from now, they would be known as the "Three Wolves" of Heavenly Sword. Feared and Infamous beyond comprehension. Entire kingdoms would surrender upon sight of them. And no one would know that on this day, the Seventh day of the Month of Justice in the year of the saviors 5185 such monsters came into existence.
