The Winter Wanderer

What’s the Point of a Sword?

Two days had passed since Matskim arrived. By this point, Matt no longer saw him as a stranger. Surprisingly enough, the man had offered to “guide him” in the use of the Will. In reality, it consisted of rigorous training through direct combat to teach him how to control his superhuman abilities.

Perhaps it wasn’t that strange, considering Matskim was a free spirit. After all, he had gone out into the frozen wilderness just to look for him. He said he would stay with him for three months to teach him everything he needed to know, since Matt was a complete novice. If he left him alone, he would most likely die from a fever or from eating something spoiled.

Although that was just an excuse. The real reason was that Matt reminded him of his late son…

Matt was stretching about two hundred meters from the cave entrance while Matskim watched him, drinking from his flask since early in the morning. It was only 10:30 a.m. Matt had been greatly surprised when he checked the old man’s backpack. That bottle, which held at least three liters, contained no water at all. It was simply a “refill” for his flask. His luggage contained nothing but alcohol reserves. The old drunk didn’t even carry clean drinking water.

Matt had been speechless when he discovered it.

“We can easily get water by melting snow,” the old man had said without batting an eye, although Matt wasn’t entirely convinced.

Matt began a rather demanding training routine. He woke up at 7:00 a.m., ate the meat of whatever animal he hunted while testing his powers, and went out to stretch. For a full hour, he performed military exercises, and then, as soon as the “sun came out”—which appeared at 9:00 a.m. and disappeared at 3:00 p.m. during that time of year—he began a three-hour run until noon. He returned for “lunch,” and at 2:00 p.m., he went out again to try to hunt.

Although hunting every day wasn’t strictly necessary, Matt didn’t skip a single day. With every successful hunt, he gained experience. Around 6:00 p.m., he returned and began hand-to-hand combat training with Matskim as his instructor. As a former lieutenant, the old man had mastered hand-to-hand combat, and after awakening, he had also learned how to use a sword. Once the bare-knuckle session was over, Matskim would lend him his short sword to teach him fencing…

Two weeks later, in front of the campfire burning softly in the dimness of the cave, Matt broke the silence.

“Old man, I understand what the exercises, hand-to-hand combat, tracking, and everything else you’ve taught me are for, but… I don’t understand the sword training. I get that it looks cool and all, but… wouldn’t my enemy just shoot me with a gun? If so, what’s the point of a sword? It’s not like I’m going to cut bullets.”

Matskim let out a long sigh, tilting his head back.

“Now I understand why you said you knew nothing about the Awakened.”

Matt looked at him curiously.

“What does that have to do with this?”

Matskim shook his head disapprovingly.

“Kid, following the lessons is fine, but you also have to use your head. Do you really think I’m going to be your personal adviser and follow you around to kill the Demon King or something? That’s ridiculous.” He paused and shook his head again. “To answer your question, I have to tell you about the Awakened. Do you really want to hear about that again? Don’t they repeat it like a rosary on the radio?”

Matt doubted his ears. He didn’t know what he had done wrong, but for some reason, Matskim seemed a little annoyed. Pretending not to notice, he replied:

“All I know is that God gave us the ability to use the Will so we could gain powers and fight against the Demon King.”

Matskim, seeming even more irritated, replied:

“You don’t have to question the ‘why’ behind everything, either. If God gave us power to fight and defend ourselves, why didn’t He just kill the Demon King Himself? Why go through all this and waste everyone’s time?”

Matt was left speechless.

(What does a sword have to do with God? I really don’t know what’s wrong with the old man…) he thought.

Without paying much attention to the boy’s confusion, Matskim continued.

“All of this makes no sense. What could we possibly know about the thoughts of a God? All we need is to be strong and rely on ourselves.”

Seeing an opportunity to quickly change the subject, Matt asked:

“So… are you finally going to give me the information that isn’t just some advertising rosary?”

Pleased by the skillful change of subject, Matskim replied:

“Listen, kid, and remember this well, because I’m only going to say it once.”

Matt focused completely and quickly nodded. Matskim took this as a sign to continue.

“In theory, there are eight levels of power in the world. You can call them ‘ranks’: Latent, Awakened, Master, Illuminated, Expert… So far, that is the highest level anyone has reached. However, there are three more theoretical levels: Transcendent, Supreme, and Sacred.”

Matt immediately interrupted him.

“Who came up with those names? Do they think this is some kind of game or generic novel?… Ow! Ow, ow, ow!”

Matskim quickly smacked him on the head with his knuckles and continued speaking.

“Shut up, brat, and don’t interrupt! Anyway, as I was saying, each rank increases power exponentially. For example, a Latent is a normal human with slightly better senses, strength, and endurance than everyone else. It is said that only 10% of humanity is Latent. Then there are the Awakened: people who, thanks to their Will, are stronger and better in every way than ordinary people. An Awakened can easily win a hand-to-hand fight against more than ten Latents, and if they use weapons, they would be the elite of a normal army. They would be Captains simply because they have awakened. It is said that only 1% of Latents manage to ‘awaken.’”

Matt cautiously raised his hand.

“Professor! One question: why are Latents Level 1 if they’re normal humans?”

Matskim looked at him, impressed by the question, but still gave him another light smack on the head for interrupting.

“That’s because Latents are like Olympic athletes. They’re slightly superior to normal people, but they are ‘eligible’ to awaken, so they’re already a force to be reckoned with. Besides, a Latent can easily beat five ordinary people in a fight. They’re perfect for becoming regular soldiers.”

Matt nodded, covering his head protectively so he wouldn’t receive another smack. Matskim noticed, let out a dry cough, and continued.

“A Master is already at the limit of what a human can achieve. They can withstand the direct impact of a bus traveling at 80 km/h and be back to normal in less than an hour. They can easily dominate five Awakened and earn the rank of Colonel in any army. They’re also three times better at everything than an Awakened. If they use weapons at both close and long range, they would be true demons on a battlefield,” Matskim concluded, slightly raising his chin, noticeably proud of his rank.

Taking advantage of the pause, Matt asked:

“And what about the Illuminated?”

Matskim glanced at him from the corner of his eye.

“Good question, but that will be for another time. That’s enough for today’s lesson. Now go to sleep. Tomorrow will be your rematch against the bears.”

Matt was annoyed. He hadn’t explained why he needed a sword, and he hadn’t even said goodbye. Without another word, he walked toward his pile of hides, his makeshift bed.

Matskim watched Matt walk away and thought to himself:

(Even though you’ve learned a lot during the fifteen days we’ve been together, you still can’t fight an adult bear on equal terms…)