WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS

Translator: Ryuu

Editor: Abstract

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

A KNIGHT WHO ETERNALLY REGRESSES

Chapter 85: The Gate of the Sixth Sense

"Jaxon."

As soon as Enkrid woke up, he sought out Jaxon.

"What’s going on?"

"The Gate of the Sixth Sense... it lets you instinctively sense danger, right?"

"That’s the beginning."

It was the reason Jaxon had been randomly projecting his killing intent.

Survival instinct. It was something every living being possessed. If that was the start,

‘So that’s what it was.’

That tickling sensation that had been nudging at his heart. It felt almost nostalgic, or at least, something close to it.

Of course, experiencing it once wasn’t enough to fully embed it into his body. His lack of talent was to be blamed for that, but he didn’t lament it.

Reiterating that he lacked talent wouldn’t change anything. He simply needed to keep moving. Enkrid got up. The day had restarted, and it was time to move with purpose.

"Let’s go."

Just like before, he took on the same request, grabbed a torch, and headed back to the shoemaker’s shop.

This was his fourth time. This time, he arrived before the shoemaker had even started his first hammer blow.

"Let’s open it together."

"Huh? What?"

Ignoring the shoemaker’s confusion, Enkrid helped him break open the hole in the floor. And once again, he faced the six branching paths.

As soon as he stood before the first and second tunnels, he felt that tickling sensation again. A feeling that he knew was an omen of danger. At that moment, Enkrid found himself smiling.

‘This is it.’

This place, where he had come simply because he couldn’t stand by and watch the shoemaker die. A place which, after a few attempts, should have been sealed away and left alone.

Enkrid had no intention of being bound to this “today.” This was an accident, and it was an accident he could avoid if he had the will.

After all, he could easily force the shoemaker and his daughter out and request a unit to investigate the hole. Of course, that was a last resort.

With a spell trap in place, anyone entering without knowledge would surely die. Even if it wasn’t him, he couldn’t just let that happen.

But he also couldn’t just demand a mage, whose services were worth more than gold, be brought in. No mage would come just because a squad leader requested it.

And even if he claimed there was a spell trap, who would believe him? Most would respond with disbelief.

‘Though my squad members or the company commander might actually believe me.’

The conclusion, however, was that this place was perfect for training the Gate of the Sixth Sense.

Realizing that, a thrilling excitement surged through him. In just four attempts, he had managed to crack open the Gate of the Sixth Sense. Now, all that was left was to fully open it.

So he stepped into the third tunnel. At that moment, Enkrid experienced a new kind of pain. An invisible blade seemed to slice vertically through his body from above.

The excruciating pain, the sound of rushing wind, the chilling sensation left in his body, and the feeling of all his strength draining out as blood spilled onto the floor.

Each and every one of these sensations was not something he wanted to experience twice. It was agonizing. However, the new realization he had gained made him forget the pain.

So, despite the repeated days, it wasn’t all suffering. He was simply running and struggling for tomorrow.

As he greeted the fifth morning, Enkrid set a goal to avoid becoming complacent. ‘Open the Gate of the Sixth Sense and make it through this cave.’

Anyone who knew would say it was madness. But to Enkrid, this was just another moment of training.

Moving forward and growing. It was different from struggling for tomorrow.

"So, there’s a hole under our shop, and you’re laughing about it?"

The shoemaker asked, seeing Enkrid’s grin.

"I have a hobby of exploring the unknown."

He spouted nonsense as he moved to go down, but the shoemaker grabbed his arm.

"I heard something moving down there, so be careful…."

"Yes, I will."

There were many things he wanted to test. Once inside, he faced the tunnels. The sense of foreboding didn’t immediately strike him with a sharp warning.

‘It’s as if the gate is only partially open.’

He planned to open it fully. He had abandoned the idea of throwing his body into the traps. After trying it, he realized it wouldn’t work. This was his fifth repetition.

Even if he couldn’t end it here, he was still determined to struggle. Just because he could repeat the day didn’t mean he would waste the moment. He had no intention of doing that.

So, what needed to be done?

Enkrid spent the entire day pacing back and forth in front of the tunnels, walking slowly. From the first to the second, and from the second to the sixth. He repeated the process of returning from the sixth to the first.

Until five torches had burned out. Until it was almost time for today to end.

"What on earth are you doing?"

At first, the shoemaker was baffled.

"At least have some lunch."

He even brought him a meal.

"But why, like a duck crossing the river, do you keep going back and forth?"

Eventually, his daughter came to ask questions.

"What’s going on? He came for a request, so why is that soldier acting like that?"

"I have no idea. He’s been doing this all day."

Even the herbalist from the shop next door came by to watch. To the outside observer, it looked meaningless. Enkrid spent the entire day in a state of complete focus, trying to identify anything out of place.

How did the sense of foreboding trigger the Sixth Sense?

According to Jaxon’s explanation, it was a process that activated in the realm of instinct, involving seeing, hearing, smelling, and feeling.

The Sixth Sense would detect dangers before the conscious mind could recognize them. The beginning of this process was to search for the abnormal. Despite spending the whole day looking, nothing happened.

Then, a sudden thought struck him.

‘What happens if I get through the day without dying?’

It was a new question. Despite spending the entire day pacing in front of the tunnels, he had found nothing.

‘The height is about half a head taller than me.’

It was a rather deep tunnel. He hadn’t been able to explore it, so he didn’t know how far it extended.

Dust had fallen occasionally, but the walls and ceiling were sturdy. There were no support pillars, but it didn’t seem like it would collapse easily.

What else was there? The air was damp, but there was a breeze. The darkness made it hard to see what lay beyond, even by torchlight.

‘What else?’

What about the smell? There was a faintly metallic odor, but it wasn’t overwhelming.

Was there really an undead creature down there? A priest might be able to sense it just by the air around them. But Enkrid, who had spent his life focused solely on the sword, had no such abilities.

He searched again and again. He observed endlessly, waiting for that sense of discomfort to arise, until it was deep into the night.

"Aren’t you going home?"

The shoemaker called out from behind him. Turning around, Enkrid saw the shoemaker’s face peering down from the sloped entrance.

He climbed back up and answered.

"I’m not sure what’s down there, but it doesn’t seem immediately dangerous. Let’s block the entrance and wait until tomorrow. I’ll bring some reinforcements."

"You could’ve called for reinforcements instead of wandering around."

Normally, that would have been the right thing to do. But calling for reinforcements and having someone set off the trap would only end in death.

They’d all end up dead.

"I was checking something."

Feigning expertise, as if he were skilled in this kind of work, Enkrid managed to convince the shoemaker, who nodded doubtfully.

After sealing the hole again, Enkrid headed back to the barracks. He glanced back at the shoemaker’s shop, seeing the sealed floor. The shoemaker, who seemed to be a curious man, hadn’t gone down again.

‘If he had, the explosion would have gone off.’

Another question arose. What would happen if the night passed like this? It wasn’t just a secondary issue. One day, this cycle of repeated days would have to end.

‘I should’ve tested this earlier.’

However, up till now, the circumstances hadn’t been right for testing. He had been repeating days in battlefields where one wrong move meant death. He had spent days dodging an assassin’s dagger.

Having gone through days like that, this day might have seemed underwhelming, but Enkrid was unfazed. He had always trained and repeated the same routines.

It wasn’t any different just because it was “today.”

"Weren’t you going to hunt some beasts? Did you end up killing some boots instead? How’d that go?"

When he returned to the barracks, Rem asked him. It seemed Rem already knew what kind of request he had taken. Enkrid brushed the dust off his pants and replied.

"Killed about three. It was a productive day."

"…I’m not even going to bother."

Rem didn’t start a fight he knew he would lose. When Enkrid set his mind to it, he was exceptionally skilled at using his tongue.

After being harassed by Jaxon’s killing intent before bed, Enkrid finally lay down. He wondered if someone might kill him to repeat today, but nothing happened, and he slept peacefully.

When Enkrid woke up the next day and saw how things were unfolding, he muttered to himself.

‘It’s repeating.’

It was another repetition of today. It seemed going to sleep or dying made no difference.

And so, today began again.

Enkrid paced in front of the tunnels once more. Even though today’s repetition didn’t involve the pain of death, he remained consistent.

He still did his best, and still struggled. Being trapped in this cycle was the worst-case scenario for Enkrid. So what would it take to break free from this?

He didn’t need the boatman to tell him.

‘I have to get past this.’

When the torch burned out, the darkness seemed even more oppressive.

Whoosh.

He struck the flint again, lighting a new torch. Enkrid looked at the six branching paths.

‘In situations like this, one of the six must be the real one, right?’

The easy way would be to throw himself into each of them, one by one. Instead, Enkrid chose to hone the Gate of the Sixth Sense. And it was somewhat effective.

‘A sense of foreboding.’

Something that triggered his survival instinct. On his sixth day, he felt it faintly. In the end, Enkrid spent another day much like the previous one.

"What were you doing all day?"

When the shoemaker expressed his bafflement, Enkrid used the excuse he had thought of during the previous day.

"I’m checking what’s down there. It looks like there are traps. It seems like the Thieves’ Guild might have secretly built a hidden passage, so don’t go inside."

Although the Thieves’ Guild wasn’t the only guild in the city, Enkrid mentioned them, invoking their name. It was a plausible excuse. One he had thought through while pacing in front of the tunnels.

The shoemaker nodded.

"Understood."

Back at the barracks, Enkrid once again faced Jaxon’s killing intent. He had to endure it daily. Even after sweating through the ordeal, Enkrid wasn’t ready to sleep.

What would happen if he stayed up all night instead of going to sleep and repeating today?

He was curious. So he resolved to stay awake, determined to see the dawn of the next day.

"Nyaa."

Esther came over and tapped his back with her paw. It seemed like she was protesting, asking why he wasn’t going to sleep.

"Go to bed first."

Enkrid stroked Esther’s head as he spoke. He then waited for the dawn to come. Enkrid blinked briefly, and then he saw the Black River.

"Pointless."

The boatman was nowhere to be seen, but his words echoed. When Enkrid opened his eyes again.

"What are you doing?"

His head felt heavy, his body still fatigued as if he had stayed up all night, but today had repeated once more.

‘What if I didn’t even blink?’

Would the day continue then? But how could someone not blink? That was something not even a knight could do. The repetition of today was inevitable.

‘So it’s saying to live for today.’

That was fine. After all, he already knew how to move forward into tomorrow. Enkrid headed back to the shoemaker’s shop. He endured today in a more fatigued state than before. It wasn’t that difficult.

He had fought and fled for days on end in the past. So he repeated today again and again. Without the pain of death, could this be called peaceful?

Would he become complacent and settle into today’s routine? No, Enkrid didn’t do that. He didn’t change.

And so today, today, today, today, and today.

After seventy-eight repetitions of the same day. When Enkrid returned to the barracks, he dodged Jaxon’s killing intent. Two steps to the side. It was a feat possible only by finely sensing the opponent’s intent.

It might have been a coincidence, so Jaxon unleashed his killing intent again. He targeted a specific spot, a focused area, where he would kill if the opponent didn’t move.

And the killing intent that Jaxon released.

Enkrid twisted his body and avoided it. This was something impossible without fully opening the Gate of the Sixth Sense. Not just slightly opening it, but flinging it wide open.

"…What is this?"

‘The efficiency of survival instinct is incredible.’

The answer he kept to himself.

"It just started working all of a sudden."

The words he spoke aloud were different. But of course, what he thought to himself was the truth.

A trap that led to death. There was no better training tool. Enkrid had chewed through that tool, savoring every bit of it. That had flung open the Gate of the Sixth Sense.

It was the reason why he could now make Jaxon’s eyes widen in surprise.

"Suddenly?"

Could something like this just happen? No. But it was happening right before his eyes. Jaxon was deeply shaken, though he didn’t show it.

He just nodded.

What else could he do? It had happened. He had been thinking about how to stimulate Enkrid, who seemed to be making no progress. He had considered all sorts of methods. Now, all of them were useless.

"Thanks to you."

Enkrid said, and Jaxon couldn’t help but feel pleased. Of course, he then muttered to himself as usual.

‘What does it even matter?’

Even as he thought that, Jaxon felt satisfied. No matter the process, Enkrid had opened the gate just as he had hoped.

Jaxon’s lips briefly curled into a smile before returning to normal. That was how much it pleased him.

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