Mick

Biodata

Power Progression

Background

Mick was born in a village on a major route far from Scorched Stone City. His mother worked at the village inn and gave him only minimal care, so he began laboring in the village when he grew older. After he stumbled upon the Breathing Technique and completed its first training cycle, Jero recognized his potential while clearing dangerous beasts near the village. With his mother's agreement, Jero brought Mick into the world of adventuring. 61

He joined Jero's Mountain Beast Adventurer Team and initially measured success through money, combat strength, and the dream of becoming a legendary adventurer. During the team's week-long otter hunt, Mick acted as the pursuer who drove their largest catch into Jero's net. 18 Jero nevertheless pushed him toward literacy and formal study rather than allowing him to focus solely on fighting, ultimately arranging the opportunity for him to study under Scholar Heide. 18

Mick entered Heide's school as an uneasy commoner student with self-taught combat habits and poor academic foundations. He trained later than his classmates, formed a close bond with Ray through repeated sparring, and gradually became more receptive to learning and guidance. 19 27 39

After his schooling, Mick continued adventuring in other cities and eventually traveled beyond Regas. His whereabouts became uncertain to his old friends, and his journeys kept him largely uninformed about the war and political changes in his homeland until his five-year reunion. 258 284 333 He hoped that success would allow him to buy his mother a house in Scorched Stone City so she could retire comfortably. 109

In later years, his travels again took him far from home, and he lost contact with his former classmates. He attributed the lack of correspondence to the distance and expense of sending letters, while acknowledging that years of wandering had made the city of his youth feel increasingly distant. By the time Sylutia encountered him in the City of Star-Gazing, roughly seventeen years had passed since their first meeting. 689 692

Appearance

Mick is a lean, rugged young man whose early appearance reflects his upbringing as a mountain-born adventurer. By the time of his later training with Solin, he carries himself with a steadier and more composed bearing. 19 111

• Messy hair and long, narrow eyes with a naturally fierce look. 19
• Old combat scars across his exposed wrists. 19
• Initially wore a coarse hemp shirt and carried a leather-strapped scabbard. 19
• Later favors practical leather armor and carries a broad steel sword or greatsword. 111 333
• By his thirties, he is a tall, burly, visibly weathered man with one crippled arm. Sylutia recognizes his bone structure and bearing despite the changes brought by years of adventuring. 689 690 692
• Wields his sword with his remaining good arm, retaining practiced and precise movements despite his disability. 689

Personality

Mick began as openly ambitious and proud of his natural talent, seeking wealth and fame through adventuring. He disliked the prospect of ordinary guard or escort work and wanted to become someone extraordinary. 9 18 His early dependence on Jero for money and direction also left him sensitive to the cost of being poor and the risks of failing to earn enough. 26 38

Training and education make him more reflective. He becomes conscious of his limited academic foundation, learns to value steady improvement, and grows more composed after reaching the First Order. 39 61 Jero's breakdown in Mist Haze Forest forces Mick to confront the fear and loss behind adventuring; afterward, he no longer views the profession as an uncomplicated path to glory. 95 97 109

Unlike Solin, Mick does not seek battle for its own sake. He finds meaning in the results of combat: protecting himself, helping others, and earning a living through work that matters. This realization leads him toward the ideal of becoming a knight. 111

His later travels demonstrate loyalty to old promises and a pragmatic approach to companionship. He travels thousands of miles to attend his friends' reunion despite his goblin partner's objections, and he values the goblin's survival instincts while remaining skeptical of his extravagant claims. 332

As a veteran adventurer, Mick is calm and analytical under pressure. He studies opponents rather than relying on aggression, protects less-prepared companions, and acts decisively when a corrupted enemy can no longer be saved. 659 690 His willingness to rescue Oren and Luke from an enemy stronger than himself reflects both loyalty and exceptional tenacity. 691

Despite his injuries and the expectation that he may eventually die in battle, Mick considers his life fulfilling. He tells Anali that he has experienced the adventures he dreamed of and formed meaningful bonds along the way; the hardships behind his skill do not erase his satisfaction with that life. 690

Abilities & Skills

Breathing Technique and Blood Law

Mick's Good Grade Vital Blood talent makes him particularly suited to perceiving and practicing abilities connected to the Blood Law. 38

• Reached Breathing Technique Lv.3 upon advancing to the First Order. 53
• His [Hot-Blooded Youth] Fate Card provides Strong Body Lv.2, increasing his physical strength and power. 53
• His third-stage Breathing Technique gives him greater endurance than opponents with less-developed breathing control. 54
• At First Order, his physical strength is sufficient to shatter a cow's skull with a full-force punch. 60
• His technique can be suppressed by external Aspect Power effects, as demonstrated during his loss to Baron. 30
• At Fourth Order, his Blood Law provides substantial recovery and resilience. When the Seven-Headed Serpent's Death Wail stops his heart, he forces his Breathing Technique into motion and uses Blood Law to restart it. 691
• Maintains rapid blood circulation through his Breathing Technique to resist the bodily stiffness and numbness accompanying the serpent's Nightmare assault. 691
• Uses controlled breathing to regulate his body and improve absorption of a recovery potion after regaining consciousness. 692

Swordsmanship

Mick is an agile, tactical swordsman who uses footwork and positioning to offset stronger opponents. He initially fights with a two-handed grip, but later adapts to wielding his sword with one good arm. 28 689

• Advanced from Basic Swordsmanship Lv.3 to Lv.4 through intensive training and Sylutia's tutoring. 27 53
• Learned Military Swordsmanship Lv.3 by the time of his First Order advancement. 53
• Defeated Ray in the first month assessment by exploiting the slower hammer user's weak left-side angle and circling behind him. 28
• Defeated Solin after enduring repeated Strength Burst attacks, using superior stamina and cleaner swordsmanship to disarm and kick him from the platform. 54
• Continued to spar evenly with Solin after their academy period, turning their rivalry into a source of mutual improvement. 88 111
• Retains precise, experienced sword handling despite his crippled arm and uses a Black Steel greatsword to dispatch Mutated Creatures in the City of Star-Gazing. 689 690

Fieldcraft

Mick developed practical wilderness skills through adventuring and hunting.

• Wilderness Survival Lv.1 was recorded while he was still a student; it later reached Lv.2. 38 53
• Served as a pursuer and driver during the Mountain Beast Team's giant-otter hunt. 18
• Improved in reconnaissance, analysis, planning, and combat during holiday missions with Jero's team. 89
• His direct attempt to ambush a Blue-Skinned Ogre failed because he lacked formal assassination training, leaving him vulnerable in a frontal confrontation. 96
• Years of dangerous adventuring give him practiced responses to monster attacks, allowing him to remain composed and protect Anali when multiple Third Order creatures overwhelm her preparations. 690
• Uses terrain and ruined buildings to evade the Seven-Headed Serpent while carrying endangered companions. 691
• His wilderness experience includes competent cooking; he prepares the group's meal while they camp in the abandoned City of Star-Gazing. 693

Unarmed Combat and Mental Endurance

• Defeats Mutton, a Third Order boxer with thirty-six consecutive victories, through controlled defense, observation, and counterattacks despite having only one usable arm. 659
• After Mutton mutates under Distortion, Mick knocks him back with kicks and finishes him with a full-force punch that destroys his heart. 659
• His exceptionally tenacious will allows him to retain some control under the Sixth Order Seven-Headed Serpent's Nightmare gaze after Oren and Luke are overwhelmed. This resistance is limited: continued pursuit, injury, and mental attacks eventually bring him to collapse. 691

Academic Knowledge and Movement Techniques

• Reached Secret History Knowledge Lv.3 by his First Order advancement, overcoming his initially poor academic foundation. 27 53
• Learned Leaping Steps from Scholar Heide and practiced the technique alongside his swordsmanship before the Water Ditch Town assessment. 89

Equipment

• Iron sword / broadsword — his early practical weapon, used for training, hunting, and assessment bouts. 27 28 60
• New sword — purchased with earnings from a holiday mission before the Water Ditch Town assessment. 89
• Ogre-leather gloves — planned from the tanned hide gained during the assessment, intended to improve his hand protection in combat. 109
• Hundred-Refined Black Steel Greatsword — a Second Order, Excellent-quality weapon forged and gifted by Ray during their reunion. 333
• Black Steel greatsword — used during the City of Star-Gazing expedition to fight Mutated Creatures; the later account does not explicitly identify it as the same weapon Ray gifted him. 690
• Recovery potion — supplied by Sylutia after the Seven-Headed Serpent battle and handed to him by Oren; Mick combines it with controlled breathing to recover. 692

Relationships

• Jero — Mentor, adventuring leader, and surrogate older brother who discovered Mick's talent and brought him out of his village. Mick later witnesses Jero's fear, addiction, and decision to leave adventuring. 18 61 95 99
• Ray Jean-Miel — Fellow commoner student, close friend, sparring partner, and later a blacksmith. Ray forges Mick a Second Order black steel greatsword. 27 53 106 333
• Sylutia / Tia — Classmate and tutor whose targeted instruction improves Mick's swordsmanship. Mick develops an unspoken affection for her, though he later recognizes the vast gap between their paths. 39 43 333 Years later, she saves him from the Seven-Headed Serpent and supplies a recovery potion. He initially fails to recognize her, then recalls their school days and her care during his collapse in the mountains. Their reunion is warm and emotional; she also reveals that Hedra was her alias in the Mage Alliance. 691 692
• Solin — Competitive rival and recurring sparring partner. Their First Order duel ends in Mick's victory, while their later farewell establishes mutual respect. 54 88 111
• Karen — Teammate who saves Mick from the Blue-Skinned Ogre with Comia's help; they later share the Ogre-hide equipment plans. 96 97 109
• Comia — Friend and assessment teammate who bandages Mick after the Ogre encounter and helps him search for Jero. 97 99 She proposes the five-year reunion that Mick later travels home to attend. 109 332
• Unnamed goblin companion — A cunning, talkative regular teammate met during a disastrous expedition. The goblin helps Mick avoid dangers, while Mick's combat ability protects them both. 332 A goblin spectator also warns Mick that Mutton has been corrupted by Distortion during the northern tavern fight. 659
• Oren Hert — Recruits Mick as an experienced, powerful warrior unafraid of mutated plagues for the City of Star-Gazing expedition. Mick rescues him from the Seven-Headed Serpent, and Oren later helps Mick sit up and gives him Sylutia's recovery potion. 691 692 693
• Anali — Expedition companion whom Mick protects while Oren and Luke pursue the monsters' source. Her Ghosts help finish the creatures he strikes down, and she admires his practiced combat ability. Mick shares his outlook on adventuring and mortality with her. 690
• Luke — Fifth Order expedition companion whom Mick rescues alongside Oren when the Seven-Headed Serpent overwhelms them. Luke dies from Death Wail but is subsequently revived by Anali. 690 691 692
• Camilla — Companion in the group that camps together after the City of Star-Gazing battle. 693

Story Role / Major Arcs

Mountain Beast Adventurer Team and Heide's Schooling

Mick hunts alongside Jero's team, then becomes Scholar Heide's student after Jero insists he needs literacy and academic knowledge alongside combat ability. At school, he overcomes his self-taught foundation through relentless training, friendship with Ray, and Sylutia's tutoring. 18 27 43

First Order Advancement and Academy Rivalries

After using Blood Wine supplied by Sylutia, Mick becomes the first of his group to advance to First Order: Blood Law. He challenges Solin to test his new strength and wins an intense iron-sword duel, establishing himself as one of the class's strongest commoner students. 53 54

Water Ditch Town Assessment

During the Mist Haze Forest assessment, Mick abandons his own goals to search for Jero and the missing adventurer team. He is badly pressured by a Blue-Skinned Ogre, but Karen and Comia intervene; together, they complete the kill and secure the assessment's second objective. 95 96 97 106

Choosing His Own Path

Jero's collapse and eventual departure force Mick to reconsider his childhood dream of becoming a famous adventurer. He ultimately decides that he values combat as a means of protection and service, rather than as an end in itself, and identifies knighthood as his intended path. 97 109 111

Before the classmates separate, Mick joins their promise to return to Scorched Stone City in five years, after the beginning of spring when the Windbell Trees bloom. He also expresses the hope of eventually providing his mother with a comfortable retirement. 109

Later Travels and Return to Scorched Stone City

Several years later, Mick is a Second Order warrior traveling with a goblin partner. He returns to Scorched Stone City to honor his promise to reunite with his old friends, reconnects with Ray, and receives the black steel greatsword Ray forged for him. 332 333

Having spent much of his time abroad, Mick learns only upon returning that Regas was defeated by Anti and subsequently rebuilt under Queen Musa. He then joins the reunion at Lady Falan's mansion, hears about Sylutia's role in founding New Regas, and spends several days with his old classmates. Before departing, Sylutia gives each friend a gift to open after she leaves. 333

Northern Tavern Fight and the Flesh Plague

In the northern Mage Alliance, Mick enters a tavern's bare-knuckle ring against Mutton, a celebrated Third Order boxer. Although Mick appears injured and has only one usable arm, his controlled fighting style overcomes Mutton's aggression. As Mutton approaches defeat, his body mutates under Distortion and he becomes a mindless creature. 659

Warned by a goblin spectator, Mick recognizes that Mutton can no longer be saved and destroys his heart. Authorities investigate three days later and seal the town as other spectators develop similar symptoms. The outbreak becomes known as the Flesh Plague and spreads across the northern Mage Alliance within two months. 659

City of Star-Gazing Expedition

Oren recruits Mick to assist an expedition into the plague-stricken City of Star-Gazing because of his combat strength, experience, and willingness to confront mutated plagues. By this period, Mick has become a Fourth Order Blood Law warrior. 691 693

When the group separates, Mick and Anali clear Mutated Creatures from an alley while Oren and Luke pursue their source. Mick protects Anali from overwhelming attacks and discusses the hardships and fulfillment of his adventurous life. The two then witness Oren and Luke battle a huge Sixth Order corpse-built serpent, which Luke's Illusory True Body eventually defeats. 690

A concealed figure reanimates the corpse as a Sixth Order Dead Ember Seven-Headed Serpent. Its Nightmare power incapacitates Oren and Luke, prompting Mick to carry both men away. Death Wail stops Mick's heart, but he restarts it through Blood Law and his Breathing Technique. He continues evading the monster until its attacks and mental pressure exhaust him. A silver-haired, winged rescuer intervenes just before he collapses. 691

The rescuer is Sylutia, who kills the serpent and supplies recovery potions. After waking, Mick recognizes her as Tia and reconnects with his old classmate. Anali revives Luke, and the six companions subsequently camp together among the city's ruins, with Mick preparing their meal while Oren explains the forbidden experiments and the network he calls the Multi-Headed Worm. 692 693

Trivia

• Mick was nearly seventeen when Jero sought a teacher for him. 18
• He once believed a First Order Blazing Sun Red Wolf head was proof that he would soon make a fortune as an adventurer. 9
• He considers expensive weapons impractical for routine adventuring work, preferring cheap equipment for ordinary jobs and reserving quality gear for life-or-death situations. 60
• He initially viewed Scholar Heide and Sylutia as the two people he most admired. 42
• During the classmates' farewell dinner, he drank the most and fell asleep over the table. 109
• His goblin partner promises him immense wealth and a position as chief warrior of a future goblin kingdom, but Mick remains skeptical of both the claimed royal lineage and the treasure. 332
• Sylutia recognizes not only his appearance but also the rhythm of his breathing and pulse, which she remembers from teaching him. 692