Episode 117
I was trying to prove that I was the real Luan Badniker, but suddenly I changed my mind.
‘Four weeks.’
About a month.
It is by no means a small amount of time.
I suddenly wondered how strong these guys had become over the years.
fault.
The moment I jumped from the tree and finished landing, it was Mir who rushed in.
The hammer swings with exciting momentum.
I twisted my upper body slightly to avoid it, and was surprised at its strong force.
‘This guy-.’
There is almost no unnecessary movement.
In the past, Mir would first stiffen up in front of a big guy… … .
Now, he didn’t seem particularly scared, and his gaze was clearly directed at me.
Huh!
Then he dodged Evan’s diagonal blade. I can’t say it’s great, but it’s a natural connection.
Then, I nodded to myself as I watched the sword path leading to two separate and three strikes.
‘It’s Raven.’
If Juan had succeeded in the ritual, what would have been Evan’s fate?
I saw the answer to that question in my first life.
Evan probably survived the retreat somehow, but he would have already completed his awakening as a small religious leader.
He must have infiltrated the hero agency Heros while hiding that fact.
in other words.
This means that the actual timing of Evan Helvin’s betrayal was actually several years earlier than previously known.
‘now?’
This guy is still the Evan Helvin I knew.
Youngdo, who honestly insists on practicing swordsmanship, aims to enhance his father’s honor, and has the ambition to one day defeat the Demon King with Raven.
I was glad of that fact.
In the end, if it weren’t for the priest’s intervention, Evan would have chosen to continue his father’s progress after wandering for a while.
Puhwaak!
At that moment, an intangible arm rose from the ground.
It is Charles’s blessing.
I jumped slightly to avoid the gray grasp, and then kicked Evan and Mir in the chin as they attacked me from both sides.
Bah!
“Tsk… … .”
“Ugh!”
While the two guys stumbled back, I climbed up a nearby tree again.
“What are you doing! “Are you out of your mind?”
“Ugh… … . Ha, but that guy is so quick… … !”
“I’ll know it when I see it! You’re spilling our joint effort so casually… … .”
Charles gritted his teeth and glared at me.
I sat leisurely on a tree branch and opened my mouth.
“If anyone were to see it, they would think we had pulled off some kind of great joint effort. The formation is okay, but the connection is still poor. “The timing of your surprise attack was so obvious that it wasn’t funny.”
Mir looked at me with a blank face.
“… “Did the undead speak that well?”
“Something is strange.”
Still, perhaps because they were oblivious, the hand holding the weapon went down loosely.
The only one who didn’t let go of his guard was Charles.
“You can’t relax. It’s a forest that has been ruined to begin with, so how do you know what kind of guy will come out? “It might not be undead, but a monster that uses hallucinations.”
“After listening… … .”
“I’m going to change the formation. I’ll go in, so Evan goes first this time… … .”
“… … .”
I briefly saw the faces of the guys planning their strategy.
Although the words exchanged are harsh, there is a faint sense of trust in the voice.
Even if they are not close friends, it seems that the relationship has developed into something like comrade-in-arms.
At least compared to the first time I remember meeting, the level of cuteness.
“… … .”
For a moment, I pictured myself standing among those guys and it made me laugh a little.
It feels a little disappointing.
I also thought that if I had been there, we might have gotten closer and become stronger faster.
Of course, I may be overly self-conscious.
match!
I clinked my palms together and focused my attention.
“Let’s stop fighting. “I’m not an undead or a monster that uses hallucinations, I’m the real Luan.”
“under.”
Charles said, crinkling the corners of his mouth.
“A person who has been missing for over 4 weeks suddenly appears, and you expect us to believe that?”
“That is correct. Then ask me something that only I would know.”
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“… “Let’s at least ask and answer questions out of the blue.”
Charles, who had been scoffing, suddenly stopped and asked in a strangely hesitant manner.
“K-huh. Then hey, Hector, what do you like?”
“I don’t know.”
“Hector’s birthday is… … ?”
“How the f*ck do I know that?”
“You’re brothers!”
“We’re not that close?”
“Before, my brother was bragging about how cute he was!”
Did I do that?
“Charles, let me ask you something.”
Evan went out, leaving behind Charles, who was looking at me with suspicious eyes.
And he asks in his characteristic calm tone.
“Where did your mother come from?”
“Coland, Northern Empire.”
“What is the name of the sword technique I use?”
“Raven.”
“The last time I looked, who was number one in possession of zero points?”
“Cheap Charon.”
“Who is your roommate at the retreat?”
“It’s you.”
“Umm… … .”
Evan said with an embarrassed face.
“Well, I think that’s right.”
And he looked at me with a face that became several times more complicated.
“… I thought he was dead. “What on earth happened?”
“There was this and that. As a result, I would say I got lost a bit.”
“For four weeks?”
“It’s such a large forest, isn’t it?”
“hmm… … .”
Evan didn’t seem completely convinced by my excuse, but it seemed difficult to cover it up and deny it.
“Anyway, it’s good to see you guys are doing well. “Did you collect a lot of balls?”
“… … !”
When I mentioned the ball, the tension among the three increased again.
It seems that they have finally realized that apart from being a monster, the same spirit is also an enemy.
“You don’t have to be so scared. “My target is only the purple ball.”
As I said that, I looked especially closely at Mir’s expression.
That’s because he’s a guy who can’t manage his facial expressions.
Mir openly let out a sigh of relief, and his grip on the hammer also lost some strength.
‘Let’s see if it’s there.’
At least these guys don’t have purple balls.
I suddenly became curious.
How would I have acted if I had?
Was it taken by force? Or did I just skip it?
I don’t know either.
“… “How can I believe that?”
“How about this.”
I took out a blue ball from my pocket and threw it.
The three, startled, dodged the ball at the same time.
“This… … .”
“Blue ball. “I don’t really remember how many points it was.”
“15 points!”
“It was true. thank you.”
“lol… It was nothing.”
Charles glared at Mir, who was making a fuss, and then looked at me and said.
“If it’s a blue ball, it’s worth a lot of money – what’s your intention?”
“There is no ulterior motive. The maximum number of balls you can hold is 3, right? “I’m planning to fill it all with purple balls, so I don’t need the blue ones.”
“… … .”
“It’s a deal from here on out, but do you happen to know the whereabouts of the purple ball? “Tell me and I’ll give you these too.”
I quenched my appetite by juggling blue balls. If you make two, it doesn’t taste good.
If I had known it would be like this, I would have given it to you later.
Anyway, the three who received my offer exchanged glances with each other and finally looked at Charles.
As expected, that guy seems to have become the leader.
After thinking for a moment, Charles spoke in a cautious tone.
“… great. I accept it. However, the situation in the forest is changing all the time, so don’t blindly trust it.”
“Of course.”
“First of all, there are three positions of the purple ball that we identified.”
“oh… … .”
I never thought everyone would understand.
“It saved me a lot of trouble… I’m making a face, but things won’t be that easy.
“huh?”
“First of all, Charon and Hector each have one.”
Should I say that too?
My intuition was exactly right.
“Good. “What about the other one?”
Then Evan said.
“The material of the last purple ball is dangerous, Luan. “It’s better not to touch it.”
“huh?”
That’s unexpected.
He’s more dangerous than Charon or Hector.
Was there a guy like that among the leaders?
“There are only three purple balls in this test, and in fact, the instructors taught us their locations from the beginning.”
This is information I haven’t heard.
“There are three particularly strong monsters in this test. Among them, [One-Eyed Ogre] and [Queen Butterfly] were subdued by Charon and Hector, respectively. “So they each got one purple ball.”
Charles said with a stiff face.
“… The last monster was too much. “One time, we prepared a subjugation battle as a group, but it failed and we barely escaped.”
“What kind of monster is this?”
“For now, we call him [Owner of the Cave].”
Evan continued.
“It’s in the cave in the north of the forest, but no one knows exactly what kind of monster it is. He’s covered in some kind of strange bedding. The only thing is that he is as big as a giant… … .”
“It’s not a giant. never.”
Mir joined in with a rough voice.
I nodded.
“okay. “Thank you for the information.”
I threw both balls.
Evan, who received the ball in surprise, asked.
“What will you do if I give it all to you?”
“Look, I’m going to get the ball.”
In fact, I was planning to keep at least one item as insurance if I couldn’t figure out the whereabouts, but I no longer have to worry about that.
I said, straightening my back.
Three days is plenty of time, but looking for Charon and Hector in this large forest seems quite troublesome.
You have to move quickly.
“Now, wait a minute. Luan!”
“… … ?”
Evan caught me just as I was leaving.
Then he made a complicated face and smiled awkwardly.
“… “I’m glad I’m alive.”
“You too.”
I responded with a thumbs up and left for real this time.
Did you say the ‘cave’ is in the north of the forest?
Let’s go there first.
* * *
Charon Woodjack was born in the [Sinking Swamp], one of the four great bans of the Empire.
By the time I became self-conscious, I already had a weapon in both my hands, and by the time I could run around on my own two feet, I had known the taste of the blades of grass that grew in swamps.
Before he came of age, he overcame the danger of death at least 10 times, and when children of well-to-do nobles learned etiquette and culture, they learned hunting and survival firsthand.
So no matter how harsh the infamous Badniker’s training was, there was no reason to be nervous.
The lives we have lived through are different, and our experiences are different.
The same goes for those guys called Yeongdo.
Systematic curriculum, excellent teachers, elixirs like gold… What is 100 times more important than anything else is actual practice.
And as long as there is a safety device called an instructor, this retreat cannot be a perfect practical training.
So, the words of my respected father, Hyde Woodjack, were unexpected even for Charon.
– Don’t touch Badniker’s veins.
That was a type of advice that was a bit unfamiliar to Charon.
Until now, most of the things that Hyde had told us to be careful of were monsters, that is, prey.
Will this retreat be any different?
Will the descendants of the [Great Family] change Charon’s preconceptions about nobles?
In the end, it wasn’t.
It is said that they attracted a lot of spirit leaders from all over the place, but there was not a single one that caught Charon’s eye.
Except for just one person.
Among the great criminals, the one whom Charon particularly admired was the hunting teacher Tanko… … .
I was familiar with his reputation as a great warrior in the past, and I also liked the policy and content of the class the most.
There is no doubt about his skills.
But there was a crazy guy who wanted to spar with Tanko from day one.
‘Luan Badniker?’
In fact, the one that Charon had been paying attention to until then was Hector Badniker.
Charon quickly realized that Hector was no match for him either.
‘Did you say he was one of the three children whom Iron Blood Lord especially cherished?’
And as far as Charon knew, none of those three were named Luan.
‘That’s a good thing.’
This is an opportunity to appreciate the skills of Daejeon Temple Tanko.
This is only when the opponent is able to withstand even a single match.
How many times can that incompetent-looking guy withstand the attacks of the Great Warrior?
Charon watched the sparring match with those thoughts in mind… … .
… For the first time in my life, my face hardened when I saw the skills of my peers.
‘What is that guy… … .’
People without insight won’t know.
You would think Tanko was putting pressure on Luan the whole time.
A stupid guy like Hans even claimed that Luan gets preferential treatment.
Not at all.
Luan’s physical abilities were clearly not excellent, but her coping skills were flawless even in Charon’s opinion.
Even if Charon were in Tanko’s position, I had no choice but to give him extra points.
‘This guy has ridiculously rich experience in interpersonal combat.’
That was the only thing that Charon lacked.
The experience of fighting against people.
Even taking that into account, the level difference with Yeongdo was extreme, so they never lost in sparring… … .
Separately, it was impossible for Charon to spar with Tanko at that level.
I had a hunch at that time.
Rather than Hector or Seren, we should be more wary of that guy named Luan.
However, the object that Charon was most interested in disappeared for a strange reason.
He wandered around the forest at his own discretion during unauthorized times and disappeared.
Of course, Charon’s instincts insisted that there was more to the disappearance… … .
I didn’t really feel the need to dig into it.
From then on, Karon maintained his first place position, widening the gap overwhelmingly with the other Youngdos, and had no doubt that he would graduate with this grade.
Cough!
The moment he joined forces with Hector, Charon’s eyes narrowed.
The opponent’s sword somehow felt heavy.
In a situation where their swords were touching each other, Hector opened his mouth.
“Do you know the point gap between you and me?”
“Well… … . “I’m not particularly interested in the score of the guy below me.”
“It’s 37 points. But originally, the gap would have been much smaller.”
“ah. “Yes.”
Charon openly sneered, but Hector spoke without a particularly unpleasant attitude.
“Because I have definitely had at least one point deducted per day for the past time.”
“… what?”
“For the past four weeks, my sparring partner has been hunting teacher Tanko.”
Charon paused.
“You probably didn’t know. Like you just said, you probably never even looked at the guy chasing you.”
“… … .”
“So did I.”
Hector said.
“Of course, I have never beaten Tanko-sensei. “She didn’t get extra points for her interpersonal skills like he did.”
Hector said with a grin.
“But in the end, I think it was the right choice.”
“… … !”
The moment Hector twisted his wrist, Charon’s dagger flowed smoothly along the blade.
Without missing that moment, Hector applies strength to his grip and strikes up.
Cough!
The dagger flew away with a clear sound.
Charon frowned as he felt a tingling pain in his wrist.
“Charon Woodjack, I think you’re a step above me in interpersonal fighting skills, right?”
fantasy,
