EP.99 Lac Van Grace
The wind always blew in the north.
The cool wind was fierce. The northern wind was a symbol of harshness.
Harsh environments are not considerate of the humans who live there. People who decided to live in the North had to be strong.
So as not to be scratched by the fierce wind.
To withstand harsh environments.
They disciplined themselves. In order to survive in the north, which is difficult for the human body to endure, they searched for ways to survive.
『The history of the North is the history of survival.』
The warriors of the North are strong. You don’t survive because you’re strong. It is strong enough to survive.
Lark remembered that sentence.
“······.”
Lark looks at the forest immersed in darkness.
A red light shines between the bushes and beyond the trees. I felt like I was popular. They hid themselves, but they did not just hide themselves.
‘It’s coming.’
Popularity is getting closer.
Lark guessed the number by eye. Although they were numerous, their condition was not good.
A rusty weapon.
Shabby equipment that can hardly be called armor.
Their bodies are covered in soot and grime.
It looks as if the soldiers were defeated and retreating. Was there a garrison of apprentice knights along that route? I don’t know the details.
‘Soldiers not in good condition.’
however.
‘Even so, they are soldiers.’
These are soldiers with battlefield experience.
In their eyes, Lark reads the evil intent of death. This is not an opponent you can take lightly.
“···Phew.”
Lark took a breath and assessed the situation.
DeMac went to call the instructor. No matter how fast the support is, it will take 10 minutes.
10 minutes.
That’s how long Lark has to hold out.
“is it.”
Lark nodded.
“It’s real combat.”
There is one question to ask yourself.
‘Can I do it or not?’
Is it formidable or not?
Lark answers the question he asked himself.
“can do.”
That’s enough.
Should I run away?
Should I hold out while waiting for support?
Is it right to hide?
Lark brushed away all those random thoughts. These are thoughts that are neither necessary nor worthwhile. Now that he had made his decision, there was only one thing for Lark to think about.
‘How to hunt.’
Lark adjusted his grip on the axe.
There are prey in front of you. A hunter does not run away from his prey.
Puzzle.
Lark’s fingers dug into the circuitry engraved on the blade, making a loud noise. The sack of swords in his hand trembled.
Accel.
Increased strength (Muscular).
He unlocks the stocked spell.
The popularity is getting a little closer. Popular figures that are just around the corner appear out of the darkness.
Torches light up their faces.
Red eyes full of life shine menacingly in the night. Their eyes fall on Lark.
Lark’s red eyes sank.
‘What’s important is the flow.’
If you lose track of the flow, you will be swept away.
In order to maintain the flow, heating must be used. Use it, but don’t let your instincts rule you. At that time, I had to wake up to the strange sensation I had briefly experienced during the practice test.
It’s difficult.
Although it is difficult.
‘I’ve done it once.’
Lark raised the arm holding the axe.
As if taking this as a signal, the demon world soldiers begin to attack Lark. Arrows are flying.
Gwaaaah!
Their cries ring in my ears.
And, in the midst of all that, Lark’s hilt makes a light snapping sound.
What the sack touched was Lark’s heart.
Heating.
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“Cow,” Lark’s heart pounded loudly.
2.
“No matter how outstanding the child is, I think asking him to experience the battlefield is a bit too much, Raniel.”
“yes?”
In response to Roselle’s question, she, who had been lying on the sofa immersing herself in a novel, slowly lifted her body up.
His messy gray hair swayed.
Raniel, dressed in pajamas, blinked and looked at Roselle. It seemed like she was reading a novel or something before going to sleep.
“Isn’t that true?”
Roselle sighed and said.
“I admit that the kid is outstanding. Still, aren’t you still young? “No matter how much the Department of Combat Magic places emphasis on actual combat…”
“Hey, I was around that age too.”
Raniel shrugged his shoulders.
“Were you twenty? Was he nineteen? “I guess that was the first time I went to the battlefield?”
“I think your case might be a little different…”
Roselle touched her temple.
This poor student often projects his specialness onto others.
‘No matter how prestigious Aplia is, and its combat magic department produces capable soldiers…’
And that’s all after graduation.
They still had a lot to learn. At least, in Rosell’s opinion, it was an unreasonable request to come and experience the battlefield like this already.
“No matter what, I think the battlefield is a bit different. “You could get hit by a blind arrow on the battlefield and get hurt.”
“I took measures to prevent you from getting hurt like that… but to be honest, I don’t think there will be any use for it.”
“I’ve taken measures, I won’t say much, but I’m saying we shouldn’t ask students to experience special cases like being a hero, Raniel.”
“yes?”
Raniel tilted his head at that question.
Roselle sighed and was about to explain again from the beginning. Raniel blinked and blurted out.
“It’s not that different?”
“what?”
“I know we are special. Even though it was other students, I didn’t even ask them to do that. Should I try Belnoa? “No, he’s not that type.”
Raniel, who was muttering, raised his arms. Then he tapped the corner of his eye with his finger.
“You can see it when you look.”
“···What do you mean?”
“Whether or not he belongs there.”
“That one?”
“This is a bit difficult to explain, but there is something like that. “I just know it when I see it.”
Sword Master, Kuntel.
Kelhalm, the last wizard of the ruined kingdom.
The ghost of the front line, the sword spirit Draka
Raniel spoke, reciting the names of those who carved legends on the battlefield one by one.
“They are not heroes, but they are called superhumans.”
Those who were not chosen by the stars, but gained the strength of a superhuman after training themselves.
“Uncle Kuntel said there are signs in those kids…”
Raniel smiled.
“I think Lark is that way too.”
She declared with a confident voice.
“If you just get the hang of it, you’ll catch up before graduation.”
Who, Roselle asked.
Raniel did not answer that question. He just shrugged his shoulders with a faint smile.
3.
Boom, boom.
My heart was beating loudly. Blood circulated quickly through the body. The exhaled breath is like steam. The forearms with prominent veins are red.
My body was hot.
My field of vision narrowed.
The scenery that Lark sees in the heating state is different from what others see. Only simple things are reflected in the red, bloodshot eyes.
‘enemy.’
Things I need to hunt for.
Lark, whose head is feverish, does not think complicated thoughts. Only one word lingers in his head.
‘kill.’
Lark’s ax moved with murderous intent.
Lark kicked the ground and swung his axe. The head of the zombie carrying the arrow flew through the air.
Patter.
The neck fell down along with blood. Lark didn’t stop. He spun his body around and shot down the back of the hunting dog that was guarding the zombie.
Wow!
I feel the sensation of my bones being crushed and my life being taken away. The Demon King’s army was also taken aback by Lark’s speed, but that was only for a moment. They rush towards Lark.
Spear blades approach from various directions.
Lark swung his ax and struck off the spear blade. He couldn’t hit them all. Lark stepped back. His soldiers also approached from behind.
There were many.
Unlike Lark, who is alone, there are multiple opponents. And, they are soldiers. Soldiers knew how to deal with powerful enemies that they could not defeat alone.
Whoosh!
They threw out their spears and persistently blocked Lark’s movements. He restricted Lark’s movements and fired arrows from a distance.
Lark lowered his stance while swatting away the flying arrows. As if he was crawling on the floor, he dodged the spear and crawled into his arms. The ax targets what she sees in front of her.
Suddenly.
A soldier with his ankle cut off falls backwards. The siege was broken. Lark turned and slashed the fallen soldier’s chest with his axe.
Lark, who turned as if slipping, lunges again. The flesh-covered ax blade became dull. There is no time to shake off the buried flesh.
Kwasik.
I swung it like an ax blade.
Use your weight to press down. Skull smashed. I ended up tripping over my ankle.
Wood clatter!
He put the handle of the ax in the mouth of a hunting dog that was trying to bite the ax blade, spun it around, and broke its neck. Lark moved faithfully to his instincts.
Don’t think deeply.
With his narrowed field of vision, Lark made the best decision.
However, as the battle continues, Lark has a hunch. There is no end to this. A different method is needed.
‘There are a lot of them.’
It doesn’t end when you kill one.
There were many enemies. Lark was alone. They continued to narrow the siege. If we continue like this, we will be cornered. Even though he knew that fact, Lark couldn’t think of a way to solve the problem.
Reason is paralyzed.
Only the vague thought that I shouldn’t do this lingered in my head, but my body moved faithfully to its instincts.
Whoosh.
Arrows keep Lark in check.
The spear blade continues to extend, making Lark take a step back. Before we knew it, Lark was cornered.
“Check,” something touched my heel.
It was a tree. Lark twisted his body and swung his axe. His move was based on his instinct to somehow create a way out.
However, it is a handshake.
The soldiers, who expected Lark to come out like that, sacrifice one of their own to catch Lark. Lark had an intuition as soon as he swung his axe.
‘It’s a mistake.’
Although it is not visible through the narrowed field of view, the flow of air is felt. The spear blade is approaching. The point where the spear blade is aimed is Lark’s chest.
‘death.’
Lark feels death.
Facing death is cold. A chill ran down my spine. The time line stretched infinitely long.
Lark feels this extended time.
Something ran down my spine. It’s a cool sensation. A stream of cold water flowed down my back. Every time a stream of water passed by, my senses expanded.
All my senses were heightened.
My nerves were forged like sharp blades.
A stream of water flows back down the spine and wraps around the skull. It feels like cold water was poured on my head. Sparks flew before her eyes and she heard the sound of something breaking.
That’s the feeling.
That’s the feeling I felt back then.
In an instant, my field of vision expanded. In an instant, with his field of view widening, Lark’s movements come to a halt. Lark changed the trajectory of the ax he was swinging.
Sigh!
My feet move noisily. Spinning in place, Lark broke the spear pole with his axe. A broken spear hovers in the air.
Lark threw the ax with a twist.
The ax gets stuck in the zombie’s head as it extends its spear again. Lark grabbed the spear floating in the air with his empty hand and threw it away.
Phew.
“Cough…”
In the blink of an eye, the two collapsed.
When I blinked one more time, three more soldiers had collapsed. The siege was completely breached.
The soldiers who had been narrowing the siege faltered.
Although there was only one opponent, they could not easily close the distance.
‘It’s that feeling.’
Lark let out a short breath.
My body was still hot, and the breath I exhaled turned into steam and disappeared. But her head was cold.
Reason took root within instinct.
Two non-negotiable things coincided.
‘A strange sense of unity, the possibility of the impossible.’
A movement that could not be made when moving according to instinct.
The expanded field of view and strange sense of unity made impossible movements possible.
“is it.”
Lark muttered as he pulled an ax from a corpse lying on the floor.
“This is how you do it.”
Although the voice was spoken with great heat, its tone was calm.
Lark gained enlightenment.
It was the moment when I took the first step toward growth.
* * *
Dang, daeng.
The bell announcing an enemy attack rings from barrack to barracks. Along with the apprentice knights who woke up from their sleep, the instructors hastily took their weapons.
It’s a little early in practice.
I needed to get help quickly.
As soon as they hear the news, the instructors rush out first. The apprentice knights prepare for battle under the instructions of the remaining instructors. Just like that, it was the moment when the instructors who ran out first were about to step into the forest.
-Grrr!
-Keeeeee!
The demon lord came out of the forest.
The apprentice knights who were preparing to depart were taken aback by the sudden appearance of the Demon King’s army. The instructor blinked his eyes as he kicked the zombie that jumped out.
‘Something is strange.’
The fallen zombie is scared.
It’s not that I was scared when I saw the instructor. It looks as if it is running away from something. Those eyes are trembling.
‘From what?’
It didn’t take long for the instructor to realize him.
Huh.
An ax flew from somewhere.
The flying ax blade struck the head of the zombie lying on the ground. Green blood splashed out.
“Uh, huh…?”
As the instructor blinks in confusion, someone jumps out. He pulled the ax blade from the zombie’s head and ran back into the forest.
“···Princess Lark?”
Belatedly, the instructor recognizes him.
He rushed towards the Demon Lord running away from the forest. There is no hesitation in its movement.
-Well, purr!
The frightened demon king throws out his spear.
There is no spirit in that movement. The spear that was thrown without confidence had no power.
Wow.
Lark presses down on the spear pole with his foot. The wooden window pole was bent and broke completely.
Bingle.
Lark grabbed the broken spear and threw it. A zombie stuck in a tree with a spear. Lark swung his ax at the zombie that was struggling and trying to pull out the spear.
Suddenly. A zombie with its head cut off along with its arms hangs limply.
It was an instant. In the blink of an eye, the zombie was dismantled.
Even the instructor, who witnessed the scene before his eyes, just blinked with a bewildered expression.
‘what?’
It’s heterogeneous.
‘What on earth is that…?’
It was a strange movement.
At first glance, it appears to be running wild like a wild beast, but the reality is different. All movements are efficient. It’s calculating. Follow your instincts, but don’t lose your reason. All movements are smooth and uninterrupted.
It is an unpredictable beast.
The beast roamed across the Demon King’s army.
“······.”
The instructor forgot to help the boy and glanced at the path he had taken. A boy jumped out from deep in the forest. The road he passed is covered with blood.
A long stream of blood.
The corpses of the Demon King’s army were scattered everywhere.
There was a boy at the end. The boy’s white hair is stuck to his blood. Blood is dripping from the ax the boy is holding.
Kwasik!
The only thing alive in the boy’s path had just passed away. The boy let out a short breath and lifted his head slightly.
“Whoa…”
The boy standing over the corpse raises his arms.
I wiped the blood stains from my face with my thumb.
It’s an eerie sight.
The apprentice knights gathered together with the instructor glance at the boy. The name of the boy covered in blood is engraved in their minds.
Lark Van Grace.
Warrior of the North.
A word from the author (author review)
It was also the first step in Lark’s growth, so it took a bit of time because I was greedy. sorry…! Anyway, I hope you like it 😀
The illustrations were created by the artist ‘Typo’ who worked on the Ganikalt illustrations!
Added at 01:38.
Please check the patch notes for details regarding the Lark illustration…!
*Rania did take some kind of method to ensure that Lark returned with all four limbs intact. We will mention this part in the next episode!
