Episode 314
The next morning dawned.
It was not a clear morning with sparrows chirping and bright sunlight licking the leaves.
The tomb of the dead dragon.
The morning there, which is quite famous among all prohibitions, could easily be considered the worst.
of course-
“I slept comfortably last night.”
In such a forbidden environment, it was quite unusual to see each person sleeping on the top-quality beds they had personally imported.
It was natural for Jinhyuk.
I completed preparations for emergencies by casting defensive magic on a shield strong enough to withstand even a swarm of mercenary soldiers, as well as an alarm magic.
In other words, unless the alarm goes off, they will not be in danger.
Because they believed in their own abilities, they were able to spend time under the ban as if they were sleeping in a luxury hotel room.
“It’s time to start preparing.”
“That’s right.”
Naturally, Hendrick also slept comfortably.
It’s been several months since I’ve slept in the wasteland, gathering up abandoned branches and rotten leaves.
Because sleeping on the best bed with the best protection is nothing short of a sweet sleep.
After leaving Hendrick behind, whose condition had noticeably improved, I cleaned up the surroundings and stored the bed and other items in the subspace.
Jinhyuk chatted with Hendrick while eating a decent breakfast prepared by Hyerin.
“Let’s have a meal and have a game.”
“… … Are you crazy?”
If you listen in passing, you can hear it as a conversation you might have between lovers, but the match being discussed here was a sparring on a wasteland, not a bed.
In other words, as soon as Jinhyuk ate, he suggested having a sparring match that would obviously involve heavy drinking, without any consideration of the mercenary soldiers targeting them and the pursuers who might be targeting them.
It was no wonder Hendrick found it absurd and asked, ‘Are you crazy?’
But Jinhyuk was calm.
“Do you think I’ve been crazy for a day or two? If I hadn’t been crazy, would I have shown hostility toward Nine Stars even after becoming a normal person, prepared for revenge, and rebelled against the Four Emperors after climbing the tower?”
“… … You’re speechless. You’re really great.”
“I know. I am proud. So are you going to do it or not?”
Hendrick sighed and began persuading Jinhyeok, who shrugged his shoulders while shoveling rice into his mouth.
“You know this is not our territory.”
“yes.”
“If you go a little deeper into the Dragon’s Tomb, you will find a Dragon’s Tomb that is incomparable to the entrance.”
“I know.”
“… … There are a lot of climbers around here who are after me, and the Dragon Clan is also searching according to the legend of the Blue Dragon.”
“Of course.”
“And yet you still want to spar with me? “Even though I know better than anyone else that they will be the first to react to the noise we make while sparring?”
It was a correct answer.
The tomb of a dead dragon was not an easy place.
Hendrick of the world too.
Cha Jin-hyuk of the world.
They say that if you let your guard down here, you might get a big nosebleed.
Moreover, in this place, they are not the only ones there, but there are also enemies swarming around targeting them.
Of course, the dead dragon’s tomb is large, and the enemies won’t be interested in every noise.
‘Rather than just quietly looking for the blue dragon, the ship becomes, no, several times more dangerous.’
Naturally, it is clear that this will be several times more dangerous and difficult than quietly collecting clues about the blue dragon and finding its center.
Especially considering that sparring doesn’t end with one fight, and that pursuers may follow in its wake, the word “several times” is not enough.
but-
“hey.”
“… … what?”
“But I know it’s the truth, but are you smiling right now? “Is it funny that you say that while laughing?”
“… … !”
The problem with Hendrick’s statement is that he unconsciously smiled at the word ‘sparring’, which makes his statement seem very untrue.
When Hendrick touched the corners of his lips with a slightly surprised expression at the fact that he had been smiling without realizing it.
“if… … “Are you scared?”
Jinhyuk threw a dagger that Hendrick could not avoid.
“No way. I’ll set the plate.”
“That’s how it should be!”
Hendrick did not avoid the dagger in a situation where his true intentions were already revealed. * * *
“Hendrick.”
“… … .”
“Do you think you resemble Jinhyuk more than me?”
“… … Huh.”
yesternight.
Hendrick couldn’t say anything in response to Hye-rin’s sharp gaze as she criticized him while recalling the conversation they had shared alone.
It was only yesterday that Hye-rin, who had been treating her as if she had seen him for a long time, said that she looked like Jin-hyuk, as it was not enough to just quickly talk to him.
“If you have thoughts, you should stop them!”
“… … I tried to stop you too, but-”
“You laughed. You said you stopped me while laughing when I asked you to spar!”
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“… … greatness. It’s been a while since we last sparred, and I just smiled without realizing it. For a warrior, sparring is a place to test one’s achievements and to advance to a higher place.”
“Okay, do whatever you want. You told me not to be a burden, but you ended up being a huge burden.”
“… … .”
Hendrick, who had proven that it was Hendrick himself, not Hye-rin, who resembled Jin-hyeok more than anyone else, was ultimately left speechless.
Because what he said to persuade Jinhyeok already clearly showed what he did wrong.
“Come on, let’s stop fighting. It’s already spilled milk. Let’s have a quick fight and then go find the Blue Dragon.”
“… … Tsk, that attitude is the problem. Do you want to spar in a place full of enemies?”
“huh.”
“Yes, you idiot on a white horse. Ha, what happened to me… … .”
It was only yesterday that I promised myself that I would never let go.
Hye-rin, who felt herself beginning to slightly regret what she had said, stamped her feet in annoyance.
thud!
“… … “Please eat the sound.”
-Yes, miss.
The countless ghosts Hye-rin holds in her arms appear in response to the clouds at her feet.
Jinhyuk nodded with a satisfied smile as he watched them wrapping around the training ground on the vast wasteland, forming a barrier of ghosts.
“Good.”
“You can’t stop them all. Because ghosts can’t withstand the shock of you two colliding. “I’m sure the shock and binge drinking will go beyond the limit.”
“It’s okay, that’s enough. Me and Hendrick can stop the rest. Hendrick?”
“I get it.”
The soundproof curtain that Hye-rin set up.
Jinhyeok and Hendrick stepped forward to fill in the shortcomings of something that was close to perfect but lacking in some way.
Wooooow-
Magic.
Among them, the two people’s ability to spread sound blocking magic as wide as a barrier was more than enough to make up for the shortcomings of the ghost’s membrane.
“… … Why on earth are you using these abilities to spar in the middle of Forbidden City, which is full of enemies?”
“Ahem.”
“greatness.”
Of course, the two people were busy avoiding Hyerin’s stern gaze with embarrassed faces as Hyerin’s complaints echoed emptyly.
A huge soundproof training ground where those with such outstanding abilities can fully demonstrate their abilities.
It boasted a fairly large size, but considering that it was a training ground where two outstanding beings like Jinhyuk and Hendrick would clash, it was not very large, but just an appropriate size.
They can travel tens or hundreds of meters in the blink of an eye, and their attacks are so powerful that even if you block them, the shockwaves will explode out behind you.
“What about the referee?”
“I will see. Because Tom can’t see it.”
“thank you.”
“Thank you, please end this ridiculous skit quickly.”
“… … okay.”
Hyerin was in charge of refereeing.
The only people left here now are Hye-rin and Tam, and it’s only natural that Tam would be too busy with his role as a bystander.
“What are the conditions for defeat?”
“What can I do? Of course, until the other party admits defeat.”
“… … You must be foolish.”
There was an absurd condition attached that there were no conditions for defeat other than a declaration of surrender, but Hye-rin had now given up on understanding them.
“You decide the rules yourself.”
“okay.”
Jinhyuk and Hendrick immediately set the rules as they watched Hyerin, who had left the rules to the two people involved in the sparring, walking with Tam to the referee’s seat.
“You use everything you have. “To the point where I don’t die.”
“Simple and clean. Call.”
The rules were simple.
Write everything you have.
Just enough so that the other person doesn’t die.
Considering that it was a sparring match in the first place, the condition of not dying was natural, but considering the abilities of the two, it was also a condition that had to be met.
After setting up the rules, which are so simple and clean that it’s hard to even call them rules,
Thud thud-
The two walked toward the end of the spacious sparring hall, which was divided in half with the referee’s seat at the center.
The two people slowly walked to their seats, feeling the softness of the ground, and before they knew it, they had reached the end.
“Get ready.”
“I’m already done, but I guess I’m not done yet?”
“This is the only time you’re fluttering your mouth like that, Cha Jin-hyuk.”
“No matter how strong you become, you can’t beat me.”
“I don’t think you remember who your first defeat was.”
“How was the next sparring session?”
“… … Let’s start without further ado.”
“The sea I longed for.”
The argument between them that started before the main game was so intense that it was almost childish, but the two didn’t care one bit.
Even excluding their age, it was an absurd sight considering the abilities they both had –
Kugugugugugugu-!!!
“… … “I really can’t get used to it.”
“Are the two of you fighting?”
“It’s called sparring. “We’re testing each other’s skills without killing each other.”
“Oh wow, that’s great! “I want to ride too!”
“… … “Well, I’ll be able to do it someday when Tom gets bigger and stronger.”
“What a pity! How many nights must pass?”
“Um, a thousand nights? Or about 10,000 nights?”
“Hehe, so much mana!”
“But Tom is a strong man, so he will grow up quickly. But can you promise me one thing?”
“What time?”
As soon as the childish argument ended, Hyerin shook her head as she saw the two of them trying to cheer each other up.
The two were so sharp and cool-headed that it made you wonder if they were the same people who had been arguing like kindergarteners just a moment ago.
Hyerin smiled softly at Tam’s inarticulate question, which felt like a ray of warmth in the midst of a fierce battle that seemed like it would be cut short just by looking at it.
“But please, don’t ever become someone like those two.”
“Tam, Dad, you’re so cute!”
“I like it too. But my personality is really bad. “Tom is a good boy, isn’t he?”
“You’re so kind!”
“Then promise me. “Even if I resemble my father, I will not have a similar personality.”
“Uhm… … I see!”
“Oh, that’s nice.”
Before starting the duel.
Before the young Tam’s ego was established, Hye-rin, who had been sparing no advice to the cute and kind child so that he would not grow up to be a loose-knit being like Jin-hyeok or Hendrick, took out her sword with a serious face.
chuck!
The moment he lifted the lightly drawn short sword above his head.
The momentum between the two people was like crazy, biting each other and preparing for the start with ferocity.
Squeak!
The moment when the short sword fell lightly and cut through the empty air.
Kwakwakwakwakwakwang!!!
With a distance of several hundred meters, the momentum of the two clashed first, signaling the start of the sparring.
It’s just a fight for momentum.
Hye-rin sighed as she watched the central area where the judgment seat was located suddenly become a mess due to a mere skirmish caused by an invisible energy becoming tangible.
“What are men?”
But one important thing here is that Hye-rin was also a screw-up to the point that Hendrick called her ‘female Cha Jin-hyeok’.
“Oww! Oh my! What the heck!”
Between Hye-rin’s teachings and all the screw-ups around him, it is unlikely that Tam will grow up as Hye-rin had hoped.
“… … “It must be fun.”
In addition, Hye-rin also said that it was fun to watch the ferocious battlefield full of sharp killings between two people who reached the limit of not killing each other, but the problem was that she was a screw-up.
“Destroy Cha Jin-hyuk.”
“Are you the only one with technology? Then I’m Hendrick Smasher.”
To Hendrick and Jinhyuk, who were already focused on each other, it was just a story that had no effect or interest.
In this real-life sparring, he reveals his skills, which he has honed over the past year.
“Sister, what do you want for this?”
“Yeah, thanks.”
“It was nothing!”
Tam gives the popcorn he received from Jinhyuk to Hyerin.
The sight of Tom snorting, sticking out his stomach, and shrugging his shoulders in response to Hye-rin’s gratitude for receiving the popcorn was a very cute sight, completely different from the sparring taking place in front of his eyes.
‘They don’t call me mom anymore.’
Hye-rin ends up calling her older sister most of the time because of Jin-hyeok, who would not touch her when she called him dad but would immediately correct her when she called him mom.
Crunch crunch crunch-
As I watched Jinhyuk and Hendrick sparring, only the sound of chewing sweet caramel popcorn echoed quietly.
