949. I’m happy
The magical power flowing through Rem’s body takes the form of a sharpened, pointed quill. It empties itself, representing speed with boundless lightness. With it, any blade becomes a razor-sharp blade.
A small lump, attached to it, adds a weighty force. More accurately, it’s not heaviness, but rather a clever power. It’s a balance that’s difficult to describe in words. That’s the feeling.
‘Speed replaces strength, and the trick is to stick to small chunks.’
The conclusion was this:
the two magical powers complemented and supported each other. It was no different from using two Wills simultaneously.
However, the magical powers were different from the Will.
‘The roots and origins are the same.’
It is used differently depending on the person using it.
“What on earth have you done?”
This is why Rem said this during their sparring.
Encred saw the spell Rem used. Even though it wasn’t a “formation” stage, he understood the flow perfectly.
‘It’s visible.’
The ability to see an inch ahead is the insight to discern an opponent’s preparatory movements. Combine this with the use of Will, and with a wider field of vision, you can read their momentum and prepare accordingly.
Encred experienced both, ingraining them in his body through repetition. Now, he’s gone even further.
Perhaps this is what it feels like to be an explorer discovering a new continent.
Rem’s movements and momentum are all visible in advance. He could sense Will’s premonitions just before they moved. In terms of body language, it’s like seeing the shift in direction of the toes, the tension in the muscles, the flicking of the fingers. If all of this is a premonition of movement, then Will’s flow is more than just a premonition of intention and action.
Could it be said to be a glimpse of intent? Predicting the resulting movements was remarkably easy.
So, if he knew how to do this, what else could he possibly do?
‘I know what the other person is looking at.’
If you know the movements and intentions in advance, it’s easy to deceive your opponent. You can do things like stab them with your sword while concealing your own intentions.
‘I guess what you see is similar to this?’
Encred recalled the blond swordsman he had encountered in the Southern Demon Realm.
Hadn’t he been struck by him like that? It was a sword strike without warning, one that perfectly concealed not only movement and momentum but even intent.
All of this required a single point of concentration to be seen. Encred dispersed the will he had gathered in his eyes.
The explorer who had discovered the New World saw a new shadow, shrouded in fog, in the distance. And that was why he was not satisfied.
‘It’s still a long way to go.’
The blond swordsman didn’t just show this. Everything he showed was a milestone for Encred.
Like a guidepost leading to a new frontier in the distance.
There was still a way forward. No, he had already seen it. Even after walking the entire path, it wouldn’t be the end.
Encred was thrilled by this fact, and felt a sense of joy. A smile naturally formed on his face.
pop!
The disc thrown by Rem pierced the body of the swirling black bird. The axe, now flying through the air, circled back to its original owner.
The magical power emanating from Rem connected with his descending weapon. As expected, the axe pierced the monster, spraying black blood from the sky before circling back to Rem’s hand.
widely.
“Where.”
Rem spoke. It looked easy on the surface, but Encred, having witnessed the flow of her sorcery, knew just how remarkable Rem had just done. He
could have just slingshotted her, but he’d thrown an axe instead. It was probably an extension of their previous sparring.
It was a form of training to hone his skills and advance further.
He’d done it because he was confident he could still kill.
The axe blade of Rem, pressed against his back, sent a chill down his neck. It wasn’t real, but it felt like it. They wouldn’t stop chasing. They’d follow, faster than he’d gone. He
was delighted and happy to have them behind him, as much as he was excited about the future.
“What, my chopping was so good to see?”
“The smell of an excited male.”
Dunbakel added to Rem’s words from beside her. Encred didn’t bother to hide his feelings; he just smelled them. If he wanted to hide them, he could.
“That’s a strange thing to say.”
Rem muttered. Encred answered.
“I still have a lot to learn.”
At those words, Rem nodded several times and said.
“It’s another outbreak. Hey, you rascal. Stop talking nonsense and go find the next guy.”
Rem knew Encred. He was used to him acting like a madman sometimes. Of course, so was Dunbakel.
“uh.”
Besides the black bird, she also mentioned the characteristics of several other famous monsters in the West.
‘What’s next?’
Was it a spell-casting scorpion?
She tracked it by its scent. Whenever a Westerner brought news of a monster, she’d head there and chase it.
Once the monster’s location was pinpointed, she’d mount her Velopter and gallop away.
After the black bird, there was a scorpion monster casting a teleportation spell.
Encred immediately understood the principle of its spell as soon as she encountered it. Its eyes had changed, and so had her vision.
‘It’s just a shell, but empty inside.’
To be precise, what was filled within was nothing but an intangible power, like Will. He was a monster, so it wasn’t Will, but magic.
His flesh and blood were completely replaced by magic, leaving only a shell. As a result, his body, free from the laws of the world, became no different from a spell.
‘It’s not teleportation, it’s running at high speed while hiding your body.’
Its shell was adept at reflecting sunlight, concealing it. Perhaps it could be described as a monster that concealed itself and dazzled human eyes with its high-speed movements.
The scorpion monster hid itself and ran as soon as it spotted the trio, but it couldn’t escape Dunbakel’s scent.
Dunbakel’s scimitar shattered the shell. The blade, pivoting on its left foot and slashing down, looked like a bolt of lightning.
Bang, bang!
The lightning bolt distorted the space. With a loud roar, a crack appeared in the air, like glass slicing from the point where the blade had struck. It was a sight that seemed to shatter the assimilated shell.
The formless vapor that filled the broken shell transformed into black smoke and leaked out.
With a “Push-sik” sound, the magic that had replaced flesh and blood dissipated into smoke. It was a monster no different from an evil spirit.
Encred slashed the smoke from the scorpion monster again. Night Walk cut through the vapor, and it dissipated and disappeared.
“Well, then I’ll really die.”
Dunbakel nodded.
The western warriors who had encountered this beast had said it wouldn’t disappear no matter how many times it was killed.
Of course. Its shell was fake. It was closer to a demon.
Encred had cut through the demon’s true form. Spell-killing, something he had previously done by intuition, was now something he could see with his own eyes.
“Next, let’s go.”
It was also quite fun to use.
The third monster was a mutated rock snail. Its shell resembled a tree, and wings grew on its back, transforming its appearance into that of a dragon. It
was a mutant, not a singular entity.
Excessively influenced by the silence, it was beginning to resemble the dragon I’d seen in the forest.
Encred’s blade sliced through its shell. Night Walk displayed its full power.
Twisting around its left foot, it added strength. It was a heavy, fast sword, its blade slashing vertically. The shell, which
would normally have been negligible by any other blade, was sliced like a well-cooked potato.
From the mutated rock snail’s body, whitish flesh and black blood flowed profusely.
“Oh, that’s brutal.”
Rem muttered as she watched. “Why, with each stroke, the blade became more and more savage. And so, she spent three days hunting monsters.”
“They’re monsters. They’re all monsters.”
Badukbeom knew the monsters that plagued his twelve tribes. One colony comprised of ratmen, and two spiral worms with thorns sprouting from their backs.
They were both difficult to defeat, a headache. They were enduring the damage, even while holding out.
The ratmen colony, in particular, seemed intent on building a monster city, constantly increasing its numbers.
Indeed, after the Elder Bear meeting, he planned to gather all the warriors from his twelve tribes and attack them.
That was his way of proving his tribe’s strength.
The spiral worms were equally troubling.
How could he bring them out from hiding underground and fight them?
The three of them had to solve that problem.
“Guide me.”
Badukbeom became their guide in finding the two monsters, and watched as the three, known as monsters and disasters, dispatched a horde of monsters.
The five Ratmen, led by Rem, were beheaded.
The remaining two decimated the remaining Ratmen. The dark blue blade, slicing through everything in its path, resembled a scythe wielded by a Grim Reaper. The Grim Reaper, his dark green cloak fluttering, simply moved with an indifferent expression.
Oh my heavens.
Baduk-beom was awestruck.
If this alone was enough, then seeing another beast dealt with was even more unbelievable.
The moment the Spiral Worm raised its head above the ground, a single line sliced through its body like lightning.
The distance between them was over fifty paces, but the gap vanished in an instant. It was the work of a beastman transformed into a single white line. The sight of him kicking the ground, drawing his scimitar, and swinging it was beyond Baduk-beom’s grasp. He only saw the dead beast.
Black blood flowed onto the dry ground. After witnessing all this, the dazed Baduk-beom was startled on his way back.
“There’s still training left?”
Encred, on his way back from dealing with the monsters, says he felt something after seeing them and suggests they continue their training. Is
this kid really a mine? A messenger from the Demon Realm who came after Silence’s death? A demon? An incarnation of the evil kidney?
“Aren’t there any more sparring sessions left for today?”
He simply asked back nonchalantly.
The Go player’s eyes were filled with despair.
“I left some.”
“I’m glad you’re happy.”
Encred’s casual remarks were a source of turmoil, but if you can’t resist, isn’t it the nature of a Western warrior to follow?
And it wasn’t wrong, either.
Encred had taught him this trait. It had to be that way. Hadn’t Geomnarae specifically asked to be treated as a top-tier warrior?
He had taken up his sword for Baduk Beom. It was all for the sake of tomorrow’s West.
“happy.”
Geomnarae revealed her true feelings as she watched. As dusk descended, the only one saddened by the situation was Baduk Beom.
“I want to rest today.”
He spoke without being able to control his confused mind.
“I’m still not in my right mind.”
Encred’s words were absurd.
For over ten days, Badukbeom cultivated his upright spirit in the clouds, resenting Geomnarae before becoming his comrades.
He wasn’t the only one struggling. Geomnarae was struggling just as much.
Badukbeom, who had reached the so-called semi-knight level, had already surpassed his limit in less than two weeks. Only
then did Encred, accompanied by Rem and Dunbakel, depart the west. The merchant group, joined by Leona and Juol, moved in tandem.
“What we have achieved this time is ten times what we have gained from trade with the West so far.”
Leona said that. She said that because she thought about what she would gain in the future.
“Well, I’ll have to work harder and harder from now on, but tell Chris that trade with the West will increase tenfold.”
“Okay.”
On the way back, we chattered about this and that. I thoroughly enjoyed the cheers and hospitality of the Westerners.
“Call us anytime you need us.”
Westerners are not quick to talk. They’ve been greatly helped before, but this time, they’ve been even more so.
While Rem is said to be at the center of it all, everyone knows it’s all thanks to Encred.
“We will join you in fulfilling your wish.”
That was the path I had taken. Between fleeting thoughts, I heard the voice of reality.
“Let’s spar. Light and without weapons.”
It was the sound of Rem holding onto Encred and stretching.
“Let me join you too.”
Dunbakel was the same.
Encrid didn’t refuse. He shared what I had learned. Rem is a clever genius. He quickly grasped my direction.
“There’s a saying in the West: even if you’re still, there are times when magic takes hold of you. I thought that was what they meant by usuke. But I guess not.”
After a few rounds of sparring, Rem caught a returning carriage, entered it, and spent most of the day meditating.
Dunbakel, though less resourceful than Rem, possessed a remarkable intuition, characteristic of the water spirit.
“Will changes. I already know that.”
Indules was also familiar to her. It was a characteristic of the water spirit. When the body changes, the spirit changes, and so does what is contained within.
What if that change could be controlled at will? Her task was clear. Even Dunbakel became quiet after that.
And so, they were on the verge of once again leaving the western border.
“Let’s talk!”
A giant with log-like legs and arms blocked their path. Rem, emerging from the carriage, attempted to throw his axe, but Encred placed a hand on his shoulder, stopping him.
“Leave it alone?”
Seeing that, Dunbakel asked. Suin also prepared to leap forward, but then stopped. Encred nodded. He habitually read his opponent’s will.
If that giant wasn’t on the level of the blond swordsman he’d encountered in the Southern Demon Realm, he had absolutely no will to fight. He didn’t appear to possess any skill at concealing his will.
“Let me ask you a favor!”
The giant spoke. No, he shouted. My ears rang.
