Bong Jae-young and I agreed to stay in touch regularly.
Once she had fully caught up with everything I had taught her, I would come back to the Magic Engineering Workshop.
Considering her extraordinary talent, I didn’t expect it to take very long.
Meanwhile, at some point, Dang Gyu-ri began staring at me with narrowed eyes.
Even after we left the Magic Engineering Workshop, she kept looking at me like that.
“……”
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“…Seriously, what is it? What is your deal?”
“What do you mean?”
“How do you end up charming every girl you meet?”
“I think it’s closer to admiration than being charmed.”
If I had to guess, the 10×10×10 cube had probably been completed sometime during winter break.
There had still been plenty of time before the new semester started, yet she had been stuck at the very beginning of the manufacturing process.
Bong Jae-young must have been frustrated for quite a while.
For someone with such exceptional talent, it must have been a serious blow to her pride as well.
Then I showed up and cleared the roadblock in one go.
She had probably felt a mixture of relief, gratitude, and admiration that was hard to put into words.
It wasn’t surprising that her impression of me had improved so quickly.
Even so, Dang Gyu-ri was still giving me that flatfish-eyed stare.
“Admiration, sure… but I think there’s more to it.”
“More?”
“Mhmm. Like she’s about to go, ‘Seeenior~ Is there a seat for me on the bus~?’”
“I don’t know. We only just met.”
“You always say that while revving the engine. Vroom, vroom~”
Dang Gyu-ri slowly edged closer.
This time, she looked like she was deciding where to bite me.
Just as she grabbed my arm and parted her lips—
“It’s been a while.”
A familiar voice called out.
The two of us turned our heads at the same time.
Standing there was Namgong Chang-cheon, the president of the Swordsmanship Club.
He had apparently spotted us while on his way to the club room.
I gave him a polite bow.
“It’s good to see you again, Senior.”
“Did anything happen during the break?”
“A few things did, but they were resolved without issue.”
“That’s good to hear. With your abilities, I had no doubt you’d overcome them.”
Namgong Chang-cheon smiled.
He had become president of the Swordsmanship Club in his second year and possessed enough skill to stand toe-to-toe with Song Cheon-gi, the former student council president.
Among the students, only a handful could be considered his equal.
Perhaps because of that, after losing to me in the Fixed Zone Tournament, Namgong Chang-cheon had taken a great interest in me.
Even now, his eyes gleamed sharply as he spoke.
“You seem to have grown even stronger. When are you going to give me another chance?”
“I’ll come see you again before too long.”
“I’ll look forward to it.”
Namgong Chang-cheon’s gaze then shifted to Dang Gyu-ri.
Just as Shin Byeong-cheol had, he looked at her with a hint of curiosity. She must have reminded him of Dang Gyu-young in more than a few ways.
“So you’re a freshman.”
“Yes, Senior. I’m Dang Gyu-ri.”
“I am Namgong Chang-cheon. May I ask what your relationship is to Senior Dang Gyu-young?”
“She’s my cousin.”
Dang Gyu-ri once again answered calmly with her cover identity.
Namgong Chang-cheon didn’t seem to suspect anything.
“I see. I still remember my match against Senior Dang Gyu-young vividly. I hope we’ll have the chance to meet again someday.”
The two of them had faced each other in the quarterfinals of the Fixed Zone Tournament, where they fought a fierce battle.
In the end, Dang Gyu-young forfeited after running out of available moves.
I placed a hand on Dang Gyu-ri’s shoulder.
“This one’s every bit as capable as Senior Dang. You might be surprised if you see her fight.”
“Hearing you say that certainly piques my interest.”
Namgong Chang-cheon looked at Dang Gyu-ri with a very different expression than before.
“If you ever wish to spar, you’re welcome to come find me anytime. There’s no obligation, so don’t feel pressured.”
“Sure. I’ll stop by sometime.”
“Two promising encounters and two good promises already. I’d say today is a fortunate day.”
Namgong Chang-cheon looked thoroughly pleased.
He was about to say something else, but after checking the time, he spoke with a hint of regret.
“I can’t delay any longer. I’ll be on my way. I hope you both have a wonderful day.”
“Thank you, Senior. Take care.”
Just as when we’d greeted him, we saw him off with respectful bows.
As we watched his figure disappear into the distance, Dang Gyu-ri suddenly raised an eyebrow, as though something had occurred to her.
“…He’s about the same level as Oh Se-hoon and Song Cheon-gi, right?”
“As of before winter break, yes.”
There were plenty of factors to consider—potential, class matchups, fighting style, and so on….but broadly speaking, the equation held true:
Oh Se-hoon = Song Cheon-gi = Namgong Chang-cheon.
Which meant…
“So if I can beat him, I can beat the other two as well?”
“That’s a fair conclusion.”
“What do you think? If we fought again.”
“At worst, it’d be a fifty-fifty match.”
Back during the Fixed Zone Tournament, Dang Gyu-young had only just advanced to the Umbramancer class.
She only had two Shadow Extraction slots, and her control over the undead she had registered was still unrefined.
Now, however, she had four slots.
On top of that, her proficiency had improved dramatically through countless sparring sessions with the Dang Family Twin Heroes.
In addition, she had cleared multiple stages of the Challenge Hardship, learned Shadow Corridor, and further strengthened her undead.
No matter how much stronger Namgong Chang-cheon had become, he couldn’t have matched Dang Gyu-young’s rate of growth.
Even so, Dang Gyu-ri let out a thoughtful hum.
“…A fifty-fifty chance doesn’t feel good enough.”
“I agree. If you’re going to do it, you might as well win decisively.”
“Mhmm. I’ll challenge him after I’ve prepared a little more.”
“I doubt it’ll take long.”
“Perfect. Just you wait, Namgong.”
Dang Gyu-ri grinned. Her competitive spirit was blazing.
She had found herself a new goal.
Now that Oh Se-hoon and Song Cheon-gi had already graduated, her new objective was to give Namgong Chang-cheon a good beating with her bat.
***
After that, we continued walking around Dragon Slayer Academy, running into several familiar faces and chatting with them.
Before long, it was time for Dang Gyu-ri to get back to work.
Now that she had re-enrolled, she had been relieved of most of her guard duties, but a few responsibilities still remained.
For example, patrolling and managing certain restricted areas.
The academy always kept at least a minimum level of combat strength stationed there in case of emergencies.
After seeing Dang Gyu-young off, I headed toward the outskirts of the academic grounds.
It was a deserted clearing.
The ground was rough and uneven, and tree stumps which were the remains of felled trees were scattered around.
Perched on one of them was Go Hyeon-woo.
When he sensed someone approaching, he turned toward me.
“Kim hyung.”
“How’d the placement test go?”
“I’m fairly satisfied with the results.”
Normally, he would have answered with a gentle smile, but today there was a rare hint of tension on Go Hyeon-woo’s face.
He let out a quiet sigh before continuing.
“One year… It was a long time in some ways and a short time in others.”
“But now the time has come.”
“…….”
Go Hyeon-woo silently nodded at my words.
Then he reached into his inventory and pulled out a long, jet-black object.
The sacred relic of the Heavenly Wind Sect.
It was a sacred sword or perhaps a demonic sword that the Blood Cult had been so desperate to recover that they had even dispatched their elders.
I’d thought it was the Blood Wind Sword, but it wasn’t.
Of course, now it was finally time for that secret to be revealed.
Go Hyeon-woo had reached the threshold of the Transcendent Realm. In other words, his core had advanced to A-rank. And now he had earned the right to challenge the sacred relic.
He could have done it at any point during winter break, but he had postponed it because he wanted me to be there to witness it.
While we were at it, I casually made him a suggestion.
“Wouldn’t it be better to invite Han So-mi too?”
“You mean Miss Han?”
“She’s gotten pretty deeply involved in all this by now.”
Last year, she’d been the one trying to stop us every time we broke school rules. Now she’d not only left the Disciplinary Committee but had even promised to join us in our less-than-honorable activities.
We’d built up a great deal of trust.
She could be a bit of an airhead at times, but she knew how to keep a secret, and she’d proven that through her actions on more than one occasion.
Not to mention that during this past winter break, she’d fought alongside Go Hyeon-woo on the front lines and even helped recover the Orb of Wisdom from the dungeon.
If the opportunity arose, I was even willing to invite her into our alliance.
Go Hyeon-woo seemed to be thinking along the same lines, but he couldn’t bring himself to answer immediately.
“Miss Han has certainly earned the right to witness it. Even so… I find myself hesitating.”
“Because it’s a matter concerning your sect.”
“Even allowing Kim hyung was already an exceptional case. Inviting another outsider… it feels like I’d be betraying my sect.”
“That’s understandable.”
“Do you truly wish for Miss Han to be present as well, Kim hyung?”
I looked him straight in the eye as I answered.
“At the very least, I think she’s sincere when it comes to you. Maybe this is a good opportunity to give a little of that trust back.”
“…….”
Then I added with a teasing smile,
“Besides, if she finds out afterward, she’s one hundred percent going to sulk. She’ll be like, ‘You shared something this important with Kim hyung but not me?’ She’ll never let you hear the end of it.”
“There’s truth in that. Hahaha.”
Go Hyeon-woo’s tense expression finally relaxed as he chuckled.
A few messages were exchanged.
Not long after we sent her the location, Han So-mi came sprinting into the clearing at full speed.
“The star of the show has arrived! Why’d you call me?”
“So-mi, come sit down here.”
“…Huh?”
Tilting her head in confusion, Han So-mi nevertheless did as she was told.
The three of us sat facing one another as we explained everything.
We told her about the secrets surrounding Go Hyeon-woo’s sect and the Blood Cult and how he was now preparing to inherit the sacred relic in order to fulfill his sect’s long-cherished wish.
By the time we’d finished, even Han So-mi who had been smiling brightly the whole time had become noticeably more cautious.
“Are you sure it’s okay for me to see this? I’m an outsider.”
“Normally, it would be impossible. But I’ve decided to make an exception for both Kim hyung and Miss Han.”
“…Why?”
“The bonds I’ve formed with the two of you are no longer insignificant. It no longer feels right to think of either of you as mere outsiders.”
“…I’m seriously touched!”
Han So-mi’s face lit up, and at the same time, her eyes grew glossy with emotion.
I immediately seized the opportunity to take full credit.
“For the record, I’m the one who convinced him to invite you too. Grateful?”
“Thank you! That makes it twice as touching!”
“I’ll expect you to pay me back later.”
“I’ll remember that!”
It was time to get down to business.
I turned to Go Hyeon-woo.
“So how does the challenge work?”
“They told me to first secure a sufficiently large area.”
Apparently, the standard for “sufficiently large” was enormous, which was why we’d chosen this place instead of one of the training rooms at the training center.
Go Hyeon-woo then walked to the center of the clearing and began unsealing the sacred relic.
The chains wrapped tightly around it unraveled one by one, and the tattered cloth covering it was removed.
What emerged was a jet-black sword with a faint greenish tint.
Go Hyeon-woo gently laid it on the ground before returning to where we were.
Keeping his eyes fixed on the sacred relic, he continued his explanation.
“I was instructed to draw the sword while simultaneously infusing it with qi through the art of Telekinetic Retrieval.”
It was a technique for manipulating objects from a distance.
The farther away the object, the more internal energy it consumed at an exponential rate, making it increasingly difficult to control.
Adding the requirement of infusing it with qi made it even more demanding.
That was likely why an A-rank [Core] was the minimum requirement.
I glanced at him.
“You can do that, right?”
“Of course. I’ve been practicing whenever I had the chance.”
Go Hyeon-woo extended his hand toward the sacred relic and focused his mind.
The sword, which had been lying motionless on the ground, gave a slight tremble before the blade slowly slid partway out of its scabbard, revealing just a sliver of itself.
Kiiiiing—
The sharp hum of the blade began to fill the clearing.
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