“……!”
Go Hyeon-woo’s face twitched uncontrollably.
The closer he got to Wind God, the tremendous force bearing down on him only grew stronger.
Even so, he refused to give up and continued reaching out. Just as his fingertips were about to brush the sword’s hilt,
– …….
The raging storm and sword energy vanished as though they had never existed, and silence descended over the training room.
Then, in the next instant, a compressed wave of energy exploded outward from Wind God.
Rumbleeeee—!
Go Hyeon-woo was sent flying across the training room and slammed into the far end with a thunderous crash.
Han So-mi immediately kicked off the ground in alarm.
“Go Hyeon-woo!!”
“Urgh……”
Go Hyeon-woo staggered back to his feet.
Judging by how pale his face was, he seemed to have taken quite a beating.
I should heal him first.
[Activated ‘Enchantment’.]
[‘Retrocovery’ has been granted to the target.]
Restored to perfect condition in an instant, Go Hyeon-woo let out a sigh of relief and looked at me.
“Thank you, Kim hyung.”
“Don’t mention it. You’ve improved a lot, though. You almost managed to touch it.”
“I did not expect to make it that far myself. I simply kept moving forward in a state of near-trance, and before I knew it, there I was.”
Han So-mi looked back and forth between us before joining the conversation.
“So close! You almost had it!”
“Haha, perhaps things went so well thanks to Miss Han’s encouragement.”
“Really? I didn’t jinx you, did I?”
“Of course not. I did not undertake this challenge with any certainty that I would succeed in the first place. I merely wished to gauge how much I had grown.”
Pushing through the barrage of sword energy with his bare hands was by no means an easy feat.
But considering that [Wind God] was no ordinary divine sword, we had expected there to be something more waiting beyond that point.
And sure enough, there was.
Despite his repeated failures, Go Hyeon-woo radiated a positive aura as he spoke.
“At the very least, I have overcome one major hurdle, so the summit no longer feels so far away.”
“You’re probably right. There should be, at most, one or two more patterns left.”
I nodded in agreement.
Considering that the minimum requirement was an A-rank [Core], it was unlikely they had designed the challenge to be so difficult as to be practically impossible.
In other words, if he could withstand the energy wave from earlier and perhaps one more attack after that, the inheritance challenge would be over.
It was easier said than done, of course, but if he kept at it, someday he would succeed.
Before long, Go Hyeon-woo turned his gaze toward the opposite side of the training room.
Then, as though making a promise to Wind God and a vow to himself at the same time, he said,
“Next time, I shall attempt it not to gauge myself, but with certainty that I will succeed.”
***
While Go Hyeon-woo and Han So-mi continued racing toward inheriting Wind God,
Song Cheon-hye also continued tirelessly with the Challenge Hardship.
Clang—!
Every time she took a pot shot, another enormous bump appeared on her head, but if anything, that seemed to motivate her, and she improved faster than expected.
In just a few days, she managed to increase the number of [Lightning Rods] to four and maintain them stably.
As expected, humans are creatures that grow stronger the more you beat them.
It was yet another victory for the Kim Ho Squeaky Hammer Theory.
At this rate, it wouldn’t take long for her to reach the seven required by the quest.
Seo Ye-in, meanwhile, did not insist on using only the pot. Every now and then, she switched to her magic gun in battle as well.
The goal was to improve her overall ranks and proficiency.
While everyone continued growing by leaps and bounds, I went around taking care of other matters.
I stopped by the magic engineering workshop and taught Bong Jae-young how to assemble the 10x10x10 three-dimensional blueprint.
And also had brief conversations with Jegal Yeong-yeong from the Swordsmanship Club and Kwak Seung-jae from the Disciplinary Committee.
Now, I was taking a short breather and having coffee with Dang Gyu-ri on the second floor of the snack bar.
“…….”
Whatever she was so unhappy about, her lips had been stuck in a pout ever since we met.
She narrowed her eyes at me for a while before finally speaking.
“……My little young monarch.”
“Yes, noona.”
“My dissatisfaction has only been growing lately.”
“Then it would be in both our interests to resolve it before we part ways. Please, speak freely.”
When I answered in the tone of a martial hero, Dang Gyu-ri pouted again and shot me a sidelong glance.
Still, apparently deciding she couldn’t stay sulky forever, she brought up the [Bond – Shared Traits] window.
Then she pointed to [Elemental Resistance] at the very bottom.
“Didn’t you say you’d register that later?”
“I did.”
There had been plenty of opportunities, but I had put it off at Dang Gyu-young’s request.
So she could face Song Cheon-gi skill against skill, without my help.
“Then tell me why you already did it.”
“First of all, I was wrong to go ahead without discussing it with you. I’m sorry.”
“It’s nice to see you admit it so quickly. Now let’s hear why.”
“As you know, the chances of running into Senior Song again have gotten pretty slim.”
“Mhmm, that’s true.”
Dang Gyu-ri slowly nodded.
Because of Song Cheon-hye’s tutoring situation, she still exchanged updates with Song Cheon-gi from time to time. Apparently, he had taken on important positions in both the Magic Tower Association and the Topaz Magic Tower.
He was constantly going back and forth between them and was extremely busy.
“And it’d be awkward to suddenly show up and ask him for a fight. We don’t have much reason to visit the Topaz side either.”
“That’s true too.”
“Besides, you can beat him now even without Elemental Resistance.”
Her skills had improved by no small amount, after all.
Even so, Dang Gyu-young was still frowning.
“I understand, but it still feels like a shame. It kind of feels like I’m just telling myself I won. I haven’t even gotten the satisfaction of fighting him yet.”
“You still have chances for that. There’s Senior Oh, remember? And Senior Namgong is still at the academy.”
Neither of them used elemental abilities, so she could fight them regardless of the Bond.
Moreover, when Namgong Chang-cheon had met Dang Gyu-ri, he had openly shown his competitive spirit and even given her a sparring ticket.
In other words, she could go challenge him whenever she wanted.
Dang Gyu-ri seemed a little tempted, so I continued explaining.
“And we can’t wait forever. It’s not like the Bond is just between the two of us.”
“Can’t it be just the two of us? Kick everyone else out.”
“You know perfectly well why we can’t, so why are you acting like this?”
“I was just saying.”
Dang Gyu-young gave me a light jab for no particular reason.
At least that meant she had calmed down enough to joke around, so I naturally played along as I continued.
“We can’t leave it sitting there unused forever. Then everyone loses out. Please understand.”
“Well, I guess we never know what might happen in the future.”
Dragons were already appearing all over the place and unleashing their breath attacks.
Someday, they might invade Dungeon Island, or one might show up wherever we happened to be carrying out an outside commission.
If that happened, having [Elemental Resistance] or not could mean the difference between life and death.
It would also greatly improve our safety when clearing related dungeons.
Normally, you were supposed to improve your skills a bit more before attempting A-rank, but if it was an elemental type, we might actually stand a chance.
After I explained that much, Dang Gyu-ri seemed to have gotten over most of her dissatisfaction with the Bond.
However, judging by how her eyes remained narrowed, she apparently still had another complaint.
She took a sip of her coffee, repeatedly flicked the disposable straw with her finger, and casually remarked,
“According to a reliable source, you went downtown over the weekend without me.”
“You still have sources?”
After reenrolling, she should have been practically a stranger to the Thieves’ Club.
Dang Gyu-ri smacked the table.
“There are ways of finding these things out. And I’m the one asking the questions! How could you guys go have fun without me?”
“Seo Ye-in said she wanted it to be just the two of us. She even used a wish ticket, so I had to grant it.”
“Except I heard Song Cheon-hye was there too.”
I paused for a moment before casually asking,
“Is this reliable source of yours someone with the surname Seo, by any chance?”
“Mhmm. I asked her outright.”
“You two are pretty close.”
Apparently, they talked among themselves too.
Dang Gyu-ri smacked the table again.
“I said I’m the one asking the questions! Why did you guys get to have all the fun?”
“Having a certain Song join us wasn’t part of our plans either. We had no choice but to take her along. She took the wrong medicine.”
“……Medicine? That stuff?”
“Yes, that stuff.”
By this point, word about D.E.B – 001 had spread throughout Dragon Slayer Academy.
Since Dang Gyu-ri had once been the president of the Thieves’ Club, she was bound to be well-informed.
Her curiosity was immediately piqued.
“What happened after she took it?”
“She became nice. Very nice.”
“She became nice? Explain in detail.”
“Not too much detail.”
No matter how much I liked teasing her, it was still an embarrassing chapter in Song Cheon-hye’s past.
It wouldn’t be right to go around telling everyone about it.
So I only gave her a rough account of what had happened, and an intrigued look appeared on Dang Gyu-ri’s face.
“……Every single one of those side effects is fascinating.”
“Tell me about it.”
“What do you think would happen if I took it?”
“Who knows? I can’t even imagine.”
Dang Gyu-ri seemed to think for a moment before leaning toward me with a mischievous smile.
“Next time I come over and ask to ‘pick up where we left off’, just assume it’s a side effect.”
“That just sounds exactly like the usual Qyu-Qyu.”
“You’re supposed to take the hint and play along!”
With that, she lifted my arm and gave it a chomp.
I stared at her in disbelief and asked,
“What was that for this time?”
“I just felt like biting you.”
“Could you at least come up with a reason? Put in the bare minimum effort here.”
“I’m telling you, wanting to bite you is the reason.”
“That’s it. I can’t take this anymore either.”
“……?”
I picked up Dang Gyu-ri’s arm in the exact same way and gave it a light bite.
She flinched and looked up at me with wide eyes.
“Wait, what was that?”
“I just felt like biting you too. Give me your arm.”
I replied, subtly baring my teeth like a vampire.
An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, and a bite for a bite.
I was going to give her a taste of her own medicine.
Dang Gyu-ri blinked blankly at me for a few moments before the corners of her lips slowly curled upward.
She undid the top couple of buttons on her shirt, exposing her neck and shoulder.
“Well, I suppose it can’t be helped. Go ahead and bite me here too.”
“You’re stepping on the gas even harder?”
“Everywhere! Leave your teeth marks! All over me!”
It seemed my attempt to give her a taste of her own medicine had backfired instead.
But backing down or giving up now would be the mark of an amateur.
Since I’d already decided to bite her, I might as well see how far I could take it.
So I spoke in a suggestive tone.
“You know, skipping straight to that part from the start takes half the fun out of it.”
“……Really?”
“Yeah. You have to work your way up to it, step by step.”
“……!”
With that, I lifted Dang Gyu-ri’s hand and slowly brought it toward my mouth.
Starting at the tip of her finger, I bit down just enough for my teeth to barely touch. Then I moved to the back of her hand, then her wrist, gradually working my way up.
“……!”
Each time, Dang Gyu-ri gave a faint twitch, as if a jolt of electricity had run through her.
By now, I would’ve expected at least a “Pffffft” out of her, but instead of laughing, she didn’t say a word.
Her face just kept growing redder with a hint of excitement showing through.
Meanwhile, I left teeth marks near her elbow before biting her upper arm, gradually working my way higher.
Unfortunately, though, I never made it to my final destination… her shoulder.
Because an extremely urgent message came in.
[Shin Byeong-cheol: Hey hey hey hey]
[Shin Byeong-cheol: Help! Help! Hurry!]
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