Chapter 100
Chapter 100
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 100
Chapter Title: Reunion
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Day 9 in the Labyrinth.
I was still practicing the Life Sword using the orc Bio had captured.
With a single glance from Bio, the sturdy orc's arm fell off.
“Gweeeeeek!”
I ignored the orc screaming in agony and focused on the vibrant green arm, still twitching with life.
I tried to erase any aggressive feelings of killing or cutting as I wielded my will.
*Swish—*
Instead of reattaching, it split into two pieces again.
This is too difficult.
Does it even make sense to reattach an arm by attacking it?
Well, Bio did actually show me it was possible, but...
I just can't get the hang of it.
“Your will still holds aggressive emotions. Erase your mind.”
“If I erase my mind, how am I supposed to use my will...?”
It's hard enough just to erase my killing intent and use my will...
“Attach it again.”
“This seems to be taking too long. We should change our method.”
“Huh? What method?”
If he had a better way, he should have said so earlier.
“Perhaps because it’s a monster’s arm and not your own, you lack the necessary desperation.”
“So... what?”
“If it were to heal your own arm, I imagine you’d concentrate better and feel more desperate.”
He said he would cut off my arm again without batting an eye.
“N-No, I’ll try harder. And what do you mean I’m not desperate? I am. I’m trying my best.”
“Then if you fail this time, we’ll go back to the first method.”
As soon as Bio finished speaking, the bisected arm, which had been losing its vitality, reattached to the orc.
“Kurrrk... Gweeeeek!”
As the arm fell off again, it screamed, its expression begging for death.
After all, the poor thing had its arm cut off and reattached at least 300 times by now...
Feeling sorry for it, I wielded my will, but failed again.
“Hey, Bio? If I try just one more time, I think I can get the hang of it...”
“If you were going to get it, you would have by now. Let's go back to the first method...”
Just when I thought I was screwed, Bio suddenly stopped talking and looked behind him.
“Hyeon-ung!”
It was my companions, led by Ha-young.
Bio had mentioned they started fighting the floor boss last night...
“We’ll continue the training later.”
Ha-young saved me again... huh?
Ha-young, who was running toward me, suddenly collapsed.
“H-Ha-young? Guys, what’s wrong with her? Ha-young! Wake up.”
“She’s just exhausted.”
“We came straight here after beating the boss.”
According to my companions, they had fought the floor boss, the Great Lake Serpent, for nearly 20 hours.
“You should have let her rest.”
“We suggested resting, but she insisted on seeing you as soon as possible, Hyeon-ung.”
“I healed all her wounds, so she shouldn’t be hurt.”
I checked on Ha-young. Her clothes were tattered and she looked a bit disheveled, but there were indeed no injuries.
Her skin was tanned, and she seemed to have gained some weight. If anything, she looked healthier than before.
I took a tent out of my inventory and set it up. Hanna then lifted Ha-young and gently laid her inside.
“How was she?”
“How was she? Of course, I missed you terribly, Hyeon-ung. Didn’t you miss me?”
I was asking about Ha-young, but Timi clung to my side with a sly grin.
“You vixen! Get off him!”
Rina immediately pulled Timi away.
As soon as my companions arrived, things got loud and chaotic, but it finally felt lively again.
“Of course, I missed all of you. How was Ha-young?”
“She’s just barely learned to walk.”
“I-Is that so?”
Milli is so blunt.
“Still, she couldn’t even walk before, so she’s improved a lot.”
Despite her indifferent tone, I could see a hint of pride for Ha-young in Milli's expression.
“Hyeon-ung, I taught Ha-young magic too. She’s a quick learner, you know?”
“She seems to have some talent with the sword, so I was thinking of teaching her swordsmanship later.”
It seemed they had all grown fond of Ha-young while traveling with her, even if it meant I was a bit lonely.
“Poyo! Poyo!”
Nyx, also happy to see me after a long time, flew over and rubbed against my cheek.
“Hey, Nyx, have you been well? What about Geum-yong?”
“Kkyu... Kkyuing?”
Geum-yong peeked out from behind Hanna.
The little guy. I scolded him for eating that mythic item, and he’s still wary of me.
“Geum-yong, you come here too.”
“Kkyuing!”
My resentment hadn't completely faded, but it had been a while, so I called him over and petted him.
“Me too, Hyeon-ung!”
Good grief. Elaine, apparently jealous, presented her head.
“Elaine, you’ve been well too, right?”
“Yes. I didn’t teach her anything special, but I kept her company. And I missed you, Hyeon-ung.”
“I missed you too. You did well.”
After I patted Elaine’s head, the others all presented their heads as if on cue.
“I told you I taught her magic, right?”
“I’m the one who healed her wounds, mister.”
“I’d like one too, please.”
Timi, Rina, and even Hanna.
“Excuse me, but I’m the one who taught Ha-young the most.”
Even Milli subtly offered her head.
In the end, I patted each of their heads.
“Hyeon-ung, have you been training here this whole time?”
“That’s right.”
“Looks like you’ve been sparring a lot.”
“What’s with that orc?”
After I summarized the situation, they all glared at Bio.
“Seriously, Bio, no matter how you look at it, how is cutting off Hyeon-ung’s arm and reattaching it considered training?!”
“It must have hurt so much... Are you okay?”
“Mister, let me see. Bio, you’re too much.”
As they all chimed in, Bio awkwardly scratched the back of his head.
“You went too far this time, Bio.”
Oh, even Hanna, Bio's number one fan, was on my side.
“It was for his training... And didn’t I switch to the orc midway through?”
“Only because I asked you to.”
“And then you were about to switch back to cutting Hyeon-ung’s arm, weren’t you?”
My girls are the best!
“Well, his skills weren’t improving, and he seemed to be losing focus...”
“You know he’s trying his best.”
“Ahem, something urgent has come up. I’ll see you later.”
With those words, Bio vanished.
This time, it didn't seem like something urgent came up; he just ran away to avoid the criticism...
While we were sharing our joyous reunion, a rustling sound came from the tent, and Ha-young emerged.
“You’re up already? I heard you came straight here without sleeping. You should rest more.”
“Oh, no. I’m fine.”
Fine? Her eyes were bloodshot...
*Growl—*
That wasn't my stomach. It seemed she was hungry too.
“You probably haven't eaten either. Wait a bit, I’ll make you something delicious.”
I made a stew with the soup and the few remaining vegetables I had saved for our reunion.
“Hanna’s cooking was delicious while we were apart, but your food is the best, oppa!”
“Is that so? No one’s going to steal it, so eat slowly.”
The way she hastily shoveled the stew into her mouth, anyone would think she'd been starving for days.
I hadn't eaten in a while myself, so I quickly finished a bowl too.
“How have you been? Do you feel like you’ve improved?”
I’d heard a bit from the others earlier, but not from her directly.
“I realized how much I was lacking. But I think I’ve gotten a little better.”
“Milli said so too.”
“Milli did?”
Seeing her surprise, Milli must have been really hard on her.
“You worked hard. I brought you along and then just left you with the others.”
“Not at all. If I had stayed with you, I wouldn’t have improved this quickly.”
She seems to have matured a bit too.
“It was because I wanted to see you so badly. The others were nagging me to hurry, too.”
Seeing Ha-young say that with a bashful smile made my face flush.
Is it because she's young?
She says such embarrassing things with a straight face.
“Did you train a lot, oppa? Oh? Come to think of it, I don’t see Bio.”
I explained what happened, just as I had to the others, and she was shocked.
“H-He cut off your arm?”
“Said I had to learn something called the Life Sword.”
“You must have had a hard time too. I never would have thought Bio was like that...”
“He may look decent on the outside, but he’s a cruel, heartless bastard. Don’t tell me you were a fan of his looks too, Ha-young?”
I asked playfully, but Ha-young nodded without a moment’s hesitation.
“I’m disappointed.”
“But to me, you’re the most handsome. Did you think I liked you for your looks?”
Aww, Bio should have been here to hear that...
How can she say such sweet things?
Right, honestly, I might not be as handsome as Bio, but I had my fair share of female fans.
According to my subscriber demographics, about 5% were female.
“So, oppa, where are we going now? The 35th floor?”
****
Labyrinth, 44th Floor
We could have gone to the 35th floor, but we came to the 44th instead.
There wasn't much time left before the Labyrinth closed, and the Golden Lion Guild's main force was on the 40th floor. I figured Ha-young would be able to adapt just fine now.
I had planned to use Bio's power to move, but he couldn't be summoned.
I was worried that something had actually happened to him, and he wasn't just avoiding criticism.
It was a slight problem, but fortunately, I was able to summon Red Hare, and with Ha-young riding with me, we used the Thousand-Mile Horse skill to cross to the 43rd floor.
I had already beaten the 43rd floor boss several times and knew the portal's location, so we quickly moved on to the 44th.
The 44th floor, like the 43rd, was adjacent to the sea, but it also featured a towering mountain in its center.
“I think the portal will be on the mountain.”
“Ha-young, wait here with the others for a moment.”
Using Spirit Wings, I flew up and scouted the area, eventually spotting the Golden Lion Guild's main force camped on a plateau halfway up the mountain.
*Kwaang—*
Mistaking me for a monster, arrows and magic spells flew from the encampment.
“It’s me, Hyeon-ung!”
I shouted loudly, but they either couldn't hear me or ignored me, as spells and arrows continued to fly my way, which I easily dodged.
Fortunately, as I closed the distance, they seemed to recognize me, and the attacks stopped. I landed lightly.
“It really is you, Hyeon-ung.”
“Sorry. We thought you were a monster...”
“It’s fine. Is Tae-soo here...?”
“My son-in-law!”
...Haha. For a moment, I considered just turning back, but I forced myself to greet him.
“How did you get here?”
“I’ll explain the details after I bring the rest of my party.”
“Party?”
I returned to where Ha-young was waiting.
“Oppa, did you find the portal entrance?”
“No. But I found your father. Let’s go.”
I was about to just carry her, but then I realized the other Golden Lion guild members would see and brand me as the son-in-law for sure. So I summoned a Kirin and rode it instead.
Thankfully, because I’d spoken with them earlier, we weren’t attacked.
“Dad!”
“H-Ha-young? How are you here?”
“Oppa brought me.”
Tae-soo looked as if he’d seen a ghost.
His eyes widened even more as I explained what had happened.
“L-Level 60 already? That’s completely broken! There are still people in the main force who aren’t level 60 yet.”
“When we partied together, it seems all the experience went to Ha-young.”
Tae-soo’s expression hardened slightly.
“If she only has a high level without any experience...”
“She built it up steadily on the 34th floor.”
“Dad, I even beat the Great Lake Serpent by myself.”
“You beat a floor boss alone?”
Now his eyes looked like they were about to pop out of his head. He was clearly astonished.
“She’s not perfect yet, but I think she can join the main force and learn from you as you go.”
“I’m always in your debt. As expected of my son-in-law!”
He suddenly hugged me. I could understand the hug, but the son-in-law part was a bit much...
Thank goodness we were inside the barracks and no one else was around.
“I can’t breathe. And besides, Ha-young saved my life too.”
“Didn’t you heal Ha-young first? You saved yourself.”
“Wait a minute! What do you mean I should join the main force? You want me to travel with my dad?”
“Ha-young?”
“I want to go with you, oppa.”
I had expected this, but my attempt to smoothly brush it over wasn't working.
“Look, Ha-young...”
“I’ll say it. Realistically, that’s impossible.”
Without Ha-young, I wouldn't be able to maintain the constant stat boost I currently enjoy, but I couldn't put her in danger.
I almost died on the 65th floor, and even Bio said the difficulty would skyrocket as we went higher.
Plus, I was on an angel's hit list.
“That’s so unfair... Who do you think I worked so hard for...?”
She looked like she was about to cry, but what's impossible is impossible.
“Let’s go together when you get a little stronger. Besides, I don’t plan on going up any higher for now.”
My training wasn't completely fruitless, but I still hadn't gotten the hang of the Life Sword at all.
I finally managed to calm her down by explaining that unless something special came up, I would stay on the same floor, visit often, and help teach her companions.
Tae-soo asked for some time for the two of them to talk, so I stepped out of the tent.
When the Labyrinth closes this time, the preliminary rounds for the Cartea Empire's Martial Arts Tournament will begin.
Of course, I received a seed, so I won't be participating, but after a short break, the main tournament will start.
I was curious about the imperial capital, the rewards, and what kind of person the emperor was, but there was something I was most curious about.
The main tournament would feature summoners who had chosen Kershuna's Tower and the Aurelian Sea of Trees.
There must be other Pioneers like me in those regions. I wanted to meet them quickly and talk about how far they've gotten and what they know about the angels.