Chapter 32
Chapter 32
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 32
Chapter Title: Mound of Distrust (7)
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“Laugh…?”
In a situation where his neck could be severed any second, Sa-yoon felt his mind go blank at Geon-ju's calm laugh. And at that moment, Geon-ju gripped the sword firmly with both hands and leaped downward.
The sword buried in Palsilrokus remained undrawn.
Shaaak—!
-Kieeeek!
The sword, boasting near quasi-S-rank performance, tore straight down through Palsilrokus's skin in a single line.
As it neared the ground, friction slowed its speed. Thanks to that, Geon-ju landed steadily and yanked out the deeply embedded blade.
Shak!
Blood from the sword splattered everywhere. At the same time, blood gushed from the rent flesh of Palsilrokus.
Not wanting to get hit by the fountain-like spray, Geon-ju had pulled back, but he groaned "Kiik," veins bulging in his eyes as he spotted Palsilrokus searching for him. He grabbed a tree and climbed up, evading it. As if he'd been a monkey in a past life, his technique of stabbing the tree with the sword and scaling it was flawless.
Geon-ju, who had climbed into the dense thicket, clicked his tongue at the still-vulnerable height, kicked off the trunk, and plunged the sword into the back of Palsilrokus as it circled behind.
The blade that had shredded the front now shredded the rear. Scraping down its skin the same way before, Geon-ju landed while withdrawing his body. The beast, trembling and enduring the pain, finally pitched forward.
Kwaaaang!
Its enormous body toppled over with a thunderous crash.
Sa-yoon, who had witnessed the entire scene unfold right before his eyes, was at a loss for words.
“...”
Forgetting even that he'd come down to help, he stared at the man wiping blood from his face, his own expression blankly dazed for once.
After clearing away the blood and sweat, Geon-ju took a single breath to steady himself before immediately slashing at another plant without pause. Sa-yoon didn't even have a chance to stop him.
-Kiaaaah!
This time, he successfully struck the monster repeatedly. The plant sliced by Geon-ju's sword wailed in screams. Its body swelled. It was Grade 1 this time as well.
Geon-ju charged at the bellowing creature without pulling the same dirty trick of attacking mid-transformation like before.
Kwajik! Kwajik! Kwajik!
As if he'd fully grasped the pattern after one look, the plunging tendrils missed Geon-ju and stabbed the earth. He evaded every attack fluidly, as though predicting their trajectories in advance, and beelined straight for Palsilrokus's forefoot.
Whoosh!
He drew his shoulder back wide and lifted the sword overhead.
Kuk!
With a savage sound unbelievable for a dagger thrust, the blade sank into the Grade 1 Palsilrokus's instep.
-Kieeeek!
A scream that pierced the eardrums rang out. Ignoring it, Geon-ju clenched the hilt of the sword lodged in its foot, gritted his teeth, and leaped, carving a red line all the way to the heel. It was a relentless assault, targeting the next-softest spot after the eyes with obsessive thoroughness.
Blood splashed onto his clothes, but Geon-ju paid it no mind as he spun around and hammered down twice at the Achilles tendon like chopping a tree before retreating in haste.
Whish!
Palsilrokus's hand, belatedly reaching for him, narrowly grazed his black hair. Fearless—or as if he had nine lives—Geon-ju continued moving with swift, audacious precision.
The best defense is a good offense, and Han Geon-ju before his eyes was proving the truth of those words.
Alternating between both forefeet to throw it into chaos and corner it, Geon-ju bided his moment before scaling its body and swinging. Midway, the Grade 1 raised a hand to strike, but he darted about like a nimble flying squirrel to dodge before targeting the second Grade 1 the exact same way.
The second Grade 1 collapsed even faster than the first, sending further tremors through the space. Reacting to the vibrations, a Crezia Worm erupted from the ground.
With no respite, Geon-ju—who was panting—locked onto the foe and vaulted from the earth. Then, just as Sa-yoon had done, he rammed the sword into its maw and, using a tendril from Palsilrokus's corpse that he must have grabbed at some point, throttled the Crezia Worm's neck with crushing force.
Kuuuk.
The tough vine burrowed into its tender flesh. But the Crezia Worm wasn't about to take it passively.
-Grraaak!
The shrieking beast thrashed and contorted wildly. It twisted into coils like a pretzel before slamming bang! bang! against the ground. Geon-ju nearly tumbled off once and, in a stroke of bad luck, ended up pinned beneath the Crezia Worm's bulk, coughing up blood.
That looks dangerous.
He might suffocate at this rate. Though the Crezia Worm quickly righted itself and flopped to the opposite side, given its size, a snapped rib or two wouldn't be surprising.
Thinking that was enough, Sa-yoon was about to call out to lend his pretty boy a hand when Geon-ju, blood dribbling from his mouth, desperately gripped both ends of the vine and wrenched tighter. Locked in stalemate, Geon-ju ground his teeth. The Crezia Worm convulsed, and Geon-ju's arms shuddered.
-Grrruk…
After a grueling contest of endurance just over five minutes, the one to yield was the Crezia Worm. Thud. Its massive corpse came to rest beside the Grade 1 Palsilrokus.
“...”
Silence blanketed the gate as the tremors faded. Sa-yoon's gaze flicked back and forth between the three monster corpses felled in the blink of an eye and Geon-ju, who was coughing while withdrawing his blade from the Crezia Worm.
After hacking up more blood a few times and wiping away the dripping sweat, he slicked back his sodden hair and turned to Sa-yoon. His face was tense, but showed no fatigue. Not a trace of exhaustion after dispatching three in seconds—his pristine expression sent Sa-yoon's mind spinning.
B-grade.
A kid fresh out of beginner gates.
Facing C-grade monsters for the first time.
Recalling each fact one by one, Sa-yoon met Geon-ju's eyes and swallowed hard.
He'd held no expectations, yet Han Geon-ju had slain three monsters in an instant. Purely on his own, without a shred of support.
Untaught, he'd displayed astonishing judgment and instincts. Especially throttling the Crezia Worm with a Palsilrokus vine—it was such brilliant improvisation, he'd want to film it for the guild members.
Gazing at Geon-ju as if beholding an alien lifeform, Sa-yoon felt his heart thump faster than usual. His lips twitched briefly. Pounding so fiercely and clamorously, it was audible to others. Unable to suppress it, Sa-yoon let a grin slip.
He couldn't deny it.
The Supreme Under Heaven trait wasn't mere bravado.
Thank goodness for the Eye of the Prodigy skill.
If he hadn't had it—if he'd missed spotting his pretty boy and let another guild snatch him away—he might've lost his mind at that talent and waged a guild war.
He'd have done anything to extract him, even if it meant sacrificing a hundred guildmates. By foul, ugly means if necessary.
It was that kind of talent. One you'd weep bloody tears over failing to claim.
Not pretty just in name—he truly was a pretty one. A honeyed lump that rolled right in, vines and all.
Until now, seeing Han Geon-ju had only sparked thoughts like "pretty handsome, handy for scams." But now, he really looked pretty. Not just his face—his actions, his arrogant words, all of it gleamed pretty.
So what if he was a bit cocky?
The truly exceptional always earned their attitude. He himself was proof.
Jong-sik would faint hearing that, but Sa-yoon stood unashamed. In his book, talent justified the arrogance. And from that lens, Han Geon-ju was priceless.
Raised right, he'd grow into guild leader material. The potential was plain as day.
"You did well."
Shaking off the awe and elation, Sa-yoon cleared his throat a couple times and approached Geon-ju. Perhaps because he'd just witnessed the feat, his voice came out unusually sweet as he called to him, but Geon-ju immediately sensed the weirdness and edged away.
"What now?"
"What else? Praise."
“...”
"Where'd you learn to handle them like that? If anyone asks, say I taught you, pretty."
"The guild leader hasn't taught me anything yet."
"I'll teach you everything from now on, so say it was me."
Beaming broadly while bulging his eyes, the threat-heavy words drew a sigh-tinged "Ah, sure" and a nod from him. His intent to half-ass the reply and forget it was plain as day, but it didn't irk Sa-yoon.
"Right, the talented have to act the part."
If anything, it was endearing.
From Sa-yoon's perspective, a Han Geon-ju without that edge would be worse. Other guilds might balk at the prickly, sneaky personality and pass.
Judging by that, even an impossible personality would be fine.
Oblivious to Sa-yoon's thoughts, Geon-ju asked if there was any advice from the recent fight.
He meant points for improvement, but Sa-yoon had none.
Han Geon-ju had performed perfectly.
He'd executed the optimal attacks for the situation, so all Sa-yoon did was ruffle his hair. Honey seemed to drip from every inch of his pretty boy's frame.