Sword Lord (3)
Sword Lord (3)
Food arrived quickly. Perhaps because it was a Korean full-course meal, several women in hanbok came out and set a table full of food.
On the neat dishes, there were braised short ribs, seasoned ribs, beef bulgogi, and smoked meat with crispy exteriors. The side dishes alone near me numbered 10, and there were over 10 types of meat dishes.
Looking at the amount of meat, it was enough to make one gasp. Even though I usually eat about 2-3 servings, the meat spread boasted an amount that would require 2 or 3 of me to finish off.
"Oh, there's magic cast on this."
Lee Ji-ah said, softly admiring the tableware.
"Yes, since we're serving everything at once, there's preservation magic cast on it so the food doesn't get cold while you're eating other dishes."
I gave the server a weary look. Using [Thousand-Hand] to examine it, I confirmed that preservation magic was indeed cast on every single dish. It must have cost a pretty penny to cast preservation magic on this much tableware.
The servers set the food on the table, bowed, and left.
"Shall we eat too?"
Sword Mistress said, picking up her chopsticks.
"Thank you for the meal."
We expressed our gratitude to Sword Mistress, picked up a piece of duck meat with our chopsticks, and put it in our mouths.
"Wow."
The moment I put the duck meat in my mouth.
The rest is a blur. I was shivering and devouring the food that had been brought out.
'Is this food with [Taste Magic] cast on it...?'
Is this what magic with [Taste Magic] is like?
It was so delicious that normal food felt like trash.
The spiciness, saltiness, and sweetness were felt in greater detail. At the same time, there was no gamey smell from the meat; the beef melted the moment it entered my mouth, the duck meat was crispy on the outside and moist on the inside. The pork went well with the seasoning, and the lamb had no gamey smell.
While eating the meat, I observed my surroundings. Lee Ji-ah and Kim Harin were also eating as if burying their faces in their bowls, and Nam Da-yoon was looking at me and smiling contentedly.
"Do you want to try this too?"
Nam Da-yoon gave me a piece of seasoned crab from her bowl. I nodded and accepted it without refusing.
"Hah."
I was full. Not just usually full, but seriously full. I felt like I might get indigestion if I wasn't careful. I felt a bit better after circulating the mana in my body.
I'll probably suffer from being full all night, but I have no regrets. That's how delicious the food was. Even if I could go back, I would have eaten all the meat.
"Siwoo-ya."
"Yes?"
Nam Da-yoon called me. She was looking at me with a proud expression.
"Did you eat well?"
"Yes, I ate well. But a lot came out, didn't it?"
"It's fine. I earned quite a bit while clearing a dungeon this time."
At my question, Nam Da-yoon said with a smirk. I paused at Nam Da-yoon's words. A dungeon? The only dungeon around here should be the Qilin's Nest. Don't tell me...
"Look at this. I got it from the boss after entering the dungeon, it's quite big, right?"
Nam Da-yoon said, showing me a yellow marble larger than my fist. I could see high-density mana moving while refined inside the marble. It was a [Magic Crystal]. And it contained mana with the lightning attribute that a [Thunder Monarch] would likely possess.
"Did you happen to kill a [Thunderbird] at the dungeon entrance?"
"Huh?"
At my question, Nam Da-yoon's expression became strange. Seeing her expression wondering how I knew, I scratched my head and said.
"Actually, the reason we came out during mission week this time was to catch a [Thunderbird]."
"What?! You got a mission to subjugate a [Thunderbird]!?"
Nam Da-yoon asked me in shock. This was definitely the normal reaction. The principal wouldn't just say, "Oh? Then do you want to try it?" and give permission like that. Lee Ji-ah and Kim Harin also trusted me to a strange degree.
"Um, actually, there's a way to subjugate a [Thunderbird] quite easily."
"...Really? Now that I think about it, you said you got a perfect score on the written exam, right?"
"You knew?"
"Yeah, it was quite famous."
Now that I think about it, the beginning of the semester came to mind. Newspapers and pro-Korea videos were causing all sorts of aggro, saying that the first person to get a perfect score at the [Hero Academy] was Korean. It was super embarrassing. If I had known, I would have done it moderately.
[The brainy hunk Lee Si-woo who shocked the whole world! The first perfect scorer on the [Hero Academy] written exam?! The whole world is surprised by Korea because of his performance!!]
[Korea's hope! The new K-Hero! A lightning-fast analysis of Lee Si-woo!]
Thinking about it again, it makes me dizzy. Portals were decorated with articles with such titles for a while too.
"But it's too dangerous."
"Still, Harin has [Mad Wings], so the win rate was incredibly high."
In reality, the method of using Kim Harin to catch a [Thunderbird] boasts a success rate of about 99%. The 1% was if someone did something stupid or was just incredibly unlucky, causing things to go horribly wrong.
"I can't talk about Harin's unique trait, but it's specialized for catching [Thunderbird]s."
"Really? So that's why you challenged it."
She added with a bitter smile.
"Academy students these days are amazing. To think you'd get a mission to subjugate a [Thunderbird], you've grown to a level I couldn't even imagine in my time."
"Hey, it's not to that extent. It's just that the kids who came in this time are too outstanding."
"And Siwoo is among those outstanding kids?"
I shrugged at her words. She was beaming and smiling at my reaction, wondering what was so good.
At her words, the existence who pretends to be a hero came to mind. Although the [Hero Academy] has gathered the most outstanding high school students from all over the world, a [Thunderbird] is not a being that can be caught at the student level.
'Perhaps the reason the [Thunderbird] came up is...'
Blonde hair, red eyes.
A woman who smiles confidently came to mind.
Although she said her job was Hero, she is an existence who awakens as a [Celestial Demon] in the later stages.
If the male hero is "all-rounder," the female hero has the concept of "Lu Bu." And currently, among all students, she is the only one who can challenge an instructor alone and win.
If one considers Lee Ji-ah, Kim Harin, and Eun Sua, who has the trait of [Seven-colored Sword], as the limit of talent a human can possess, then Im Na-yeon or Han Jong-woo are just below that. And the unique traits possessed by the two male and female heroes are...
'Coming here, I know. How ridiculous the unique traits those two have are.'
The unique traits possessed by the male hero or female hero were in a different league compared to the kids listed above.
Literally "chosen beings" to kill the [Demon King]s.
[Destiny of the World], a trait loved by the world where all talents and proficiency increase just by breathing.
[Celestial Demon], a trait that boasts the strongest among all traits in interpersonal combat, possesses the attribute of [Demon], and counters all [Demon] attributes.
'I don't think my trait is lacking, but...'
[Mask of a Thousand Faces], arguably the most versatile trait excluding [Destiny of the World]. [Thousand-Hand], the pinnacle of dexterity, [Knowledge Browsing], which allows one to see most things classified as knowledge.
I think all of these are really good and useful, but compared to the ones above, I feel it's a little lacking.
If so, what I need to awaken as a unique trait is...
"Siwoo-ya?"
I woke up from my thoughts at the beautiful voice calling me. Oops, what was I doing.
"Ah, I'm sorry. I had something to think about for a moment..."
"Yeah, what was it?"
"Haha, it's personal."
"So you don't want to tell your noona."
She said with a mischievous expression. I shook my head at that expression and said.
"No, I was just worrying about how to get stronger."
Her eyes widened. And soon she said with a wistful expression.
"Siwoo uses a sword too, right?"
"Yes. I use this and that, but I use the sword as my main."
"Then shall I take a look at your sword?"
"Noona?"
I said, surprised. Nam Da-yoon, called the [Sword Mistress], teaching me the sword. No matter how I think about it, there's only profit.
Sticking to her under the pretext of teaching swordsmanship to raise the relationship level.
I could also ask her for advice to create a foundation for me to become stronger.
If a dungeon that needs to be cleared urgently appears, or when villains run wild, there's also a way to use her to wipe out the [Demon-human]s.
"Uh, that's a really grateful offer, but wouldn't it be too bothersome for you, noona?"
"Bothersome? It's actually good because I can see Siwoo often."
"Yes?"
Nam Da-yoon grinned at my question.
Uh, can I interpret that as meaning she wanted to see her younger brother that much...?
"Siwoo is a student, so we can schedule it on the weekend, right?"
"Yes? Yes. I would be really grateful if you did that."
"If you're grateful, you can treat me to something big when you become an adult later."
I nodded, feeling happy as if I had no choice, at Nam Da-yoon's words.
A forest submerged in darkness on all sides.
A pair of man and woman were walking there.
The woman with brilliant blonde hair and red eyes, wearing black shorts and a long-sleeved tracksuit, was yawning as if she were bored.
There was a person with silver hair and blue eyes that contrasted with her blonde hair. A pretty person who was hard to distinguish whether they were a man or a woman.
They were also wearing clothes that didn't fit the forest. A black tracksuit and shorts. And they were wearing slippers as if they were just moving somewhere nearby, with a languid expression.
"Ah~. I should have participated in the [Thunderbird] subjugation first."
"They took it first. Can't be helped, right."
Yoon Seung-ha replied languidly to the blonde woman, Yoon Chae-rin's words.
In fact, for them, this was a mission that belonged to the easier side. The [Thunderbird] is easier to find, but it wouldn't have been easy to catch up with its flight speed.
'[Dark Spirit] search is, well...'
Yoon Seung-ha looked at his twin sister.
Yoon Chae-rin.
A woman who possesses a trait called [Celestial Demon]. A woman who receives tremendous bonuses in interpersonal combat and has the ability to dominate all [Demon]s.
Although [Dark Spirit]s are generally tricky, considering Yoon Chae-rin's trait, it was easier than eating rice cake while lying down.
'Although if you eat rice cake while lying down, the rice cake could get stuck in your throat and you could die.'
It was while walking, thinking about trivial things.
-Kyaaaaaah! Help me!
A piercing scream rang out. The voice was frail. The opponent was probably a woman. However, the two had indifferent expressions.
It was not that they took human lives lightly, but an expression they made because they knew the person screaming was not a human.
"Tsk, all sorts of trash are being a pain in the ass."
"Watch your language."
Yoon Seung-ha said with a sigh at Yoon Chae-rin's harsh words.
'She's a good person if she just didn't swear.'
"Where are you lecturing me, you little brother."
"I'm telling Mom."
"...Tsk. All sorts of weird kids are picking fights."
At the younger brother, Yoon Seung-ha's ultimate move, Yoon Chae-rin changed her words. She said she had nothing to fear, but her mother was a bit difficult to deal with.
"Well, anyway. I'm going to kill that bastard and come back."
"Watch your language."
"...I'll go catch that guy and come back."
Yoon Chae-rin grumbled at Yoon Seung-ha's words. I'm older, so why do I have to listen to my younger brother? If it wasn't for..., I would have really...
Grumbling like that, Yoon Chae-rin kicked the ground. Her figure began to 'sink into darkness' in an instant. Darkness cut through the darkness and flew off like an arrow shot.
At that sight, Yoon Seung-ha felt a sense of "oops." That boar-like person wouldn't just quietly catch the [Dark Spirit].
Considering her trait, she only needed to get close and touch the [Dark Spirit]. No, even without touching it, she could just 'absorb' the [Dark Spirit] from afar.
Kwaaaang!
The forest was overturned. Yoon Seung-ha sighed and looked at the place where Yoon Chae-rin had landed. As if a shell had fallen, a crater 10m in size had formed.
And a woman could be seen smiling brightly, grabbing the [Dark Spirit]'s hair and shaking it towards herself.
Watching that scene, Yoon Seung-ha rubbed his aching forehead.