Chapter 316: The Children
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 316: The Children
“Lapura.”
“Yes, Father.”
“You know that what you just said could have offended her, don’t you?”
“Yes, Father. I’ve learned that even speaking the truth can be a nuisance to others.”
“That’s not the issue. Lapura, your sister may be lacking now, but you shouldn’t assume she will always be that way. This father of yours was also very weak at first.”
She looked at me with an expression of disbelief. It was an understandable reaction. As one who had fully claimed the Seat of Sorrow and Despair, I must have seemed immense in Lapura’s eyes. It seemed she judged strength based on the magic and physique within a body, but a single encounter with Kim Yoora might change her perspective.
“Yes.”
“It would make me very happy if you got along well with your sister.”
“I understand. But Father, does my sister always act that way toward you?”
I couldn’t grasp the gist of her question—what “way” she was referring to. She was probably talking about how clingy she was.
“You could say that. Your sister is still young, so she’s a bit spoiled. It was especially so when she was born, as I didn’t have the luxury to look after her. Lapura, you can act a little spoiled like your sister, too.”
“No, I’m… f-fine.”
Lapura was certainly not like a typical child. Her lack of facial expression was definitely not normal for a girl her age.
Feeling a pang of concern, I stroked her head. She blushed and lowered her head deeply. She was embarrassed. This reaction was so refreshing that I scooped Lapura into my arms and began to walk quickly.
A medium-sized magical beast should be sufficient to test Lapura’s power. I thought it best to explain before we began, so I looked at Lapura again and spoke.
“You know that you’re a little different from other children, don’t you?”
“Seeing my sister… I think I understand a little. My brother seemed a bit better, but… he’s still young.”
Indeed, from what I’d seen, Ratga wasn’t bad either. It was too early to judge how strong he would become, but if he grew up normally, he had the makings of a king. As Jang Ye Ri’s son, his talent would likely surpass my own.
It was a bit baffling to hear her call her older brother young when she was young herself, but I continued what I was saying.
“To be honest, I’m worried about whether you can control the power you possess.”
“You don’t have to worry, Father. I’ve heard from Mother how to use my power.”
Her expression remained blank. She spoke with confidence, but frankly, I couldn’t believe it until I saw it with my own two eyes. A child not even a month old possessed immense power. To me, Lapura looked like a toddler holding the launch button for a massive missile.
Of course, there were many powerful individuals within the settlement. Even if something went wrong, they could handle it, but it could be dangerous outside the settlement or when she was with other children.
“There can be a big difference between simply knowing something and testing it yourself. Let’s try a simple test.”
Lapura nodded again, her face expressionless.
The Forest of Mist was vast, and its population of magical beasts was large. It was a favorite hunting ground for many Green Skin tribes, and the quality of the beasts was by no means poor. After we eliminated the great beast of the East, the number of large—though not colossal—magical beasts had increased dramatically.
Where there is no lion, the fox is king. With the apex predator gone, the creatures below it began to grow larger. In truth, testing her against a large beast probably wouldn’t have been an issue, but since this was her first time, a medium-sized one was more appropriate.
As I continued searching for beasts, it wasn’t long before one appeared. It was a four-legged, predatory-type magical beast; creatures like that were usually fast and highly aggressive. As expected, it failed to recognize its place and charged the moment it saw me, but I didn’t see any need to intervene. Lapura was already prepared.
“Hmm… For now, let’s start by not killing it.”
“Yes.”
In an instant, the chant was recited and her voice rang out. The magic was similar to Jung Hayeon’s. As Lapura extended her hand toward the agile beast, vines shot out from all directions and began to ensnare it. It tried to dodge, but there was no escaping that sheer volume. The only difference was that these vines had thorns, causing the beast some pain. It was battered, but she had certainly kept it alive.
“Is this enough?”
“Let’s test you a little more.”
It felt like I really should have looked for a large beast after all. I hadn’t expected her to capture it so easily. It wasn’t a particularly formidable creature, but the important thing was that she had dealt with it using magic. For a skilled swordsman, this beast wouldn’t have been difficult to handle, but for a magician, it was a completely different story.
She had anticipated the beast’s quick movements and cut off all its escape routes to bind it. She didn’t know the proper strategy; she had instinctively sensed how to deal with it.
When I stroked her head again in praise, I couldn’t help but smile slightly as I watched her fidget with her fingers.
It was a clear reminder that a child is still a child.
Being a parent loved by your child is a joyous thing. I moved on again, and before long, I found a large magical beast. It was smaller than the great beast of the East, but still tall enough that we had to crane our necks to look up at it. Lapura, too, was staring at the beast with wide, surprised eyes.
She may have inherited much from Jung Hayeon, but there’s a difference between hearing about something and seeing it with your own eyes. She was at an age where everything she saw was a wonder.
The elephant-like beast was famous for spraying a deadly poison from its trunk, but the strategy to defeat it wasn’t very difficult. It required forming a party, but that didn’t apply to me. It was also a good opportunity to test the power of my eyes. I felt I’d found a decent opponent.
“This time, let’s just try attacking it. I’ll block for you at first, so you should take your time chanting the spell.”
No parent would leave their child to face a creature like that one-on-one.
“Yes, Father.”
To announce my presence, I sent a stream of magic toward the beast while simultaneously enveloping Lapura in my own magic. I was starting to regret not bringing Isaac. The magic wrapped around Lapura wasn’t a shield spell or a unique ability; it was just a crude, forceful infusion of magic to protect her body. Somehow, that didn’t feel like enough. To prepare for the worst, I also brought out Aegis.
“Aegis.”
The moment the large shield materialized in front of Lapura, the beast, having sensed us, let out a tremendous roar.
“KUUUWOOOOOOOOOH!”
Along with the massive roar, the beast’s form seemed to move in slow motion as it immediately sprayed poison in our direction. The toxic liquid fanned out everywhere, like water from a fountain. The trees and rocks in front of us melted upon contact with the acid it sprayed, and it finally reached us.
Dodging a liquid is incredibly difficult. It sprays in all directions and follows no pattern. But with these eyes, it wasn’t impossible. I could see everything—how it would move, in what direction. I couldn’t help but think that this was on the level of seeing the future.
I drew my greatsword, parrying only the unavoidable streams and dodging all the slowly approaching globs of acid. It was quite thrilling. It wouldn’t have been able to damage me even if it touched my body, but it had a strange charm that made me focus.
Securing a path through the spray as it spread out like a net was an enjoyable diversion.
It was then.
Tsssssssss.
It seemed a few drops from the torrent pouring down had splashed onto my shoulder. As I heard the sound of my clothes melting and casually brushed it off, a scream came from an unexpected place.
“F-Father!”
She stopped her chant mid-spell and looked at me with a deeply worried expression. I waved a hand to show I was fine, but to my surprise, I felt Lapura’s expression shift. To be precise, it became very similar to Jung Hayeon’s. Of course, not the usual benevolent and warm Jung Hayeon. It was the Jung Hayeon who shared a secret hobby with Baek Ahyeon.
“H-How… How dare you!”
She canceled the spell she was chanting and instantly completed a new one. No, it couldn’t even be called a spell. It was likely a unique ability or a special power inherent to her race.
“How… How dare you! You lowly animal!”
As Lapura chanted, the lower half of her body began to burrow into the ground.
CRACK!
The ground split open, and a colossal plant erupted from behind the elephant beast. It was so massive it looked like it could swallow the beast whole; they could probably see it from the settlement. Of course, it was not a beautiful plant. Possessing hundreds, no, thousands of vicious teeth, the plant opened its maw wide and lunged toward the beast, much like the black beast Jang Ye Ri possessed.
“Hah…”
In an instant, the creature that looked like a carnivorous plant latched onto the massive beast’s lower body.
“Kkieeeeeeeeeek!”
KWADDUDEUDEUK!
KWADDUDEUDEUDEUK!
“Kuuu… KUUUWOOOOOOOOH!”
The sound echoed as the plant gnawed away at the beast’s enormous body, as if sawing through it. The beast’s screams rang out as its blood rained down from the sky. Her power was so far beyond the norm it was absurd. This wasn’t the level of an elite Orc swordsman. Lapura’s power was already comparable to that of our clan’s executives. In terms of pure firepower, she could probably overwhelm most magicians.
“I’ll… kill… you…”
Hearing her voice, I turned to see that her eyes had turned a deep red. Anyone could see she had lost her reason. Looking at her, I spoke quietly.
“Lapura.”
“…”
“Lapura!”
“Ah… Father.”
Lapura’s eyes widened in surprise. The magic dissipated in an instant, and the monstrous creature that could no longer be called a plant abruptly vanished back into the ground.
KUUUNG…
With a heavy thud, the magical beast that had been lifted into the air crashed down, making the ground tremble.
“I… I’m sorry.”
The trigger was likely the acid that splashed on me, but this confirmed that she couldn’t control herself. I didn’t know what she was thinking, but she seemed to believe she had disappointed me, her shoulders slumped in dejection.
Just as I’d expected. While for others, the priority was to build strength, for Lapura, it was to learn to control her power and emotions. If a situation like that happened again, it could cause unnecessary damage. Still, no parent dislikes their child for being too capable. I was no different. I felt a mix of anxiety and joy, leaving me with quite complicated feelings.
“Let’s go back and talk.”
“Yes.”
It went without saying that I would take the corpse of the large beast, which was already more than half-eaten. It was useful for materials, but there was also much to analyze. I was lost in thought for a moment when it happened. Before I could even suggest we return to the settlement, I sensed several figures nearby. The members from the Brother’s Land must have come out on patrol after seeing the sudden appearance of the demonic plant.
The executives of the Brother’s Land, including the elite Orc swordsmen, were there. Goff was nowhere to be seen, but Black Spear had come out with his spear in hand, prepared for any situation. Before I could explain, cheers erupted in an instant. Seeing Lapura next to me, they had realized whose immense magic they had just felt.
Given the Green Skins’ nature of valuing strength, it was a perfectly natural reaction. Black Spear was staring at Lapura with a look of utter disbelief.
“Just now…”
I answered with a nod. Mev wore a complicated expression, Gark and the elite Orc swordsmen were cheering, and Lapura was still biting her lip. When I patted Lapura’s shoulder as if to tell her not to worry, the cheers grew even louder. Mev, who had been staring blankly at the scene, finally approached me and spoke.
“C-Chieftain… can we talk for a moment?”
Her voice was uncharacteristically serious, and also anxious.