Chapter 403: Growth
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 403: Growth
“It’s really only a few months away now.”
“Yes....”
I watched Kim Yoora as she stared back at me, weapon in hand. She was just a little kid when she first came to the Blood Dagger Clan. Seeing how much she’d grown, I still couldn’t quite get used to it. In truth, her appearance hadn't changed much.
Kim Yoora enjoyed fighting atop her Giant Wolf, so she wore no armor to keep herself as light as possible. Her gear, a mix of leather and cloth, still left much of her skin exposed, and just like me, she was still covered in tattoos.
They appeared to be permanent tattoos, drawn by Nicole.
She could have hidden them, but the fact that she didn't suggested she was proud of the art on her body. Still, I couldn't help but smile when I saw she kept the one on her face hidden.
“How have you been lately?”
“Thanks to you, I'm doing well. Always... th-thank you.”
“And Nicole...?”
“She seems a little scared and anxious, but somehow...”
Her expression of genuine concern for Nicole made me smile. A few days had passed since that incident, and Nicole and Kim Yoora were still staying in the Eastern Continent. I never knew Jang Ye Ri would take such a liking to Nicole, but it seemed she was completely charmed after they met and talked. The way she was always taking Nicole around, trying to teach her this and that, was the very picture of a doting mother-in-law.
“She could just refuse...”
“I think she's finding it a little hard to refuse. It also looks like she has something on her mind, she seemed a bit conflicted... but Nicole is just too kind.”
“Does she seem to like Ratga?”
“That’s also a bit...”
Of course, that was to be expected. I nodded and spoke.
“I suppose so... There’s a bit of an age gap... and from Nicole's perspective, she's watched Ratga since he was very young, so she probably doesn't see him as a man. It will take more time for her to adjust.”
“Y-yes... I... I suppose so.”
Kim Yoora’s expression soured a little. She seemed terribly worried about her friend. To be honest, when I first brought Kim Yoora into the tribe, I never expected she and Nicole would become so close. Nicole had been quite hostile toward her, and the other Green Skins weren't exactly friendly to the human children either.
If Kim Yoora hadn't worked so hard, she never would have earned the respect of all the Green Skins.
Perhaps due to her influence, most of those who came from the small city of Somorah, including Yoora herself, had become Giant Wolf riders and were now awaiting their coming-of-age ceremony. When they all came of age, the Blood Dagger Clan's strength would rise to another level.
“Ch-Chieftain, how have you been lately?”
“Well. I thought a lot would change, but honestly, things feel pretty much the same as before. Maybe it's because I don't spend much time in the Land of Glory... But with Storm Shadow there, I can trust things will be fine in my absence. It's a shame I don't get to see Goff and Black Spear as often, but it's not a major concern.”
“Ah...”
I spoke, clashing my sword against Kim Yoora's.
We called it a guided sparring session, but it was really just a chance to chat while crossing blades. My intention was to guide her, but I doubted this kind of sparring was doing her much good.
“You've gotten stronger.”
“Ah! Th... thank you.”
Her attacks were sharp. Even without infusing them with magic or raw power, I could tell she had grown significantly. It felt like she had already surpassed my old self. Considering it would be hard to find a young Green Skin in either the Goff Clan or the Black Spear Clan who could best her, her potential was limitless.
“Lately...”
“Hoo... Ah! Lately, I've been training with Gark and Hark. Hazaku of the Elite Orc Swordsmen is with us, too.”
“What about training with kids your own age?”
“It's a little embarrassing to say it myself, but it doesn't seem to help my growth much.”
In other words, within the Blood Dagger Clan, the only ones who could give her a real challenge were the squad leaders of the Elite Orc Swordsmen or the clan's top officers. I had to admit I hadn't paid much attention to the growth of the tribe's young Green Skins for a while, but she seemed to have grown much faster than I’d thought.
I picked up the tempo a little. As I began to move my sword faster, her tightly clenched lips came into view. But she was still blocking every blow.
It seemed she no longer had the leeway to speak, but the fact that she could defend herself to this extent was truly surprising.
“You can use your magic.”
“Yes.”
As soon as I spoke, light began to flow from Kim Yoora's tattoos.
It felt similar to my own, which were made from Ragia's ashes. Curious about the effect, I infused my eyes with magic, and information immediately began to pour in.
[A Tattoo for a Dear Friend, Drawn with Nicole's Blood.]
[This is a tattoo drawn with the blood of a small goblin for a friend she loves and respects. All stats are permanently increased. It is normally invisible but appears when infused with magic. Has a chance to nullify damage.]
‘Huh...’
This was beyond simply ‘good.’
I had expected her tattoo to have some decent effect, much like how mine lets me use Ragia's 'Intuition' ability, but this was beyond anything I could have imagined.
It was as if she was wearing the Shield of Aegis—a shield capable of blocking any attack, even if Goff had managed to pierce it once—as a tattoo. The only downside was that you never knew when that ‘chance’ would trigger, but if you were lucky, it was like carrying an extra life. It could hardly be called a downside.
I figured even Nicole must have been a little surprised after she finished drawing it.
As Kim Yoora activated her magic, I began to see things that were previously invisible.
Her equipment looked decent, and her movements were far better than I had anticipated. Perhaps it was too much to do this in the castle's training hall, but I looked at Kim Yoora and spoke quietly.
“With all you've got.”
“What?”
“I said, come at me with everything you have.”
I saw hesitation in her eyes. It wasn't so much a fear of hurting me, but more like she couldn't even conceive of pointing her sword at me in earnest. I figured she needed an incentive, so I spoke slowly.
“If you can manage to even scratch me, I'll grant you any one thing you desire. Can you come at me for real now?”
Her eyes widened immensely.
“How could I...”
Her words were a denial, but her aura was gradually sharpening. Just as I thought, the girl had something she wanted.
“From now.”
No answer came. That’s how focused she was. She plunged her sword into the floor, and weapons made of red magic erupted from the ground. The floor I was standing on was also within range as a sword shot up, but I wasn't foolish enough to be hit by such a conspicuous attack.
“Hmm...”
It felt unfair to use my skills like Weapon Integration or my legendary swords, Levatain and Dainsleif, so I began to unleash the Iron Throne from within my cloak.
To be precise, I released the weapons that constituted the throne. A moment later, blades began to rain from the sky, embedding themselves in the ground all around us.
“We're really alike.”
“Thank you.”
Kim Yoora's fighting style was remarkably similar to mine, as she utilized a multitude of weapons. In fact, she was better than me in that she didn't need to rely on a specific set of weapons. I wasn't sure if it was the right way to describe it, but she felt like a fifty-fifty mix of me and the Queen of the North.
In the blink of an eye, Kim Yoora closed the distance between us. She hadn't even been carrying a weapon to begin with. There were weapons wherever she looked, wherever her hands could reach.
“Hmph.”
As expected, she snatched a spear embedded in the floor and thrust it at me. A simple but decent choice. It was a disadvantageous fight from the start; it was only natural for her to utilize her reach. I also pulled a sword from the floor and began to parry her spear.
Her thrusts were sharp, but they were hardly attacks I couldn't block.
Still, they were surprisingly tricky.
‘Clever girl.’
Very clever. Her goal wasn't a fatal wound or to incapacitate me, but simply to land a hit. She was undoubtedly remembering my promise that even a scratch would count.
Her strategy of not overcommitting, of only taking what she could safely get, was quite annoying.
She persistently aimed only for non-vital areas, places that wouldn't matter much if hit. It showed just how much thought she was pouring into this fight.
‘Is there something she wants that badly?’
It was a natural thought.
“Grit.”
I could almost hear her grinding her teeth; she had realized that I'd figured out her intention. She was also quite adept at changing the flow of the fight.
Realizing she had no chance at mid-range, she immediately switched to long-range tactics.
Fwing! Fwing! I watched as she started plucking the red weapons from the ground and flinging them at me. Of course, I knew this wasn't her real plan.
Just as the volley of red weapons obscured my vision, I felt a presence behind me.
What she really wanted was to fight at point-blank range.
CRACK!
“Heavier than I thought.”
From the force of the impact, the floor beneath my feet caved in. Her downward strike from above had shattered the stone.
“Thank... you!”
The way she stuck to me so tenaciously was ideal. The tattoos Nicole had etched were now glowing across her entire body.
She was now holding a dagger. Not bad. She wasn't aiming for my body, but for the arm I was using to block. The daggersmanship of the Green Goblins, something I hadn't seen in a long time, was being reborn in her hands.
Distance is crucial in a fight. Thinking it best to create some space, I swung my sword, but her dagger shot forward, aiming precisely for my hand. She had chosen the closest possible target to inflict a wound.
I twisted my wrist, blocking her dagger with the hilt of my sword. She immediately let go of the weapon and swung a kick at my side. Before I could even raise my arm to block, she caught the falling dagger with her other hand. She immediately thrust it at me, but I simply swapped my sword for her dagger.
But she didn't panic. The weapon's weight and balance would have been completely different, yet the way she instantly adjusted and lunged with the sword was incredibly impressive.
‘Not bad.’
As I nodded in satisfaction, it was amusing to see her create some distance. Now I held the dagger, and she held the sword. I was the pursuer, and she was retreating. She was trying to reset our engagement distance.
It was at that very moment, when I thought Kim Yoora had moved a little further away than I expected, that the red weapons scattered around us began to fly toward me.