Chapter 404: Growth
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 404: Growth
CRUUUUNCH!
Hah…
A tsunami of red weapons tore the ground to shreds as it surged toward me. Of course, its effects weren't limited to the ground level. To put it simply, there was nowhere to escape. The weapons pouring in from all directions spread out like a spiderweb, pressing in on me.
It was remarkably similar to how I created a sword of fire with Levatain or thorns of blood with Dainsleif. It was safe to assume she had watched and learned. I never thought I would have influenced her to this extent, but seeing it with my own eyes filled me with pride.
Kim Yoora had completely reconstructed my combat style into her own. And she had done it in a much more refined way. Unlike me, who used to just overwhelm opponents with sheer volume and mana, the battlefield she had constructed was perfectly designed.
‘For instance, the speeds of the projectiles are all different, making them meticulously impossible to dodge.’
It was just like when she fought the young Orcs of the desert in the Land of Glory to prove her own worth. Kim Yoora was incredibly clever. Not only that, but the fundamental skills that allowed her to launch such an attack had also grown noticeably.
Before, she couldn't control the weapons she created. Just as my Weapon Switch ability leveled up as I grew stronger, Kim Yoora's unique ability had also grown.
Impressive.
They were weapons made from her own mana, after all. It would be stranger if she couldn't control them. Even so, to gain complete dominion over every single weapon was certainly an ability in a class of its own. If I had to rank it as a combat ability, it would be S-rank—no, it was worth more than EX-rank.
I would classify it as superior to my Weapon Switch, and on a similar level to Weapon Integration. I turned my gaze forward again. Watching all the weapons that had been embedded in the ground now flying toward me was not a pleasant sight.
I considered switching to the weapons of the Iron Throne that were stuck in the ground, but I quickly decided it would be meaningless. Kim Yoora had already plunged more weapons into the earth.
There were more of them than the weapons that made up the Iron Throne.
It was clear she had calculated that I would respond with my unique ability.
In the brief moment I hesitated, the torrent of weapons was already right in front of my nose.
Should I try to block it…
Summoning Aegis or integrating with Gram would make blocking it simple, but something about that felt like a blow to my pride. In the end, instead of dodging or switching weapons, I chose to parry every single thing coming at me. I thrust my dagger toward the crimson wave pouring down.
Focus… focus…
Perhaps because I had pushed my concentration to its absolute limit, the incoming red weapons seemed to move in slow motion. As I began to strike them down one by one, they started to scatter with a deafening clang. I could hear the strange sound of mana dissipating.
Warcry… she was given a fitting nickname.
I dodged the attacks aimed at my lower body or used my tail, while I caught or deflected everything aimed at my upper body with one arm and the dagger in my hand. It was certainly not a bad attack, but it lacked power. Even if she wasn't using her full strength, it was still too much for her to face an opponent in a league of their own. I was beginning to get a grasp of where Kim Yoora currently stood.
“Blood Dagger-nim!”
Amidst the chaos, I heard her large voice, perhaps worried about me, but of course, there was no problem. To Kim Yoora, whose eyesight wasn't as good as mine, it might have looked like I was engulfed in red mana, but she herself would know best that an attack of this level couldn't possibly injure me.
I infused a bit of mana into my feet and took a step. My vision shifted with incredible speed. The destination I had set was right behind Kim Yoora. I lightly tapped her on the head with my sword, and she immediately turned around, her face coming into view.
“Ah!”
“Did you really think you could hurt me? Haha. A shame, but you failed.”
When I playfully raised the corners of my mouth, her crestfallen expression was something anyone would call cute.
“I suppose so.”
“I didn't know you would try this hard. Was there something you truly wanted?”
“Ah, n-no. Not really… It’s not like that. I just thought I should work hard… It’s not that I really want something…”
Her blushing face, as if I’d hit a nerve, was incredibly cute. Seeing her up close, I felt that something about her was a little different than before.
Makeup?
It wasn't the green dye that Green Skins often used, but her face definitely looked like she was wearing makeup. Her lips were also strangely red, clearly colored with the extract from some kind of fruit. It was no surprise that I found it a little strange that the Kim Yoora was wearing makeup.
“Ah… B-Blood Dagger-nim, if you stare at me like that… it’s a little embarrassing.”
Her bowing her head as I stared intently at her face was quite memorable. Come to think of it, she was at that age where one becomes interested in their appearance and the opposite sex. Wondering if I had seen wrong, I gently lifted her chin with one hand, and Kim Yoora’s expression instantly turned crimson.
It was definitely makeup.
Only then did I feel like I understood why Kim Yoora had been training so hard. She was originally a child who was grateful for the smallest things, far from being greedy. If a person were to suddenly change, the reason for a girl of this age to change was incredibly obvious.
Hah…
She wasn't my biological daughter, but I had no idea that the child I thought of as my own daughter had gotten a boyfriend. Now that I thought about it, I felt like I had seen a lot of Green Skins who were approaching their coming-of-age ceremony sticking together recently.
The number of those who planned to pair up immediately after the ceremony had increased.
Could Kim Yoora also…
It was only natural for such a thought to cross my mind. I patted Kim Yoora on the shoulder for no particular reason and spoke.
“This is… too sudden, Chieftain-nim… Th-that’s really… I’m grateful for the thought, but…”
“Do you perhaps have a man you’re seeing?”
“What?! No! I-I don’t! I absolutely don’t!”
Her startled reaction immediately came into view.
“Wh-why are you suddenly asking that…”
Her expression looked like she was trying to hide something. I wanted to infuse mana into my eyes to check her exact status, but I felt guilty, as if I were prying into a young girl’s heart.
Still, I also felt a little disappointed. The children of the tribe, especially Nicole and Kim Yoora, were children I had raised as if they were my own. Having a boyfriend couldn't be called a flaw; in fact, it was something to be happy about.
Of course, whether the guy was a decent person or not was the most important thing, but I thought it wasn't something she needed to hide from me.
As I gently stroked her hair, her bowed, blushing face came into view.
“There’s no need to hide it. I’m a little disappointed. It would have been nice if you had told me you got a boyfriend…”
“What?!”
“You’re already at an age to care about your appearance. To be honest, even though your coming-of-age ceremony is soon, I still saw you as a little child…”
“What?! That’s not it…”
“You don’t have to deny it. Is your partner perhaps Sand Glave’s son, the one we met before? Or that southerner you fought back then? Or maybe a Green Skin I haven’t met yet… No, perhaps he’s a fellow human. That would suit you better.”
“Th-that’s…”
I must have hit the nail right on the head. It seemed I’d hit it so squarely that a light silence fell over the area. Just as I was about to speak, thinking she was still embarrassed, what I heard was a voice devoid of any emotion.
A little time had passed.
“I… I got a scratch… on you.”
“Hm?”
“Um… your pants. Aren’t they a little torn?”
“………”
I looked down and saw that the pants on my shin were indeed slightly torn. I wasn't sure if you could call this an injury, but arguing that it wasn't an injury felt strange in this situation. Still, I thought it wouldn't hurt to say something, so I cautiously opened my mouth.
“It’s a bit of a stretch to call this an injury…”
“No. You definitely said you would grant me any wish if I could land so much as a scratch, not just an injury. And from what I can see, the tear in your pants was clearly caused by me just now.”
“…………….”
“Isn’t that right?”
“I… suppose so.”
“Then that means I won the bet, right?”
Something about her had changed, and drastically so. As I hesitated to speak in this strange atmosphere, Kim Yoora’s voice reached me.
“Are you… going to keep your promise? My wish… can I say it?”
“Of course… A promise is a promise, so I will grant it within the limits of what I can do.”
Her aura was intense. I didn't know where I had made a mistake, but it was clear that children of this age going through puberty were not easy to handle. I was wondering what to do if she made some outrageous wish. Just then, she slowly began to speak.
“Go on a date with me.”
“What did you say?”
“I-I said, go on a date with me. Y-you definitely said you would grant any wish. D-definitely. I trust you won’t refuse… You have to go on a date with me just once before the… the coming-of-age ceremony. You have to, you must.”
“Ah…”
She seemed embarrassed even as she said it, her head sinking lower and lower. I widened my eyes, trying to understand the situation, and what I saw was the emotion on her face. I couldn't believe it, but she had the face of someone who had clearly fallen in love.
Without realizing it, I infused mana into my eyes, and her exact status came into view.
[Target - Kim Yoora]
[Status - I like you.]
“W-well then, I have an appointment, so I’ll be going now!”
I stared blankly at the spot where Kim Yoora had left until her retreating back disappeared from sight.
My thoughts became incredibly complicated. I wondered if I had seen wrong, but unless I had dementia, I couldn't have misread it. It was an awkward situation where I didn't even know how to react. It would have been much easier if I hadn't peeked at her emotions.
It was something I could never have predicted, something utterly bewildering.
“Hah…”
Perhaps she was unable to distinguish right from wrong due to her young age.
Similar things happened often on Earth. A student developing a crush on a teacher, for instance; it was common for children to harbor strange feelings with their young hearts. In most cases, after a little time passed, they would realize their feelings were a childish delusion and let them go.
There was a high probability that Kim Yoora was feeling something similar.
The ruined ground, the air still lingering here, and my heart—everything was incredibly complicated.
I stood there blankly in the ruins for a long time. Worrying about it now wouldn't change anything. I had prepared much and started much, so it was best to sort out what needed sorting before those things began.
First, I needed to clear these complicated thoughts. Deciding I needed something to focus on, I resolved to consume the emotions I had obtained from the East… and an unexpected result began to complicate my mind even further.
[Customizing due to the influence of collecting the Seat of Sorrow and Despair.]
[Please check the new option.]
[Seat of Wrath]