Chapter 117
Chapter 117
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 117
Chapter Title: Wielding the Sword Again
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Go Yohan finally picked up a sword after a very long time.
It was a sword that had once been too burdensome even to hold.
That was due to the memories and habits accumulated in his soul over a long time.
It was a side effect from the time when the war with the demons had intensified, when he barely slept a few dozen minutes a day—and even then, he held his sword.
Twitch.
His soul remembered it all, etched deep, so just gripping the sword made his muscles swell and bulge as if they might burst.
Based on the muscular strength and divine power that Michael had once possessed.
It took a long time just to suppress that.
And even when he finally managed to hold the sword...
Humm.
He couldn't swing it.
It was just like the players' skills.
The act of swinging the sword automatically triggered a skill-like effect, executing a predetermined sword strike.
Only once, back when he was in middle school and had picked up a sword to swing it.
"How long has it been?"
Go Yohan had been utterly wrecked.
"Over five years."
Go Yohan replied to Lee Jae-kyung's question with a grave expression.
Now, he was holding a sword again.
The reason went back to the day before, around the time he had returned after saving the World Tree.
"This won't do."
Lee Jae-kyung had spoken to Go Yohan with a look of resolve.
"Take a break."
It started with urging him to rest.
"When was the last time you actually rested? Have you ever even tried?"
Talk about rest.
"At least I, who's watched over the Captain longer than anyone..."
Lee Jae-kyung's face took on a new expression in Go Yohan's eyes as he said that.
"I've never seen the Captain rest even once."
At the age of six, their first meeting.
From that moment, the Go Yohan that Lee Jae-kyung had observed never rested once.
Every moment, he had constricted and tempered his body using divine power.
Later, when Lee Jae-kyung became Go Yohan's squire and experienced it himself...
"This madman..."
It was pain so intense that such curses came naturally.
Every moment, every second, Go Yohan tortured himself under the guise of training.
And that was hardly all.
He had established the church, taken charge of the apostles' training, and spared no teachings for the followers.
He had opened gates, planned for the future, and thrown himself into Black Gates at any moment.
"The Captain tells the kids to go to school..."
Lee Jae-kyung said.
"But honestly, I hoped the Captain would at least finish high school."
But because he'd watched him for so long, it was something he couldn't say.
"At school, the Captain could at least rest a little."
Was that true?
"So rest now."
Black Gates weren't occurring as frequently anymore.
The demons seemed aware of Go Yohan and were holding their breath.
Until the World Tree joined them, and Yoon Seung-ah and Kim Sion returned.
Just until then.
"Rest."
If it had been just Lee Jae-kyung saying it, Go Yohan might not have paid it any mind.
"I agree."
Even Cheol Jung-bae stepped forward to urge Go Yohan.
"At least, from what I know, you never rested even once in Travania, did you?"
He couldn't recall such things well.
And from the start...
"You're so much like the Captain."
"......?"
"We told you to rest, and here you are holding a sword."
He wasn't sure what "rest" even meant.
So he picked up the sword.
"Is this your idea of resting?"
To Lee Jae-kyung's exasperated words...
Heh.
Go Yohan chuckled softly and said.
"Sparring with you, old man? That's as good as resting."
"You'll regret saying that."
In that instant.
Flash!
Lee Jae-kyung's form blurred as he charged.
Clang!
Blades clashed, sparks flew.
The power in Lee Jae-kyung's sword was no joke, as if he'd put everything into it.
Veins bulged on his exposed forearm, ready to burst.
Whoosh!
His mana surged so fiercely it made one's hair stand on end.
Boom!
The shockwave from the following clash swept through everything around.
But even so.
"I told you."
Go Yohan remained calm.
He had merely raised his sword at an angle.
"This is rest."
Go Yohan snickered as he began to gradually apply strength to his sword.
The next instant.
Boom!
Lee Jae-kyung flew back and crashed into the wall.
*
*
*
Sword training with Lee Jae-kyung really felt like rest.
"It's not perfect yet, but normal swords are usable now."
He could finally swing a sword after so long.
Go Yohan hadn't been able to use ordinary swords not just because of the overload on his body, but also because no sword could withstand his power.
Even the twin fangs of Ograk that he had given to Go Minji cracked finely when he gripped them.
Until now, only Michael's holy sword Arvenia and the current Great Sin had endured his power.
Twitch.
The racial trait he gained from absorbing Cheol Jung-bae, the Will of Black Steel, reinforced the weapon in Go Yohan's hand, allowing it to hold up to a degree.
Of course.
Crumble...
After properly swinging it for a few minutes, even a rare-grade mithril sword turned to powder and scattered.
"Huff, huff."
Lee Jae-kyung was a total mess, panting raggedly.
He looked utterly pitiful, like a dog soaked in the rain.
"Isn't this bruising your pride too much?"
"It's true."
Go Yohan said, looking satisfied.
"Swinging a sword without any intent to kill feels like resting."
Lee Jae-kyung nodded deeply, gazing at Go Yohan.
"But don't think this is enough! We need to do something else too!"
"What about you, old man?"
"I'll swing my sword at least. Unlike the Captain, this mortal me has to do this much or I'm useless."
The Sword Ghost, Lee Jae-kyung, calling himself a mortal.
Go Yohan chuckled again.
Lee Jae-kyung was neither mortal nor lazy.
Go Yohan knew he had run just as hard during the time it took him to get here.
"If you have nothing to do, go help with the temple construction!"
Go Yohan nodded at Lee Jae-kyung's shout.
*
*
*
The church's original appearance remained intact, but three pocket dimensions coexisted here now.
An ordinary church, the underground facility beneath it, and...
"Park! Skippin' out?"
"Sorry!"
"Yoo! I said move that mithril pillar quick!"
"Right now!"
The temple construction site.
"Hey! You lazy bastards! Move it or I'll kick your asses!"
At the scolding voice toward the workers...
"......Ha."
Go Yohan let out an involuntary laugh.
The one shouting like a foreman was none other than the dwarven Cheol Jung-bae.
He wondered where he'd picked up that speech pattern.
"Foreman Cheol! That's how ya do it! Construction sites gotta have that flavor—no one's gonna slack off then!"
Stuck right next to Cheol Jung-bae, slurping coffee, was Kim Cheon-seok.
"Kim, what're you doin', slackin' off?"
"Ah, no. I'm goin'! Right away!"
It was a scene that left one unsure whether to laugh or cry.
"What is this?"
Go Yohan approached Cheol Jung-bae and asked.
The one called Park was Park Do-young, the church's pastor.
He managed the entire church faction alongside the apostles and should have been busy.
"Urgh!"
Yet here he was hauling mithril pillars.
"You're here?"
Cheol Jung-bae brightened upon seeing Go Yohan.
"...Why are these people doing this here?"
Construction workers were, of course, valuable talents to respect, but that wasn't Go Yohan's point.
Did these people with plenty of other duties really need to be thrown into construction?
"Don't misunderstand. I didn't order it."
Cheol Jung-bae said that as he lifted a mithril pillar himself.
Though his appearance was now somewhere between boy and youth...
Groan!
His strength and stats were incomparably greater than during his days as the dwarf Brown Beard.
"They all begged me to let them help set up even one pillar for the temple construction, so I had no choice but to let them."
"And that speech pattern?"
"That Kim fella said this is how they do it on Earth. And it's more efficient than I thought. Can't you see? Those excited faces?"
If anything, it looked like past experiences had triggered them into moving naturally.
"......"
Go Yohan was at a loss for words.
Come to think of it, the people assigned to temple construction were mostly older followers.
They had said they'd lived rough lives before becoming players.
"So, what should I do?"
"We've got a long way to go. Our folks lay the foundation, then we build on top, and after that..."
It was then.
Groan.
Go Yohan lifted the largest-looking mithril pillar.
"Where does this go?"
Everyone who had been moving briskly froze, mouths agape.
Not only was the pillar hard to budge even with player strength, but Go Yohan had lifted it effortlessly.
"W-What are you doing! We'll handle it!"
At the sight of it looking like he was being put to work, the followers who had volunteered as laborers dropped their pillars and rushed over.
"We'll do it!"
They charged as if to snatch the pillar from Go Yohan.
"What the hell are ya doin'! Droppin' pillars—if they get scratched, what then!"
Cheol Jung-bae's bellow scolded them.
"Mithril pillars won't get scratched from a little drop, will they?"
Go Yohan asked incredulously.
"And..."
He shook his head at the approaching followers.
"I'll help too. You all are working hard—I can't just rest while you do."
"No... That's..."
"Didn't ya hear? Get back to yer jobs!"
Cheol Jung-bae sent them back.
"Never thought I'd live to see our... er, the Captain workin' as a laborer."
Cheol Jung-bae grinned in satisfaction.
"Take that pillar over and help out a bit. I'll pay ya double."
Go Yohan made a briefly dumbfounded face at Cheol Jung-bae's words but soon started moving.
"Y-You..."
Cheol Jung-bae's face twisted in similar exasperation at the sight.
"We told ya to rest, and yer trainin' again."
Go Yohan began moving the pillars using only raw strength, without a drop of mana.