Chapter 169
Chapter 169
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 169
Chapter Title: Sparring Reunion
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Long time no see, so Seowoojin started a spar to check his comrades' skills, and he looked a little surprised.
It was because Kye Soo-ji's fighting style had improved to a level incomparable to before.
And she wasn't the only one.
Lee Ji-ah, Goo Dong-hwan, and Kim Da-hye in the training grounds right now were the same.
Especially Kim Da-hye showed such outstanding sense that Seowoojin let out a hollow laugh.
"You've all grown tremendously."
He was genuinely impressed.
"Th-thank you."
Kye Soo-ji bowed her head to Seowoojin while catching her rough breath.
In fact, she was a bit confident.
She couldn't beat Seowoojin, but she thought she could at least hold her own to some degree.
While Seowoojin was out wandering, she had trained to the bone with the other heroes.
She'd done over ten spars a day and leveled up using the 'Summoning Stone.'
And that wasn't all.
She had also gone to the top knight instructor, Ludein, to hone her combat techniques.
So her confidence was bound to swell.
'But......'
Kye Soo-ji looked at Seowoojin with hollow eyes.
'I couldn't even graze his clothes.'
She was defeated so perfectly that she didn't even feel frustrated.
The others were the same.
Except for one person.
The only thing was a single bead from Kim Da-hye's 'Cremaoa' that put a hole in Seowoojin's waist hem.
'How can he be that strong?'
They had grown.
At a speed that would shock other heroes or instructors.
But Seowoojin seemed to have grown even steeper.
It felt like he was in a whole other dimension alone.
"This is just... no way we can even dream of it."
As Kye Soo-ji wiped her sweat and spoke, Seowoojin smiled awkwardly.
"You've gotten a lot stronger too, Soo-ji."
It wasn't polite lip service; it was sincere.
Kye Soo-ji felt that, which made her feel even more dejected.
"But it's still no match for Woojin."
"Well, yeah......"
Seowoojin scratched his head.
Everyone chuckled at the sight.
His flustered look was amusing.
"Mister, mister. What on earth did you do out there to get so strong? We've gotten super strong too, but we can't even touch you!"
As the spar seemed to end, Lee Ji-ah came running up and asked.
"Just wandered around here and there, leveled up, that sort of thing."
"Then is it true you killed that vampire Reina?"
Seowoojin's eyes widened.
"Where'd you hear that?"
He definitely hadn't told the other heroes yet......
'Ah!'
Faces suddenly came to mind.
Seong Yu-ra and Kim Tae-jin, whom he'd seen fighting Reina in Jinahan.
When Seowoojin asked if he'd heard it from them, Lee Ji-ah nodded.
"They said you killed that vampire?"
His guess was right.
But there was a bit of an error in the details.
It wasn't Seowoojin who killed Reina; it was Ban Slaine.
"I didn't kill her."
"Huh? But those two said so?"
"We all fought together, so it wasn't just one person, and someone else delivered the final blow to the neck."
Lee Ji-ah's eyes went wide at Seowoojin's words.
"Who? Who killed her?"
Her eyes were full of curiosity.
"A guy named Ban Slaine."
Everyone tilted their heads at Seowoojin's words.
It was a name they'd never heard before.
"He's also the master who taught me the sword."
"Really?"
"Your master?"
Everyone was shocked.
The mastermind who turned a mere D-rank Seowoojin this strong?
It might be a bit different from what they imagined, but it wasn't entirely wrong, so Seowoojin nodded.
"That guy's insanely strong. Probably on par with the empire's guardians?"
Guardians......
When Reina appeared at the academy, the Magic Duke's display of magical divinity was incredible.
A realm current heroes couldn't even dream of.
To hear someone standing shoulder-to-shoulder with them had everyone in awe.
"He's at the academy right now, so I'll set up a meeting next time."
He'd been planning to introduce his close hero friends anyway.
Ban Slaine's advice could greatly help their growth.
"Oh, and I have another question!"
Lee Ji-ah clapped her hands and started firing off questions.
They were the ones she'd discussed with Kye Soo-ji before Seowoojin returned.
Cold sweat trickled down because of it.
Most questions were ones Seowoojin couldn't answer.
He couldn't explain without revealing the secrets the empire and he were hiding.
"I'll tell you next time. Can't right now."
As Seowoojin dodged with a suitable excuse, Lee Ji-a's cheeks puffed out.
"Want me to show you something cool instead?"
Seowoojin tried to divert her attention, like soothing a niece.
But Lee Ji-ah was twenty-three, a full adult despite her youthful looks.
"You think I'm really a kid?!"
As Lee Ji-ah snapped, Seowoojin urgently summoned Chaos Gear to shift his gaze.
Wooong-
The tattoo on the back of his hand glowed.
And at the same time......
Chwarararak-!
Like a Hollywood movie hero.
Metal fragments burst from the tattoo and began enveloping Seowoojin.
Lee Ji-ah, who had been making a disinterested face, widened her eyes.
Goo Dong-hwan, Kye Soo-ji, even Kim Da-hye.
Everyone stared wide-eyed at Seowoojin.
"Tr-transformation?"
Goo Dong-hwan even let out a hollow laugh, as if his specialty had been stolen.
A moment later.
Seowoojin had transformed into a figure clad in black armor etched with ornate golden threads.
'Hmm......'
Honestly, he was a little surprised.
Even considering it was light field armor, it was too light.
The summoning method was surprising too.
He'd heard about it, but he hadn't expected it to equip so quickly and precisely.
Seowoojin moved his body around, feeling as if he were wearing nothing.
"Wh-what is this?"
Lee Ji-ah asked with her mouth agape.
"It's armor called 'Luden Gardo.' Cool, right?"
Lee Ji-ah's head bobbed up and down rapidly.
She said she wasn't, but her actions were pure child.
"So cool......"
Kim Da-hye murmured unconsciously.
Goo Dong-hwan, next to her, overheard and bristled.
"I'm cool too, you know?"
Hwaaak-!
He even transformed into his 'Magical Girl' form for emphasis.
"Not cool."
Of course, Kim Da-hye didn't even glance at him.
Ignoring Goo Dong-hwan, who was flexing muscles in his fluttering yellow dress, they began touching and examining 'Luden Gardo.'
"How's the defense?"
"Not sure. First time wearing it. But I hear it's pretty amazing."
"Let's test it! Right now! Immediately!"
"Shall we?"
"I'll join too."
Seowoojin nodded at their words.
With their current skills, they couldn't test 'Luden Gardo's' defense to its limits.
But it was enough to gauge basic performance, so Seowoojin prepared right away.
'Aegis activates constantly, right?'
He looked forward to their faces after pouring all kinds of attacks and seeing not a single scratch on 'Luden Gardo.'
"Come on, everyone. Gang up on me."
* * *
"I heard Seowoojin came back?"
"Yeah, I heard too."
Kim Tae-jin nodded at Park Jin-han's words.
Seowoojin's return was quite the topic in the academy.
He'd come back with the injured White Knight Order, so rumors were bound to spread.
Plus, hadn't Seowoojin shown incredible feats during the academy raid?
It'd be weirder not to be interested.
"What the hell happened there anyway?"
Kim Tae-jin hadn't said a word about what went down in Jinahan.
Just that Seowoojin killed Reina.
It left Park Jin-han frustrated.
The guys who'd planned to drag Seowoojin back were keeping mum.
"Haa-"
Kim Tae-jin sighed.
'I didn't know he'd be that strong.'
Kim Tae-jin hadn't failed to bring Seowoojin; he couldn't.
Seowoojin's true power had reached a level beyond his wildest imagination.
They'd been overwhelmed by Reina's demonic energy, unable to do a thing.
But Seowoojin had severed her arm alone.
And not just that?
If that weird guy hadn't shown up late, he probably would've taken her head too.
They'd pitched in late too, but......
'That means nothing.'
He'd thought Seowoojin beating Baek Si-woo was just luck, as Seong Yu-ra said.
Skilled, sure, but still below Baek Si-woo.
But the Seowoojin he'd seen was on another level.
Drag a guy like that in for interrogation?
They'd be lucky not to get beaten to death.
That's why Seong Yu-ra had shut up and left too.
But he couldn't say that to the other friends.
They wouldn't believe without seeing, and it'd bruise his pride.
How could he say he got scared and bailed?
"Stop thinking and answer, man."
Park Jin-han plopped down next to him.
"I don't know what happened, but that mister's back for sure. Want me to go ask him myself?"
Baek Si-woo's sudden change.
And the reason for the kidnapping.
He figured Seowoojin would know.
"You'll ask?"
Kim Tae-jin shook his head, telling him not to bother.
But Park Jin-han scoffed.
"Hey, man. Your friend's gone missing—gonna just sit? I'll just ask, just ask."
Kim Tae-jin knew Park Jin-han's personality well.
He wouldn't just quietly ask and leave.
Even if he did, Seowoojin probably wouldn't answer straightforwardly.
It'd end with Park Jin-han losing his temper, picking a fight, and a brawl.
"...Do what you want."
He had no energy left to stop him.
For Park Jin-han's temper, this was holding back a long time.
"For real? I'm going now?"
"Ugh, do whatever."
Kim Tae-jin turned away.
'He'll come to his senses after a few hits.'
He didn't want to care about that now.
'I need to get even stronger.'
To chase Seowoojin.
To retrieve the vanished Baek Si-woo.
In a world of monsters, getting stronger was priority one.
"Yeah, good luck."
As Kim Tae-jin sat still, closed his eyes, and sank into meditation, Park Jin-han clicked his tongue and left the room.
"Now, where's that mister at?"
Humming a tune, Park Jin-han's massive frame moved imposingly.
"Tae-jin isn't lying, but I still can't believe it."
Reina.
That monster at the academy had made Park Jin-han's legs shake.
With his current self, he didn't even have the courage to face her.
And Seowoojin killed her?
Park Jin-han was the type who didn't believe without seeing.
Doubting Kim Tae-jin and Seong Yu-ra was natural.
"I'll know once I test him."
Real or fake.
Unaware of what might befall him, he began wandering the academy in search of Seowoojin.