The Cradle of Heroes (17)
I staggered to my feet as Reynolds, the expedition leader, snapped at me like he could see right through my act. That damn old bastard is ridiculously strong.
I’d poured everything into that strike—using Threading the Needle to slow my perception of time and entering a state of extreme focus. I’d gone all out to land a clean hit. Instead, he’d casually swatted my aura-infused sword aside with his bare hand and sent me flying into the wall with a single counter.
The gap between us was so vast I couldn’t even begin to measure it.
Still…
This was an opportunity most people would kill for. Sparring with someone of his caliber was practically a miracle. I immediately reset my stance and charged again.
Whoosh!
“Move faster, boy! How do you expect to fight with a one-handed sword if you’re that sluggish?”
“You’re just impossibly fast, old man!”
The words slipped out before I could stop them as Reynolds dodged in place with that infuriating smirk.
“Kahahaha! Calling me ‘old man,’ are you? Then what does that make you—a pathetic rookie who can’t even touch this old man?”
“Just wait. I’ll land one on you!”
I kept my feet moving in short, rapid steps, reading the old man’s movements as I swung and thrust my sword faster and faster. Every time I attacked, he’d twist his upper body or shift a single foot with an almost supernatural grace, toying with me. But I stayed calm, continuing my assault until I suddenly surged my focus.
The moment I spotted the deliberate opening he’d shown me and thrust my blade toward it—
“I saw that trick earlier. You’re quite good at these little gimmicks.”
Reynolds caught my sword with a paper-thin layer of aura coating only his palm. His eyes gleamed as he looked down at me and licked his lips.
The sheer madness in that expression sent a wave of pure terror through me. I instinctively stepped back.
“Let’s see how far that little trick of yours can take you!”
The man who had only been dodging suddenly swung a massive fist straight at me.
In the blink of an eye, the fist filled my vision. I desperately activated Threading the Needle to dodge—
“Where do you think you’re going!”
The punch came even faster than before. I abandoned the idea of dodging cleanly and simply rolled across the floor.
“I’ll die if that hits me!”
“I’m swinging at a speed you can barely avoid! Try counterattacking while you dodge, you fool!”
Fuck!
I was barely managing to evade the merciless barrage of fists. And now he wanted me to counterattack too?
“Focus!”
My concentration slipped for a split second, and a fist grazed the tip of my nose. The pain was so intense it felt like my nasal bone had shattered. Before I could even react, another fist came flying.
I kept rolling across the ground, barely avoiding each strike while gritting my teeth so hard they creaked.
I’m going to land at least one hit no matter what.
Even if I couldn’t, I needed to draw out more of my strength—at the very least enough to earn a single word of praise. Only then would I feel satisfied.
I focused entirely on my footwork and the old man’s punches, searching for any opening. He really was holding back just enough for me to dodge, but finding enough breathing room to exploit a gap wasn’t easy.
When I finally spotted one and charged in like a pack of wolves spotting prey—
“No! If you’re going to block it, don’t give me an opening in the first place!”
“The fact that you still have the breath to complain means I can go faster! Kahahaha!”
My pointless complaint only made his fists even quicker. In the end, I couldn’t avoid taking a hit.
“Ugh!”
The sudden increase in speed threw off my timing. His fist grazed my forearm, and the pain that exploded through it was far beyond what a mere graze should cause. I froze for an instant.
“Flinching from something like that?!”
With a roar, a fist the size of a pot lid came crashing down toward my face. If that thing landed cleanly, my skull would cave in. I stared at the falling fist and desperately forced my focus to its limit, activating Threading the Needle once more.
I’d already used it multiple times today. A splitting headache surged through my skull as I pushed it to its absolute limit. But compared to getting hit by that fist, this pain was nothing. I endured it, twisting my head at the last moment.
Reynolds’ fist scraped past my earlobe, tearing through it with blinding agony. I didn’t stop moving. I drove my sword straight toward the massive torso right in front of me, squeezing out every last drop of my aura so that his thin barrier couldn’t possibly block it.
Crunch.
Did it work?
I watched in excitement as the thin aura membrane protecting his hand began shattering in real time. I tried to drive the blade even deeper—
“Not bad.”
A chilling voice whispered right beside my ear. The last thing I saw was that enormous fist descending toward my head before my consciousness cut out.
“Fuck, my head!”
“Who the hell are you cursing at?”
Thwack!
“Gah!”
“Stop whining. I only flicked you with my finger.”
“If you flick a goblin with your finger, it dies.”
“This guy isn’t a goblin, is he?”
“You’re really nitpicking my words now…”
Bishop Silas let out a deep sigh and placed his hand on my forehead, channeling holy power into me. The pure white light blooming from his palm touched my brow, and the pain vanished in an instant.
Once the agony had completely subsided, I thanked Bishop Silas and stood up.
“Is the sparring over?”
“You want to go again?”
Reynolds grinned while spinning his fist in the air. I swallowed dryly but still nodded.
“Shall we do it one more time?”
It was disappointing that I hadn’t managed to land even a single clean hit. But opportunities to fight someone this strong didn’t come often. I wanted to squeeze out every last bit of experience I could while I had the chance.
“Enough. You think I have all the time in the world?”
“Weren’t you free?”
What else did he even have to do here? As far as I knew, the only things he’d done were go out with Bishop Silas yesterday and spar with me today. Yet here he was, suddenly pretending to be busy. It was ridiculous.
“I need to return to the territory, don’t I?”
“Already?”
We’d only been here for what felt like two days. Hearing that we were leaving so soon caught me off guard.
“Two days is plenty long. There’s a lot to do once we get back. For now, sign this.”
“The conversation flow is all over the place…”
I shook my head at his absurdly self-centered way of speaking and simply read the document he shoved into my hands.
As the word “sign” suggested, it was a contract. It listed the rules I’d have to follow if I joined the expedition team, along with what I would receive in return. The clause about bringing Song Dayeong along was clearly written in. There was nothing particularly strange about it, so I signed it on the spot.
“Kahahaha! You are now part of the Drakenfels Marquisate’s expedition. There’s no running away, so keep that in mind.”
Reynolds laughed heartily and slapped my shoulder hard a few times. He gave me some necessary information, then left the training ground with Bishop Silas.
I stared blankly at their retreating backs, then clutched the contract tightly and flopped down onto the floor of the training ground. All random thoughts vanished from my mind, replaced by one single realization.
“Ah, fuck. My signing bonus.”
The news that I had signed a contract with the Drakenfels Marquisate spread quickly. It was impossible for it not to. Quite a few people had seen Reynolds and me together. Especially when I was dragged off to spar by the scruff of my neck. That sight had apparently convinced everyone.
They said only someone who had already signed a contract would ever dare do something like that.
Of course, from what I’d seen of the old man, he seemed like the type who would drag anyone around like that if the mood struck him.
“You joined a noble’s faction. You better not look down on us later when you get successful.”
“Why would I look down on anyone?”
“Ugh! I’m so jealous. When I started, I got thrown into some weird mercenary band and worked myself half to death. This won’t do—buy us food! Expensive food!”
“That’s right, Senior! You should buy!”
The moment Kim Dajeong heard the news, she came running and immediately started throwing a tantrum about me buying food. The juniors who had been listening nearby quickly joined in.
The whole scene was so annoying that I suddenly lost all desire to buy the meal I had been planning to get.
“I don’t have any money.”
“What do you mean you don’t have money? Didn’t they give you a signing bonus? The Drakenfels Marquisate should’ve paid you handsomely.”
“Leader Reynolds said he forgot it. He told me to receive it once we reach the border region.”
“Ah…”
When I went to Bishop Silas to complain about the forgotten bonus, Reynolds had already left. The bishop simply relayed the old man’s message in his place.
Sorry, I forgot.
It was absurd, but it was also so typical of him that I had nothing to say.
“Aww, I thought I could finally fleece my successful junior once. Too bad. When we meet again at the garrison, you’ll buy then, right?”
“Well… if we meet, I’ll buy once.”
“Hmm~ You think we won’t meet, don’t you?”
Wasn’t that obvious? Sure, the Drakenfels Marquisate belonged to the Empire, and the Seoul Mercenary Corps also operated within imperial territory. But the Empire’s borders were enormous. There were multiple garrisons. Unless their areas of operation overlapped, there was virtually no chance of running into each other… right?
“Bingo~ Why is everything so obvious on your face?”
Kim Dajeong poked fun at me while watching my expression. I narrowed my eyes.
“Does this even make sense? We’re going to be operating in the same region?”
“I know, right? The timing matches up so perfectly. Want to travel together? We can even share lodgings.”
“I’m not sure. They said someone would come down from the garrison to pick me up.”
“Who’s coming?”
“Someone named Serena. Do you know her?”
“Ah. That girl… Well, she’s not a bad person.”
The way Kim Dajeong’s words trailed off sounded suspicious. I got a bad feeling.
“What’s with that vague answer?”
“Just experience it for yourself. You’ll understand once you do.”
I didn’t know what she meant by “you’ll understand once you experience it.” But three days later, I learned exactly what those words meant.
“Fuck, is it you? The new kid who’s joining?”
The moment we met, the pink-haired woman greeted me with a string of curses. I mentally cursed Kim Dajeong in that instant.
How the hell was someone who started swearing the second she opened her mouth “not a bad person”?
Fucking hell.