A Prodigy's Bloodline
I soared through the air before rolling across the ground to land, immediately dropping into a combat stance.
“Kyah kyah kyah!!”
“Grrrrowl!!”
A pack of kobolds aimed their weapons at me, snarling viciously. Did 50 of them really look like this many?
As I reached into the cube to pull out Al Capone's Tommy, Gwak Chunsik's words flashed through my mind.
'Clean them up without using weapons.'
He'd told me not to use weapons. In the end, I stopped activating the cube. The moment I landed in front of them, Bloodline: Calione activated automatically, and I ignited my aura.
“Good thing there's so damn many of you!”
Fueled by the malice from all 50 enemies, an aura incomparable to what I'd unleashed against those youthful old duo earlier began rising from my body.
The kobolds flinched at the ferocious aura and staggered back.
“We'll catch up later, Elder.”
I pushed Gwak Chunsik—who was watching with arms crossed from behind—out of my mind and gathered the uncontrollable surging aura, spreading it throughout my body bit by bit.
If I stopped here, it'd just enhance my physical strength. But I took it one step further, emitting aura from my fists to form a thin membrane.
I tried shaping it into gloves or something else like before, but it still felt like molding boiling water. All I could manage was letting it flow along my arms.
Still, it should be more than enough against these guys.
“Kyak! Kyak kyak! Kyak kyak kyak!”
“Grrrrowl! Kyak kyak!”
Realizing something ominous was happening right in front of them, the kobolds began raising their weapons.
If they attacked first, I'd get mixed into the center of their formation, making it disadvantageous for close-quarters chaos. I had to charge in now, before their fear turned to madness.
Kreeee—
The sound of one kobold cocking a crossbow reached my ears. I leaped into their midst, smashing the face of the vanguard kobold.
Kwang—!
That should prevent most of their ranged attacks from even getting off.
Amid their shock at my sudden charge, I shattered the jaw of the one trying to discard its crossbow and draw a dagger, then began pulverizing them one by one.
With each wretched kobold crumbling, the fear radiating from the rest grew stronger. And that fear converted into power through my trait, 【Heir of the Underworld】's sub-effect [Baby Boss], further reinforcing my aura-enhanced body. Explosive strength surged through me.
“Kekekek!”
“Kik!”
The kobolds trying to surround me were blasted back by the shockwave. I swung a kick at those hiding behind the flying ones, farther back—they burst like water balloons stomped underfoot.
Blood and a wet-dog stench spread thickly through the dungeon.
“...Hoo.”
Red steam rose from my body, as if the blood was evaporating off me.
Luckily, I'd kept the aura emitting to repel the blood, or I'd have been drenched.
I swept back my sweat-matted hair and turned to Gwak Chunsik, who was surely still watching from behind.
“This enough for you?”
In less than a few minutes, I'd rendered most of the 50 kobolds combat-ineffective. The fight was effectively over.
But something was off about Gwak Chunsik's expression.
The Gwak Chunsik I knew would've said something like, 'Not bad.' Or 'I could've done it faster.' Instead, his mouth hung wide open as he stared blankly at me.
...Did I mess up somewhere?
“...Elder?”
* * *
That kid—he's Vito Calione's son, right?
Having watched the fledgling's fight to the end, I couldn't help but be stunned.
I hadn't expected much when I tossed him into the kobold pack. I'd seen his combat sense and style in our spar, so this time I wanted to observe how he normally wielded his aura.
I'd seen countless aura users worthy of being called aura masters, and no one knew average growth rates better than I did.
Awakened just a month ago... Yeah, I had a rough idea.
Since handling aura is tough, he'd probably focus it on one body part to fight. He'd use more power than needed to maintain it while moving, and eventually collapse from exhaustion without pacing himself.
But.
'Is that even possible?'
He'd already surpassed my expectations.
The aura flailing uselessly here and there matched what he'd said about being a novice awakened recently, but the rest...
'A genius.'
The reason he struggled with aura wasn't poor control.
He simply couldn't handle the overwhelming amount.
A normal person couldn't even move under that torrent of aura, yet he was forcibly shaping it into 'emissions.'
And I'd seen that sight before.
──Vito Calione.
The man now called 'Don' by all, ruling the world's underworld.
Back then, at the forefront protecting the most discriminated and isolated, burning himself to shield them.
Countless monsters burst from a single punch of his. A giant beast toppled from one kick. The man called the ultimate fiend and strongest.
'Blood can't lie, huh.'
I saw Vito Calione in that boy.
“...Elder?”
The kid called out to me.
Despite creating that brutal scene, not a drop of blood stained him. An aura so dense it repelled even the surrounding blood.
It was absurd, even right before my eyes.
Truly monstrous aura quantity.
If this kid had even more aura than Vito Calione—or me.
“You... could do it.”
“...Pardon?”
The technique I'd created to surpass Vito Calione, who later surpassed even me.
The technique I couldn't fully master myself, made to exceed that man.
I was certain this kid could master it perfectly.
* * *
“Do what? What're you talking about?”
There it was. Gwak Chunsik Elder's gimmick trigger line.
My lips twitched with joy, but I clamped down on the muscles.
I'd thought I'd suffer for a while, but seeing tears welling in his eyes meant I'd truly met the conditions.
Wait, Were there even conditions that could move him? I'd just done my usual thing...
“...We'll talk later. Soon, others will smell your comrades' blood and swarm us.”
“One gesture from you, Elder, and they'd all scatter anyway.”
“Brat, does my aura grow from the dirt? Fine in a dungeon this size, but elsewhere? You'd kill me from exhaustion.”
With that, he crossed his arms behind his back and walked deeper into the dungeon.
“We'll stroll to the boss room. You handle it.”
“...Me? This is your request, Elder.”
“My request, and your mentor's. You gonna learn and run, mentee?”
Damn, painting me as the bad guy here.
I thought his affinity had gone up a bit, but his temper flared right away.
Still, these dungeon mobs were Al Capone's Tommy level at worst, so I sighed and drew the gun.
“Fine— Agh?!”
Gwak Chunsik smacked my back.
“Sigh again and karma hits, brat!”
Man, he's boomer in the weirdest ways. Seriously.
In the end, I gripped the Tommy and followed him, dropping approaching kobolds.
Gwak Chunsik eyed the Tommy curiously.
“Pulled a gun outta nowhere—it's a relic, huh? Fires mana as bullets?”
“Yeah. Sometimes aura mixes in, sending red bullets.”
“What? Aura in a gun...? Well, with you spraying it everywhere, it'd affect the mana too.”
Huh?
“...Do I spray aura everywhere?”
“Obviously. That your idea of controlled fighting? Watching from behind nearly gave me a rage stroke. I'd have died of liver failure before the kobolds.”
“Just tell me next time.”
“Planning to. Hold up—stop here.”
Gwak Chunsik halted me and pressed a hand to the rubble wall.
“Lemme see~ Around here, yeah.”
“...Pardon?”
“Watch close. You'll do this later too.”
That instant.
───────────!!
A massive roar and dust filled the air as the wall exploded.
A straight tunnel stretched like a bomb had carved it.
Beyond it loomed a kobold far larger and paler than the rest.
“Heh heh heh. My instincts never fail.”
Kobold Queen.
Had to be this dungeon's boss.
But I wasn't just shocked at Gwak Chunsik pinpointing it.
Not a single pebble had fallen in that violent blast. The tunnel's interior was pristine.
“Let's go.”
How the hell do you control aura for feats like that? Unreal.
Guess this is what earns the monster label.
“Kyah! Kyah kyah! Kyah!”
The Kobold Queen barked upon spotting us. Armored kobolds nearby grabbed weapons and charged into the tunnel.
Their gear was leagues above the others. Especially the two vanguard's shields—they'd block most ranged attacks or spells.
“Tch, noisy. Quiet down—the echoes hurt.”
Gwak Chunsik muttered, palm open, swiping horizontally like drawing a line.
“Kik?”
“Kek?”
The puzzled kobold guards.
As they raised shields to advance again.
Sring—
The tops of their shields sheared off, clattering to the ground.
The two guards tilted their heads—then collapsed.
Blood gushed from their necks where they'd toppled sideways.
“...Ha.”
I stared in awe at the overwhelming display.
If I'd been those kobolds, could I block it? Barehanded or basic gear? No way.
Dodge? Without knowing? Definitely would've eaten it.
“Eugene. I thought you a rough gem at first, but you're already polished. What you need now is storytelling to raise that gem's value.”
A sword of blue mana formed above his hand.
“And I'll teach you techniques to aid your legend.”
Gwak Chunsik gazed at the sword on his palm, drawing his right arm back like nocking an arrow.
His expression serene, utterly calm.
Finally, he extended his arm slowly, almost shyly, toward the front.
It was a phenomenon.
Just thrusting his arm, his sword.
Yet the distant Kobold Queen's throat was already pierced by it.
No scream from the Queen, throat exactly skewered.
Just a blank look, as if clueless what happened.
Thud.
Its body hit the ground.
Nearby kobolds wailed in agony.
Screamed.
Pounded the earth, tore their hair, shrieked.
And all those sounds—
“Dogyacheongcheong (獨也靑靑)”
──vanished with his murmur.
The blue sword still in the Queen's throat sprouted countless branches, dominating everywhere, claiming the lives of intruders in his domain.
Gwak Chunsik relaxed his right hand slightly. The blue tree dominating the space dissolved into the air, as if fulfilled.
He turned back casually, smiling warmly at me.
“Oresik. The technique you'll learn from me from now on.”
Gwak Chunsik, my mentor, said with a gentle smile.