Chapter 176
Chapter 176
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 176
Chapter Title: United Quest (1)
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Even before the sun had risen, the stuffy humidity of a September dawn hung in the air.
Swoosh— swoosh—.
In the darkness, steady breathing continued without end.
Then, finally.
Huuuuuh—.
The moment golden particles spilled from his mouth and scattered into the air.
Flash—.
Golden pupils gleamed in the pitch-black darkness.
The eyes blinked a few times in the shadows before they began to move.
Click—.
Soon, a hidden glowstone was revealed, illuminating the darkness.
And the one who appeared within it was Yuri.
“Ughhh.”
Yuri, who seemed a bit taller now.
After a short stretch, he gauged the time.
‘Feels a little less hot, so it must be around dawn.’
That meant he had stayed up all night.
Yet there wasn’t a trace of fatigue on Yuri’s face.
Instead, it was filled with refreshment.
Yuri wore a pleased smile.
‘Today was a lucky day.’
Yesterday was September 1st, the day the special sale items refreshed.
And now, there was no time to leisurely browse like before on special sale refresh days.
Nearly all his classmates already knew about the special sale item refreshes.
Moreover, they had enough points to buy those items.
As a result, special sale refresh days turned into battlegrounds where everyone scrambled for their desired goods.
Even Yuri had missed out on wanted items several times, showing just how fierce the competition was.
But yesterday, he’d been incredibly lucky and snagged two low-grade mana potions.
That wasn’t all.
A high-grade mana augmentation potion had appeared, too.
Among the 50th Cohort, only Yuri had the points to buy a high-grade mana potion, so it naturally fell into his hands.
And September’s luck didn’t stop there.
‘One high-grade from the 49th Cohort’s special sale, too.’
Yuri had successfully had Theresia proxy-buy a high-grade mana potion from the 49th Cohort’s special sale.
He’d had to pay her a hefty commission, but to him, the potions mattered more than his overflowing points, so he didn’t mind at all.
Thus, on September 1st, he’d acquired two low-grade and two high-grade potions at once.
It was the best haul he’d ever gotten from the special sales, so he could truly call it a stroke of luck.
And all four potions had vanished into Yuri’s stomach that very day.
He patted his fully digested belly.
Thump thump—.
A drum-like sound accompanied a satisfied smile.
‘It’s gotten pretty big.’
The nipples that once dangled loosely on an empty watermelon-like chest were now quite substantial, no longer scrawny.
He’d gone so long absorbing mana on an empty stomach, but now it felt full even without eating.
Pleased with the results, Yuri stood contentedly for a while before snapping to attention and starting his morning routine.
Thud—.
Yuri suddenly stripped off his top.
It was the routine he hadn’t skipped once in the past four months or so.
Building muscle.
It stemmed from Johan’s advice.
[You ate a Power Crystal? Hah, look at you scavenging and gobbling up something good while I wasn’t looking.]
When Yuri told him about eating the Power Crystal, Johan responded approvingly.
[For a while, focus on growing your body over sword training. You ate something expensive, so milk every bit of its effects.]
Johan explained that while the Power Crystal showed immediate tremendous effects, it could disrupt the body’s balance.
To correct that imbalance, a process of tuning the flesh was essential.
Yuri grumbled that it wasn’t necessary and he wanted to train swordsmanship alongside it.
Johan clicked his tongue.
[Tsk, the reason Power Crystals are treasures is because their potential-boosting effects last quite a while. What does that mean? It means you can maximize those effects with extra effort! How big was the crystal you scavenged?]
When Yuri said it was about egg-sized, Johan stuck out his tongue.
[…Damn, you lucky bastard. You ate something insanely rare. That size should last at least half a year. So for the next six months, build muscle like your life depends on it. You can’t create something from nothing—the crystal’s effects scale with the muscle built during absorption.]
Even after Johan’s explanation, Yuri still didn’t fully grasp why he had to reduce sword training emphasis.
Finally, Johan sighed faintly and answered.
[Your growth speed is freakishly abnormal. Normally, even with enlightenment, you only advance 1.1 or 1.2 times your prepared capacity. You progress incrementally like that… but you leap 3 or 4 times ahead. Like limits don’t exist for you.]
Johan’s expression grew serious.
[It’s too much. Way too much. If you were properly prepared, that talent would be a blessing… but right now, it’s a curse that could snap your life at any moment.]
Johan saw the cause in Yuri’s Incarnation.
[To begin with, your spirit vein was already open… so you might not face the walls normal people hit reaching that realm. Or those walls could be ridiculously low. Of course, this is all just my speculation… but better safe than sorry.]
Johan urged him.
Don’t intentionally try raising your realm until you’re fully prepared.
[This time, I luckily caught it and you scraped by, but without me, disaster would’ve struck ages ago. Got it?]
So, until prepared, don’t even attempt to acquire a ‘Domain (Zone)’, Johan emphasized repeatedly.
[If you have the leisure for that, solidify your foundations instead. Figures the realm you lucked into would show—can’t even fling a single non-sword arts blade at Official 5th Dan when you wield a holy sword? Bah, once your body’s built, restart from strong sword basics and build proficiency!]
Only then did Yuri understand Johan’s words.
He set his training focus on muscle-building as advised.
And right on cue, a certain man appeared by Yuri’s side who could give proper muscle training advice.
[I’m hungry!]
[Add more weight and do ten more!… or something?]
With the muscle pig baldhead… and interpreter Arin’s help, Yuri smoothly continued his strength training.
Thanks to that, his hideout was filled with rocks everywhere.
They were brought in to progressively overload his body per Boppi’s training methods.
Thus, today too, Yuri sweated profusely, focused on building muscle.
Whoosh— whoosh—.
Doing handstands at a 45-degree angle for push-ups, heavy rocks dangled from both his legs.
Drip drip—.
Clear sweat beaded and flowed down Yuri’s upper body.
The Power Crystal’s potency and grueling training hadn’t been wasted—his muscles were definitely different from before.
Bigger, denser, visibly tougher and more compressed.
Plus, his growth-spurt height and perfectly symmetrical build.
Over the past four months, Yuri’s physical abilities had achieved harmony, steadily progressing toward even greater perfection.
Whoosh— whoosh—.
The dawn workout hadn’t ended even by lunchtime, and just as the sweat vapor filled the room thickly.
Bang—.
The door flew open, and a bright voice rang out.
“Sweat smell… Air it out.”
The one pinching her nose with one hand was none other than Theresia.
She entered the room as casually as if nothing was wrong, despite seeing Yuri shirtless mid-workout.
Not that she could help it.
She’d seen this scene too many times already to be fazed.
Theresia naturally opened the door and lightly swung her spear to clear the stale air.
It was a smooth motion, like she’d done it many times.
Then, looking at Yuri still lost in his workout trance despite her arrival, she said.
“Stop there for today.”
“Haven’t hit today’s quota yet. Just a bit more!”
Yuri kept exercising even as he replied.
But even he had to halt at Theresia’s returned words.
“It’s a united quest. You have to go too.”
“Huh?”
Yuri sprang up and turned to Theresia.
“United quest? You mean the 49th Cohort’s united quest?”
“Yeah. Announcement just came.”
“Why do I have to go? Oh… like last time, outsiders allowed?”
“No, it’s a 49th Cohort quest, but…”
Before Theresia could finish, Arin’s booming voice echoed.
“Yuuuuri! 50th Cohort assembleeeee!”
Hearing that, Theresia smirked and continued.
“It’s a 50th Cohort united quest too.”
“…?!”
Yuri’s eyes widened slightly.
* * *
More people than usual had gathered near the northern clock tower.
But an invisible wall seemed erected between them, splitting into two groups.
Red epaulets and yellow epaulets.
The 50th and 49th Cohorts, divided by faction, with an awkward tension flowing between.
Of course, the awkwardness came entirely from the 50th Cohort.
‘Damn, united quest with seniors…’
‘How can we focus on the quest with all this awkwardness!’
It was the 50th Cohort’s first quest with higher cohorts.
Naturally, they were intimidated and on edge.
Meanwhile, the 49th Cohort looked far more relaxed.
Not only that, most flashed sleazy smiles at the 50th Cohort, applying pressure.
As if ready to devour the juniors any second.
But that atmosphere flipped with the arrival of a certain few.
“What? Why’s the vibe so sour?”
A cheeky voice.
A black-haired boy strolling in with hands in pockets, followed by four others.
As they wedged between the 50th and 49th Cohorts, the pressure on the 50th vanished whoosh—.
Not that all pressure was gone.
A few slow-on-the-uptake 49th Cohort members still glared at the 50th.
“What? Wanna go? Huh?”
Yuri’s head tilted defiantly in an instant.
As he seemed ready to charge the 49th, Boppi hooked an arm under Yuri’s and lifted him.
“Hey, damn it, Boppi, put me down! I gotta say something to that senior who just eyed me dirty.”
“I’m hungry.”
“Come on, I won’t hit! Just talk and back, talk only! So put me down!”
Seeing Yuri kicking his legs wildly in Boppi’s grip, the 49th Cohort members whipped their heads away.
‘That lunatic!’
‘…Don’t touch that guy.’
Yuri had already left a strong impression on the 49th Cohort from the Demon King incident.
Exceptional skill and a pissy personality.
Thus, he was known among them as ‘the 50th Cohort’s mad dog.’
Thanks to Yuri’s little tantrum, the pressure on the 50th Cohort evaporated.
Having unwittingly saved his classmates, Yuri was forcibly carried forward in Boppi’s hand like a doll.
Like parting the sea, the 49th and 50th Cohorts flinched and split left and right as Boppi extended Yuri.
Once Boppi set him down, Theresia, Arin, and Gunter patted Boppi’s back.
“Good job.”
“Excellent!”
“Wise choice.”
As they all praised Boppi, Yuri, sulking, started to grumble something.
“…Huh?”
Then a group caught his attention.
Yuri blinked at their slowly approaching figures.
“What are those guys?”
Arin, hearing his mutter, replied nonchalantly.
“Oh, didn’t I mention? It’s not just 49th and 50th Cohorts in this quest?”
“…Why tell me now?”
Yuri’s brow furrowed slightly.
Over a hundred people emerging from the west side of the circular arena.
All wearing the green epaulets symbolizing the 48th Cohort.