Chapter 217
Chapter 217
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 217
Chapter Title: Dragon Scale Splitter 2 (2)
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No matter how much he yelled at the top of his lungs, Yohan didn't show up.
So what could he do?
If you're thirsty, you dig a well.
In the end, Yuri set out to find Yohan first.
But contrary to his expectations of finding him in the training grounds, Yohan was nowhere to be seen.
'What the hell, where did this guy go?'
Wondering if he'd left again, Yuri searched high and low.
Quite a while later, he found Yohan in an unexpected place, with an unexpected person.
"Keha!"
"Keuh!"
Yohan and Segyeong sat facing each other, setting up a drinking session in broad daylight.
Holding only their liquor bottles, they were using Yuri as their side dish while chattering away.
"Why are geniuses such unlucky bastards? Do they lose their humanity in proportion to their genius?"
"Heh heh, I never imagined you'd say something like that, Yohan."
"I wasn't as bad as that kid! That damn little brat. Ugh, ptooey!"
"Well, that punk's bald head was even more of a pain than yours when you were a kid."
"Compared to him, I'm human. That one's a beast, a beast!"
"Not sure about beast, but he sure didn't seem human."
The two wet their throats while trash-talking Yuri vigorously, and they seemed to have grown much closer.
Or had they called a truce because of a common enemy?
Yuri shot them a dumbfounded look for a moment before remembering the urgent situation and rushing over.
"Old man!"
At the booming shout, the two glanced sideways at Yuri before turning away and muttering.
"That punk never lets us drink in peace."
"Kongsool, isn't he your disciple? Go tell him to shut up."
"Why's he my disciple? He's yours!"
"Me and that kid? We're just in a contract, trading this and that."
"If we're splitting hairs like that, then I'm no better than a slave who lost a bet and got his techniques stolen."
"Honestly, I'm in the same boat as you. No, worse! Now that punk's nagging me that I can't even swing a sword anymore? Telling me to go learn techniques from you instead."
"Hah... that cursed mouth of yours."
They kept badmouthing him right in front of his face without a care.
Normally, Yuri would've started swinging right then, but not this time.
"Old man! Old Man Kongsool, perfect timing—look at this!"
Yuri scurried over and proudly showed them the metal he'd brought, explaining.
A short while later.
Yohan examined the metal Yuri had handed him and asked,
"Hmm... so this popped out of your body?"
"That's what I've been saying! I told you that ghost was real! And you didn't believe me."
"I've never said I didn't believe you, though?"
"......"
"I never said ghosts don't exist either."
Yuri pondered Yohan's brazenness.
'...Did he?'
Come to think of it, Yohan had never called him a liar.
Nor had he ever denied the existence of ghosts.
Feeling awkward for no reason, Yuri scratched his cheek while Yohan fiddled with the metal.
'Hmm... at first glance, it looks like ordinary metal.'
Even upon close inspection, there were no peculiarities.
So he passed the metal to Segyeong.
"What do you make of it?"
"Hmm, let me see......"
Segyeong pulled a long monocle from his pocket and fitted it over one eye.
Then he began examining it meticulously.
Visually.
By tapping it.
Sniffing it.
Even pressing his ear to it.
After a long observation, he removed the monocle and turned to Yuri.
"...so this is the metal that severed arm ghost gave you?"
"Yeah!"
Yuri nodded vigorously.
"And that severed arm was at the Black Dragon Pavilion?"
"Yeah!"
"Hoo."
Interest filled Segyeong's eyes.
Anticipating this, Yuri asked,
"Any idea what it is?"
"To be honest... it's a type I've never seen before. Its structure and energy don't match anything in my knowledge. What the hell is this? Normally, something this massive should have considerable weight... but this is way too light."
"Then is there anyone besides Old Man Kongsool who might know? Anyone to ask?"
"Only the Meister levels from Walker or Lamel School have better knowledge of metal and material structures than me."
"And even that old man doesn't know?"
"That's why it's amazing! That something like this exists in the world! But one thing's certain: it's definitely a type of 'metal'... but you say it really turned liquid and went into your body?"
"That's what I've been telling you!"
"Try putting it in."
"...It's not something I can control at will."
"Ugh, can't you even do that?"
Stung by Segyeong's skeptical glare, Yuri snatched the golden metal and slapped it onto his palm in defiance.
The three pairs of eyes fixed on the metal in his palm.
But.
"......"
"......"
"......"
No matter how much time passed, the metal didn't disappear from his palm.
In the continuing silence, Yohan and Segyeong finally spoke up, unable to hold back.
"Ugh, useless punk."
"What's the point of being a genius if you can't even absorb a lump of metal with your palm."
"Total fake smartass. As if that kid's a genius."
Infuriated by their nonsense, Yuri snapped.
"You damn old fossils...!"
And right at that moment.
Srrrrk-.
The golden metal melted back into liquid and absorbed into Yuri's hand, vanishing.
"......?!"
"Huh?!"
The two who'd been teasing him froze solid at the sight unfolding before their eyes.
Meanwhile, Yuri crowed triumphantly.
"See? It's real!"
Segyeong and Yohan were at a loss for words.
"......"
"......"
Their faces were stiff.
Segyeong was shocked that Yuri wasn't lying—that the solid metal had truly liquefied and been absorbed into a human body.
Yohan looked like he'd realized something.
He asked Segyeong,
"...Hey, Kongsool, that was definitely... metal, right?"
"I pride myself on having no equal among the Bone Clan when it comes to discerning a substance's essence. And I swear, that was metal."
"...I see."
Yohan's grim expression unchanged, he turned to Yuri.
"Can you pull that out again?"
"...I'll try."
Yuri nodded curtly and extended his hand again.
'How did I do it last time...?'
Recalling the moment the metal had appeared on his hand, it seemed like he'd remembered receiving the liquid lump from the severed arm at the Black Dragon Pavilion.
He tried picturing the same scene, but no metal lump emerged.
'What? Why isn't it working? What's wrong?'
How long did he struggle like that?
Gurgle-.
Finally, liquid welled up in Yuri's hand, forming the familiar metal lump.
"Got it."
With this second success, Yuri got a feel for it.
'More or less... like this?'
Not precise, but it felt like visualizing and drawing something out from inside his body.
And that sensation was familiar to Yuri.
'It's similar to summoning an incarnation.'
A instinctual sense he'd honed since childhood, without anyone teaching him.
Slightly different, but close enough to this.
So Yuri adapted quickly.
Gulp, gulp-.
Right in front of everyone, Yuri repeatedly drew out and reabsorbed the metal.
As he internalized the experience, Yohan watched the process and gained complete certainty.
'Huh?!'
Staring unblinkingly at the golden metal appearing and disappearing, a groan-like mutter escaped Yohan's lips.
"...Unbelievable."
"Huh?"
"That thing of yours... it's no ordinary metal. It's a spirit body."
"Spirit body?"
"...An incarnation."
"So that's it......"
No wonder it felt similar drawing it out of his body.
As Yuri nodded,
Yohan's eyes filled with confusion.
"This... this doesn't make sense? But the proof's right here, so I can't deny it. Damn... what the......"
"Is it that weird?"
At Yuri's innocent question, Yohan replied with a heavy face.
"A spirit body manifested externally through spirit blood—an incarnation—can physically interact with the present world. But it's still fundamentally non-material. And yet......"
As Yohan trailed off, Segyeong shouted in disbelief.
"No way! That was clearly metal earlier!"
Yohan nodded.
"Yeah, you're right. It was definitely material."
When it was metal, even Yohan hadn't recognized it as an incarnation—it was perfect metal.
"That's why it doesn't make sense. There's no way for a non-material incarnation to become material."
"So, to put it simply, it's like a ghost turning into a human?"
"Yeah, as a simple analogy......"
Yohan nodded at Yuri's apt comparison.
He stared at Yuri's palm in astonishment.
'To think something like this is possible.'
His fundamental belief that incarnations from the non-material realm could never become material had been shattered today... by whatever Yuri had gotten from that ghost.
'And it's freely switching between non-material and material.'
What kind of nonsense was this?
Even more shocking: Yuri's spirit blood was currently sealed by Yohan himself.
So where the hell was this incarnation coming from?
Yohan looked at Yuri in disbelief.
"You... what did you pick up?"
"If I knew, would I be showing it to you old men?"
As Yuri shot them an indignant glare,
Clack-.
Segyeong grabbed Yuri's wrist.
His eyes shone brighter than ever.
"...Research."
"......"
"If we research that and figure out the principle... we might open up a whole new world!"
Whether in metallurgy or alchemy.
Unraveling the secret of a metal that freely traversed non-material and material realms would lead to world-shaking innovation.
And no Bone Clansman could resist such temptation.
As Segyeong's eyes blazed with research fervor,
Clack-.
Yohan seized Yuri's other hand.
"Let me join that research."
With such a perfect research subject for incarnations appearing, Yohan felt his own research passion ignite after ages.
Thus, with both wrists gripped by the two men,
'S... save me.'
Yuri's face paled at the very real possibility of being dissected.
* * *
In a situation where being strapped to an operating table wouldn't be surprising, the unexpected guest who arrived at the Demon King's Castle saved Yuri.
"Hoo? So this is that famous Demon King's Castle I've only heard about? Building something this massive in just a few months—impressive."
Arm in a splint, body wrapped in bandages everywhere.
Even limping on a crutch, the one who appeared was none other than the purple-headed Goetz Loetun.
He craned his neck in wonder at the Demon King's Castle looming where he remembered.
Yuri asked Goetz flatly,
"You came in person?"
"The guy who suggested it pushed me to go negotiate myself. Though 'negotiate' is just a fancy word—they really just wanted me to handle the annoying stuff."
"So you're alone?"
"Yep."
As Goetz nodded, silence fell between them.
"......"
"......"
Meanwhile, Yuri had drawn out demon silk threads, spreading them everywhere.
Confirming no one else was around, just as Goetz said, he asked in a low voice,
"...The mission?"
Goetz glanced around furtively and whispered back.
"...Handled perfectly."
As soon as the words left his mouth, their eyes met.
"Excellent."
"No problem."
Clack-.
They shook hands with satisfied expressions.
With that, memories from a few days ago began replaying in Goetz's mind.