140. Upgrade
140. Upgrade
An orphanage on the western outskirts.
Seeing the children laughing brightly and playing around, without a trace of poverty, Magna nodded and stepped outside.
In her hand, she held a letter stating that Ryu-o was safe.
Following her, a little kid chased after her.
Patter patter patter!
"Eonni! Are you going to the labyrinth again?!"
Magna ruffled the head of the tomboy who rushed toward her and said,
Ruffle ruffle ruffle
"No. I just have somewhere to go for a bit."
"Euuugh! I'm dizzy! Where are you going?! How long will it take this time?"
Magna smiled bitterly and shook her head.
"I will return... soon."
"Ah! Liar! It's super obvious!!!"
"...... Make sure you eat well."
Magna covered the kid's eyes with her hair, then set off on her way again.
"Eonni!! Thank you always!! This is all thanks to you, eonni!!!"
Magna didn't look back and merely waved her hand.
Because if she looked back... her steps felt like they would become too heavy.
Carrying light luggage, Magna walked northward for a long time.
As she walked, before she knew it, the high buildings blocking the light vanished.
An uncultivated forest appeared before her.
A scenery completely different from what she had been seeing. It looked as if vast nature had been plucked and attached directly to Labyrinth City.
Magna walked the bumpy forest path peacefully, as if it were her own master bedroom.
Walking like that, Magna stood in front of a giant rock and muttered.
"لقد جاء ابن المرج؛ دع الصخور تتآكل بفعل عوامل التعرية."
(The child of the plains has arrived. Let the rock weather away.)
What she recited was a password designated by a Northern shaman.
As Magna crossed her arms...
-...
"Did they change it...?"
Huuuuung!!!
"I thought so."
A wind blew from somewhere and carved a huge hole in the rock.
The rock transformed like an arched doorway, and beyond it lay a large village.
Tents made of animal hides, and traces of fires lit here and there.
Before Magna, who set foot on the nostalgic soil of her homeland, her close friends approached.
Thud thud thud
"Magna, the Wolf Who Defied the Wind. How dare you return after abandoning your homeland?"
With a heavily scowling expression.
Magna spoke without caring about the sarcasm of her once-close friend.
"Lexi, the Stalwart Rock of the Plains. I wish to meet the Great Chieftain."
"Ha! You've lost your mind!! Outsiders cannot meet the Great Chieftain so casually."
"Get lost, outsider! Unless you want to return to a handful of dirt!"
"Self-indulgent bitch! You're only alive thanks to the Great Chieftain..."
Instantly, a heavy voice echoed through the village, cutting off all the verbal abuse pouring onto Magna.
[Enough. Let her in.]
"Great Chieftain-nim! How can you let an outsider...!!"
[I said, let her in.]
"...Tch. Go on in."
Nod
Despite the sharp glares around her, Magna walked boldly, looking straight ahead.
Entering the largest tent...
"......"
"...Mother."
"Quiet."
A woman carrying an aura like a giant mountain was praying in front of a statue of a woman riding a wolf.
Placing her two rough, calloused hands reverently to her forehead, the Great Chieftain's back muscles twitched.
She let out a deep sigh and looked at Magna.
"Phew... The merciful Goddess does not desire the death of an outsider."
"......"
"So. Why did you return, outsider?"
"I want to undergo the Warrior's Trial."
Kuuung!!!
By the time Magna regained her senses, she was already slammed into the ground.
"Keo-heok!!!"
"Get lost. This is my last mercy."
Struggling to breathe, Magna forced out her words with difficulty.
"If I... cough... cannot pass the trial... I will do anything."
The Great Chieftain looked into Magna's eyes, burning with willpower.
The exact same eyes as before she left home. An honest, stubborn gaze that would rather choose death.
The gaze of a warrior who pushes straight forward to the end, no matter how vast the plains are or how hidden the path is.
The Great Chieftain was dying of frustration inside.
How on earth did she get so utterly captivated by something like the Goddess of Light...
"An outsider cannot undergo the Warrior's Trial."
"..."
"First, gain the recognition of the tribespeople."
"!!!!"
"I will consider what comes after that."
Magna, trembling all over, stood up and glared at the Great Chieftain.
"I will finish it... quickly."
Miguel, who unexpectedly found himself needing to teach wet-behind-the-ears fledglings.
On top of that, he couldn't even return to the main house and was busy cleaning up an incident.
He had sent a letter to the Academy... but no reply had arrived yet.
"Tch... It seems the Young Duke's worries are becoming reality."
At this rate, it's safe to assume they rejected it.
While writing the report to submit to Hilda...
Knock, knock "Commander-nim, the 2nd Lady has arrived to visit."
"Huh?"
Why is that brat here all of a sudden?
Questions aside, he couldn't commit the disrespect of keeping a direct lineage member waiting long.
"Bring her in."
As the door opened, the 2nd Lady walked into the room, her innocence completely drained from her face.
"? Lady?"
Before Miguel could even rise from his seat, Selana suddenly dropped to her knees.
Thud!
"?!??!!!??! No, Lady! Did the Young Duke send you? Are you making an excuse to have my head cut off..."
Paying no mind to the flustered Miguel, Selana said with a firm expression:
"I have not visited as a lady today. A lacking junior seeks instruction from one who has reached mastery."
"......"
"Will you please bestow your teachings upon me?"
Bows deeply
When did that brat mature into a grown woman...?
If she had pressed him using power, he would have taught her even if it were a hassle.
But the 2nd Lady did not do so.
Carrying a large shield on her back, she came to him burning with the determination to block any enemy.
But...
"Are you asking for mere instruction, junior?"
"No. I wish to learn everything you have."
"Then I am sorry. With your talent, junior, it is impossible."
A cruel statement saying she lacked talent.
Nine times out of ten, hearing such words would make someone angry or broken.
But Selana bowed her head even deeper, prostrating herself flat on the floor.
"I do not care if it is painful enough to kill me. I do not care if I burn away my own life."
"......"
"I beg of you. I have found something I want to protect at the cost of my life."
What she wanted to protect was obvious.
The family? No. It was obvious it was Jang Ryu-o.
For a direct lineage member to bow down like this just to protect a single man...
Isn't that the best reason of all?
Who else should a woman protect if not her man?
However, the wonderful youth of young people is youth.
Miguel decided to gauge her potential first.
"Once."
"..."
"If you can so much as graze me, I will teach you."
Selana looked at Miguel with a serious face.
"I will do my best..."
Thus, the two went to the training ground and stood facing each other.
Selana held her large shield and raised her sword in one hand as if about to thrust.
Miguel, barehanded without even a shield, lightly guarded his chest.
Even though Selana was facing a barehanded Miguel, it felt to her as if a massive shield stood before him.
"What's the matter, junior? Do you need a start signal?"
"Ugh... Haaaaah!"
Shaking off her tension, Selana charged forward.
Miguel smiled and swung his raised hand.
Huuuuung!!
Even though he was barehanded, a gale as if whipped up by a giant fan rushed over Selana.
With her posture slightly broken, Selana bit her lip and slammed her shield into the ground.
In that stance, she stepped on the top of the shield and leaped high into the air.
"Mm?"
Seeing Selana pull out yet another shield in midair, Miguel laughed in amusement.
"Hoho... Money sure is nice, isn't it?"
Ignoring him, Selana unfolded radiant wings from the shield.
Riding it like a glider, she charged down.
As she gathered acceleration, she threw the large shield at Miguel like a paper airplane.
Sssswaaaaek!!!
"Creative, but..."
Miguel lightly caught the shield flying at tremendous speed with one hand...
Teo-eoooong!!!
...and smiled at Selana, who held her sword aloft right before his eyes.
"A shield isn't a throwing weapon, junior?"
Grit!
Before the sword could touch Miguel's neck...
Teong-teong-teong-teong!!!
Miguel's palm strikes struck Selana's body in an instant.
Selana pitched forward and collapsed.
Miguel supported Selana and gave a bitter smile.
"Aigoo, Lady... You're going to give this old man a heart attack."
Miguel smiled bitterly as he caught Selana's hand striking from his blind spot.
Teob!
"Isn't this trick a bit too cliché?"
Her other hand too.
Teob!
"I told you, it's too obvious."
Selana's eyes trembled violently as she swung her head.
Intent on making contact even if it meant headbutting him.
Hwik-hwik!!
Yet Miguel controlled Selana's arms like a puppet's to dodge it all.
Selana's hair disheveled, making her look increasingly unkempt.
Through her thin, golden thread-like hair, freezing blue eyes were visible.
'Heo... All the strength in her body should be gone...'
Is this what it means to belong to a Duchy family?
Miguel grabbed both of Selana's wrists and firmly pinned her feet with his own feet.
'With this level of will...'
At that moment...
"Ptooey...!!!"
Splat!
"???????"
"This too... is an attack..."
Selana's attack, having thrown all dignity out the window, lightly dampened Miguel's top shirt.
"...This is a new shirt..."
"Success..."
"Where is your tact? I was about to let you pass anyway."
"Please... take care of..."
Zzzzz...
Looking at the sticky drool running down his shirt, Miguel laughed with amusement.
"Ewahahahahaha!!! My my! You really got me good!!!"
Jenin visited the Magic Tower Master's office for the first time in a long while.
As the door opened, the red-haired Magic Tower Master with a forced smile greeted Jenin.
"Jenin~ It's been a while. How is the Count doing?"
"Yes, Magic Tower Master-nim."
"So, what brings you here?"
Toward the Magic Tower Master wearing a corporate smile, Jenin got straight to the point.
"The proposal you made last time... is it still valid?"
Only then did the Magic Tower Master's eyes widen.
The promise mentioned last time was an offer asking if Jenin was interested in learning her secret magic.
However, having heard Jenin's reply that she was content with a modest position, the master had been disappointed...
"Suddenly? What brought on this change of heart?"
Jenin looked out the window with hollow eyes and said,
"I... want to find my usefulness."
The Red Magic Tower Master instantly felt that something had happened.
But why would she care? An immensely talented test subject... student had walked in!
Smiling brightly, the Magic Tower Master pulled out a piece of document.
"Usefulness! I'll definitely find it for you, Jenin!! Great choice! Kyahahahaha!!!"
Jenin blankly stared at the document placed before her.
The document stated that she would not be held responsible for any mental anomalies.
Jenin held out her hand to the Magic Tower Master.
Slick
"Huh? Want to shake hands? First, your thumbprint..."
"A pen."
"Aha! Hahaha, it's not a pen, Jenin!"
The Magic Tower Master slashed Jenin's thumb with magic...
Shak!
"Ugh!!"
She grabbed Jenin's wrist and pressed it down onto the document.
Kuuuuk!!!
The document drank in Jenin's blood, glowed, and then...
Swwiiing~
...was sucked straight into the Magic Tower Master's safe.
"Welcome to hell~"
Looking at the Magic Tower Master's chilling smile, the strength left Jenin's legs completely.