Chapter 95
Chapter 95
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 95
Chapter Title: 32. Restraint (1)
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A sticky swamp stretched on endlessly.
Every step sank like quicksand, making movement difficult.
A man and a woman stood in some nameless dungeon.
This place brimmed with water-attribute mana.
The dungeon's rank was a rare S-grade.
Its scale was vast, but it was S-grade because of the elite monsters rather than sheer size.
The regressor had found a spot fitting for a baby Red Dragon's level.
Yeoreum, who had just finished battling the monsters, was drenched in sweat.
"Huff... huff..."
She slumped atop a monster's corpse. The grueling fight had dragged on for nearly two hours. She'd had to squeeze her Dragon Heart repeatedly. The mana drain was immense. Dizzy, she buried her head in her hands.
"Let's go."
"W-Wait a sec."
"We have to keep moving."
"...Hold on. I think I'm gonna puke."
Drool trickled from her mouth as she gasped for breath.
Her level wasn't high enough yet, so the Pulsation wavered unstably in tough spots.
Of course, he could just leave her be. She was a dragon, after all. She'd gradually perfect her Pulsation without pushing this hard.
But to grow stronger even a day sooner, real combat was best.
"......"
Her body and clothes were caked in filth, but she didn't bother cleaning with magic. She had no energy left for that.
Once her breathing steadied, though, Yeoreum stood without complaint.
"L-Let's go."
He led her through the swamp-like muck.
As they pressed on, the sticky bog deepened past head height. He walked atop it using mana. Yeoreum struggled to follow in his wake.
After trudging a ways, something emerged between the dense trees.
A massive fin running from head to tail. Crimson gills visible along the neck. A hulking body. A fish-man resembling a human, spear in hand, chomping down on a whole grotesque fish.
It was an elite soldier of the merfolk tribe, the Shakagin.
Yoo Ji-tae crouched beneath a tree branch. Yeoreum, tense, mimicked him.
He whispered softly.
"You see it."
"...Yeah."
"What do you think."
"...It looks fucking strong."
"If it were you, how would you take them down."
Yeoreum gnawed her red lips. Then she glanced at their position.
"You brought me here on purpose, right? For a sneak attack."
He didn't answer, so she scowled and turned back to the enemy.
The elite wielded a long spear. Flanking it were two Shakagin mages. They'd handle water magic, no doubt.
With the whole area waterlogged, no angle seemed viable.
"...Blast 'em all with breath?"
There was an easy way out.
"You serious?"
"Nah, just spitballing."
Grumbling, Yeoreum pondered again.
He waited silently for her to think.
The reason he'd put Yeoreum through this trial was her thoughtless fighting so far.
Her physique outclassed any cadet in the Lair—not to mention most active superhumans. Reflexes beyond human limits. Attribute resistance defying common sense. Astonishing mana affinity.
Born with it all, she'd never truly had to think or strategize in battle.
"Hmm... First, smash the warrior hard."
"And."
"Snag its spear and chuck it."
"And."
"While it's flailing without one, beat the mages."
"And."
"...Then just brawl?"
"Exactly."
Yeoreum sneaked a peek at him.
"That right?"
"Try it your way first."
The brief strategy session ended.
Yeoreum closed her eyes. Thump— The Pulsation beat steadily. She shot forward like a bullet. Swamp water sprayed everywhere.
Things didn't go as planned.
She ambushed and struck the elite hard, but its arm muscles bulged grotesquely, refusing to release the spear.
First step failed.
What followed was a chaotic melee. Yeoreum couldn't handle the elite easily amid the mages' interference. Wounds piled up, blood sprayed. When the spear shaft smashed her face and she got grabbed by the collar, Yoo Ji-tae stepped in, smacking the elite and mages from behind.
"Let go! Get off me!"
Pulled free by Yoo Ji-tae, Yeoreum yelled wildly in frustration. No choice—he smacked her nape too.
The two Shakagin—the elite and mages—plus Yeoreum. All four out cold. Fight over.
"......"
A couple hours later, Yeoreum woke and glared at Yoo Ji-tae.
"What went wrong."
"...Dunno."
"......"
"From your view, what was the problem?"
Her question came grudgingly. Still, the lesson had sunk in—she admitted her weakness.
"Everything."
Yoo Ji-tae gave his honest take. Irritation and resentment flashed across Yeoreum's face.
"Everything how?"
"Problematic from the start. You didn't capitalize on the ambush properly."
"Ambush properly?"
"Yeah. Good you realized the spot was ideal. But your approach was wrong. Too hasty. Not stealthy enough."
"Ugh... Not getting it. Wasn't I stealthy? Hit that fish bastard square in the back of the head. Pretty fast too."
He shook his head.
"That's the wrong mindset. Why flaunt speed."
"......?"
"Ambush prioritizes stealth and precision."
"So speed's secondary?"
He shook his head again.
"In extremes, you don't need speed at all."
"Why? It's an ambush. Gotta hit fast, right?"
"Watch."
Yoo Ji-tae extended a finger.
Quick, yet slow. Yeoreum jerked to dodge in surprise, but it twisted, predicting her move.
Tap. It flicked her forehead.
"Huh? Fuck... what?"
She dumbly rubbed her brow.
Slow, but it hit. She thought she'd dodge, but didn't.
"If precise enough, speed doesn't matter."
He explained in a subtler tone.
"Ambush demands stealth and precision always. Sometimes slitting a throat up close beats hurling a knife from afar. Slow can be better."
"......!"
"Don't cling to common sense. Ditch 'this must be this way, that that way.' In every situation, figure out what's truly needed."
Yeoreum, grasping it, let out a soft "Ah...!"
"Got it?"
"Yeah. Think so."
"Redo from the top mentally. Reconstruct the scenario. What'd you mess up on ambush. How to enter efficiently."
Yeoreum closed her eyes, recalling perfectly. The scene sharpened. She reviewed her path, speed, direction. Estimated mages' sightlines, elite's patrol.
Conviction dawned on her face.
Yoo Ji-tae posed the question again.
"Redo it—how would you take them."
"...Yeah. Hmm, could've taken the two mages first if done right."
"How."
Excited now, Yeoreum explained animatedly.
A simple shift in mindset. But grasping ambush principles widened her view. She brainstormed tactics.
"...How's that?"
Finished, she asked eagerly.
"Let's try it."
Results would prove it.
Nearby lurked another elite-mage pair. In the similar but altered terrain, Yeoreum precisely dropped the mages per plan. She seized momentum, then felled the elite easily.
Her victory.
"Yes! Take that, you stinky fucks!"
Elated, Yeoreum rushed to Yoo Ji-tae clutching the elite's severed head.
Then beamed.
"Wanna eat?!"
The chill was finally easing. Cadets shed a layer of jackets visibly.
Yeoreum dungeon-crawled daily with Yoo Ji-tae. Two straight weeks nonstop. Her combat sense and Kar-Gurakwa Upright Combat Style improved daily.
Dorm breakfast was routine.
"Whoa, it's collapsing!"
"......!"
Gaeul and Gyeoul sat facing off over Jenga.
Bom offered Yeoreum some porridge.
"Urk... blegh..."
Yeoreum dry-heaved after a spoonful.
"For real, tastes like shit... Even sewer sludge would be better."
Still, she didn't refuse.
Bom chuckled softly.
Meanwhile, Yoo Ji-tae puzzled over a world map.
Two weeks of dungeon delving had stabilized Yeoreum's Dragon Heart Pulsation basics.
Time for her next step.
"Hit the training room solo today. Do your thing."
He needed to fetch gear.
"Why? Oh, that new training?"
"Yeah. Needs restraints."
"Restraints?"
She'd mastered Pulsation resonance. Now, stabilize it. He knew how: crude, but foolproof. Required tools, though—no bare hands.
Brief explanation given, Yeoreum nodded understandingly.
As he geared up to leave, Yeoreum's voice halted him.
"Hey."
Turning, he saw her sly gaze.
"I... got a bit stronger, right?"
Cautious, for her.
He pondered.
Two weeks' training strengthened her, sure. But met his hopes? Barely scraped by.
Had she failed even this, he'd planned volcano lava dunking.
His prolonged silence dimmed her expectation. Soon sullen, she turned away wordlessly.
"I tried hard at least..."
Regressing too late, he called to her back. Too late.
She whipped around. Pride stung, face twisted in fury.
Timing to yell.
"......!"
Feeling futile, she sighed deeply and turned again.
Really pissed. Yeoreum wandered to Gaeul and Gyeoul's game. Kicked the Jenga tower over.
"Why'd you do that! What the hell? You demon!"
"You two rent the living room? Play on the table."
Gaeul snapped back. They bickered.
Clack clack...
Deep in some labyrinth. S-grade boss 'Elder Lich' chattered its teeth. It watched a human materialize in its boss room and plop on its throne.
The listless skull mage trembled in terror. Unbefitting the 'High Priest of Death' moniker.
Clack clack clatter...
Exactly ten minutes prior. Unnoticed entry, unknown method. The human had menaced: 'Stay quiet. Don't act up.'
Madman? Easy kill. But eyes met—Elder Lich grasped the being's tier.
This intelligent boss-grade monster contemplated its 500-year life ending that day.
Clack clatter clack...
"Noisy."
...Clack.
The Lich gripped its jaw.
Then sidelong-glanced the man from its corner.
Yoo Ji-tae sat eyes closed on the Lich's throne. Sensing his innards. The regressor's heart bore the Infernal Shackles, a childish-named artifact.
Black chains absorbing all light eerily.
Not metal, actually. From some nameless Black Dragon—layered ultra-thin threads. To control uncontainable bloodlust grown over regressions.
Noah's dream unbound easily. Reality? Aftermath too severe.
Hence here.
Yoo Ji-tae cautiously undid the shackles.
In an instant, a shockwave capable of shaking the world erupted.
Fierce bloodlust surged from him, blanketing the world like waves.
It ravaged the boss room. The underground tomb beyond. Forest and desert farther out.
The rift's pocket dimension scorched hundreds of kilometers away.
Resealing the Infernal Shackles, Yoo Ji-tae rose.
He held up a tiny thread. A fragment of the Infernal Shackles. Enough.
Ruins of the wrecked Lich dungeon lay behind, but he felt nothing.
"Good use of the place."
As he turned to leave, the rag-robed-now-nude skeleton nodded shuddering.
"Stay put quietly."
Human eyes fixed on it.
Lich bowed, averting gaze.
"Crawl out, you die."
...The human vanished after that.
Alone, Elder Lich cautiously uncurled. Picked up its shredded crown, placed on head.
Crack— It split, halves tumbling.
Clack...
That day.
Elder Lich quietly shelved its grand human conquest dream.