Chapter 141: The End of Training
Chapter 141: The End of Training
There is an old saying: fortune and misfortune are intertwined. A blessing can become a curse, and a curse can become a blessing. It was a lesson I had found myself reflecting on often lately.
Of course, the place I was in now was the Hall Plain, a different space, a different world. Thinking back on my first run, the saying hardly seemed to apply. My life, confined to the Hall Plain, felt like a continuous series of misfortunes, and I suffered accordingly. I could barely recall a single day spent in peace. Whenever I tasted a small bit of luck or happiness, a misfortune great enough to shatter it would inevitably follow. Or perhaps, in a way, the saying was true. It wasn't that fortune and misfortune were split exactly 50/50; it was just that, looking at the overall flow, misfortune had occupied a much larger share.
The memory of my first run left a bitter taste in my mouth. What was Yoohyun-hyung doing right now? What about Han Soyoung? And what were all the other Users I had known doing?
It wasn’t that I had never thought about Yoohyun-hyung and Han Soyoung. After entering the Hall Plain, I had considered seeking them out immediately. Regardless of my abilities as a User, Yoohyun-hyung would never abandon me, and Han Soyoung would never let a User of my caliber slip through her fingers. Her hunger for talented people and her ability to embrace both the virtuous and the wicked were among her many strengths.
However, there were two reasons I hadn't gone to find them.
The first was that they were already established Users, or were in the process of becoming so. By now, Hyung was probably making a name for himself somewhere in the eastern cities. And when we met later, I heard he hadn't participated in the Golden Lion Clan's expedition to the Steel Mountains, so it was highly likely he hadn't joined the operation to exterminate the Vagabonds either.
The same went for Han Soyoung. She was already the Clan Lord of the Istantel Low Clan, the representative clan of Monica, a small city in the southwest. As one of the leading clans of the southern cities, the Istantel Low Clan had participated in neither the operation nor the expedition. Rumors probably claimed it would slowly decline after earning the Golden Lion Clan’s displeasure, but its reputation would soar after the Steel Mountains expedition.
As such, even if I went to them now, I might be of some help, but it would be difficult to lead things my way. They had already surrounded themselves with numerous excellent Users, so it was a distant hope to expect them to follow only my opinion.
So, I decided it would be better to build my own force before meeting with them, rather than being in such a frustrating position. In the latter stages of the Hall Plain, alliances between clans were indispensable. The strength of many would be far more efficient than my strength alone.
The second reason was related to the first. Even without my intervention, Yoohyun-hyung and Han Soyoung were fully capable of managing on their own. I had seen how well they read the flow of events during my first run. I did not want to interfere unnecessarily and distort futures that were already set to unfold smoothly. I had agonized over the decision, but obtaining a Rare Class in Mule and defeating the high-ranking Demonkin Belphegor gave me confidence that I had chosen correctly.
I had no regrets. But what was this heavy pressure weighing on a corner of my heart? Overwhelmed by a sudden stuffiness, I let out a deep sigh.
Fortune and misfortune are intertwined. Right now, our party was riding a wave of good luck. The variable of “me” lay beneath the surface, but however one looked at it, luck was undeniably on our side: unexpected Rare Classes, high-quality equipment, talented Users, and the defeat of the high-ranking Demonkin Belphegor. Events were flowing in a better direction than I had ever imagined.
Looking back, my time in the Hall Plain had been filled with far more misfortune, so I figured I just wasn't used to this continuous streak of good luck. And so, I decided to clear away the anxiety I'd been feeling ever since before we left Mule. Misfortune could strike. But I could prepare for it. There was no guarantee the future would unfold exactly as I knew it, but since I knew the major currents, I could prepare thoroughly and minimize the coming disasters. Suddenly, I wondered if my idea to wear the party down with a rapid march and warn them against arrogance might have stemmed from that very feeling.
While maintaining my pace, I carefully observed the surrounding scenery. This was a path I was originally supposed to walk two years from now. It wasn't exactly the same as it was then, but a similar feeling definitely remained.
The Ancient Alchemist Vivian’s Dungeon lay within the Black Forest, while the Ruined Laboratory stood beyond the northern wasteland. The Cave of Screams, however, was hidden deep among countless mountain ranges. Perhaps because of that, the green grass rustling around the occasional solitary tree made the land feel like a vast meadow. Just as Hayeon had said at the start, it almost felt like a picnic.
“Wow. It really feels like we're on an outing.”
“I know, right? If it weren't for the monsters that pop up just when you're about to forget them, this would be quite nice.”
Ahn Sol and Vivian were marching while chatting quietly. It was Vivian's own way of being considerate toward Ahn Sol. The others seemed to have adapted well enough, but Ahn Sol, whose Stamina was only in the low 30s, occasionally showed signs of struggling. She was just biting her lip and grunting softly as she fought to keep up.
In the military, marching is tough when you're alone, but if you chat with a friend in front of or behind you, you can forget the fatigue in your legs. It wasn't disrupting the caravan's atmosphere, so I decided to let their quiet conversation slide. Honestly, while I did it under the pretext of disciplining them, I had also suppressed them more than necessary because I preferred a quiet atmosphere.
In that respect, Ko Yeonju was a truly perceptive User. She seemed to have a natural talent for grasping people's personalities and emotions. In other words, her attitude toward people changed drastically depending on the situation.
She was enjoying the expedition as if she were truly out for a change of pace. Users who reached the Ten Strong tended to have a sense of authority, as they held a certain pride in their skills. But Ko Yeonju had none of that stiffness. After leaving the city, she observed my behavior carefully and began to look after the others with a more kind and considerate attitude. (Honestly, though, it just looked like a push-and-pull tactic to me. She and I had essentially swapped our previous behaviors from inside and outside the city, and I couldn't shake the feeling that her move was highly calculated.) Watching her, it was as if she were playing the role of a supportive wife.
Ko Yeonju would occasionally chime in on Vivian and Ahn Sol's conversation, sometimes sharing helpful stories about the Hall Plain. As a Year 5 User, she had plenty of stories to tell, enough to soothe the party during the grueling rapid march. I, too, listened in from time to time, leading the group in a reasonably good mood.
Now that we were some distance from Mule, the luck we'd had at the beginning of the expedition was gone. We were encountering monsters more and more frequently. Today alone, we had already run into our fourth monster horde, and it wasn't even time to make camp yet.
The group we had just encountered was a new type of monster for the others: Mud Magoyles. You can think of a Magoyle as a golem-type monster. Their bodies are made of mud and hard stone, and they are wicked creatures with humanoid faces. They had no magical attacks, but they were tricky opponents with terrifying strength and a self-regeneration ability.
However, they had a fatal flaw: they were slow and clumsy. To exploit that weakness to the fullest, I had the mages launch a preemptive strike. And they responded to my request brilliantly.
This time, Hayeon didn't cast a separate attack spell. As if she had experience fighting Magoyles before, she used a large-scale water spell and Overlap to drench their bodies, making the water soak in evenly. She softened their mud bodies, creating an environment where the melee classes could fight much more easily.
Shin Sangyong used Chain Lightning to further slow the stomping Magoyles, and Vivian also succeeded in summoning her magical beast Aranea to wrap around their bodies. Vivian's performance in the battle against the Magoyles was, without a doubt, overwhelming.
It was a ridiculous sight as it wrapped around all ten or so of them, swinging their limbs about like marionettes. I couldn't help but let out a dry laugh each time it swung their limbs so violently that one or two tore off. These were not opponents to be taken lightly, yet thanks to our Users' abilities being applied in the right place at the right time, the battle was proceeding with incredible ease.
“Hoho. Ahn Hyun. You look so bored.”
Seeing Ahn Hyun standing there with a blank look on his face, spear in hand, Yoojung started chattering again. She was using her early contributions as a weapon to constantly pressure Ahn Hyun. But instead of getting provoked, Ahn Hyun turned his gaze to me and spoke.
“Hehe. That's right. Soohyun hyung and I don't have much to do. Yep. You're right. Hyung must be bored too.”
The moment Ahn Hyun brought me into it, Yoojung shut her mouth. After glaring at Ahn Hyun for a moment, she snapped, “How cheap. Are you and Oppa the same? How dare you drag Oppa into this?” before returning to her position.
Ahn Hyun watched the back of the retreating Yoojung, her firm butt swaying, then chuckled and turned his head away. I studied his face closely. There was an unidentifiable confidence hidden in his eyes; it seemed he had an ace up his sleeve. For example, some clear proof that he was superior to Lee Yoojung.
In any case, by the time the ten or so Magoyles reached us, their numbers had been cut by more than half. Not a single one of them was unscathed; they all seemed to have dropped a part of themselves on the ground somewhere. And so, Ko Yeonju, Ahn Hyun, Lee Yoojung, and I amicably took on one Magoyle each, bringing the battle to a close.
Afterward, we entered the mountain peaks before us once more and continued our march until early evening arrived. Normally we could have marched a bit longer, but darkness seemed to fall quickly in the mountains. We happened to find a suitable place to make camp, and I paused, lost in thought. Our marching pace was faster than I'd expected, and we had already roughly covered the distance allocated for the day, so I wondered if there was any need to push further.
The sun was slowly setting, but I decided to march a little longer. Since things were going well, I figured it was better to make as much progress as possible while we could. Just as I was about to end the break and announce our departure, Ko Yeonju quietly rose and approached me.
“User Kim Soohyun. I have a question.”
“Yes. Go ahead.”
“Do you happen to know how much distance is left to our destination?”
“Hmm. One moment.”
At her question, I quickly unfolded the map and calculated the distance we had traveled. After today, it would mark a full week since we left Mule. As such, we had covered about seventy percent of the way. When I told her the approximate distance, she gave me a meaningful smile and moved closer. After a quick glance at the rest of the party, Ko Yeonju leaned in, put her lips to my ear, and whispered in a suggestive voice.
“Well then. I have one more question.”
“You could have just asked normally.”
When I grumbled, she smiled faintly before speaking again.
“Are we going to bring the tail along? Or are we going to shake it off?”