Chapter 49
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 49
Chapter Title: Quickening
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What am I doing right now?
Suddenly, that thought popped into my head.
It had been a day since Kim Hanul left for the dungeon's hidden area to meet the being called ‘Sacksarva’.
Choi Kangwoo looked around.
The dungeon hadn't changed at all.
Faint snowflakes drifted from the gloomy sky.
The snow blanketing the skeletal trees, the sluggish movements of the listless ogres—everything was the same.
The sanctuary had frozen over once more.
“…”
And in the midst of it all, he just sat there, motionless.
Kim Hanul had lit a spark and left.
But the chieftain and the ogres didn't know how to fan that spark into a flame.
And neither did Choi Kangwoo.
“…Has this ever happened before?”
The Pungbaek guild master muttered under his breath.
In all his days, had he ever felt this powerless?
Never.
Choi Kangwoo—who was he?
- You are the firstborn son of Korea's greatest martial family. Never forget that. Every single one of your actions carries responsibility.
Responsibility was like a bit in his mouth, allowing the boy not an inch of freedom.
He had been bridled before his baby teeth had even grown in.
- Do not bring shame to the family. The family is above you.
Those were the first words his parents spoke as they held him.
- Do not bring shame to your father or your name. Your parents and the name they gave you are more important than your own body.
These were the words he heard every morning as a child.
- Do not bring shame to those who follow you. Live without a shred of shame before those who look up to you. You exist because they exist.
This was the last will his dying father imparted, clutching his hand.
He had followed those words his entire life.
It was the right choice.
His body, different from that of an ordinary person from the very start, naturally led him to the top. His dedication to responsibility and honor became an example for countless Hunters, inspiring many talented individuals to follow him.
But in the end, it was not his own will.
Every action was merely a calculation derived from within the shackles of responsibility and honor.
It was the same after he inherited the guild.
The concept of parents or family had simply been replaced by the Pungbaek Guild.
He considered himself a tool for protecting the guild's honor.
[The Divine Seat, ‘Guardian of the Divine Sandalwood Tree,’ wishes to convey a message.]
Once, when he collapsed from the strain of successive, grueling expeditions, his body's energy rushing to his heart.
The Divine Seat contracted with him said this:
[It shakes its head, saying you are a pitiful person.]
He couldn't understand it.
What was pitiful?
He had risen this far by abandoning freedom and arming himself with responsibility.
But now, Choi Kangwoo was beginning to understand its meaning.
This was a place where the eggshell of responsibility had cracked.
And so, with the shell broken, he was exposed and naked. Yes.
He was a being who didn't even know what to do, wandering aimlessly through the snowfield.
“Hoo.”
Choi Kangwoo slowly rose to his feet.
He stood on the wide, snowy field where Kim Hanul and the chieftain had dueled a day ago.
Clank.
He drew the longsword slung across his back.
It was to clear his mind of idle thoughts.
Whenever his unwavering spirit wavered even slightly, he would always practice his swordsmanship alone.
This time was no different.
The Mukhwa Divine Sword style, composed of three sword intents and twenty-four forms.
He began to trace the series of sword paths upon the snow.
Swoosh.
The longsword cut mercilessly through the blizzard, drawing its path. The Mukhwa Divine Sword was not a style focused on speed. Its rigid paths could be followed by the eye, yet they carried a weight that one would not dare to block.
Rustle, rustle.
His footsteps on the snow quickened. The swirling snowflakes that obscured his vision were a clean canvas, and his sword was a brush saturated with ink. Before he knew it, he was executing another form. The ink-black blade sliced through the air, and snowflakes scattered like crashing waves.
As he swung his sword in a state of selflessness, the corners of Choi Kangwoo's mouth lifted ever so slightly.
It was because the sword felt light.
Thump.
“?”
It was then.
The sound of heavy footsteps echoed from not too far away.
Choi Kangwoo lowered his sword and looked behind him.
“Grooo.”
An ogre was staring at him.
It was the ogre that had guided him and Kim Hanul here.
“…”
As he watched silently with his sword lowered, the creature hesitantly approached him.
Choi Kangwoo watched it quietly.
Since communication was impossible, he needed to be extra vigilant.
However.
“Grooo.”
The ogre stopped at a certain distance from him.
“?”
It began to swing the crude mace it had brought with it through the air.
Whoosh, whoosh!
To an onlooker, it would have looked like a ridiculous dance.
But the ogre kept repeating the bizarre movements, furtively glancing at him.
“…”
Choi Kangwoo finally realized.
This ogre was clumsily trying to imitate him.
Putting aside the impossibility of an ogre using swordsmanship.
It was holding the mace like a sword hilt and swinging it around, so of course, it was getting nowhere.
But Choi Kangwoo didn't chase the ogre away.
He simply turned his head.
It would achieve nothing, but there was no reason to point out every single mistake.
Huk.
He swung his sword once more.
He decided to ignore the ogre and continue his training.
* * *
An hour passed like that.
Choi Kangwoo quietly lowered his sword.
“What are you doing?”
“Grooo?”
Ak-katum turned its head in surprise.
It was still in the middle of flailing its mace around.
The sight had been bothering him for the entire hour.
“That's not how you swing it.”
He sheathed his sword and held out his hand.
Ak-katum hesitantly offered its mace.
A crude mace, with missing spikes and rust spots here and there.
But its size was massive, fit for an ogre, with the iron ball as large as an adult's torso.
Choi Kangwoo lifted it effortlessly with one hand.
“Watch carefully.”
He gripped the end of the mace's handle and swung it three times.
Whoosh!
One upward swing.
From that position, one downward swing.
And finally, one diagonal upward swing.
It was a simple, blunt, and extremely heavy and destructive attack.
“Grooo?”
The ogre's mouth fell open.
His grip on the blunt weapon and the series of movements were flawless, without a single error.
Choi Kangwoo repeated the movements once more before speaking.
“If you're going to do it, do it right.”
Clang!
And he tossed the mace to Ak-katum.
And so, on the snowfield that had turned into a training ground.
One human and one ogre began to train.
“Grooo!”
Whoosh!
Ak-katum was diligent.
So much so that it repeated the movements Choi Kangwoo had shown it for three hours without rest.
Choi Kangwoo, likewise, fell into a state of immersion and swung his sword.
Then he would snap out of it for a moment and look to his side.
“Groo, oo!”
At some point, a few other ogres had gathered next to Ak-katum.
Ak-katum was pointing at its mace and saying something to them.
Choi Kangwoo paid it no mind.
Then, at some point, he looked to his side again.
“Grooo!”
“…?”
The few ogres who had been watching Ak-katum earlier were now swinging maces beside him.
This time, too, Choi Kangwoo decided to ignore it.
Then, a few more hours later.
Finally, after executing the last form, he spoke.
“…Have they all gone mad?”
And all around him.
“Grooo!”
“Graaa!”
“Grrrr!”
Countless ogres were swinging their crude weapons and letting out monstrous cries.
Even the chieftain was among them.
The chieftain was swinging the warhammer he had used against Kim Hanul, snorting.
Then, when he made eye contact with Choi Kangwoo, for some reason, he would nod with a ‘Hm!’
What's that about?
Why is he looking at me like I'm a trusted comrade?
At first, only Ak-katum had stuck by his side, mimicking his movements.
But afterward, a few ogres started showing interest in them.
Soon, they too began to train, swinging their weapons in the same way.
And thus, the rare spectacle of 300 ogres training in the middle of the arena unfolded.
“…”
Choi Kangwoo was confused.
What on earth were they all doing?
Why were they all repeating the basic mace movements when their weapons were all different?
And on top of that, why was it that the more they swung their weapons,
the light began to return to their once-dull eyes?
‘I've seen it all now.’
Choi Kangwoo let out a small laugh.
The sight of the ogres, who had been sunk in powerlessness, regaining their fighting spirit by repeating the movements he had taught them.
It was a bizarre scene, but it didn't feel bad.
And so.
Kaaang!
“Grrrk?!”
He raised his sword and struck the mace of Ak-katum, who was closest to him.
Thud!
The iron club the size of an adult's torso fell onto the snowfield.
The ogres swinging their weapons stopped, their eyes wide with surprise.
In the suffocating silence, Choi Kangwoo sheathed his sword and lifted the massive mace with one hand.
Then he pointed to an empty space behind him with his other hand and said.
“Those of you holding these, step forward.”
Miraculously, they understood.
The ogres holding maces or iron clubs hesitantly gathered where he had pointed.
Choi Kangwoo looked at the lined-up ogres and spoke.
“You all watch carefully, too.”
He gripped the end of the mace's handle and this time swung it in a continuous motion.
Two upward swings, one downward swing, and one block flowed together seamlessly.
It was an application of one of the Mukhwa Divine Sword's forms.
A slightly more advanced technique than what he had taught Ak-katum.
“Grooo!”
The ogres' eyes widened.
Choi Kangwoo's mouth opened.
“Try it.”
“Grooo!”
The ogres at the very front, who had seen the movement, began to swing their weapons.
He held out the mace he was holding to Ak-katum.
“Like I said, if you're going to do it, do it right.”
With Ak-katum at the center, the mace-wielding ogres began their training.
A sweltering heat filled the once frozen arena.
Choi Kangwoo watched the ogres for a moment.
Even this was just a collection of the most basic techniques.
But these simple techniques might just help these warriors, who were large only in body, to develop.
“Next.”
Choi Kangwoo turned.
This time, he took a rusty long spear from an ogre next to him.
“Those of you with these, step forward.”
As he shouted, he slammed the over-five-meter-long spear into the ground.
Thwack!
But the feeling of it piercing the ground was strange.
To find out why, he looked down.
“…Ha.”
A slight smile crept onto Choi Kangwoo's lips.
Before he knew it, he and the ogres were standing on dirt.
* * *
In front of the Ogre Sanctuary, inside the temporary Pungbaek Guild meeting room set up with a magic tent.
“Vice Guild Master, a report has come in from the Dungeon Management Bureau.”
Pungbaek's vice guild master, Yoon Suhyeok, stared quietly at Yoon Sua.
His eyes always softened with affection when he looked at his younger sister.
But not right now.
“Report.”
Two days had passed since Choi Kangwoo and Kim Hanul entered the sanctuary.
This wasn't a dungeon that normally took this much time.
“The report states that a pattern change has been observed in the Ogre Sanctuary.”
“Does that mean it's been upgraded to Red Level 1? That a dungeon break is imminent?”
Yoon Suhyeok asked with a dark expression.
The other team leaders in the meeting room also looked grim.
However, the words that came from Yoon Sua's mouth were unexpected.
“No. We've received observation results that it has been downgraded from Red Level 2 to Red Level 3.”
“Huh?”
Yoon Suhyeok's eyes widened.
A level downgrade means the risk of a dungeon break has lessened.
“So they found the dungeon's hidden mission after all. As expected of the Guild Master…!”
“I knew the Guild Master could do it! Now all we have to do is pray for their safe return!”
“Still, they're both amazing. To find a mission we couldn't uncover after dozens of clears, just like that…”
Exclamations of admiration erupted from all around.
But Yoon Sua and Yoon Suhyeok only let out sighs of relief; they didn't let their guard down.
The situation wasn't over yet.
“For it to take this long means…”
Yoon Suhyeok nodded slowly at Yoon Sua's murmur.
“Right. The two of them must still be in a life-or-death battle.”
Considering that ‘hidden missions’ are generally no easy feat, they were surely facing thousands of ogres.
Thinking of Choi Kangwoo's martial prowess,
he was probably covered in blood, slaughtering countless ogres and wringing their necks.
Yoon Suhyeok muttered quietly, his voice filled with anticipation.
“Kangwoo-hyung, maybe he'll come back from the dungeon with a title like 'Ogre Exterminator'?”
* * *
- Ooh! Ooh! Ooh! Ooh!
“There's that weird sound again.”
I muttered, chugging a fire resistance potion instead of water.
“What, are they all praising Sacksarva in unison or something?”
[The Sage asks if it should use Spy to find out.]
“No, don't waste your energy. It doesn't seem like a big deal.”
For the past few days, a strange sound had been coming from below the cliff.
From the direction where the Ogre Sanctuary was built.
It resembled the kind of chant you'd shout while repeating drills in the military.
[The Sage suggests the possibility that the porter left below might be teaching the ogres. (;°ロ°)]
“Teaching the ogres?”
The Pungbaek guild master, who looks like he'd slaughter that monster without leaving a single bone behind?
Even for you, Sage, that's a bit of a stretch.
Reading my mood, the Sage drooped dejectedly.
[The Sage admits its deduction was foolish.]
“It's okay, it happens.”
[It emphasizes that the porter couldn't possibly be that amazing! (Ծ‸Ծ)]
“Of course, of course.”
[It informs you that it can easily handle the likes of that porter with its baby petrification! ૮( ᵒ̌▱๋ᵒ̌ )ა]
Uh, can it… really?
Was it because their first meeting was too intense?
It seems to have developed a trauma related to Choi Kangwoo.
The Sage, who had been shaking its body as if to brush off the memory of the world's strongest porter, suddenly widened its eyes.
[The Sage announces that hatching is imminent!]
At the same time as the Sage's report,
Tap.
“Ah.”
The egg moved.
It was the first quickening.
Six days since entering the Ogre Sanctuary.
More than 120 hours had passed since my summons and I started bickering over the fire stones.
A time of endless patience and suffering.
But it was well worth it.
“Looks like I'll make it just in time.”
[The Great Invasion will soon begin. Mobilize all means and methods to protect the Ogre Sanctuary.]
The status window blinking before my eyes.
All means and methods, huh.
“A very desirable phrase.”
I winked at the phoenix staring intently at me.
“Right, Ru?”