Chapter 289: Tempering (5)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 289: Tempering (5)
Seeing him again after a week, he looked a lot different.
And I’m not just talking about the shitty smile plastered all over his face.
The mana naturally flowing from his body had also changed.
The flow, which had been like a stream trickling through the cracks of a giant rock, had turned into a violently churning rapid. Amidst the translucent, cool blue mana, specks of red could be seen here and there.
A deep, blood-red mana that felt somehow ominous.
“Hmm.”
Perhaps thanks to the denser mana, his presence had also grown stronger.
If it were just this, I might have praised him for growing so much in just a week.
I would have thought, Whatever the reason, you must have trained really hard.
But his changes were mixed with something foreign that could never be achieved through training alone.
For example, that red mana squirming within his own.
“…Just how did that get on him?”
Judging by its shape and color, it definitely didn't look like mana that was naturally generated inside his body.
I spoke to the bastard, who was gripping the hilt of his training sword so tightly it looked like he might crush it.
“Hey, what did you do to your body?”
His body flinched.
So he did have something to hide.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. What would I do to my body?”
He quickly erased his guilty expression and played dumb.
So that’s how you want to play it.
“Well, if you don’t know, you don’t know.”
Seeing as he claims not to know what happened within the last week, it seems my dear brother-in-law has become an idiot for some reason.
It’s not a big deal, though.
After all, I specialize in making kids who say “I don’t remember” or “I don’t know” a little smarter.
“Let’s get started. I need to finish this quickly so I can go have sex with Eun-bi.”
“Hehe… Yeah, you should.”
A vein bulged on his temple.
At the same time, the movement of the red mana clinging to his blue mana grew even more intense.
“Hwaaaargh!”
A rough, thunderous roar, so loud it was hard to believe it came from a human.
In the blink of an eye, he closed the distance, his sword coming down toward my left shoulder.
I twisted my body to dodge the attack, then stepped back to observe his condition.
“…He’s gotten faster.”
He was at least twice as fast as last week.
Even for someone in a growth spurt, doubling your speed in a week is impossible.
I didn’t know what it was, but more and more evidence suggested he’d done something shady to his body.
“Khahaha… Uwahahahat!”
Laughing like a madman, his attacks followed my movements closely.
Last week, he couldn’t follow me at all, but now it seemed he could see me quite well.
“His dynamic visual acuity has improved too…”
His overall physical abilities had grown immensely.
It wasn't just that his physical stats had increased; his very nerves had become more sensitive.
Thanks to that, his swordsmanship, which used to be incredibly crude, was now moving with great sophistication and delicacy.
I’d pretty much figured out what had changed, how, and by how much.
“Man… I really have no idea.”
I had no clue what was causing this ridiculous power-up.
First of all, it was definitely not a buff.
An increase this massive was impossible even with a Saintess’s buff.
The only things I knew that could produce a similar effect were Ju-yeon’s Sacrifice of Purity, which I’d experienced firsthand, and the ‘elixir’ you could only get from the Witch of the Underworld by paying a great price.
But it was impossible for him to have obtained either.
There was no way Ju-yeon would give her purity to a bastard like him, and the Witch of the Underworld was so elusive that even I had trouble tracking her down.
“Ah, whatever.”
I knew for sure it wasn't a method I was familiar with.
So, let’s just ask him.
“Jeong-hun, I’ll ask you one more time. Still don’t remember what you did to your body?”
“Khaha… You don’t need to know, you fucking idiot. Just…”
A smile revealed all of his pearly white teeth.
The size of the red mana clinging to his blue mana swelled, as if to match the number of teeth he was showing.
“Diiiie!”
He got faster again.
At this rate, he was on par with a decent B-rank Hunter.
Of course, that was only in terms of raw speed. His ability to control it was ridiculously poor.
To put it simply, it was like a pearl necklace on a pig’s neck.
“Kahaat-!”
With a scream, his training sword came down, aimed right for the crown of my head.
Is this bastard really trying to kill me?
“You’re a lost cause.”
I dodged the sword as it struck down like a lightning bolt.
KWAANG!
His sword shattered the innocent training ground floor.
“I told you, didn’t I? The more you swing with all your might, the more openings you reveal.”
Along with the advice, I planted my fist into his wide-open side.
CRACK!
“Keok…!?”
His body bent sharply as he tumbled to the floor.
A little pain is necessary to carve advice deep into one’s bones.
That way, whenever he tries to make the same mistake, the pain etched into his body will stop him.
Sounds forced, you say?
It’s not.
At least, that’s how I learned.
It’s only natural for the student to learn from the master, right?
“Keuheuk… Heok…!”
Kim Jeong-hun writhed from the excruciating pain in his side.
“Hey, is your memory back yet?”
In response to my question, he just glared at me, his eyes filled with even more killing intent.
The mass of red mana swelled once again.
Then, as if he’d never been hurt, the guy clutching his side got back up.
“…Does it have a painkilling effect, too?”
I hadn’t broken any bones, but I’d infused mana into his body when I hit him. He should have been in enough pain to be rolling on the floor for at least a day.
“I just need you to disappear. If only you, if only you were gone…!”
SNAP!
As he kicked off the ground, a dull tearing sound came from his calf.
Looks like he tore his calf muscle.
“Everything can go back to the way it was!”
KWAKWAKWAKWA-!
Speed and destructive power that clearly surpassed the limits of his own body.
His bloodshot eyes, now completely ignoring the pain from his own body, were focused only on me.
You’re the one who ruined my life.
He truly believed that.
“I suppose I might have been the same, Jeong-hun.”
With a smirk, I grabbed the neck of the bastard who was charging at me recklessly.
“I… no, this body was probably similar. Back in high school, getting beaten up by you for no reason, he probably told himself over and over that he could be happy if only you were gone.”
Of course, that wouldn’t have been true.
His body might have had an easier time, but that bastard’s personality was rotten to the core.
“Keoheuk…!”
He struggled, dangling in the air, held by my arm.
“L-let go… Kheuk!”
“What, can’t breathe?”
He struggled to nod.
“This body was the same. Every time you grabbed his neck because you were in a shitty mood, he’d choke and gasp.”
I asked him, one corner of my mouth curling up into a smirk.
“Did you let go then? No, you didn’t. You probably just laughed, saying the little pig was oinking, and squeezed even tighter, right?”
I tightened my grip on his neck.
CRUNCH…!
“Gurg… Ggle…!”
With a very unpleasant sound, his struggles gradually subsided.
I guess that’s enough revenge for this body.
I gradually loosened my grip, allowing him a little air.
“Khahak…! Kahak…! Cough, cough!”
I asked him again as he gasped for breath.
“Jeong-hun, this is the last time I’m asking, so answer carefully.”
Fear was reflected in the eyes of the guy who was no different from a berserker just moments ago.
Sensing his broken spirit, I repeated my earlier question.
“What did you do to your body?”
Finally, his trembling lips slowly parted.
“A-at a club, some weird guy g-gave me a drug.”
“…A drug?”
I’d heard that in some clubs, there were guys who specifically targeted drunk people to sell drugs to.
But even the strongest narcotics should have no effect on an Awakened Being, right?
He continued.
“Y-yeah… a r-red pill, like b-blood… He said I’d get s-stronger if I took it… so… so…”
“So, what.”
Suddenly, the look in his eyes changed.
“Why, why… why, why, why! He said I could kill you if I took the drug, so why can’t I kill you!!!!!”
“Ugh…!”
My eardrums almost burst.
The guy staring at me with a scrunched-up face began to change.
The whites of his eyes turned completely red, and the red mana surged, swallowing the blue mana whole.
CRACK! CRUNCH!
With a strange sound, thick veins bulged on his forearms, visible under his short-sleeved T-shirt.
Ugh, gross.
It looked like dozens of caterpillars were crawling over his arms.
A red glint in his eyes reflected my face.
Smiling, revealing all his white teeth, he grabbed the arm I had around his neck and twisted it.
“Kh… khaha…! I’m… I’m gonna kill you.”
SNAP!
Every time the thick veins squirmed, my fingers were pried off one by one.
I didn’t think he’d get strong enough to break my grip…
After painstakingly prying my hand off and regaining his freedom, he charged, spewing a constant stream of red mana.
“Diiiiieeeeeeegh!”
Looks like his reason was completely paralyzed now.
For a moment, I considered just killing him.
“…You should count yourself lucky.”
I held back.
Not for his sake, but for Eun-bi’s.
As they say, even a hedgehog thinks its own child is precious.
Even if he was a scoundrel who’d resorted to dangerous drugs, how sad would Eun-bi and her parents be if they lost him?
“Hwaaaaaaaargh!”
He charged, letting out a yell that was somewhere between a scream and a battle cry.
I aimed at him with a hand charged with mana.
“Time for a nap.”
「Stone Pillar.」
RUMBLE…!
The ground beneath him, as he flew in low, instantly shot up and struck him in the solar plexus.
KWAANG!
He was launched into the air along with the rising stone pillar.
“Keck…!”
He finally hit the ceiling and fell limply.
Thud!
He was sprawled on the ground, unconscious.
Just as the violent red mana flowing around his body began to fade…
A welcome message window popped up before my eyes.
[Usage conditions have been met. The sub-trait ‘Gluttony (貪食)’ will now be unlocked.]
Even Mount Kumgang is best seen after a meal, as they say.
“…Let’s eat first.”
Time to dig in.