The End of Vacation # 1
The End of Vacation # 1
"Huh? Look at this bastard."
Yu-ri, standing in front of me, tilted her head.
"Why's this bastard looking so put-together?"
"Ha, Woo Yu-ri."
Had she finally reached a level where she could see it?
"So you can finally see it now?"
Slicking my hair back with style, I looked at Yu-ri with the deepest gaze and spit it out.
"My 'strength'?"
All cool and stylish.
"Ugh, this bastard's at it again. You've stacked up three bullshit stacks. Hey. Get over here."
"No! Can't I even make an entrance! Ack!"
Yu-ri swooped in like the wind and jabbed her thumb into my side like she was stabbing a knife, over and over!
"Getting cocky, I told you not to get cocky. Huh? This little shit. What, did you take my words for a joke?"
"Stop! Save me! There's a hole in my side!"
"Guard it with that 'strength' of yours."
"Gahk!"
I tried to run, but this was the training room. A sealed space with just the two of us. I survived the Otherworld without a problem, but if there's no corner to run to, there's no living through this.
"Ungh...!"
My side throbbed with a stinging pain.
But it definitely helps with toughness.
Every time Yu-ri jabs me with a finger strike, I end up concentrating on forming a shield right at the point of impact. In a way, it feels like a kind of training.
"Anyway. This bastard. They say you went to that Otherworld and took down a C-rank monster solo. Is that what did it?"
"That's part of it."
My skills definitely improved after taking down the Quoperella Zora.
No, more precisely... let's move on. I'm not sure about that one.
There's a clearer reason.
"Honestly, I dunno how to put it, but I, you know."
"You what?"
"My goal got a lot clearer."
"What?"
A goal that had always been hazy has now become fully concrete.
Truth is, all this time, I knew nothing—annihilation, main quest, any of that. There were limits to my abilities, too. And since it never felt real, I was just flailing around chasing clouds.
But not anymore.
I have a clear, concrete goal.
"When you lock onto a proper goal, shit tends to go better, doesn't it?"
So.
—Whawk!
More force pours into the hand swinging the sword. I was always a hard-working honors student, but now I've gotten even more serious.
I've become the most serious man in this world.
"That kinda thing helped me get my head straight. A solid goal like that, it's living in my sword now."
So not only has my training efficiency gone up, but even my mana handling has improved slightly.
The immediate objective is to collect the Fragments appearing on Earth and use them to make contact with the Void Princess to gather 'information.'
That information is tied to my memories.
Plus, as a bonus, stuff about the apocalypse.
I have to find out.
"That's why I've gotten stronger. Yu-ri. Surpassing you now... honestly, I think it's only a matter of time."
"Hoh, this bastard."
Yu-ri looked at me, her tone almost like she was acknowledging me.
"So what."
"Hm?"
"You mean to tell me that all this time you were just a purposeless fuck-up? Huh? I've been! Teaching your ass this hard! And only now you're! Getting a goal! Are you even human! Huh!"
"No! Wait! Why'd you land on that conclusion! I said that hoping for a gold star, so why's corporal punishment coming down instead!"
"Then, you little shit, if you're telling me now, at the end of summer break, that you were half-assing it this whole time and just now got your head in the game—shouldn't I punish you?"
"Hearing it like that, yeah!"
If I were the teacher, I'd have already beaten him senseless.
What the hell was this bastard doing that he only got his act together at the tail end of summer break!
"Still, hey! For the sake of efficiency! Don't just swing the whip, give me a gold star too!"
"That gold star thing."
Yu-ri smirked.
"How do I give you one?"
She said, leaning her face in close to me.
"Tell me."
"Kindly and sweetly! You know, like that!"
"My sword doesn't have that kind of thing. Come on! Round two's starting!"
"Anytime!"
Picking up my sword again.
—Fwat!
I clashed with Yu-ri.
"Hyap!"
The sword I swung lightly shot forward with real force. A sharp, precise strike. The level is completely different from the start of the semester. Even as I attacked, I was calculating my next move.
—Pang!
Yu-ri blocked my sword and, as naturally as flowing water, brushed the blade aside and counterattacked. I stepped, let it slide past, and then, pretending to shove in for a contest of strength, I thrust my body forward and unleashed a second strike.
"Tsup!"
"Hoh."
—Chang!
—Chang!
We kept up a long exchange like that. The whole time we sparred, Yu-ri looked completely satisfied.
"Kim Geun-cheol, this bastard really does grow fast."
The sparring ended.
I grabbed my water bottle and sat down side by side with Yu-ri.
"Even compared to the kids at the dojo... this kind of growth rate is impressive."
"Right?"
"At this level, it wouldn't be a bad idea to start training in more refined mana manipulation."
"That's basically my specialty already. Feels like I could start right now with no problem."
If Yu-ri's saying this much, it probably means my skills have improved decently. It means I'm at least above average at channeling mana into a weapon more efficiently and lethally.
"My time's a little tight for that, though."
"Ah."
"Still, this bastard. Huh? You're doing great. You've been a real good kid."
"Heh heh heh, I know, right?"
Like she found me commendable, Yu-ri put a hand on my head and drank her water.
"Phew. Let's hurry up and slice up all the villains and monsterkin with that sword."
"Yeah. I will."
"Especially with all those incidents lately. Every time I watch the news, it pisses me off."
The people who get sucked into the Otherworld and never come back. She's saying she's furious about it.
"Whatever bastards are pulling this shit... if they're invading Earth, we've gotta catch 'em and kill 'em all. Right?"
"Obviously, we've gotta smash every last one of them."
"That's what I'm talking about."
The look in Yu-ri's eyes as she said that was, how do I put it.
It looked similar to the one from my memories.
Yu-ri definitely said she was an instructor, but in my memories, Yu-ri was fighting alongside me. Maybe because there was an even bigger reason to fight than to train proper superhumans.
"Yu-ri. You said your brother got into an accident."
"Yeah. A long time ago."
Yu-ri said it, staring at the ceiling as if it was nothing.
"He collapsed during the Drug War."
The war on drugs.
There were quite a lot of casualties from wiping out the domestic drug organizations, villains, monsterkin, and monsters. But thanks to that, South Korea became a half-clean country, almost totally drug-free.
Centralized dictatorship and the geographical condition of a small territory forced both sides into a war of attrition. Naturally, the one with the bigger mass wins.
"Why, is what I told you last time bothering you?"
"Wouldn't it?"
"Heh heh, anyway. But honestly, I was little, so I don't remember it that well."
Yu-ri kept talking like it really didn't bother her at all.
"He was a bit clumsy. If he'd learned properly, he probably wouldn't have died. That's the only thing I regret."
But, damn.
Watching her say that so casually.
"So what, if I become a proper instructor and teach the skills... huh? Kim Geun-cheol?"
"Sniff...!"
Tears.
They're falling.
"Wha, what? This bastard's crying? Hey, are you crying? You're really crying?"
"No, I just..."
"Look at this bastard? You're really crying?"
"No, you're just saying stuff that's so damn sad...!"
"I barely even said anything, man!"
But what the hell am I supposed to do if the tears come out!
I couldn't hold back the tears listening to Yu-ri's story. Come to think of it, there was a reason Yu-ri was so prickly. It was all because she lost her brother to an accident a long time ago.
Thinking about that, I just couldn't contain the sadness!
"Ugh, hey. It's ancient history and you're throwing a crying fit. Stop. Stop it, man. You crazy bastard, he's really crying and flipping out..."
Yu-ri pulled out tissues, sticking them all over my face, and spoke in an embarrassed tone.
I wiped my face with the tissue and blew my nose.
"Hey. No matter what, you... you haven't even gone through a huge tragedy like me. Is it okay for you to cry like that?"
"A tragedy, huh."
My parents.
Honestly, when I think about that, I do get uneasy. I admit it. The mention of my parents throws me into insane confusion.
What the hell is going on with my parent situation? As my memories started coming back up, everything about my birth became a mess of confusion.
I have absolutely no idea what my birth parents are... no. This isn't the time to think about that either.
For now, let's just think about information.
"Look at this. This bastard's got the most serious face in the world. Hey. Let's go stuff our faces."
"Let's. But Yu-ri, you've misunderstood something. I've already gotten over all of that—it's old news. There's no wound left on this iron man Kim Geun-cheol. Not a single one."
"Just don't cry, you bastard."
We got up from our seats.
* * *
The time was around 1 p.m.
I got up early in the morning, met Yu-ri, trained hard, ate lunch, and we parted ways. It was an absurdly rewarding morning. You can't get more forward-moving than this.
Now, if I just do some light physical conditioning and then head back to study with Si-hoo, it'll be a completely perfect day.
Thinking that, I walked down the street.
—Shhk.
I pulled out the second Fragment I'd kept in my pocket.
Achieving a perfect day, it turns out, is harder than it looks.
"This thing."
It's the Fragment I obtained right after I learned about the quest window the day before yesterday. But maybe because it's smaller than the last one, my memories came back a bit hazily. It's not all that important.
First of all, that other dimension.
That place wasn't Planet Zora. It was more like... a strange, totally empty space.
I even packed supplies for no reason, and it ended all too quickly. I just searched around a bit, found the Fragment, and it was over.
"I'm not sure, but it seems like these Fragments are scattered across all kinds of different dimensions."
—Fwoop.
I lightly tossed the Fragment and snatched it out of the air like catching a fly. As I repeated tossing and catching, I called for Kitty.
"Kitty. I'm calling you. Come out."
It's about time.
Time to butter up the Void Princess.
"Let's see if I can get some info."
But why isn't she coming out?
"..."
After thinking for a moment, I ducked into a nearby PC café. She's probably gaming right now, so if I log in and kick her, she'll come find me right away.