Lion's Roar Training #8
Lion's Roar Training #8
"Sing...!"
"Yes! Belt it out with everything you have! Training like this is always best done at the top of your lungs!"
The Chairwoman spoke with the world's most boisterous demeanor and tapped her own throat a few times. Wait, hold on. Even so, I'd never imagined singing while letting out a War Cry.
But.
I, Kim Geun-cheol, am a man who can do anything when it's necessary. Now that I think about it, this seems pretty good.
What's the big deal, let's just sing!
"Wonderful! I will give it my all!"
"Excellent! You are so refreshing, Kim Geun-cheol, I love it! A hero should be refreshing like this! Indeed! Absolutely! You're a real character!"
The Chairwoman seems to be so refreshing that it's a problem.
"Well, I did say sing, but this isn't just random screaming! During the height of the Dimension War, this Chairwoman trained it for combat, but there isn't much call for that these days! I ordered you to do this because I believed practicing through song is also good!"
"I see!"
"Exactly! This Chairwoman also honed her senses that way once! So just sing it out, refreshingly!"
"Ohh...! Understood!"
So that means it's a proven method!
In this bamboo forest, I don't need to worry about anything else. As the Chairwoman says, I'll let it rip.
"Ah, but Chairwoman, when exactly did you refine your skills with song? You said you trained for combat, so was that after the war ended?"
"That... Heh."
The Chairwoman, who had been stroking her chin, suddenly burst into laughter.
"Muhahahahat!"
Truly the laughter of a heroic champion.
"It's old history, but I suppose I must reveal it! In truth, when this Chairwoman was young, she was known as the Siren! Siren!"
A Siren!
Aren't those the monsters that kill people with song!
"Wow! Siren! Sirens are also famous for being beautiful, aren't they! It seems like a nickname reflecting your beauty!"
However, I immediately recalled the lore about Sirens being beautiful and applied it to my flattery. The Chairwoman laughed even louder and shouted.
"Kuhahahahat! Kim Geun-cheol, you're quite the smooth talker! That's absolutely right!"
"Heh heh heh! I can tell something like that at a glance!"
"So audacious! Well, to explain in detail, I heard it was a nickname given because I charmed people with a beautiful song rather than my appearance! As Kim Geun-cheol said, this Chairwoman absolutely loves to sing!"
"Ah."
What did I just hear?
Charmed people with a beautiful song? I think she crushed people with a devastating song.
Maybe all that talk about beautiful was just the incoherent rambling of people in a state of shock-induced confusion caused by auditory trauma from hearing the Chairwoman sing.
"It was during the height of the Dimension War."
The Chairwoman continued with a joyful expression.
"There were a few times I sang to lift the spirits of my comrades who were suffering from monster battles. In a city reduced to rubble, we'd light a campfire with monster corpse fragments and oil drained from destroyed tanks, eat our meals huddled together, and I'd sing."
"Gahk!"
That's just absurd harassment...!
Even in my imagination, that wasn't huddling at all!
You were a menace!
What the hell were you doing during mealtime!
"Now, sing!"
"Understood!"
Anyway.
I sang.
The name of the song is Burzum's Thorns.
A song of heartbreaking love.
But today I wasn't a man singing of heartbreaking love, I was a Lion's Roar trainee. I sang with that spirit!
"Becoomeeee the thoooorrrns!!!"
—Woooo.
War Cry.
I expelled the mana boiling up like an explosion through my throat. Then I focused the flow on the spot the Chairwoman pointed out last time, maintaining the mana emission like a veteran singer holding a high note!
"Good, good Kim Geun-cheol! You're singing very well!"
The Chairwoman's praise reached me.
"But more! Concentrate your mana on the spot this Chairwoman pointed out and shout louder!"
I'm doing that...!
"Struuugggllleeee, faaallllll! For me!!!"
"The flow is stable... you have talent!"
While listening to my song, the Chairwoman gauged my mana and gave me real-time feedback.
And so.
My powerful song ended.
"Phew!"
I'd used up a huge amount of mana, and my throat was completely numb. To let out a War Cry this long—honestly, a first for me.
—Clap clap clap!
The Chairwoman applauded.
"Thank you!"
"Hmm! I'm satisfied! Well done, Kim Geun-cheol!"
"Yes!"
"Sit!"
—Fwap!
I immediately sat on the chair. The Chairwoman came behind me, grabbed my neck, and said.
"That was a very good song! Your talent for the Lion's Roar is clearly visible!"
"Ohh!"
"But because you're unaccustomed to it, there are cutoffs! The mana flow itself is stable, but sometimes it goes in strange directions! The conclusion is that your sustain when blasting in one direction is too short!"
While receiving the instruction, I organize the content in my head as much as possible.
To use a drawing analogy, you can draw a smooth, pretty line without hand tremors, but it feels like you keep drawing curves instead of a straight line, and then the pencil briefly lifts off the paper and cuts out.
"You must develop your sustain!"
"Sustain, you say!"
In other words, the ability to draw a straight line properly.
"Instantaneous power and sustain! The Lion's Roar is determined by those two things! Though, well, I believe the foundation is instantaneous power!"
"I see!"
Power would be analogous to pen pressure. I organize and absorb everything the Chairwoman tells me.
"But sustain—that is, your control ability—is what allows you to produce instantaneous power! First, build your foundation! We'll start increasing power from then on!"
"Understood!"
"Now, this spot I've pointed out on your throat! Think of it as a mana conduit and expel it!"
"Yes!"
"Execute!"
"Execute!"
And so, I trained the Lion's Roar while having an enjoyable time with the Chairwoman.
Was it because she was a master and veteran expert in this field? I understood everything the Chairwoman said clearly, as if it were being driven right into my soul.
"Ugh! I respect you too much, Chairwoman! I feel like I'm already making progress!"
"That is because Kim Geun-cheol is like a sponge when it comes to the field of the Lion's Roar! This Chairwoman is also pleased that you understand so well!"
"That is absolutely true!"
As we talked like that.
"Hmm... Good. Time's up."
Finally, the lesson time ended.
"It's a shame, but Kim Geun-cheol? The lesson stops here. This Chairwoman has far too much to do to teach you any more."
"No! Just having you watch me this far is the absolute greatest glory of my family, glory!"
"Muhahahahahat! If you flatter me that much, the Chairwoman will fly away!"
"It's okay if you fly away, Chairwoman! Fly away gracefully, like a beautiful Siren!"
"This kid, really!"
—Scrubble scrubble!
The Chairwoman put her hand on my head and ruffled my hair wildly. I'm telling you, there's nothing better for getting through life than flattery.
"To go to such lengths for me...! I'm just so grateful! You've worked hard today, Chairwoman!"
"It wasn't hard at all. Teaching the Lion's Roar was fun for this Chairwoman too. Good... let's see. It's the first day, and Kim Geun-cheol followed along well, so I should give you a prize."
"A prize?"
What kind of prize is she going to give?
—Thump thump.
I'm so nervous right now my heart is pounding!
"That's right! A prize! As a prize, this Chairwoman will personally sing you a song!"
"Aack!"
—Thump thump!
Was my heart pounding from terror instead of nerves?!
"Ahem! This Chairwoman's taste in music is a bit youthful, so don't laugh! It's simply my kind of taste!"
"W-wait a moment!"
No!
My instincts are warning me!
That I must not hear this song!
"Where is it!"
Where is the escape route?
I searched for a place to flee, but the Chairwoman, who had already made up her mind to sing, simply smiled contentedly as if caring about nothing else, making a gesture of grabbing an air microphone and bringing it to her mouth.
To me, it looked like a death sentence from a reaper.
"Stop...! Please! Please, stop!"
"Ahem, it's been so long since I sang in front of anyone. Music start."
And then.
"Uuuuuooorrrrraaaaaaaahhhhh!!!"
The world went dark.
No.
My ears.
"Wh-what...?!"
"The BLOOD!!! FOR!!!"
What is this!
"THE SACRED!!!"
A crazy sound is erupting! It's a sound like a beast's roar! What a brutal vocal technique! A person with an already loud voice put mana into her growling and screamed—there's no way to withstand it!
"Urgk!"
My ears feel like they're about to burst! Is this what she meant by youthful taste in music?! It's not just youthful, it's way too niche...! How old is she, and she's doing growl vocals!
This is Deathcore!
"Kuhahk!"
The fear that I might lose my hearing at this rate creeps in. Even though I'm covering my ears with both hands, the song doesn't end; the hellish song continues!
"I feel like I'm flying...! No, am I actually flying?!"
I was already floating in midair! Crazy! I was flying like a glider just from the wind pressure bursting from her mouth! My feet were nearly five meters off the ground!
"Cleansing!!! THE!! SOOOOUUUUL!!!!"
No...!
Death is drawing near. Amidst that, what comes to my mind is the visage of a true angel. Reflexively, I screamed her name until my throat tore. Like a newborn baby crying to breathe.
"Leona!"
Leona, Leonaaa!
That's right!
I had the sacred object the Archangel Leona gave me! If it's a sacred object with angelic power, it must be able to overcome this hellish song!
Floating in the air, terrified, I frantically searched my pockets and pulled out the heavenly earplugs Leona had given me... but!
"No, they're ruptured?!"
The earplugs, which I hadn't even put in, were in a ruptured state!
"No way!"
With trembling hands, I checked the ruptured earplugs...!
What on earth is that powerful song! If nothing else, does it destroy the very concept of 'earplugs'?! How can it pick out and shatter only this?! That's not all... the ruptured earplugs are turning to dust and disintegrating! A truly supernatural death!
"DIIIIIEEEEE!!!!!"
And so, the Chairwoman's hopeless death song began to reach its climax.
"—!"
Amidst the agony, I felt a strange comfort as I closed my eyes.
Even in that dazed state, I could clearly tell that comfort suddenly appearing amidst agony was anything but normal...