This Is Nothing to Laugh At
Rune was utterly drained after the battle, so he handed Amelia a glass of orange juice mixed with a recovery potion.
After a few stretches and basic training as a wind-down, he and Dullahan headed back through the mana conduit.
**Clang! Clang!**
Dullahan followed Rune’s back with cheerful footsteps.
“So it’s that good?”
From behind Rune, who was walking in human form with the bracelet on, Dullahan’s green eyes blinked.
Even though they couldn’t speak, the lively stride carried a refreshing energy.
‘Well, in a while I’ve finally moved with a proper body.’
The blinking green soul looked almost refreshing.
Rune had been just like that back in his imugi days, practicing martial arts and enjoying it.
He couldn’t forget that feeling.
‘My whole body is tingling.’
He poked his thigh with his fingers and smacked his lips in lingering regret.
A one-year ban on leaving the lair.
At the very least, he had to make do with simple physical training inside during that time.
‘If I could properly spar with this guy… but I can’t do it inside Christina’s lair because I don’t know when she’ll appear, and Amelia would definitely look suspicious.’
Even though Amelia had lived her whole life without meeting anyone deep in the sea, it was obvious she’d find it weird if a ten-year-old hatchling fought with the skill of someone centuries older.
But accepting instruction from his servant Dullahan didn’t sit right either.
‘Wait. Is it really impossible?’
Christina, who had given him every convenience if he grew stronger, had issued that ban.
‘Thinking about it, the transmission wasn’t perfectly safe either. She only did it because she thought it necessary for me to become a strong dragon.’
Rune’s eyes brightened with thought.
‘To be honest… I just want to get stronger.’
That day’s lunch.
Sweet jam from berries paired with bread spread with fragrant butter.
Adding cheese from time to time made the flavor combination excellent.
Then, swallowing a sip of warm milk with the satisfaction, he enjoyed the perfect harmony of taste and fullness.
‘Time to try it out.’
Rune watched Christina, who was jotting notes while he ate a bite at a time.
When she noticed his gaze while spreading cream cheese on the bread, Christina looked at him.
“Rune, is it not tasty?”
“No. It’s delicious to spread this fruit jam with butter. Everything is good.”
Actually, Heungmi was happily eating the roasted chicken wing in front of her, spicy sauce mixed with tomato chunks, and a fresh croissant with a buttery aroma.
Rune puffed out his cheeks and gulped down the bread and milk.
“Christina, can I ask you one favor?”
“What is it?”
“Would you teach me martial arts?”
“Hmm.”
Christina looked a little hesitant.
Dragons did light sparring and body training as exercise, so it wasn’t an unreasonable request.
Moreover, to Christina, Rune seemed to have a surprisingly aggressive personality.
‘Thinking about it, he’s been like that since he was born.’
From the moment he was born, Rune had moved his body earnestly and never once stayed still.
‘He used unknown movement magic to leave the lair, ate strong herbs with power and got hurt, suffered from weak mana…’
Thanks to that, Christina had been startled several times.
‘That’s also why I healed Ferdikion’s heart.’
Ferdikion who lived by following his father’s wishes exactly and achieving only the set goals.
Rune had the opposite personality.
During the ten years Christina protected him, this child caused countless unexpected things.
He acted like a troublemaker sometimes, yet at other times he struck straight to the core with pure insight.
He had a special way of deciding what to do and trying to turn uncertain results into the best outcome.
‘Clearly, wanting to learn martial arts is for the result you want.’
She wanted to respond to that sincerity.
Christina looked at Rune for a moment, then smiled gently and nodded.
“Yes, I’ll help you with the training.”
“……!”
Rune cheered inside.
‘I did it!’
She, the stubborn one who never changed her decisions once made, had changed her mind for him.
At least he was no longer suffocating in his daily life.
“Training starts tomorrow. I’ll adjust the schedule based on your condition, so take good care of yourself.”
“Of course! Thank you, Christina!”
Christina smiled lightly, as if it was a very pleasant suggestion.
That evening, after hearing the news about Rune’s one-year leave ban, Ferdikion came to Christina’s lair for dinner after a long time.
Upon hearing that Rune would receive martial arts lessons from Christina, he furrowed his brows.
“…Martial arts from Christina-nim?”
“Yes. Why?”
Ferdikion’s expression wasn’t great.
“He, Christina-nim looks gentle… but she’s actually quite fierce, you know? I don’t know if you understand that she’s strict.”
At those words, Rune recalled Christina’s appearance when she dealt with Dullahan.
“Well… when she gets serious, she’s scary.”
After confirming that Christina was chatting with Heungmi, Ferdikion whispered so only he could hear, also lowering his voice as much as possible.
“Actually, I once received swordsmanship lessons from Christina-nim.”
Rune asked with sparkling eyes.
“Really? How was it, older brother?”
The swordsmanship Ferdikion had shown when he couldn’t use dragon power at all due to the curse potion in the abandoned mine dungeon was quite impressive.
In other words, it was grounds to raise trust in Christina’s teaching.
However, Ferdikion’s reaction was a bit odd.
“…That’s.”
Seeing his face on the verge of vomiting the food he’d just been eating, Rune felt a bad premonition.
“What is it?”
‘What on earth?’
The moment curiosity rose, Christina asked.
“Children! For dessert there’s strawberry cake and lemon chiffon. Which one do you want to eat?”
“Heungmi wants strawberry cake!”
“Pyaa!”
Heungmi raised her hand first to Christina’s question.
Baekya had separate snacks prepared for new food instead of cake.
Ferdikion, who had glanced at Christina dividing the snack for Heungmi, gave a quiet piece of advice.
“Rune. Never try to win. Just think about surviving.”
“…What?”
Ferdikion shook his head after saying that and quietly chose the lemon chiffon.
Rune bit into the strawberry cake, lost in thought.
‘She’s surprisingly picky…?’
Christina always valued Rune’s safety.
Then she would certainly be careful not to let him get hurt in training.
He didn’t need to worry about Ferdikion’s meaningful reaction.
‘The cake is delicious.’
Sweet vanilla aroma filling the mouth.
The strawberry with plenty of fruit meat rising to the fire-roast point crunching between his teeth.
“It’s too sweet! It’s fluffy!”
Every time he took a bite, Heungmi squeezed her cheeks with both hands, happy, and Rune agreed.
Christina gently stroked Heungmi’s head, worried. “Eat slowly. You’ll get full.”
‘That Christina…?’
Rune chuckled inside.
Even if the difficulty rose, it would still be harder than the training he’d done in his previous life as an imugi.
‘Even if Ferdikion were big, he’s still a hatchling. He might find swordsmanship lessons tough for a young child. Amelia struggled even with just tail training.’
So maybe the reason Christina as Ferdikion’s first master felt even scarier was exactly that.
…That thought was completely off the mark.
The next morning after a full night’s sleep.
It was the time Christina had set for training.
Normally she advised him to sleep as much as possible, so this suggestion was surprising.
Yawning, Rune got up and walked toward the dawn sky that hadn’t fully risen yet.
‘Training from dawn… I’m fine with it.’
The meal of stretching and eating before the sun fully rose would definitely be tasty.
The first class would naturally have the highest enthusiasm.
Rune didn’t hide his satisfied smile.
It was the start of a fruitful day without waste.
‘Fresh air outside is nice.’
If it weren’t training, he wouldn’t have been able to come outside the lair.
Rune took a deep breath of fresh air and refreshed himself.
“You’re here?”
“Yes. Good morning, Christina.”
Christina was already waiting outside in leather armor.
It was a design that maximized activity and mobility, suitable for light body techniques.
‘She didn’t push it too hard and just wanted morning exercise.’
Thinking that way, Rune felt a little regretful.
But he didn’t show that feeling on his face, clasped his hands lightly, and made a small clicking sound.
‘Well, no choice. It would be ridiculous for an elder like Christina to seriously fight a young hatchling.’
After stretching, Christina assumed a light defensive stance, and Rune followed it perfectly.
‘Amelia did that easily enough, so it’s fine.’
Using the level he had seen from Amelia the other day, Rune showed competent movement.
“Oh my, Rune. You’re standing correctly. You have a pretty good natural sense?”
‘This is nothing. If it’s too easy, it’s no fun.’
Rune smiled innocently on the outside while laughing inside.
What he showed was the sense to naturally connect strength and axis depending on which part of the body to attack or defend with.
Just knowing that instinctual sense subconsciously made the difficulty of the lesson rise for Rune.
Sure enough, Christina smiled and gave her evaluation.
“I thought you were just a child, but you’re quite good.”
The moment, Rune felt unease in Christina’s smile.
‘…! The air changed.’
That subconscious instinct saved him.
Pop!
He quickly stepped back two or three paces.
Christina drew a deep smile as if praising him.
‘Why?’
It wasn’t fear.
The feeling of pinning down the opponent simply by existing.
Every breath made the air insufficient, making him feel suffocated.
‘Without body transformation… this kind of pressure…?’
He felt like a massive mountain walking toward him.
Christina placed one hand on her waist with a pleased look.
“You have good intuition. At that distance, one more step and it’s within my attack range.”
The gentle voice was different from the fact that no space in the surroundings gave an inch.
Rune calmly organized his breathing.
‘Stay calm. I don’t have to be this tense when I haven’t even attacked yet.’
Sweat beaded on his forehead while he decided.
The desire to ease the suffocating tension made him want to do something.
Rune naturally clenched his fist and calmly suppressed the urge.
‘Just nervousness. If I make a mistake without thinking ahead… it’s over.’
The belief that he couldn’t kill?
It had been gone for a long time.
There was no fool who would anger the mind of a beast capable of killing the weak at any moment.