Chapter 40: Digestion (3)
Chapter 40: Digestion (3)
Even after I had completely devoured the 「Wildness」, a fever lingered in my body. Heat simmered within me like a blade heated to its limit. It wasn't the kind of fever born of sickness.
There was no dizziness, no headache.
Instead, a frantic urge to move consumed my mind. A surging desire to utilize every single one of my intricately knit muscles took hold of me—just like those battle-crazed orcs.
Liam provided the answer to this strange phenomenon.
「You are being forged.」
"Forged?"
「Just as a heated blade is hammered and tempered to a sharp edge, your body has entered that very process. To possess a body worthy of the Sword, the Steel Blood flowing within you is boiling hot.」
Forging.
Yes, if my body were to be compared to a blade, that was the perfect expression.
「This is the process of advancing toward True Steel, young descendant.」
I looked at Liam and asked, "What should I do, Master?"
「Do not ask me.」
"Then?"
「Do as your body dictates. Act according to what your Wildness commands.」
Liam glanced at me.
「Move without a single moment’s rest. Move so violently that you fear your body might break. Abuse your flesh; run until your breath hitches in your throat.」
“……”
「You must never stop until your body cools. While your body is heated, your frail frame will grow at an astonishing rate. Do not waste this precious time.」
Thump. Thump.
The beating of my heart echoed all the way to my skull.
「A body where Steel Blood flows grows stronger the more it is hammered, young descendant.」
The moment Liam finished speaking, I grabbed my Sword.
And I began to move exactly as my body dictated.
* * *
Have you ever witnessed the process of a blade, heated to its limit, becoming a Sword? A blade harboring intense heat bends with every strike of the blacksmith’s hammer, only to be straightened again with more pounding. Through countless repetitions of this forging process, it is reborn as a solid weapon.
The phenomenon my body was undergoing was exactly that.
Like a blade heated to its limit, my body underwent radical changes with even the slightest movement. It felt as if time itself were being compressed. I swung the sword just once, yet muscle mass seemed to knit itself onto my frame instantly.
A creaking sound echoed from my joints. Along with the sound of my skeleton shifting and muscles tearing, a horrific pain—as if my body were breaking apart—assailed me. I wanted to scream, but I didn't. Even the time spent rolling on the floor, shouting and making a fuss about the pain, felt like a waste.
Even at this very moment, my body was growing. I could feel it vividly.
This was different from the meaningless time I had spent before meeting Liam. That was why I could endure it. Pain that felt like my body was collapsing and my soul was shattering was nothing. Compared to the helplessness I would feel if I failed my revenge—compared to the hollow despair I felt the moment I lost everything—this was nothing at all.
『I should not have retreated, even before an enemy like the tide.』
『It is not because I am an orc who does not fear death.』
『It is because I have too many precious things to leave behind by running away.』
I moved as the Sword dictated.
Even when it felt like my arms would fall off, I swung the sword. I struggled frantically, just as my Wildness commanded. It felt like dancing inside a fire. But I did not stop. Because the moment I stopped, my leap forward would end. I couldn't let that happen. I would absolutely not end here. If I could become even a little bit stronger, I would gladly throw my body into the fray.
『For the sake of the things I must protect, I cannot flee.』
『I must move forward.』
『Because only by facing the fight can I seize victory.』
I twisted my waist, gripped the sword with both hands, and swung. My hair whipped through the air, and beads of sweat sprayed. In a flash, the Sword's memory unfolded before my eyes. The Great Plains of the wild where dust clouds rose, and the memory of the Orc Great Warrior Berik charging bravely before countless enemies.
The memory of a certain warrior who did not avoid an impossible fight, swinging a massive sword with a determined face. The heat that bloomed in his body and chest was conveyed vividly. In this moment, a sharp sensation arose as if his soul had inhabited my body. From my fingertips to my forearms, even the sound of my racing heartbeat—I had become the Orc Great Warrior Berik.
『I still remember the words my father left behind.』
In that moment, I was not a small boy, but an orc warrior. Immediately after swinging the sword with heavy force, steam billowed from my body. Sweat dripped down, and beyond the hazy steam, I saw a transparent mirror.
Beyond the hot steam, my reflection in the mirror was vastly different from before.
The boy was no longer there.
『There is no paradise in the place you fled to.』
And so, my Sword finally reached the end of its boyhood.
* * *
The first change I noticed was my eye level. It had risen significantly. It felt as if I were looking down at the world from much higher up than before.
"I'll have to buy new clothes."
「Good. The clothes you wore before were all tacky anyway.」
“……”
None of my original clothes fit me anymore. While searching for something wearable, I belatedly noticed the stench emanating from my entire body. It was the result of moving without rest and swinging the sword for days on end.
I headed to the bathroom and surrendered my body to the hot water.
As I closed my eyes and washed myself, a sense of refreshment washed over me. It felt as if my mind were clearing and my eyes were truly opening. After drying off with a towel, I pulled out my father's clothes instead of my own.
Unlike me, my father had always been large-framed, and his clothes fit my now-enlarged body perfectly. As I put on a slightly tight shirt, a nostalgic scent seemed to waft from it.
The face of my father, who used to sit me on his lap long ago and tell me old stories with boyish eyes, flickered through my mind for a moment. After a brief moment of longing, I grabbed my sword and stepped out of the mansion.
The yard was bathed in bright sunshine.
Seol-yoon was in the front yard with a wooden sword. She stared at me as I came out, looking momentarily entranced, but as soon as our eyes met, she jerked her head away, her face flushing slightly.
"You're finally out."
"Yes. Have you been waiting long?"
"I wasn't exactly waiting."
Seol-yoon was a bit hesitant throughout the conversation. Her attitude had changed from before.
Though I wondered about her changed demeanor, I tried to start explaining.
"Ah, I've changed a lot, haven't I? To explain this—"
"No. The explanation is fine. I'm more accustomed to conversations shared through the Sword than verbal explanations."
Seol-yoon gripped her wooden sword tightly and said, "Tell me with your sword later. I think that will be enough of an answer."
"If you say so."
True.
I also found it more comfortable to have a single spar than to drone on with explanations. And clashing swords with Seol-yoon was always helpful to me. She was a genius, after all.
Besides, wasn't there a matter that needed to be resolved right now?
"By the way, did anything happen while I was holed up inside?"
"What do you mean, 'anything'?"
"Like that child who visited before coming back, or a suspicious wizard appearing."
The pitiful child I suspected of being the Black Mage's servant had warned me before leaving that they would return. And wizards never make empty threats. That is a historically proven fact. Those petty beings with supernatural powers always settle their grudges...
"No one has come yet."
Fortunately, it seemed I wasn't too late.
「He's a sluggish fellow, isn't he?」
Liam chuckled upon hearing Seol-yoon's words.
「Let us head outside the village, young descendant. Do you not wish to test out that newly acquired body of yours?」
This time, I agreed with Liam.
Mad power writhed within my rapidly grown body. It wasn't as hot as before, but my heart was beating fast. I wanted to swing my Sword with this strength.
Desperately.
* * *
Following Liam's suggestion, I went to the village entrance and looked around.
Since burying the Guardian Stones, the dark energy no longer lingered within the estate. However, beyond the perimeter where the stones were buried, an ominous aura, far denser than before, filled the air.
「It wasn't that he was sluggish; he simply couldn't set foot inside.」
"The Guardian Stones seem to have been effective."
「Did I not tell you they were good items, young descendant?」
It seemed the Black Mage who had visited the estate had no intention of giving up. I decided to visit the spots where the Guardian Stones were buried, one by one.
"I feel kind of gross walking here."
Perhaps because the Black Mage's energy had grown much stronger, even Seol-yoon expressed her discomfort. She drew the sword at her waist and held it ready as she walked.
We walked in silence for a while.
"What is that person doing?"
In the distance, I saw someone acting strangely.
A small person. Looking closer, it was a child in shabby attire. A beggar orphan often seen in the slums, with a face full of bruises and stained with dirt.
The scruffy kid was muttering something with an anxious face while digging at the ground with bare hands. The moment I saw that, I asked Seol-yoon.
"Is that—"
"Yeah. That kid who came by last time."
It was just as I suspected.
I looked closely at the spot the kid was digging.
The place where the child was frantically clawing at the dirt with bare hands was...
'The spot where a Guardian Stone is buried.'
I realized the reason for such behavior immediately.
'The Black Mage sent him.'
There could only be one reason.
Because the filthy trick they tried to play on this estate was being obstructed by the Orc Elder's Guardian Stone. I frowned and walked toward the kid. Hearing footsteps, the child who had been digging like mad turned toward me. My eyes met those of the beggar-like child.
"A-ah, ugh."
The child's pupils were shaking violently.
"D-don't come. Don't come here. No, don't come."
The child's muttering was quiet but clearly audible.
Don't come. What did that mean?
As a habitual doubt flared up, I instinctively scattered 「The Path」 around me. As the paths spread in all directions, a strange presence was caught on one of the many branches.
'Three beyond the bushes. There are three beings of unknown nature.'
As Liam had said, the strength of my 「The Path」 lay in its sensitivity.
The moment I sensed them, I shouted.
"There are three uninvited guests hiding over there! Be careful!"
The moment I shouted, the bushes rustled.
Immediately after, the intruders revealed their hidden forms.
"What the..."
The appearance of the intruders was extremely alien.
They weren't assassins with daggers, nor knights clad in armor, nor savage raiders with axes. They weren't beings that could be placed into such categories.
「It has been a long time since I've seen those.」
They were much taller than I, even with my sudden growth spurt, and their mangled facial features were grotesquely twisted. Their bare upper bodies were covered in stitch marks, like a sewn-together doll. Thick veins bulging here and there had a rock-like gray hue.
I felt it instinctively. They weren't human.
No, were they even natural creatures to begin with?
The life reaction felt through 「The Path」 was excessively alien. The information transmitted to my brain was incredibly strange and bizarre. As the unfamiliarity brought a small surge of fear, Liam spoke.
「They are Golems. Ugly dolls that wizards keep as servants.」
As soon as Liam finished speaking, a flash of light gleamed beside me.
A beautiful and swift straight line. It was the Sword swung by Seol-yoon.
"Snap out of it, small gladiator."
The tip of the sword Seol-yoon thrust out reached the Golem's chest in an instant. However, Seol-yoon's sword failed to cut through the Golem's body in one go. Instead of a clean sound, a solid Clang!—like metal hitting metal—echoed out. Sensing something was wrong, Seol-yoon frowned and immediately leaped backward.
"These things are hard. It's like their bodies are made of armor."
Seol-yoon lowered her stance and changed her grip on the sword.
It was a posture I had never seen before. Was it a technique she had newly created while training alone here? A brief moment of curiosity arose, but now was not the time to be impressed by Seol-yoon's new technique.
「Golems are unpleasant dolls made by wizards with bad taste, who stitch together and combine the bodies of various creatures. And most of them are very sturdy.」
“……”
「The way to deal with such Golems is very simple.」
I drew my sword.
「Shatter them. Like breaking an egg.」
At the same time, my 「Mana Heart」 surged, and an intense power spread throughout my body.
「They are the perfect meat shields to test your strength.」
A truly intense power, incomparable to anything before.
"I'll handle them."