Chapter 81
Chapter 81
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 81
Chapter Title: A Parting Lesson
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"Here, this is for you."
*Thud.*
Do-jae caught the wooden sword Salreuta tossed him.
"When did you get this?"
"I thought we'd need it, so I picked it up while I was changing."
Do-jae fiddled with the wooden sword, which had no handguard.
It was a little lighter than the Black Scale, but it still had a decent weight to it.
"I have my own sword."
"This is a spar. I'll be using a wooden sword, so you use one too."
"Wouldn't a real sword be better? This feels a little less tense."
"Just do as I say."
Salreuta began to warm up, swinging his wooden sword.
Do-jae also swung the unfamiliar blade, getting a feel for it.
"Do-jae, shall we begin?"
"Alright."
After Do-jae's request, Salreuta had changed his clothes and led him to a secluded clearing outside the castle.
There were plenty of training grounds and open spaces within the castle, but he wanted to take off his cumbersome robes.
Of course, just in case, he had infused mana into his ring to maintain his high elf appearance.
"Go, Salreuta!"
"Boooo! Lose, Salreuta! Go, Do-jae!"
Sarieta and Katania glared at each other.
Oson and Tahul had gone off somewhere, saying they had things to do, so Sarieta, left alone, had brought Katania with her.
*Swoosh—.*
Salreuta closed the three-meter distance in a single bound, his long legs stretching out.
"Left chest!"
*Clack!*
Salreuta called out his target and thrust the wooden sword just as he'd announced, but Do-jae easily twisted his own sword to parry it diagonally.
"Right shoulder!"
Using the rebound, Salreuta spun around and brought his deflected sword down toward Do-jae's left shoulder.
*Clack-clack-clack!*
Do-jae tried to parry Salreuta's sword again. However, deflecting the trajectory of a downward strike was harder than deflecting a thrust, so their swords clashed and slid past each other.
"Crown of the head! Right thigh! Left waist!"
Salreuta swung his sword in rapid succession, and Do-jae blocked his attacks without much difficulty.
"You don't have to call them out. I can see that much."
"Do-jae, just trust me for a moment."
Salreuta continued his assault.
He gradually picked up speed, and as time passed, he unleashed a flurry of strikes so fast that Sarieta could barely follow them.
"Left ear! Right knee! Right chest!"
*Clack-clack!*
*Whoosh—.*
*Thwack—.*
"Salreuta!"
"Oh, that last one was good."
Salreuta had called out "right chest" and feigned a thrust, but then swung his sword upward, aiming for Do-jae's chin.
Fortunately, Do-jae's animal-like reflexes allowed him to jerk his head back and counter. However, his center of balance was off, and he couldn't put proper force into the blow. His sword clashed with Salreuta's, flew far away, and stuck into the ground.
"Isn't that a cheap shot?"
"Sorry, I apologize. I got a little carried away."
"Just don't call them out. I can see your moves anyway."
"It seems so. Shall we go a little longer?"
Do-jae picked up the wooden sword, feeling slightly annoyed.
He had felt it during the tournament as well; Salreuta's attacks were fierce, but not so fast that he couldn't react.
This time, however, with Salreuta calling out his targets, it felt a little like he was being toyed with.
*Clack!*
*Clack-clack-clack!*
Do-jae swung his sword with a bit more force.
A fierce exchange of offense and defense ensued, and in the process, Do-jae felt something.
"Hoo... defending is harder than I thought."
He had been trying to pay more attention to his defense for a while, but he had a tendency to rely on his Golem Armor.
By now, his defensive capabilities were strong enough to ignore most attacks, so he had neglected his defensive skills.
"It's because your attacks are monotonous."
Salreuta said, wiping the beads of sweat from his forehead.
"Monotonous?"
"To be honest, your swordsmanship is at a basic level. You've had a few unorthodox attacks, but there was nothing that could be called true swordplay."
"Hmm... but I've been swinging a sword for over ten years..."
"Hahaha, Do-jae. I trained for ten years just to draw my sword. And it took me a hundred years just to build my foundation. Compared to that, your fundamentals are solid. Besides, your strength and speed surpass mine."
Salreuta pointed to the sweat trickling down his face and continued.
"But you are not in your sword. Can I see the sword you use for a moment?"
"Here."
Do-jae retrieved the Black Scale, which he had left with Sarieta, and showed it to him.
Salreuta couldn't help but marvel at the Black Scale.
"It's an incredibly fine sword. It makes my own look shabby. But what if Sarieta were to wield it? Could she even scratch you with this sword?"
"...No, she'd probably be sent flying."
"What if it were me?"
Do-jae imagined Salreuta holding the Black Scale and cutting through his Golem Armor.
And in his imagination, the Black Scale sliced through the Golem Armor, leaving a long gash.
"I'd be cut. I'd probably be seriously injured."
"Now, look at this."
*Swoosh—.*
*Snatch.*
Salreuta threw his wooden sword, and Do-jae caught it.
Do-jae began to examine Salreuta's wooden sword closely.
"Hmm... your sword is almost unscathed."
Do-jae's wooden sword was dented and cracked, on the verge of breaking.
Salreuta's sword, on the other hand, was in such pristine condition that one could believe it was brand new.
"I thought of this wooden sword as an extension of myself. But you didn't, did you? If you had thought the same, you would never have let your sword get into that state."
Do-jae looked at his wooden sword again.
It was just an ordinary wooden sword, made of common material, nothing special.
One could say it had performed its duty to the fullest just by not breaking during the spar.
But after hearing Salreuta's words, he began to reconsider.
If this wooden sword were his arm, and the bone within it...
...it would be like losing an arm in a light spar.
"Of course, I can spar with you anytime. Swordsmanship? If you ask me to teach you, I can teach you everything I know. But before that, I think you first need to find your reason for wielding a sword."
Salreuta returned the Black Scale and headed toward Sarieta and Katania.
He left for the castle with Katania, and Sarieta ran over.
"Do-jae! What happened? Did you win?"
"No."
"Then did you lose? Did you lose, Do-jae?"
"No."
"Then what happened! Why is Katania walking away looking so triumphant!"
Sarieta said in a very angry voice.
Do-jae gently patted her head and said.
"Sarieta, I'll be staying here for a few more days. Let Katania know."
"Hmph. Tell me too! What is it, what is it, what is it?"
Do-jae gripped the handle of the wooden sword tightly and headed for the castle, with a pestering Sarieta trotting along behind him.
***
"I should get going now."
"What a shame. I thought you'd be staying a little longer."
A place a short distance from Tuvaln.
Do-jae and Salreuta stood facing each other.
"If anything, I'm the one who took up your time. Thank you."
"Nonsense, it's the least I could do for my benefactor."
The two shared a firm handshake.
Then, Do-jae headed for the carriage waiting for him.
"Next time, I hope you come back having found your reason for using a sword!"
Salreuta shouted after the departing Do-jae. Do-jae answered with a smile and climbed into the carriage.
Inside, Sarieta, Oson, and Tahul were sharing cookies.
As soon as Do-jae sat down, Tahul handed him a book.
"You've been working very hard. Kehehe."
"Thank you. The payment is here..."
"Forget it! It's not expensive. Just make sure you study magic diligently in return."
Throughout his stay in Tuvaln, Do-jae crossed swords with Salreuta.
With his time to return drawing near, he spent not only his time sparring with Salreuta but also stayed up all night swinging his sword alone.
When he grew tired of swinging the sword, he would meditate.
He pondered deeply on Salreuta's question: why did it have to be a sword?
He couldn't find a profound meaning, but the sword was the weapon most familiar to him.
When he first entered a dungeon, he had held a cheap iron sword, and he had used a sword ever since.
As such, even when he wasn't using it, he felt anxious without one, and he preferred swords over other weapons.
In the end, he couldn't fully grasp the meaning of the sword, but Do-jae decided that was enough for now.
"Alright! Let's head for the Night-Warbler Forest!"
Sarieta shouted, her mouth covered in cookie crumbs, and the golems rose and began to move in response.
***
"Arktria. I've gathered them all."
Do-jae took out the three leaves and placed them before the giant tree.
Then, a voice that filled the entire lake echoed out.
- You have completed my trials well. You have achieved great change in a short time.
Arktria's voice was benevolent, unlike when they first met.
Do-jae, too, replied in a calm voice, not a sharp one.
"Thanks to you. I'm curious myself to see how much stronger I've become."
Do-jae was just as curious about the changes.
So much so that the first thing he wanted to do upon returning was to open his status window and check his stats.
- Then I shall send you back to your original world. Prove yourself to the great ones. If you do, they will seek you out themselves.
As Arktria finished speaking, a fierce wind began to blow.
And it wasn't a simple wind, but a storm of mana.
"Wait! Hold on a second!"
- What is it?
"You have to give me time to say goodbye."
- Have you grown fond of this world?
"A little."
- Very well. I shall wait.
The mana storm vanished as quickly as it had appeared.
Do-jae walked hesitantly toward the carriage.
Sarieta and Oson were standing in front of the carriage parked by the lake, while Tahul watched from inside through an open window.
"Do-jae... are you leaving?"
"Master... are you leaving so suddenly?"
Sarieta's and Oson's voices were heavy.
For their sake, Do-jae spoke nonchalantly in a cheerful voice.
"I wore these to hide my identity, but I never really got a chance to use them properly. I'll give them back, Sarieta."
Do-jae took off the ring and earring to return them to Sarieta.
But Sarieta waved her hands, refusing.
"No! It's okay! You keep them, Do-jae!"
"Then take this, at least."
Do-jae took a pouch of gold coins from his subspace and placed it in Sarieta's hands.
He had barely spent any of it, aside from on food, so in a way, he was returning almost all the money to the village.
"No, it's fine!"
"I won't have any use for it anymore. It would be better to use it for the village."
"...Okay."
Sarieta lowered her head and accepted the pouch of gold with both hands.
"Oson, this is all I have for you."
Do-jae took out almost all the ores he had and piled them in front of Oson.
Most were ones Oson had already identified, and there were even some ores that Oson had been eyeing.
"Master..."
"I think I put you through some trouble. Let this make up for it. Though I'm not sure how you'll carry it all. Hahaha."
"Master! You must come back! This Oson Ironhammer... will have a magnificent sword ready for you!"
Do-jae smiled and nodded at Oson before turning to Tahul.
"Old man, I've learned a lot thanks to you. I can even do this now."
Do-jae created a small ember on his fingertip.
It was a small achievement he had gained after struggling with Tahul during the entire journey back.
"You're a genius. If you had learned more from me, you would have become a great mage. Kehehe."
"I'll read all the books you gathered for me diligently. I don't have anything for you, old man Tahul. It's not much, but please take this."
Do-jae handed Tahul a small pouch of gold coins.
It was the small amount left over after giving the rest to Sarieta.
"Where would an old man like me spend this? You got anything else?"
"Um... no. In that case, I'll give the gold to Sarieta..."
"Hey! Who gives something and then takes it back?"
Tahul hastily stuffed the pouch of gold into his robes.
Do-jae let out a hearty laugh and turned back to Arktria.
"Well then, goodbye everyone. Arktria, I'm ready. Send me back now."
- Very well.
The mana storm raged once more.
A massive amount of mana enveloped Do-jae, and the same sensation he felt when he first came here began to creep over him.
And just then.
"Waaaaah! Do-jae! Goodbye! It was a short time, but I had so much fun traveling with you! We'll see each other again someday, right!"
Sarieta came running, tears streaming down her face.
Do-jae gave her a warm smile and waved.
And as the mana storm swallowed Do-jae, his figure vanished from the other world.
*Flash—.*