Who Is Your Master? (2)

After harvesting the goblin materials and stepping out of the cave, a lush forest greeted us. Having endured the damp, foul-smelling cave for thirty minutes, the sight was incredibly welcome. I savored the scent of the forest as I inhaled, then let out a slow, steady breath.

I closed my eyes and did it again, twice, three times. Only when I felt as though the air had cleansed me from my nostrils down to the depths of my lungs did I finally open my eyes. As my vision cleared, the sight of green leaves and sunlight filtering through them stirred a sense of appreciation, and I slowly lowered my head, which had been tilted slightly upward.

My gaze traveled leisurely down the tree trunk, taking in the panoramic view of the forest. Once I had etched that scene into my memory, two white horns came into view. Following the line of those horns, my gaze fell upon a head of white hair. The eyes that met mine, framed by those silk-like, shimmering locks, were remarkably clear.

And they were sparkling. She looked at me with a bright, beaming expression, as if expecting something grand.

“No.”

“Yes!”

“No.”

“Yes!”

The goblin girl puffed out her cheeks at my continued refusal. Seeing her look up at me with eyebrows furrowed in dissatisfaction was undeniably cute. But no meant no.

“Move.”

“I don’t want to!”

“If you don’t move, I won’t take you as my disciple.”

“…If I move, will you take me?”

“I’ll think about it.”

“Hee-hee.”

The goblin girl’s furrowed brow smoothed out as she reluctantly stepped aside. She was cute, I’ll give her that. I reached between her two horns and gave her head a good rub. She responded by placing her hands on her hips, looking incredibly proud of herself. I had no idea what she was so proud of, but I figured that’s just how kids were, so I started walking again. The goblin girl followed right behind me.

“So, am I your disciple now?”

“No.”

“!?”

The girl froze, completely shocked. Now was my chance.

After wiping out the goblin cave, my level was 44, and I had gained 20 stat points. Usually, it would be correct to split them evenly with Concentration, but for now, I dumped everything into Agility.

Conscious of the sudden surge in speed, I sprinted with everything I had.

“…Ah!”

The girl, startled by the sound of the wind tearing apart, looked toward me. I ignored her and unleashed my footwork, pushing my speed even further.

‘Shinseonyuhwabo.’

This footwork, which flows as smoothly as a celestial being walking on clouds, has the characteristic of increasing in speed as time passes. It was the perfect technique for the Ishina-ryu style, which prioritizes speed and fluidity. The only problem was the mana consumption. Shinseonyuhwabo was a technique that relied on the use of magic power.

In reality, I could run all day, but this was a game world with restricted stats. Considering the mana already consumed by using Rapid Movement, I’d be lucky to last another twenty seconds. But that should be enough.

‘She’s not following me.’

I could sense the girl still standing exactly where I’d left her. I had already run far enough that I was out of her sight, so it would take her some time to catch up.

“…That’s a shame.”

Caught me. I turned my eyes away from the chat window and focused on my footwork, feeling my speed gradually increase. Grrr….

“?”

At the same time, the girl’s presence, which had been quiet in the distance, sharpened into something lethal. The speed at which she approached with a blade-like intensity was greater than mine.

‘But it doesn’t matter.’

I had been weaving through the forest, twisting my path back and forth. Rapid Movement had worn off, but this speed should be enough to…

“…Wait, she’s closing in?”

The girl’s sharp aura was clearly aimed directly at my back. I changed direction, but her presence followed me instantly, forcing me to pick up the pace.

‘…Why is she getting even faster?’

As if responding to my speed, the girl began to accelerate even more.

“Stop right there!!!!”

At the sound of the girl’s voice echoing through the entire forest, I looked back and saw her figure already visible to the naked eye. Seeing her sprinting on all fours with her red eyes flashing, looking so much like a beast, I flinched without realizing it. In the meantime, my mana had completely run out.

“…I’m screwed.”

I spat those words out like a dying breath before the girl tackled me.

“Can you go easy on me…?”

“I’ll think about it!”

Damn it all.

After the unexpected chase ended, we were on our way to the city of Alven. As if the commotion from just a moment ago had never happened, the peaceful forest path welcomed us once more. It was a truly healing atmosphere.

“Hmph.”

“Ugh. Agak. Agagak.”

That atmosphere was cut through by the sound of Chae-rin’s sulking nose-sniffing and the girl’s voice as she gnawed on my head.

“…Could you let go now?”

“Ugagagak.”

What is she even saying?

“Chae-rin, please help me out.”

“You brought this on yourself.”

…I have no allies here.

I turned my gaze from Chae-rin, who had snapped her head away, to the chat window.

“…It was worth a try, at least.”

The girl’s speed I’d seen in the preliminaries was only slightly faster than mine. So, if I invested 20 points into Agility and used Rapid Movement, I thought I could reasonably expect to get away. But that wasn’t her top speed? What kind of nonsense is that, damn it.

I let out a sigh filled with frustration and looked up.

“Hey.”

“Ow.”

“What’s your name?”

“Bweh. Hanazono Yuna!”

“How old are you, Yuna?”

“I’m 13!”

“Where are your parents?”

“They’re both dead!”

“….”

Yuna said such a heavy thing with such an innocent face. A small sense of kinship stirred within me at her pure demeanor. I had been an orphan in my past life, too.

I was left at an orphanage in the summer when I was eight. At first, I couldn’t believe the fact that I’d been abandoned. I used to hide in the corner and cry often, hoping they would return someday. But they say people grow. As I became an adult, I was able to accept the truth. And I began to stack up efforts to survive, one by one. From ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠ getting certifications to working part-time jobs, I did everything I could, clinging on with sheer tenacity, and eventually, I even succeeded in getting a job.

After that, I spent some fairly decent days. A life where I could say I was a member of society, even if I hadn’t achieved anything grand. One day, while living a life I was reasonably satisfied with, I got caught in a car accident. And when I came to, I had been reincarnated as an orphan abandoned on the street.

When I realized that fact, I cried until the heavens seemed to shake because it was so unfair. I had worked so hard to live.

Taking that away from me like that was just too much. What did I ever do wrong to deserve this?

‘It’s unfair.’ The more I hung my head and let the tears fall, the deeper that emotion grew. How much effort had I ground into becoming a normal office worker, starting from an orphan with not a single penny to my name? I thought I had finally achieved it, only to die in a car accident, and on top of that, now I was in a position to starve to death on the street?

“…That will never happen.”

My second life, which began that way, was more terrible than I could have imagined. By day, I begged; by night, I rummaged through trash cans. If that didn’t work, I’d try stealing from a random shop. And if I got caught? I’d get beaten to a pulp and end up eating grass. If I survived the day like that, I’d fold my hands under a tent made of rags and offer a prayer.

‘You damn bitch of a Goddess.’

You damn hag, please just go die. ‘…The more I chew on it, the more it pisses me off.’

Thinking about that time, I could still smell the food waste I had to eat back then. They say people grow, but it seems you can’t accept all your memories just because you do. As I opened my mouth to suppress the nausea rising in my throat, a voice spilled out instead of a retch.

“So you’re an orphan.”

“!?”

Chae-rin and the chat room were caught completely off guard by my single remark.

“…Me too.”

And the atmosphere surged even more at the words that followed. I quietly looked up at the top of my head in the frozen silence, seeing a face looking down at me with a blank expression.

“Yuna, I’m not taking any disciples.”

“? Why? You took that sturdy guy as a disciple!”

“That wasn’t taking him as a disciple; it was just a single sparring match.”

“But you gave him teachings. Doesn’t that make him a disciple?”

“Do you just need me to do that much for you?”

“No? I want to be your disciple for a long time!”

“That’s not happening.”

“Whaaaay!”

Yuna expressed her annoyance by tapping on the top of my head. But even so, I couldn’t accept her. It was only natural.

“Because you’re weaker than me.”

“I’m not weak!?”

“Then can you beat me?”

“I can!”

“….”

The conversation continued briefly. I closed my mouth slightly at the strange familiarity I felt in that exchange.

‘When was it…’

…Right, it was when I first met my master on the street. What did my master say back then?

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‘You’re weak, so no.’

‘I’m not weak, though?’

‘Then can you beat me?’

‘…Just wait three years. I’ll be able to beat you.’

‘Pfft! Alright, then!’

“…Shall we make a bet?”

“A bet?”

Yuna stopped her tapping and tilted her head.

“If you can land a hit on me within three minutes during the main tournament, I’ll take you as my disciple. But if you fail, you surrender, and we’ll pretend this conversation never happened. How about it?”

“!? You’re serious this time, right?”

Yuna’s eyes, sparkling as she looked at me, made me recall the past. Hadn’t I had that same look in my eyes back then?

‘Really? You’re not lying, right?’

I had probably said something like that, like someone who had only ever been deceived. What had my master said to me back then?

…I remembered. Clearly.

“Bet your life on it.”

I think that’s what they said.