< Chapter 109: This is Not It (1) >

 

“Next. Kang Seo-yul. Come to the position.”

“Yes.”

I had risen from my seat at the instructor’s call and headed toward the archery range.

“What’s the training level you want?”

“I’d like level 10, please.”

At my words, the archery instructor’s eyes had slightly widened.

“That’s the highest difficulty. You’re quite confident.”

“Of course.”

This training didn’t require much in terms of stats; it was all about skill. I had no reason not to be confident.

The training was called ‘Clay Shooting’. The goal was simple: accurately hit targets flying from all directions.

“Then we’ll start in 10 seconds. Focus on the screen’s countdown.”

The instructor had completed the setup and subtly stepped back. At the same time, a countdown had appeared in mid-air.

[10]

I had taken a deep breath and gently held my bow. Although it was said to be a simple training, level 10 made things a bit different.

The flying targets themselves had moved faster and followed various trajectories. Moreover, the number of targets had increased, and the time between each arrow shot had reduced.

Typically, clearing level 5 would earn you the title of a promising archer. Even Jia had struggled at level 8.

[4, 3, 2]

To me, of course, those limits were irrelevant. I had many archery-related skills after all.

I had drawn the bowstring and aimed.

[1, 0]

[Start!]

I had released the bowstring the moment it started.

Swoosh!

With the sound of the arrow cutting through the air.

Clang!

The sound of the reinforced glass target shattering echoed.

Without a moment’s pause, the next target had flown into the sky. The speed of the target’s launch was so fast, it almost seemed like two targets had flown at the same time. I quickly notched two arrows on my bowstring.

And released them.

Clang, Clang!

The sound of both targets being destroyed had resonated.

“Wow!”

“Amazing!”

Exclamations had poured out from the surroundings. I hadn’t paid them any mind, focusing on the next shot instead.

“Insane!”

“Now there are three!”

This time, three targets had flown into the sky. It was not just a matter of speed; they were launched almost simultaneously.

To make it worse, they had twisted in the air like snakes. It was as if I was watching the ferocious attack of a cobra.

“No way he can hit those, even if he’s Kang Seo-yul.”

“Exactly.”

I had smirked at those words.

Guardian of the Bow.

Arrow of the Wind.

Master of Weapons.

It was time to show just how broken a collaboration of these god-tier traits could be.

I had notched three arrows on my bowstring.

And shot them.

My arrows, as if each possessed its own will, had weaved through the sky.

Clang, Clang, Clang!

And precisely hit each target.

Immediately, the next set of targets had been launched. This time, there were four.

“Wow.”

As far as I knew, there had never been a four-target launch at level 10. I glanced at the smiling archery instructor. So you want to test my limits?

I had smirked. This was getting personal.

I had notched four arrows, each infused with a subtle breeze. Between the light of magical blue energy, a tiny playful wind had seemed to smirk.

I had released the bowstring.

Swoooosh!

My arrows, as if guided by individual wills, had soared towards each target.

Swift as a snake, or fast as a hawk. My arrows had pierced the air precisely.

Ka-Clang!

And shattered all four targets simultaneously.

“That’s it! Kang Seo-yul’s archery specialization training evaluation: S!”

The next moment, a wave of enthusiastic applause erupted.

* * *

Lunchtime.

“Isn’t Kang Seo-yul really in top form these days?”

“Didn’t he rise to 13th place this week?”

“Yeah, remember how the one who was in 32nd place used a challenge and got destroyed?”

Recently, I often heard such conversations. Isn’t it common to avoid talking about someone who is the subject of rumors when they’re in the same classroom?

“Ha, I’m really jealous.”

“I heard his physical stats all went up to C rank this time.”

“Ha, if I knew Kang Seo-yul’s stock would soar like this, I would’ve gotten on board earlier.”

“Yeah, your face is in the top 60%.”

“…Could you tone down the facts?”

Hearing such high praise was enough to make even me feel awkward.

I subtly lowered my head. It was uncomfortable.

“Seo-yul, let’s go eat.”

“Si-yeon packed a lunch.”

Jia and Si-yeon approached with smiles. The timing was perfect; I had already been feeling uncomfortable being here.

“Why are you in such a hurry? Are you hungry?”

Ha Si-yeon, who was following me, shook her head.

“Ugh. Are you hungry, then shall we run?”

Jia’s gaze was intimidating.

If I nodded, it looked like she would pick me up and run off right away.

“No, it’s fine.”

“Ah-ha.”

Jia quickly returned to her usual gentle expression.

I was so scared that I couldn’t speak.

“Ah, I see. Seo-yul, you look flushed. You must’ve felt awkward hearing those compliments earlier, huh?”

Ha Si-yeon grinned with a cunning expression. It was unlike Ha Si-yeon, who usually wasn’t this sharp, to make such a keen observation.

“No, that’s not it.”

Feeling that Ha Si-yeon had read my inner thoughts, my pride made me impulsively deny it.

“Really?”

Her eyebrows slightly rose.

She had a confident expression. I was about to retort when Jia interjected.

“Do you think our ancestor would be affected by such trivial talk?”

Jia took the lead.

“Um… Really?”

“Of course. We’re talking about the descendant of a great hero. Why would they be bothered by adulation!”

Jia’s eyes seemed to be filled with the words ‘reverence’ and ‘respect.’

“Then why did you leave in such a hurry?”

“I’m not sure, but there must be a reason we can’t even imagine.”

There was none.

“Right?”

“Huh? Oh, of course.”

Jia looked at me with eyes filled with admiration. Guilt made me avert my gaze.

We soon arrived at the grassy area where we usually ate lunch.

“By the way, Seo-yul, your growth rate has been incredibly fast lately, hasn’t it?”

“Me?”

“Yes.”

As Ha Si-yeon laid down the picnic mat on the grass, she casually broached the subject.

“Isn’t it too fast, going from F-rank to C-rank in just three months?”

“Um…”

Ha Si-yeon looked at me with a worried expression.

“I’m glad the seal improvement is going smoothly, but I worry that those demons or ‘factions’ might catch wind of it.”

From Ha Si-yeon’s perspective, it was a valid concern. Jia and Si-yeon thought my growth was due to the improvement of my seal, and regaining my original abilities.

“Do you think our ancestor would make such a simple mistake?”

Jia retorted with a fanatic gaze.

“I do think it’s probably an unnecessary worry, but there’s no guarantee in life. What if something like that… disaster-level gate, was it called a vaccine? If something like that appears, it’d be a huge problem.”

Jia’s expression became serious as well, probably recalling the time when the vaccine program appeared.

“It’s fine.”

I reassured them both.

“There’s absolutely no way the demons or factions will catch onto me and act hastily.”

Their appearance is a matter of the far future.

They haven’t even been unsealed yet, how would they come into the picture?

To begin with, the idea that I would be caught by enemies’ surveillance the moment my seal was broken is an absolute lie. What is there to worry about?

As long as the tattoo on my body doesn’t turn black, or I don’t wear multiple attribute-restriction devices, there’s no reason for the vaccine program to appear.

So, I can say with certainty.

The sort of thing Ha Si-yeon worries about won’t happen!

“So stop worrying and focus on your training.”

Only then can you stand by my side and deal with those demonic beings later on.

I smirked.

* * *

Saturday Lunch.

I had been practicing magic in the living room with Princess Rena.

“….”

“Princess?”

Rena quickly turned her head away from me. Her lips protruded in a manner that anyone could tell she was annoyed.

“Don’t talk to me. I don’t want to speak with you.”

Had I startled her too much?

I replayed the words I had spoken a moment before.

‘Eh, this is easy!’

‘This one too, isn’t it?’

‘If my magic power were a little higher, I would catch up to your level in no time!’

‘Is it one of these two? Either you’re not a genius or I’m not just a genius but a super-genius. Haha!’

‘Come on, Princess, show me something challenging, will you? I don’t have time for jokes!’

Hmm. Maybe I had gone too far.

“Um, Princess. I was wrong. Forgive me just this once.”

“Hmph. Why would I associate with a ‘super’ genius like you? Ignore me.”

Wow, she was really annoyed. I had to reflect on myself. I had gotten too excited.

After successfully using ‘Fire Arrow’ for the first time, my learning pace accelerated. I had mastered double casting, then triple casting, and even memorization in just a day.

This had stirred the Princess’s competitive spirit and pride.

From that day on, she had been teaching me every difficult spell she knew, every night.

‘Try this!’

‘This one will be difficult!’

‘This one took me a whole month!’

And I had been absorbing these spells like a sponge.

‘Don’t you think this is a better approach, Princess?’

‘I can’t demonstrate it due to low magic power, but this seems more efficient.’

I even made some improvements. Until this point, everything had been fine.

‘Oh, you’re doing pretty well, even if not as good as me!’

‘Ah, I remembered! Actually, I could use this spell in just 5 minutes!’

‘That improved spell is actually the original! You’ve barely passed my test! Well done!’

The little Princess’s reactions were so amusing that I had inadvertently crossed a line.

It was then that Princess Rena exclaimed something in Korean.

“Daddy, I really like it!”

I had to hold back my laughter. That would have been cheating at this point.

“Did you just laugh?”

“No, it’s just heartbreaking to hear that from you.”

“Hmph. You can be more heartbroken.”

The Korean words that Princess Rena just uttered, ‘Daddy, I really like it!’ were words I taught her half-jokingly.

‘Dad’ meant ‘bad guy.’

‘Really’ meant ‘really.’

‘Like it!’ meant ‘hate it!’

To sum it up, what Rena just said to me was ‘Bad guy! I really hate you!’

But if I think about it, won’t she be even more annoyed if she finds out later?

“Anyway, Princess. I was really wrong. I won’t do it again, okay?”

Well, it will work out somehow. The important thing was to resolve the current situation. I had been desperately trying to cheer up Rena.

“Master! Please teach your humble disciple!”

“…Master?”

And finally, a reaction appeared.

“Are you calling me Master?”

“Of course! You’re the genius Master who taught me magic! Without you, I would be nothing!”

“Ho, ho ho.”

The corners of her mouth had twitched for a moment.

It seemed her mood had lightened a bit.

“Good. Let’s go with this approach.”

“Isn’t it a virtue for a master to generously forgive a disciple’s mistakes? Isn’t that so?”

“Hmm. You’re not wrong.”

The princess had given a faint smile and nodded her head.

Then she looked at me and cleared her throat with a stern expression.

“Ahem. Fine. I’ll forgive you this time.”

A proud smile was a bonus.

Her face seemed to say, ‘Look how magnanimous I am…so cool…’

…Ah, I wanted to tease her.

But I couldn’t.

If I teased her now, her pout stack would explode.

I had to endure it.

I had fervently suppressed my desire.

“So Master, what magic will you teach me today?”

Considering what had happened so far, I should cater to our little princess’ mood today.

“Hmm. Today, we’ll move on to the advanced stages of fire magic.”

The princess seemed instantly pleased and grinned widely.

“The primordial magic you possess is fire.’

Primordial magic refers to the inherent magical attribute that other races were born with.

“You can also use other elemental magic with effort, but they are naturally weaker. You remember that, right?”

“Of course.”

Truth be told, what I had was not primordial magic, but the Engrave of Flame. It felt similar, so I decided to leave it as is.

“Your talent is quite exceptional, allowing you to handle three elements, but they’re ultimately side dishes to fire.”

Currently, I can handle fire, wind, and lightning.

Fire was the Elemental Flame.

Wind was the Blade of Wind and the Path of Wind.

Lightning was Divine Punishment.

I had used all of them before, making it easier to use again.

“So, you should focus on fire magic for now…”

That was when it happened.

“Little one~ Are you alive?”

“Hey, why aren’t you answering the phone, and you didn’t come out even when I rang the doorbell, so I was worr—…huh?”

The front door opened, and two women entered.

“…”

“…”

“…”

Silence fell.

Why were Yu Hwa and Maiden here now?

Ah, right. Maiden had the spare key to this house.

She said it was for emergencies.

Why didn’t I hear the doorbell and the phone?

“Princess, did you put up a sound-proofing spell?”

“Hmm. Goldie and White Tiger were sleeping soundly, so yes. Why?’

…I see.

I facepalmed.

“I didn’t buy this house for you to do this, you know.”

“Seo-yul…”

Was it my imagination?

The eyes of both women seemed filled with disappointment.

Did I not like that look?

Lena spoke with a furrowed brow.

“Dad! Really! Hate!”

She used the only Korean swear word (which I had taught her as a different term) she knew on Yu Hwa and Maiden.

“Hey, you—!”

My eyes widened.

Was she really using that word now?

“Seo-yul?”

“Little one?”

The gazes of the two women grew colder.

Who had said it?

What goes around comes around.

“…”

It had come around.

< Chapter 109: This is Not It (1) > End.