Having returned to a place like home, Sa-yoon couldn’t help but feel delighted, swinging his sword like a madman without a moment’s rest. Although his movements were filled with madness, the elegantly moving sword left beautiful afterimages in the air. The series of motions, raising the arm that had descended to prevent the trajectory from being interrupted and creating sword energy again, felt as if he were performing a sword dance.
With a single sword energy released, a monster flying through the dust-filled sky, stirred up by Sa-yoon, crashed down, and an A-grade monster charging in vomited blood.
Observing that scene from afar, atop a sand-formed mountain that could be considered relatively safe within this field where danger lurked everywhere, Geon-joo was at a loss for words.
It was overwhelming.
Although it wasn’t the first time he had seen Sa-yoon’s combat, the sight of Sa-yoon unilaterally crushing dozens of monsters like catching mice was impossible to look away from.
Sa-yoon’s figure, dancing with a sword in a state of ecstasy, was artistic yet brutal, resembling a demon-slaying ghost.
They were S-grade monsters, no less.
After slaying an S-grade monster with just a few swings of his sword, he was now displaying a cruelly superior battle against countless A-grade monsters that had swarmed in. Each movement exuded ease, and the smile hanging on his lips proved that fighting against formidable enemies, enough to make one’s hands sweat just by watching, was not difficult but rather enjoyable.
Faced with his formidable power, Geon-joo couldn’t utter a word. He couldn’t sneer or look at him with disdain as usual. He simply marveled in pure admiration and even harbored a hint of reverence within. And he thought,
Perhaps Sa-yoon wasn’t as heartless as he seemed, despite his lack of acknowledgment.
His words about not letting him die were not empty promises; even while facing those numerous monsters alone, he didn’t allow a single one near Geon-joo.
In his own way, Sa-yoon was protecting him. Feeling a peculiar emotion at that realization, Geon-joo captured Sa-yoon’s bold and miraculous movements, as if he were possessed by a god, and every motion in response to the monsters, in his eyes.
“S-grade…”
If he also became an S-grade, could he become as strong as that?
He didn’t know, having never experienced it before. However, judging from Sa-yoon’s words about him, it seemed like there was a possibility.
The possibility of becoming one of the S-grades, numbering no more than a hundred worldwide.
Perhaps, just perhaps, joining the Bam-jwi Guild might have been a stroke of luck, he was thinking at that moment.
Chwa-a-a-ak!
Red blood splattered in all directions. Sa-yoon, who had pulled out the sword embedded in the body of the last monster, shook off the sword and turned his head precisely towards Geon-joo.
As their gazes met, Geon-joo swallowed. Having witnessed the earlier battle, he couldn’t easily say, “Are you crazy?” as before, so he tightly closed his red lips and stared at him. The man, twisting his thin lips crookedly, opened his mouth.
“Pretty boy.”
“Ah.”
Perhaps it was because the atmosphere was different, or maybe Sa-yoon was immersed in killing. However, with a voice that was definitely quieter and colder than usual, Geon-joo unknowingly sighed and swallowed as he watched Sa-yoon walking towards him.
Sa-yoon, moving his feet slowly, smiled quietly. Then, he abruptly threw the sword he was holding.
Hwi-ri-ri-rik.
The sword, spinning once in the air, lodged itself next to where Geon-joo was sitting. Geon-joo blinked his eyes, alternately looking at the sword stuck beside him and Sa-yoon, whose clothes were stained with monster blood.
Taking out a disposable clean potion from his inventory and using it, Sa-yoon smiled with a refreshed face.
“Now, it’s your turn, pretty boy.”
Geon-joo’s thoughts, which had considered that Sa-yoon might not be as heartless as he seemed until just a moment ago, wavered along with his obsidian-colored eyes.
“You want me to do it?”
“Yeah.”
“I’m a B-grade, you know.”
“That’s why I gave you the sword. It’s an SS-grade.”
Sa-yoon pointed his chin at the sword stuck in the ground. Geon-joo, automatically following Sa-yoon’s gaze, stared at the sword deeply embedded in the sand. With the blood of monsters sticking to it, an ominous aura emanated. Although it looked impressive, wielding an SS-grade weapon didn’t suddenly make him an S-grade.
Just like buying an expensive brush doesn’t turn someone who just picked up a brush into a master calligrapher.
Geon-joo, wrinkling the bridge of his nose, narrowed his eyes drowsily. Geon-joo’s gaze passed over Sa-yoon’s shoulder, towards the corpses of the massive monsters that were turning into ashes and disappearing. Seeing the corpses piled up like mountains, he couldn’t help but stick out his tongue.
“Those are also S-grades, aren’t they?”
“So, what’s the problem with that?”
Huh.
Geon-joo exhaled with an exasperated expression. He couldn’t understand Sa-yoon’s nonchalance at all, but Sa-yoon also couldn’t understand Geon-joo, who was dragging on with arguments instead of just standing up and saying he would do it. Both of their faces were filled with displeasure. Even amidst this, the ground was slightly trembling.
Sa-yoon tapped his chin with a thud.
No matter how skilled he was, he had no intention of simply throwing Geon-joo into a place where monsters were swarming. So, he had to teach him intensively while the creatures were temporarily quiet, like now, but his pretty boy was wasting that precious time.
How foolish.
“Pretty boy, pretty boy.”
Calling out to him as if lamenting, Sa-yoon approached Geon-joo, who was still sitting in his spot.
“What does it matter that you’re a B-grade?”
“Then, it doesn’t matter?”
“It doesn’t matter. Is your B-grade rank more important to you than your life?”
“…”
“If you’ve entered the gate, you should think about surviving. How long are you going to hide behind me? If I were you, I would have already realized that this opportunity is golden and rushed in with a sword. Right?”
As he spoke, clicking his tongue, the corners of Geon-joo’s eyes twitched. Sa-yoon pulled out the sword that was buried and threw it to Geon-joo.
The sword flew through the air, and Geon-joo caught it as if hooking it. After showing hesitation, he swallowed a sigh and stood up from his spot.
When learning a sport from a senior, one’s skills improve incomparably faster. It was natural, as there was someone beside you to watch and provide feedback on the correct posture and what you were doing wrong. And it was the same for Awakeners. Everyone was busy getting stronger, but if you received guidance from a senior Awakener, your skills could improve by leaps and bounds.
Sa-yoon, who had offered that opportunity despite being an S-grade himself, turned his head and stretched his stiff body.
“I’m not telling you to try beating an S-grade from the start either. I’ll bring over a suitable opponent for you to handle.”
“Then…”
“Stay there. I’ll catch an appropriate one and bring it over.”
“You’re going to catch one?”
“Yeah.”
As soon as he gave a curt answer, Sa-yoon ran in the opposite direction of where he was looking.
“At least explain properly before you go.”
Geon-joo sent a desolate gaze towards the figure rapidly moving away as if he were a Taoist priest traversing the earth.
Ta-dat!
Sa-yoon personally went to find the horde of monsters enthusiastically running towards him, their feet pounding the ground. It was a faint vibration that Geon-joo couldn’t feel, but to Sa-yoon, whose senses were twice as keen as other S-grade Awakeners, it was ridiculously clear.
Running less than 10 kilometers, the horde of moving monsters came into view. Scanning them quickly, as there seemed to be at least forty of them, Sa-yoon leaped into the center of the horde.
“Ki-e-e-ek!”
“Keu-reu-reu-reuk!”
“Eu-reu-reu…”
The monsters were startled by the sudden intrusion of a human into their procession. Sa-yoon, who leisurely roamed among the monsters rushing at him with various energies, as if he were relaxed, grasped the neck of an A-grade monster.
An A-grade mutant.
Although it was difficult to deal with due to its fast regeneration speed, its size was only human-like, so it didn’t instill much intimidation. If Geon-joo pushed himself a little, he would be able to handle it.
Choosing a suitable target and smiling, Sa-yoon kicked the ground behind him and withdrew from the monster horde. The monsters screeched and fought among themselves as the target suddenly disappeared from their sight. The attacks that failed to hit Sa-yoon were directed at the unfortunate ones.
“They’re having a good time.”
Sa-yoon, who had caused it yet was watching their discord, touched the ground.
Pa-seu-seu-seu.
The cold energy flowing from his hand froze the barren and brutal ground of the ruined world. Blood vessels bulged on the back of his hand. Jjeo-jeo-jeo-jeok! A large ice wall abruptly rose on the frozen ground.
“This should buy enough time until the battle ends.”
A 30-meter-high ice wall to prevent the monsters from entering. Sa-yoon, who had created it, briefly trembled his fingertips after using a large amount of mana at once. Clenching his fist and opening it a few seconds later, a stabilized hand appeared.
Alternately looking at his hand and the ice wall, Sa-yoon, who had swallowed his satisfaction, grasped the mutant’s neck again and casually turned his body. A song, pondering whether to go to the sea or the mountains to catch an S-grade, flowed from his mouth like a humming tune.
Chi-i-ik!
Suddenly, the mutant held by Sa-yoon’s hand wailed pitifully. Only then did Sa-yoon realize that he had been grasping the creature’s neck too tightly, and he loosened his grip with an “oops.”
The mutant, which had given up struggling and was sobbing, became docile. Sa-yoon, patting the monster’s head as a sign of commendation, dashed towards his pretty boy, who would be waiting for him until his neck fell off.
Quickly arriving near Geon-joo, who had been observing the surroundings with an ominous gaze since Sa-yoon disappeared from his sight, Sa-yoon met Geon-joo’s eyes and threw the mutant he had been grasping.
“That guy should be manageable for you, pretty boy!”
“What?”
Pretty boy. Pretty boy, pretty boy.
Geon-joo’s head turned at the sound echoing in all directions. His pupils dilated as he saw the monster flying towards him.