novelraw Chapter 73 : Chapter 73
Chapter 73 : Chapter 73
Chapter 73: Son of the Sword Emperor (1)
I entered the sauna.
Before reaching the bath, a spacious area that doubled as a changing room and a lounge caught my eye first.
The ceiling and walls were made of translucent panels, displaying natural landscapes and scenery like waterfalls in real-time.
A large screen was installed on one side, playing a live performance of a popular idol group.
Next to it, state-of-the-art massage chairs were lined up, and users were sitting on them, dozing off with towels covering them.
Some were enjoying games on the chairs; holograms floated in front of their eyes, and no controllers were visible.
They were likely controlling them directly via brainwaves.
‘……I can’t get used to this.’
It was too luxurious and too high-tech to be called a bathhouse changing room.
Even the lockers used an automatic recognition system; no key was needed, and the personal lock would unlock when a palm was placed against it.
For those with magic power, it seemed the lock would release just by approaching, as it recognized their magic power pattern.
Strangely, I felt most strongly that I had come to a different world when a familiar space like this looked so awkward, even more so than when cadets were blasting superpowers around each other.
My brief appreciation was cut short as I approached a locker to undress before entering the bath.
‘Wait, what do I do about this?’
I faced an unexpected difficulty.
The gloves on my hands.
They were the anti-curse artifacts embroidered with a circular pattern of chain links that Kang Mooseong had given me.
Items with the efficacy of suppressing curses. I usually wore them without thinking, but entering the sauna with them on?
‘……This is a bit.’
It was strange no matter how I looked at it.
Entering a bath while wearing gloves.
First of all, it was out hygienically.
Furthermore, it was obvious that everyone who saw me would wonder, ‘What is up with him?’ and spark unnecessary curiosity.
Needless attention often leads to unnecessary incidents.
I took off the gloves.
“……!”
The reaction came immediately.
The energy hiding inside my body, Pain, began to flow strongly, squirming as if it had been waiting.
‘Damn it.’
As the suppressed power was liberated, I felt as if pressure were leaking out from the inside.
The energy squirmed that roughly.
The discomfort was intense enough to pierce through the top of my head and fly into the sky.
I somehow suppressed it.
If I let it go berserk on its own, a heart attack season 2 might occur.
‘Can’t I get something like a bracelet or necklace accessory?’
The price of products with anti-curse options skyrocketed indefinitely.
Even these gloves Kang Mooseong gave me were actually precious items that were hard to put a price on.
The highest grade anti-curse artifacts could reach hundreds of millions of won, so it was truly worthy of being called a splurging of money.
So, if I wanted to obtain an anti-curse item, the money problem had to be solved first.
‘It’s not like there are no methods at all, but.’
Anyway, I decided to enter the sauna without gloves.
Perhaps because I had used and discharged Pain during the Olle Trail race, it began to calm down sooner than expected.
In any case, getting close to this squirming power was also a task I had to handle.
Use the power. And endure it. As much as you endure, we become stronger.
That sentence I faced in my inner world grazed my mind.
‘That’s all good, but I really want to punch that guy in the face.’
I quietly focused the flow on my middle finger.
If that clone guy could feel this, I hoped the signal of ‘eat shit’ would be conveyed.
My middle finger turned black.
It became pitch black without any gloss, as if a shadow had been cast over it.
If it looked like this to others too, I would have to use it carefully, covering it with clothes, gloves, or a suit.
When I touched it slightly, the finger had become as hard as iron.
I thought I could even use this when blocking attacks.
Then, as a test, I flicked the locker door in front of me with my finger.
CRASH-!
A sound like a firecracker exploding rang out.
The door couldn't withstand it and was crushed and crumpled right there.
‘……Huh?’
I hurriedly deactivated Pain.
Cold sweat formed.
Perhaps because the flow of Pain became much stronger after taking off the gloves, more power than intended was imbued into it.
What if I had wrapped this around my whole body?
Just imagining it was terrible.
It wouldn't be strange if total body paralysis occurred.
And apart from that.
“Wh-what was that just now?”
“I think that student broke the locker.”
“I thought a bomb went off.”
“Isn’t he from our academy?”
“Hey, hey, pretend you don’t know. Pretend you didn’t see.”
Whispers spread from all directions.
Damn it.
As Do Haru said before coming here, “Our Zero kids. They are nuisances in various ways.” I had become the guy in charge of one of those ‘various nuisances’.
***
SPLASH-
After getting on my knees and offering a tearful apology to the flustered staff member who came running, I was fortunately able to enter the bath without being kicked out.
Upon hearing that I failed to control my strength for a moment, the employee just sighed and said, “I see…….”
There must have been a few others besides me.
People who broke lockers or other facilities.
It was fortunate for me that repair and restoration technology was developed, so the locker door was repaired in an instant.
The restoration cost was a separate matter, though.
They said they wouldn't collect it right now but would bill me later.
‘I don’t have money.’
Basic living at the academy was free.
Since I had lived a life of minimum subsistence eating ramen for three meals a day before admission, just that much made every day satisfying, so I didn't particularly feel the need for money.
But that was the story until now.
‘I should start earning soon.’
There could be emergency situations like now, and furthermore, there might be cases where I need to buy necessary items or artifacts with money.
‘If I become an adult, I could go to a casino and sweep up money.’
Since I have the ‘Eye of Deception’, I am confident I can win at poker or whatever.
But my age right now is seventeen. As a minor, entry to casinos is naturally prohibited.
Even if it were possible, gambling activities are strictly restricted for Zero Academy cadets due to the duty of maintaining dignity.
As much as I think it’s the stage where I could utilize my ability the best, it is regrettable.
‘Well, even if it’s not a place like that, there are plenty of ways to make money.’
I have my own plans.
Anyway, right now is for rest.
Meanwhile, the middle finger of my right hand that broke the locker had turned pale white and lost sensation.
When I pressed it firmly, it was mushier than usual.
It seemed to be a structure where it became vulnerable for a certain period the moment I deactivated it, in exchange for becoming temporarily stronger and harder.
Should I consider it a concept of borrowing strength in advance?
The bath filled with steam, blurring my vision.
From somewhere, the HISS sound of water being poured on stones spread, and hot heat pushed all the way into my lungs.
Even amidst that, the energy squirming inside my body didn't disappear.
An anxiety that it would spread out whenever there was a gap, like the water vapor in the bath.
Just as I was taking that precarious rest alone.
“You certainly have a knack for attracting attention.”
A familiar voice was directed at me.
“Lee Junhyeok.”
When I called his name, Lee Junhyeok, wrapped in a towel, walked into the bath.
Parting the water and taking a seat next to me, he let out a big breath as if refreshed.
“Whew- this is good. Is your body okay? I was worried because you suddenly collapsed.”
“I got better thanks to that. I heard you moved me? Thanks.”
“I just did what naturally had to be done. There’s no need to hear words of gratitude.”
He waved his hand lightly, then asked with his eyes shining with curiosity.
“By the way, what happened with the locker?”
A guy who asks straightforwardly.
Indeed, I would be curious too.
Starting off by breaking a locker upon coming to the sauna.
If someone saw it, they might wonder if ‘King’ Ray Jamez, whom we saw at the airport, had come here.
Because a strength character of that level sometimes breaks surrounding objects ‘by mistake’ without even realizing it.
“……I broke it by mistake.”
And the excuse I had to spit out was ultimately a mistake too.
I couldn't say I broke it because it was stronger than I thought while testing my power by wrapping Pain around it.
“Hoh- to break it by mistake, was it on the side of unable to control your strength?”
“Rather than that, shall we say it was close to an accident. Can’t we just talk about something else?”
“Something else? Sure, that’s fine.”
Seeing me embarrassed, Lee Junhyeok laughed heartily and spoke.
“I also don’t want to keep talking about something the other person is uncomfortable with.”
“Thanks…….”
Silence flowed for a moment amidst the hot steam.
Lee Junhyeok spread his arms wide and soaked his body, then looked up at the ceiling and asked.
“How did you come to wield the sword?”
“The sword?”
He opened the conversation with the question of how I came to wield the sword and continued.
“I heard you haven’t awakened yet. Then usually, people choose more long-range automated weapons. Like guns, or sometimes using modified heavy armored cannons.”
It wasn't wrong.
In fact, most Non-Awakened heroes were active while relying on equipment.
Even if physical abilities roughly matched Awakened ones through extreme physical training, spells utilizing magic power and superpowers were like an unbridgeable wall.
To do that, firearms are more advantageous than cold weapons.
Actually, I also often think it might have been better if I used a gun or something.
Since a sword requires me to dig in close, the risk is too high.
I even have evasion ability as a basic passive, so just sniping from afar. How good would that be?
But what was given to me was a sword.
If I use other weapons, I feel it intuitively. This weapon doesn't fit me.
Actually, I learned one of the skills of Instructor Miyu, who uses guns, through [Past Exam Analysis].
But the firepower was ridiculously lacking compared to the original.
Because absolute proficiency was lacking, I couldn't properly draw out even a part of the potential the skill possessed.
Not to mention purely magic-type spells.
Since only skills related to the sword activate properly in the end, I have no choice but to accept it and use the sword.
“It’s cool.”
And my position, where I couldn't explain that in detail, holds my conversational skills back today as well.
Even though I am using the sword for a rational reason, I have no choice but to give an answer that sounds like something a teenager with chunibyo would say.
“Because it’s cool?”
Kuhahaha! Lee Junhyeok burst into laughter that rang out loudly.
Until an employee approached and gave him a slight warning.
“That’s a really cool reason. I agree. There’s nothing as cool as a sword.”
Lee Junhyeok seemed satisfied with my answer.
Indeed, since he is a guy who was born as the son of the Sword Emperor and walked only the path of the sword, it would be natural.
“There wasn't any particular intention behind the question. I was purely curious. About what kind of mindset everyone holds when wielding a sword. The reason of coolness was the best I’ve heard. Most of the time, the explanations get long.”
Lee Junhyeok’s eyes deepened as if recalling my answer.
His gaze flowed down along the ripples for a moment, then quickly returned to a smile feigning calmness.
And I know what he is hiding.
I also know what kind of worry he has.
Lee Junhyeok, the son of the Sword Emperor.
Everyone placed a sword in his hand as if it were natural.
And that soon became Lee Junhyeok’s trouble.
In fact, his true talent did not lie in the ‘sword’.