novelraw Chapter 144 : Chapter 144
Chapter 144 : Chapter 144
Chapter 144 - Pangaea (10)
What Deli proposed was a one-second match.
Frankly, it was a bit laughable.
Even if she was one of the most renowned mages in all of Pangaea, she would be far below a dragon.
Furthermore, considering the Holy Sword’s magic resistance, there would be nothing Deli could do to me.
“Shall we start right away?”
“As you wish.”
She seemed to think the same as me, her eyes brimming with confidence.
The fact that she, a mage, was continuing to allow me, a swordsman, this much distance was a display of that confidence.
I decided to wait for the time being.
My plan was to defend against her one-second attack and then immediately subdue her.
Deli grinned.
The magic was cast.
At that moment, she must have been thinking of her victory.
Her common sense would dictate that there was nothing a swordsman could do in a situation where they had given a mage the timing.
A palm-sized area. Through that narrow space in the air, a blade-like wind whipped toward me.
Her target was my solar plexus.
I was initially surprised.
Because it was by no means an easy feat to control the space of magic activation so perfectly.
If I were to translate it into swordsmanship, it was a level of mastery where one could unleash Sword Qi only on the enemy forces in a situation where countless allies and enemies were packed together.
But that was as far as it went.
Swaaaaak!
The blade of wind was extinguished by the sword path created by the Holy Sword Bastian. And then.
Seogeok!
The extended sword blade cut off a part of Deli’s long hair.
The severed hair scattered and flew away in the wind.
Deli’s smiling lips trembled.
“Let's stop here.”
I retrieved the Holy Sword Bastian.
“We agreed to decide the match in one second.”
Deli exhaled a breath she had been holding in and said.
“……You, what is your identity?”
“I told you. An explorer.”
“I’ve never even heard of an explorer like this.”
“You may not have heard, but you’ve seen one in person now, haven’t you?”
“It's a bit much for me to say this myself, but my magic is easily in the top five in the entire empire. And yet, I just lost!”
“Then let's just say I'm an explorer who fits in one finger.”
“Cut the crap. There are no explorers like this in the world.”
“There is one right here, so you can go now.”
“So you’re never going to tell me your identity?”
“Aren't you a famous mage? Figure it out with your skills.”
“I was planning to.”
As she said that, she fiddled with her cut hair.
“Why are you still here?”
“Didn't I say I would teach you a spell if I lost?”
“Ah, that’s okay.”
I still had a long way to go in swordsmanship, so I thought there was no reason to dabble in magic as well.
Also, if I really wanted to learn magic, I would have asked Rosie.
Whether she would listen was a separate issue, though.
“I didn't mishear you, did I? You said it’s okay?”
“Magic is outside my interests.”
At my words, Deli looked at me as if I were crazy.
It seemed that magic was as precious here in Pangaea as it was in Kalia, but I had no intention of learning something just because it was rare if I wasn't drawn to it.
It would be more beneficial to spend that time immersing myself in the old book I had newly acquired.
***
‘Deli might be right.’
That the author of this book was a dragon.
The more I read, the more certain I became.
The thought that a human with a finite life could not reach such a profound level.
This book did not contain a single sword form, but it made me realize the infinitude of swordsmanship.
It became my task to fill the blanks intentionally left by the author, and the ultimate state of the sword would be when I could fill these blanks in the most ideal way.
For now, the priority was to imprint the movements from this book into my mind.
My friend, there is no need to feel too burdened. Because I am here!
I was not the only one engrossed in the book.
The Holy Sword was also showing great interest.
“Reassuring.”
Of course, I couldn't completely entrust it to the Holy Sword.
There was bound to be a difference between what my own head and eyes remembered directly and what was passed down secondhand from the Holy Sword Bastian.
I went out into the garden and spent my time intensely, swinging my sword again and again.
It had been a long time since I had such fresh stimulation, so it was a very enjoyable time.
Elsewhere, Yoon Joo-hee and Ramel were also engrossed in their sword training.
As the difference in their levels was stark, Yoon Joo-hee often instructed Ramel, but nevertheless, the two were good partners for each other.
The questions Ramel asked from a beginner's perspective gave Yoon Joo-hee an opportunity to look at swordsmanship from a new perspective.
“Um, Unit Leader. I'm sorry, but Ramel has asked a difficult question. This is something I hadn't even thought of….”
One troublesome thing was that the questions would eventually come to me.
Every time I gave an answer, the two of them would have sparkling eyes.
“Nuna! I’m so jealous!”
“Of what?”
“Nuna, you can learn swordsmanship from sir anytime.”
Ramel’s titles were a bit unique.
Yoon Joo-hee was nuna, and I was sir.
Even after telling him we were the same age, this title did not change.
“That’s true, but this is the first time for me to ask the Unit Leader so many questions like this.”
“Why? Don’t you improve your skills by asking right away when you don’t know something?”
“Th-that’s….”
Seeing her glance at me, I could tell the reason.
“Am I difficult to approach?”
“N-no, sir.”
“If you have questions in the future, don't hesitate to ask. I'm not a difficult type to deal with, am I?”
Yoon Joo-hee couldn’t answer right away.
For the first time, I began to think that my own perception might have been wrong.
***
Count Berwood brought me some good news.
“You there. Did you say there was someone you needed to meet in the Jerome Knights?”
“Yes.”
“You would have made a wasted trip if you had gone there. I've just come from hearing news about the Jerome Knights.”
“Have the knights perhaps left the Imperial Palace?”
The Count nodded.
“They left for training a while ago, I heard. But don't worry too much. They have a schedule to move to the Medar region in two days.”
“The Medar region?”
“Yes. It's a place about two hours from here by carriage.”
I raised the corner of my mouth slightly.
It wasn't just the fact that the physical distance had become closer that was good.
If the Jerome Knights were staying in the Imperial Palace, meeting the princess would not have been easy.
But since they were out for training, it had become a much simpler matter.
“Then I think I will leave this place in two days.”
“I expected you to say that. Then, after you've finished your business, do you have any intention of coming back here?”
“I cannot give you a definite answer.”
“A pity. It would be nice if you could join us in opening the ‘new world’.”
The Count was preparing to go to the new world that was said to exist somewhere in the vast sea.
That was precisely why the mage Deli was staying at the Count's house.
It would be nice if I could join them as well, but I must not forget the reason I came to Pangaea.
To meet the dragon researcher through the 3rd Princess, Clera Erendina.
‘Was it Lord Jenolf?’
I didn't know how much he knew about the clues regarding dragons, but if I could obtain even one piece of the puzzle, that would be enough.
And the same went for my meeting with Deli tonight.
“By the way, who is the person you are meeting in the Jerome Knights?”
“You’re only asking that now.”
“I’m trying to find out to maintain a connection with you. If you leave here in two days, you might never seek me out again.”
A connection.
It would be a useless endeavor anyway, but I decided to tell him.
Since I had also received a gift from the Count.
“I intend to meet the 3rd Princess.”
“What? Who are you meeting?”
The Count, who had not expected it at all, showed a surprised expression.
“You. Did you have connections with the Imperial Family as well?”
“Not exactly. It’s just that I have a small personal connection with the 3rd Princess.”
“I didn't believe you when you said you were a wandering explorer, but you really are a mysterious person.”
“I'm telling you this so you don't waste your efforts, but even if you investigate me, you won't find anything.”
Seeing the Count’s flustered expression, it seemed he had already started.
I simply smiled slightly.
***
In the dead of night, when everyone was asleep.
I was still engrossed in reading a single book.
The more I looked at it, the more new and surprising it was.
How could it express the subtleties of swordsmanship in such an amazing way without containing a single sword form? I wondered.
At first, I thought the author of this book was a genius who was very close to my level of swordsmanship.
But as I read it a second and third time, that thought changed.
A being on the same level as me, something I had never seen before in my life.
At least in swordsmanship, I had never once thought that there could be a being who could be placed on the same line as me, so the fact that I had this thought itself was a very surprising thing.
But in reality, that wasn't the end of it.
‘Perhaps half a step above me.’
This was the conclusion I came to as I closed the last page of the book today.
Surprisingly, my pride was not hurt at all.
I had no choice but to admit it cleanly.
That there was a being who had reached a higher level of swordsmanship than me.
I even felt a sense of thrill.
Come to think of it, dragons are truly cheat-like creatures by their very existence.
Born with immense magical power from birth, a mental level that ordinary humans can by no means reach.
Above all, the absurd thing is a lifespan that approaches nearly ten thousand years.
If there was a dragon crazy about swordsmanship, it would be precisely for this reason that it could see the pinnacle of the sword.
In any case, it was a great fortune that I came across this book.
At that moment, I felt a presence from outside the villa where I was staying.
‘It’s Deli.’
Two nights ago, I had only noticed after she had entered the villa, but now I could easily recognize her presence because I had become accustomed to her unique way of operating mana.
The locked door of the villa was unlocked futilely, and her footsteps became louder.
Knock, knock!
A neat knocking sound.
And then she revealed herself.
“I'm here.”
“You're later than I thought.”
“I thought that might make you anxious.”
A typical psycho-like idea.
“You looked more anxious when we ran into each other.”
“Tsk! You saw that, didn't you. Anyway, meeting in your room like this late at night feels different, don't you think?”
“It's late, so let's start the trade right away.”
“That's so mean.”
When I cut her off, telling her to stop with the nonsense, she pouted her lips slightly.
“But on the other hand, I'm glad. It means you haven't changed your mind. By the way, did you really master that book in two days? I don't know what it's about, but if a dragon wrote it, it must be profound.”
“You don't need to know that. You go first. Tell me everything you know about the dragons' whereabouts.”
What would come out of her mouth?
It was true that I was also a little anxious.