Chapter: 958
I got kicked out.
Suddenly, I was booted out of the tea house barefoot, staring blankly at the building.
“No….”
You’re kicking me out? This is ridiculous.
Bang bang.
“Elder? Elder! Open up! You said you would tell me!”
I knocked hard on the door, but there was no response inside. Clearly, this was a case of guest house arrest.
What’s worse…
Woof-! Boom-!
“Huh!?”
I felt a vibration, and then a shockwave hit my body.
My body floated up and flew far away.
I barely managed to land on the floor and rolled my eyes.
“… This is crap.”
I’m feeling really hot now.
You promised to tell me, and then you do this?
“Won’t you open? If you don’t, I’ll just have to break through!”
I clenched my fists, letting my frustration show.
I summoned strength to my heart.
I was thinking of using the Cheonma Shingong once again.
But…
‘Huh?’
A surge of strength hit me, and a hollow laugh escaped my lips.
The force of friction felt the same, and the imagery surrounding it was still intact.
‘Isn’t this interesting?’
The strength of the magic thread was different—more refined and dense. The power that connected martial arts had become significantly stronger.
Could it be that the length of the magic ring increased? Or maybe I learned something from the turtle.
Either way, I was pleased.
‘The binding power has intensified.’
The flowing power has diminished, which meant that…
‘I can hold onto a stronger friction now.’
If I can grasp that friction, my power increases.
Kkuuk-! My veins stood on end. I felt a force far more potent than what I had felt previously.
If I continued like this, I could very well end up with internal injuries.
Even so…
‘Nice!’
I felt satisfied that I could grow stronger.
As for my body being ruined? Please, I could endure that a hundred times over.
What I couldn’t bear was…
‘Not being able to move forward.’
Staying here and doing nothing? No way.
I had experienced enough in my past life, so this time had to be different.
If there is a path ahead, I won’t stop.
If there’s a way to go, I won’t hesitate to use any means necessary.
Gleeeeeeee—!!!
The wildly spinning ring finally finished its preparations.
Just as I was about to shoot it out…
[If you shoot it this way now, I won’t tell you anything again.]
I froze.
After hearing the turtle’s words, I had no choice but to halt.
It was a sound that echoed straight from inside the tea house.
Upon hearing this, I couldn’t help but respond in disbelief.
“… Are you threatening me?” [Yes, it is a threat.]
“…”
He’s so confident. When someone exudes such confidence, I can hardly retort.
[Choose wisely, for those aren’t empty words.]
“… Tsk…”
After hearing that, I really only had one option left.
Whoaaaaah-!!
I released the energy swelling within me.
This time, as the energy spread through my body, it felt even more intense than before.
A gust of wind whipped around, temporarily sweeping through the area.
I was so taken aback by the force that it was almost hard to believe.
‘… Ha.’
If this was the backlash, I wondered what it would have been like if I had shot it out.
I was sure it would have been far more potent than when I shot at Shin Noya.
Hssuuu…
Hot breath escaped from my mouth.
It was anticipation.
The more I proceeded, the more excitement I felt about the power I was about to unleash.
Why was that?
Why was I so fixated on this power instead of other martial arts?
When pondering the reason, it seemed simple.
‘… I made it.’
Despite merely combining the powers I always possessed, was it the fact that I felt like I achieved something on my own?
I strangely craved this power.
‘… It was the same when I forged the Yeom-ok-seong-chang.’
It felt similar to when I first transformed the Yeom-ok into Yeom-ok-seong-chang.
A power that didn’t originally exist in the Kuga, but one that I had attempted for the first time.
It seemed I had an odd fixation on such things.
So, it’s only natural that it should be like this now.
Phew.
I shook off my hands.
After calming the energy that had been creating friction, I turned away.
“… I’ll take my leave for now. But you must keep your word, all right?”
I addressed the turtle, who I knew was still listening.
If you’re going to teach me witchcraft, you’d better carry it through to the end. That was the underlying message.
[…]
Although there was no answer, I didn’t bother waiting and started moving.
Today, I had just about attained what I sought.
One more ring added.
Honestly, I still didn’t know what this meant.
For now, I figured this would suffice.
*
After exiting the tea house, the next place I headed wasn’t precisely where you might think.
Bang! Bang!
I entered a place filled with hot air and harsh noises.
It was the blacksmith shop I visited last time.
From the entrance, I could feel the heat radiating.
The heat was so intense that even the Gu Flame Wheel Technique spun momentarily to block it.
Bang-!
I walked in, shrugging off the sounds assaulting my ears.
At that moment…
Saaaaaaaaaaaaa.
Emotions poured in from all sides.
The heat remained, but the previously heard sounds suddenly fell silent.
It was so quiet. Feeling that awkwardness, I smirked.
“It doesn’t feel bad to be welcomed.”
With a grin, just then, something flew in with a thud!
I caught the object effortlessly; it was a hammer.
“… You idiot—!!”
A gruff voice erupted from nearby. I nodded and looked towards the sound’s origin. It was the owner of the blacksmith shop from my previous visit.
What was his name? Never mind; I couldn’t recall…
What I did know was that this guy absolutely loathed my presence.
Like, he seriously looked like he wanted to kill me.
“What brings you here!?”
With a clank-clang! he pulled a sword from the wall and charged towards me.
The interior was filled with other dwarves, and their eyes went wide at the spectacle.
What should I do? I merely observed quietly, shifting my feet.
Bam!
“Guh!?”
Crash—!!
He stumbled and lost his balance, toppling to the floor.
The sword he held clattered down next to him.
“Guhhhh…!!”
Despite this, he soon attempted to get back up.
Thud—!
“Ugh!”
I stomped down on his back, pressing him back to the floor.
“Y-You…!!!”
As he hissed in outrage, not just this guy but the surrounding dwarves visibly displayed their emotions and drew their weapons.
“It’s a dragon.”
“That guy! He said he was a dragon!”
“Like, seriously… a dragon….”
I could feel the mix of anger and deep fear in their words and on their faces.
Listening in, I quietly sighed.
“… I was looking to resolve things amicably, but you’ve made that rather difficult.”
Given what I had just experienced, treating him gently felt impossible.
I mixed my voice with the sigh I let out.
Thump—!
[Don’t move.]
–!!!!
At my command, the dwarves froze in place.
The intense fear they’d been harboring became painfully evident.
“… Y-You… Verb…!?”
“… It was really a dragon…!”
The dwarves seemed aware of the term, trembling as they experienced its weight.
“Damn it…!”
“Even coming this far… I can’t afford to get captured.”
“What’s with the Elder…!?”
A voice filled with resentment echoed in my ears.
There seemed to be a profound animosity towards dragons here.
‘Far worse than I expected.’
I anticipated some resistance, but I was taken aback by how severe it was.
While I felt their emotions stirring around me…
‘Hmm?’
Something was wriggling below.
“Guhhhhhh…!!!”
It was the very guy I had just trampled.
“Oh?”
My eyes widened at the sight.
Judging by his gestures and energy, he didn’t seem to be one who trained in martial arts.
He was defying my command.
“Guh… Huuuuuu!!”
His body trembled, veins bulging.
If I left him as is, it seemed his body would genuinely shatter.
So first, I decided to ease the pressure I was exerting.
“Gwaaa–!!!”
Summoning all his strength, he leapt up.
Of course, this was partly thanks to my foot being lifted.
“I’ll kill you…!!”
Whether he was aware of it or not, he snatched the fallen sword and charged at me once more.
“… Hmm.”
At that sight, I scratched my cheek lightly.
Shhhhh!!
While I was in the process of observing, a dark sword soared toward me. I casually watched the clumsy blade coming my way.
I slowly reached out my hand.
Thwack—!
I gripped the blade tightly.
As I did, the dwarf smirked at me.
“You fool…!”
His words were accompanied by a sound from his hand.
Sizzle—!!!
Pain was just a bonus.
I heard the sound of flesh melting, along with the peculiar smell wafting through the air—it must’ve been the same iron from before.
“You’re grabbing a sword? Have you forgotten what happened last time…?”
The dwarf, initially ready to brag, suddenly grimaced.
It seemed he had noticed something was off.
It was only natural.
Sizzle.
Even while my hand was starting to get ruined, I looked at him with an expressionless gaze.
It was painful, but I didn’t care.
The flesh was melting quickly, revealing my bones.
But even so, I continued to stare at him as if nothing was bothering me.
“This… how…?”
“Take it easy, alright? You’re being too rough—it could lead to an early death.”
“…”
At my words, the little guy’s eyes flickered with uncertainty.
I didn’t loosen my grip on him, staring directly into his eyes. Even then, my hand was still burning away, but it didn’t matter.
“I came here because I wanted to ask you something.”
I questioned him.
“Do you know anything about solvents too?”
“…!!”
His body shook violently.
By his reaction, it was clear he knew something about it.
And it felt very negative.
“You…! Just as I thought, you’re with that guy…!”
“Oh, don’t get it twisted.”
I suspected he was about to misinterpret things, so I interjected quickly.
“I’m not on his side.”
“What…?”
“To be specific….”
Sigh. I released the sword from my grip.
Thud! As I did, blood and bits of flesh tumbled from my palm.
“Somehow, I need to kill that guy.”
“…What?”
At my statement, the dwarf’s eyes went wide as saucers.
I chuckled at the sight.
“So… want to have a little chat with me?”
Though the tiny old man’s eyes trembled wildly, the sword did not fly back at me.
That was a relief.
If it did one more time, I would’ve just yanked his arm off and demanded a conversation.
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