“Technique Name Modification! Change the name of the technique! Rename Dakia-style Secrets!”
No way.
I can’t just slap a cringy name on the awesome secret technique I first realized.
Iron Blood, what was it again? Something like “No Mercy Slash?”
“…Iron Blood Storm Slash.”
“Yeah, that. It’s a bit long though.”
Before I knew it, Mi Jeong had come closer, shrugging her shoulders.
I resigned myself to the fact that I couldn’t change the name I’d chosen.
I ruffled Mi Jeong’s hair roughly.
After all, it’s a name that only I will see.
It doesn’t really matter since it won’t be shown to others.
But why do all the names like Longinus’ Spear seem to be infested with middle school syndrome…?
“Yoo, no. My Lord Michael Jackson. I sincerely thank you for saving Warrior Rex…”
At that moment, Mia bowed her head in front of me.
Afraid Rex might hear, she used a pseudonym, but her voice carried genuine emotion.
Grrk, cough, grruuh…
Rex is alive.
To be honest, I had intended to kill him when I unleashed the Iron Blood… whatever.
But maybe because I just gained enlightenment, the strength of my sword aura wasn’t very strong, so I only inflicted minor wounds on Rex instead of a fatal blow.
Of course, it wasn’t a fatal wound that would kill him instantly.
Countless muscles, ligaments, and nerves got smashed in an instant.
Rex, with mental strength enough to burn away his own lifespan, must have experienced excruciating pain, and without proper aftercare, he would have bled to death.
Thank goodness there was a healer on standby right next to us.
‘No, maybe it’s not a good thing.’
That guy probably felt more at ease dying.
Now that he won the duel, he probably had to swear before the World Tree to not harm Yulia.
But his desire to kill Transylvania still lingers.
I never cared much for Transylvania’s life, but thinking that my benefactor, who helped me realize my technique, might die at the hands of a mad elf feels a bit uncomfortable.
‘Well, it’s the one being affected that’s the idiot.’
After all, my technique is just a fake.
I tried to copy Transylvania’s, but in the end, it came out a little differently.
Transylvania, who knows how to use the original, would probably defeat Rex much easier than I could.
Truly, worrying about Transylvania is the most useless concern in the world.
“The price of the duel will be collected slowly. For now, shall we head out?”
“Yeah, sounds good.”
With Rex in that state, it was pointless to collect his oath right away.
I was getting tired of the rancid smell of blood, so I took Mia and Mi Jeong and left.
“Hey, human…!”
Just then, as if waiting for us,
A bright light burst from outside the tunnel, and a pale-faced Blood Ghoul with long black hair came charging at me.
I thought they were greeting me.
“What have you done to my body?!”
“Hey! Hey! Get those fangs away!”
“Suddenly, my thirst exploded! I feel like I’m going crazy wanting to suck your blood!”
“Why are you going crazy on me! Go suck a blood pack instead!”
“Since I met you, all the blood packs suddenly taste bad! Hand over your blood obediently!”
Jerk!
I freaked out.
Suddenly, Transylvania grabbed my wrist and tried to bite my nape while coming from above.
I had to somehow push against their stomach with my foot to resist.
With no strength in my legs, I was helplessly bending my legs and allowing access.
“I’ll give it to you! I’ll give it to you! Just take your fangs away first!”
As I yelled that I’d give my blood, Transylvania finally closed their mouth and got off me.
Still salivating, they seemed to have just exhausted all their stamina and almost became a Blood Ghoul.
“Huff… As I said, it’s hard to hold back. Hurry up and let out your blood.”
“…Yoo Jin. When I ask for it… Should I just give it for free? That’s ridiculous!”
“Hey, saying that makes it sound weird.”
Mi Jeong stood there, looking shocked, as if she just heard something unbelievable.
But this is a different situation.
If I don’t give it, I’ll become the hunted right away.
I hurriedly cut my inner elbow and knelt, offering my arm to the restless Transylvania.
They seemed eager to drink as the blood trickled down my forearm.
“Ah…”
“What are you doing?!”
“I can eat if I hold back.”
“Krrk!”
Fortunately, Mi Jeong intervened and blocked them.
In the end, Transylvania licked my fingers gently, sipping my blood little by little.
As the blood flowed in, their trembling gradually calmed, and the brilliant red glow in their eyes dimmed.
Looks like the thirst was quenched.
By the way, this visual is really creepy.
The strongest swordsman and proud Blood Ghoul, Transylvania, sucking my finger like a baby with a bottle…
‘Are all the Blood Ghouls I meet like this?’
Both Mi Jeong and Transylvania…
I could understand Mi Jeong since she tasted my blood.
But Transylvania went berserk without even tasting it.
Are Blood Ghouls able to predict the taste of blood just by smelling it?
This is dangerous.
I have to keep my distance from Blood Ghouls from now on.
Even so, aside from these two, Blood Ghouls with reason are extremely rare…
“Cough, cough! That was pretty good! Sorry! What a spectacle!”
A while later.
Transylvania cleared their throat and let go of my hand.
Being a Blood Ghoul, they can’t blush, but their face clearly showed embarrassment and frustration.
They do know it’s embarrassing, right?
When I shot them a slightly disdainful glare, they silently looked away, avoiding my gaze.
“Don’t look at me like that…”
“Just until a moment ago, you almost turned a perfectly normal person into a Blood Ghoul. Why so short with your words?”
“Isn’t it good to become a Blood Ghoul? You can enjoy eternal youth and build up power!”
“How do you know if I will be a rational Blood Ghoul or a mindless monster, huh?”
“That is true… Sorry…”
The topic was quickly forgotten as Transylvania quickly apologizes.
Part of me wanted to make them do a set of cute puppy tricks as punishment, but I decided against it since I was seriously worried about my vision.
“More importantly, if you’re walking out like this, it means you’ve realized your technique, huh?”
“Does this look fine?!”
“Considering you managed to handle an elf who burns their lifespan, you seem to be fine enough.”
“What? How did you know Rex burned his lifespan?”
“Isn’t it obvious? A revenge-crazed elf wouldn’t hesitate to use their lifespan as a weapon.”
With every part of his body covered in wounds, I wondered what kind of nonsense he was uttering.
But it turned out to be somewhat accurate.
If I hadn’t realized the technique, that fight wouldn’t have ended with just these minor wounds.
“How many years did he burn? About 100 years? That must’ve been tough.”
“No, he burned it for about 800 years.”
“…?”
In the end, it was almost completely burned out since the last bit was blue.
Rex’s remaining lifespan probably won’t last even 100 years.
But Transylvania’s expression is strange.
“Stop joking. If he burned 800 years, he couldn’t possibly deal with a Dakia-style secret technique. Even I would find it hard to face an elf who burned their entire lifespan.”
“Transylvania, are you joking? The strongest swordsman, a murderer, struggles against a single elf?!”
“Are you underestimating elves too much?! They’re a race of long lifespans! They’re entirely different from short-lived species! Well, while it’s rare to find elves that burn their lifespan so recklessly, those who do become warriors surpass swordmasters easily and mages outclass great mages!”
“Come on.”
You’re overreacting.
I know that elves think they’re superior because they’re long-lived.
But still, saying they’re on a completely different level?
That’s too much.
“Your guess was correct. I awakened my technique. However, it’s a knockoff compared to what you showed me…”
“Show me! Right here! Right now!”
“I’m too embarrassed to show a knockoff in front of the original maker.”
“Hurry up and show me! I’m dying to see it!”
Suddenly Transylvania screamed.
It felt like showing a fifth-grade drawing to a fine arts student.
Reluctantly, I pulled out Transylvania’s sword.
Swish…!
I lightly swung the sword, and a white line extended from the blade and struck the nearby tree, leaving a gash like it was chopped with an axe at the base.
How embarrassing.
Transylvania’s technique could slice through even thicker wood in one go.
With mine, I just left a thin mark.
“Yoo Jin…”
“Ah, sorry.”
In the midst of it all, Mia had a sour expression, and I had to bow my head.
Now that I remembered, I was in Elvenguard…
I almost chopped down a tree without thinking.
But Transylvania’s state didn’t seem right.
They stared blankly at the space where the blade had extended, mouth agape.
“What… What did I just see?”
“That’s a bit harsh. Even if it’s poor, it’s still something.”
“It’s not about it being poor! How can you accept it like that?”
“It actually didn’t have much power.”
“I don’t care about power! With enough training, I can strengthen it! What surprised me is that you realized a technique completely different from my technique!”
Just as Transylvania said.
While they may look alike, the essence is entirely different.
Transylvania’s technique generates wind with the blade’s edge, cutting through objects with it.
I, on the other hand, was sending out some bizarre, weird line.
Conveniently, I’m calling it a sword aura, but there’s a chance that wind is actually stronger.
“I told you, Dakia-style’s techniques aren’t just simple long-range attacks. My technique, which is an imperfect implementation of Dakia’s sword, is merely a long-range attacking level at best. It’s just a derivative of wind magic, generating the blade-shaped wind.”
“What? Your technique wasn’t the real deal?”
“Stop talking nonsense! If Dakia heard that, he’d cry! I’ve tarnished his sword. I realized the technique, but I went in a completely different direction than his. Your blade is a true representation. Your technique is the real Dakia-style! The sword aura born from the sword’s spirit and the caster’s energy will extend straight without being affected by wind or mana!”
Hearing this, it really makes sense.
My technique is the genuine article?
As my gloomy mood suddenly lifted,
“Ah!!!”
“Why the sudden fit?”
I remembered the name I stupidly set for this awesome technique as Iron Blood something, and my mood fell again.
I glared at Mi Jeong with resentful eyes, and she just casually made a peace sign.
You, buddy. If you weren’t cute, you’d be a corpse by now.
Ah. Maybe you are already a corpse…
Anyway.
“I’m tired. I need to rest for a bit. Oh, I need to leave Elvenguard today. I just want to grab a day and sleep all day, but you dragged me into this mess out here.”
“At least you realized your technique thanks to this. But why are you still holding onto the sword?”
“I’m returning it. It’s yours.”
“Forget it. You use it. It suits you better. You understand Dakia’s sword better…”
Transylvania seemed a little deflated as they pushed the sword toward me.
Now it suddenly became mine.
Sure, I did gain insight thanks to this sword.
“Ugh, it’s old and musty. I don’t like it. Just take it back. Isn’t it something personal from your acquaintance?”
“…”
Now that I’ve realized the technique, I can use any sword for the Dakia-style technique.
There’s no need to take this relic.
As I returned the sword, Transylvania stared at me blankly and then treasured the sword close.
It seems they were pretty close with Dakia in life.
“And about what you mentioned earlier. I remembered.”
“What about?”
“Why I killed Rex’s brother.”
Ah.
So, this story is popping up now.
Considering it’s about slaughtering innocent elves, I prefer not to hear it in front of Mia.
“Let’s talk about that later—”
“Listen here! Say it right now!!!”
“…?”
At that moment, a loud voice echoed from behind the tunnel.
Rex, wrapped head to toe in bandages, staggered out, leaning on a branch.
I couldn’t believe it.
Did he regain consciousness with those injuries?
“My brother… What did he kill…?”
Rex’s pupils were swirling, lost and trembling.
His eyes were those of someone whose world was being denied.
