Episode 104. Last practice
-Kaang, kaang.
The sound of metal rubbing begins to be heard at some point.
I felt my dazed mind being drawn to the place where the sound came from a noise that sounded like a hammer hitting an anvil.
And at the end, what I came across was a craftsman pounding a hammer in a high-temperature room.
-Kyaang, kyaang!
For some reason, the sight of the craftsman repeating such actions looked familiar.
Even though his hair has turned as white as ash, and his eyes looking down at his window are lifeless.
‘When you are complete.’
But the emotions felt in that voice seemed very foreign.
I thought it was definitely the person I knew.
Because there was something there that he could not have thought to see.
‘If the day comes when you stand in front of me again like that time…. At that time, will I know what I feel?’
Is it because it is a dream?
Or is it because a side of me that I do not know is projected and reflected in the form of a present dream?
****
-Wow.
Following that, the mind opens up to the faint sound of vibration.
As if I was being led by him, I lifted myself up from the bed, and my gaze went straight to the window leaning next to the bed.
Ego Weapon Philroy.
A weapon containing the soul of a child who closed his heart after the friction of that day.
“… Philroy.”
I wondered if this child had moved, but even when I got closer, the same vibration sound as before did not occur.
I just stay quiet, as if to teach me that what happened before was an illusion.
Was it too much to hope that this child would be recognized based on his performance so far?
“…… No, it’s too early for him to be disappointed.”
Have you not been training yourself here for the past month?
With explosive growth achieved during that time, it would be unreasonable for the company to give up now.
If there is a place to climb, just keep climbing.
“Okay. “It will be soon.”
After making up my mind as I always do every morning, I stroked Philoi’s spear and prepared to head to the training ground.
Wearing armor and eating preserved food for breakfast…….
“Oh my, Hyosung.”
At the end, as I was about to leave the lodging, a familiar face who happened to be passing in front of the lodging greeted me.
Marilyn Surgeland.
Like Airi, she is a woman I would like to be with in the future if allowed.
“Good morning. Are you going to training?”
“Yes, Mr. Marilyn, are you going to play today as well?”
She was also faithful to her role as a bard and was contributing in her own way to this stationed area.
Her performance heightens people’s emotions and has the power to energize their activities.
Is it unfortunate that these days I’m so focused on training that I don’t have time to listen to her play?
“Um, I don’t know. I’m making a gift for Hyosung today, so I don’t think I’ll have time.”
As she smiled meaningfully in front of me, I felt myself gradually becoming interested.
“A gift for me?”
“hehehe, you can look forward to it.”
After saying that, Mary Lynn hummed her song and left her seat.
It bothered me that she didn’t reveal anything, but I finally diverted her attention from her and got her ready to head to her training ground.
Okay, if we’re going to meet later, there’s no need to feel impatient now.
“Everything will be fine.”
It may be an illusion, but Philoi has also responded and is expected to receive encouragement from Marylin.
Even from Airi, who I met yesterday before going to bed, I didn’t hear anything about the ominous future.
So, firmly believing that everything would turn out well today, I headed toward the training site without hesitation.
And… ….
****
-Uzjeok, ugh.
When we arrived at the cave designated as a training site, we heard a creepy noise.
Because it was a place where a faint light unique to the dragon vein occurred, it was not difficult to see what was going on inside.
“Krrr possible … !”
Undead.
It was thought that they had all been subdued not long ago, but just yesterday it became known that the undead existing in the Corpse Lord’s sphere of influence were targeting this place.
As a result, there is a possibility that undead will appear again within the excavation site.
No matter how much it is managed by the imperial army, it cannot be said that there is no possibility of it flowing in and attacking people.
“What on earth did you do…” ….”
Yes, there is probably someone waiting for me here.
“What on earth have you done, you bastards!!!”
Immediately after the string of reason was cut, he swung the spear in his hand at the undead with all his might.
The wave of magical power generated by the intensified emotions travels through the armor and onto the spear, and eventually it extends forward and tears the bodies of the corpses apart.
When I approached Jean, it was around the time when the undead here were completely turned into minced meat.
“Elder, old man!”
But at that time, his body was already in a state of disarray.
No matter how strong he was, his weak body could not withstand the passage of time.
The undead attacked the body without hesitation, ruthlessly tearing up not only the surface but also everything inside and repeatedly stuffing it into their mouths.
Even though he vividly experienced such an incident, his body did not move at all.
“…… “Elderly.”
Adapting to reality happened very quickly.
I have had countless experiences seeing people die.
But the reason why I was so shocked at this moment, as if I had been hit hard in the back of the head, was because among the people who died like that, there were only a handful of people I had given my heart to.
In a world where it is not strange to die at any time, people who cooperate and have bonds with each other are more precious than gold.
“Why?”
I saw such a person die one morning.
Just looking at it, I felt a pain inside me, as if my flesh was being torn apart.
“Why on earth is this happening…?” ….”
If I had looked at the situation more carefully.
I felt guilty that if I had noticed in advance that he had not noticed, I might have been able to prevent an accident like this from happening.
– Rustle.
The sound of paper being scraped is heard when you feel the regret rising.
I realized that a piece of paper, swaying in the faint wind blowing in the cave, had fallen from the rock and flowed in front of me.
A note left intentionally for anyone to see.
Considering that it was only Jean, I reached for the letter with trembling hands.
[Don’t feel guilty. It’s not your fault.]
What is written in the preface is exactly what I feel at this moment.
The words that followed calmly also taught us that he foresaw the same situation as now.
[Rather, the life I have lived so far has been brave. If you carry a power that you cannot handle on this body, it is natural that the more you use that power, the shorter your lifespan will be.]
“… “Elderly.”
It’s a force I can’t handle.
Are you referring to the forces that showed me by carrying me out?
Are you saying that the power that I wielded more skillfully than I, who is still training, destroyed my body in the process of demonstrating it in front of me?
[However, I still feel regretful about leaving like this. No matter how much you want something, my decision to train you was motivated by my selfishness.]
Even though I felt doubtful, I tried to engrave the words written in the letter in my mind.
As I was not prepared to lose my guide, I had no choice but to become more obsessed with the last traces he left behind.
[Yes, the beginning was just revenge. It’s not a cause or anything… …. It was just revenge for losing the person I admired.]
Of course, most of them were words whose meaning was incomprehensible.
Because I was only focused on training for the past month, I wasn’t able to ask him carefully about his situation.
Even if I had a talent that I didn’t know about, why did they want to make me a hero, what kind of feelings did they have in the process of training me, and what kind of feelings do they have for Tacia, whom I will encounter later?
[Why did I stop taking revenge and chose to watch the person I was seeking revenge on……. Even as I am writing this letter, I am not sure if it was the right choice.]
But one thing was clear.
The person who trained me rarely showed a sense of skepticism about the time he had gone through, and the more he felt it, the more enthusiastic he became in training for me.
[It would be natural for this to happen. Even the weakest insect may be able to kill a human if it bites a vital area, but a bug that just watches cannot change a human.]
Because I am so old now that I realize my own limitations and have the power to change something.
He must have expected more from me to succeed him.
[But it might be different for you. I, who just watches her, may be nothing more than an annoying bug to her……. Because you are loved enough to melt into her life.]
– Rustle.
The hand holding the letter gains strength.
Nevertheless, the act of reading the letters continued.
[I don’t know what form that love takes, but it must be clear that she considers you more special than any other human being.]
What do I have to carry even after his death?
I want to realize what awaits me in front of me.
[And that goes for you too. Since you also have special feelings for her, don’t you think she felt conflicted at every moment while she was practicing with me?]
Strength is needed.
Even if it is to accept a fate that forces me to kill the person who gave me my heart.
Or even to defy that fate.
[So don’t be afraid, but prepare your mind. In the future, when the decisive moment comes, devote yourself to developing the strength to choose the choice that suits your will among the options provided.]
[Even if the world says your choice was wrong, if the power to overturn that choice exists, no one will be able to question you.]
The letter ends with a recommendation to have such a calling.
It was a story filled with concerns for me until the very end, but even so, I felt that my future was becoming bleak.
“Elder, I… ….”
Even if I know what to do, hasn’t the person who can guide me disappeared?
I wonder if we can do well in a place without him…….
With such anxiety still throbbing in my mind, I noticed that there was writing on the back page of the letter I was holding.
And… ….
-Crr, ugh.
Immediately after reading all of the contents, a groan was heard from behind.
The moment I turned my attention to the place where the sound came from, I felt my breath becoming suffocated.
[And one last thing, despite my shame, I have one favor to ask of you.]
It’s just an undead.
He is no different from the people he has killed so far; he is nothing more than a moving corpse that can no longer be called alive.
Even if there is an ego, I know that it is nothing more than looking back on past memories.
[This letter is to relieve the last regrets of an old man who will soon pass away……. Nevertheless, if you still have any regrets after writing this, I hope you will resolve them.]
I understand this in my head.
But why?
From Noble mtl dot com
“Ah, ah.”
From my mouth as I face that dead person.
The reason why exclamations of despair flow deeper than ever before.
****
It was simply a life he lived for revenge on his idol.
Accepting unauthorized power into his body, he relentlessly forged a sword for revenge.
But why was the person who was supposed to be the target of such revenge crying that day?
Why did the soul extracted from my daughter’s corpse create a weapon using a replica of her wealth, and why did she express her feelings of sadness as she looked down on such a being?
‘Is it even possible for a disaster to feel sad in the first place? Is she really something that can be called a disaster?’
I couldn’t imagine it, and I couldn’t understand it even after seeing it with my own eyes.
Because she had doubts as to whether she was truly the target of her revenge, she tried to watch her by her side.
I was prepared to pull out my sword if she even showed signs of going on a rampage, but that time never came and more than half a century passed.
And in the process, I always tried to understand.
How is it that she continued her life that day, making a contract that she didn’t have to make?
Why does the Supreme Being, who has lived for a long time that no human can even dare to imagine, want to watch over humans while feeling the pain of surviving his own life?
‘Tachia always cooked for me.’
Yes, he won’t know.
Even if I invested my whole life, the answer I didn’t know existed in the favor shown to him.
I just denied it, and the answer had been decided since the first time I saw her cry that day.
‘Even though he may have lived for 10,000 years, he may have had the same mind as a human for the last 100 years.’
It’s just that she didn’t realize it herself, and once she realized it, she would have to accept what she did, so she just continues to deny it.
By the time she realized it, she felt the revenge she felt was fading away.
Because she realized that her punishment, which she could not bear, was tormenting her while she was living the same time as herself.
Yes, there is no point in taking revenge anymore. Emotional resentment has long since dissipated and disappeared with the passage of time.
So, I will be able to accept the end of my life without any regrets.
I thought it would definitely be like that, but…….
‘But is it really okay like this?’
The moment when life reaches its end.
As he finished reminiscing and preparing for his final resting place, he felt concerns that he was not even aware of blooming in his mind.
‘Is it really okay for it to end like this?’
Did you train him to entrust him with your revenge?
No, revenge seems meaningless now.
On the other hand, because there was no meaning, she felt that everything she had run for revenge was in vain.
The foundation of the declaration to turn a young man into a warrior was accompanied by a sense of skepticism about such a life rather than a great cause.
‘It’s not enough like this.’
I want to watch that journey a little more.
‘If allowed, just a little more…’
If I can’t watch him, I want to help him build up the strength to overcome this future.
-Too-duk-duk.
At this moment, such lingering feelings combined with the ominous power that seeped into his body as it was being torn apart, leading to a certain phenomenon.
The main point is a body that is rapidly rotting away due to polluted power.
Using it as a ‘tool’ to relieve the lingering regrets of life.
“Oh my god…”
“Hold your spear, young man.”
The dead man who took advantage of such an opportunity to stand up speaks.
Now, I want to brighten my lifeless eyes and squeeze my dry throat to be faithful to my regrets.
“From now on, I will begin my final training.”
“Practice….”
“The rules are simple. Use everything you’ve learned so far… To defeat the dead person in front of you.”
Until the very end.
Furthermore, even at this moment when the end has passed, it becomes an ordeal that will hinder him if allowed.
“I believe you will not back down after coming this far. If you are a hero, you will not leave a monster like this unattended in the world.”
Even if the world continues even after you die.
I believe that this is also something that gives meaning to my life, and I want to deeply engrave that meaning in those who come after me.
“So, grab the spear.”
The soul that existed in that body would have left this world with such faith.
“Hold your spear, warrior.”
Because I know that such faith is the reason I stood up.
The shell that lost its soul did not hesitate to continue its calling.
“If you truly are a warrior, shouldn’t you be able to overcome this kind of adversity with ease?”
Even after that life has come to an end.
He knew better than anyone else that the story of those who inherited it would continue.
(╥﹏╥)