Chapter 52: My Brother Has Changed |
“Oppa. I’m sorry.”
“Oppa. I’m sorry…”
As we walked through the forest for a while, I heard the girls muttering quietly behind me. At that moment, my expression, leading from the front, twitched. Even without seeing my own face, I knew it wasn't a pleasant one.
“Hah…”
The girls grew anxious at my sigh, the first time they had heard one laced with such regret. I turned my head to the girls who had come up beside me. After taking a moment to catch my breath, I spoke while maintaining our current pace.
“That battle with the scorpions has given me a lot to think about. Fumbling against just one or two, not even three or four… It makes me wonder if perhaps the way I've been treating you all is wrong.”
“Oh, Oppa. That's not it…”
“I'm speaking right now.”
As I shot back in a low voice, Yu-jeong hastily shut her mouth. Her eyes trembled slightly, looking as if she might burst into tears if I pushed any harder. But since I had declared we wouldn't return to the city until we achieved something, I had to be firm.
My tone carried an unprecedented seriousness. After I signaled them not to interrupt, the kids listened to me in silence. Hyeon focused on my words with a grave expression, while Yu-jeong and Sol glanced at each other before lowering their eyes, their faces filled with worry.
“I cared for you all deeply. Yu-jeong, when you said 'we' were leaving the city, I didn't show it, but I was overjoyed. I just didn't realize that affection would come back to hit me like a boomerang. No… maybe I knew and chose to ignore it. Of course, I'm responsible for sticking to my methods, but I believe there's also a problem with your attitude in following them. The things I worried about since the Rite of Passage are all coming to light now.”
Hearing my words, An Hyeon bit his lip, his face turning somber. But none of them could say anything. They knew it all too well without me needing to explain. Breaking the formation and putting Sol in danger, stopping a spell because a tail flew by, standing idly by while a teammate fought, fighting recklessly without considering the distribution of power, and so on.
I stopped walking and turned around. Yu-jeong and Sol looked like they were about to burst into tears at any moment. I decided to wrap it up here for now. Because…
“Honestly, I feel like turning back to the city right now. I want to form a proper caravan, even a minimal one, and start over. But at the same time, a part of me still wants to believe in you. Can I? Can you promise not to disappoint me anymore?”
At my question, An Hyeon was at a loss for words. But I could see a hint of resentment in his expression, as if he were gritting his teeth inwardly. There was definitely something different about An Hyeon compared to the other two. What I wanted wasn't an apology, but the anger that would make them question why they had to act that way.
I continued in a powerful voice.
“From now on, we're changing the keeper formation. We'll form a triangle with Sol at the center. I'll take the lead, so Hyeon and Yu-jeong, take the sides.”
“…”
An Hyeon moved to Sol's side with a silent expression. The way he gripped his spear showed his resolve. Yu-jeong glanced at me cautiously before moving to the remaining spot. Sol looked anxious at the change in formation, but I spoke firmly with an impassive face.
“I'll only explain this once, so listen carefully. The triangle formation doesn't lack a keeper. You could say that every single person forming the line is a keeper.”
“So you're saying the line must never be broken.”
I briefly turned my head to look ahead. I'd heard something moving slowly. After carefully scanning the area in front of us, I gave Hyeon a subtle nod. Hyeon, understanding my signal, discreetly shifted the direction of his spear. I started walking slowly again.
“That's right. Don't just use Mana Sense for evasion. Focus on reading the enemy's attack path, countering, and exploiting openings. If this formation breaks, Sol will literally break with it. Maintain the formation as if your life depends on it. We form a phalanx to help each other and coordinate; otherwise, it's no different from fighting alone.”
“I'll keep that in mind.”
“And one more thing. The reason I'm taking the lead isn't just to guide the way. There's another reason. What do you think it is?”
“I'm not sure.”
Seeing me ask a slightly off-topic question and Hyeon's response, Yu-jeong and Sol tilted their heads in confusion. We were now moving at less than a quarter of our original speed. After glancing at the surrounding trees and a large boulder we were passing, I tightened my grip on my sword.
“It's because… a situation like this might happen!”
I infused my sword with a large amount of mana and slashed at the large boulder we were about to pass. Immediately, the boulder cracked open, and red blood gushed out. The enemy, likely an assassin, had a decent stealth skill, enough to evade the kids' senses, but they couldn't fool my eyes.
“Fuck! Jong-min!”
“Crazy bastard!”
After I took one down with a swing of my sword, three people instantly landed around us. Two men and one woman. Judging by their ragged appearance, they were undoubtedly Vagrants. They must have been planning a surprise attack. But since I had already targeted and dealt with one of them, they revealed themselves, realizing they'd been discovered.
Yu-jeong and Sol looked panicked again, but Hyeon was relatively calm. This was because I had given him a heads-up. They were taken aback by the fact that their enemies were people, but upon seeing the Vagrants radiating killing intent, Yu-jeong and Sol immediately drew their weapons.
“You son of a bitch! You dared to kill Jong-min! Uwaaaah!”
“They said you were new Users! How did you detect his stealth!”
“Calm down. We underestimated them. You there. How did you know he was hiding in the rock?”
One of the female Users spoke to me, but I didn't answer. After analyzing the shouting Vagrants, I quickly relayed the information I'd gathered to the kids.
“These are what you call Vagrants. Do as you learned in the Academy. Don't exchange words with them; think of them as just another monster. The moment you see them as fellow Users, you'll hesitate. Kill them without reservation. One shield swordsman, one axe warrior, and one mage. We have the advantage in both numbers and class composition. Sol, what are you doing? The battle has begun. You know who to target, right?”
“Hah…? What a joke. They're just a bunch of fresh-faced fledglings! Get them all!”
“Wait…!”
The warrior who heard me charged forward, crudely brandishing his axe. The swordsman followed right behind, shield raised high. The woman in the back, who seemed to be a mage, tried to stop them, but realizing it was too late, she gritted her teeth and began casting a spell quickly.
I watched them with a pathetic look. It was obvious they were also rookies, not long in Hall Plain and new to being Vagrants. If the shield bearer had charged first to break our formation, followed by the axe warrior, it might have been a decent strategy. But they were charging in just as haphazardly as we had been. They were clearly underestimating us because they knew we were new Users.
Just then, I saw the two Users rushing toward us slowly close their eyes. At that moment, I quickly shouted to the kids.
“It's Light magic! Everyone, close your eyes!”
Simultaneously, the female mage stretched a brightly shining hand toward us and cried out in a thin voice.
⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡
Light
As it was a basic spell, she seemed to have completed the chant faster than Sol could. An orb of light formed before our party and then burst with a brilliant flash. It was clearly meant to obstruct our vision. The problem was, we had already learned Mana Sense.
Glancing over, I could see Yu-jeong and Hyeon in defensive stances with their eyes closed. At the same time, Sol was gritting her teeth and chanting a spell. Yes. This was the kind of response I wanted.
After taking a moment to observe the kids, I turned back to the Vagrant before me with a cold expression. Despite being hit directly by the Light magic, the axe warrior slowed down, flustered that I was looking straight at him. The shield swordsman behind him, however, must not have seen it, as he veered left mid-charge. It seemed he was targeting Yu-jeong.
These guys were also incompetent fools who didn't even know the basics. The hidden assassin and the female mage seemed somewhat skilled, but the two charging at us were a complete mess.
Just as I was about to bring my sword down, a long spear shot out from the side. The axe warrior, clearly not expecting an attack from the side after the flash of Light, twisted his body in a panic. An Hyeon, with his eyes closed, had succeeded in obstructing the warrior's path with an exquisite thrust.
“No way…! How can rookies have Mana Sense…?”
“It's possible.”
Watching the warrior expose his stomach as he dodged the spear, I replied simply and thrust my sword forward. *Thwump*. The sensation of tearing through leather armor and flesh traveled up my blade. Their tactic of coordinating with Light was decent, but their carelessness was their fatal flaw. As the warrior coughed up blood with a look of despair, I turned my head to the side.
Clang!
A harsh screech of metal against metal echoed through the area. Yu-jeong, with her daggers held straight, was blocking the shield swordsman's charge in a stable backward stance. The shield swordsman could only gape, stunned that she had blocked his charge.
“N-No way… My strength is definitely…”
Indeed, the User with the shield had higher strength. As he pushed forward with their weapons locked, Yu-jeong was slowly being forced back. However, the man had overlooked Yu-jeong's magic stat. Yu-jeong's eyes snapped open as she summoned all her mana and let out a powerful shout.
“Hiyah!”
Supplementing her lack of strength with mana. Yu-jeong was faithfully applying the basics she had learned at the User Academy. Her daggers began to hum, their cutting power and hardness seemingly enhanced, compensating for her strength and then some. Just as the man tried to attack with the sword in his other hand, a long spear shaft shot past between me and Sol once more.
I twisted my sword to pull it free, then immediately swung it again, taking off the axe warrior's head. And the spear An Hyeon had thrown cut through the air and pierced the shield swordsman's wide-open flank.
The shield swordsman looked from the axe warrior's head, which had thudded to the ground, to the spear embedded in his side. With a face of disbelief, he dropped his shield. Seeing her opponent's front completely exposed, Yu-jeong's eyes showed a moment of conflict, but she quickly bit her lip and plunged both her daggers into the man's body.
“Gah.”
I don't know where they heard we were new Users, but from what I could see, they were no different from new Users themselves. They had likely been here for just over six months, or at best, less than a year. I don't know how they ended up as Vagrants, but right now, they were showing the fate of those who fail to adapt to Hall Plain. No skill, no training, and no effort—a truly pathetic end.
Watching the User collapse, Yu-jeong's expression hardened with a venomous resolve. It seemed she was putting on a brave face because she knew I was watching. Her hands, still gripping the daggers buried in the man's chest, were visibly trembling.
But there was no time to rest. The female mage was still left. She had been quiet for a while, likely preparing a powerful spell, but unfortunately for her, Sol had also finished her chant. Sol raised her brightly glowing staff, looked at the sweating female mage, and shouted the activation word without hesitation.
✨ SKILL ACTIVATED ✨
Shackles
As a brilliant light, like a camera flash, filled the forest, the female mage scoffed and formed a hand sign while continuing her chant. The moment I saw that, my eyes glinted with interest. What she had just demonstrated was double casting. She was chanting with her mouth while forming a magic resistance sign with her other hand to prevent interruption.
It required a certain level of concentration, so not just anyone could do it. This meant the mage before us was a fairly skilled User. However, the woman had overlooked one thing: Sol's magic stat.
“Wh-What? N-No way! My magic stat is over 60!”
Her hand forming the sign began to falter, and soon she screamed, abandoning her spell to focus solely on magic resistance. It was a quick decision, but she was no match for Sol, who possessed a starting stat of 75.
She resisted for a moment, but Sol's Shackles spell wasn't nullified and clung to her tenaciously. I held back Hyeon and Yu-jeong, who were about to charge forward. Sol was also struggling, channeling her mana into the Shackles spell. I wanted her to experience what a battle between magic users was like for the first time.
Finally, the outcome was decided as the female User collapsed. Unable to resist Sol's mana until the end, her body went rigid, and she fell with a vacant expression, her mouth agape.
◇ Author's Note ◇
(Today's note is very long, so I will be skipping replies to comments. I ask for your understanding.)
Mana Sense can be classified as a Control Ability. In other words, Mana Sense is a basic skill. Activating it isn't difficult, but its significance doesn't lie in simply activating it. Let's briefly look at a line from the text.
"The key to Mana Sense was how cleanly and for how long one could maintain it. One had to efficiently distribute their mana and always maintain a constant flow."
What the User Academy teaches is the principle behind manifesting Control Abilities. They teach what types of abilities exist, which ones are useful and important. They don't provide detailed know-how like Su-hyeon does.
It literally just teaches the basics of adapting to Hall Plain. Of course, they provide harsh training on the general background and for each class. However, more advanced applied skills are taught in a more in-depth process after promising kids are recruited into clans.
During the Rite of Passage, they were under Su-hyeon's protection. At the User Academy, they underwent harsh training, but there were no dangerous situations like the battle with the scorpions, where one wrong move could mean death. That's why the kids took a passive attitude during the scorpion fight.
And as you might have guessed from this chapter, the point I want to convey in this part is not that the kids lack ability. It's that I want to fix their attitude of relying on Su-hyeon.
In the battle against the scorpions, which they were seeing for the first time, they didn't know how to react, and their formation crumbled. However, they handled the battle against the more familiar Users (Vagrants) without much trouble. This means the kids have the ability, but in a life-or-death situation against an unfamiliar opponent where any variable could occur, they don't know how to respond. (Of course, there are differences between the scorpion and Vagrant battles, as mentioned in the text. The two cannot be seen as identical.)
After getting an earful from Su-hyeon and reflecting on their mistakes, An Hyeon immediately corrected his attitude. Yu-jeong and Sol are still hesitating, but you probably saw a different side of them in the battle with the Vagrants that followed the scorpion fight.
The reason Su-hyeon was so frustrated in the previous chapter was that he brought them out thinking they could handle it with their stats, but he was disappointed to see they still hadn't stepped out from behind his shield.
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