Chapter 466: Continental Joint Training (1) |
“Does that mean that all forces on the continent will gather?” Park Deok-Gu asked.
“I don’t think that’s going to be realistic. The participants of the joint training will just be the large clans and clans of the continent’s many nations…”
”In other words, the participants are the three large guilds of Lindel. Yozora in Celia, Cheon Kwan-Wi and Yu-Ran’s guild in Dawan. Of course, the Eight Seats of the Sacred Democratic Country will participate as well…”
“Naturally, the Republic, the Union of Kingdoms, as well as other medium and small nations will also send their own elite armed groups,” I explained.
“It seems the scale is bigger than what we can imagine,” Park Deok-Gu remarked.
“It’ll be bigger than what you’ve been imagining, Deok-Gu,” I told him.
“Hm.”
“We might meet resistance if only the large guilds gather, so even if they’re not one of the top guilds or clans, it’s better if a few guilds and clans with a decent amount of members join the joint training as well. We also have to take care of the armed groups of the other nations,” I continued.
“I see, so that’s why you’re really busy these days,” he said.
Originally, Oscar and the senators of the Sacred Democratic Country were supposed to make the decision, but since I had a close relationship with the authoritative figures of this country, I had to give my opinion as well.
I had to sort the list of mid-sized clans within the Sacred Democratic Country, and from the list, I had to select the ones that would work well with the Blue Guild.
I did feel guilty about using other people for their skills, but it couldn’t be helped. If two people with similar frames and skills stood before me, I would prefer the one who was easier to control.
The gathering was too huge for it to be considered simple joint training. However, the gathering would also be a chance to obtain huge benefits as well as address the complaints about how the three large guilds were enjoying special treatment.
Aside from that one clan that had no connections to me whatsoever, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that every clan here had some kind of connection with me.
‘I don’t want to make this difficult.’
I glanced outside and saw Jo Hye-Jin guarding a carriage while riding her unicorn. Kim Hyun-Sung was riding his own griffon next to Jo Hye-Jin, and the two were talking to each other.
I felt kind of relieved because they didn’t look as awkward as I initially thought. I thought his rejection would affect her mental state, but she looked fine. The two had to have agreed to forget the incident.
‘It’s nice that she’s not holding a grudge.’
I was really relieved because even after Kim Hyun-Sung’s rejection, I still saw them together pretty often. I was worried because they had gone back to how they were before, and her blue armor was bothering me as well, but…
‘It’s fine as long as everything is fine.’
It wasn’t the most ideal result, but it wasn’t the worst one either because we were able to succeed in our original plan of making Kim Hyun-Sung take a break. I wasn’t sure whether it was an awakening or if he had obtained something that only appeared in a martial arts novel, but he seemed more relaxed than before, and that was all that mattered.
I nodded with satisfaction to myself, and Park Deok-Gu started talking again.
“By the way, hyung-nim, don’t you think there’s something strange going on between Hye-Jin noonim and our bro recently?”
‘He’s so quick-witted.’
“I can’t really describe it, but I have a feeling that something big happened between them. I just have this feeling in my gut. I didn’t really feel this way back then, and this strange feeling started after you drank with her last week,” he continued.
‘Shit… At this point, maybe I should leave it to him.’
My instincts were telling me that he would succeed in getting those two together.
He didn’t seem all that trustworthy because he had been calling himself Gangwon Province’s Love Doctor, and he often talked nonsense, but the fact that he managed to notice the subtle changes between Kim Hyun-Sung and Jo Hye-Jin, I couldn’t help but feel that he would be able to achieve something.
Jung Ha-Yan and I got even closer because of his help. Honestly, I really wanted to send him over to Jo Hye-Jin right now, but…
‘Now isn’t the time…’
I didn’t want to mess up Kim Hyun-Sung and Jo Hye-Jin’s current relationship because they were still trying to stabilize their current relationship.
“Stop thinking about ridiculous things and focus on the training, Deok-Gu. You’ve improved a lot compared to before, but I think you know better than anyone that you’re still lacking,” I told him.
“...”
‘Don’t give me that look…’
I glanced at him and saw that he looked like a puppy that had been abandoned by its owner. In the end, I had no choice but to comfort him again.
“So, how have you been doing?” I asked.
“Ahem. Well… you know me. I’m always doing my best, but…” Park Deok-Gu answered.
“But?” I asked.
“Recently, I feel like I’ve hit a wall. No matter what I do, I can’t feel any changes, and I’ve been asking around, but I don’t feel like I’ve been growing recently,” he replied.
“What about the advanced magic operation knowledge? I think you can still grow in that area,” I pointed out.
“It’s difficult… I asked Hye-Jin noonim and Ye-Ri, but I couldn’t understand them, and I’m a bit embarrassed to say this, but I think I’m not that good at magic. Of course, I’m still working on it,” he explained.
‘Obviously…’
Unlike Kim Hyun-Sung and Kim Ye-Ri, he was close to the limit of his growth. He was still a useful legendary-ranked tank, but it would be difficult for him to grow drastically at this point.
His magic stat was low, so it was naturally hard for him to comprehend advanced magic knowledge. Even worse, the limit of that stat was his limit as a high-ranking adventurer. I thought it would be better for Park Deok-Gu to take advantage of artifacts and external elements rather than forcing himself to go beyond his limits and grow.
It was kind of sad, but it wasn’t bad. After all, he was still a legendary-ranked tank, which was amazing.
Of course, I also wasn’t really expecting him to play the same role as Kim Hyun-Sung or Kim Ye-Ri.
“I think our bro changed. I asked him about what happened, but I couldn’t understand what he was saying. This is really interesting. We both wield a sword, but the way we handle it is different. I swing my sword with no sense of understanding, but our bro is different,” Park Deok-Gu commented.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“It feels like he actually understands the sword technique he’s using—like every sword stroke is full of knowledge and intricacies. The best way to describe it would be to say that he’s capable of fully assimilating the knowledge that people would obtain whenever they change jobs or whenever they obtain attributes. He can turn it into his own as well,” he replied.
“I know what you’re saying,” I commented.
It was the same as the difference between me and Jung Ha-Yan. I could treat a spell as a skill and cast it just like that, but there was a difference between casting a spell as if it were just a skill compared to casting it with a complete understanding of the spell.
‘That’s what you call talent…’
A modern person wouldn’t know anything about swords or magic. Jung Ha-Yan and Kim Hyun-Sung were special beings.
I couldn’t help but be curious if Jung Ha-Yan had experienced an awakening as well.
“What about you, Ha-Yan?” I asked.
“E-Excuse me?” Jung Ha-Yan asked.
“Have you ever felt like you’ve skipped a step?” I asked.
“Ah! Yes, o-of course. I-I can’t really describe what it feels like, but… I felt something tickling down here, and as that tickling feeling traveled to the top of my head, I felt like something exploded. Boom! Boom! Booom!” Jung Ha-Yan stuck close to me as she spoke, ”My mind went blank, and I started trembling… I felt my eyes rolling back to my skull, and for an instant—no, for a few hours, I felt like I became an idiot… When I recovered, I realized that my magic had increased tremendously.”
“Interesting…” I commented.
I would never feel that in my lifetime because ordinary people would never experience something like that.
“What about you, Miss Elena?” I asked.
“My experience was a bit different from Miss Ha-Yan’s. It was after I met God that I felt like I had gotten stronger. I felt like I had gotten struck by lightning, and during that stupor, I saw God. It felt like he had granted me a holy power that was overflowing with benevolence and love,” Elena answered.
‘I met Benigoa face-to-face, and I haven’t experienced any awakening or whatever. Actually, I did receive holy power…’
I finally realized that there was a reason why alchemists were considered a non-combatant job. An alchemist’s job was to manufacture items and potions. Of course, alchemists were different from blacksmiths like Yoo Ah-Young.
An awakening wasn’t necessary to use alchemy summoning magic. It was just a skill that required spending a ton of gold. My potion series, which took care of my livelihood, would increase one’s magic, but it couldn’t increase skill efficiency.
‘At least my job is a Semi-Mythic rank job…’
Otherwise, I would have been making potions all day rather than sitting among these monsters.
While I was having different thoughts, I stared alternatingly between Elena and Jung Ha-Yan in the carriage with me. The carriage, which was traveling in the right direction, suddenly stopped, which prompted Han Sora and Sun Hee-Young to look at me quietly.
‘We shouldn’t have arrived yet…’
“Deok-Gu, find out what’s—”
“Got it,” Park Deok-Gu interrupted.
Park Deok-Gu was close to the rear of the carriage, so he quickly went outside to figure out what was going on.
Meanwhile, Sun Hee-Young spoke cautiously, “Did something happen?”
‘Why is she getting prettier?’
I blushed when I suddenly recalled what we had done in the Dark World.
“No, I don’t think so… I think there’s an accident up ahead,” I replied.
“Wouldn’t it be better to cast a protection spell?” she asked.
“I don’t think that’s necessary,” I replied.
Park Deok-Gu started knocking on the carriage.
“Hyung-nim,” he called out.
“Is there a monster?” I asked.
“No, it’s nothing like that. I think there’s a bit of a traffic jam because of the people from many different nations and cities. The entrance is small, so they can’t enter at once. I think a large guild of the Union of Kingdoms and a large guild from the northern region of the continent got involved in a vehicular accident,” he answered.
“...”
“...”
“What are the guards doing?” I asked.
“It seems like they’re working with the people from the other nations… I’m sure the situation will improve if we just wait,” he said.
“What do you mean wait?” I said.
“Huh?”
“There’s no need to wait,” I told him.
“Then…”
“Just raise our banner and charge toward the entrance,” I instructed him.
“The entrance is completely blocked right now, so I don’t think we can do that…” he muttered.
“Forget it. I’ll go out there myself. Let’s head outside. I think it’ll be better if we get out and walk the rest of the way,” I suggested.
“Okay, oppa,” Jung Ha-Yan answered.
“All right, Sub Guild Master.”
I actually started feeling like I was suffocating inside the carriage.
When I exited the carriage, there was a lot of commotion in the surroundings.
The soldiers were trying to find out what was going on at the entrance.
Kim Hyun-Sung and Jo Hye-Jin were talking to each other.
It seemed like they didn’t even think about just charging toward the entrance.
I could understand why Kim Hyun-Sung would think that way, but I had never imagined that Jo Hye-Jin would think that way as well. After all, she was a citizen of a country in the East, which was full of hospitable but unyielding people.
“Deok-Gu, raise our banner,” I ordered.
People started looking at us from all directions…
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