---

Chapter 103: Swinging the Sword

After swinging the sword and breaking a sweat, Yeon-woo realized that the feeling of emptiness inside him, as if a hole had been drilled into his chest, had vanished. He never expected that one day he would be grateful for the difficulty of the Full Moon Sword.

“Haah… phew.”

He wiped the sweat pouring down like rain. Taking a deep breath to calm his ragged breaths, he looked up and saw that the massive tree, which had endured his sword strikes for so long, had finally succumbed and leaned to one side, broken.

“…I’m sorry for taking out my anger on you.”

The tree, which had only bore the same marks from his downward strikes, now had various imprints carved into it as if he had attacked it with a real sword, even though he was using a wooden one.

It felt silly saying it, but perhaps the tree was satisfied too; he thought about that. After all, it had been dead since he found it, so he didn’t need to feel guilty.

“Is that swordsmanship you learned from Yuri?”

“Whoa, what the—!”

Startled by the sudden ambush, Yeon-woo almost cursed, but upon recognizing the voice, he quickly retracted his tongue.

Turning around, he found Claire standing under the shade of a tree, looking as if she had appeared out of nowhere.

With the moonlight softly filtering down as dusk set in, Claire emanated a majestic aura that made it hard to put into words.

Her complicated expression surely contributed to that atmosphere.

“What in the world is Yuri thinking…?”

Claire murmured, furrowing her lovely brow.

What’s wrong? Was something troubling her?

“There’s… nothing wrong. Yes, no problem here.”

Claire’s gaze seemed less focused on Yeon-woo and more directed at the tree.

This tree…? What’s wrong with this tree?

“Um… don’t worry too much about it. By the way, are you feeling better now?”

“Yes, I feel a bit better.”

“I don’t know what’s bothering you, but I hope you’ll share it with me when you can.”

At those words, Yeon-woo found himself at a loss for words. Was it true that once someone reached a certain realm of expertise, they could read others’ minds, like Kim Hyun-soo?

“There are things I want to share regarding the sword… but let’s save that for later and head down today?”

“I’d appreciate it if you could have a sparring session with me soon.”

Completely worn out, Yeon-woo said this while he began to descend the mountain, glancing at the wooden sword in his hand.

Though it was a sturdy wooden sword, it was now twisted and deformed under his grip. The edge had already been ruined from striking the tree.

“What is this? Why is it like this?”

Did the sword break right after smashing the tree? He sure swung it hard.

With that thought, Yeon-woo held the wooden sword tightly as he made his way down. Claire, having watched his departing figure, glanced back at the fallen tree.

“…No way?”

Sighing and saying that, Claire looked up at the moon.

It couldn’t be, right? She shook her head and followed after Yeon-woo.

*

“Hehe, it’s warm.”

“Kooh….”

At ten o’clock at night, it was time for good children to sleep. Of course, this rule applied to Shar, Tae-oh, and, without a doubt, Yeon-woo as well.

With Claire’s announcement, all the children in the orphanage made their way to their rooms, and Yeon-woo lay down on the bed, with Shar and Tae-oh nestled under each arm.

Shar was enjoying the warmth, while Tae-oh, already snoring softly, had fallen asleep. They say kids feel warm, but maybe Tae-oh’s body temperature was a little lower, making him easily doze off in a cozy spot.

“If you sleep early like Tae-oh, you’ll grow tall.”

“Can’t you tell me a story…?”

“Well, you can listen to just one story before sleeping?”

“Hehe, got it.”

“Hmm… Tae-oh too….”

Did Shar’s lively voice wake Tae-oh from his deep slumber? Yeon-woo sighed, seeing no other choice, and recalled a fairy tale Claire once read to him.

But he didn’t bring the storybook. Though it was a good tale, the kids preferred it when he fleshed out the stories in his own way.

Tonight’s tale was about the Three Little Pigs. The story had been progressing quite normally, as anyone would know, until it took a wild turn when the wolf arrived at the pigs’ houses.

“The wolf arrived at the first pig’s house made of straw. What do you think the wolf did?”

“Um… did it set it on fire?”

“I think Tae-oh would have clawed it down with his sharp nails…!”

“That could’ve happened. If the wolf were as stylish and cool as Shar, it might have done that, but unfortunately, this wolf was just a wolf. It huffed and puffed and blew the house down.”

“D-Dragon Breath…!”

“The wolf was actually a sister…!?”

How did that work out?

Usually, if something funny came up from Shar or Tae-oh’s suggestions, Yeon-woo would pick that option. But this time, going that route would either make it too brutal or turn the wolf into a peculiar character with polished claws, so he chose the original version.

The story continued after that. The first little pig fled to the second pig’s house, and this time the wolf clapped his hands, sending shockwaves that blew the wooden house away.

The first and second pigs fled to the third pig’s brick house, leading to an epic battle between the third pig and the wolf, who had faced off against each other before….

[I have masterfully honed my clapping techniques since I lost to you. Come now, third pig. Show me your broth technique…!!]

“Whoa…!!”

“Thump thump…!!”

[Listen well, wolf. Simply honing martial arts will achieve nothing. You must have your own dreams at the end of that path. How could you not realize this? This time, I will put an end to this tiresome bond.]

For some reason, the wolf had become a master of martial arts, and the energetic clash between the wolf and the third pig continued for five minutes.

With claps echoing and broth spilling, the first and second pigs could only watch dumbfounded.

They were astounded that their little brother, whom they had mocked for being foolish, could transform so drastically.

The fight reached its conclusion due to a moment of carelessness.

A familiar energy sensed from a distance. The wolf hesitated, fearing that energy would entangle with its own clapping technique, and in that split second, the third pig’s broth pierced through the wolf’s core.

[…Why did you stop, wolf?]

[What foolish question are you asking? The dream you mentioned took my life.]

The wolf coughed up blood. The third pig withdrew its hooves.

[…However, I do not regret it. That too was my choice.]

The wolf remained standing, neither falling forward nor backward. It merely stood there with a smile on its face. Upon seeing this, the third pig looked up to the sky and said,

[So it is. You already had your own sky.]

Feeling the energy of the young wolf who had begun to run away in the distance, the third pig chose not to chase it.

Even knowing that doing so would not sever the tiresome chains of fate, the third pig resolved to carry its own sins, its duties.

“It is to inform the young wolf, who will come seeking revenge someday, what kind of person his father was….”

“The w-wolf is so cool…!!”

“Really, really cool…!!”

The two kids clapped their tiny hands together. Hearing that, Yeon-woo pondered.

‘How did it come to this story?’

It seemed ridiculous to spin such a tale and expect them to sleep afterward. Of course, while it was a story they created together…

Was the fun enough…?

“Alright, alright, the wolf was a cool uncle. So should we sleep now?”

“I-I can’t sleep…!!”

“The wolf uncle might not sleep either, but he would have pretended to, so the little wolf could learn from that.”

“Ugh…!! I’ll try my best!!”

This was the good thing about telling such stories. When he claimed that the coolest character acted a certain way, the kids readily followed suit. In fact, Tae-oh had already fallen asleep the moment Yeon-woo finished speaking. The speed was fearsome…!

Fortunately, it seemed they had merely lost track of time with excitement from the story, and they hadn’t fully woken up. Shar, who had been lying down with her eyes tightly closed, soon began to breathe softly.

After covering the two kids with the blanket snugly, Yeon-woo relaxed his body. The soft mattress embraced him.

‘As cool as it may be….’

The little wolf, who had lost its parents, was bound to live resenting the third pig, who had done nothing wrong.

The outcome that would ensue from that was likely to be nothing good.

‘Maybe it’s because I’m now a parent, but I can’t help but worry about things like that….’

Realizing how much he had changed in just four months, Yeon-woo closed his eyes, ready to sleep. He would need to go out to play with the kids starting tomorrow.

*

“Shar, it’s time to wake up.”

“Uung, just 5 more minutes….”

Seeing Shar mumbling in her sleep, Yeon-woo couldn’t help but smile wryly. No one would complain even if she lingered a bit here.

“I’ve already washed up.”

But surprisingly, his younger brother Tae-oh had woken up long ago and had already washed his face. He emerged with a towel rubbing his face, looking like he could star in a cosmetics advertisement once he grew a little older.

“After breakfast, let’s head down the mountain and explore a bit.”

“Just imagining it sounds fun…!!”

Though Shar had just woken up, Yeon-woo gave her a light washing before taking the kids downstairs to the entrance.

…….

After finishing their meal, Yeon-woo and the kids descended to Harmony City. Although it wasn’t as bustling as it could be, it sure had its charm.

As it emerged as a favorite among hunters, there weren’t many sights in the city, but that could be interpreted as a good sign: there were quite a few gates nearby.

Gates like the Gargantuan Gorge that he had visited with Shar, which, by itself, was worth a visit.

Before his regression, Yeon-woo had been unable to enter the academy and had spent time exploring around here, so he was quite familiar with those places.

‘Nothing can beat the desert, really.’

The sand desert in the northeast of Harmony City, commonly known as the ‘White Sea,’ had the potential to develop the area into a city from what used to be an unnamed village just months ago. Both the scenery and the kind of monsters that appeared made it worthwhile.

Some might ask what was so interesting about a desert, but the desert was magnificent in its own way. Looking out at the endless expanse of white sand made one feel incredibly insignificant.

Because he thought it was that beautiful, he decided to visit that area today. Of course, given the strange environment of the desert, he needed to equip appropriate tools or gear.

(To be continued)

 

---