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Chapter 320: The Method to Stabilize the Gate

“It’s great that I’ve figured out how to stably dismantle the gate, but without an individual’s existence, the feasibility significantly drops at this point.”

Anyway, Nea’s gate was in a situation where no signs of being elevated to the phase-shifting device were arising.

I could guess that something might respond if Nea approached, but since it wasn’t a certainty, I planned to proceed with some level of precautions on that side too.

‘What good will that do anyway?’

Inside was a dragon. While it might be useful for sealing the wound that cut between dimensions, the probability of being torn apart by the pressure of the dragon before it could even exert such effects was high.

Still, it brought a bit of comfort, so I couldn’t say it was entirely unnecessary. With time to spare anyway, I told them to do whatever they wanted.

So ultimately, what flowed from Yeon-woo’s mouth was:

“So what do we do now?”

Lately, I oddly had a feeling that time was floating. In the first year, there were many major events to prepare for, but in the second and third years, it seemed there weren’t many of those.

“Hmm, how about playing with Shar?”

“What about playing with Tae-oh?”

Saying this without much thought, Shar and Tae-oh perked up their ears and came closer to speak softly. Hearing that made my desire to play surge.

If there’s a devil, look at our children. Here’s how seduction is done as easily as eating cake.

I desperately wanted to play with the kids, but the truth was that Yeon-woo had clear tasks at hand. While I had only barely reached the level of a toenail, I needed to adapt to the master’s realm.

You might ask if there was a need for that since I wasn’t going to fight Nea, but that was a statement that showed a serious misunderstanding of the power of the gate. The gate truly was a space where it wouldn’t be strange for anything to happen.

Yeon-woo was even prepared to fight Nea in her dragon state. Because of that, until reaching the master’s realm, it was almost like giving up bringing Nea out.

By some fortunate coincidence, I became a master and could bring Nea back without being too late, but the possibility of fighting Nea hadn’t disappeared. In fact, if you think about it, you’d realize.

It had already been a year and a half since Nea had sent out her doppelganger. A year and a half might not be a long time for a dragon, but if you think about the fact that she had waited a year and a half realizing she had lost Shar, that couldn’t be a short time at all.

What parent can sleep comfortably after losing a beloved child?

So Nea must certainly be in a state of anger reaching to the top of her head. Much worse than before her regression, she must be feeling suffocated in that cave.

If she were to come out and see the humans surrounding her, it wouldn’t just be Nea who couldn’t hold back her rage. It would be anyone until we reclaimed our Nea.

‘At least until some reason is regained and she is collected, I have to somehow squeeze by with my body.’

Sighing deeply, Yeon-woo patted the children’s heads. Regrettably, I had to turn them down. It really, really was a shame….

*

“So, you’ve become a master, huh?”

“Haha, do you now see the greatness of this disciple?”

“I’ve always known you were great.”

I tried to show off, but his nonchalant agreement surprised me instead. While I stood there blankly, Yuri said with a disapproving expression.

“What are you spacing out for? Get your head together!”

“Oh wow, that startled me. You’re not a doppelganger, are you?”

At Yeon-woo’s words, Yuri lightly swung her sword. The sharp blade just grazed Yeon-woo’s cheek. Just the wind from the blade stung. Ah, this is the real deal.

“Draw it. Let’s see what you’ve got.”

“I’m still not used to it yet.”

“Just because you’re not used to it doesn’t mean all the effort you’ve put in so far goes down the drain. It’d be better to face a real opponent than swing your sword in the air.”

That’s true. Until now, I hadn’t been able to see Yuri’s level even when looking up at her, and I thought I would finally have the chance to accurately gauge it, so I picked up the doppelganger.

I had invested a long time getting accustomed to the lightness of White, but the doppelganger felt much more natural in my hand. Although it wasn’t a serious duel, I had no intention of holding back, which is why I chose the doppelganger.

Two swordsmen faced each other, each pointing their swords at the other. There was no malice, but they were both ready to swing without hesitation at any moment.

The draw was nearly simultaneous. Without a question of who drew first, two silver lines crossed the air.

Kaang!! The sound of swords clashing resonated throughout the gate. Not just that, the immense force packed in the swords unleashed a tremendous shockwave.

The fragrance of the green plains began to scatter along with the thick grass that lay on the ground. The ground started to upheave merely from the impact of the swords colliding.

“I thought I was going to die.”

“Did you not prepare yourself while clashing swords with an old master?”

That’s true too. Even if we said it was a duel, and even if there was no malice, fighting with a master was akin to courting death at any moment.

“Practice as if it were real” is a famous saying, but Yuri had never emphasized that. Nevertheless, if a sword was to be met against hers, she would tell me to come at her earnestly.

In the past, I might have allowed things to go easier on me, but now that I had stepped into the master’s realm, Yuri was no one to merely toy with.

Yuri lightly twisted her wrist, as if testing me. The sword that had just been poised against her suddenly shifted trajectory and aimed for my side.

However, I had no intention of just taking it. I yanked up the sword that had been poised in the air, causing it to collide with the incoming blade once more, producing a clear sound.

“Shall we take it slow and see how long those good eyes serve you?”

“…You’re not trying to kill me, right?”

“Why would an old master want to kill a disciple? I just think it’s necessary to show you that no matter how outstanding you are, it won’t always work indefinitely.”

“…Has Raymond contacted you yet?”

Yuri did not answer. Instead of a response, she swung her sword again. Dozens of sword strikes branched out. Each nothing less than a real attack, making it impossible to ascertain which were feints and which were actual strikes.

It was not a realistic option to dodge or block all of them while not distinguishing among feints and real strikes. Wanting to block, dodge, and counter all at once was simply greedy.

However, I could accomplish it. Tumbling backward, I managed to evade most of the swords coming at me, but even that was followed up with a deep thrust coming my way, as if it anticipated my movements.

The follow-up attack was just a command with will behind it. Columns of stone shot up from the ground.

Ordinary thrusts could never penetrate the stone columns, but before Yuri, it was as thin as a wall. The thrust that had previously rebounded with a sound of ‘ting’ pushed right through.

Puh-woong!! A tremendous force exploded in fragments before my eyes, like a grenade bursting. With the shock, my body flew through the air.

In the chaos of regaining my balance, Yuri circled around the stone columns and, with a relaxed motion, slammed the ground.

Closing the distance in an instant, Yuri once again swung her sword without hesitation.

“Give me some time to land on the ground! This isn’t a fighting game!”

“You’re the one still floating in the air.”

Before I could even set foot back on the ground, Yuri swung her sword. The awakened beings were, as the name suggests, superhumans. Continuously striking down the defending opponent and keeping them suspended was nothing to them.

And once someone fell into such a situation, it was generally seen as having lost the fight. No matter how superhuman, swinging a sword without the ground to stand on would inherently weaken its power.

Of course, I could think of countermeasures. The easiest method was to use magic. If I could use magic without any movements, I could lift the ground beneath to disrupt my opponent’s balance or create a wind to launch myself into the air.

However, how effective such means would be against Yuri was questionable. Even if I couldn’t see mana, and even if I gathered the sword energy far removed from reading the flow, for that seasoned monster, blocking any sign of magic was far too easy.

Otherwise, I could gamble and kick Yuri’s body while leaping back to gain distance, but if it was a method available only to me, it seemed different.

The silver mana strands wrapped around my body, blocking Yuri’s barrage effortlessly. The mana of the Silver Shadow supported me from below.

In this situation, I could swing my sword. Firmly driving the doppelganger forward, propelled by the recoil, I threw it into the air and drew White.

As the doppelganger twirled down above me, a pair of shadowy arms sprouted from behind and caught it. Shadow’s Elemental Enhancement, Shadow Arms.

“That one is quite impressive, truly.”

“I can add one more set. So, how about a three-on-one match?”

“That’s quite the uneven odds…. Well, if you think you can handle me with such minor tricks, you’re vastly mistaken.”

Thanks to relatively diligent training, my shadow arms could now move as naturally as my original arms, yet they seemed to Yuri as mere tricks. It was a bit irritating, but if Yuri said that, then I guess that’s how it is.

As I blocked Yuri’s barrage with White, my shadow arms lifted the doppelganger high above my head. By using the finesse of the Motion of Flowing Blade, I sidestepped her strike for a moment, and simultaneously, a powerful downward slash fell like a guillotine.

It seemed that even Yuri, facing Yeon-woo’s descending blow which had reached the master’s realm, found it burdensome and chose to avoid it. Finally, after having had solid ground underneath my feet after a long time, I gasped and spoke.

“Are you not going a bit too easy on me, master? You said you’d go all out!”

What I said was reasonable. The Flowing Blade and everything else were born of Yuri’s craftsmanship. I had unconsciously used them because of my familiarity, but every time, I had to swallow a gasp because Yuri would never let that opportunity slip.

“Aww, tsk tsk. I just wanted to play with my cute disciple a bit.”

With that mumble, Yuri came close again with her arms crossed behind her back. Now the real fierce battle was surely about to begin. Yeon-woo, steeling her heart, swung her sword.

That day, I got thoroughly beaten just like a dog on a hot summer day. Oh, what a wretched day!

*

“Okay, everyone. Are we ready?”

In the woods lined with all kinds of mechanical devices, Yeon-woo said that.

It was a familiar place. Of course. Although I had relied on AR to find it, there was no way Yeon-woo could forget this place.

The vegetation had become richer compared to before the regression, and that was likely thanks to Kesh and the Tree of Life. That was a change that wasn’t bad at all.

Upon Yeon-woo’s words, Riley, the researchers, and the kids nodded. From a distance, Nea was watching the scene unfold. This was an unprecedented experiment.

An experiment to forcibly open a gate that hadn’t even shown any premonition. It was a process of dismantling the phenomenon of the gate, whose causes remained still unclear.

“Today, we will greet great success. And we shall see a complete dragon.”

That was something that made both Yeon-woo and the researchers’ hearts tremble. Even a hatchling like Shar exuded tremendous presence, so how would a full-grown dragon be? The glory and emotion it could bring were beyond imagination.

Now the researchers understood their circumstances well. After all, the theme of families not being able to meet among Koreans resonated well. The reality of separated families due to the North-South war was very real for them.

“If we’re ready, let’s begin.”

With Yeon-woo’s command, a massive dome-like barrier enveloped the area. As she moved toward the center of that barrier, Yeon-woo raised a violet dagger.

“I’ve come to meet you, my love. It’s time to escape that dark cave.”

Filled with the yearning to meet, Yeon-woo tore through the air. The ominous dagger wrapped in purple mana slowly, began to pierce into the space.

(To be continued in the next episode)

 

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