Chapter 09 - Goblin Hunt

After a long standoff with my father, I was able to reach one conclusion.

No matter what kind of sword path I created, or how I struggled, there was simply no answer against my father.

Even if I looked several moves ahead, I could not draw a picture where I found an opening.

This was not simply an image created by delusion.

It felt like holding a single egg and facing a giant rock.

If so, there was no reason to struggle with an unsolvable problem.

In the end, I lowered the sword I had raised and said.

“I give up.”

Thus, I declared my surrender without swinging my sword even once.

It was a very unfamiliar experience for me.

I had swung my sword even when facing a dragon, believing in a sliver of a chance of success.

A belief that I could at least leave a scratch on the dragon's scales.

But now, I couldn't even expect that.

“Give up….”

At my sudden declaration of surrender, my father seemed lost in deep thought.

The silence grew as long as it had during our earlier standoff, and only after a long while did my father open his mouth.

“May I ask the reason?”

To that question, I answered with the conclusion I had just reached.

There was no reason to hide it.

If I accepted that I was Seo Ji-han and not Johan Raven, this difference in class was not something to be ashamed of in the slightest.

“An interesting answer.”

“It is my honest feeling.”

My father gave me a gentle smile.

“Then I must ask one more thing. You declared surrender after a rather long standoff. Was it because you initially thought it was possible to lay a hand on my body?”

“That is not it. However, I intended to look for any possible opening you might show and at least follow your trail.”

“But in the end, you didn’t even attempt it, did you?”

“Actually, I did attempt it.”

“……You attempted it?”

“Yes. I took three steps towards you, Father, as you stood like a rock. With each step I took, I observed your breathing.”

“An interesting story. So?”

“What I hoped for was a very slight crack that the closing distance might create. I intended to dig in right away if I could find it.”

“So in the end, you couldn’t find it.”

“Because the difference in class between you and me was too great.”

As I finished my words, my father burst into hearty laughter.

He seemed to be in a very good mood.

As much as when he had confirmed the improvement of my illness at the hospital.

“That was a fun story, Ji-han.”

In truth, I couldn't know how my father received my story.

Nor did I say it hoping he would fully understand.

If he did understand it all, it would mean he was at a similar level to my Johan Raven self.

“Did my laughter sound like a scoff to you?”

“No.”

Surprisingly, it did not.

“It is truly a strange thing that your words did not sound completely absurd to me. They were somehow strangely persuasive.”

“I am just grateful that you listened seriously.”

“Actually, there was a reason I couldn’t dismiss all your words. The moment you came walking towards me with your sword, I had an unbelievable feeling.”

“What kind of feeling was it?”

“No. It’s too strange a story, so let’s stop there.”

Then, my father burst into hearty laughter again.

I could roughly guess what he might have been thinking.

It was a skill befitting the head of a prestigious sword family.

He had vaguely sensed my true nature, which possessed only a speck of mana. Of course, that feeling would immediately evaporate and fly away, but even this was not something just anyone could do.

“I must meet with your attending physician again soon. I need to confirm if your body has truly improved further, Ji-han.”

“You will surely hear a better opinion than last time.”

“If it is as you say, what more could I ask for!”

“If you confirm that my body is rapidly improving….”

“Then I will sincerely congratulate you on your pass. And we will have to have a deep conversation about your future.”

My father’s voice was full of excitement.

This was a success.

It felt like I had overcome a hurdle that was much more burdensome than the qualification test.

Now, my job was to get my body into a slightly better condition before visiting the hospital again.

***

When I was soaking my body in the Spring of Elixir like this, I would often feel a sense of elation, as if I could recover my former strength right away.

Of course, that was just a temporary illusion caused by the refreshing feeling of the spring.

Seo Ji-han’s cursed body was not something that improved so easily.

Even if I poured all of my past life's insights into it, it would only get better little by little.

“Hoo.”

After finishing the mana heart technique, I let out a deep breath.

Today, too, there was a satisfactory result.

Compared to when I took the qualification test, it felt like the mana in my dantian had grown by at least 30 percent more.

This much meant I had reached the short-term goal I had initially planned.

“Are you all done, Young Master?”

“Yeah. That’s enough for today.”

“You finished earlier than yesterday.”

“I have a place to stop by today.”

“A place to stop by other than home?”

“Why are you so surprised?”

“Weren’t you someone who rarely went out, Young Master? It’s only because of the Abyss that you’ve been leaving the house lately.”

“So, now that my body is recovering, should I just stay cooped up at home?”

“Well, that’s not it, but.”

From now on, I was going to be much busier. I didn't acquire the Hunter License just to keep it tucked away in a closet.

In the future, I planned to conquer Dungeons and explore far into the Abyss.

Above all, there was a goal I had to achieve in this second life.

To go beyond recovering my past life's power and reach an even higher realm.

So that even if I met a dragon again, I wouldn't be turned to ash as helplessly as before.

‘But will I ever meet a dragon in this place called Earth?’

I had confirmed that the concept of a dragon existed on Earth.

However, only as a monster of imagination, not one that actually existed.

It was just a pity that in the thousands of years of human history, a dragon had never appeared.

But even as I thought about revenge against the dragon, a hollow laugh escaped me when I considered my current level.

Because all I could hunt was still just a mob of goblins.

“Ho-joong.”

“Yes, Young Master.”

“On the way back to the exit of the Abyss today, I’m thinking of hunting some goblins.”

“Goblin hunting? It’s been a while since you’ve taken action yourself. How many do you plan to take on today?”

“You, you’ve completely misunderstood what I mean.”

“Pardon?”

“I’m saying I’ll take care of all the ones that appear on the way back.”

“You’re joking, right?”

“Ho-joong, have I ever joked around much?”

“Well… you’re usually no fun, Young Master.”

“So I’ll just hunt in no-fun mode, so just watch carefully.”

At my words, Choi Ho-joong let out a deep sigh as if the ground would collapse.

“Understood. However, if you seem to be in even the slightest danger, I will intervene immediately.”

“No. Don’t.”

“Why on earth?”

“It’s natural for monsters to be dangerous, isn’t it?”

I was not yet at a stage where I could hunt with complete stability.

No matter how efficiently I hunted by only striking the goblins’ vital points, the amount of mana this damn body possessed was at a precarious level, and I had no choice but to accept a reasonable level of risk.

In that process, I could also get injured.

It was highly likely that the journey to the exit of the Abyss would be a thrilling tightrope walk.

What I would challenge today was to proceed with that tightrope walk entirely on my own, without Choi Ho-joong’s help.

“You’re planning to work me to death, aren’t you.”

“I’ve never heard of a person drying up and dying, and isn’t it a good thing for you too if you lose some weight on this occasion?”

“You’re still no fun.”

“I didn’t say it to be funny. Among swordsmen, I’ve never seen a bloated one reach the top class. So you, lose some weight.”

“Why did the topic suddenly shift to me losing weight?”

“Anyway, don’t intervene until you feel like you’re going to dry up and die. Of course, that won’t happen, but, well, did you get that?”

Choi Ho-joong was speechless with a dazed expression.

Still, he must have roughly understood what I meant.

“Oh, right. About the place I said we’d stop by on the way. Ah-yeon will be coming there too.”

“Shin Ah-yeon?”

“I’m planning to buy her a sword. You should pick one out too if you find something you like.”

Since I passed the test, I planned to clear my debt as promised.

This was also an investment in the future.

After all, Choi Ho-joong and Shin Ah-yeon would be the first to join the sword unit I would soon create.

***

Seogeok!

Seogeok!

Seogeok!

Three goblins were instantly sliced apart by my sword.

When several of them attacked me at once like this, I had to raise my concentration to a high level.

As I was trying to split and use my speck of mana again, I had to deliver the most efficient attack, but that was not as simple a problem as it sounded.

This was because for every single moment a goblin moved, the number of ways I could respond split into hundreds of options. I had to choose the optimal route among them.

Of course, I couldn't help but admire my own genius for calculating all of this in a fleeting moment.

Then, a sense of emptiness would suddenly wash over me.

If only my mana was at a normal level, it would be a matter of simply cutting them down without much thought.

In fact, hunting these goblins should be easier than breathing.

“Are you alright, Young Master!”

Choi Ho-joong would never be able to imagine.

Just how intense of a calculation process I was fighting with right now.

“As you can see, I’m fine.”

“You were in danger! The goblin’s dagger almost touched your body!”

“I haven’t been hit once so far.”

“My heart feels like it’s going to burst just watching! I don’t know why you always swing your sword so precariously.”

It was impossible to enlighten this ignorant fellow right now.

“Then again, what would a guy like you know?”

“What do you mean by that!”

There was no other way but to take him along and teach him one by one.

This guy would be my right-hand man, so he naturally had to rise to a certain level.

Teaching others was one of the 4,885 things I was good at during my time as Johan Raven, so Choi Ho-joong was a very lucky guy.

“Anyway, don’t even think about interfering.”

My pace was better than I had planned.

I was using my mana sparingly, and I hadn't allowed any significant attacks from the goblins.

If I continued like this, it would be possible to maintain a clean body condition until I reached the exit.

“I’m really going to dry up and die!”

Come to think of it, this kind of training today was a method I had never even tried during my time as Johan Raven.

In fact, since my body's performance was superior from birth, there was no reason to, but I thought I might be able to discover things I had missed.