War God (2)

On the first-floor dining room, four women sat together, taking turns sighing.

Lee Hyo-ju and Hazel wore faces full of worry, Mae Young-ryeong was biting her nails, and Naruan, unlike her usual self, had propped her chin on the table and was slouched.

“…Hing. I wonder if the boss has woken up?”

“Who knows. Since his companion came out of the underground training hall, he hasn’t shown up on my detection, like Talis and Bioss.”

“Same here. I can’t sense our master’s presence.”

Hazel and Mae Young-ryeong answered Naruan’s question with ‘I don’t know.’ Frustrated, Naruan let out a deep sigh.

“But why are the old men not letting us in?”

She raised her head again to complain, but none of those gathered knew the reason. They were simply curtly driven out with orders to stay put for a while.

At first they tried to bluff or come up with plausible excuses, and later even used their divine powers, but the two of them expelled them while radiating a killing intent one might see during sparring.

“Sigh…”

“Nothing will happen.”

“Yes, that’s how it should be.”

“Of course.”

The four women’s sighs deepened.

I woke up feeling so refreshed I couldn’t even remember when I last felt this clear.

I somehow didn’t want to get out of bed. A pleasant lethargy spread through my body, making me want to dawdle a little longer.

But something wriggling in my arms forced me to throw off the covers and get up.

“…When did you come in, Jaryong.”

“Gyaa~?”

I was about to tousle the little thing’s head and climb out of bed when it looked up at me with an annoyingly inquisitive expression, as if asking, ‘Why~?’.

“Gyaa~?”

“Master, where are you going?”

“What?”

“Gyaa gyaa~?”

“Master, where are you going?”

“…Ugh.”

I sat up on the edge of the bed.

Since this couldn’t have happened without a reason, I first checked the descriptions of the new skills and talents I had been reading yesterday.

“Ah… is it because of this…?”

I gently petted the Jaryong curled up on my lap and checked the rest of the skill descriptions.

“Good, definitely.”

A satisfying sense of accomplishment made my chest throb.

In a good mood, I rose with a genuine smile for the first time in a while and headed to the terrace.

In the meantime, the Jaryong leapt gracefully onto my head and settled, belly down, comfortably.

Smaller than when it first hatched after being fed the Earth Dragon Heart, it likes to lie or sit on my head or shoulder, just like now.

Sitting on the terrace, I asked the Jaryong.

“By the way, Jaryong, do you understand what I say?”

“Yes.”

“Really? I see.”

“Yes. But where are you going, Master?”

“No…”

“I see. Then will you play with me?”

“But why are you speaking informally?”

“…?!”

While talking with the Jaryong, the door slammed open and Talis and Bioss strode onto the terrace.

Without even sitting down, they stared at me and asked.

“How do you feel?”

I didn’t, or couldn’t, answer Bioss’s blunt question and instead stared back at them.

“I asked how you feel.”

“Of course I feel…”

My mood was odd. It felt like the morning after all exams are over—an aversion to moving even a finger; a lethargy dominated my whole body.

Is that why I hadn’t left the room? Had something gone wrong?

“…Everything feels tiresome.”

“Puhehehe. Even a monster like you can’t do anything about this time, huh.”

“True, if we’d skipped this too, we’d have really had to dissect you.”

Bioss and Talis laughed heartily, clutching their stomachs.

Relieved that nothing was wrong based on their reaction, I leaned back in my chair.

Without waiting for one another, they sat at my table, each taking a bottle of liquor and setting it down.

“Disciple, do you know that this old man and I have been guarding your door until now?”

“…Huh? No, why?”

“Why!! Because of the girls trying to get into your sinful room! The one who smells like a high elf, the tiny one, the well-behaved one, and the one who broods with gloomy energy! A perfect mix!!”

Talis, clearly steamed up, pointed a finger at me as he raised his voice.

According to Talis, Naruan and Mae Young-ryeong, who tried to use skills to get in, were nothing.

Hazel and Lee Hyo-ju even manifested their divine powers, and they complained nonstop—‘They’re vicious, annoying,’ saying they almost lost out.

“Why not just give them a good scolding? Or use that method you used on me, the one that prevents both skills and divine powers?”

“Hmph. You idiot, do you think those kids are monsters like you? What if something happens when you restrict skills and divine powers in fragile kids!”

Wait, does that mean it’s okay for me to get stabbed while out and about?

After returning from the legion achievement expedition, they insisted I had to gain enlightenment daily and thus restricted divine powers and even passive skills, causing me to miss out on the Heavenly Body effect that increases by one every six months.

Of course, I gained many benefits that can’t be quantified, but hearing them say that makes me feel grateful and oddly annoyed at the same time.

“How will the training proceed now? Will you restrict my skills and divine powers again?”

“No.”

Talis answered firmly. The two of them then fell silent, drinking as if in thought.

Then both Talis and Bioss spoke at once, and an unexpected word came out.

“We’re sorry.”

“I’m sorry too.”

“…What?”

I would’ve been less surprised if they had just cursed at me, but their sudden apology left me bewildered. The two drank in silence for a long while afterwards.

The Jaryong’s purring and the occasional slurps from Bioss and Talis drinking, mingled with the breeze, creating a strange atmosphere.

I had just gotten up, but seeing the magic lamps turning on one by one, it seemed the day was heading into night.

Just as drowsiness was washing over me again…

“First, we had to apologize.”

“Why all of a sudden?”

Perhaps they’d finished their bottles. Talis opened his mouth, and his heavy, weighty voice spilled out.

“To make an excuse first, none of the representatives so far resembled Manus. Resemble! There wasn’t even anyone who followed his footsteps. But you…”

“You’re like an upgraded version of Manus. We admit that the trainings we forced on you over the past year were all pointless nonsense.”

“The past year? Ah…”

Only then did I begin to vaguely grasp what the two were trying to say.

The past year, my third year, was definitely different from before.

On the way back from the legion achievement expedition, the four transcendents often gathered and whispered about something.

As a result of those whispers, the training method changed significantly until the start of the fourth year. They focused on meditation-based training. Physical training verging on overwork was completely banned.

But after hearing about the effects of this method, I agreed with it.

‘Especially the basic swordsmanship and unarmed techniques cast as slowly as possible, and the use of divine power—I thought they were very effective… Wait!’

“But Manus?”

“Yes, you strangely resembled Manus. The difference, as I said earlier, is that you’re an even bigger monster than Manus, who is already called a monster. You’re what you’d call an ultra-monster. We didn’t know that, or rather we couldn’t imagine it was possible, so we confined your trait to martial and magical training. It was a wrong approach.”

“Hmm…”

“We became certain when you captured the Myryans king using the breaker and magic as if they were nothing. Hoo… it was our misunderstanding. Manus was simply a weapon specialist wielding both ranged and melee weapons. People marveled when he hunted representatives with a common rock. But you…”

Well, with the trait plainly labeled ‘War God,’ it’s not hard to see a similarity to Manus.

However, regarding the training, since I hid my divine power, it’s hard to place all the blame on my two masters.

Besides, in my past life I spent 31 years as a representative on the Battlefield of the Gods, but I never reached anything near this level.

I do miss the Heavenly Strength proficiency increases and the body stats enhanced by Heavenly Strength’s sealing, but judging by how powerless Bioss and Talis sometimes look, the increases from my rising physical grade more than make up for that.

No matter how endless a person’s greed, the two of them had already made me better than the plan I’d set for myself.

“But? I think the past year’s training helped me personally in some ways. It tempered my impatient streak and my habit of not wanting to think, gave me time to calmly assess situations and review what I’d learned. Slowing down the basic sword forms was truly good.”

“Heh heh. You dull disciple, do you dare comfort us? Not a chance. Tsk. A year’s training is crucial for a representative. Because we wasted that, we’ll make you repay it in the remaining year as much as possible. From a month from now until mid-September, prepare yourself. It’ll be days of bloodshed and bones breaking every day.”

“Yes, we’ve come to notify you because there’s much to prepare for that.”

“Training is always welcome, but…”

Their demeanor, more than meaningful, almost solemn, made my voice trail off.

“Kleklek. It’s not just training. We’ll do combat brimming with killing intent, so brace yourself. We’ve planned battles that will mobilize not only you dullards but every chick as well, and once a week we’ll feed you Deicide and Destruction, so be prepared.”

“Once you experience it, you’ll understand why the chick god Caelum flailed the way he did. Hohoho.”

“…Ugh. Understood.”

With that said, Bioss and Talis stood up.

Just before leaving the room, Talis suddenly remembered something, turned back, and left one last remark.

“For one week, you are forbidden from sleeping with women as well, you sinful disciple.”