Chapter 79

 

He lifted his head and looked up at the sky.

 

“… It’s starting to get dark.”

 

When he entered the Sky Tower, the sun was still shining brightly, but now it was evening and darkness had set in.

 

“Sigh…”

 

An involuntary sigh escaped him.

 

He had seen so much today.

 

Winning the training match, meeting a mysterious woman named Agna.

 

“I never thought I’d see a mage in person.”

 

Even for someone with a body beyond human, it was impossible not to feel tired.

 

The conversation with Martes was especially exhausting because of the tension that couldn’t be put off.

 

‘Are all the guardians of the empire like that?’

 

Didn’t the swordsman Dariel also drag him to the training ground and aim his sword at him when they first met?

 

Martes hadn’t unleashed any magic, but her words were more frightening than any mental attack.

 

It was almost as if Seo Woojin had revealed all his secrets.

 

‘I have to be careful.’

 

To be honest, he had been somewhat relaxed until now.

 

As long as he didn’t say it out loud, the fact that he was the ‘Demon King’ wouldn’t be revealed.

 

Unless he was a fool, Seo Woojin had no intention of revealing it.

 

But now he had to be careful.

 

One never knew when such incidents would happen again.

 

Taking another deep breath, Seo Woojin naturally walked towards the training ground.

 

“Are they still there?”

 

After the training match, they had planned to train together at the training ground.

 

However, unexpected events occurred and time passed too quickly.

 

Seo Woojin, who was worried that the heroes he had decided to train with might be waiting, quickly moved his feet.

 

“Let’s see.”

 

After a while, it seemed that there were still people in the training ground.

 

“They’re working hard.”

 

With a satisfied smile, Seo Woojin entered the training ground.

 

“Sorry for being late… Huh?”

 

He thought they were taking a break due to exhaustion, but upon closer inspection, that wasn’t the case.

 

Except for three people, everyone else had collapsed on the hard floor.

 

As if they had fainted, they weren’t moving at all.

 

What’s going on?

 

Seo Woojin turned his gaze to the three standing people and grinned.

 

“Lee Ji-ah, Gu Dong-hwan and… Gye Suji?”

 

Their faces were familiar to Seo Woojin.

 

However, they were all breathing heavily, showing signs of exhaustion.

 

Seo Woojin approached them cautiously.

 

“Um…”

 

“Woah, damn it! You scared me!”

 

Gu Dong-hwan was surprised and swung his sword.

 

The sound of the wind cutting sharply echoed.

 

But Seo Woojin easily dodged it and raised his hand.

 

“It’s me. Seo Woojin.”

 

“Uncle!”

 

Only then did Lee Ji-ah, recognising Seo Woojin, call out to him with a delighted expression on her face.

 

“Where have you been? You said you’d be here soon! Do you know how long we’ve been waiting?”

 

“Uh, sorry.”

 

Seo Woojin apologised with an awkward smile in response to Lee Ji-ah’s bombardment of questions, more terrifying than Gu Dong-hwan’s surprise attack.

 

“Uh-haha! Are you okay? I was surprised too without realising it… I’m sorry.”

 

“I’m fine.”

 

Gu Dong-hwan lowered his head with an embarrassed expression.

 

No matter how surprised he was, he had swung such a weapon…

 

Seo Woojin deliberately turned away from Gu Dong-hwan, who was wearing a yellow dress, and looked at Lee Ji-ah.

 

“But what happened? Why is everyone stretched out like that?”

 

Kim Dahye, Kang Byeong-gyu, Yu Hong-seol, Jin Tae-seong.

 

Even Irene.

 

All four of them were lying in a heap, breathing heavily.

 

“Oh, well…”

 

Lee Ji-ah glanced furtively in one direction.

 

“Gye Suji.

 

There was Gye Suji, an A-rank hero with the profession of ‘Battlemaster’.

 

“We had a sparring session together.”

 

Lee Ji-ah continued her explanation.

 

‘Um… so they all got beaten up and collapsed, is that what happened?’

 

The only ones who survived were Lee Ji-ah and Gu Dong-hwan.

 

Seo Woojin looked at Gye Suji with a new perspective.

 

“I didn’t expect to see you here.”

 

“We agreed to have a fight once.”

 

When Seo Woojin pretended not to know, Gye Suji responded with a smile.

 

“Well, yes.”

 

Seo Woojin was also looking forward to meeting her.

 

If the schedule hadn’t been messed up, they might have been fighting vigorously by now.

 

“Then how about now…?”

 

Seo Woojin asked with a subtle look in his eyes.

 

Hearing this, Gye Suji opened her mouth with an uncharacteristically hearty laugh.

 

“I’d like to say yes! … But to be honest, I’m pretty tired too.”

 

Well.

 

Seo Woojin nodded.

 

No matter how strong she was, it would be impossible not to get tired after sparring with so many people. 

 

Besides, Gu Dong-hwan was especially strong among them.

 

“Then I can only look forward to the next opportunity.”

 

Seo Woojin said with a hint of disappointment and Gye Suji held out her hand.

 

“No, I just need a short rest and I can recover enough.”

 

“What? But it’s too late for that.”

 

“It’s okay. I have a recovery skill, so it’ll only take about 10 minutes.”

 

“Recovery skill?

 

Seo Woojin looked at Gye Suji in surprise.

 

The power to heal was rare. 

 

In this world, it was a power granted only to the priests of Aier, and only a few heroes could use it. 

 

For example, someone like the ‘Saint’ Seong Yura…

 

But Gye Suji, a ‘Battlemaster’, had a healing ability?

 

Gye Suji smiled slightly at Seo Woojin’s surprised expression.

 

“It’s not the kind of skill you’re thinking of. I can’t use it on others, and the recovery range is limited to my physical strength.”

 

It wasn’t a healing type of recovery that healed injuries or wounds. 

 

It was simply a skill that restored depleted stamina.

 

And she couldn’t use it on others, which was a bit disappointing.

 

“But how did you get such a skill? Aren’t you a fighter, unnie?”

 

Lee Ji-ah asked.

 

“Check your own skills. You’re also a ‘Fist Master’ and there must be some skills unrelated to that, right?”

 

“Ah…”

 

Seo Woojin and Lee Ji-ah nodded.

 

Surely, skills that didn’t seem to fit with the profession would appear from time to time.

 

Even though Seo Woo Jin is a ‘Demon King’, doesn’t he have a number of skills that only knights or swordsmen can use?

 

“Sure. I have magical skills too.”

 

With that, Lee Ji-ah raised her hand in the air and shouted.

 

“Lightning!”

 

Kurung!

 

A bolt of lightning struck the dry sky.

 

The floor of the training hall, where a single lightning bolt had been struck, was charred black and emitting smoke.

 

“You have that kind of ability too?”

 

Seo Woojin asked in surprise, and Lee Ji-ah nodded with a mischievous smile.

 

“But I haven’t really had a chance to use it in a real fight. It consumes an enormous amount of magical power, and most importantly…”

 

She raised the gauntlet-clad fist.

 

“My punch is stronger.”

 

A strike stronger than lightning.

 

In the past, Seo Woojin would have dismissed it as nonsense, but not now. Lee Ji-ah’s punch was undoubtedly powerful.

 

Using a few spells was less efficient than swinging a fist.

 

“That is true. Still, just in case there’s a time to use it, it’s good to get used to it.”

 

“How would I do that?”

 

“Well, let’s think about that later.”

 

“Yes! Got it, Uncle!”

 

I wish she would stop calling me “Uncle”. 

 

Seo Woojin made a bitter face.

 

“Then please wait a moment. I’ll recover quickly and come back.”

 

“Oh, sure. I understand.”

 

As Seo Woojin replied, Gye Suji went to a corner of the battlefield and used her abilities.

 

A faint green light surrounded her body.

 

Seo Woojin wasn’t sure of the details, but it seemed that this light played a role in amplifying her self-healing ability.

 

“Has everyone been hit by Gye Suji?”

 

Seo Woojin asked, pointing at the fallen people.

 

“Hahaha! I got hit too!”

 

As if boasting, Gu Dong-hwan stroked his own head.

 

Gye Suji and Gu Dong-hwan.

 

With the skills of these two, it was not unreasonable for them to fight until they were exhausted.

 

Although they had become stronger through training together, these two were particularly outstanding among the A-Class Heroes.

 

“How strong is she?”

 

Actually, Seo Woojin didn’t really see Gye Suji fight.

 

With Lee Ji-ah, it ended too quickly and he couldn’t analyse it afterwards.

 

However, it seemed certain that she used a fighting technique close to mixed martial arts.

 

“Unnie is incredibly strong! Even though I was prepared from the beginning this time, I couldn’t stand up to her”.

 

She seemed strong enough to even beat Lee Ji-ah, who wouldn’t lose easily elsewhere.

 

“Well, unfortunately, my magic didn’t work well either.”

 

When Gu Dong-hwan spoke with embarrassment, Seo Woojin was surprised.

 

‘Gu Dong-hwan’s magic didn’t work?’

Gu Dong-hwan was known to be able to use magic. 

 

Because he was a ‘Magical Girl’ to begin with.

 

The power was formidable, but Seo Woojin found Gu Dong-hwan’s magic terrifying in a different way.

 

‘A name that will make you go crazy and its sparkling effect.’

 

And every time he used magic, he was exposed little by little… … .

 

‘Let’s not think about it.’

 

Even the memory of it made his stomach turn.

 

The magic was strong, but the visual attack was just as deadly as Mertes’.

 

Seo Woo Jin shook his head and tried to erase the image that came to his mind, then quickly approached those who had fallen.

 

“Let’s clear the area first.”

 

He would go on the rampage as soon as Gye Suji’s stamina was restored.

 

So it seemed best to clear the area first.

 

“All right!”

 

“I’m really looking forward to this.”

 

Lee Ji-ah and Gu Dong-hwan grabbed the legs of the fallen and dragged them to a corner of the arena.

 

Meanwhile, seeing that they still couldn’t regain their composure, it seemed that Gye Suji had hit them quite hard.

 

After the arena had been cleaned up, Gye Suji was seen getting up from her seat just as she had finished recovering.

 

“Are you done?”

 

“Oh, yes. Sorry to keep you waiting.”

 

“No problem.”

 

Seo Woojin was also looking forward to a match with Gye Suji.

 

Besides, he was the one who was late in the first place, so she had no reason to apologise.

 

The two went to the centre of the arena, and stood facing each other.

 

“Oh, by the way, congratulations on your victory.”

 

Gye Suji congratulated him with a smile, but her eyes were burning brightly.

 

Seo Woojin, who had fought and won against Baek Siwoo, who had defeated her, seemed to have excited her greatly.

 

‘Indeed, her competitive spirit is strong.’

 

She could have been intimidated, but instead her fighting spirit was on fire.

 

‘A person like that will become stronger.’

 

Ambition.

 

Those who are not satisfied with reality and strive to become even stronger.

 

Seo Woojin looked at Gye Suji with a satisfied expression, thinking that she was such a person.

 

“Well then, please come first.”

 

Seo Woojin drew his sword.

 

The new sword, ‘Rune Dea’.

 

The pure white sword spirit revealed itself, emitting an aura that seemed to burn the flesh.

 

Gye Suji’s gaze dropped slightly as she felt the aura of the sword.

 

Tension was rising in the face of the impending battle.

 

“Well then… here I go!”

 

Crash!

 

As soon as the words were spoken, Gye Suji’s right foot struck Seo Woojin’s solar plexus.

 

No, just before the strike, Seo Woojin’s arm blocked her attack.

 

‘Strong.’

 

Feeling the heaviness in his left arm, Seo Woojin furrowed his brow.

 

However, despite the impact, Seo Woojin instinctively raised his sword.

 

No special technique or skill, just a simple upward slash.

 

However, the speed was far beyond Gye Suji’s imagination.

 

Swoosh!