958 - Childhood Friend of the Zenith

He was thrown out. Suddenly, he found himself barefoot, expelled from the tea house, staring blankly at the building. "You've got to be kidding me..." Being kicked out like this? It was absurd. Bang, bang. "Elder! Elder, please open the door! You said you'd tell me!" He pounded on the door with all his might, but there was no response from within. It was clearly a closed door for a guest. And then. Vrrrm-! Boom-! "Ugh!?" A vibration was felt, followed by an impact that hit his body. His body lifted off the ground and was flung far away. Barely managing to land on the ground, he rolled his eyes around. "...Damn it." Fury boiled within him. He had promised to teach, so what was the meaning of this behavior? "Won't open, huh? If it won't open, then I'll have to break in." He clenched his fist, channeling all his emotions into it. He focused his energy on his heart. He intended to use the Heavenly Demon Divine Art once more. However. 'Huh?' A chuckle escaped him as the energy circulated. The power of friction remained the same, and the flow around his imagination was intact. But. 'Look at this?' The strength of the sorcery's thread had changed. It was more delicate and intricately woven. The force binding his martial arts techniques had intensified considerably. Could it be that the number of sorcery threads had increased? Or had he learned something from the turtle? Whatever the reason, it was good. 'Since the binding force has strengthened.' The leaking power became less frequent. And thus. 'I can hold onto even stronger friction.' By holding the friction, his strength would rise even higher. Crunch-! Veins bulged. The pressure he felt was far stronger than what he usually experienced. This was potentially enough to cause internal injuries had he unleashed it. Even so. 'It's nice.' He was satisfied with the potential to grow stronger. Breaking his body? He could endure such things a hundred times over. What he couldn't endure was. 'Not advancing.' He refused to remain stagnant and do nothing. He had learned painfully in his past life, and this time had to be different. If there was a path forward, he would not stop. If there was a way to go, he would employ every means and method possible. Vrrrrrr---!!! The rough spinning loop finally concluded its preparation. At the moment he intended to unleash it. [If you dare to unleash that towards this direction, I'll never reveal anything to you again.] He paused. Hearing the turtle's words compelled him to freeze. The voice was coming directly from within the tea house. Hearing that, he spoke to the turtle as if finding it absurd. "...Is that a threat?" [Yes, it is.] "..." So straightforward. When someone was that straightforward, there wasn't much to say. [I'm not joking, so choose wisely.] "...Tsk…." Upon hearing this, he knew he only had one option. Fwaaah-!! He released the energy contained within his body. The energy that had coursed through him spread outward again, only this time the intensity was far greater. The wind that burst forth swept all around him momentarily. The intensity was enough to surprise even himself. '...Sigh.' With such a rebound, what would have happened if he had unleashed it? He anticipated it would have been far more intense than when he had fired upon Shin Noya. "Shhh..." A hot breath escaped through his lips. It was anticipation. The more he practiced, the more success he achieved. His anticipation for the power he was about to harness grew deeper. Why was it? Why was he so obsessed with this when it was neither other martial arts nor anything else? If he had to pinpoint a reason, it might seem simple. '...Because I created it.' Even though it was merely a combination of the inherent powers he had, perhaps it was the sense of achieving something by himself. For some peculiar reason, he was drawn to this power he had crafted. '...Just like with the Holy Spear back then.' It was similar to when he first transformed Eomyok into the Eomyokseongchang. Not something originally existing as part of the Guga line, but rather a power he had tried for the first time himself. He seemed to have an unusual fixation on such things. And so it seemed to be this way now as well. "Sigh." He dusted off his hands. After quelling the energy that had been causing friction, he turned around. "...I'll leave for now. But you better keep your promise." He spoke to the turtle, knowing it would listen. He meant those words as a request to keep teaching him the sorcery as promised. [...] There was no reply, but he didn't linger, continuing on his way. He had acquired enough for today. An additional loop. While he wasn't sure what significance this held yet. For now, he decided this would suffice. ***************** After turning away from the tea house, the destination he headed for wasn't elsewhere. Clang-! Clang, clang-! A place filled with intense heat and rough sounds. It was the blacksmith's shop he had visited last time. Heat saturated the air right from the entrance. The heat was so intense that even the Nine Flames Wheel Technique momentarily spun to block it. Clang-! Ignoring the sound assaulting his ears, he walked inside. At that moment. Shhhh... Emotions surged from all directions. Although the heat remained, the noise suddenly fell silent. The stillness was uncomfortable, causing him to grin. "This welcoming atmosphere isn't so bad." With a smile, he spoke as a loud thud accompanied something flying at him. Clunk. Catching the incoming object effortlessly turned out to be a hammer. "...You little...!!" A rough voice echoed. He tilted his head to see the owner of the voice was the blacksmith he had met previously. What was his name again? He couldn't quite recall... But he did know that the blacksmith harbored deep loathing for him. To the extent that he'd likely want to kill him. "What are you doing here!!" Screeech-! The blacksmith grabbed a sword hanging on the wall and charged at him. His approach caused the other gnomes present to widen their eyes. What should he do? Observing it calmly, he moved his foot. Wham-! "Ugh!?" Thud-!! He swept the legs to lose the blacksmith's balance, causing him to crash to the ground. The sword he held tumbled onto the floor. "Grrr…!!" Yet, the blacksmith tried to rise immediately. Wham-! "Oof!" He stomped on the blacksmith's back, holding him down. "You… you...!" As the fellow tried to speak with a voice full of hostility, Not only him but the gnomes around started to reveal their emotions and draw their weapons. "It's the dragon." "He's the one they called the dragon." "Really... a dragon." The sounds and gazes filled with fear mingled with rage. He sighed quietly as he subtly listened to them. "...I was planning to let this go, to some extent." Having been expelled so unexpectedly made it hard for him to treat them kindly. He infused his voice with his exhaled sigh. Thump-! [Do not move.] --!!!! Upon his command, their bodies froze in place. Furthermore, the fierce fear that was evident in their eyes intensified even more. "…Dra… Dragon's Word…!?" "He really was a dragon...!" Apparently, they knew of the Dragon's Word; as soon as they experienced it, their bodies began to tremble. "Damn it...!" "Even here.... We can't get caught..." "Why does the headmaster...?" The voices, filled with resentment, reached his ears. It seemed like they had some serious negative sentiments toward dragons. “It’s worse than I anticipated.” He had expected some level of animosity, but not to this extent. While absorbing these emotions. ‘Hmm?’ Something wriggled beneath him. “Ugh…!!!” It was the guy he had been stepping on earlier. "Oh?" He widened his eyes at the sight. Judging by his demeanor and energy, it didn’t seem like he was trained in martial arts. Yet he was resisting the Dragon's Word. “Grr… Hnnng!!” His veins were bulging as if his body was on the verge of breaking. If left like that, he might actually shatter. So he relieved the pressure he was exerting. "Arrrrgh---!!!" The man mustered all his strength and rose abruptly. Of course, it also helped that he had removed his foot. "I'll kill you…!!" Whether he realized this or not, the fellow grabbed the sword from the ground and charged at him once more. “…Hmm.” He lightly scratched his cheek at the sight. -Whoosh!! Meanwhile, the sword came flying at him. He calmly observed the haphazard flight of the sword. He slowly reached out his hand. Snap-! He grabbed the sword blade. The man sneered when he saw him hold the sword. "Foolish man...!" With his words, a sound emanated from his hand. Sizzle---!!! The pain was an added bonus. The sound of flesh burning and its distinctive scent assaulted his nostrils. It seemed to be made from the same metal as before. "To grab the sword with your hand, have you forgotten what happened last time…?" The man frowned momentarily as he tried to speak triumphantly. He seemed to have realized something. Naturally so. Sizzle. Even as his hand sizzled away, he stared nonchalantly at the man. The pain was excruciating. His flesh was melting so quickly that his bones must already be visible. Yet, he was looking at him without a hint of distress. “How… How is this…?” “Calm down, will you? Being so rash isn’t good for anyone. You’ll die young if you keep this up.” “...” His words made the man's eyes waver. While maintaining eye contact, he didn’t release his grip. Even though his hand continued to melt, it didn’t matter. “I’m here because I have a question.” He asked the man. “Do you know about the Dragon King?” “…!!” The man’s body shook violently. His reaction said it all. Clearly, he knew something, and it wasn’t positive. “You…! You’re with him…!” “Oh, don’t misunderstand.” Sensing the man’s misunderstanding, he cut him off immediately and continued. “I’m not on his side.” “What…?” “To be precise…” He let go of the sword he was holding. Thud. As soon as he let go, blood and pieces of flesh fell from his palm. “I’m on the side trying to kill him.” “…What?” His words made the man’s eyes widen as large as lanterns. Seeing this, he smiled broadly and spoke. “So, how about having a chat with me?” The small old man’s eyes continued to tremble, but at least the swords didn’t come flying again. It was a relief. Had it happened once more, he would have pulled out the old man’s arm before talking to him.