Chapter 14: Lee Han Got Demoted (3)

Understanding one’s skills and level was important. However, no matter how objectively someone tried to do it, they’d tend to perceive their abilities subjectively and give themselves more positive reviews than not.

But that wasn’t the case with Lee Han, as he was always strict with himself. Then again, as someone without a single teacher to teach him, this was the best that he could do to help himself improve. While he had some special abilities, at the end of the day they were but convenient tools. That was why he had always tried to objectively judge his abilities, all while striving to become better.

How should I estimate my skill…?

Assuming this world was a world of martial artists, then most of the knights should be in the level of a first-rate or even peak martial artist. Meanwhile, those who had learned some Combat Techniques should be at the level of rising stars who’d later inherit their faction’s hopes and dreams.

But, he wasn’t among them. He was like a martial artist who became stronger through sorcery—after all, regeneration that came from sorcery and trolls’ regenerative abilities were similar. Since Lee Han had repeatedly become stronger due to that, he should be at the level of a peak martial artist by now.

And perhaps…

Kwaaaaang-!

The guy in front of him had reached a realm above that; the realm that could only be achieved after one received an enlightenment.

Currently, Lee Han’s body miserably rolled on the dirt ground.

Bang-!

He tried to bounce back, jumping up like a spring and rushed towards his opponent again. The series of movements he performed was so quick and fast, to the point that it didn’t look like the movements that a human could produce but rather a four-legged beast.

Boom-!

Every time Lee Han kicked the floor, the concrete floor broke. Using that momentum, he tackled his opponent. Combining his weight, strength, and speed in one attack, he created a powerful destructive force that was comparable to a speeding dump truck.

Unfortunately for him, not even a fully speeding dump truck could force his opponent to move.

Whirrr-!

“Your movements are still rough. I told you to be more relaxed.”

Just like a butterfly playing with the wind, Baltar dodged Lee Han’s strong tackle and raised his palm before using it to stab Lee Han in the back.

Rumble-!

“Uggggh!”

The floor shook because of it, probably because Baltar added some kind of mysterious power in that stab. Lee Han felt like he had been pierced by a skewer and that same skewer was trying to break his body down. If it was a normal person who had been hit by that stab, not him who had a ridiculously strong body, their body would probably have exploded from the inside and an extremely grotesque sight would unfold.

“…This damned old man!”

“Hahaha! You’ve gotten stronger, I see.”

However, it was Lee Han who received that blow. His body didn’t explode, nor did it collapse.

Squeeze-!

Instead, he grabbed Baltar’s wrist and tightened his grip with a strong enough force to bend iron. If he did this to a normal human, their wrist would shatter like a thin tree branch.

“What good will it do if you just use your strength without thinking?”

However, Baltar didn’t even show any sign of pain facing that strong squeeze. Part of the reason why Aura Users were considered as superhumans was because no matter how weak their bodies look like, they contained superhuman strength that no one would even dare to estimate. That was why, no matter how much strength Lee Han put into his grip, it wouldn’t be easy for him to leave any injury on Baltar’s body.

And as expected…

“Hmph!”

“Keuk!”

Lee Han was blown away in the next moment. A strong pressure burst out of Baltar’s body like an explosion, creating a typhoon that blew Lee Han’s body away.

But…

Boom-!

It wasn’t enough to make him fall. He stayed in the same posture as he continued to strengthen himself. His calves and thighs swelled as if they were going to burst as he gathered more and more strength in them.

And then…

Boooom-!

He made a bold move. Like an arrow shooting out from its bow, his whole body shot out from where he was.

Whoosh-!

Gust of wind swept through the surroundings on his wake. The combination of pressure and shockwave from that gust turned the rocks that were scattered around the arena into sand. That was how scary his power was.

Seeing that, Baltar, who had been making fun of him the whole time, finally dropped the smirk that had been plastered in his mouth since the very start.

And…

“Good.”

Crack!

For the first time, he picked up his sword. Though it was still sheathed in its scabbard, the mere fact that he had picked up his sword was enough to change the atmosphere around him.

Swish-!

Baltar swung his sword before Lee Han could even reach him and slashed at the air. The gesture might look comical, and unknowing people would wonder what the hell he was doing, but the changes brought by that action would definitely leave them awestruck.

Bang-!

“…?!”

Following that loud sound, Lee Han flipped over, as if he had hit something that blocked his path. Unlike a flying arrow that would bury itself in the shield if it was stopped by it, the air barrier Baltar created, while strong, was also soft; it only made Lee Han bounce off without hurting him at all.

“…Old man, you even know how to make a shield out of wind?”

“Just a small trick I picked up. But, it’s a good move to handle a beast that’s weaker than the tyrant of the mountain.”

“…I swear, I’m going insane…”

Hearing the insult, Lee Han couldn’t do anything but sit on the ground, gasping for breath while frowning. He didn’t look that tired though. After all, he didn’t get hit as many times as usual. Also, he had good enough stamina that he wouldn’t get tired just from this level of sparring.

However, that didn’t mean he got away scott free after that spar. After all, his opponent was still an Aura User.

Throb-!

“…Looks like my ribs are broken.”

“Hahaha, just your ribs?”

“Just my ribs? This shit hurts, you know?”

Though he said that, it would probably take only an hour for his ribs to heal themselves.

“You did good. You made me use that technique.”

“How the hell did you do that anyway?”

“What? Anyone could do that as long as they could read the wind’s direction. Those magic freaks often use that.”

“…Anyone could do it my ass. This is the first time I’ve even heard that someone can use magic without spells.”

“The world of martial arts is neverending. As long as you keep on improving yourself, you’ll easily be able to do all the things that those spellcasters could do.”

“Stop bullshitting me.”

If the so-called magic freaks were to hear those words, their reaction would probably be similar to Lee Han’s. That was how absurd those words were.

After facing that kind of feat, Lee Han immediately racked his brain, trying to think about what he should do in order to break through that wall of wind.

Seriously though, no matter how hard I try to beat him, he keeps on bringing out something new…

As expected of a 70-year-old old man, I guess.

He just has too many things up his sleeves.

“By the way, what was that just now? The attack where you flew like an arrow.”

“I called it Bow and Body Shadow.”

“…All the techniques you use are a little strange. The ‘Diamond’ whatever you used before was like that too.”

“Oh, shut it.”

Lee Han grumbled, but in his head, he replayed the sparring he just did with Baltar.

One of the techniques he used was similar to Energy Penetrating Attack while the rest… Is it like the Berserk Technique?

Lee Han pondered as such while he tried to adapt Baltar’s techniques to his own style, using countless martial arts novels he had read in his previous life as reference.

…Berserk Technique is one thing, but… Maybe I can imitate the Energy Penetrating Attack…

…Was it like this…?

Thump-!

“…Hmm. No, like this?”

His palm bounced against the ground as he tried to perform the technique. Unfortunately, it only gave the ground a slight shock. Rather than attacking the inner workings of the ground, what he just did was transferring his energy into it.

This outcome left him disappointed.

“You have a good sense as always… Seriously, how could a guy who doesn’t even understand the basics of Combat Techniques pull off something like this…?”

It was natural for Baltar to find what he was doing absurd. In the first place Combat Techniques were techniques that would allow a trained warrior to feel the flow of their own life force and utilize it by either releasing it or strengthening their bodies in an instant with it.

But, it was still a mystical ‘skill’, something that not just anyone could master. That was why it was called Combat Technique.

To feel the life force in one’s body and control it needed talent. Not only that, the perfect time to feel the life force was when someone was still young, a period when one’s vitality was still weak. Trying to do that when one already grew old would only end up in vain.

By the time someone turned into an adult, their vitality had somewhat hardened, so it was way too late for them to try and control it at that point.

However, the guy in front of Baltar was different.

Even though he was already thirty years old, his vitality was still ‘pulsating’ like a child in the midst of his growth. And whether it was due to growth or his own unique characteristic, he handled the flow with feeling alone.

The way he inflated the strength of his legs and shot out like an arrow, and the way his internal organs managed to withstand Baltar’s strength worked on the same principle.

However, his strength’s distribution is all over the place. Maybe because he handles everything with his instincts.

He still lacked the basics of handling his life force, the Combat Techniques. All this time he had only been increasing its flow through his training, so his body was in this peculiar state where he had this strong rotational force forming all over his body.

Those rotational forces were no different from waves that were constantly surging inside his body.

If anyone other than Baltar were to know about Lee Han’s physical condition, they would definitely be left dumbstruck. A normal person would have died a long time ago as their body would be unable to withstand that kind of force. The only reason why he was still in good health was because he had strengthened his vessel so ignorantly.

In other words, he had the body that would entice those magic freaks to use him as a test subject.

…He’s interesting.

But Baltar didn’t feel that way. Instead, he found him interesting.

Assuming that the flow, or the ‘life force’, continued to grow stronger, while the vessel also grew to the point it could withstand it…

If he were to awaken his Aura and become a superhuman in that state…

Perhaps…

He’ll possess strength comparable to that of the legendary Lion King or the Knight King.

Of course, this was nothing more than Baltar’s prediction, but imagining the future of such a young man with a bright future was…

I can’t believe I found someone who’s able to rouse my interest when I’m already this old. Hahaha!

…Something that an old man nearing retirement like him found as fun.

Hiding his numb wrist, Baltar let out a cool smile.

Gulp…

Only the sound of dry saliva being gulped could be heard around the members of the Knight Order. That was how intense the clash between the two knights was. It left an overwhelming shock to everyone.

The shock was especially overwhelming for the rookies who were seeing the two clashing for the first time. They knew that Lee Han was strong. After all, he managed to beat Yord, the top graduate of their batch.

However, they never expected him to be that strong.

What is that…?

Small [King of the Mountain]?

King of the Mountain, also known as the Tyrant of the Mountain. Ogre.

Though the rookie never saw one of them in person, if there ever were a human-shaped King of the Mountain, they’d believe it if it looked similar to Lee Han. Actually, they even suspected that he might be a half-monster.

Why is someone like that still a regular knight?

Yord thought that someone with that level of skill should have some sort of rank regardless of his status. Even though he couldn’t deny that his perspective was a little biased, he simply couldn’t accept the fact that Lee Han was still a regular knight.

“Don’t get it wrong, okay? He didn’t get any ranks because it’ll do more harm than good.”

“…Huh?”

“While it’s true that a lot of people are looking down on him because of his low status, that isn’t the reason why he’s still a regular knight. It’s because his behavior is just atrocious…”

“Atrocious behavior…?”

“Like, he’s often late and he also doesn’t perform his duties well. That’s why I said it’ll only do more harm than good if he gets promoted.”

“…”

“Looking at his skill alone, he should’ve been at least a vice-commander, but considering his behavior… Who knows if he’ll ever get promoted…”

“…Senior Lihan is a strange person, isn’t he…?”

“It’s not Lihan, it’s Lee Han— Wait, why did I even bother correcting you?”

Yord stopped listening to Jake’s last sentence and instead just threw Lee Han a passionate gaze.

Even though he had been completely crushed by Lee Han, he still looked at him favorably. After all, Lee Han was a huge wall and the goal he was going to strive for.

I’m lucky to have someone like that nearby!

Him being strong was one thing, but Yord also heard that he was always looking for someone to spar with.

Which meant, this was a great opportunity for Yord. After all, if he were to spar with someone as strong as that, he would naturally grow stronger as well.

I can’t wait.

As Yord started to feel that his life in the Knight Order would be extremely rewarding…

“─Listen, Lee Han Totle. I cannot tolerate your bad behavior anymore. Your actions that lead to the destruction of the Order’s facilities, your inability to perform your duties for four months straight, not to mention your other smaller crimes! This is something that goes against the spirit of the honorable Silver Lion, so it’s only right for you to be dismissed from the Order! However, the merits you’ve accumulated so far cannot be ignored, so I will take that as consideration and give you an honorable punishment for you to atone for your crimes instead. From today onwards, for three years, you will teach the students who will become the future of the Pendragon. Consider this an honor, Lee Han Tortle.”

…Huh?

His expectations flew out of the window.

All because of…

Lee Han’s demotion.