episode_0154

154. Tournament.

Time flew by like an arrow. Before they knew it, only one day was left until the start of the ‘Tournament.’

Yohan and Sarah were gathering information and continuing their sparring as usual. Perhaps because it was a world filled with magic and superhumans, there were countless training grounds suitable for sparring.

“Hup!”

Clang!

Sarah’s sword strike hit Yohan’s shield. The transparent, icy shield firmly performed its role of defense.

Perhaps because he had obtained the characteristic of Myriad Transformations, Yohan could change the attributes of his spells more easily than before.

The ice shield that was created in that way was one of the spells Yohan had been challenging himself with lately. Experimenting with adding or combining attributes to increase the power of spells.

“The side is open.”

Yohan said, flicking his finger. Magic wriggled in the air near her side, soon taking on an oval shape and firing.

‘Magic Missile.’

It was a familiar spell to Sarah. She extended her left hand, which was wearing a gauntlet, to the side. With the intention of completely smashing the spell.

Crack-

The Magic Missiles that collided with her left hand shattered into pieces. Immediately after, Sarah felt a stinging sensation. She looked to her side in surprise.

Whoosh-!

The flames embedded inside the Magic Missiles spread out, striking her. Her black hair was scorched here and there, and faint burns bloomed on her skin like flowers.

“······What!”

What’s more, this wasn’t the end. The flames were flickering strangely. Her sixth sense rang an alarm. She didn’t ignore it. She immediately leaped backward.

Immediately after.

Boom!

A fierce fire spirit stretched in the spot where she had been standing. Sarah’s expression hardened at the heat she felt on her face.

Fire sparks like dandelion seeds scattered in all directions. The crimson seeds seeped into the yellowish-brown soil.

Tap, she adjusted her grip on the sword and lowered her stance. The damage isn’t severe, but it’s not non-existent. Just as she was about to rush forward─

Whoosh-

“Heuk!”

The ground beneath her feet suddenly collapsed, causing her to lose her balance. With superhuman reaction speed, she didn’t fall.

Whoosh-

Taking advantage of the moment her balance was broken, a flaming harpoon shot towards her. Immediately, Sarah’s eyes turned red.

Thwack!

She lightly tilted her head to dodge the harpoon. A speed that was incomparable to just now! The corners of her mouth twisted strangely, and she charged at Yohan with bizarre movements.

Red light dripped from her eyes, and a smile of madness was on her lips. Yohan felt a chill down his spine.

“Tch-!”

He didn’t know what abilities the Thousand Blood Pill had, but it was a remarkably good elixir for her.

Yohan hurriedly stomped his foot.

Crack- Fwoosh!

The ground where his foot touched. A fan-shaped groove was created right in front of it. A wave surged from the underground, riding along the groove.

“······!”

It was a spell that Sarah knew well. One of Yohan’s great spells, Rough Waves!

The size was smaller than usual, but the power was not to be ignored. She hurriedly swung her sword to cut through the wave.

Tingle- She felt a tingling sensation in her forearm. Fortunately, she cut through the wave. Afterwards, the vision that had been obscured by the wave brightened up.

It was at that moment.

Whoosh-!

“······.”

Her eyes widened at the heat she felt right in front of her nose.

The match had already been decided. A long, flaming harpoon was stopped in front of her forehead. She roughly threw her sword to the ground and let her hands hang limply.

“I lost.”

“Thank you for your efforts.”

“Hoo······.”

Sarah shook her head. Somehow, the gap between her and Yohan seemed to be widening as time went on.

‘Does Yohan even need me?’

She gave a self-deprecating smile. Honestly, she wasn’t sure. But what could she do?

‘Yohan is the only one who understands regression. I’ll never give up.’

Unique and irreplaceable.

That was what Yohan was to Sarah. An existence that could not be replaced, and that she didn’t want to replace. Suddenly, Sarah remembered a conversation she had with Yohan in the past.

‘You said you had a lover you left behind in reality······.’

The illusion is coming to an end. They had already entered the final floor, and would return to reality unless there were any major variables.

Throb, her chest suddenly tightened. What was this feeling? Friendship, or affection? But what was certain was······

‘I’ll never let go. No matter what.’

Her eyes gleamed eerily.

***

After the sparring, Sarah said to Yohan.

“Will you wash me?”

“Yes. I understand.”

Of course, she wasn’t asking him to scrub her back in the bathhouse. Yohan lightly flicked his finger.

Swish-

Water droplets were created out of thin air, soon splitting into several streams of water and washing her from corner to corner.

Yohan’s fingers moved like earthworms. Then, the direction of the water streams that touched her body bent strangely. Thanks to that, she didn’t have to move her body to get clean.

Swoosh, she shook her head refreshingly like a CF commercial model and said.

“Thank you.”

“It’s nothing.”

“······.”

She stared intently at Yohan. Yohan tilted his head. Was something wrong?

At that moment, she said.

“Yohan.”

“Yes?”

“Would you like to drink with me today?”

***

Rustle- Rustle-

Purple lights and crimson candles mixed haphazardly, reflecting strange light. A bartender with a dignified mustache was wiping glasses at the hook-shaped bar.

It was a bar that would normally be very popular, but strangely, only two customers were sipping their drinks today.

The reason was simple. The bartender gently placed a glass on the table and thought.

‘I thought they were crazy lovebirds······. But they weren’t. They’re crazy lovebirds with a lot of money.’

To rent out an entire bar just to have a drink. It was an extravagance that ordinary people couldn’t even imagine. But the bartender nodded the moment he saw their faces.

‘Are they a handsome third-generation chaebol couple or something? They look good together.’

The woman’s aura was a bit fierce, but whatever. He thought she might be a young lady from a prestigious family. A young lady who had mastered domineering martial arts.

On the other hand, the man’s atmosphere was different.

‘A mage. And a very high-level one at that.’

Some people say that anyone can become a bartender. But he thought differently.

‘How hard is it to get a job these days? Even bartenders need high specs.’

He thought, bringing drinks to the two men and women.

Slide-

At that moment, small ice crystals formed on the surface of the glasses.

The shapes of the crystals were all different. Some were shaped like flowers, while others were shaped like fox faces.

Yohan’s eyes widened.

‘Oh, not bad.’

It wasn’t a skill that just any bartender could display. Yohan looked at the bartender.

“Why is someone with such skills working as a bartender······?”

Then the bartender grinned.

“It’s the unique selling point of our bar. Competition is so fierce these days that it’s hard to make a living without doing something like this.”

“Heo.”

It was a pretty realistic reason. Yohan chuckled and picked up his glass.

***

“It’s really coming to an end now.”

Thud, she carefully placed her glass down and said. Her eyes were glazed over, as if she had drunk quite a bit.

Yohan wasn’t in perfect condition either. Perhaps because it was a fairly strong drink, his head was getting dizzy with each glass.

“It was a long journey. Starting with killing rabbits, and even visiting a world like a Chinese movie set.”

“Heu, that’s right.”

Her tongue twisted. Yohan gave a bitter smile.

‘Why isn’t she getting rid of her intoxication? It’s getting excessive.’

Yohan and Sarah are transcendents who use the power of transcendence. It was easy for them to get rid of their intoxication if they wanted to.

Yohan extended his finger under the table. Then, a hazy something slipped out along his finger joints.

In response, Yohan’s flushed face gradually regained its original color.

She said.

“Yohan.”

“Yes.”

“Should we drop the honorifics?”

“······Excuse me?”

She continued in a leisurely tone.

“We’ve been together for quite some time now. I think it’s time we started calling each other comfortably. What do you think?”

“······.”

Yohan was slightly taken aback. Because it was a bit sudden.

His mind spun wildly, calculating on an abacus.

‘Is she finally opening up to me properly?’

‘Why now of all times?’

‘Isn’t the distance getting too close?’

Many thoughts arose, and various emotions bloomed in his heart.

Thinking about it carefully, it was a problem that didn’t need to be considered.

Yohan had also grown fond of her, and there was no one in this world he could trust as much as her. Yohan smiled, revealing his white teeth.

“Okay. Then can I call you older sister?”

“No.”

“Then how?”

“Just call me comfortably. Comfortably.”

Do you think I don’t know that you just call your girlfriend by her name?

She swallowed the rest of her words.

On the other hand, Yohan didn’t have any particular thoughts. Whether he called her by her name or older sister, Yohan’s way of treating her wouldn’t change.

“Okay. Sarah.”

“······Nice. Yohan.”

She smiled softly.