Festival (3)

Lee Dojin employed the Reverse Heaven Divine Skill. The Reverse Heaven Divine Skill filled Lee Dojin’s entire body in the form of an internal divine skill.

And in that state, he concentrated energy at his toes. As the killing intent that disturbed the atmosphere like a mirage gathered in one place, the shadow slowly tilted.

Distortion.

As he realized that it was possible to distort phenomena with just energy, dozens of realizations simultaneously stirred in Lee Dojin’s mind.

It should be possible to cause distortion with the colorless sword energy burning on the wooden sword too.

-Go against the natural order.

The words Sword Emperor Dan Cheonwoo had once muttered about the Reverse Heaven contained many things.

Colorless sword energy surged from the wooden sword.

The atmosphere distorted. An image of something bloomed in Lee Dojin’s mind.

It was also one of the many trees in Mistilteinn’s world.

It was a ‘thorn tree’.

Thin thorns bloomed on the vertical sword energy. A thorn tree.

The atmosphere shook violently.

Crack-

The extended thorns slowly tore the atmosphere according to Lee Dojin’s will.

The Manghon Step unfolding from Lee Dojin’s feet stretched out long with the thorns of the thorn tree.

The Sword Demon laughed.

This damn kid was roughly imitating the Manghon Step after seeing it just once.

And not stopping at utilizing energy, he unfolded the marvel of distortion using sword energy.

‘You get stronger as naturally as breathing.’

Even the sword path walked through Asura.

It’s absorbed by this talented kid. The Sword Demon was quite pleased with this fact.

Because he felt certain that he could leave something in this world.

The sword energy of the two swordsmen struck consecutively.

The sun set.

Lee Dojin had completely absorbed the Sword Demon’s Manghon Step.

As his own.

---

I came home and planned to fall asleep quickly today.

Because my body was exhausted after clashing swords with Elder Sword Demon for half a day.

But something grated on my nerves.

Twitch!

<King of the Great Forest>.

That tiny tree spirit, which didn’t look at all like its grand name, twitched its body.

It must be a cry to be touched.

I picked it up.

I slowly stroked its body while meditating.

Every time my hand touched it, its body flinched. But today was different from the reactions so far. Blue light began to flow from the part where the roots were embedded.

Soon, the voice of Mistilteinn in Advice Ego state echoed in my mind.

[‘King of the Great Forest’ attempts a ‘spirit contract’ with the master.]

Swish!

The King of the Great Forest began drawing something with its tiny branch in the role of the right arm.

It looked like a contract array.

I placed my right hand on that contract array.

Green light slowly flowed from my palm. This didn’t seem to be a type of ki, but rather the embodiment of Mistilteinn’s power.

[The spirit contract has been completed.]

Rustle-

The tree suddenly uprooted itself. And it slowly climbed up Lee Dojin’s hand and wrapped around his neck.

“…Aren’t spirits usually in places like the spirit realm?”

It scurried around my body like a homeless snail. Since its outward appearance was a tree, it looked just like watching a crustacean. Fortunately, it only looked that way, and didn’t feel like it or anything.

[I have received intention from ‘King of the Great Forest’. Starting interpretation.]

[It says it doesn’t affect your movements at all.]

Even if it doesn’t affect the physical body, it means it affects the emotions.

[It says it’s contact to share empathy with the spirit contractor.]

“Does it have a name? Other than the grand title like King of the Great Forest.”

[It answered ‘Khan’.]

Even the name is grand.

---

Saturday.

I opened my eyes. Today I headed to the <Martial Arts Club> that Senior Yeon Simun had kept talking about for next week’s festival.

Unlike other club rooms, the Martial Arts Club was shaped like a training ground. A wooden floor came into view.

A male senior student I’d never seen before acted like he knew me.

He was a sturdy man who felt muscular even in gym clothes. He seemed like someone who would stay at the club even on weekends.

“Ah, you’re this year’s first-year freshman representative. I’ve heard a lot about you from Senior Simun.”

I bowed my head.

“Yes, hello.”

“Can you wait a moment? Senior Simun is eating bread inside.”

11 AM.

It was an ambiguous time to eat something by my standards.

A silver-haired woman was wearing black gym clothes of the tank top variety.

“Yo.”

That ridiculous greeting of Senior Yeon Simun that I’d heard so far was firmly stuck in my ears. But today it sounded a bit weak.

It was because she had bread in her mouth. Yeon Simun finished the bread neatly.

“Cream, red bean.”

What kind of Zen question is this now?

Is she asking which I prefer between cream and red bean?

I don’t usually eat bread often, but if I had to eat it, it would be red bean.

“…Red bean?”

“Pass.”

It seems she was eating red bean bread.

“What kind of event are you planning to do at the club during the festival period?”

At my words, Senior Simun suddenly stretched her arm forward.

“Arm wrestling.”

“Arm wrestling?”

“No use of ki, aura, or mana allowed. Pure physical strength only.”

“Sounds good.”

Certainly, if arm wrestling matches were decided by pure physical strength, there was a chance for an upset where even someone from the Magic Department could become the winner.

Walking around the academy, you could sometimes see students from the Magic Department who didn’t look like magicians at all.

“You have to spar with me now with pure physical strength.”

“What?”

At Yeon Simun’s sudden words, nonsense flowed from my mouth, but the senior student beside me smiled as if it was a common occurrence.

“The sparring disease has struck again.”

It seems this abrupt request for sparring happens quite often.

“Bring a dobok for the junior.”

“Yes, senior. Dojin, please follow me.”

Following the senior student, he gave me a white dobok.

“Do we fight wearing just this?”

The senior student chuckled.

“It’s not fighting. Senior Simun does this almost every day. Literally sparring.”

Hearing those words, I put on the white dobok without any objection.

Senior Yeon Simun, wearing a black dobok, nodded at me.

“Come up.”

The flowing silver hair and black dobok strangely exuded a sense of pressure.

“Have you properly learned martial arts? Since entering the academy.”

Yeon Simun asked me with a grin.

I was about to answer no, but my words got stuck.

The face of King Wang Hwangbo Seryeong, who was probably eating something in Mistilteinn’s world even now, flickered in my mind.

To say I hadn’t learned anything would be quite wrong. I had learned a lot. Most of it was learned by getting beaten up and watching over the shoulder, but still.

“A little.”

In the end, that was all I could answer.

“I thought so. Your standing posture is quite scary.”

I’m just standing still.

Just looking at the opponent’s arms, legs, and eyes all at once.

That was King Wang Hwangbo Seryeong’s advice.

-Rather than taking an awkward stance, it’s better to make them feel like they’d become a corpse if they rush in carelessly.

-Stand still and stare directly at the opponent’s movements.

Hwangbo Seryeong’s advice seemed to apply in reality as well.

Yeon Simun stepped forward.

The air was crushed. The ground was trampled.

Whoosh!

Yeon Simun’s body rushed at me like a beast. Just because she wasn’t using ki didn’t mean her movements would be slow.

After all, even in a world without things like ki or magic power, professional athletes were human weapons.

Yeon Simun’s palm rose from below to above.

I quickly turned my head.

The right arm of a martial artist who had trained their body to the extreme crossed through the air.

Thud!

Yeon Simun immediately turned her toes strongly to the right. There was no hesitation in her movement. I wrapped my left hand around Yeon Simun’s rushing right arm and swept it away.

I leaned my waist back and raised my knee. I aimed for the senior’s abdomen, but my knee was caught by Senior Yeon Simun’s left hand.

This time I twisted my body.

Papapapak!

My and the senior’s fists and palms intertwined in dozens of ways. Black and white embroidered the air here and there due to the colors of our doboks.

I saw the smile on Senior Yeon Simun’s lips.

“You’re clumsy, but strong. It’s interesting.”

Swish!

I barely avoided the kick the senior unleashed. A chilly wind struck my face. The leg was withdrawn so quickly that I couldn’t even think of trying to grab it and attempt a joint lock.

Hoo.

I heard the senior’s breath. Rough breathing was flowing from my mouth too.

Even without opening our mouths to confirm each other’s intentions. Both the senior and I knew. That it was time to decide the match.

I stepped forward.

I swung a knife hand toward the senior’s neck.

Puk!

The senior’s palm lightly struck my abdomen, and.

Tuk!

The knife hand of my extended right hand didn’t reach the senior’s neck and was blocked by the senior’s crossed left arm.

Senior Yeon Simun then grabbed my left arm and pulled me to embrace her.

I saw the senior’s shining eyes.

“I won.”

“…I lost.”

The senior’s attack succeeded.

My attack was blocked, so the winner of this sparring match was indeed Senior Yeon Simun.

Senior Yeon Simun’s long silver hair flowed onto my shoulder. I could see her sweat-soaked body through the black dobok.

“Well, the winner should have this much initiative.”

Senior Yeon Simun embraced me as is. Her touch and words were so natural that I just let myself be embraced.

“Hahaha!”

The senior laughed in the loudest voice I’d ever heard from her.

“You’re cute, junior.”

The senior stroked my head.

The burly man watching from the side opened his mouth wide.

“…Wow, you say others are cute, but you’ve never hugged anyone else like this?”

Senior Yeon Simun continued to stare at me without even looking at that senior and said:

“He’s especially cuter.”

Senior Yeon Simun stared at me intently for a long time.

I knew she had a personality that didn’t care whether someone else was there or not, but I didn’t know she was this bold.

Then she got up.

“Let’s eat lunch. Pork cutlet? Call?”

“You just ate bread a few minutes ago.”

“That’s already been digested while exercising just now.”

“…Okay, let’s go.”

The three of us entered a pork cutlet specialty restaurant across from the academy.