Chapter 510 – Childhood Friend (4)
Conversation.
The act of meeting each other face to face and exchanging stories.
From the moment she realized that she was a little different from other people when she reached puberty a little earlier than others, she has never felt empathy in her conversations with others.
Parents.
Love, abundance, stability, etc. That come from them.
Stories of people who have something they don’t have as if it’s completely natural.
Because it all sounded like she was full.
Because of that, she was frustrated at times.
I thought that she might have to hide this cynicism while living in harmony with others.
Is that why?
“I understand that feeling. No matter how good you are, you can’t help but be noticed.”
No matter how good you are, you still remain.
My heart pounded as I heard him say that he deeply sympathized with my feelings about living in their house.
‘Yes, that’s right. ‘You were an orphan like me.’
She also made the same mistake as others who looked at her.
I was so captivated by Kim Do-jin’s flashy appearance that I forgot that he was an orphan like me.
My mind changed slightly.
From the person who will give you wings to change this boring life.
Perhaps the first person to fully empathize with my life.
So I asked him as if testing him.
“Please be honest. “What did you think when you heard that?”
Yoon Si-hoo.
A childhood friend who is different from you from top to bottom.
How did Kim Do-jin feel after hearing the dream he expressed?
The answer was fantastic.
“I was still young and didn’t know much about the world, but I thought I didn’t know much… “De?”
It was as if he had gone into my mind and pulled out the answer I wanted.
“Ah.”
She sighed.
And I was relieved at the same time.
‘I wasn’t strange.’
I was feeling anxious.
I thought maybe the strange thing was myself.
Calling his actions overflowing with a sense of justice as foolish.
Everyone praises me for doing a good job, but I swallow the frustration rising inside me.
It’s not because I immediately realized the cold wall of reality, but maybe it’s because I’m just twisted.
The anxiety and doubts that were creeping up my body disappear without a trace.
‘There’s no way you’re a twisted person, yes.’
No one else but Kim Do-jin agreed with my opinion.
That fact alone was enough.
Because his word has more weight and value than the opinions of a hundred or a thousand people.
Thirst is quenched, and a refreshing feeling spreads throughout the body.
As a result, the facial muscles became flabby.
Instead of the fake smile that I always put a lot of effort into, a bright and goofy smile comes out of nowhere.
“Ah…, I kind of regret it.”
“… ?”
“If I had known that we would get along this well, I would have talked to my senior more often right away.”
“… So, so.”
Kim Do-jin thought as he saw her smiling brightly, as if her ten-year-old fatigue had subsided.
‘This guy is completely messed up.’
* * *
After a few words, I understand.
Even though her insides are twisted, she is completely twisted.
I’d believe it if they said this wasn’t a person, but a pretzel shaped like a person.
Jin Harin is constantly rationalizing her self.
Because I’m an orphan.
Knowing the harshness of reality first, I cannot accept Yoon Si-hoo’s actions.
But it was wrong.
That’s not why Jin Ha-rin can’t accept Yoon Si-hoo’s actions.
He’s just that kind of guy.
Her personality is cynical and self-centered, so she doesn’t fit in with the altruistic Yoon Si-hoo.
Then, does she say that I, who gave the same answer as Jin Ha-rin, am also the same person as her?
That’s another problem.
I think the harshness of her reality is that she truly realizes and denies that person.
Jin Ha-rin mistakenly thinks she has realized reality, and she rationalizes and denies it.
There is also a big difference in fundamental aspects.
Jin Ha-rin hates Yoon Si-hoo’s altruism, but I don’t deny or hate it.
It’s just a pity because there’s a high chance of being blocked by the wall of reality.
Still, if you want to do it yourself…, It’s her own life, won’t she take care of it?
“Seniors. “I’ll be honest with you.”
Following her softened expression, her mouth also becomes lighter.
In addition to having quite a lot of trust in me, who understands my inner self, which is different from others, I even subtly reveal the cold side that lurks behind the pretty mask.
“I don’t want to lose to Sihu.”
A passionate fighting spirit, the exact opposite of his cold inner feelings, burns in his eyes.
It’s something I want to protect.
My twisted wick.
Regardless of right or wrong, the only thing left to me who has nothing.
I can see my old self in her face.
At that time, I didn’t have a single thing, and I was struggling to protect my sharp pride, forged by the resentment and evil that remained inside, and I had thorns all over my body.
“So please help me.”
An extremely earnest request creeps into the cracks of my resolute heart.
Because I feel sorry for her?
No.
I just realized it too late.
Jin Ha-rin and Yoon Si-hoo.
The fact that these two people are like opposites to each other.
Therefore, we stimulate each other even more, which in turn leads to a stepping stone for growth.
A childhood friend, a rival, and a pacemaker.
Isn’t this a fascinating relationship?
“Okay, okay.”
“Seniors… !”
Jin Ha-rin looks so happy as if she could jump at any moment.
It’s still too early to be happy.
I’m not done talking yet.
“There is a condition instead.”
“Condition… If so.”
After standing awkwardly, he sat down again and recited her conditions.
“You will not have any complaints or doubts about the training I am giving you. What…, It’s okay to do it on the inside, but you should never get caught.”
She is lost in her thoughts with her mouth tightly closed.
Looking at her slightly white face, it seems like she is recalling the training that Yoon Si-hoo did.
Eventually, after finishing her thoughts, her eyes look at me.
“… What if I get caught?”
“The training ends just like that.”
She thought for a moment and then nodded.
“All right. “I will do as you say, sir.”
The answers I expected came pouring in.
In fact, I probably would have accepted it even if there were stronger conditions than now.
Because there is no one who can replace me as she is now.
This is a kind of restriction and whip.
Because of this promise, she will do whatever I ask, even if she doesn’t want to.
Oh, of course, only for training.
Now that you’ve beaten the whip, of course it’s time to give the carrot.
“As you can see, training will be very difficult and difficult. Instead, your skills will definitely improve. And as your skills increase, your treatment within the guild will also change significantly.”
She asks again, her eyes shining.
“What exactly… ?”
Snobbery that is subtly revealed.
Well, I understand.
I also jumped into this industry just for the money.
That’s why I know it well.
The desire she has now.
Also, how should this be stimulated and dealt with?
“Exactly, we don’t need the same thing.”
“… ?”
“As long as you have the right skills, I will do whatever you want.”
A smile blooming on her lips.
Of course, this is only if you endure all the hellish training.
… She decided to bury the sentence deep in her heart.
* * *
I had to think a little deeper.
-“You will not have any complaints or doubts about the training I give you.”
Why did he mention such conditions?
Of course I thought about it.
Just like Yoon Si-hoo, he also thought that he would undergo very difficult training.
But I didn’t know it would be like this.
“Haha… !”
“Harin, isn’t it hard? “Why don’t you run a little slower?”
I never thought I would run through the training ground just like Yoon Si-hoo.
And that’s already hundreds of times.
“I’m fine…, Ugh, ah.”
He said.
They say that if you don’t have physical strength, whether it’s a sword or magic, it’s useless.
That was correct.
The process of drawing a magic circle and manifesting it with magic consumes not only magical power but also physical strength.
But.
‘Anyway, is this right?!’
Anyway, isn’t the wizard, a ranged dealer, and the swordsman, a melee dealer, doing the same amount of running every day?
But I couldn’t ask.
Whenever I had to say something, he would smile and say something like this.
“Are you dissatisfied with the training?”
“Oh, no…”
The moment you express your dissatisfaction, that’s it.
“Huh, haa, haaaaa…” !”
Thanks to this, half of the training time was spent running.
Even some of the remaining half was used to recover her stamina, and in less than half of the time, she was able to learn the magic she wanted.
His teachings were great in many ways.
“No. I gathered too much magic power. “You can reduce it by about 10% compared to now.”
“This is about this… ?”
“It was cut down too much. Let’s raise it a little bit. More, more, more…, That’s right. “I remember right now.”
He pointed out the amount of magic power as if he was looking into someone else’s magic power with his own eyes.
“Seup…, That magic circle is a bit inefficient.”
“… “Isn’t this magic improved directly from the Magic Tower?”
“Therefore. Actually, it doesn’t matter if you don’t have this part. Now, look.”
By arbitrarily adding or subtracting magic techniques that are already at peak efficiency, their power can be noticeably increased.
“Senior, what are you…?” .”
Every time that happens, I feel like my common sense is being destroyed.
It’s definitely a magic that you have to memorize and understand until you get a headache when you learn it on your own or from someone else.
To Kim Do-jin, such magic seems to be nothing more than a play or a toy.
“Okay, this is the end of the personal training.”
After the number of people trained increased to two.
At the end of the training, at midnight, it ended the same way every time.
“To each his own place.”
“To the location!”
“To the location.”
Two people standing at either end of a spacious training ground.
The method was simple.
Jin Ha-rin pours out her magic, and Yoon Si-hoo blocks or avoids it and burrows into her.
If she gives up her side to Yoon Si-hoo, she will be defeated.
Conversely, if you block his charge with magic, you win.
Seeing him change his stance while holding his sword tightly, I grit my teeth and raise my magic power.
‘You can never lose.’
I don’t want to lose to anyone.
Among them, especially Yoon Si-hoo.
“Start!”
Yoon Si-hoo running fast with a signal.
I aim the prepared magic at him.
「Ice Spike.」
Quad deuk!
Clear and transparent thorns created all over the training first floor.
As an evasive maneuver is made to avoid this, the distance from him naturally increases.
This time, build a wall.
「Ice Wall.」
Paddeuk!
Plap!
A pure white wall covered in frost rises up and blocks his path.
It combined with the previously created thorns to exquisitely tie Yoon Si-hoo’s feet.
But he didn’t give up either.
“Haaa!”
Strike a long sword horizontally towards the thick wall blocking the front.
Squeak!
An ice wall that is cut and collapsed just as the sword cuts through it.
I accelerate along the road revealed beyond.
But she already knew.
The fact that he, whose skills have risen sharply, will cut through my ice wall.
The reason the ice wall was built in the first place was simply to block his view.
The truth was in the magic prepared in the meantime.
「Ice Cannon!」
Her unformed, pure chill shoots out a long line between her and him.
Fast speed and wide range, reminiscent of a cannon.
At that time, Yoon Si-hoo’s body, which had been hit directly before he could avoid it, was pushed away and his arms, raised to protect his face and chest, began to slowly freeze.
“Okay, that’s it.”
Kim Do-jin’s voice resonates.
Yoon Si-hoo was on the verge of freezing before even reaching halfway, and Jin Ha-rin was not even moving a single step.
He declared that victory was clear.
“Jin junior won again today. “You did very well.”
“… Thank you.”
A winner who is not very happy.
“Sihu, you…, Yes, you did well too. “I went one step further than yesterday.”
“Hehe, ta-da-dak, yes.”
A loser shivering in the cold and smiling cheerfully.
It was just as he said.
‘One step closer.’
More yesterday than the day before yesterday, more today than yesterday.
The distance between him and himself was gradually getting closer.
Her flawless step sends her a warning signal.
The opponent is getting closer, so be careful.
Go further away.
Her gaze deepened as she saw him smiling reassuringly at the cruel defeat.
