Chapter 141: A Shard Within (3)
Of course, Hyunjae Sung did not say that he will trust me. He responded with a gaze filled with suspicion and curiosity about what my plan was.
“I have a psychological skill that I want to use to return your memory. However, since my stats are low, I cannot use it without your consent.”
“You’re telling me to accept a psychological skill.”
“Yes.”
Hyunjae Sung’s expression was expectably sour since who would like to have his or her head dug up? A hunter with violent tendencies might start swinging a sword to open up my head first.
“How soft was I on you for you to say that kind of nonsense without hesitation?”
“I’m trying to help you out of goodwill with some risks on my part. I’m quite expensive, Sesung Guild Leader.”
“Even for me?”
“Not if you gave me the Sesung Guild. Give up.”
“You’re confident.”
“Stop avoiding the subject.” I cut into the chase. “If you don’t like my proposal, go on living like now.”
I needed some things from him, including immediate cooperation, but the Hyunjae Sung in front of me did not know that. So, I went in strong.
Hyunjae Sung’s eyes narrowed at my provocation, and I felt chills run down my spine. The house was cold enough for me to have goosebumps on my arm. I should make an appeal that he has to keep me alive about now.
“Please calm down and look at this.”
I pushed my phone to him that displayed an article about me. It included details about the farm facilities, riding beasts, and Myungwoo. Hyunjae Sung picked up the phone and scrolled down the article without speaking.
“This is the Comet Soyoung was talking about.”
“It’s a cute dragon with useful skills that have not been revealed yet, like my skill of doubling the effect on offensive skills.”
“That’s not very useful for a low-grade hunter.”
“This skill can be shared. I told you that we hunted a SS class monster together, right? It was quite effective there.”
“Then why did I leave you alone?”
Hyunjae Sung tilted his neck as he returned my phone.
“I would have tamed and tied you up.”
“I have an L class curse resistance skill, so that might be difficult.”
“An L class?”
His pale eyes looked surprised. A Hyunjae Sung, who does not know anything about me, was amusing in his responses.
“I also have high-class poison resistance. I nullified your contract with that lizard. Check if you want.”
“I wondered when you spoke about an arm and a leg.”
“I lent you a hand. I have nothing to lose if I go back and will live well in peace. You, however, need me.”
“You’re aggressive for someone who does not have a problem.”
“It’s for the times we had, so I’ll say this one last time.”
I raised one hand and continued.
“Please submit to my skill.”
He was not someone who would give up in front of an F class when he had so much to know. Hyunjae Sung nodded his head after a short while.
“It’s been a long time since my last gambit.”
“I heard that less than a month ago. Please don’t get addicted.”
Hyunjae Sung let down his suspicions at my words and smiled.
***
I had Irin’s help the last time I used this skill, so this was my first time using it alone. I was worried about whether it would work properly, but from my struggle to turn off the skill last time, I made a psychological space more easily than I thought.
I opened my eyes to see a room where the light came in from a large window. A man was standing with his back to it, and his eyes smiled as he saw me.
“Hello, Yoojin Han.”
“How can you be so calm greeting me?”
My worry sank and grew cold. I had been a tiny bit worried, but it was a meaningless emotion. Maybe I should just get out.
“I apologize for surprising you since this was beyond my estimations.”
“I was not surprised, but I was almost killed.”
“I see that I had been impolite.”
“It was nothing. I was dragged by a chain and went up the stairs with my body, and almost drowned in an aquarium.”
“I’m ashamed of my actions. You came to my home, and I only served water.”
Do you call that serving? I did drink a lot though.
“So, what happened? Can you get out again?”
“I began to feel that something was wrong from about two months ago.”
Hyunjae Sung slanted his neck and started speaking. Two months meant that he had felt the effects of my regression.
“At first I sensed minor differences, but I remembered something concrete at dawn that my abilities to handle magnetic forces in range and intensity were still weak.”
Deep golden eyes looked at me. Taewon Song did not know that Hyunjae Sung could use magnetism, and it was because he was unable to wield it.
‘His range and intensity were powerful.’
If he could use magnetism that well, he had to have used it on a smaller scale a few times beforehand. Controlling properties perfectly like that was impossible despite it being a property innate in a hunter.
“I also vaguely remembered things I forgot, but they scattered like sand. I tried to go after them, and that’s why I’m in this situation.”
Did some of his memories before the return spring outside when Hyunjae Sung tried to search them? I did not know and had to ask the children later.
“Can you get out of this place?”
“I think I can now if you can lift the skill.”
So, Hyunjae Sung had been stuck here, but acting like nothing was wrong.
“Did you remember anything?”
“Being thirty-years-old suits you best.”
He remembered something unnecessary, but the number thirty implied that Hyunjae Sung had information before the return despite being unable to remember them on his own.
“I don’t know why memories like these are mixed up. I can predict moves in a fight, not the future.”
“Maybe your skill is about to be upgraded. Predicting the future would be nice.”
“I don’t like prophecies, and I really don’t want to be a fortune teller.”
Hyunjae Sung was indifferent and it was too early to talk about the regression. I had not even told Yoohyun, and I should act like I could see the future. Moreover, this would be a chance to check something out.
“I want to help you remember.”
Something will pop up like that time I cut open Diarma. I changed my right hand to beast mode, and Hyunjae Sung found my hand with golden scales and sharp dragon claws.
“I did not know you had that kind of skill.”
“We are in a psychological world now. I don’t have omnipotence, but I can use the abilities I experienced through my teacher’s skill.”
I could use Yoohyun’s doubled stats from before the return, so the attack effects would be doubled. While I could not receive doubled effects of the cursed venom dragon, it would still be enough to take on Hyunjae Sung.
“You should also start drinking some water!”
A significant drop of water gathered in the air. Hyunjae Sung looked a bit surprised at the water cascade falling over him but soon smiled.
I was winning at the beginning. While Hyunjae Sung was number one in the rankings, he still had a blank of five years. Also, I could use his battle prediction skills. While the skill was nullified when the opponent had the same skill, making him unable to use it was enough.
When I managed to rip Hyunjae Sung’s shoulder open, that was when things went sour. He began to remember memories of fighting from before the return. He even adjusted to the psychological world and changed the setting whenever he wanted. I tried to react but could not match Hyunjae Sung perhaps because the mentality of my actual body and magic stats affected the situation.
My surroundings changed again as electric attacks blocked my vision. It was a valley with a sharp cliff. I felt my body fall and quickly spread my wings to land between the rocks. I soared upward, crushing the boulders below.
The golden chains flew towards me in the air, and I blocked them by creating ice walls as they fiercely attacked me. The chains delved into the ice, and the walls melted into the water with a blinding light.
There was an immense hydrogen explosion. That crazy guy was using electrolysis, and the barriers I managed to make just in time shattered.
“I said not to do this!”
Hyunjae Sung laughed, and a bracelet with blue jewels shook in one of his wrists. That was a grace he stole from me when I thought I was ahead in the beginning. Now, I could not use damage negation items since he was wearing it nonchalantly.
“Isn’t it better than when I exploded in the river?”
“Damn, I really thought I was going to die that time!”
If Yerim had not managed to succeed in transporting us, it would have been all over as an entire river became a bomb. Yerim probably could not use ice and water skills. The explosive power was astounding with the added magic.
I could use Hyunjae Sung’s electric skills, but not to that extent. There was a limit to experiencing them using my teacher’s skills. While most of my electric attacks were thunderbolts showering down, that guy pulled off a trick of stealing them and doubling the power before sending them back to me, so I also could not use that.
While he had five years of memories and electricity was his main attribute, he was above and beyond.
‘Should I use blood flames?’
I spread black fire on the ground and rushed at Hyunjae Sung. I had to get that grace back to win.
“You need to learn physical skills.”
A gloved hand lightly passed a dragon’s claws that rushed at him. I used a tail to strike the ground and twist my body as he tried to bend my arm and throw me away. I scattered poison at the same time.
“Give me an antidote.”
Hyunjae Sung took a large step and smoothly moved his body behind my back. I could not turn off the poison resistance skill, and his range was way too wide.
“Get out!”
I swung a thorny tail, which he stepped on to jump away.
“You were the one to approach me first.”
The ends of his coat grazed my cheek as if to tease me. I should cut my arm with a dagger and use the blood flames. Hyunjae Sung took out a potion and threw it to my wound. That potion had to be a high class since the bleeding stopped and the wound healed just by a few drops.
“Yoohyun’s blood flames are bothersome.”
Did he block me with this method? While he could not use this means as potions were not allowed in ranking battles, I had not expected it.
“Did you remember the black blood flames?”
“Vaguely, but this memory would dissipate when we get out.”
I tried to turn off the psychological skill and go out, but Hyunjae Sung stopped me, saying that he believed his memories here would disappear. I thought it had to do with the Hyunjae Sung outside, not being able to remember himself inside here.
“Green willow leaves!”
Leaves that other people could not see fluttered, and when some of them gathered around in front of Hyunjae Sung’s eyes, I lifted the rarefaction. I used the moment he could not see to cut my arm and added poison to the flowing blood.
Poison and fire were at conflict, and the black blood flame was strong enough to burn poison at SS level. However, if I added poison first and then changed it to fire, it became an effective toxic weapon.
It was a sword made of deadly black blood fire. I spread my wings and propelled myself to Hyunjae Sung and swung.
The searcher’s chain broke at once, and Hyunjae Sung reached out to the turbulent black sword, and I could see something black in his hand.
“What is that?!”
The blood fire scattered away, and Hyunjae Sung’s other hand grabbed my collar. I took a hit in the stomach by his knee, and I coughed and used the silent scream skill.
“That skill is troublesome.”
“It’s only pain. You even took a painkiller.”
Hyunjae Sung immediately swallowed the most potent painkiller he had after taking the brunt of the doubled silent scream. While there was a side effect of dulling his senses, he did not seem to have much of a problem. It did seem to hurt since it was a pain that the painkiller could not entirely nullify.
He offset a skill he could not guard with a painkiller, and I had to hand it to him. His mind worked fast.
“Isn’t that black thing Mr. Taewon Song’s skill?”
I asked Hyunjae Sung after shaking off the arm that was holding my collar and threw a blood flame lance at the same time. The lance exploded and dispersed in Hyunjae Sung’s hand with a light sound.
“Yes, it’s called pervading loot.”
“You steal other people’s skills? You are evil.”
He stole a looting skill. Hyunjae Sung’s brow furrowed like he was going through his memories.
“I did not steal it, and I believe he gave it to me as a present.”
“He gave it to you as a present?! Say something more reasonable. I’ll bet your head that you stole it.”
“Then, I’ll bet my item that I received it as a present.”
“I told you to remove the possessive! Take out an arm so I can confirm.”
I spread the day without shadows again. However, light wrapped around Hyunjae Sung’s feet and scattered the shadows. Give me a break.
“Nothing works!”
“I ate the painkiller, and I had to retake it whenever the poison resistance took a certain hit.”
I wrapped the black fire with my dragon nails and clawed the ground at his idle talk of filling himself with painkillers. Half-melted rocks plummeted, and the fire spread on the ground melted the earth as they charged at Hyunjae Sung.
He smiled as the blazing hit and changed the setting. I used transportation the moment I felt my feet in the water.
“Damn, Hyunjae Sung you bastard!”
“Yes, father.”
I almost dropped into the river as my feet slid, hearing his bright voice. That crazy idiot, we both became bastards. I did not know whether to complain or laugh, but in a moment, I felt electricity in the water.
A consecutive line of explosions followed through the river. My barriers shattered in the tornado of heat and magic, and my vision clouded. A tranquil river in a mountain changed to barren land in an instant.
I brandished flame at the sound of metal flying. A chain broke through the fire and I made a flame sword and cut it in two, but the chain span and shot at me anyway. I spread my wings and reflected the chains that ambushed me from behind. Then I felt a merciless hand grab a wing and rip it apart.
“It’s fortunate I don’t have wings.”
“Yes, that’s right. Hey, wait!”
I wrapped him up in poison since his strength was enough to separate my wing. The toxic poison spread thickly, and Hyunjae Sung let go of my wing and wrapped an arm around my neck and held me from behind. I crushed his feet with my heel, but he did not move a muscle because of the painkiller.
“Can I stab you so I can see the memories about your future predictions? I will remember everything after we get out of here, and it would be a win-win situation.”
“Would you meekly be stabbed?”
“No, are you crazy?”
I had memories that I would not want anyone to see. Hyunjae Sung placed his chin on my head. Yes, I admit you’re tall.
“I don’t want to.”
“It’s for world peace.”
“That’s too petty. If you kneel and beg sincerely, I might consider the matter.”
“My knees ache when it’s cloudy from working all night in the factory. Why don’t a healthy S class kneel and pretend that I did?”
“What value does a mere S class have?”
Hyunjae Sung tapped my shoulder while irritating me.
“You remembered, right?”
“Yes, I did. But I don’t know whether I can convey them well.”
I used my teacher’s skills and carved the memories of fighting Hyunjae Sung remembered before the return throughout the battle on my body. It was for him, who would forget everything when he got out, and for others.
“Do you have anything else? Should we do this one more time?”
“Please.”
“How about being stabbed once, maybe three times, or perhaps ten times, and returning my grace?”
Hyunjae Sung just ignored my request.
Proofread by: para