Is this what it feels like to be suddenly doused with cold water when your body is languid?
His senses snapped sharply awake. The fog in his mind lifted. His previously dull eyes began to shine. An Hyun tightly gripped his spear and closed his eyes gently.
One by one, memories of his confrontation with Joo Hyun-ho flashed through his mind.
He had only done what he was taught. He had simply shed the habits of being a prosecutor.
And yet, everything had changed.
As his perspective shifted, every move his opponent made played out exactly as he anticipated. When he manipulated the spear, his opponent seemed drawn in, caught on the spear’s tip as if pulled by a magnet. After a grueling battle, victory belonged to An Hyun.
Only then did An Hyun realize the strange feeling that had gripped his entire body since waking—the feeling was a kind of yearning.
In other words, a craving to fight again, to engage in battle.
Noticing An Hyun’s change, Kim Soo-hyun chuckled softly. Placing both hands on the ground, he leaned back slightly and spoke calmly.
“Well then, why don’t you tell me what happened?”
“…?”
“Tell me everything. Step by step, calmly.”
“…Yes.”
An Hyun nodded quietly. Following Kim Soo-hyun’s request, he recounted in detail everything that had happened since he began tracking Joo Hyun-ho.
“At first…”
As he retraced the events, he felt a strange sense of order settling in, giving him a bit of strength. His mind calmed naturally, and the words began to flow smoothly. Kim Soo-hyun listened intently, clearly intrigued.
“When I thrust the spear in, suddenly his chest burst open…”
“Wait, hold on.”
“…?”
“So, you’re saying you defeated Joo… no, that guy?”
“Yes. That’s right. But as I said, I wasn’t in full condition.”
“Still, you fought him almost alone and won? Really?”
His face showed disbelief, but there was a hint of admiration in his voice. Encouraged by that tone, An Hyun nodded again. Kim Soo-hyun let out a dry laugh and shook his head.
“You beat him… Even badly injured, that’s incredible. Hard to believe.”
“Eh, was he really that strong?”
“Quite. If he’d been at his best, there’d be almost no one in our clan who could match him. Maybe only Nam Da-eun could.”
“Whoa.”
“Actually, even Nam Da-eun might struggle to guarantee a win. He might have the upper hand for the first twenty or thirty minutes, but the longer it drags on, the more likely he’d lose.”
“Even you, Prosecutor?”
“Well, we’d have to fight properly to know for sure. But the guy you faced was that strong.”
“…”
Kim Soo-hyun looked at An Hyun as he spoke. The analysis was possible because Kim Soo-hyun knew Nam Da-eun’s endurance stats were low.
But An Hyun, knowing nothing of that, could only be amazed. With Kim Soo-hyun’s clear comparison, the vague impression began to take shape.
Anyway.
After some more time passed, An Hyun wrapped up his story with the detail that he had boarded the mining train.
“So that’s how it went.”
Having heard everything, Kim Soo-hyun nodded as if finally understanding and stood up. Just as he was about to turn away, An Hyun quickly grabbed his arm.
“Hey, hyung. Wait a moment.”
“…Why?”
“Uh… Jae-ryong hyung is okay, right?”
“Huh? Haven’t you heard? He’s out of danger.”
Kim Soo-hyun shrugged, but An Hyun didn’t let go.
“I heard, but his mind is still…”
“Can’t be helped. He was almost at death’s door. But don’t worry. We gave him an elixir, so he’ll be fine.”
At that moment—
For a brief instant, An Hyun caught a flicker of a complicated emotion in Kim Soo-hyun’s eyes. Now that he thought about it, he did look unusually tired today.
Is something wrong with hyung too?
An Hyun quickly dismissed the thought. When Kim Soo-hyun lowered his gaze, his face in the moonlight was as impassive as ever.
“I see. The elixir…”
“Don’t worry about it. It was unavoidable. Besides, it’s the same elixir we were going to use on you and Han-gyeol anyway, so consider it used on Mar and Shin Jae-ryong instead.”
“Ha ha. Ah, painful memories…”
“…”
“Um… so…”
“…”
At some point, the conversation began to circle without progress.
Kim Soo-hyun fell silent, and An Hyun stammered, as if he had something left unsaid.
“If you have something to say, just say it. Stop beating around the bush.”
When Kim Soo-hyun finally broke the silence, An Hyun felt a surge of gratitude.
He took a slow breath.
Though he had already spoken some of it, his heart still burned fiercely. The story was merely a way to confirm the nature of his emotions.
The desire to fight, the urge to struggle.
The restless feeling, the emptiness without his spear—all stemmed from that.
After a moment, An Hyun spoke softly.
“Hyung, actually, during that battle, I awakened a new ability.”
“Shin Geom Hap-il… no, Shin Chang Hap-il, right? Congratulations. That’s a very useful skill.”
An Hyun flinched for a moment but quickly recalled he had mentioned it earlier and calmed his breathing. Whether Kim Soo-hyun knew or not didn’t really matter.
What mattered most now was how to extinguish the blazing fire growing inside his chest.
“So… I want to test it.”
“Test what? Your current level?”
Kim Soo-hyun’s lips curved into a faint smile. But An Hyun slowly shook his head. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to gauge his level, but more than that…
“I want to see how sincere you really are.”
At last, An Hyun revealed his true feelings.
At that moment, Kim Soo-hyun’s expression shifted for the first time. He recognized the sincerity in An Hyun’s words.
Sincerity.
It could be interpreted in many ways depending on the situation, but here, Kim Soo-hyun knew exactly what An Hyun meant. In other words…
“…Can you handle it?”
A low murmur brushed past An Hyun’s ears. For the first time, he felt a surge of emotion toward Kim Soo-hyun.
A fierce defiance. It was the feeling of a spirit spear user who had decided to stop chasing after Kim Soo-hyun and walk the path of a true spearman. Kim Soo-hyun’s words had struck at An Hyun’s pride.
“I don’t know. I want to find out too.”
An Hyun struggled to steady his breath as he answered, though a sharp edge crept into his tone.
For a moment, time seemed to freeze.
Their gazes locked, invisible sparks crackled between them.
The silence didn’t last long.
“…Not a bad idea. Fine.”
Finally, Kim Soo-hyun gave his approval.
“Stand up.”
His icy tone left no room for hesitation. An Hyun quickly rose.
The two men slowly stepped back from each other, each taking a few measured steps.
An Hyun gently gripped his spear shaft and aimed it straight ahead. As he activated Shin Chang Hap-il, the spear’s once pitch-black body was bathed in pure white light.
Kim Soo-hyun bent down slowly and plucked a single blade of grass from the ground. Seeing this, An Hyun’s eyes twitched sharply.
Moments later, the grass turned pure white and began to emit a soft glow.
“Hyung.”
“Don’t tell me to draw my sword.”
“But—”
“But what? Whether you think so or not, if you truly want a real fight, not just sparring… it’s arrogant.”
“…”
“If you’re really upset, make me draw it myself.”
And then—
“No more words needed. Let’s go.”
The moment those words fell—
“!”
Suddenly, Kim Soo-hyun’s aura shifted completely. What had felt like a vague mist exploded into a fierce storm, sweeping through the area.
When Kim Soo-hyun’s eyes flashed with a chilling light, An Hyun felt as if the whole world had stopped. A sharp pain stabbed behind his eyes, and his body trembled uncontrollably, regardless of his will.
He was just standing still, yet an invisible force seemed to squeeze his entire body.
It felt like countless unseen blades were mercilessly stabbing him all over.
An Hyun’s instincts screamed a clear warning.
He was going to die.
Though that thought dominated his mind, An Hyun didn’t back down. Instead, he bit his lip until it bled and stoked his fighting spirit. He had already accepted there would be a skill gap. Then, a flicker of surprise crossed Kim Soo-hyun’s eyes as he stared at An Hyun.
“Ho. So you weren’t all talk after all.”
Kim Soo-hyun praised him with a tone of admiration. But to An Hyun, it was far from a compliment he could enjoy.
Annoyed, An Hyun let his spear drop slightly. He recalled the experience from facing Joo Hyun-ho. He had to stay cautious. Not to rush in recklessly like before when provoked, but to anticipate the worst and plan two or three moves ahead.
His opponent was the Mercenary Clan Lord.
User: Kim Soo-hyun.
Just as Ahn Hyun pictured a single image in his mind and slightly leaned his body,
Suddenly, Kim Soo-hyun moved first.
Thwack.
There wasn’t even time to react.
All he saw was something—nothing more.
That was it.
“Ugh…”
A groan slipped out before he even realized it.
About a second later, Ahn Hyun became aware that his body was flying through the air. Then, a delayed pain began to spread across his abdomen. In other words…
Ssssh!
Before he could even think, a chilling wind swept past him from the side.
Even while flying, Ahn Hyun barely managed to raise his spear—an instinct born from the desperate realization that if he stayed still, he would truly die. The swaying grass brushed past him, leaving a pale white afterimage as it slashed diagonally across his body.
Shreek!
Clang!
With a single strike, his defensive weapon shattered. Suddenly, Ahn Hyun felt his grip tear apart. Before he could gather his wits, his body collapsed and tumbled across the ground. The only thing worth praising was that he hadn’t dropped the spear, and as soon as he hit the ground, he used his martial arts to spring back up.
Dizziness and pain were the least of his concerns.
This was on a whole different level.
Only now did Ahn Hyun understand what it must have felt like for his previous opponents to face Kim Soo-hyun.
It was despair—no, death itself.
Pure, overwhelming terror.
Joo Hyun-ho? Not even comparable. Facing Kim Soo-hyun head-on was so much worse that it would be better to stand naked against a hundred Joo Hyun-hos.
In truth, Ahn Hyun had already died twice over.
Even while flying through the air, he glanced sideways to check Kim Soo-hyun’s position.
One meter to the left.
The moment he confirmed that, Ahn Hyun immediately launched his body in the opposite direction. Staying still meant certain defeat, and more importantly, he needed to clear the image in his mind.
No, the very idea of picturing a strategy against Kim Soo-hyun was flawed. Before he could even show his move, he was smashed to pieces. No matter how well-crafted the plan, what use was it?
Ahn Hyun furrowed his brow deeply. That left only one option: an attack that disregarded his own life.
Just as he barely steadied himself,
“…”
Ahn Hyun had no choice but to freeze in place. The cold grass was now tickling the area around his neck.
Front, left, right—Kim Soo-hyun was nowhere to be seen.
In other words, his rear had been silently taken over without a sound.
…Is this what my brother’s real fighting looks like?
Ahn Hyun couldn’t help but let out a bitter laugh.
Cheonwaecheon (天外天).
A heaven beyond heaven.
“I lost. I didn’t even get to do anything.”
“Satisfied now?”
He nodded, accepting it.
Kim Soo-hyun smiled faintly. Then, he burned the grass and quickly pulled out a cigarette, lighting it. A faint wisp of smoke drifted over Ahn Hyun’s shoulder.
“I’ll give you credit for not dropping your spear.”
“Heh. Thanks.”
“Trying to act all cool and calm, huh? So, how is it? Now that you’ve seen it, are you going to get all discouraged again?”
“Hmm. I’m not sure about that.”
He didn’t say no.
“But there’s one thing I’m sure of.”
Finally turning around, Ahn Hyun’s face was lit up with a broad smile. He looked genuinely relieved.
For a moment, a flicker of curiosity crossed Kim Soo-hyun’s face as he looked at Ahn Hyun.
Still smiling, Ahn Hyun quietly spoke.
“This is exactly how I always imagined you, the image I’ve been chasing all this time.”
“…Hmm?”
“You’re… really strong. I’m glad you are.”
“…”
This time, Kim Soo-hyun was the one who fell silent. He hadn’t expected those words.
I’m glad my brother is strong.
Thinking about it, that phrase carried so much meaning.
After staring at Ahn Hyun for a long moment, Kim Soo-hyun suddenly chuckled. Spitting out his cigarette, he unexpectedly gave Ahn Hyun’s shoulder a hard smack.
Smack!
Ahn Hyun’s body jolted sharply. It wasn’t a magical attack, but it still hurt.
“Ow, ow.”
As Ahn Hyun groaned and looked back at Kim Soo-hyun, the latter was already turning and walking toward the tent.
“Hyung…”
Then,
“Ahn Hyun.”
Suddenly, Kim Soo-hyun stopped in his tracks and slowly turned his head halfway.
Calmly, he spoke.
“You did well.”
“…Huh?”
For a moment, Ahn Hyun’s face went blank.
“You did well. In the pit, and just now in the fight.”
Kim Soo-hyun resumed walking.
A moment later, Ahn Hyun’s dazed eyes grew as wide as lanterns, his mouth dropping open in surprise.
“Y-yes!”
He answered with more energy than ever before.
---------------------------= Author’s Note ---------------------------=
I hate fighting, hate it~
I hate conflict, hate it~
Reader quarrels? Oh no~
Chaos? No thanks~
Messiness? No thanks~
Lovely comments? Oh yes~
Good for the eyes, good for the mood, and nourishing too.
Comments that suit my neat taste perfectly.
Readers’ opinions are full of care.
Comments that suit my healthy taste perfectly~
Comments good. Comments good. Please give me comments~ (nicely, please).
Comments good. Comments good. Best thing in the world.
I can’t even imagine a world without comments—no way!
Comments are the best. Just give me comments!
…That’s enough for now. Ahem. It’s just a song! (?!)
Some readers might remember the old milk song from childhood. Haha. :)
Just in case, here’s the link below. It’s a really fun song. Give it a listen! :D