Chapter 27. Sanjeol (6)

Ralph quietly repeated what Johann had said.

"Sanjeol, Ma Ryu. The flow of magic..."

The flow of magic.

Or, it could also be called the flow of mana.

Based on what Yuri had shown him, he had a rough idea of what kind of technique it was.

Ralph casually asked Johann.

"Is it a technique that returns the opponent's power?"

"Right now."

"Right now...?"

It was a single phrase that carried a lot of meaning.

Did it mean that while it was currently used to return the opponent's power, it could also be used for other purposes?

Or did it mean that while it was currently used to return the opponent's power, it would develop further in the future?

Ralph somehow felt confident that Johann's "right now" referred to the latter.

Why?

Because Johann's gaze when he looked at Yuri said as much.

Ralph chuckled and shrugged, saying in a resigned tone.

"Did you plan for this too? To hide such a move and act so surprised."

"Surprised?"

"Didn't you expect us to go this way from the beginning?"

"What the hell are you talking about? How could I have expected you to pull such a trick? Wait... thinking about it now, it pisses me off. Do you really want to win so badly that you'd even bet that precious white steel in a mere kids' fight, you crazy bastard!"

Noticing that Johann's rough reaction was genuine, Ralph blinked.

"Really didn't know?"

"Of course not!"

"Then you didn't tell your senior to use that Ma Ryu, did you?"

"Tell him? I didn't even know he could use it like that."

"But you taught him, didn't you?"

"I did teach him... but..."

Johann's face showed a sense of resignation.

"...I told him twice."

"Huh?"

"Once about half a year ago, and the proper teaching was two weeks ago."

Johann shook his head slightly, looking a bit annoyed.

Originally, he only intended to teach Yuri the basics, but moved on to Ma Ryu about two weeks ago, impressed by Yuri's effort and talent.

Actually, it wasn't two weeks.

It was just ten days.

'But he's already handling Ma Ryu at this level, huh?'

Even Johann couldn't have predicted that Yuri's Ma Ryu would be this complete.

Ralph, who had been carefully observing Johann's changing expressions, asked cautiously.

"Is Ma Ryu... easy to learn?"

"Easy?"

Johann burst out laughing, finding it absurd.

"Ha ha ha, I couldn't even master Ma Ryu properly. I'm still refining a somewhat complete theory to fit practical use."

"You mean... it was incomplete?"

"Yes. Anyway, that's not the point! Even though I created it, it took me about a year to be able to use Ma Ryu like that."

Johann's mana road and Yuri's mana road.

While they had the same basic framework, the one Yuri had learned was modified for Ma Ryu.

This made it more efficient for Yuri to learn Ma Ryu.

'Even so, I, Johann Redner, took a year to do what he did in ten days.'

Johann's face hardened.

And as if reflecting his thoughts, Ralph asked in a tense tone.

"Where did you find such a monster?"

Ralph was already referring to Yuri as a monster.

Moreover, he couldn't deny it.

Johann's discernment was far superior to his own.

'Senior must have recognized Yuri's talent long ago.'

Half a year ago, he hadn't noticed anything special about Yuri.

But Johann had discovered and taken Yuri as a disciple.

'Of course, Senior never acknowledges him as a disciple...'

Regardless, Johann's discernment in recognizing Yuri's talent was exceptional.

However, Ralph's thoughts were half right and half wrong.

Johann's discernment was indeed excellent, but he hadn't recognized everything about Yuri.

For example, every time Johann taught Yuri, he was surprised by Yuri's talent, which exceeded his expectations.

Feeling his pride wounded, Johann had vowed not to be surprised by Yuri anymore.

Being surprised by the kid every time made him feel like he was losing.

But.

'Ha ha...'

A shiver ran down Johann's spine.

What made him shudder was...

'The time it took for the kid to learn walking was three months, brain training was about a month... and Ma Ryu was ten days.'

The fact that the monster's talent was growing.

'I'm going crazy.'

The corners of Johann's mouth curled up slightly.

His smile carried a hint of fear.

* * *

Creak.

A tree that had been barely holding up finally fell.

Thud.

The sound of the tree crashing down snapped Muji out of his daze.

"Ah..."

Sitting on the ground, Muji blinked at the scene before him.

'If I hadn't dodged...'

That tree would have been his body.

Swallowing hard, Muji felt something rise in his chest when he saw Yuri standing behind him, looking down with a pleased expression.

"Hey, your attack was awesome?"

"..."

Yuri, using a vulgar phrase he learned from a retired mercenary, gave a thumbs-up.

His cheerful smile left Muji speechless.

Yuri's mind was a mess.

How did he do it? How did he counter his attack?

He couldn't understand any of it.

The only thing Muji realized was...

'I lost.'

He had lost again.

'Ugh...'

The fact that he had lost again.

And the joyful look in Yuri's eyes as he looked down at him made something well up in Muji's chest.

"Hmm..."

He couldn't hold it in any longer and let it out.

"Haaaang!"

"Eh?"

"Uaaaaaah! I hate you, bro!"

"Wh-What?!"

Muji, shedding tears like a chicken's droppings—no, a horse's droppings—sat on the ground and wailed.

Yuri was taken aback.

"Hey, stop it! Crying is cheating!"

As Yuri flailed his arms in panic, a loud voice came from behind.

"Hey! Why are you making our good boy cry like that?!"

Seeing Ralph running over with an angry face, Yuri's expression soured.

"Damn, using tears to summon an adult is so cheap."

Orphans don't cry for no reason.

Why does winning feel like losing?

Pouting, Yuri...

Squish.

Stepped on Muji's foot, who was crying.

"Uaaaaaah!"

Muji's cries naturally grew louder.

"Hey, you brat! Instead of comforting the crying kid, why are you tormenting him again?!"

Thud.

Seeing Ralph punch Yuri in the back of the head, Johann smiled contentedly.

"Ha ha, what a mess. Ha ha ha."

Haha.

Johann's hearty laughter mixed with the sound of the drizzling rain and dispersed.

That day,

The messy sparring ended with Ralph and Muji cleanly admitting defeat.

* * *

After Ralph took the sniffling Muji away, Yuri and Johann returned to their quarters.

"Give it to me."

Johann held out his hand to Yuri.

Immediately understanding what he wanted, Yuri handed over the sword from his waist.

Taking it, Johann silently drew the sword.

Swoosh.

The blade that emerged from the scabbard was strange.

It had a dull silver color.

After inspecting it for a moment, Johann lightly flicked the blade with his finger.

Thud.

The blade, which had vibrated for a moment, soon developed a thin crack and shattered, falling to the ground.

Returning the hilt to Yuri, Johann asked.

"Seems you couldn't fully release the power."

Johann used the term "release" instead of "counter."

Taking the hilt, Yuri replied sheepishly.

"Muji's last technique... it was pretty heavy."

"It's called 'Shatter the Ice Wall.' If I had to pick three of the strongest techniques from the many I've seen, I would choose 'Shatter the Ice Wall' as one of them."

"Really?"

"Why would it be called 'Shatter the Ice Wall'? If Ralph had used it instead of Muji, this area would have been split in two."

"No wonder it felt so powerful."

"How's your body?"

"Ha, like I'm about to die."

Although he said it jokingly, Yuri's condition was truly bad.

His face was pale, and his forehead was drenched in cold sweat.

The hand that took the hilt was trembling slightly.

He looked like he could collapse at any moment.

Seeing this, Johann clicked his tongue disapprovingly.

"Tsk, who told you to take it? You brought this on yourself, getting fixated on a piece of iron."

"Just a piece of iron! Do you know what it is? It's white steel, three times more expensive than gold of the same weight!"

"Still just expensive iron. Using an immature technique in a life-threatening situation to get such a thing was a poor judgment."

The Ma Ryu Yuri used wasn't complete.

If he had used it perfectly, even a wooden sword wouldn't have broken.

Also, he wouldn't have damaged his body trying to dissipate the remaining power.

"If Muji hadn't used 'Shatter the Ice Wall' and it had been Ralph, even if you used that immature Ma Ryu a hundred times, you would have ended up as a puddle of blood."

Hearing Johann's repeated nagging, Yuri's eyes became sleepy.

"Old man, if you want to praise me, just do it. Don't nag with pointless complaints."

"Hey, you! Why would I praise you?"

"Old man