Chapter 52

00052 Our older brother (hyung) has changed.

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"Brother, I'm sorry."

"Brother, I'm sorry…."

While walking through the forest, I heard the children mumbling softly behind me. At that moment, the expression on my face, which was at the front, twitched. Even though I couldn't see my own expression, I knew it wasn't a good one.

"Hmm…."

The children showed signs of unease at my sigh, which they had never heard before, filled with regret. I turned my head to look at the children who were following me. After taking a deep breath, I continued walking at the same pace and spoke.

"The battle with the scorpions made me think a lot. You struggled with just one or two of them, not even three or four…. I wonder if the way I've been treating you might be a bit wrong."

"O, Brother, that's not it…."

"I'm talking right now."

I shot a low voice at them, and Yoo-jung quickly closed her mouth. Her eyes were trembling slightly, and it seemed like she might cry if I pushed her a little more. However, since I had already said we wouldn't return to the city until we achieved something, I needed to be firm.

"I've always tried to make the best judgment in any situation. I chose you over countless other clans because I had confidence in my judgment. But now, for the first time, I'm not sure about my judgment. I've always believed that what I want is also beneficial for you, but now I think it might just be my arrogance."

My tone was more serious than ever. After signaling them not to interrupt, the children listened silently. Hyun had a serious look on his face, while Yoo-jung and Sol looked at each other with worried expressions, their eyes downcast.

"I cared for you so much. When Yoo-jung said 'us' when leaving the city, I was very happy, though I didn't show it. But I didn't expect this to come back as a boomerang. Or maybe I ignored it even though I knew. Of course, I bear some responsibility for insisting on this approach, but I also think your attitude has a problem. The things I worried about during the initiation are now coming to light."

An Hyun listened to me, biting his lip and looking dejected. However, they couldn't say anything. They knew well enough without any explanation. They had collapsed Jin, putting Sol in danger, stopped casting spells when their tails were cut, watched idly while their comrades fought, and fought recklessly without considering the distribution of power, among other things.

I stopped walking and turned around. Yoo-jung and Sol looked like they were about to cry. I decided to wrap things up here. Because….

"To be honest, I want to go back to the city now. I want to gather a minimal caravan and start again. But on the other hand, I still want to believe in you. Can you do it? Can you stop disappointing me?"

An Hyun's face was speechless. However, I could see that he was clenching his teeth in frustration. An Hyun was definitely different from the other two. What I wanted was not an apology for being sorry, but anger at why they couldn't do it at the time.

I continued in a firm voice.

"I'm going to change the Keeper formation now. We'll form a triangle with Sol at the center. I'll take the lead, and Hyun and Yoo-jung will stand on either side."

"……"

An Hyun stood silently next to Sol. His grip on his spear seemed to show his determination. Yoo-jung, looking at me, moved to the remaining side. Sol, who was worried about the change in the Keeper formation, looked at me, but I maintained a calm expression and spoke firmly.

"I'll only explain this once, so listen carefully. The triangle is not without a Keeper. If I must say, each person in the formation is a Keeper."

"You mean we can't let the formation break, right?"

I turned my head to look ahead. I heard something moving slowly. After carefully observing the front, I signaled to Hyun. Hyun, understanding my signal, subtly adjusted the direction of his spear. I started walking slowly again.

"Exactly. Don't use detection just for evasion. Focus on reading and countering the opponent's sword path, and look for openings. If this formation breaks, Sol will also break. Maintain the formation as if you're ready to die. We're forming a shield to help and link with each other, not just wandering around alone."

"I understand."

"And one more thing. I'm not just taking the lead to be a guide. There's another reason. What do you think it is?"

"I don't know."

Seeing me say something a bit off and Hyun's response, Yoo-jung and Sol tilted their heads in confusion. We were moving at a speed less than half of our initial pace. Glancing at the trees and large rocks we passed, I gripped my sword tightly.

"Right… this kind of situation can happen!"

I infused my sword with a lot of mana and slashed the large rock I had just passed. The rock split open, and red blood spurted out. The children's detection was good enough to hide from, but not from my eyes.

"Shit! Jong-min!"

"Crazy!"

After slashing one of them with my sword, three people landed around us in an instant. Two men and one woman. From their appearance, they were clearly vagrants. They must have been planning to ambush us, but since I had already taken out one of them, they revealed themselves.

Yoo-jung and Sol showed signs of panic again, but Hyun remained relatively calm. It was because I had given them a heads-up. Though they were surprised to see the same people, they immediately drew their weapons when they saw the hostile vagrants.

"Damn! You dared to kill Jong-min! Aaaah!"

"He's a new user! How did you detect his stealth?"

"Calm down. We underestimated him. You there, how did you detect the stealth in the rock?"

One of the female users spoke to me, but I didn't respond. After analyzing the shouting vagrants, I quickly relayed the information to the children.

"These are vagrants. Follow what you learned at the academy. Don't engage in conversation and treat them as one monster. Thinking of them as the same users will make you hesitate. Kill them without hesitation. One shield knight, one axe warrior, and one mage. We have the advantage in both numbers and class composition. Sol, what are you doing? The battle has started. Do you have a sense of who to take on?"

"Huh? You're kidding. They're just newbies! Take them all down!"

"Wait…!"

The warrior, who had been listening to me, started charging with his axe in a rough manner. The knight followed, raising his shield to the top. The female mage, who seemed to be trying to stop them, realized it was too late and clenched her teeth, quickly casting a spell.

I looked at them with a disdainful expression. They clearly looked like newbies to the Hol Plain and recent vagrants. If the knight had broken our formation first and the axe warrior had followed, it might have been a different story, but they were attacking in a disorganized manner, just like us. They must have underestimated us, knowing we were new users.

At that moment, the two users charging at us closed their eyes. I quickly warned the children.

"It's a Light spell! Close your eyes!"

At the same time, the female mage extended her glowing hand towards us and shouted in a thin voice.

"Light (Light)!"

As a basic spell, Sol seemed to have completed the incantation faster. A sphere of light appeared in front of our eyes and exploded, likely to obstruct our vision. The problem was that we had already mastered detection.

Turning my head slightly, I saw Yoo-jung and Hyun taking defensive stances with their eyes closed. Sol was also gritting his teeth and casting a spell. Yes, this was exactly what I wanted to see.

Taking a moment to observe the children, I looked at the vagrant in front of me with a cold expression. The axe warrior, who had been hit directly by the Light spell, slowed his charge when he saw me staring at him. However, the shield knight, who couldn't see from behind, turned left, likely targeting Yoo-jung.

These guys were also basic, so-called morons. The hidden assassin and the female mage seemed to have some skill, but the two charging were clearly not.

Just as I was about to strike with my sword, a long spear appeared from the side. The axe warrior, who didn't expect an attack from the side after the Light spell, turned his body in a panic. An Hyun, with his eyes closed, successfully disrupted the warrior's path with a precise thrust.

"How can this be…? How did newbies detect…?"

"It's possible."

Seeing the warrior's stomach pushed forward as he tried to avoid the spear, I simply answered and thrust my sword into him. *Thud.* The sound of the leather armor tearing and the feeling of the blade piercing flesh was transmitted through the sword. The method of attacking after the Light spell was quite good, but their overconfidence was a painful mistake. As the warrior coughed up blood with a hopeless look, I turned my head.

*Clang!*

The harsh sound of metal scraping filled the air. Yoo-jung had blocked the shield knight's charge with her dagger held straight, maintaining a stable defensive stance. The shield knight, seeing Yoo-jung block his charge, was speechless.

"M…M…My strength is definitely…."

In reality, the shield knight had higher strength. As they pushed against each other, Yoo-jung was gradually being pushed back. However, he had underestimated Yoo-jung's mana ability. Yoo-jung opened her eyes wide and summoned all her mana, letting out a powerful battle cry.

"Yah!"

She compensated for her lack of strength with mana, applying what she learned at the user academy. Her dagger hummed, increasing its cutting power and durability. Just as he was about to attack with his other hand, a long spear shaft passed between me and Sol again.

I twisted my sword and pulled it out, then immediately slashed the axe warrior's neck. An Hyun's spear, splitting the air, pierced the shield knight's side, which was left open.

The shield knight, seeing the fallen axe warrior and the spear in his side, dropped his shield in disbelief. Seeing the open front, Yoo-jung hesitated for a moment but then bit her lip and thrust her two daggers into the user.

"Keh."

I don't know where they heard we were new users, but to me, they were no different from new users. They must have been around for just over six months, or at most a year. I don't know how they became vagrants, but they were showing the fate of vagrants who couldn't adapt to the Hol Plain. They had no skill, no training, and no effort, a truly pitiful sight.

Seeing the user collapse, Yoo-jung's face turned fierce, as if she had made a decision. It seemed she was doing it on purpose because she knew I was watching. Her hands, gripping the daggers in the user's chest, were visibly trembling.

However, there was no time to rest. One female mage was still left. She had been quiet, likely preparing a powerful spell, but unfortunately, Sol had already completed his incantation. Sol raised his glowing staff and, without hesitation, cast the spell at the sweating female mage.

"Shackles (Shackles)!"

As a bright light filled the forest like a flash, the female mage snorted and continued casting while making a seal with one hand. At that moment, my eyes lit up. What she had shown was double casting. She was casting a spell with her mouth and making a seal with her other hand to resist spell disruption.

It required a certain level of concentration, indicating that the mage in front of me was a skilled user. However, she had overlooked one thing: Sol's mana ability.

"W…What? My mana ability is over 60!"

Her seal-making hand gradually became disordered, and she screamed, giving up on her spell and focusing on resisting. It was a quick decision, but she couldn't match Sol, who had a starting ability of 75.

She resisted for a moment, but Sol's Shackles spell, connected to his mana, stubbornly clung on. I briefly held back Hyun and Yoo-jung, who were about to charge, because Sol was using all his strength to maintain the spell. I wanted them to experience what a mana-based battle was like.

Eventually, the female user collapsed. She couldn't resist Sol's mana and fell with a stiff body and a hopeless look on her face.

============================ Author's Note ============================

(I will skip the reader comments today due to the length. I hope for your understanding.)

Mana detection can be classified as a control ability. In other words, detection is a basic skill. While it's not difficult to use, the key is how cleanly and for how long you can maintain it. You need to efficiently distribute your mana and maintain a consistent flow.

The user academy teaches the principles of manifesting control abilities. It covers the types of abilities, which ones are useful and important, but not the detailed nuances like Su-hyun's expertise.

It's about teaching the basics of adapting to the Hol Plain. Of course, the overall background and job-specific training are rigorous. However, more advanced techniques are taught to promising students when they are recruited by clans.

During the initiation, under Su-hyun's protection, and at the user academy, they received rigorous training, but there were no life-threatening situations like the scorpion battle. This is why the children became passive during the scorpion battle.

As you can see in this chapter, the issue is not that the children lack ability. I want to correct their attitude of relying on Su-hyun.

In the scorpion battle, they didn't know how to respond and their formation was disrupted. However, in the battle with the vagrants, which they were more familiar with, they handled it without issues. In other words, they have the ability, but they don't know how to respond in unfamiliar, unpredictable situations where their lives are on the line. (Of course, the differences between the scorpion and vagrant battles are noted in the text; they cannot be considered the same.)

After being scolded by Su-hyun and reflecting on their mistakes, An Hyun immediately changed his attitude. Yoo-jung and Sol are still hesitant, but in the battle with the vagrants following the scorpion battle, you saw a different side of them.

Su-hyun was frustrated in the previous chapter because, despite having this level of ability, they still hadn't stepped out of their comfort zone.