Chapter 163

Chapter 163

I'm afraid.

I'm afraid of him.

A boy brought to us by Mr. Kwak Chun-sik, who is like the sky to us.

Dressed in an academy uniform and wearing a very free expression, the child sits next to Grand Master Kwak Chun-sik as if it were a matter of course.

On his right, Kwak Chun-sam, and on his left, the child.

There was only one thing that could have meant.

'That child is Master Kwak Chun-sik's disciple.'

The masters begin to demonstrate, while Grandmaster Kwak Chun-sik and Master Kwak Chun-sam observe with serious eyes.

They look the same as always.

Yes, it was to be expected from two men of their age and experience.

But what is that boy? The boy watches the masters' demonstration with eyes that are not at all intimidating compared to the other two.

The emotion that arose from his stare seemed more like panic than anger.

If my body trembled this much while he was standing still, he couldn't be an ordinary child.

"......death penalty."

"Did you feel it?"

The man next to me grabs my sleeve with a trembling hand.

"Is that really what it takes to be the Grandmaster disciple?"

"Well. I don't know, we haven't seen anything yet."

"You mean like......right?"

'Of course not.'

I can only hope.

I can only pray in my heart that he's not as good as we are.

* * *

'What's all this fear?'

Despite the fact that the representatives of the various factions were happily watching the demonstration of the Aura style with their own personalized twists, somehow fear had begun to creep into the crowd.

'Is the guy doing the martial arts demonstration scary?'

Sure, he looked a little rough around the edges......but if this was enough to scare his students, how scary must he be in general? I thought to myself.

"Eugene, what do you think?"

The old man who had been watching the demonstration in silence suddenly turned his head and asked me.

"You mean that thing they're demonstrating?"

"Yes. Well, I'd like to hear your assessment."

"It would be handy."

"Convenient?"

"Yeah. Wouldn't it be more lethal if you stretched the aura out on a bar like that to hit it, you know, for ambushes or something?"

He blinked at my words.

"Hahahahahaha, yeah. That's right! You were thinking the same thing as me! Hahahahaha!"

Apparently pleased with my answer, he burst out laughing and nodded his head.

"Yeah, you're right, but you'd better consider that there are only a few people in this world that can do that. Hahaha!"

A few moments later, having finished his demonstration, the master bows his head in our direction, signaling his departure.

"That's it, I'm Lee Hee-sung, master of the Gwangju branch!"

"Excellent. Keep up the good work, Master Lee Hee-sung."

"Thank you. Grandmaster!"

The technique he demonstrated was nothing spectacular.

It could be described as a kind of shotgun blast that concentrated aura at the tips of his fingers.

However, it was easy to see why Kwak Chun-sik's expression didn't change even as he praised it verbally.

To process and release, and to release without processing.

In front of such overwhelming power and control, nothing was of any use.

In short, if the body is bad, the head suffers.

It wasn't that I didn't do it because I couldn't be as good as Kwak Chun-sik, it was that I didn't try because I didn't have to.

"Okay. You've all worked too hard."

At that moment, Kwak Chun-sam stood up, attracting the attention of everyone around him.

"Now that all the clans have presented their achievements, we'll have a competition between the disciples. As usual, the disciple with the most outstanding skills will be rewarded with an elixir prepared by my father, so please do your best."

Now that the masters have finished demonstrating, it's the students' turn.

I was about to sigh, wondering how long I would have to sit there, when I felt a gaze on my side.

I turn around and make eye contact with Kwak Chun-sam, who is looking in my direction.

"Uh...... what's wrong?"

"You're a disciple, aren't you?"

"Yeah, well, technically I am, but...... are you telling me to go down there?"

Surely, he said, I'm supposed to sit still and watch until I'm challenged?

I looked at Kwak Chun-sik for help, and he nodded with a wry smile.

"It's a good elixir, so why don't you take a look?"

He then blinked twice.

This was our mutual signal to help each other out in times of trouble.

There had to be something up.

"So, tell me this: what kind of elixir is at stake in the disciples' duel?"

He knew that ordinary elixirs mean nothing to me but it was none other than Kwak Chun-sam who answered my question.

"It's a giraffe antler that my father hunted in China in the past."

"Giraffe antler? You're giving that precious stuff here?"

"That's right. He's so pampered that he suddenly decided a few days ago to offer the antler as a prize, which is why we had the largest gathering of all time."

'A few days ago? That's right around the end of midterms.'

......Wait, did he call me here to give me this in the first place?

I look at the old man again, and he's smiling and giving me a thumbs-up sign down his body.

'In other words, he'll give me publicity and the elixir?'

Normally, I would have said, why make such a big deal out of it, when you can just give it to me..........

'If giraffe antler is the reward, I'll take it!'

It's a Tier 1 elixir that is said to increase the durability and magic affinity of your muscles just by consuming it.

Even in the original, it was something that could only be obtained by stealing it from Kwak Chun-sam vault or by spending years as an apprentice, so the mere fact that it could be obtained in this way was a great reward for me.

"So, I'll just have to bicker with the other disciples downstairs?"

Standing up, I flick my wrist and Kwak Chun-sam laughs in amusement.

"Bickering? Even if they look like that, some of them are B-class heroes or Aura-style masters."

B-class.......

"It's okay, I've already eaten a lot."

"Hmm?"

I don't know why, but I've already absorbed a lot of horror while sitting here.

I was confident I'd had enough.

"By the way, Eugene, grab this before you go downstairs."

As I started to walk downstairs, Kwak Chun-sik grabbed my hand and gave me a bracelet with the number [1] on it.

"What is this?"

"Put it on and go down, and you'll find out."

......I hope it's not something weird.

I put the bracelet on and slowly made my way downstairs, while the men in robes hesitantly stepped back.

Normally, they'd be taunting me, shouting despicable things like, "What are you doing here?" and "If you're a child, go home."

But for some reason, they avoided even making eye contact with me, let alone talking to me.

I wonder if they're doing this on purpose and I feel like I'm being bullied.

────tch.

The gong sounded again.

"Disciples, listen up, each of you should have received a bracelet with a number on it before participating in this summit!"

Hearing Kwak Chun-sam echoing voice, one by one, the others rolled up their sleeves and looked at the bracelets on their wrists.

So, this is why I was told to take the bracelet with me.

"There will be a total of five battles, and only one person who has gone through all of them will be able to claim the 'Deer Antler of the Kirin'! Disciples, take up your positions, numbers 1 through 100 to the left, numbers 101 through 200 to the right!"

At the same time, the disciples immediately begin to move.

I'm number one, so I'm going to go to the left.

"Ah, master!"

A familiar voice called out.

"Are you......?"

"Wow. I told you I'd expect to see you here, and here you are!"

I turned my head toward the source of the voice and recognized the apprentices I had captured Fafnir with on Jeju Island.

"It's been a few days, but it's good to see a familiar face."

"Indeed. By the way, my master asked me to say hello when we see you."

That meant that Yun Kwangsoo couldn't be here.

For some reason, he was nowhere to be seen when the masters were demonstrating.

"He must be very busy in Jeju Island?"

"Haha. That's right, we've gotten a lot of requests to restore Jeju Island. Oh, and of course, when master's request comes in, we'll prioritize it."

The apprentices bowed their heads as they spoke.

At that moment, I heard whispering voices from the surroundings.

"Isn't that the bunch of Jeju Islanders?"

"What kind of nonsense are you talking about? Why are those crazy people from Jeju Island here?"

"The one in front of them is Grandmaster's disciple. Are they bowing to him?"

"It's natural."

"What the hell are those crazies doing bowing to him?"

There were rumors about the original Blue Moon Workshop, so everyone has a bad reputation.

However, the apprentices only smiled, as if they were used to it and actually enjoyed it.

"By the way, what's your number?"

"Alas, we're numbers 45 through 48."

That means to the left of me.

"I guess we'll be fighting on the same team this time."

"It's good to know that master is on the same team. We'll definitely pass the first round, hahahaha!"

These apprentices had seen the battle with Fafnir firsthand and they were smiling as if they had already won.

"But you never know, maybe they'll make us fight?"

It was meant to be a joke, but the apprentices suddenly turned red and squirmed.

"Don't say such scary things!"

"If we're going to fight with master, we'll abstain immediately."

"I want to go back alive......."

Who the hell am I in these people's heads?

Hmm......Come to think of it, they had reason to be scared. I was a human who had just engaged in a bare-fist fight with the evil dragon Fafnir.

It didn't hurt that I absorbed a little fear.

"Disciples, prepare!"

Boom, boom, boom, boom!

The sound of a giant gong echoed through the courtyard.

I looked across and saw that each of them had already taken their own battle stance.

A 50/50 battle.

Has this ever happened before?

'No.'

I couldn't help but think that it was fun, and I wanted to participate wholeheartedly.

-Thud, thud, thud, thud.

I craned my neck from side to side and put the gloves of Midas, who had become my alter ego, on my hands.

I'm probably the stranger in their midst so it would be better for me to defend against the onrush than to be the first to enter the enemy camp.

────thwack!

"Go!"

Kwak Chun-sam shouted, and dozens of people simultaneously began to charge at each other.

Aura against Aura everywhere.

I was also in a defensive stance as I watched the terrifying scene that was reminiscent of a wuxia fight.

"......?"

For some reason, I realized that not a single one of them was charging at me.

No, why?

[Talent: [Human Totem] is activated]

Oh, and what about you?