LIGHTNOVELSTORY Chapter 13 - Lightning-Struck Jujube Wood (2)
Chapter 13 Lightning-Struck Jujube Wood (2)
With a sword in my right hand and a lightning-struck branch in my left hand, and blue wind beneath my feet, I had done everything I could.
Now, it had to be a quick resolution.
‘My body isn’t normal.’
Even though I had obtained the anti-demon artifact called Lightning-Struck Jujube Wood, my body hadn’t returned to normal.
The blood I lost before purifying the demonic energy inside me with the wind of purification was making me feel anemic. Honestly, my vision was already starting to blur.
Moreover, my internal organs were not in normal condition due to the Wooden Dragon. Blood and continuous pain flowed from my abdomen.
‘I need to finish this as soon as possible.’
I had to end it before my body stopped moving altogether. With that thought, I charged at the creature. Unlike before, when I was merely holding my ground, the dynamics had changed to offense and defense.
The creature shot tainted wooden thorns at me.
And those wooden thorns were…
[Item, ‘Lightning-Struck Jujube Wood’ purifies the sinister energy.]
[Remaining uses (3/4)]
The thorns vanished completely without a trace, disintegrated on the spot.
Strictly speaking, the demonic energy that formed their shape disappeared, causing them to collapse. One thing was certain: those numerous attacks were no longer frightening.
‘Wind of Purification.’
The blue energy of the wind enveloped my feet.
The wind of purification had more uses than I had initially thought. It could purify sinister energy within the body, just as it had the first time I used it. It also made my sword swifter and my steps quicker.
The effects were such that I could understand why the Constellation bore the cost on my behalf.
‘I should offer a sacrifice later.’
Thinking that, I stepped forward.
Tatadak-!!
With a speed stat reaching B, combined with the wind of purification, my body moved faster than ever before.
“Grrrkkk!!!”
The creature let out a bizarre scream and shot wooden spikes at me. Giant pieces of wood flew from both sides, attempting to crush me. I rolled on the ground to escape.
Although I could use Lightning-Struck Jujube Wood, the durability of the hastily made Lightning-Struck Jujube Wood wasn’t that great. Judging by its state, I could use it three more times at most. I had to conserve it as much as possible.
‘If I can just get close, it’s over.’
By the looks of it, the durability of its body didn’t seem very high. With only that thought, my sword advanced relentlessly. Then, from the sky, a sharp and long wooden root descended.
“….Damn it!”
I couldn’t dodge this. Thinking that, I swung Lightning-Struck Jujube Wood immediately.
[Item, ‘Lightning-Struck Jujube Wood’ purifies the sinister energy.]
[Remaining uses (2/4)]
Two more times. It was becoming dangerously limited.
“Grrrkk…!!”
Perhaps infuriated that its attack vanished in vain, the creature started attacking more fiercely with even more bizarre sounds. Wooden thorns filled the air.
[Skill, ‘Incomplete Nine Heavens Sword’ is activated.]
I squeezed out the remaining mana to activate Incomplete Nine Heavens Sword. I couldn’t waste Lightning-Struck Jujube Wood on trivial attacks anymore.
“…Ugh!”
Naturally, the number of wounds increased. My current skill level wasn’t sufficient to block all those attacks. My consciousness wavered. Already feeling anemic, losing more blood made me feel like I was about to faint.
‘Get a grip.’
If I collapsed here, it would be a senseless death so close to victory. I pulled myself together with that single thought.
[The Constellation, ‘Nine Heavens Mysterious Girl’ wishes for your victory.]
[The Constellation, ‘The One Who Faces Demons’ observes the one fulfilling the contract.]
[Item, ‘Lightning-Struck Jujube Wood’ purifies the sinister energy.]
[Remaining uses (1/4)]
I blocked the attacks I could and evaded the ones I could avoid.
For the unavoidable attacks, I used Lightning-Struck Jujube Wood.
Although I couldn’t block them perfectly, I could endure. Forcing my unwilling body to move, I swung my sword. Before long, my sword reached the creature’s body.
Crack!
“….!”
My sword was about to sever its neck when a solid, dark red wooden barrier deflected it. If I could just break through that…
“If I can just break that, I win.”
With that single thought, I threw Lightning-Struck Jujube Wood at the wooden shield protecting its neck and swung my sword with all my might.
[Item, ‘Lightning-Struck Jujube Wood’ purifies the sinister energy.]
[All uses have been exhausted.]
Snap-
The red wood disintegrated thanks to Lightning-Struck Jujube Wood, and my sword sliced through the demon’s neck with a sound like cutting through wood.
“….”
Thud.
That was it.
[You have defeated the Fairy-tale level demon species, ‘Corrupted Dragon of the Forest.’]
[You have obtained ‘The Book of Green Shade’ as a reward.]
[You have cleared the trial, ‘Proof.’]
[You have obtained ‘Burning Holy Fire (Epic)’ as a reward.]
[A contract with the Constellation, ‘The One Who Faces Demons’ has been fulfilled!]
Though many rewards appeared, I couldn’t see them. My vision blurred, and my mind grew faint. With my body growing colder and my senses dulling, I heard one final thing.
“Hey! Stay with me!”
Ah. At least I wouldn’t die.
#
It was an unfamiliar floor. When I opened my eyes, the first thing I saw was the floor, and I blinked. What the…
Wasn’t it common sense to see a familiar ceiling when waking up after losing consciousness? Instead of being sprawled out, I was lying on something soft, like a bed.
“Ugh….!!”
Where was I? As I tried to move to find out, urgent voices came from around me.
“Don’t move!”
“Stay still!”
“Do you want to die after being saved? Lie down.”
Two of the voices were familiar, but the rough male voice was not. One was Sung Harim, and the other was Jin Juha.
“….I was going to lie down anyway… It hurts like hell.”
Even without their voices, I couldn’t get up.
The excruciating pain from my back was unimaginable. Other areas seemed fine, but the pain from my back was beyond words.
Just trying to get up brought tears to my eyes. It hurt like hell. Was my back broken?
“Your consciousness seems intact… How about your mana control?”
I turned my head to see a rough-looking man in a doctor’s coat. I was startled. Was he a health professor?
Sergei, the academy’s health professor. His backing star was
In the novel’s description, I couldn’t have imagined how rough he looked, thinking, “How tough could a health professor be?” But he looked like a bandit.
“What are you staring at?”
“…Did I say that out loud?”
I made a huge mistake. Sergei stared at me, his gaze as intense as a demon species.
“Ahem… Mana control seems fine.”
Avoiding his gaze, I changed the subject. Anyway, when I controlled my mana as Sergei asked, there was no issue. Everything was fine except for the insane pain in my back.
“Jinwoo, how much do you remember?”
“I remember cutting the demon’s neck and collapsing.”
“Four days have passed since then.”
I was quite surprised by Sung Harim’s answer. Four days? I didn’t realize I was that badly hurt.
“After you collapsed, I performed emergency treatment, but it used up your stamina.”
In other words, when Sung Harim treated me, she used my stamina to heal the wounds, which caused me to sleep for several days. Well… staying alive was important.
“But why does my back hurt so much?”
“For some reason, the bones in your back were severely damaged… It was hard to treat right away.”
Was it because of the Wooden Dragon? I guess my back was nearly shattered.
“Anyway, you need to recover for a couple of days, so don’t do anything reckless.”
With that, Sergei stood up, indicating the examination was over. That meant there were no further problems.
“The academy’s reward will be given once you fully recover.”
“Where are you going?”
“Why should I stay when the examination is over?”
True to his reputation as the laziest character in the original work, he left the room without another word.
“….”
Silence followed. None of us knew what to say next.
What should I say first?
Glad I’m alive?
Ask where Se-ah and Lee Shinwoo are?
No, I should ask what happened at the academy.
“Yoo Jinwoo.”
While I was thinking about this and that, Jin Juha, who had been silent, spoke first. Her face, usually full of mischief, was serious.
“Thank you for saving our lives.”
“It’s fine. I did it to save myself.”
“But you still saved us.”
Jin Juha’s face showed a mix of complex emotions: guilt for not being able to do more, gratitude for saving her life, and self-reproach.
Those three emotions were evident on her face.
“If I had been a little stronger…”
She seemed to feel guilty about only creating Lightning-Struck Jujube Wood and not being much help. Her face grew more and more despondent.
What should I say to her?
‘I’ve never been good at comforting people.’
Human relationships were always difficult. What should I say?
After thinking for a moment,
I decided honesty was the best approach.
“If it weren’t for you, I would have died too.”
“….”
“Well… if you feel that bad, give me something.”
I said in a playful tone. I didn’t expect much, just trying to lighten the mood.
But her response was beyond my expectations.
“Then… I’ll give you a wish. A wish that I can grant, whatever it is.”
A wish. An unlimited wish. The reward was much bigger than I had imagined.