LIGHTNOVELSTORY Chapter 30 - The Demigod (3)
Chapter 30: The Demigod (3)
As soon as she raised her head, Rachel could see it.
Far beyond the rear of the White Whale.
A small rowing boat, approaching with a tremendous spray of water, almost like a waterfall.
‘…What?’
Rachel’s mind went blank.
Her brain, which had momentarily encountered an error, had to struggle to accept what she was seeing.
Immediately…
‘The White Whale… is being caught up to?’
The fact that the White Whale, which prided itself on being the fastest ship in the world, was being caught up by a shabby rowing boat.
‘No, that’s impossible?!’
While Rachel strongly denied the reality, the rowing boat, creating a huge spray of water, had reached right behind the White Whale.
And then.
Splashaaaaa! – Swish!
Spraying water up to a height of 10 meters, it passed right between the two White Whales.
Thud-thud-thud-thud.
The spray from the rowing boat poured down like a rainstorm, soaking Rachel’s head.
“What…?”
“That…”
Despite being drenched, Rachel and the crew could not utter a word.
They could only stare blankly at the rowing boat, then gasped again.
‘It’s already that far away!’
Though it seemed to have passed by only moments ago, the rowing boat was already a good 200 meters away.
It was an astonishing speed.
And as the bizarre rowing boat approached the pirate ship that had been fleeing.
“Who are these slow bastards to dawdle in front of this old man? Get lost-!”
Flash-.
Along with the booming voice, a bright white light spread out.
Crack-.
The huge pirate ship split cleanly in two.
“Aaaargh!”
“Kaaak!”
Pirates leaped into the water to save themselves.
Splashaaang!
The rowing boat zipped through the middle of the split pirate ship as if nothing had happened.
It all happened so quickly.
All that remained were the bubbles created by the strange rowing boat and the wreckage of the destroyed pirate ship.
And.
“Ha ha ha, try and catch me if you can!”
Only an echo filled with madness.
“What… just happened…?”
Rachel squeezed out her question, but no one was there to answer.
Everyone just stared, entranced, at the rowing boat that had already become a small dot.
* * *
The mysterious rowing boat Bung Bung, which had overtaken the White Whale and split the pirate ship before disappearing, was now stopped.
Yuri, who had been pushing Bung Bung with all his might, lay on the river like a corpse, staring up at the sky.
‘I can’t… go any further… I couldn’t go on even if you killed me…’
How many days had it been since he gave up sleep and ran?
He had lost sensation in his limbs long ago.
Floating on the water, Yuri’s eyes were filled with emptiness.
“Heh…”
He laughed.
A smile that seemed like it would scatter in the wind, turning to white ashes.
In truth, Yuri did not want to laugh.
But he couldn’t stop the laughter from leaking out.
“Hehehe…”
A hollow voice mixed with his weak laughter.
“I’m done for…”
There was a day and a half left until the deadline.
And to reach the Cradle…
“Hehehe.”
It would take a full three months of riding at full speed.
“Hehe… hahaha!”
Yuri, who had given up on everything, laughed like a madman, his body drifting with the current.
Thud-thud-thud-.
What caught Yuri, who was drifting with the current, was the rope tied around his waist.
As the rope pulled taut, Yuri was dragged against the current.
Swoosh-.
At the end of the rope was Johan.
“Haha, it’s a big catch.”
Yuri, pulled out of the water like a fish on a hook, wriggled feebly.
After being hauled onto the rowing boat, Yuri flopped limply like a jellyfish.
At the sight of this pitiful state, Johan frowned deeply.
“What are you doing?”
In response to Johan’s question, Yuri squirmed and replied.
“Old man…”
“What?”
“I think… I’m done for.”
“You were always hopeless. It was I who made you capable of at least acting human.”
“…Damn old man. All this is because of you…”
Having no energy left to argue, Yuri just turned his back on Johan.
“It’s all over… Everything’s ruined…”
Yuri, huddled in a corner of the rowing boat, hugging his knees.
Looking at the wall and muttering to himself, he cut a very sorry figure.
It was understandable, considering he had risked his life swimming towards the Cradle, only to see it all crumble away, leaving him desolate.
“I wanted to enter the Cradle… but I can’t? Hehe, hehehe…”
Now, laughing like a madman, Yuri’s shoulders shook slightly.
Seeing this, Johan’s eyes gleamed with pleasure.
‘Hehe, is this enough?’
Any more torment, and the kid might cry.
‘…Or is he already crying?’
Seeing him shaking his shoulders while facing the wall, Johan wondered if he was indeed crying.
Johan grinned and waved his hand.
The rowing boat Bung Bung started moving towards the riverbank.
Thud-.
As Bung Bung touched land, Johan jumped off lightly and spoke.
“Get off.”
Yuri raised his head slightly and glanced at Johan.
“Are you going to take a dump?”
“…”
“Or just a small one? Why do I have to go with you? To shit together?”
It wasn’t strange for Yuri to ask that.
So far, Johan only got off the boat to ‘take a dump.’
In response to Yuri’s question, Johan frowned.
“It’s not that, just get off.”
“Why?”
Seeing Yuri refusing to get off and only asking questions, Johan sighed and waved his hand.
Whoosh-.
“Ah!”
A small gust of wind carried Yuri out to Johan.
Yuri was flung out of the boat.
“Ouch, my back.”
While he patted his back, Johan stroked the rowing boat.
“Haha, you’ve worked hard. Now go and find your freedom.”
With those words, Johan pushed Bung Bung.
Watching Bung Bung float away with the current, Johan gazed at it with a longing expression.
He even waved his hand to see it off.
Seeing this, Yuri finally thought Johan had gone mad.
‘No, he’s always been crazy, but his condition seems worse today.’
Staring blankly at Johan, Yuri felt a surge of irritation.
‘Wait… I did all the hard work, so why is Bung Bung getting the encouragement?’
I was the one pushing the boat day and night!
Just as Yuri’s lips started to pout.
Swish-.
Johan turned his body towards Yuri.
With his hands behind his back, Johan approached the sitting Yuri.
Looking down at Yuri, Johan spoke.
“Before you enter the Cradle, this will probably be the last lesson. Well, we’ll still see each other often, but I can’t always be by your side like now.”
“What do you mean?”
“Listen carefully.”
At Johan’s serious demeanor, Yuri straightened his posture.
At any other time, Yuri would always take his lessons seriously.
While Yuri adjusted his posture, Johan continued speaking.
“A 9th rank and a Master. The difference between the two is the opening of the spiritual hole and the manifestation of the avatar.”
Yuri was well aware of this.
But hearing it again now, it felt different.
‘An abnormal spiritual hole and avatar…’
Johan had told him that he was roughly at the level of an unofficial 1st rank.
Considering the time he had spent in serious training, it was a ridiculous level to achieve.
But that was all.
He was still a novice who hadn’t even reached the 1st official rank.
That was his current state.
A novice who had used an avatar, something that should be exclusive to Masters, was an absurdity he could now understand.
But that aside.
Yuri was puzzled as to why Johan was bringing this up now.
“So? Why bring that up all of a sudden?”
“Usually, when someone who has steadily climbed the ranks opens their spiritual hole and manifests their avatar for the first time, it has a clear shape. But your avatar…”
“…”
“It was just a crude black mass, unworthy of being called an avatar.”
At the mention of the ‘black mass,’ Yuri unconsciously touched his earlobe.
The hard sensation under his fingers was the blue gem called Shari, given to him by Ralph as a condition for accepting a duel.
Before formal training, Johan had crafted this Shari into an earring and handed it to Yuri.
[This Shari will help block your spiritual hole and allow you to accumulate mana even without me. It also serves as a safety device to prevent the monster inside you from escaping.]
In the past, Yuri had frequent nightmares.
Dreams where he turned into a black monster, covered in thick blood.
These nightmares had continued even after meeting Johan.
But since wearing the Shari earring, he hadn’t had a single nightmare.
The situation had certainly improved, but Yuri knew well.
That the black monster still existed within him.
That it could reappear at any moment without the Shari earring.
Seeing Yuri touching the earring, Johan continued.
“Why do you think your avatar failed to take proper shape?”
Hearing the question, Yuri let go of the earring and looked at Johan.
“…I don’t know? Maybe because I’m weird? Others accumulate steadily and open their spiritual hole, manifesting their avatar, but I skipped all those steps, didn’t I?”
“Ho?”
“Maybe because the process of manifesting my avatar was abnormal, the avatar itself turned out abnormal?”
“Then what do you think others accumulate to create a proper avatar with a clear shape?”
“…”
This time, Yuri couldn’t answer immediately.
It was a challenging question that someone might want to devote their entire life to finding the answer.
Thus, Johan did not rush him.
He merely waited to see what answer this young genius would come up with.
Meanwhile, countless thoughts crossed Yuri’s mind.
‘Foundation, foundation…’
Could it be the pure mana accumulated in the body?
Or the mental strength gained through cultivation?
Or perhaps knowledge and wisdom?
Or could it be the experiences gained from life?
After many thoughts crossed his mind.
Finally, Yuri’s red lips, which had been firmly shut, moved.
“Could it be… a wish?”
Yuri’s answer was a wish.
At this, Johan’s eyes sparkled.
With an intrigued look, he asked.
“A wish?”
“Yeah, or a desire? What you want? Something like that?”
“Why do you think so?”
“Honestly, I’m not sure. What exactly should be accumulated. So I thought about it the other way around. How I felt when I first manifested my avatar.”
This was an approach only Yuri, who had an abnormal spiritual hole and had already manifested his avatar, could take.
Johan showed an interested reaction.
“How did you feel?”
“When I first manifested my avatar, I…”
Yuri had first manifested his avatar on the day his childhood village was trampled.
Seeing his only refuge burn and the lives of those he knew perish, Yuri…
“I wanted to kill everything in the world.”
He thought that the black monster within him might have been born from the murderous intent of his childhood.
But the immature and foolish murderous intent faded as he realized his impending death.
The desire to survive grew stronger than the murderous intent.
“My first wish was someone’s death. Born from such a wish, my avatar remained incomplete as the murderous intent faded, leaving it as a crude mass.”
Speaking his thoughts calmly, Yuri looked at Johan.
Hoping he would tell him if his answer was right or wrong.
Johan smiled with his eyes.
“Is that so?”
“Is my thought correct?”
“Who knows? Maybe it’s right, maybe it’s not?”
“…?”
Yuri’s expression turned into one of disbelief at Johan’s seemingly nonsensical response.
Seeing this, Johan smirked.
“Don’t you think you’re trying to get an answer too easily, one that some would spend their entire lives seeking?”
“…Then why did you ask?”
“Why? Because this question is your assignment.”
“…”
“Think hard about what you need to accumulate to create a proper avatar. Whether it’s really the ‘wish’ you mentioned.”
“…Couldn’t you give me a multiple-choice answer?”
“Stop talking nonsense.”
“Or at least a hint?”
“Don’t try to trick me. This is a question you need to solve on your own for it to have any meaning.”
“Damn it.”
The question of what foundation was needed to create an avatar.
It might be a lifelong assignment for Yuri.
A problem that only had meaning if solved alone.
Thus, Johan merely posed the question, hoping Yuri would find the answer on his own.
However…
“Well, even if I can’t give you a hint, I can tell you what reward you’ll get for solving this assignment.”
“A reward?”
Hearing about a reward, Yuri’s eyes gleamed with excitement.