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 [Chapter 186]

[Mute (2)]

Eun-ha didn't just buy meals for her.

He took Son Ga-yeon to the shooting range whenever he had time.

And trained her day and night.

At first, even On Tae-hee, who complained that he was favoring her, shut her mouth.

「Can't we stop now?」

"No, you see that box over there? We'll train until all the bullets in it are gone."

「...」

"I'm doing this all for you."「Devil」

Son Ga-yeon was fed up.

She conveyed her thoughts to Eun-ha using her mask.

Blue letters appeared on the artifact mask that Eun-ha had asked Byeok Hae-su to make.

"If you shoot all of these, I'll buy you something delicious for dinner tonight too."

「I feel like I'm becoming a pig ㅡ.ㅡ」

"You don't need to worry about that."

Nevertheless, Eun-ha shook his head.

Then he offered a carrot.

Son Ga-yeon, who had been eating the meals Eun-ha bought very deliciously at first, now had dull eyes.

In just a week.

Her cheeks had gotten plumper.

"We're going to practice again after dinner. You need to digest properly after eating."

「...」

"Even if you become a pig, you should be a healthy pig, not one that just gets fat."

「Can't I just not be a pig?」

"Hurry up and shoot. I'm hungry too."

She had already fallen into Eun-ha's clutches and had no choice.

Son Ga-yeon lay down on the floor as if she had given up.

Tang─!!

Despite saying she was dying from exhaustion.

In reality, her expression changed completely when she held the rifle as if nothing had happened.

She pulled the trigger and hit the rapidly moving target.

Eun-ha nodded with satisfaction as he watched her.

She does well when told to.

Her accuracy is even better than Bong-gu-rae's.

No wonder even <Silent > showed interest before the regression.

They, who had to snipe enemies from long distances, needed to be able to end situations with a single shot.

Therefore, high accuracy was required, and even the slightest difference could greatly change the result.

So snipers had to train themselves to perfectly control even the smallest things.

Wind direction.

The posture of shouldering the rifle.

Hand tremors when pulling the trigger.

And breathing, and so on....

Unlike hunters, snipers can't just spray bullets as they please.

The accuracy of a single shot.

The variables that are trivial yet too important to ignore for that.

Among these, Eun-ha rated breathing as the highest ability required for snipers.

Because depending on the breathing when pulling the trigger, the degree to which the bullet deviates from the aiming point changes.

Gift <Metabolism >

In that sense, Son Ga-yeon's gift was specialized in controlling breathing.

A gift that regulates metabolism.

Although she wasn't yet fully aware of her gift, she was instinctively using it to control her breathing.

As a result, her body tremors disappeared.

And she was in a state where she could perfectly snipe targets like a machine.

She only knows how to hold her breath for a long time now, but doesn't know how to apply the gift to her body.

The effects of <Metabolism > were excellent.

Being able to dive for a long time was just an additional effect.

In her previous life, Son Ga-yeon sometimes demonstrated amazing physical abilities by momentarily amplifying her metabolism.

Of course, using the gift that much would result in weight loss or rapid deterioration of her physical condition as a backlash.

If she had used it in the <Abyss Dungeon>, she wouldn't have suffered such a death.

Unfortunately, it happened on a floor where she couldn't use her gift....

So Eun-ha kept feeding Son Ga-yeon.

He intended to fix her eating habits of nibbling on small amounts of food in this life.

Although Son Ga-yeon, who knew nothing, grumbled that she felt like she was becoming a pig who was good at her job.

Ga-yeon and Gu-rae have different styles.

Gu-rae has a gift that allows him to prepare for a second shot even if the target doesn't die in one hit.

So he doesn't hesitate to fire multiple shots.

In comparison, Ga-yeon's style is to focus on a single shot.

Eun-ha smiled as he watched Son Ga-yeon take down targets one after another.

Her accuracy didn't change even though the targets were moving quickly.

It took longer to load and fire bullets, but that wasn't a very important factor for snipers.

That's why <Silent > showed interest in Ga-yeon before the regression.

Then Eun-ha recalled memories from before the regression.

The Second Uijeongbu Recapture Operation.

At that time, Yoo Su-jin, the Twelve Seats <Silent > who carried out the operation with Son Ga-yeon, showed great interest.

She even expressed regret that Son Ga-yeon had already graduated from the academy, saying it was ambiguous to receive her as <The Seed>.

<Silent >'s gift is similar to Ga-yeon's in a way.

That's probably why she was more interested.

Gift <Heartbeat >.

Yoo Su-jin could control her heartbeat at will.

As a result, her accuracy was unrivaled even among other snipers.

And her style had many similarities with Son Ga-yeon's.

Of course, while Son Ga-yeon used her gift to enhance her physical abilities.

The difference was that Yoo Su-jin used her gift to explosively increase the mana in her body.

Well, anyway, Ga-yeon.

Please grow up to be a hard-working, healthy, and strong pig.

Anyway, Eun-ha looked at Son Ga-yeon with a consistently satisfied gaze.

At that time, there were people who looked at Eun-ha strangely.

"Clan Lord, you said you'd buy us meals. But how long do we have to stay like this?" 

"Unnie, I feel like I'm going to die with my stomach stuck to my back. I'm so hungry."

"Achoo!"

Meiling, Meilin, Iriya.

They were at the shooting range too.

The three had followed, protesting that Eun-ha had been taking care of only Son Ga-yeon lately.

Eun-ha clicked his tongue.

"You guys go shoot too. Don't just play around."

Eun-ha pointed at the twins.

The twins complained.

"But we're not snipers?"

"We shot a lot in class today. Or, the Clan Lord could shoot us. That would be really exciting."

"Huh...."

Should I really shoot those things with a gun?

Eun-ha briefly thought about it while touching the gun on the table.

Eventually, Eun-ha forcibly made them get up from their seats.

"Meilin. If you're a ranger, you go shoot too. If you want to eat dinner on time, hurry up and shoot."

"Clan Lord, I'm okay, right? You told my sister to shoot, but I'll wait here with Iriya unnie." 

"Navigators don't protect their own bodies? You hurry up and go shoot too."

""Tch.""

Eun-ha knocked over the chairs so they couldn't sit back down.

Then he aimed the gun at them.

Only then did the twin sisters listen and leave to train.

Eun-ha finally put down the gun.

"─I'll go shooting too." 

"You stay seated there. You have a bad cold, how well could you shoot?"

"Tch, who left me outside late at night?"

"Who told you to intrude in the middle of the night?" 

"My Lord, you're too much." 

"You're even worse." 

"Peep peep peep baa baa baa boo boo boo!"

Eun-ha stopped Iriya, who was trying to follow the twins to train.

She sniffled and pouted.

Eun-ha sighed.

Last night, Eun-ha had kicked Iriya out and fallen into a deep sleep.

And Iriya had caught a cold after knocking on Eun-ha's window for hours.

"Do you like me that much?"

"My Lord is love."

"Stop talking.... Just take care of your condition. I'll let it slide now because you're a student, but if you can't take care of your own body after joining the clan, I won't let it go."

"If My Lord had just bestowed his grace, this wouldn't have happened...."

"Mouth."

"Achoo!"

"Go back to the dormitory later and rest well."

She's 6 years older than me.

But looking at how she acts towards me, she's no different from a child.

And it seems she's gotten even weirder after meeting the twin sisters.

When she joins the clan, I'll definitely have to separate Iriya from the twins.

The twins are ruining people.

Eun-ha resolved as he watched the twins shooting while showing off their skills.

Then he touched the hat Iriya was wearing on her head.

"All the clan members know what your ears look like now, why do you wear it?"

"It's a complex. I don't like showing my ears to others." 

"Really? I like your pointy ears though." 

"...!"

Eun-ha took off her hat.

Then pointy ears popped up among her black hair.

Eun-ha touched her ears freely, fascinated by them.

"...Do you like my ears?"

"They're fun to touch."

"To think you'd say you love even my insignificant parts, as expected, My Lord is my love." 

"What are you saying."

"Ow! You're pulling my ear... Achoo!"

Next year, the twin sisters will join.

And even the strange saint will join.

Eun-ha was looking forward to next year, but also somewhat afraid.

☆

Ga-yeon, listen to mom well.

You must never, ever, ever make a sound.

It was a memory from her young days.

Son Ga-yeon still sometimes dreamed of that time.

Creak creak

The sound of the floorboards creaking.

She couldn't forget that sound.

That day, a monster entered the house.

The family members gathered in the living room for a meal were startled.

Creak creak

Her father and mother hurriedly fled with her.

Because it was in front of the door.

Her parents had no choice but to flee upstairs.

Cough... Ack...!

Go...! Hurry and run!!

At that time, her father was caught by the creature that climbed up the stairs.

She, who was being carried by her mother at the time, still remembered the sound of her father shouting as he was dragged away by the creature.

At that time, the young her found it difficult to accept what was happening before her eyes as reality.

Ga-yeon, you know what mom said?

You must never make a sound.

You have to hold your breath too. Ga-yeon, you like hide-and-seek, right? From now on, you have to hide really well.

Okay?

After her father was caught by the monster.

Her mother hurriedly hid in Ga-yeon's room.

Then she hastily put her in the wardrobe.

Her mother said as she closed the wardrobe.

Never make a sound.

No matter what happens, don't come out.

Stay hidden until the player uncles come and kill the monster.

Her mother said that.

And firmly closed the wardrobe.

Soon the monster entered the room.

Aaaaah!!

Come here!! I said come here!!

The sound heard from outside the wardrobe.

Her mother shouted to keep the monster's gaze from going to the wardrobe at all costs.

And the sound of scratching a throat.

At the sound she had never heard in her life, Son Ga-yeon covered her ears.

No, don't listen.

No, don't cry.

She closed her eyes tightly.

And she held her breath just as her mother had hinted.

She, who often had breath-holding contests with her father in the bathroom, didn't hesitate to hold her breath.

She was confident in hide-and-seek too.

...

How much time had passed?

It seemed like there were no more sounds.

Son Ga-yeon opened her eyes.

Then she peeked her head out of the wardrobe that was like blinds.

She could see outside the wardrobe through the gaps.

She tried to find her mother there.

Chomp chomp

The monster was eating something.

Chomp chomp

Crunch

The monster was chewing something.

What it was eating.

Son Ga-yeon could realize when the monster turned its body.

With her shoulder eaten.

Her mother was hanging limply in the air, bleeding profusely.

Her eyes met her mother's.

You must never make a sound.

Her mother seemed to be telling her just that.

So she covered her mouth.

She kept holding her breath.

Chomp chomp

Until the players came.

She kept watching as it devoured her mother.

Hide well

Your hair might show

Are you all hidden?

☆

Although he had been focusing on training Son Ga-yeon lately.

Eun-ha didn't neglect his own training either.

Moon Dance

The body rusts if it doesn't move.

This was Eun-ha's principle.

So he tried to remember the feeling by swinging his sword whenever he had spare time.

While doing so, he kept thinking to train himself.

Using external mana can minimize mana consumption.

Of course, special magic like doppelgangers had to consume internal mana.

Eun-ha was in a relatively free situation from mana consumption after creating the Dunning Blade.

Dunning Blade

Although magic that needed to be used urgently for control was unavoidable, he could use most magic at almost no cost.

This will make it even harder to activate the gift.

But it's something that can be done with tricks.

Nevertheless, there was no end to training.

Even when he thought it had become ingrained in his body, he had to keep training.

He had to train until he could use it freely even in an unconscious state.

In other words, it meant he had to train until death.

It was right then.

"─Your sword looks rough every time I see it."

"Ah."

While he was training by the lake.

<Sword Empress> Hwang Jin-hee walked over.

Eun-ha stopped swinging his sword and looked at her.

It seemed she had some business with him.

"What brings <Sword Empress> here?"

"I came to ask you something."

"What?"

"Why do you swing your sword so desperately, like a monster? What do you want to become?"

"..."

As if there was no need to rush.

She placed her hand on her sword and opened her mouth.

"..."

As if she would cut him down depending on his answer.

Eun-ha could tell that Hwang Jin-hee's attitude was very unusual.

It seems like she's trying to confirm something about me....

Why is she doing this?

Eun-ha couldn't understand.

But his actions were also smooth.

If she tried to kill him, he wouldn't die quietly either.

Eun-ha also placed his hand on his sword.

And answered honestly.

"As I once told Teacher Baek Seo-jin, it's a sword to protect the fairy. I'm trying to become strong so that no one can lay even a finger on Lady Fairy, you know?"

"...You have no other intentions?"

"If there's more, it's to be happy."

"Happy?"

"Yes, happiness. Is it wrong to try to live happily?"

As if asking what he was talking about.

Hwang Jin-hee frowned.

She was dumbfounded by the words coming out of Eun-ha's mouth.

"Happiness, happiness..."

The <Sword Empress> repeated several times.

Then she chuckled.

She took her hand off her sword.

"How modest. Modest, yet your ambition is recklessly big."

"It's my dream, so don't interfere."

"Right, I'm sorry."

Eun-ha retorted bluntly.

He relaxed his posture after perceiving that her hostility had disappeared.

 Hwang Jin-hee sincerely apologized.

"Well then, continue your training."

"...What?"

Eventually, as if her business was finished.

Hwang Jin-hee turned around.

Eun-ha was dumbfounded seeing her turn away after saying what she wanted to say.

Whether he cared or not.

She kept walking further away.

"─Ah, that's right."

As if she suddenly remembered something.

She turned her body.

"If you know how to convert external mana into internal mana and control it, try the opposite this time."

"The opposite?"

"I mean try to manifest your internal mana and dominate external mana with your mana. It's the same principle but completely different."

"..."

"I'm telling you to fully manifest your emotions and thoughts in the world."

Manifest in the world.

Eun-ha flinched at those words.

It felt like he had realized something that couldn't be expressed in words.

But he couldn't understand exactly what he had realized.

"Humans are microcosms. Each person holds their own world, that's what it means."

"..."

"And the world we're standing on now is made up of these microcosms gathered together. Magic is essentially implementing your microcosm in this macrocosm."

But because the macrocosm is made up of microcosms.

Magic vaguely imagined in a microcosm isn't implemented exactly as imagined.

Because other microcosms can't comprehend the structure of that imagination.

That's why microcosms design magic with specific and comprehensible structures to implement in the macrocosm.

Nevertheless, magic imagined by a microcosm is implemented somewhat differently in the macrocosm.

No matter how much the gap between microcosms is reduced, each microcosm has its own worldview.

So─

"─You become the macrocosm itself. You dominate all other microcosms with your microcosm and overlay them."

"..."

"Remember that the ultimate goal of magic is the implementation of thought, and its complete implementation in the macrocosm. If that happens, there's no need for specific and comprehensible imagination. It will simply happen as you imagine."

"...Thank you for the advice. I will deeply engrave <Sword Empress>'s words in my mind."

Then what would that be if not a god?

Hwang Jin-hee swallowed those words and turned around again.