Chapter 98 One-horned tribe (8) (1/2)
*Doong* *Doong*
The beating of drums echoed around the town square. The tribesmen rose from their seats and danced around the bonfire along with the beat as they raised their glasses full of liquor high up in the air.
After Yeon-woo’s battle with Jang finished, the One-horned tribe decided to hold a ‘small’ welcome ceremony in honor of their new guest.
But seeing them enjoying the ceremony more than himself, it seemed like they wanted to enjoy the last bit of peace before the war, rather than to actually welcome Yeon-woo.
Even the Martial King told them to forget about the war and just enjoy the ceremony today.
*Doong* *Doong*
‘It seems like everyone here is always so full of smiles.’
Yeon-woo thought as he watched people’s cheerful expressions.
‘This kind of atmosphere doesn’t agree with me.’
Yeon-woo couldn’t wait to leave the ceremony. But knowing that the ceremony was held for him, he couldn’t be absent from it. The only thing he could do was to sit in his place and wish for time to go by quickly as he watched the people enjoying the festivity.
As Yeon-woo looked around the town square, he noticed different groups of villagers, each of them enjoying different activities.
Not only people were dancing around the campfire, but there were also some holding drinking competitions, some selling food and so on.
But he wasn’t interested in any of that, save for one thing.
In one corner of the square not far from Yeon-woo, there was a group of people engaging in a fighting competition. What caught his attention was that they weren’t fighting with any weapon or armor and instead were competing with only their bodies.
A lot of people got injured and some even had their nose or arm broken, but the most interesting thing was that people were still laughing throughout the whole competition.
‘Wrestling, was it?’
The wrestling of the One-horned tribe was very similar to the one in the Earth, except for the fact that the participants here possessed inhuman strength.
It was indeed the culture of a race that loved and honored fighting.
But it wasn’t their culture that amazed Yeon-woo the most, but instead, their way of fighting.
‘Their every motion is swift and concise, and their usage of mana is very efficient.’
Yeon-woo started to watch them using his Draconic Eyes.
The flow of each motion, their utilization of mana, the differences in their thoughts and decisions, and every other element that involved combat which he couldn’t see when fighting with Jang came into his head.
Interestingly enough, the mana in each person’s bodies flowed in different ways, and the effects also varied based on the shape of such flow.
‘So this is what Mugong is.’
Yeon-woo felt a strong thirst. A thirst for knowledge of the Mugong.
Even though Yeon-woo had obtained a copious amount of mana through the consumption of various Elixirs, the problem was that he didn’t know how to use it efficiently.
‘If I could make any of their Mugong my own, I’d be able to increase the output of my Magic Circuit at least several times fold.’
As Yeon-woo watched the wrestling competition with eager eyes,
“So it’s you, the new guy who just arrived today.”
Someone came to a stand in front of Yeon-woo, blocking his view.
Yeon-woo raised his head with a frown.
The person standing in front of him was a human male with a large frame and a shaggy beard which made him look like some kind of bandit.
Though it was his first time meeting a human in this village, Yeon-woo kept glaring at the man without showing any interest.
The man’s face distorted with fury from Yeon-woo’s reaction.
“Haven’t you heard that there are others staying in this village? How can you make a senior come to find a subordinate?”
Only then did Yeon-woo realize the man’s identity.
‘He must be one of the guests staying in the village.’
Yeon-woo heard that there were nine other players staying as guests in the village.
The only thing he hadn’t heard was that there would be someone who would come to bother him with stuff about seniors and subordinates.
It was funny how a guest like him could talk about hierarchy and try to discipline another guest for being a ‘senior’.
*Sneer*
Yeon-woo couldn’t help but let out a sneer at his ridiculousness.
“Did you just laugh?”
“Move it. I can’t see anything because of you.”
The moment the man was about to spat out cuss words at Yeon-woo,
“Is there any problem?”
He was stopped by Edora’s voice coming from behind him.
The man turned his head with a slightly strained look and ran into Edora’s cold eyes.
“No, there’s no problem… I just came to say hello to the new….”
“I’m sorry but I will be guiding him around, so I don’t think he will be needing your help. And I believe you can exchange greetings afterward. Now, would you mind leaving us, please?”
Which basically meant ‘Get out’.
The man watched the two with one end of his lips twitching and soon walked away as he threw a furious glare.
“You didn’t have to do that.”
Yeon-woo said to Edora who seated herself next to him, without giving a single look towards the man.
Edora sighed in response.
“I know, but I didn’t want to cause a scene and ruin your welcome ceremony.”
Edora said as she handed over a glass of wine to Yeon-woo.
Yeon-woo reluctantly, but at the same time gladly, accepted the glass she offered.
The glass was filled with wine brewed by the One-horned tribe. A kind of sweet smell lingered in his nose for a while.
“His name is Brock, and his nickname is ‘Black Bull’. He’s from the 30th floor, just like Jang, which also means that he was hired by Jang.”
“I see.”
Yeon-woo answered flatly.
He could understand why he was so eager to discipline him, but he couldn’t care less about what he thought of him.
Noticing Yeon-woo’s discomfort, Edora quickly changed the subject.
“Oh, by the way, we had your egg transported safely to where the elders are.”
“Thank you for your help.”
“No, please, don’t thank us. We’re the ones who should be grateful to you. You probably don’t know how their eyes shined when they heard the news.”
Before the ceremony started, Yeon-woo was called by the council of elders to the boardroom.
There, the elders asked him if he was okay with leaving his egg with the elders while he was participating in the war.
Though, it was closer to begging than asking.
It had been a long time since they witnessed something that stimulated their curiosity. Something such as an egg that could possibly hatch a Legendary Beast like a Void Dragon.
For the elders who had only been sitting in the boardroom killing time, his egg came like a sweet rain amid a drought.
So, the elders asked him if they could do some research on his egg while it was with them. Of course, without harming the egg or anything of the sort.
“They’ve already gone and checked the quantity of several herbs and medicinal plants in our storage room. It looks like they want to try and apply all sorts of Elixirs on your egg. Can you imagine what kind of great beast will come out of your egg?”
“You think so?”
And for a long time, Edora spent her time with Yeon-woo talking about things they missed after their sudden farewell.
Yeon-woo was told some of the underlying reasons for the One-horned tribe’s participation in the war, and Edora got to know what Yeon-woo went through on the 11th floor.
The fact that she was having this kind of chat with Yeon-woo and to think that such a cold-hearted person like him stood up for her and Phante made her happy. It made her feel reassured to know how much Yeon-woo cared for them.
But then, when she recalled the moment when Yeon-woo proudly announced himself as their ‘big brother’, she couldn’t stop her face from blushing.
‘Will I ever see him stand up for us like that again?
As she tried to calm down her beating heart, Edora slowly turned her head towards Yeon-woo and took a peek at his face.
His indifferent eyes were fixed onto the bonfire in front of him.
‘I wish I could see him without his mask.’
Seeing Yeon-woo’s mask, Edora was curious to know how he would look without his mask. However, she decided not to ask, because she could tell there was a story behind that mask. If so, it was only correct to wait until he trusted her enough to open his heart to her.