Chapter 104: Ah, these ■■■■■■■ retards, actually ■■■■■■■ ■■■■■■■■■■ (2) (1/2)
During the two months of school holidays, Yeorum didn’t fight against other cadets. It was because Yu Jitae didn’t allow her to.
How much stronger have I become; how much can I fight?
Those were the thoughts that had constantly hit her throughout the training.
And by moving her body just once, Yeorum realised that everything had become a lot better than before. The weight of the ground when she kicked off it; every strand of body hair fluttering against the breeze, and the shock received by her fist when she struck her opponent – everything made her heart beat faster.
‘I, became stronger.’
The pain she went through during the training vividly flashed past her eyes – the suffering that tempted her to give up, the time she spent crying before sleep at night and the stream of blood that travelled down the sword handle. She could remember her own shameful voice that asked the guardian to stay together, thinking that she might die.
It felt like she was being rewarded for all that suffering.
After the battle ended, right before being summoned back to the real world, Yeorum showed a bright smile at the camera artifact and shot her fist up.
She then screamed while jumping up and down.
“I won!”
It was her expression of joy towards Yu Jitae but Yeorum did not know. She didn’t know the fact that the footage continued even after the fight ended until she was summoned back.
[( ́•ω•̀) x 23]
“Uwah…”
Carley from the PR team absent-mindedly watched the display screen.
“What’s wrong, Carley?”
“Sorry? Ah, it’s just… I was thinking to myself that Cadet Yu Yeorum also made faces like that.”
“What face?”
Even the senior who revisited the footage was surprised and laughed. The video had more potential than just a simple surprise factor. The Public Relations team responsible for the promotion of Lair was also in charge of creating Lair’s image, and Lair’s image was made by cadets themselves.
Yu Yeorum, who always had a pouty look and easily got upset was not suited for being Lair’s mascot character. There was also the atmosphere around her that dissuaded others from approaching her.
However, Yu Yeorum inside the footage was full of liveliness and energy. It was more striking than normal because she was acting differently.
Her ridiculous beauty was another positive element.
“Hmm… not too bad.”
“Right?”
“Keep as many videos of her as possible.”
“Ah, yes. Can I ask why though?”
“Looks decent right. There was a lot of talk about creating a mascot character out of her in the first place so…”
“Huh? I thought we weren’t doing that for the Yu household cadets?”
The PD shook his head.
“Mate. No. That’s just for Yu Kaeul. Anyways, take the videos and send it to me on email. I’ll try showing it to the team leader when we go through the script.”
*
Whatever the form, one could only participate in the ranking competition once a day but it was fine considering that the event lasted four long months.
Anyone could freely continue the spars but points wouldn’t be given after the first one, and so Yeorum wanted to go back. It seemed to be because of the advice given by Sophia.
Therefore, the two of them left the Colosseo and were in an alley on the way back to the residential area. After looking around, Yeorum crouched down next to a large bin on the side of the alleyway.
“What are you doing? Come here.”
“…”
Yu Jitae also went near her and crouched down. She took out a cigarette and placed it between her lips.
“You know. Tell me honestly. Honest.”
“…”
“Okay?”
“Alright.”
“Super honest. Well, I know you’re pretty bad at lying in the first place, but as honestly as you can.”
“…Got it.”
“In your opinion, how much have I grown? Is it to a satisfactory degree?”
Immediately after finishing her sentence, Yeorum shook her head.
“No, wait. Don’t say anything. Fuck.”
“Why.”
“You were about to go quiet and hesitate. I know.”
How did she know.
“Ehew. So it’s still not enough after all that… isn’t your standard too high?”
“…”
“Not that I hate it though.”
She grumbled. Thinking to himself that she might need a compliment, Yu Jitae opened his mouth while shaking his head.
“You’re doing good. A lot better than what I expected.”
“What?”
“It’s true. There aren’t any dragons living as earnestly as you.”
“Hmph…”
Kum, hmph. After giving several meaningless coughs, Yeorum lit the cigarette on fire. In the back alleyway away from others, she slowly breathed out smoke and lowered her head.
The joy she tried to suppress bursted out as she faintly chuckled.
“That’s good.”
Meanwhile, the Regressor felt another strange feeling.
The small lines of smoke diverging into the air could be seen vividly and the smell of cigarette nearing his nose contained a heavy texture.
What about the scattered bob hair and the smile on the child’s face? The hazy world which appeared to have been behind a blurry cover became clear, from the alleyway all the way up to the sky above.
This was not his first time feeling this.
It was similar to what he felt when Bom was being mischievous with him in the past; the sensation that hit him when he could visibly sense the distancing of the Apocalypse.
Without even blinking his eyes, he absorbed the clean feeling in its entirety.
It didn’t feel too bad.
“…Anyway, let’s talk about what to do next.”
“Yeah.”
“Your goal is to be ranked 1st in the school competition, right?”
“Right. If I can’t even do that, how would I take down Javier, and how would I go home. I’ll be fucked.”
Though she didn’t specify, that ‘oldest unni’ who had broken out of the egg before others probably had an outstanding talent even compared to other dragons. It might even be enough to make her the lord of their race.
Besides, if she was over a hundred years old, she would still be considered a hatchling to dragons who lived over thousands of years but might be as strong as the 40-year old Javier and could even be stronger depending on her level of talent.
“…Right. So, I looked into it.”
Yu Jitae turned his watch on and displayed a hologram of the screen. A list of profiles appeared.
“What’s this?”
“Cadets receive the most points from individual spars, completing assignments and the tournament. These three.”
They each took about 30% and added up to 90%.
“Nn.”
“And from those three, the spars and the tournament are especially more driven towards individual power. Since that’s the case, the ones that will be competing against you are pretty much already decided.”
He shared the information about cadets that he had discovered with Yeorum.
1. Renowned Swordsmanship Family, the Yong household.
27 cadets were admitted into Lair from the Yong household this year and the ones that were considered the cream of the crop are Yong Taeha and Yong Danbi, the son and daughter of the family head, Yong Jungkook. Of course, they were both adopted and Yong Danbi wasn’t even an Asian and she was black.
“It’s them, huh. I’ve seen them somewhere.”
2. China’s Erfan Guild.
510 cadets had been sent from the Erfan Guild, and there were about four that required more attention – Zhou Luxun, Ling Ling, Zhang Xueyan and O Wong. In this era where human rights were being reconsidered, these had received hellish training ever since they were babies.
Zhou Luxun also belonged to Professor Ha Yoon’s Moonlight study group.