Chapter 7 - EPISODE 7 – DUNGEON BOOK (1) (1/2)
The amount of martial arts terminologies in the first half of this chapter drove me crazy. I feel like I went to a crash course of Korean martial arts with all the terms. Because of that, I ended up making some changes to the previous chapters to correct several mistakes or clarify some ambiguous words. Here are the changes:
I’ve also edited phrases related to extreme power, as it actually meant extreme/powerful Yang energy. The previous ones were quite ambiguous as you may wonder what kind of power it was referring too. There’s also the fact that the sun is associated with yang energy, so the Sunfire Carp and Sun’s Necklace having lots of yang energy to cure/combat Gueumjulmaek’s excessive yin energy makes sense, as yin and yang are dual opposites.
And if you’re curious what Gueumjulmaek (구음절맥, 九陰絶脈) means, it’s Nine Yin Severed Meridians. The name is too long, so I’ll still call it Gueumjulmaek in the following chapters.
Count Bayer.
The Bayer family is one of the 12 northern families that defend the northern part of the Sälen Kingdom and is famous for producing powerful knights for generations.
Victor Cromwell, a long-time vassal of the Count and now a retired knight, reddened his eyes with tears at the sight in front of him.
“Haa…. Kuhaa…. Kuhaa…”
Jude Bayer, who was called the anguish of Count Bayer because of his Gueumjulmaek disease that even disrupted his daily life, was now running in the training courtyard.
Though he gasped for breath as if he was going to die soon.
“It is indeed a gift of the heavens…”
During Jude’s and his fiancée’s tryst… no, their “daytime escape”, they got the sun god Solari’s divine item, which helped in the treatment of his Gueumjulmaek.
A literal eccentricity that is too coincidental to be seen as a coincidence but can only be seen as a coincidence.
“O Askantor, thank you for watching over the Bayer family.”
Victor, who prayed to Askantor, the god of war, looked back at the training courtyard with a smile.
A red-faced Jude was turning around the corner to complete the last lap.
10 laps around the training field.
For ordinary knights, it was only a warm-up and a barely possible amount of exercise, but for Jude, it was simply a great development.
Just a week ago, he couldn’t even properly run a lap around the training field.
“Haa… Haa… Kuhaa…”
Jude, who managed to keep the running form itself, collapsed in place almost as soon as he finished the last lap.
“Kuhaa…”
The sky seemed to be spinning.
I didn’t think of anything as if my head were empty.
“Kuhaa…”
I ended up lying down. I sweated so much that my whole body was wet as if I were drowning.
“Haa…”
How long has it been since I laid down?
When my breath calmed down to some extent, I was able to think.
‘I’m dying.’
10 laps around the training field.
Considering the distance, it is just over 1 kilometer?
It wasn’t that short, but it wasn’t that long either.
‘Still.’
A smile began to spread on Jude’s face.
I could clearly feel that I was getting better little by little.
‘Sun’s Necklace.’
The necklace of the sun god, Solari, was still hung on Jude’s neck.
Unlike the Sunfire Carp, which injects an enormous amount of Yang energy at once, the Sun’s Necklace slowly but continuously supplied Yang energy.
Gueumjulmaek meant a blockage of the meridians due to the immense Yin energy.
The Yang energy little by little had melted the excessive Yin energy, thus the symptoms of Gueumjulmaek began to ease.
Moreover, that was not the only effect of the Sun’s Necklace.
As the energies of Yin and Yang met to covet each other, the result was the creation of a clear and pure energy.
Right now, the mana training method – in other words, the inner Qi cultivation method, was something that Jude couldn’t properly train yet so he couldn’t use the pure energy that was created, but that didn’t mean the energy disappeared.
All these pure energies remained in Jude’s body, so if he fully absorbs them later, he could achieve great achievements at once.
“Young master.”
As I rolled my eyes at the call, I could see Victor with a face full of smiles.
Having retired after reaching the age of sixty, he didn’t follow Count Bayer’s expedition, but his will to continuously reform/train himself knows no bounds.
“I saw you achieve your goal without giving until the end. The Count will be very pleased when he comes back.”
What he said wasn’t just flattery.
Jude had managed to finish running 10 laps around the field even though he suffered and had a hard time breathing.
Even though Jude’s body was still in the process of being restored, Victor appreciated his strong will.
‘As expected, Jude is also a Bayer.’
Gueumjulmaek was no different from a curse when it was appeared, but the spirit of Count Bayer, the master of the warriors, was also continuing to Jude.
“If you recover a little more, you’ll also be able to master the family’s martial arts. Young master, I do you think you’ll be able to unfold the Bayer family’s martial arts… Hoho, I may be old, but it gets my heart pounding.
It was Victor who was not very eloquent.
But what he said was good, so Jude ended up smiling.
‘Count Bayer’s Mugong (martial arts).’
Like a playable character, Jude was also given his own growth points.
One of them was Count Bayer’s Mugong.
The Bayer family now barely occupies the lowest level among the 12 northern families, but at one time, Count Bayer was the head of the 12 families and held the margrave position.
The Mugong that have been passed down through generations never declined.
‘It’s Mugong.’
It was not just a martial art, but something superhuman that uses inner Qi, that it is not an exaggeration to say it is magic in a sense.
There was nothing strange about the world where not only angels and demons but also magic existed, but I felt amazed every time I felt it again.
“Now, young master. That’s enough for today. It’s not good if you overdo it. Don’t forget that getting enough rest is part of the training.”
After Victor helped him stand up by holding him with his giant-like hands, Jude nodded and took another breath.
‘One week.’
It had been a week since I got the Sun’s Necklace from the Red Moon’s Leisegang.
In the next three days, the ban on going out would end, so it was time to prepare for the next step.
‘If I were alone, I wouldn’t have dreamed of it.’
Attempting to get it after the Sun’s Necklace.
The ultimate goal of Jude and Cordelia was to protect the world from the armageddon of angels and demons by stopping the Great Summons, but they haven’t made any progress yet.
‘We’re still powerless.’
It was obvious to say that it was impossible with the combination of a 1-star wizard and a guy who can barely run 10 laps.
For now, they had to suppress their impatience and lay the foundations for growth.
‘We can do it together.’
I hadn’t intended to do so, but I had leveled up thanks to Leisegang, and so with Cordelia, I’ll be able to proceed to the next step right away.
‘But…’
How to contact Cordelia.
It was not that he hadn’t had a means of communication.
It was just a burden.
‘Maja would like it…’
After last week’s flight, she was happy with her eyes even though she scolded me.
‘Dearest Yellow… No, Lady Cordelia.’
Recalling the first verse of the letter to his fiancée, Jude became a face of misery without realizing it.
***
The next morning, at Count Chase’s.
Cordelia, who was training in meditation to raise mana hearts, suddenly opened her eyes shaking.
Because I had an ominous feeling.
‘What, what is it?’
Since her time as Yellow Storm, her senses were good enough to beat Outboxer’s.
I can’t believe it’s so sinister that I can’t help but wake up in meditation.
However, there was no need to worry for a long time.
This is because I saw someone who is believed to be one of the causes of her premonition.
“Miss.”
Dahlia Ale, Cordelia’s escort.
She was approaching with a suspicious, no – rather, an ominous smile.
“Dah…lia?”
Why?
Why is she smiling like that?
In fact, she had a rough idea for the reason.