SWNOVELXO Chapter 121 - The Bluebird (2)
Chapter 121. The Bluebird (2)
Yuri’s face stiffened as he received the score sheet.
The words written on the paper clearly expressed an intention to communicate, just as he had hoped.
However, what he hadn’t expected was a certain part of the sentence.
‘Redner’s harvest?’
What does this mean?
Could they know about his connection to Johan Redner?
How on earth?
Yuri’s eyes narrowed slightly as various thoughts quickly crossed his mind.
It was at that moment.
Sssk- clack!
Another score sheet popped out.
【Come up to the 7-star level.】
‘7-star level?’
With a hint of doubt, Yuri followed the instruction.
The 7-star institution he arrived at was unusually open, with its iron doors wide open.
Yuri entered without hesitation.
What greeted him was a cracked ceiling and a staircase descending from it.
“…Was there always a staircase here?”
He had entered the 7-star institution several times, but never imagined that the ceiling could open and that there might be a hidden space.
That was how naturally the structure and finishing of the institution had been crafted.
With a slight sense of anticipation, Yuri ascended the stairs.
Thunk- thunk- thunk.
The sound of Yuri’s footsteps echoed loudly in the narrow passage as he climbed the metal stairs.
The stairs were steeper than expected, and the length was considerable.
After climbing for several minutes, he finally reached an iron door at the end of the passage.
Without hesitation, Yuri grabbed the door and pulled.
Creeaak-.
What greeted him was a sound like thunder.
Kwarang- bang!
Sensing immediate danger, Yuri instantly slammed the slightly opened door shut.
Then the sound continued.
Kwarang- bang- bang- bang!
Yuri awkwardly laughed at the tingling vibration that traveled through his hands gripping the door.
“Haha, are they really that angry?”
He didn’t know what was happening beyond the iron door, but he realized that now was definitely not the time to open it.
‘Wow, are they really attacking without even a word?’
He had thought it would be difficult to have a polite conversation, considering what he had done.
But he hadn’t expected them to start swinging weapons as soon as they saw him.
‘And it wasn’t even a sword, but something strange flying at me.’
Luckily, he had been somewhat prepared.
Bang- bang-bang!
After the loud noise and vibrations continued for some time and then subsided, Yuri cautiously peeked through the door.
“Are you done?”
The response came immediately.
Bang!
…Apparently, it wasn’t over yet.
With a reflexive jerk, Yuri pulled his head back and hurriedly shut the door at the sight of the sparks flying right in front of him.
More banging noises followed.
After some time, when the silence returned, Yuri cautiously opened the door again and called out.
“Is it okay to come in now?”
This time, since no sparks flew out, Yuri carefully opened the door wider.
The first thing that hit him was a smoky smell that stung his nose.
Then, as his vision adjusted, the sight beyond the door made his eyes widen.
‘Wow…?’
The space beyond the door was quite large.
But it felt cramped due to the numerous mechanical devices filling it.
Hundreds of copper pipes.
Thousands of metal devices and countless metal wires.
The space was packed with machinery whose purpose and function were entirely unknown.
And standing in the center of it all was a man in his fifties.
Holding a strange metal lump emitting gray smoke, he glared at Yuri with an irritated expression.
Yuri’s eyes widened in surprise as he saw him.
‘Huh?’
What shocked Yuri was the man’s appearance.
Thick limbs and a thick neck.
A broad face with a scruffy brown beard.
But what caught Yuri’s attention the most was his height, barely reaching 130 cm, even if one were to be generous.
From what Yuri knew, there was only one race with such physical characteristics.
A race descended from the ancient dwarves.
That was…
“Bone Clan?”
Of course, it was possible he was just a regular person with unusual physical traits, but Yuri was certain the figure in front of him was of the Bone Clan.
He had no doubt.
‘Huh? Why didn’t I think of this? With this level of technology, it should have been obvious that the Bone Clan was involved.’
Among the skills that made the Bone Clan famous were metallurgy and alchemy.
Without them, it would have been nearly impossible to create and maintain such a sophisticated institution.
And as if to prove Yuri’s thoughts, a grumpy voice rang out.
“What, is this your first time seeing a Bone Clan member?”
Despite the irritated tone, Yuri sensed there was no longer any hostility, so he slipped inside.
“It is my first time, actually.”
As he said that and took a step forward, Yuri flinched at the sight of the iron door riddled with holes like a honeycomb.
‘This was… more dangerous than I thought?’
An unknown projectile had turned a 10 cm-thick iron door into this state.
He didn’t know how fast it had been, but its destructive power was certainly lethal.
Yuri glanced at the Bone Clan man, who was holding a dark metal lump emitting gray smoke.
‘That must be the device that fired those projectiles.’
Noticing Yuri’s gaze, the Bone Clan man casually tossed the projectile-firing device aside.
“It’s trash. The power is garbage because I threw it together quickly. Tsk.”
Clicking his tongue in dissatisfaction, he glared at Yuri again.
“Are you the bastard who kept pestering me, stopping me from going home?”
“Are you the one who cursed at me out of nowhere, the person who just wants to go home?”
The man glared at Yuri, who had retorted without missing a beat.
“Hah, as expected, the brat from the damned Redner family has a mouth just as foul.”
Again.
He mentioned Redner again after seeing him.
Yuri casually remarked.
“It seems there’s a misunderstanding, but I’m not that brat from the damned Redner family.”
The man snorted.
“The way you lie so shamelessly with that face, you’re definitely a brat from the Redner family.”
“…I’m really not, though?”
“Do you think my eyes are rotten wood? The traces of Thunder Wing are all over the places you wrecked. And you dare lie?”
At the Bone Clan man’s shout, Yuri looked slightly surprised.
‘He recognized Thunder Wing?’
And not even by directly witnessing it, but just by the traces left behind?
Ever since entering the Cradle, Yuri had used Thunder Wing and Cloud Step quite frequently, yet no one had recognized them despite Johan’s fame.
Even Theresia, who had encountered Thunder Wing the most often, didn’t recognize it.
At first, Yuri had thought it was because the cadets were still inexperienced, but now he vaguely realized that wasn’t the case.
Yuri decided to confirm his suspicion.
“Traces of Thunder Wing? What’s that?”
“This guy, still trying to deny it! There are many magic body techniques that manipulate thunder, but none leave such unique traces as that one! Anyone else might miss it, but how could our clan not recognize it?”
“As expected.”
Yuri nodded.
It was just as he had suspected.
The reason people couldn’t recognize Thunder Wing.
It was simply because it was ‘common.’
‘Indeed, Cloud Step and Thunder Wing’s characteristics… are common.’
The main features of Cloud Step and Thunder Wing were their speed.
And Thunder Wing generating thunder?
Beyond that, there wasn’t anything particularly distinctive.
And judging from the Bone Clan man’s words, it seemed there were many magic body techniques with similar characteristics.
Of course, there likely weren’t any with the power of the Redner family’s magic body technique.
As Yuri nodded to himself, the Bone Clan man also nodded in agreement.
“Right, that’s what I thought… what?”
“Ah, it’s nothing special. Like you said, it really was Thunder Wing.”
Yuri’s nonchalant response caused the man to snort, as if that was exactly what he had expected.
“Hmph, see?”
Yuri closely observed the Bone Clan man’s reaction.
‘If he can recognize the traces of Thunder Wing, it means he’s deeply connected with the Redner family…’
However, it didn’t seem like a hostile relationship.
Though the man grumbled and cursed, there was a hint of warmth in his tone whenever he mentioned the Redner family. It was as if he was meeting an old friend after a long time.
Yuri shrugged his shoulders.
“But I’m not a brat from the Redner family; I’m a brat named Yuri Holland.”
“Another lie…”
“If you don’t believe me, you can check it out later.”
The Bone Clan man squinted at Yuri, who spoke with such confidence.
“Yuri Holland? You’re really not from the Redner family?”
“I told you, I’m a Holland.”
“With your personality, you must have Redner blood in you, no doubt about it.”
“…”
“Is your mother from the Redner family? Or maybe one of your distant ancestors?”
…Was it just his imagination, or had he heard something like this before?
Yuri, slightly annoyed, spoke firmly.
“Not at all.”
“There’s no way… How could that be? Then how on earth did you learn Thunder Wing?”
The man murmured in confusion, as if his understanding of the world had just been overturned. Then, as if finding an answer, his eyes brightened, only to quickly dim with a sigh.
“Well, I’ve heard that the Redner family’s power has declined, but…”
“…”
“Has their situation become so dire that they’ve sold off even their secret techniques? Tsk tsk.”
Yuri sighed as the Bone Clan man clicked his tongue in pity.
“Haa, think what you want. But is attacking someone right after inviting them for a conversation the Bone Clan’s way of greeting?”
“Consider what you did! You should’ve left after causing enough damage, but instead, you destroyed everything. What kind of grudge do you have against me to go that far?!”
“But… you wouldn’t have paid any attention to me otherwise, right?”
“…Are you crazy?”
“Alright! Let’s stop beating around the bush. This institution, you made it, didn’t you?”
“So what if I did?”
“Teach me your techniques!”
“…What techniques?”
“The methods to create something like this.”
“You’re out of your mind.”
It wasn’t just his personality that was problematic—this guy had something wrong with his head too.
The Bone Clan man declared as much in a cold tone.
“Why would I teach you?”
“What do I have to do for you to teach me?”
“No matter what you do, I’m not going to teach you.”
“Come on, don’t be like that.”
“Why don’t you be like that? If I asked you to teach me your family’s magic body technique, would you do it?”
“I’m an orphan.”
“…Even so, if I asked you to teach me the technique you learned, would you?”
“I’d ask the Old Man first, and if he says it’s okay, I’d teach you.”
“Old Man?”
“There’s an old man who taught me the technique.”
“…You’re driving me insane.”
Seeing that Yuri was completely unreasonable, the Bone Clan man waved his hand in irritation.
“Enough, I don’t want to talk to you anymore. Get lost.”
“Ah, come on, teach me! If you don’t, I’ll keep destroying everything!”
Yuri’s tone had now shifted to outright threats.
The Bone Clan man sneered.
“Go ahead.”
“…Really?”
“Do you know why I called you here?”
“Not really?”
“It was because I wanted to give you a taste of my special gunpowder before I switched shifts!”
In other words, it meant he was finally about to be free from this madman.
Even though he hadn’t achieved his goal, the man felt a sense of relief after emptying his bullets.
He grinned at Yuri.
“Since this was a thoroughly unpleasant encounter, let’s never meet again.”
With that, the Bone Clan man slammed a red button with his fist.
“…?!”
For a moment, Yuri braced himself for another attack.
But the expected assault didn’t come.
Instead…
Thunk!
The ground beneath him gave way.
‘…What?!’
In the slow-motion sensation of falling, Yuri’s vision was filled with the mocking gaze of the Bone Clan man looking down at him.
Yuri tried to shout something, but…
“Sh…!”
He didn’t get to finish his sentence before he plummeted.
Thunk.
The floor that had split open and swallowed Yuri quickly returned to its original state.
The Bone Clan man stared at the spot where Yuri had vanished and muttered softly.
“Sh…?”
On top of a cliff several meters high.
A part of the wall, which had seemed like solid rock, opened up, revealing a large hole.
Creak-.
A strange sound, a mix between a scream and something else, echoed from within.
“…Aaaaahhhhhh!”
The hole, which had spat out a person making such a strange noise, quickly closed again.
Whoosh!
Yuri, who had slid down the steep surface for several minutes, was flung into the air.
He somersaulted mid-air before landing neatly on the ground.
Thud.
As soon as his feet touched the ground, he looked around.
‘Where is this?’
Realizing he was near a cliff, Yuri turned to look behind him, searching for the trapdoor he had fallen through.
But there was no trace of the hole he had emerged from.
All he could see was the cliff face.
The flawless camouflage made Yuri’s mouth twist into a grin.
‘A trap that goes through an entire cliff?’
Though it was more of an emergency escape route than a trap, the technology that had turned an entire cliff into such a mechanism was impressive.
Yuri’s eyes gleamed with greed.
‘This…’
Yuri had already been eager to learn about mechanical engineering.
But now, things were a bit different.
‘I must learn it!’
The word “must” had now been added to his desire to learn.