SWNOVELXO Chapter 50 - Special Sale Store (2)
Chapter 50: Special Sale Store (2)
Yuri’s swift change in stance left not only the one-eyed man but also the surrounding Black Sword Corps blinking in confusion.
In the silent stillness.
The one-eyed man, representing everyone, asked.
“…You didn’t even hesitate?”
“I’m not so foolish or satisfied to spit out an opportunity that’s being handed to me.”
“You’ve got some nerve.”
“If you keep complimenting me like that, I might get… embarrassed.”
“…….”
Seeing Yuri scratch the back of his head as if truly embarrassed, the one-eyed man held back his words.
Meanwhile, Yuri bowed cheerfully with a very pleased expression.
“We have to move a bit to return the items… Shall I guide you to the hidden place right now?”
“…Do it.”
Normally, such matters would be handled by subordinates.
But by now, curiosity was unavoidable.
Where exactly had this monster been hiding, and what had he been up to?
Where had he stashed the stolen points?
So, the one-eyed man followed the trotting Yuri.
Behind them, ten Black Sword Corps members followed.
The place they moved to, led by Yuri, was a waterside quite a distance from the base.
As soon as they arrived, Yuri dove into the water without a moment’s hesitation.
Splash-.
He swam through the water without hesitation and soon dove underwater.
A moment later.
Bubbles-.
Yuri emerged with small bubbles and a rope in his hand.
“Hup!”
Yuri, climbing onto the land with a small grunt, pulled on the rope, dragging out the items tied to it.
The sight left the one-eyed man and the Black Sword Corps speechless again.
“Ha……”
A soft sigh escaped the one-eyed man.
It was no wonder they were taken aback, as they thought only points had been stolen.
But the items being dragged out along the rope weren’t just points.
There were clothes that looked like they belonged to the Black Sword Corps.
Various boots, water bottles, raincoats, belts, hats, and more.
Moreover, not just one of each item but several at once.
The one-eyed man spoke in disbelief.
“…Didn’t you say you didn’t have a kleptomaniac tendency?”
“Hey, I didn’t steal these.”
“Then?”
“Taking spoils of war isn’t usually called stealing, right?”
“…….”
“Oh, and I was told I could take half of the… no, spoils of war I obtained, right?”
“…….”
When a person is this shameless, even the one affected has to acknowledge it.
There was no room for rehabilitation for this guy.
With a small sigh, the one-eyed man waved his hand lightly.
It meant to do as he pleased.
Seeing Yuri rejoicing, the one-eyed man growled lowly at his subordinates.
“Have all the guards who were on duty yesterday and today submit a report.”
“Yes, sir……”
The subordinate nodded with a devastated face.
No matter how busy, there should have been at least a minimal number of guards on duty at the base.
Yet, Yuri had moved through the base as if it were his own living room, collecting all sorts of items.
Only then did the one-eyed man recall an old memory buried deep in his mind.
‘Huh, right…’
In the past, there was Johan Redner, also known as the Cloud Dragon.
There was another nickname for the Redner family’s secret technique, Cloud Step, which had given him that title.
It was… Ghost Step.
Moving silently like a ghost, it was called Ghost Step.
With the situation as it was, curiosity was inevitable.
“Why did you get caught? With your skills, you could have easily escaped.”
“Oh, that? I tend to save the best for last.”
“…?”
“So I was going to finish by raiding the most expensive and promising place last…”
“…And?”
“But there was nothing to raid, just a bunch of strange papers in the tent of a high-ranking officer. I didn’t have much time, so I decided to leave… and unfortunately, I locked eyes with that Black Sword Corps guy.”
“…….”
“Thanks to that, I learned not to be overly greedy.”
“…….”
“If I had been luckier, I could have stolen more… but alas, my luck was poor.”
…Your story contradicts itself, you brat.
So you’re saying if you had been luckier, you would have been even greedier?
“I think I’ll start checking my luck before being greedy in the future.”
“…You were serious.”
“Yes?”
“Never mind.”
The one-eyed man finally acknowledged it.
He had overestimated Yuri Holland.
‘This guy didn’t spare my tent because of some intention; he simply left empty-handed because there was nothing to steal.’
Annoyance surged within the one-eyed man.
“Who was it that caught him?”
A Black Sword Corps member stepped forward and saluted.
“Member of the 21st squad of the Black Sword Corps……!”
“Forget it. You’re on leave.”
“…What?”
“It’s a reward leave. Nine days, ten nights.”
“Thank you!”
“If you had broken his arms or legs while catching him, I’d have given you not nine days but thirty days.”
“……?!”
“And that guy… hmm?”
Frowning as he looked at Yuri, the one-eyed man wore a puzzled expression.
‘Come to think of it, his energy has significantly increased.’
It had been about twenty days since he had last seen Yuri in that cave.
He hadn’t noticed it due to the unexpected situation of Yuri being caught in his tent, but now he realized.
Yuri’s mana had significantly increased compared to back then.
‘Did he consume some kind of elixir?’
Otherwise, it was rare for mana to increase so dramatically in such a short period.
‘Well, the Forest of Beginnings has been around for a long time, so it’s possible to find an elixir or two.’
Considering Yuri’s character, it was plausible he had found and consumed such an elixir.
While he silently observed Yuri, he was interrupted.
“Deputy Commander?”
Called back to reality, the one-eyed man waved his hand again.
“Allow him to keep half of the points he stole. But for the rest of the stolen items… cut them precisely in half and give them to him.”
“Huh? That’s ridiculous!”
Despite Yuri’s protest against the absurd order, the one-eyed man only smirked.
“I said I’d give you half. Whether it’s two out of four apples or four halves, it’s still half, isn’t it? Any problem?”
“Wow……”
“Be grateful you’re getting the points intact. Honestly, I’d like to cut those in half too and throw them at you.”
“……”
“Click.”
Clicking his tongue, the one-eyed man walked away.
And the Black Sword Corps faithfully carried out his orders.
Slice- slice-.
The items Yuri had diligently gathered were cut in half right before his eyes.
A while later.
Sniff-.
Yuri, who carefully gathered the halved items, boarded the Black Ship along with the other 50 survivors.
The ship carrying Yuri and 300 survivors…
Bwooong-.
Left the dock with a long horn sound.
Heading for the mainland of the cradle.
* * *
On a secluded spot of the Black Ship’s deck.
“Eugeugeu-.”
Stretching long, Yuri tapped his shoulders and sighed softly.
“Ha… conning others isn’t my forte. It’s exhausting.”
Did Yuri know?
Even though he kept repeating ‘it’s exhausting’, his face was shining brighter than ever?
Tap, tap-.
Tapping his not-so-stiff shoulders, Yuri smacked his lips in disappointment.
‘What a petty person.’
Seeing the halved items broke his heart.
It was obvious who he was calling petty.
‘If you were going to give them to me anyway, you could have done it generously. Cutting them in half, seriously.’
In Yuri’s mind, an entry was added under the one-eyed man’s information: ‘Petty with grudges.’
‘Well, I got a decent amount of points, and the rest of the items aren’t completely unusable.’
The Black Sword Corps had faithfully carried out the order to cut the items in half with no margin for error.
With a bit of repair, they would be usable.
‘Normally, I wouldn’t have been this stingy, but…’
However, considering his experience on the mainland, Yuri decided it was wise to gather as much as possible when he could.
Recalling the mainland, Yuri lowered his head slightly.
Then.
“Heh… hehehe.”
A soft laugh escaped, and his golden eyes hidden among his hair gleamed.
“Hahaha.”
Originally, Yuri wouldn’t have been in the Forest of Beginnings now.
Since leaving the forest didn’t disqualify him, there was no reason to return.
‘I planned to surprise everyone by appearing on the mainland…’
But all those plans went awry after meeting someone.
Specifically, he scrapped his original plan and devised a new one.
As a result, Yuri had to endure the arduous journey of going back and forth between the Forest of Beginnings and the mainland.
“…You perverted scoundrel, just you wait.”
A peculiar excitement colored his voice as memories flooded back.
* * *
December 31, around 3 a.m.
Shwaaah-.
Waves crashed onto the sandy beach.
Wet footprints marked the white sand.
The trail of footprints led into a nearby forest, ending at a silhouette.
Squeeeze-.
Wringing out the water from his soaked clothes in his underwear, was none other than Yuri.
Bang-!
After shaking off the moisture, he began putting his clothes back on.
Looking up at the sky, Yuri frowned.
“No wonder the land didn’t appear; I was heading the wrong way.”
Yuri had left the Forest of Beginnings seven hours ago.
In that time, he had swum non-stop.
With his swimming speed several times faster than a normal boat, he should have reached his destination well within a day.
But a sudden weather change caused the issue.
‘If it hadn’t been for those clouds.’
Halfway through the swim, a snowstorm obscured the sky.
Relying on the stars to navigate, Yuri had to proceed by intuition.
By the time the weather cleared and he corrected his course, he had already veered significantly off track.
As a result, Yuri ended up in a completely different location than expected.
‘Where am I now?’
The man-made island created by the Sword Master, Dragon’s Cradle.
According to Jerry, the mainland had a unique shape.
A massive oval land intersected by X-shaped waterways, dividing it into four parts.
The cradle comprised four large islands—North, South, East, and West—and a central island where the waterways crossed.
Yuri and the cadets resided on the northern island, known as North Island.
Originally, Yuri intended to arrive at the northernmost part of North Island and head south.
But now, he found himself…
“Tsk, this is the west.”
Judging by the sky, he was on the west coast of North Island.
‘The west is the domain of the third years…’
The northern island where the cadets lived was divided into four regions, centered around the central arena.
The northern region housed the first and second years.
The western region was the residence of the third years.
The eastern region was the residence of the fourth years.
Lastly, the southern region was the residence of the fifth years.
Recalling this, Yuri sighed softly.
‘This just got annoying.’
At this hour, the northern region was empty as the first and second years were all in the Forest of Beginnings.
In other words, the conditions were perfect for Yuri, who was visiting the mainland for the first time, to move around freely.
On the other hand, the western and eastern regions, inhabited by the third and fourth years, were areas where he had to move stealthily, unsure of what might happen.
This would slow him down significantly.
‘Should I follow the coast north and then head south?’
That was one option, but the time would be about the same, so he shook his head.
Ultimately, Yuri decided to head to the central region from the west.
‘At least it’s not the eastern region with the fourth years.’
Theresia, the top cadet of the second years, was not to be underestimated.
Additionally, Jerry, despite holding only a Silver Dragon Plaque, wasn’t weak.
Those who survived and grew stronger for another year were the third years.
It was uncertain how strong they were.
‘Jerry also advised avoiding the senior regions.’
Saying you never know what might happen if you go there.
Recalling Jerry’s warning, Yuri tensed and slung the point box over his shoulder.
‘Let’s move.’
There were 20 hours left until midnight on January 1st.
Although there was plenty of time, moving now during the night was more convenient to avoid detection.
‘I need to move as much as possible now and find a place to rest before dawn.’
With that plan, Yuri moved towards the central region.
Entering deep into the forest, Yuri soon sensed someone approaching and stopped.
His eyes darkened.
‘Someone’s coming!’
He immediately climbed the thickest tree and held his breath.
Not long after, a man and a woman appeared.
A man with purple hair and a woman with brown hair.
Holding hands affectionately, they passed right next to the tree Yuri had climbed.
“Ah…!”
Suddenly, the man pulled the woman by the wrist and pushed her against the tree.
Thud-.
Leaning one hand on the tree, the man lifted the woman’s chin with the other and kissed her boldly.
At first, the woman seemed surprised, but soon she wrapped her arms around the man’s neck and accepted the kiss.
And Yuri, inadvertently watching the whole scene from the best seat in the house.
Gulp-.
His throat bobbed oddly.