I’m Here to End This Fight

Chapter 68. Stimulation (1)

After the first sparring session ended, Yuri sat down on the floor of the training ground.

In front of him, Theresia began her practice.

Swoosh-.

A very simple thrust.

It was as if she didn’t mind him watching, and she went straight into training.

In fact, since her practice consisted solely of thrusting, it didn’t really matter if he watched or not.

Watching Theresia repeatedly thrust her spear in front of him, Yuri asked with curiosity.

“Tessha-senpai, what was that? The thrust with the white trail.”

Theresia continued her thrusting without stopping as she answered Yuri’s question.

“Chwisung.”

“Chwisung, huh…”

“And that strange thing you did?”

“Strange thing?”

“The wind? A barrier? I’m not sure what it was, but it felt like the space around you twisted for a moment.”

At Theresia’s words, Yuri’s eyes sparkled with interest.

‘So, from the opponent’s perspective, that’s what being hit by Maryu feels like?’

Since he was the one unleashing Maryu, there was no way he could understand what it felt like for the one being attacked.

Yuri answered Theresia’s question in a calm voice.

“Maryu.”

“Maryu…”

Theresia mulled over the word Maryu.

And that was the end of it.

She quickly lost interest in Yuri and focused solely on the tip of her spear.

It was as if she was projecting herself into the spear.

Watching her, Yuri fell into deep thought as well.

‘There was nothing wrong with the Maryu I unleashed.’

Even so, Theresia’s Chwisung had gone against its flow.

He still didn’t understand how that was possible.

But if they kept sparring, he would eventually figure out why.

At first, it was just sparring for 10,000 points, but Yuri felt like he was gaining more than he expected, which made him happy.

‘I’m earning points and gaining experience.’

Could there be anything more beneficial in this world?

Yuri stood up and looked at Theresia.

She was immersed in her training, oblivious to his presence.

At some point, she had begun to focus completely, repeating the same thrust over and over again.

Watching her closely, Yuri couldn’t help but be slightly impressed.

‘Immaculate.’

It looked like a simple thrust that any spearman could do, but there was something different about Theresia’s.

Despite the countless repetitions, her path never deviated.

And the distribution of force in her thrusts was also consistent.

Just by observing her stance, he could tell how much she had practiced.

So, Yuri carefully left the training ground, ensuring that Theresia’s concentration wouldn’t be broken.

He then arrived at the new cave that would now be his dwelling place and looked around.

‘How should I decorate this place?’

Yuri was excited at the thought of transforming the empty space into his own.

A smile naturally formed on his lips.

‘First, let’s go outside.’

Since this was where he would live from now on, it wouldn’t hurt to familiarize himself with the surroundings.

It also seemed like a good idea to find some food for dinner.

With that decided, Yuri quickly left the rift.

Even after he exited the rift, the sound of something piercing the air continued to echo from the training ground.

Swoosh- Swoosh- Swoosh-.

For a very long time.

Early Monday morning.

“Mmmrrgh-.”

Yuri stretched briefly as he got up.

His cave had changed a lot compared to the day before.

There was a wooden door covering the cave entrance.

And a makeshift wooden bed as well.

For things made in just one day, they were quite impressive.

His craftsmanship, honed through years of wandering, was shining through.

However, Yuri wasn’t particularly satisfied with any of it.

‘I managed to get through a day with these makeshift items, but after today’s gathering, I’ll properly set everything up.’

There was a lot to do.

Starting with traps to prevent outside intrusions.

A properly made bed instead of a makeshift one.

Ventilation and heating facilities, and even a fireplace.

Since he would be staying here for a long time, Yuri planned to equip everything thoroughly.

‘Torches are necessary too, but getting oil isn’t easy.’

Besides, he didn’t particularly like the smell of burning torch oil.

But light was essential for living in a dark cave.

Without a second thought, Yuri opted for an alternative.

“Let’s swipe one.”

The luminous stones embedded in the ceiling of the training cave he saw yesterday flashed in his mind.

‘One missing from there wouldn’t make a big difference.’

Stealing one from the circular arena would be too risky, so he decided to take one from the training cave.

And once he made up his mind, he acted immediately.

‘There’s still some time before the gathering, so let’s go now.’

Yuri quietly snuck out of his dwelling and headed towards the training ground.

Planning to secretly take one before Theresia showed up, Yuri’s plan went awry right from the start.

Shwaek-.

The first thing that greeted him when he reached the entrance of the training ground was the sound of something tearing through the air.

A strong scent of sweat and heat hit him.

“Huh?”

When Yuri stepped into the training ground, Theresia was already there, thrusting her spear.

Swoosh- Swoosh-.

Theresia was repeating the same thrust as yesterday, without realizing Yuri had entered, focusing solely on the tip of her spear.

Yuri glanced at Theresia.

‘How long has she been doing this?’

Her clothes, drenched with sweat, clung to her body.

The ground beneath her feet had darkened, soaked by the sweat she had shed.

Steam was rising from Theresia’s body in the cold air.

Swoosh- Swoosh-.

‘I’ll have to come back later.’

Seeing that she had no intention of breaking her concentration, Yuri finally turned and left.

With his hands in his jacket pockets, Yuri strolled leisurely along the forest path.

Unlike the frantic running of the previous day, his steps were now filled with ease.

Seeing the clear sunlight, Yuri smiled contentedly.

“Ah, how refreshing.”

The day was so clear that the sunlight felt warm even in winter.

If it weren’t for the first official gathering, he would have liked to take his time and enjoy some sunbathing.

‘Maybe I should indulge in that kind of relaxation at least once?’

Just as the thought of ‘relaxation’ began to excite him slightly.

As the forest path ended, the North Clock Tower came into view in the distance.

‘Made it just in time.’

It was 8:50.

Yuri muttered softly to himself.

“I should get a watch or something.”

Although his internal clock was fairly accurate, it wasn’t as precise as a real watch.

Time seemed to be quite important in the Cradle, and he couldn’t rely on his internal clock forever.

‘Outside, I couldn’t afford luxuries like a watch, so I just managed without one.’

But here in the Cradle, things were different.

It was a place where you could buy whatever you wanted with points instead of money.

If he had enough points, he could easily buy a watch.

The problem was whether the shop even sold watches…

‘They probably don’t sell anything other than the most basic necessities… I’ll have to wait for a special sale.’

While thinking this, Yuri arrived near the clock tower.

Given the time, many of the 50th batch had already gathered.

The atmosphere was quite chaotic after just a few days apart.

It was to be expected.

The Cradle had only told them about the existence of points and left them to fend for themselves.

Since the 50th batch had been in the Cradle for less than a week, they were still trying to grasp the situation due to the lack of information.

As a result, the 50th batch members were gathering with the acquaintances they made on the Black Ship, sharing whatever information they had managed to gather.

However, since most of it came from unreliable sources, the information wasn’t very useful.

Those with valuable information kept their mouths shut, cautious of the others.

In the midst of this market-like atmosphere, Yuri made his appearance.

With his arrival, the 50th batch’s reaction split into two groups.

“So, as I was saying…”

“Oh, that’s…”

Some continued their conversations, unaffected by Yuri’s presence.

Those who didn’t care about Yuri were the 260 or so who had fainted as soon as the Hundred Steps Ceremony began.

“…That’s him, right?”

“Is it really him?”

“I think so. That black-haired guy.”

Others immediately stopped what they were doing and turned to look at him.

These were the 30 or so who had clearly recognized Yuri’s presence as he walked ahead of them during the Hundred Steps Ceremony.

Thus, with Yuri’s arrival, the 299 members were now split into two groups.

Those who knew of Yuri and those who didn’t.

Of course, none of them knew Yuri’s name.

Everyone had fainted before Yuri could even reveal his name to the Sword Master.

Even those who recognized Yuri simply referred to him as ‘that black-haired guy.’

Meanwhile, regardless of what others thought of him, Yuri pushed through the crowd and took a spot in the front row.

Soon, a familiar presence followed behind him.

“I’m hungry!”

Yuri smirked at the familiar voice.

It seemed he was in a good mood today, considering even that guy’s voice sounded pleasant to him.

The moment he turned slightly, Yuri flinched.

He blinked his eyes.

“What the… why do you look like that?”

Poppy, who had turned grimy, approached him. His clothes were covered in rotten leaves and fur that seemed to belong to some beast.

“I’m hungry…”

Scratching the back of his head, Poppy plopped down next to Yuri.

Then, a voice came from behind that made Poppy flinch.

“He’s been looking for you for days.”

The newcomer was Arin.

Yuri turned his head toward the direction of the voice, his face stiffening once again.

“And what happened to you? Why do you look like that?”

Arin’s appearance was the same as Poppy’s.

Dirty and covered in strange animal fur, as if she had been wandering around the same place as Poppy.

Yuri squinted his eyes and asked.

“…Did you also go looking for me?”

Arin brushed the fur and leaves off her shoulders as she answered.

“No.”

“That’s a relief…”

“I was following him.”

“……”

Arin pointed her chin toward Poppy.

Yuri looked puzzled.

‘Since when did you two get so close?’

But he couldn’t bring himself to say it out loud as he saw Poppy urgently hide behind him.

“I-I’m hungry…”

Crouching behind Yuri and glancing at Arin over his shoulder, Poppy was obviously on high alert, causing Yuri to ask Arin in disbelief.

“Why were you following him?”

“He’s fascinating.”

“…I see.”

Yuri realized he was an idiot for asking a normal question to someone abnormal.

But then Arin’s next words made his eyes widen in shock.

“I’ve never seen a Yum tribe member in my life.”

“…Yum tribe?”

“Huh? You didn’t know?”

“……?”

“He’s from the Yum tribe.”

“……?!”

At her words, Yuri’s head whipped around to look at Poppy behind him.

His gaze seemed to ask Poppy, Is that true? Why didn’t you say anything?

Poppy tilted his head in confusion.

“I’m hungry?”

He responded as if he was genuinely surprised Yuri didn’t know, his innocent eyes questioning why Yuri was the only one unaware when everyone else knew.

Yuri felt all his energy drain out of him.

“Yeah, seems like I was the only one who didn’t know.”

As soon as Yuri’s lips began to pout in frustration, Arin interjected.

“Isn’t it obvious he’s from the Yum tribe just by looking at him? Where else would you find someone that big? Even if you did, it wouldn’t be common.”

“…I see. So, this is all because of that Old Bear and his grandson.”

Ralph and Mucci—ordinary people who had ridiculously grown so huge!

They had raised his standards of what a normal person looked like.

As Yuri’s lips continued to twitch in irritation, a sound of footsteps echoed.

It was 9 a.m. sharp.

Right on time for the announced gathering, the Black Sword Corps arrived.