‘Roka has…’
Changed. And quite drastically at that. Probably not in a bad way, though.
‘What happened?’
Watching the child passionately talking to Yanid in the distance, I tilted my head. Not that I wanted to. My head just moved on its own.
Something felt significantly different. But if you asked me exactly what, I couldn’t tell. Clearly, something had changed, but it felt more like a qualitative shift rather than a quantitative one.
It didn’t seem like her power had grown stronger, but she had definitely matured. I had no idea what Sir Urban had done to help Roka grow, but I figured I should thank him later. Truly, a master is a master.
‘Even in different fields, an expert is an expert. When you reach the peak, do all paths converge?’
The child, who never approached Lady Kisea, her own kin, was now boldly approaching Yanid, a complete stranger. She chattered incessantly, circling around like an annoying little bug.
Perhaps irritated, the girl spread her wings and flew up to the roof. For a moment, the child looked dejected, like a wolf chasing a chicken, but then she soared into the air and chased after Yanid.
“Magical power…”
It’s not strange for the Master to fly through the sky. I watched casually, but the Princess was so shocked she nearly dropped her sword.
“The surrounding magical power is gathering like wind, lifting Roka as if it were stepping stones.”“Wasn’t that how she flew before?”“No. It’s completely different, Saint.”[She’s not using her own power to fly. The sky itself is lifting her up.]
Even Azahadaka, the dragon, couldn’t hide his surprise, so it clearly wasn’t something to take lightly. That child sometimes grows in ways that are truly astonishing.
[Dragons can scatter their magical power to dominate their surroundings and create their own domain. But this is something entirely different. I can’t even begin to understand the principle. How is this possible?]“Sir Urban. What on earth did you do? Can you really forge a person like metal with a hammer? If that’s possible, maybe I could…”
The dog walking over scratched his head awkwardly at the Princess’s request. He coughed and replied.
“Common sense says that’s impossible. I didn’t do anything. It seems she realized something on her own. Maybe it’s a realization left behind by her predecessor.”“Can you enhance the Dragon’s Sword further?”“This is my first time working with dragon bones, but I’ve been doing this my whole life to make a living. It can’t be harder than when I first picked up a hammer. Hand it over. I’ll forge it stronger.”
The dog took the Dragon’s Sword and returned to his forge. Finally, the child, who had been pestering Yanid, came back looking dejected.
Looking up at the sky, dark clouds were gathering, taking over a section of the heavens. It seemed Yanid had created those black clouds and then hidden inside them.
“Dragons can manipulate the weather with the two horns on their heads, summoning rain and wind. This ability is innate, so it seems Yanid can use it too.”
Kwa-rung!
As soon as the Princess, who knew a lot about dragons, finished speaking, thunder struck, and raindrops began to fall. Strangely, not a single drop fell on us. Instead, it poured like a waterfall only on Roka, who was approaching me.
Swooosh!
Roka, suddenly drenched, blinked. She seemed confused for a moment, looking around. Then she realized she was the only one getting wet.
“Hey! I asked for a favor, not this!”
Splash splash!
Only after her clothes and even her tail fur were completely soaked did she seem to realize this was Yanid’s doing. She glared at the sky, grinding her teeth. Then, the rain poured even harder.
It was coming down so hard it was almost like a waterfall, making it hard to keep her eyes open. The Princess muttered in disbelief.
“Just use your Power Techniques to block it. Why are you just standing there getting soaked?”“Ugh… ugh…!”“Ah, deep thought! You wanted to immerse yourself in thought. The sound of rain is good for meditation.”
I was also puzzled, watching Roka just standing there, dazed. She could’ve easily blocked the raindrops by either running away or using her Power Techniques.
The Master’s defensive techniques, wrapped in magical power, are so strong that even a fly would slip if it tried to land. A mere stream of water would be deflected perfectly.
But Roka, seemingly focused on something, let out a strange shout, clasped her hands together, closed her eyes, and groaned. It seemed like she was trying to do something, so I couldn’t bring myself to interrupt.
Splash!
Was it just my imagination, or were the raindrops’ trajectories changing?
The rain seemed to bend as if distorted by something. Instead of falling straight, it started moving in different paths, twisting and turning as if the space itself was warping.
It was as if the rain was alive, moving to avoid Roka. How was this even possible?
Neither Yurinel nor Lucia had ever shown such a trick. It was more like magic. I looked to the Princess for an explanation, but she was even more stunned than I was.
“What… what is this…”
In the midst of the raindrops avoiding her, the child, now dry again, opened her sparkling eyes.
“Master.”
Now with a look of determination, she spoke firmly to me.
“I want to enter the Beast King Tournament.”
*
When Yanid summoned the rain and wind to scatter it on herself, the wolf was annoyed. But right after, a vivid scene came to mind.
A fleeting moment from Heron’s memories. The image of a boy facing rain, wind, and lightning head-on finally resurfaced.
Remembering how every move he made seemed to align with the workings of heaven and earth, the desire to escape the downpour vanished. She wanted to do the same.
‘I am Heron’s successor.’
A successor, but not to the Heron of that time. Rather, to a Heron far in the future.
If she couldn’t even catch up to her master’s past, let alone his footsteps, she wouldn’t deserve to be called his disciple. At the very least, she should be able to do what the young Heron could do.
But how?
It took her some time to figure it out. Her proud tail fur and blue hair were completely soaked, but she could always dry them in the sun later.
Closing her eyes and pondering, she felt the raindrops hitting her. The Master’s sharp senses made everything around her seem to brighten in an instant.
The image of the wolf within her slowly melted into her surroundings. It was a strange feeling. It wasn’t that she was inside her own body, but rather that she was gradually blending into the world around her.
Is this what it feels like to be in harmony with nature? The endlessly flowing raindrops were her, and the rain-soaked earth was her too. Since she didn’t want to get wet, the raindrops veered away from her as soon as they got close.
Now, she felt she had truly stepped into the Second Tier. She could use a tiny force to assist the countless forces of the world, like shaping a small snowball into an avalanche.
She couldn’t be sure of victory, as Epirna likely had hidden strengths. But now, she felt confident she wouldn’t lose.
If she were to face the Death Worm again, which the three of them had defeated together, she believed she could now take it down alone.
‘What about the Phoenix?’
Could she defeat it alone if they met again?
She wasn’t sure about that. She hadn’t seen the end of the Phoenix.
She had seen the memory of Heron defeating the Phoenix, but back then, the Phoenix had been cut down by the Sunset Slash without resistance. Yet, even after such a devastating technique, it had resurrected and had to be finally ended with a miracle.
‘Can I completely destroy it now?’
To find out, she needed real combat. She needed to gauge how much her strength had truly grown through actual battle.
Roka’s gaze quickly scanned Ardein and Leon in the distance. Since Yanid was avoiding her, she’d have to pester those two instead.
“Master.”
But one thing was certain.
“I want to enter the Beast King Tournament.”
Now, she could seriously consider her chances.
She had the qualifications to cautiously predict victory in a one-on-one fight with Epirna. The current Roka undoubtedly had that right.
