Resurrection Chapter 29 - Call me your boyfriend

“Swordsmanship? I’m even less confident with swordsmanship!”

“I know Mr. Yitae lacks confidence in close combat, but the essence of a magic swordsman is not magic but swordsmanship. With swordsmanship, you should be able to defeat the shaman.”

“My swordsmanship is utterly pathetic! There’s a reason the Golden Emperor always scolds me for my terrible sword skills.”

As I protested, I suddenly realized with a start.

“Of course, if I used Levatein, it might be possible…”

“No offerings.”

Heesoo hyung stated firmly. Earlier, he had repeatedly warned me not to use Levatein, and because of that, I had to watch him die. Yet now he’s saying no offerings? I don’t know what he expects me to do.

Seeing my deeply dissatisfied expression, Heesoo hyung emphasized.

“If you rely on your weapon every time a crisis arises, your swordsmanship skills won’t improve. Feeding blood to Levatein is hardly beneficial either. To put it dramatically, it’s akin to human sacrifice, so it should be avoided.”

I gasped.

“H-Human sacrifice? It’s not that extreme, is it?”

Heesoo hyung said with a dark expression.

“Even now, quite a few awakeners attempt to borrow the power of gods through human sacrifice. It depends on their disposition, but more gods than you’d think don’t reject human sacrifices. Human morality doesn’t hold much meaning for them.”

He was right. To transcendent beings, a human life was no different from a monster’s if the number of lives was the same.

A few years ago, someone set fire to an apartment complex to gain the favor of Inferno, the god of fire. Over thirty people burned to death in that incident, and the perpetrator, a third-class apostle of Inferno, reportedly became a second-class apostle.

Since human sacrifice was a grave crime punishable by death without exception, hearing Heesoo hyung, a holy warrior, mention that term made me feel extremely uneasy. I even regretted pestering the Golden Emperor for a divine artifact.

Seeing my worried expression, Heesoo hyung softened his stern look and said.

“Honestly, a big part of it is that I don’t like seeing scars multiply on your body, Mr. Yitae. I may heal even old scars through resurrection, but you don’t. Your body is far too precious to be used to defeat a mere reptile.”

His words were touching but also subtly embarrassing. When he first emerged from the demon’s lair, he was barely alive, practically a corpse, but now he’s quite adept at sweet-talking.

I chuckled and nodded.

“Alright, I get it. But how am I supposed to defeat the shaman without using Levatein?”

He carefully devised a strategy and personally coached me on my swordsmanship.

I practiced a few variations for defeating the shaman with Heesoo hyung. It was only about an hour of practice, so I wasn’t confident, but I had no choice but to trust him.

We finished preparing and rose from the muddy pit where we’d been hiding. Then, relying on Heesoo hyung’s intuition, we tracked where the lizardmen had gone.

👑

As Heesoo hyung predicted, the lizardmen seemed to think we’d escape toward the dungeon entrance. They had blocked the exit and secured the path.

If we hesitated, we’d be surrounded and trapped with no way out. As Heesoo hyung said, our only option seemed to be to take down the lizardman chieftain and shaman.

Half-submerged in the mud, I approached the lizardmen closely and exchanged silent glances with Heesoo hyung. He nodded, and I gripped the magic sword slung across my back.

Soon, Heesoo hyung sprang up from his position and charged forward. I prepared my magic and shouted the incantation.

“Flash!”

Blinding light!

A burst of light temporarily whitened my vision. When the light faded, Heesoo hyung, prepared for the glare, had already charged into the midst of the lizardman unit.

Instead of cutting down the surrounding lizardmen, he swung his greatsword downward with force.

“Slash!”

Boom!

A beam of light erupted from the seemingly blunt greatsword along with the strike. As it was a skill-based attack, its power was incomparable to merely swinging a sword.

His attack cleaved through the swamp, separating the lizardman chieftain riding a kelpie from the shaman standing beside it.

Splash!

The impact of the slash caused the muddy swamp water to surge to both sides, creating great chaos. The kelpie neighed loudly and thrashed, while the shaman tumbled backward.

As the lizardman unit scrambled in confusion, Heesoo hyung prepared a follow-up attack. Meanwhile, I teleported.

“Sword Wave!”

Taking advantage of the chaos, Heesoo hyung rushed forward, unleashing a skill that sent a fierce shockwave in all directions. The limbs of the lizardmen charging at him were torn apart, scattering everywhere.

Amid the blue blood of the lizardmen raining down, Heesoo hyung clashed with the lizardman chieftain.

Crash!

The shaman’s barrier blocked Heesoo hyung’s fearsome greatsword. In the meantime, the lizardman chieftain aimed a harpoon spear at Heesoo hyung’s side.

The cunning creature targeted the exact spot where Heesoo hyung had previously sustained a critical injury. It was the instinct of a predator aiming to finish its prey, but Heesoo hyung’s body, revived through resurrection, was in perfect condition.

He easily deflected the attack. Then, in a display of swordsmanship that even a sword-ignorant person like me could only describe as dazzling, he began trading blows with the lizardman chieftain.

It was a truly awe-inspiring sight, but I had no time to admire it. If anyone here had no room to spare, it was me.

Having teleported behind the shaman, I drew my magic sword. The sword radiated a black aura as it stabbed toward the shaman, but true to its nature, the shaman was protected by spells covering its entire body.

Clang! The spell was shattered with a sharp sound.

A beat late, the lizardman shaman realized the sneak attack and raised its scales roughly while brandishing its staff.

Suppressing the urge to cast magic reflexively, I swung my magic sword, restraining the impulse to strike recklessly and following Heesoo hyung’s instructions.

Stepping forward boldly with my magic sword leading, I spun my body half a turn in an instant, aligning myself beside the shaman.

Momentarily losing sight of me, the shaman swung its staff, but the terrifying cascade of frost pouring from it passed right through me.

As the shaman belatedly turned toward me, I spun another half turn, as if dancing a waltz with it.

Astonishingly, as Heesoo hyung had said, the shaman lost sight of me again. Having perfectly entered its blind spot with simple footwork, I thrust my magic sword toward its defenseless back.

“Kiaaaa!”

With its protective magic broken, the bare-skinned shaman let out a sharp scream as the blade pierced its flesh. Its tough hide was impenetrable to ordinary steel, but the magic sword easily tore through its flesh and even its bones.

I twisted the sword forcefully to finish it off, but unfortunately, things didn’t go as planned.

Astonishingly, despite its pain, the shaman grabbed my sword with both hands.

With a sizzling sound, black aura poured out like a cloud, and in the fleeting moment I hesitated with my sword caught, I felt a chilling sensation at the back of my neck and whipped around.

I saw the lizardman chieftain raising its arm high. Its shoulder muscles twitched as if about to burst. The tip of the harpoon spear in its hand was aimed directly at me.

I realized the lizardman chieftain intended to attack me before dealing with Heesoo hyung, determined to save the shaman even at the cost of facing Heesoo hyung’s attacks.

I tried to cast magic immediately, but shockingly, my breath caught, and no sound came out. I was horrified. The shaman had removed the air around me!

The temporary vacuum disrupted my magic incantation. At this rate, I’d be hit by the incoming harpoon spear with no way to…

That’s when it happened.

“Raaaargh!”

Boom!

A sudden roar struck the air as light surged. Startled, I looked at Heesoo hyung. A halo-like glow shimmered above his head.

I knew what this phenomenon was.

A level-up!

As if to prove my guess, a ferocious aura erupted from Heesoo hyung’s entire body. It was incomparable to when he had just emerged from the holy land.

Even though it wasn’t directed at me, the ominous aura made me shudder. And I witnessed Heesoo hyung transform into a berserker.

Heesoo hyung’s eyes turned blazing red, his face growing rugged. His muscles swelled as if they might burst, veins bulging everywhere, and his long hair fluttered like flames.

Faced with a sight that would overwhelm anyone, the lizardman chieftain threw its harpoon spear. Following the spear flying toward me, Heesoo hyung kicked off from his position.

With a bang, the ground caved in, and he overtook the harpoon spear, snatching it midair. Not stopping there, he twisted his body in the air and hurled the spear back at the lizardman chieftain.

It was reflexes and athleticism so swift that even magic couldn’t compare.

The harpoon spear, redirected back to its sender, pierced through the lizardman chieftain’s head. The force behind the spear was so great that it carried the chieftain’s head several meters further.

I was dumbfounded by the sight of a two-black-star monster being taken down in a single blow.