Resurrection Chapter 83 - Not That One

Although there was a brief awkward moment with Heesoo hyung, asking him to help with my training was absolutely the right decision.

When fighting monsters, I was always so busy just trying to save my own skin that I never had the chance to calmly reflect on my swordsmanship or gauge my skills. But as I corrected my form and sparred with the advice of an expert like Heesoo hyung, something about my system fell into place.

In truth, many hunters, including myself, neglected their training. To make an excuse, there was a reason for it.

When you used skills in actual combat, your proficiency would build up on its own, and your level would also rise. On top of that, hunting brought financial benefits. Since the rewards were greater than holing up and training alone, it was only natural to prioritize real combat.

However, just acquiring a skill didn’t mean you could use it perfectly. Even if your body moved on its own to manifest the skill when you shouted the activation word, if you weren’t proficient, its power was cut in half. It was kind of like knowing it in your head, but your body not following?

Whatever the ultimate skill, it was Lv.1 when first acquired, so it was important to train your body to be able to produce the proper power when the skill was activated. This was even more true for combat classes like swordsmen. Naturally, a process of training the body and mastering the skill through practice was necessary. And as with all things, the most necessary tasks are the ones you want to do the least.

Repeating the same movements over and over in the name of training was by no means easy. Fortunately, Heesoo hyung was a strict instructor, and I couldn’t whine in front of Heesoo hyung, who had grown stronger by repeatedly dying and coming back to life right before my eyes. I gritted my teeth and repeated the process of patience and effort like never before, and in the end, not only my skills but also my total level rose.

“Whoa, whoa!”

As the light indicating a level up flickered above my head, I was so happy I jumped up and down on the spot. An alarm from the Awakener System rang in my head, informing me that I had become Lv.51.

「Congratulations! You have reached Lv.51. HP increases by 10000 points. MP increases by 10000 points. As a Magic Swordsman class perk, total HP and MP increase by 3%. As a First and Only Apostle perk, the level of all passive skills increases by 1. The new passive skill Maintenance and active skill Advanced Dash are unlocked.」

「The Golden Emperor is greatly pleased by your level up through training and bestows upon you a new blessing, <Golden Feather>. Please check the details page for more information.」

I was surprised by the additionally attached divine message. I thought he was angry about me losing the magic sword, but it seems my diligent training paid off. I expressed my gratitude in my heart for the unexpected blessing.

‘Your Majesty! I will continue to work hard, so please stop being angry now. Isn’t all of this to find the divine object Your Majesty bestowed upon me?’

The Golden Emperor, who I thought was ignoring me, finally sent a divine message after a long while.

—The Golden Emperor asks who on earth was angry. He points out that if he were truly angry, you would not have been able to maintain your position as the First and Only Apostle until now.

‘Aww~ don’t say that. It’s because it’s me that I can serve as Your Majesty’s First and Only Apostle.’

—The Golden Emperor complains that if only you didn’t possess Resurrection, he wouldn’t have been held back.

‘You would have done so even without Resurrection. You fell for me at first sight, didn’t you? That’s why you drove out all the gods I was serving just to…….’

—The Golden Emperor points out that your impudence is beyond words. He roars that because he’s been spoiling you, you’re crawling all the way up to the top of his head.

‘How would I know where the top of Your Majesty’s head is to crawl up there?’

—The Golden Emperor says that he thinks he shouldn’t leave you as the Only Apostle. He needs to bring in other apostles to make you come to your senses…….

‘Should I buy you a subscription to You-Tube Premium?’

My attempt at being cute had turned into being insolent, so I quickly added that one sentence. At those words, the Golden Emperor suddenly went quiet. Knowing that he had fallen into a severe internal conflict, I didn’t wait for an answer and turned on my phone to pay for a You-Tube Premium subscription.

‘Please look at this. I am always ready to empty my pockets for Your Majesty. That is how precious Your Majesty is to me. If you wait patiently while watching You-Tube, I will retrieve Lævateinn soon, so please don’t say things like you’ll take on another apostle besides me.’

At my plea, where I pretended to be pitiful, the Golden Emperor acted haughty.

—The Golden Emperor says he will wait and see. He will also withdraw his statement about taking on another apostle besides you, but he emphasizes that this is by no means because of You-Tube Premium.

I nodded seriously. Only after the Golden Emperor went quiet, presumably to watch You-Tube, did I finally start to chuckle. Just then, Heesoo hyung, who had noticed that I had leveled up, came closer and offered his congratulations.

“You’ve leveled up. Congratulations.”

“This is all thanks to you, hyung. If I had done it alone, leveling up through training would have been out of the question.”

“All I did was correct your form and watch from the side.”

“Sticking by my side all day is not an easy thing to do. And sometimes I got angry and challenged you to a spar.”

“Not at all. Mr. Yitae, you were a fast learner and worked hard, so it was rewarding. Just watching you grow was a pleasure in itself.”

“If that’s the case, I’m glad……. Anyway, it seems I’m more or less ready now.”

At my words, Heesoo hyung tilted his head.

“Ready for what?”

“Ready to go find the magic sword.”

As if he hadn’t expected my words, Heesoo hyung flinched. I found his look of bewilderment odd and tilted my head.

“What are you surprised about? My sword looks so flashy that it has a toy-like aspect to it, but it’s a divine object. I can’t leave it lost, so I have to go back to Dungeon 77 and find it. Fortunately, its presence is so loud that it won’t be that hard to find. And after that, I need to meet Min Gongchan. That bastard has my Dimensional Pocket, and he’ll have information about the Otherworld Store, so let’s get you a new weapon there. Something more useful than the greatsword that was shattered to pieces…….”

“You can’t.”

I was bewildered when Heesoo hyung cut me off and opposed it.

“Do you mean I can’t go find the sword, or I can’t go buy a sword?”

“Both. Either way, Mr. Yitae, you must not leave the safe house.”

I furrowed my brow.

“Why?”

Even at my question, Heesoo hyung’s attitude was unwavering. He spoke resolutely, as if he would not allow any dissenting opinions.

“Because we haven’t confirmed Yaksha’s life or death. As long as that man is alive, it’s natural that he will target you, Mr. Yitae. At least until we can be certain that he is dead and it is safe, it would be best for you to stay here.”

Feeling troubled, I scratched my cheek.

“Uhm, I understand your concern, but it’s going to be hard to be certain about that. Ulfheðinn inflicted a fatal wound on Yaksha at that time, but it wasn’t an instant death, and above all, that bastard is a necromancer and an S-rank. No matter how much it was the ultimate skill of the Scorching Archdemon, I don’t think he would have burned to death.”

“That’s all the more reason you must stay in a safe place.”

“Realistically, I can’t stay cooped up here forever, right? Like I said, I have to find the divine object and buy a new sword for you, hyung. And more importantly, we need to find out where that bastard Yaksha is and figure out how to defeat him. Hiding is not the only answer.”

“I’m not asking you to stay here forever either. I’m asking you to wait until I find and defeat Yaksha.”

“Huh?”

This time, it was my turn to be surprised by his unexpected words. With an uncharacteristically grim look in his eyes, Heesoo hyung said.

“Last time, it was overwhelming to even face the Scorching Archdemon, and I was only able to barely defeat it after using Manifestation, but this time will be different. I will finish the job properly so that he can never harm you again, Mr. Yitae, so please wait until then.”

“Wait, wait a minute.”

Seeing Heesoo hyung speaking so unhesitatingly, I waved my hands in bewilderment and continued.

“Hyung, I think you’re misunderstanding something. I didn’t choose you as a partner just to hide in a safe place and be protected. My goal is to make you max level and defeat the Black King, not to protect my own life. To do that, of course I have to be by your side to support you. I have to be next to you to use Resurrection or whatever, don’t I?”

“It is because Resurrection is necessary that your safety, Mr. Yitae, is of the utmost importance.”

“Honestly, it’s not like Yaksha is the only one after me. Are you telling me to hide every time with the excuse that safety is the most important thing? I can’t do that. Why do you think I did training I’ve never done in my life before? To get stronger, right? But if I’m cooped up here, what’s the point of all that?”

As Heesoo hyung’s lips twitched as if to argue something, I cut him off with slightly cold words.

“Above all, we haven’t found a way to control Ulfheðinn’s Manifestation. In your current state, hyung, your lifespan will be cut down if you use Manifestation whenever a slightly dangerous situation arises. So how are you going to find and eliminate Yaksha on your own? It won’t be too late to face Yaksha after we meet Min Gongchan, buy a weapon, find a way to stop the Manifestation, and raise our levels a bit more. To do that, I need to be by your side, hyung.”

Heesoo hyung seemed to ponder what I had said for a moment. But it seemed it was no good, as he soon shook his head from side to side.