He vaguely saw a golden dragon soaring from deep within a cave. He had no memory of seeing such a sight, so it must be a fragment of thought that had come over from Shar. Therefore, it wasn't his. It would suit Alkinea or Shar better….
Suddenly, he looked up and saw the sky and stars, and the star-studded sea connected to the horizon.
Boo-woo-.
There was a white whale that kept leaping, even though it couldn't reach the stars. Over and over again, until its wish reached the stars….
…….
“Huh?”
His eyes opened wide. Originally, humans, unless they were in special situations like skydiving, were always grounded and lived confined to a hemispherical world.
But what Yeon-woo's eyes saw now was a spherical world. It was truly a celestial sphere. It was such a beautiful sight.
The endless emerald sky above his head, the blue earth spread out beneath his feet.
An indescribable sense of openness swept over his entire body. Yeon-woo unconsciously opened his mouth wide. Cool air pushed into his lungs.
It was a sight he had never seen before, nor could he have seen. Especially since air superiority had slipped out of humanity's grasp.
Only after seeing the silver and black tops of heads, as small as ants, far above him, did Yeon-woo realize that he was floating upside down in the air.
It was easy to predict that once the faint sense of buoyancy that still remained disappeared, gravity would act upon him and he would fall.
It was truly a beautiful sight, but hidden behind it was a shortcut to death.
What could he do in this kind of air, but at least he had to brace himself.
More than anything, the feeling of exhaustion in his whole body was no joke. It seemed that he had gathered and used all the magic power in his core and his entire body to jump up here.
‘Sha, Shar!!’
He called out desperately, but there was no answer. Could it be that he was ending his second life with a fall like this? Now all he could do was pray that the people below would catch him.
Even if Baek In-hwa couldn't catch him, Yuri could easily do so, but honestly, considering Yuri's eccentric personality, he had to pray that Baek In-hwa would catch him.
“...Are you stupid?”
Whoosh, a refreshing scent drifted into his nose. It was Baek In-hwa. Baek In-hwa, who had jumped up when he was about 10 meters from the ground, had come to catch him.
“Damn, I was counting on you……!!”
“What are we to each other that you would… let's not talk about it.”
Baek In-hwa, who had lightly embraced Yeon-woo as if receiving a princess, drew a parabola and landed softly on the ground. It was a light movement, like snowflakes falling to the ground. Both Treading Snow Without a Trace and the Ice Palace's footwork seemed to be specialized in this kind of thing.
Upon landing on the ground, she released the strength from her arms that were holding him. Naturally, Yeon-woo plummeted to the ground and ended up licking the dirt.
Asking to be treated gently because he had no strength would be too much, as she had already been kind enough to save his life.
Looking inside, the hot energy, the magic power that had always resided near his heart, was indeed depleted, leaving it like a barren wasteland.
Yuri approached Yeon-woo, who was lying on the ground, chuckling.
“So, how did it feel to use your own footwork?”
Yeon-woo slowly took a deep breath. He needed to gather his breath and maximize the function of the Dragon Heart. As he focused on his heartbeat, he could see faint magic power from the atmosphere entering his body.
Strongly conscious of what he had just realized, Yeon-woo opened his mouth confidently.
“I have absolutely no idea what's going on.”
* * *
“Even with the eyes of the great old man, I didn't expect you to jump up so recklessly.”
“Are you blaming me right now?”
“Why would I need to blame someone else for something that isn't this old man's fault?”
Yuri had a very bold face. In fact, it wasn't Yuri's fault. It was simply because human hearts were selfish that he wanted to blame someone for the fact that he almost died from a fall.
Yeon-woo sighed quietly and got up.
Thanks to the Dragon Heart's absorption ability, the drowsiness-like fatigue that had been just before falling asleep had disappeared, but even optimistically, it was clear that he wouldn't even reach half of Mount Seokseong, let alone the entire mountain. Moreover, considering that there could even be a battle, today's plan would have to be completely revised.
“I need to learn how to control my strength first…. Sorry, Baek In-hwa. Can you join me again next time? I don't think I can go today like this….”
Of course, there was no reason for Baek In-hwa to invest more time to accompany him. He had said that with the mindset that it wouldn't matter much even if she refused, but Baek In-hwa quietly nodded.
“Then I'll contact you when I think I can go. Can you give me your number?”
Baek In-hwa had a flurry of thoughts for a moment at Choi Yeon-woo, who naturally handed her his smartphone. Was this the number asking that her father had warned her about? But they were classmates, weren't they?
After finishing the storm-like conflict in a split second, Baek In-hwa entered her number into the smartphone. He called her number and registered it.
‘……Should I call him a friend or not.’
“Thank you so much. Oh, and thank you too, Dean Yuri. I didn't have anyone around to teach me things like footwork.”
“Well, I'm a professor before I'm a dean. I have to take care of students who are below average, don't I?”
Saying that, Yuri turned around and disappeared in an instant. He had run about 3 kilometers to learn footwork. Considering that he had run that much in such a short time, it seemed like he could reach Mount Seokseong quickly if he could just control his magic power well.
As he was looking north with a somewhat disappointed expression, Baek In-hwa spoke quietly.
"What are you going to do now?"
"Huh? Oh. I'm thinking of eating and going to the magic training room now."
"...Alright. Keep it up."
With Baek In-hwa also gone, Yeon-woo was left alone.
Getting up, Yeon-woo checked his body several times.
He didn't notice when he had no magic power, but when he had it and transferred it, that was a problem.
Moving his body that still had some aftereffects, Yeon-woo made a decision. He looked at the dark forest not far away.
"Then I guess I should earn my lunch."
There was a collection of goblin eyeballs. The vitreous humor of the eyeball was used as a raw material for the painkiller. Fortunately, it was not a raw material for potions. Blood had to be in a bottle, but eyeballs could be wrapped in leaves and taken away.
To be honest, his current condition was his usual condition in his previous life. Ten goblins wouldn’t be difficult.
