-3 YEARS LATER (IN-GATE TIME)-
It's been 3 years since Jinhyuk came to this world . The time variation is same so the outside world should have gotten forward by 6 days . Jinhyuk has 2 more days to live here i.e. he has 1 year in elf kingdom left . These 3 years Jinhyuk had spent his time in training himself and Cereyl , as well as , fighting against the human invasions of the Hardt Kingdom . Due to Jinhyuk's help the Hardt Kingdom had perished 1 year ago . The royal family were captured and the humans living in the kingdom weren't captured but were given the permission to live with the elves in their kingdoms . Both the kingdom had an increased number of elves and human population .
Jinhyuk had been currently training in the training hall of the castle . The hall was bruised with sword marks and slashes which showed the intense training undergone by the person inside the hall . Jinhyuk just completed mastering his sword skills , in the meantime he had obtained a new sword skill while mastering his existing skill . He had obtained "Astral Sword Art" , a sword technique which has 11 levels or 11 sword techniques . Each one of the 11 techniques need a max proficiency of the before technique i.e. if the 1st technique doesn't reach 100% proficiency , the user cannot use the 2nd technique which is a huge limitation of the skill but it also made the practice of the technique more exciting .
Jinhyuk after practicing for a straight 1 year was able to reach just 50% in the 1st technique . If he goes by this rate , Jinhyuk would need atleast 20 years to increase the proficiency of all the sword techniques to the max level . Jinhyuk was now practicing his sword technique , he uses the first form of the sword technique but he got wrong in some steps . He sat on the ground panting hard and sweating .
"System , play the recording of the 1st technique once more" said Jinhyuk
-Ti-ting
-Playing the recording of the 1st technique of "Astral Sword Art"
-Skill : Eye of Gluttony (SSS) activated
Jinhyuk used his skill to carefully comprehend the steps of the sword technique . The 1st technique has a total of 64 steps . Jinhyuk only managed to comprehend 32 steps , he was always getting wrong in the 34th and 35th step . He saw the recording and got up . He held up his wooden sword as he closed his eyes , he breathed slowly as if to calm his mind but actually was trying to unite his body and mind with the sword . He picked up his sword and got in the form of the first step , he now moved forward to the 2nd step , then the 3rd , then 4th , then 5th ... he reached the 32nd step , he forwarded the sword in a stab form but stopped halfway as he retreated his foot back and pulled his hand as he released the right hand from the sword and let the left hand swing the sword through the air and attack from back , this was the 34th step and Jinhyuk executed perfectly . He didn't stop as he performed the next 6 steps perfectly and reached the 40th step of the technique but he failed at the 41st step .
He fell on the sword with his ankle twisted as he threw his wooden sword .
-Ti-ting
-Skill : Infinite Regeneration (SSS) activated
Jinhyuk's ankle was back in place . He laid down on the ground with sweat all across his body . The system notified him with another information .
-Ti-ting
-The 1st technique of the "Astral Rift Sword Art" has reached 60% proficiency .
-Skill : Sword and Body Unity (SS) [incomplete] obtained
-Skill Info :
-Name : Sword and Body Unity
-Acquisition Difficulty : SS
-Unites the body and mind with sword . This helps the body to perform sword techniques much faster and with more accuracy
Jinhyuk smiled as he looked upto the sky . He thought that even though he didn't see his sister for 3 years but in the real world Jinhyuk had been gone for just 6 days . He closed his eyes as he started to forward towards sleep but he woke up with a light poking on his face . He opened his eyes and saw Cereyl was poking him . Jinhyuk sat up as she stopped poking his face .
"Sleeping during training ? Very bad" said Cereyl
"Not sleeping just dozed off for a little" said Jinhyuk
"It's the same thing"
"Ah , oh , sorry"
"I don't mind but please stop your sword training and teach me archery"
"Yeah , I did promise to teach you archery everyday"
"Right , please just teach me already"
"Alright , Let's go"
Jinhyuk got up as they exited the training hall and went to a special training hall for ranged weapons . Jinhyuk and Cereyl picked up two bows and some arrows . Jinhyuk turned on the mechanism of the hall as targets popped up on a distance . Jinhyuk targetted his bow as closed his right eye .
-Ti-ting
-Odin's Left Eye increases your concentration
-Skill : Red Magic Bullet (SS) activated
Jinhyuk released the bow at an accurate angle as it hit one of the arrows in the bullseye . Cereyl was surprised to see the amazing bowmanship Jinhyuk showed . Jinhyuk released his breath after the arrow hit but as he saw Cereyl , he saw she was looking at him with eyes full of admiration . Jinhyuk smiled a little as he called her forward .
"Stand here Cereyl" said Jinhyuk
"Raise your bow towards the target"
Cereyl raised her bow towards the target as she stood straight . She released the arrow which went forward swiftly but changed its tragectory and hit the ground . Jinhyuk saw the whole thing with his Eye of Gluttony as he understood the parts Cereyl was wrong . Cereyl looked towards Jinhyuk as he was standing unfazed . Jinhyuk came towards Cereyl as he corrected her posture , he then held Cereyl's hands and Cereyl holded the bow . Jinhyuk again closed his right eye and targeted . He kept Cereyl in that position as he left her and said
"Shoot"
Cereyl released her right hand as the arrow flew towards the target and shot at the bullseye . Cereyl became so excited that she jumped on air . She looked towards Jinhyuk , he said
"I corrected your posture and the way to shoot but the targeting should be down by you"
"Yes" replied Cereyl
"Practice your shooting by adding magic to the arrow . It will not only strengthen the arrow but also increase its penetration power and increase its range "
Cereyl pulled the arrow as she kept it on her bow . She inserted her magical energy inside the arrow as a layer of green mana covered it . Cereyl launched the arrow as it struck the target and kept hitting the targets as it broke through all of them and stuck on the wall on the opposite side . Jinhyuk clapped as he was happy from his little sister's improvement . Cereyl looked at Jinhyuk and launched at him as she held his neck and hugged him . Jinhyuk was clearly surprised with this sudden embrace . He can't help but chuckle .
In that moment , a maid entered the training hall as she approached towards both of them . Jinhyuk and Cereyl noticed her approaching as they stood in place .
"Greetings , Young Master and Young Miss" said the maid
"What is it ?" asked Jinhyuk
"His Majesty has called for you young master"
"The king ?"
"Yes"
"Alright , I shall head after cleaning"
"Your bath is ready"
"Thank you"
The maid left . Jinhyuk turned towards Cereyl with a serious expression . He kept his hand on his chin and was thinking about something when the sudden call from Cereyl caught his attention .
"Big Brother ?"
"Huh !? Y-Yeah ?"
"What is it that you're worrying about ?"
"It's nothing just some thoughts"
"Alright , if you say so"
Jinhyuk left the hall as Cereyl continued to train her weapon . Jinhyuk went towards his room .
-10 MIN Later-
Jinhyuk has now completed his bathing and dressed in something which is no less than a royal attire . He followed the maid which dressed him towards the king's parlor . They entered as they both bowed as the king was sitting on one of the sofa . The maid went and stood on one end of the parlor as Jinhyuk sat facing him . Jinhyuk saw that there was another man standing behind the king . Jinhyuk sensed a presence of great power coming from him . The man was releasing his aura but it didn't have an ounce of bloodlust , the man looked happy to be able to test Jinhyuk's strength . Jinhyuk replied with his own amount of mana . He also refrained from releasing bloodlust as he released pure mana . This seemed to have an effect of excitement on the man behind as his eyes and face showed great pleasure of meeting a great presence .
"Welcome Jinhyuk , this person beside me is the head of one of the four ducal families of my kingdom , Duke Wellington " said the king
"Its nice to meet you , Sir Jinhyuk" said Duke
"Nice to meet you too , Sir Wellington" said Jinhyuk
"Let me introduce myself properly"
"I am the current Head of the Wellington Dutchy , Duke Liam Wellington"
"Now that introductions are over I would like to tell you my purpose for your summon" said the king
"Yes , Your Majesty" said Jinhyuk
"I would like to assign you to a search party for investigating the elven forests"
"The Forests ?"
"Yes , it has come to my notice that the forests are becoming the territories of dangerous monsters after the fall of the human kingdom"
"You want me to be a member in that team and investigate the beasts ?"
"Yes , precisely , I want you to lead the team and I said this as a search mission but its more of an extermination mission"
"Pretty interesting "
"So , what did you decide"
"Alright , I'll go"
"Good , I will make the preparations . The team will be ready at 8 am tomorrow. Please make sure to not be late"
"I will"
"You may now leave"
Jinhyuk left the office . The king remained seated as Duke came and sat opposite. The king looked stressed out but also excited.
"What do you think of him ?" asked the king
"He is stronger than me" said the Duke
"Is it true ?"
"Yeah , his mana alone surpasses a swordmaster like me . He can understand the basics better than me . His potential is immeasurable"
"Are all humans in that world this strong ?"
"I don't know but if its true they can conquer our world in a few minutes . This boy here is alone capable of capturing our whole world "
Jinhyuk left the parlor and was heading towards his room . He encountered Cereyl on his way back . She just cleaned up and was coming towards the king's parlor but she encountered Jinhyuk on the way and now she was tagging along . Jinhyuk entered his room followed by Cereyl . She sat on the large sofa on one side as Jinhyuk sat on the smaller sofa . There were already a pile of papers on his table about the details regarding the expedition . Jinhyuk picked those up and submerged into the papers .
-2 HOURS Later-
It's been two hours since Jinhyuk started reading the papers . His calm mind let him concentrate without disturbance for two hours straight but he was now getting the fatigue . Jinhyuk had trained continously for more time than he could even imagine . He gained new skills , gathered more mana , spent quality times and perfected his skills during this course of 3 years . Technically , Jinhyuk is now aged 23 which is only one year less than his sister but by the time he goes to his home he will already be 24 which is the same age as his sister , he can't help but smirk at the thought of being equal aged with his sister .
Cereyl was sleeping waiting for Jinhyuk for 2 hours but when she woke up she saw Jinhyuk smiling within himself . She got up rubbing her eyes and Jinhyuk noticed .
"Got enough sleep ?"
"Yes , big brother"
"Wanna go out ?"
"Yes !!!"
Jinhyuk liked this excited side of Cereyl . He and Cereyl got up as they headed out of the room . Cereyl was already dressed nicely as she was headed to her father's office and Jinhyuk was wearing the outfit he was wearing in the afternoon , so they left the castle towards the market area . The guards tried to block their way but Jinhyuk was already enough of a protector for her so they let them go . Jinhyuk and Cereyl were headed to the market area . As they reached their , the people around them became aware that the prince and princess of their empire were there and they all greeted them honourably . Jinhyuk and Cereyl tried to explain that there was no need for such formal behaviour but all of them are still bound to do so .
They enjoyed their time inside the market as they spent nearly an hour there . Jinhyuk and Cereyl were now exiting the market but it was only 7 p.m. They weren't feeling to go home then Jinhyuk remembered a spot which he found during his stay . He asked Cereyl if she wanted to go there and she happily agreed . Jinhyuk lifted her up and made huge jumps towards the mountains . Cereyl was scared so she closed her eyes but after sometime , Jinhyuk said that she can now open them . Cereyl opened her eyes and saw an extremely beautiful scenery . The lit up empire was standing below covered by mountains and the night sky which felt like heaven falling on them . There was a cool breeze blowing and a delicate fragence of soil . These things made Cereyl too happy to explain with words as she was looking stunned .
"Do you like it ?"
"Eh…I love it . Thank you Big Brother"
"Don't mention it"
"This is the most beautiful scene I watched in my entire life"
"I'm glad you enjoyed it but we have to head back now"
"Eh…Why ?"
"I have to leave tomorrow for a mission and so I have to wake up early"
"Not Fair . You always run away . I don't get to spend time with you"
"Hah….Alright . After I return , you will get a whole day to make me do whatever you want"
"Really ?"
"Yup"
"Thank You Brother"
-NEXT DAY-
Jinhyuk was now ready to leave . The maids brought the clother Jinhyuk needs for the mission . Jinhyuk needed to wear a handband as he was the captain for today's team . He arrived at the gate which was mentioned to be the starting point of the journey . He was the last to arrive . As soon as he entered the soldiers formed lines both sides leaving the middle for Jinhyuk to walk as the soldiers bowed in respect . Jinhyuk ordered them to get up with a wave of his hand .
He went to the front as he turned his face towards the soldiers . They were standing as if to listen to command . Jinhyuk spoke
"As you all know , today's expedition is to eradicate the beasts inside the forest "
"The report I received states that the beast found here are mostly earth type beasts and the highest ranking is only S-Rank . Right ?"
"Yes sir" the vice captain of the team spoke
"Good , you people can beat the beasts upto A-Rank I guess but with combined effort S-Rank is also not impossible . Try your best today . And also , as you all know I am a human but I was assigned the captain of this team . If anyone rejects the idea of me being the captain can carry on the mission alone . The team will not be responsible for his life . Understood ?"
"YES SIR!!!!"
"Good , get moving"
They all moved towards the great forest . Jinhyuk's speed was the fastest so he ran in zig zag patternusing the branches of the trees to cover more area while running . The elves following them with murmuring among them about Jinhyuk . Jinhyuk reached the entry of the forest as he raised his hand to stop the others . He opened the map of the forest in his system which was of course only visible to him . He suspected something so he closed his eyes .
-Ti-ting
-Skill : Dragon Senses (SS) activated
Jinhyuk's senses spread across an area of one kilometer . He sensed many small size beasts , some average sized and three big sized beasts but the thing he sensed again was an enormous beast which scales . It felt like a dragon which was just 700 m from their standing point . He turned towards the vice-captain to confirm .
"Does this forest have any dragon like creatures ?"
The mention of his dragon like creature the elves became restless and started panicking . The vice captain spoke with fear .
"There was , an earth dragon , it was first discovered 100 years ago in the deepest location of this forest . It attacked the kingdom several times . The last attack was 10 years ago . The beast is too much for us to handle . It destroyed our kingdom almost to ruins but then returned "
"I see"
"B-But why do you ask ?"
"There is a earth dragon here 700 meters from us"
"What !!??"
"I can handle it just defeat the others"
"B-But its an SS-Rank beast"
"I told you 'Leave it to me' " Jinhyuk said in a cold yet confident voice
"Y-Yes sir" the vice captain replied
Jinhyuk ordered the others to disperse . They spread across the forests as they had their minds linked with each other and the main connection to Jinhyuk so that they could receive orders from many kilometers away . The soldiers dispatched as Jinhyuk rised upwards towards the sky and levitated . He wanted to visit the earth dragon first but he changed his mind to view the S-Rank beasts . The forests had a max of A-Rank beasts which the elves can handle but the S-Rank are a bit difficult for them .
Jinhyuk went towards the first S-Rank beast he sensed but to his surprise he also sensed three elven members near it trying to defeat the beast . He flew through the air as he reached the spot . The beast was a half elephant and half tree combination . One of the elf member was injured because it throws vines of length 500 meters towards his enemies injuring them . The beast was about to attack the remaining elves but he went and caught the vines in mid-air stopping their trajectory .
Jinhyuk pulled the vines as the beast came along . He raised his hand towards the sky and revolved it in a circular path before slamming him on the ground . The body of the beast was injured as it took its last breathe . The beast laid dead on the ground as the slamming formed a crater with the head of the beast covered in blood .
"Collect the corpse" said Jinhyuk
"Yes sir" replied the elves
Jinhyuk searched for more S-Rank beasts and he found two who were together and surrounded a team of 11 elves including the vice - captain .
Jinhyuk [inner thoughts]
-sigh- I told them to maintain distance from the S-Rank beasts but who listens to whom
Surrounded by two S-Ranks will really lead to their death
I have to save them
Jinhyuk flew towards the location which was approx. 6km from his current location . He throttled himself in full speed and reached a speed which was almost 6 times the speed of sound i.e. 2000 m/s . He reached there just before the energy leaves the beasts horn and evaporates the soldiers . The beast was a rhino type monster but atleast 50 m in height and a single horn on his forehead . The other S-Rank beast was a snake type monster but it was also atleast 50 m in length and has two poisonous fangs released from both sides of its mouth .
The elves were stuck between the two fierce beasts . Jinhyuk was watching the scene from above and can't help but sighed .
-Ti-ting
-Skill : Glacier Formation (EX) activated
Jinhyuk formed a small ball of ice using his skill as he left it . The ball slowly descended to the ground and as it made contact , several hundred spikes came out of the ground as it got stuck inside the beasts tearing their body apart . The ground was also frozen along with the beasts , the ones who are unfrozen were the elves .
"Vice-Captain , I told you not to engage in fight with the S-Rank beasts"
"I-I am sorry , sir"
"Don't apologize . Some things are inevitable"
"Ok sir"
"Did you all clear the A-Rank and lower beasts around the forests ?"
"Yes sir , the beasts within a 50 km radius were all cleared"
"Good , now let's go"
"Where sir ?"
"Let's pay a visit to the Earth Dragon"
The elves followed quietly , they didn't have any other choice but to follow their captain . The elves were unable to fly like Jinhyuk so they used the branches of the trees to provide them with additional jumps and speed . Jinhyuk calculated the location with his system as he headed towards the north-west region . He travelled around 1 kilometer before he noticed something unfamiliar and unique . The ground there was harder than the rest of the forest . The ground is made of anything but soil . He descended down as he stepped on the ground to make a sound of a stone but it was not any familiar stone .
-Ti-ting
-Skill : Dragon Senses (SS) activated
Jinhyuk's senses spread around as he sensed the elven team approaching and he also felt a huge amount of mana coming from a certain area from the ground . He went towards it and bent down as he checked it with precision . In the meantime , the elves also reached there . Jinhyuk after furthur investigation found that the thing which was releasing the mana was the mana organ of the earth dragon .
"Leave the ground immediately" said Jinhyuk
"W-Why sir ?" asked the Vice-Captain
"This isn't the ground , this is the body of the earth dragon" said Jinhyuk
This revelation shocked everyone as they started leaving the grounds but at that moment the earth dragon woke up and stood from the ground . The height of the dragon reaches somewhere near 700 meters with a stony body structure . It left a roar which almost deafened the elves but Jinhyuk was not affected .
Jinhyuk flew up in the sky as he came down towards the beast with a sword in his hand . He stabbed the sword but the sword flew away . The stony body gave the dragon a very high defense which even Jinhyuk couldn't break . He tried the sword slashes but the defense doesn't let any slashes enter and the successful slashes were regenerated almost in an instant . The elves watching the fight from far away. Jinhyuk left his sword on the ground .The sword Jinhyuk was using wasn't his red dragon sword rather the sword provided by the elves . Jinhyuk clenched his fist in the form of punch and inserted mana into it . He jumped up as he descended towards the dragon with his fist ready for an incredible punch . He punched the beast on his body as its shell broke and the mana Jinhyuk inserted in his fist made the internals of the dragon to explode . It roared a deafening roar . It suddenly released its bloodlust which made the elves tremble in fear .
Jinhyuk[inner thoughts]
Dragon Fear, huh !? I didn't expect Dragon Fear on such a low level dragon
"Let's see how you handle this " said Jinhyuk
-Ti-ting
-Skill : Dragon Fear (SS) activated
Jinhyuk released his own bloodlust as the earth dragon trembled and felt an immense pressure . It used it's last resort as it raised it's tail and descended it towards Jinhyuk in a high speed .
-Ti-ting
-Skill : Sword Aura (SS) activated
Jinhyuk's hand covered in mana which took the form of a sword and he used it to cut the tail to pieces . The dragon roared in pain . It shot its scales towards Jinhyuk but he effortlessly dodged them . Jinhyuk raised his hand when the distance between him and the beast was around 20 meters . He slashed his sword aura on the ground towards the beast and bright light flashes covered the battlefield . The dust cleared to reveal a space which has a big ravine created by Jinhyuk and the dragon slashed in half from the middle . The distance which Jinhyuk covered was a total of 50 meters . This left the elves watching in awe . Jinhyuk retracted his sword aura and left a deep breath . He turned back towards the elves .
"Let's head back"