Turning
chapter-713

"Sir Zuckerman, please take the horses and retreat."

Yuder skillfully deflected the oncoming condensed energy with his sword, then summoned the power of the wind to create a small whirlwind. Dust flew everywhere, obscuring the enemy's vision. Nathan Zuckerman shook his head in response to Yuder's hurried command.

"I cannot do that."

"Then who will protect the horses?"

Scanning the surroundings quickly, Nathan Zuckerman released the reins and energetically patted the white horse's hindquarters while blowing a high, short whistle. Amazingly, the horse, as if responding to a command, hurriedly turned and galloped towards the back of the stable, away from the front where the battle raged. Yuder felt a momentary confusion, unsure if it was right to let the horse go like that.

"What have you done?"

"There's no time to explain. It's better to let it escape on its own than worry about who will protect it."

'...He has a point.'

Realizing Nathan Zuckerman was determined to join the fight, Yuder refrained from further argument and withdrew his power. Through the settling dust, the southern swordsman sharply called out.

"Bahram!"

A subordinate to his right, unnoticed despite continuous observation, suddenly stepped away from the group and stomped the ground. As he moved, a translucent aura surrounded him, partially obscuring his form.

Wrapped in that aura, his footsteps became silent. Even the light overhead and the natural sounds of movement hushed, and his speed increased dramatically, like a nearly invisible phantom.

Nathan immediately chased after him.

'He must be the Awakener who can conceal his presence.'

Indeed, with such a skill, from the stable, he and Nathan weren’t even able to notice the three adversaries.

'But its weakness is too obvious.'

The power only worked when unseen by the enemy.

A regular person might find such stealth threatening, perfect for slipping away unnoticed.

However, Yuder and Nathan Zuckerman had previously encountered the ultimate stealth abilities in an arena.

'Compared to Cyregina's complete invisibility, this is just child's play.'

Nathan Zuckerman, with his formidable observational skills, had even captured Cyregina. How could he miss someone still visible? Yuder, confident in Nathan's pursuit, completely lost interest in that direction.

"Aren't you going to follow your comrade?"

The southern swordsman, noting Yuder's swift disinterest, inquired. Yuder replied impassively.

"Why should I?"

His faith and certainty that Nathan would handle it allowed such a response. However, his stark expression perhaps led the enemy to misunderstand.

"Are you saying it doesn't matter if he dies? You facing the two of us alone is sheer arrogance."

Yuder remained silent. While the latter assumption was correct, the former was not. He had no intention of abandoning a talent like Nathan Zuckerman to death, but saw no need to explain. The unknowing southern swordsman smirked coldly, sword in hand.

"At that time, I was unsure where you intruders had come from, leading to several misunderstandings. It wasn't until after escaping Tainu that I understood your true nature. How you discovered our location is beyond me, but it doesn't matter."

As he spoke, he lifted his sword and charged at Yuder.

"You won't be leaving here alive."

Yuder raised his sword to block the attack. The clash of the two swords produced a loud, sharp sound, and Yuder felt a sensation as if his grip might tear apart. Just this single exchange was enough to give him a thrilling sense of his opponent's skill.

'Indeed, he's not just all talk. His strength is more impressive than it appears.'

His gloves, always worn for protection, proved helpful in this moment. Without the magic-infused gloves, his palms might have split open from that initial clash.

His adversary seemed to quickly realize that Yuder's strength was slightly inferior. Observing the slight tremble in their locked swords, the man spoke.

"You wield a weapon too grand for its master. Be thankful for your sturdy sword."

"..."

"The one I fought before had a much better sword than yours... Didn't he come? Or was it the one who just disappeared?"

"..."

"Seeing you use the wind earlier, you must be the one who used wind and... water before. Is that the extent of your abilities? Or..."

Unable to bear it, Yuder finally sighed.

"You really do talk too much."

"What?"

Engaging in a pointless contest of strength here would be as good as offering his back to the other guy and asking him to kill him. However, if he could lure the enemy into acting prematurely, even a disadvantageous power struggle can be a useful decoy.

'Now!'

Yuder let his clashing sword slide away and jumped back, scattering the power of the wind in all directions.

"Ugh!"

The southern swordsman, and the other attacker who was approaching from Yuder's blind spot, staggered as they were mercilessly hit in the face by the wind carrying dirt and dust. Seizing the moment, Yuder extended his hand holding the sword upward, then forcefully brought it down. The enemy's swords, momentarily weakened in their grips, followed Yuder's movement, rising and then plunging downward.

"Ah...!"

They must have felt the illusion of their swords becoming momentarily lighter and then unbearably heavy, slipping from their grasp. The southern swordsman, despite losing balance, managed to cling to his sword hilt, but his ally, who had tried to ambush Yuder from behind, was not so fortunate. The sword slipped through his loosened grip and rolled on the ground with an undignified clatter.

In that moment of shock and disarmament.

That brief span was more than enough for Yuder to drive his sword into his opponent's body.

Yuder instantly leaped up, stepping on the wind, and threw a small dagger he had drawn from his cloak. It was a new dagger given to him by Sunz and Emon.

'Proving useful right from the start.'

"Kuhk...!"

The southern swordsman's ally, pierced in the shoulder by the dagger, fell with a stifled scream. The fact that he didn't cry out disgracefully showed that he, too, was well-trained, despite appearances.

"You...!"

Just as Yuder heard the southern swordsman's voice, laden with intensified emotion, he leaped back again, stepping on the wind. The forces hurled by the southern swordsman in pursuit, carrying a fearsome momentum, suddenly collided with each other in mid-air and exploded violently.

'...He could do even this?'

Despite his relatively calm mind, Yuder's body, caught in the blast radius, was flung to the ground as if hurled from above.

"Ugh..."

Reacting instinctively, Yuder wrapped his head protectively and rolled, using a falling technique. There was no significant impact, but he couldn't fully shield himself from the continuing onslaught of attacks.

Boom, Crash! Bang!!

In the midst of the relentless onslaught, Yuder summoned a wall of earth and wind that swiftly enveloped and protected him.

‘Think only you can launch such frenzied attacks?’

He had thought this before, but the southern swordsman used his power in a way not much different from the aura attacks utilized by knights. The mid-air collision and subsequent explosion were somewhat surprising, yet the long-range attacks, merely quick and straightforward attempts to target the enemy, lacked any element of novelty.

Even as he fell, Yuder didn't lose grip of his sword. Planting it into the ground, he unleashed his strength.

-Rumble, rumble...

A much larger and more immense force surged through him, and crimson veins pulsed across the gloves and clothes covering his skin. A golden glow flickered brightly inside his left eye.

As the power of the earth intensified, the southern swordsman, sensing the abnormal movement, paused his attack momentarily. Seizing this opportunity, Yuder got to his feet but was momentarily distracted by something that had fallen from his torn outer garment.

What captured his usually unwavering focus during battle were colorful pieces of wrapping paper and translucent, candy-like fragments, shimmering like colored glass.

'...Ah. This.'

It seemed his pocket had torn during the blast. The issue was that it contained candies Kishiar had given him before coming here.

'...I had only eaten one of them.'

For the first time, Yuder felt an unfamiliar emotion as he looked down at the shattered candy pieces. He didn't need to feel around to know; there was nothing left in his pocket now.

"..."

The rumbling from beneath gradually subsided.

Yuder turned his head to look directly at the southern swordsman. Both of them were in a sorry state, but the appearance of the southern swordsman was now completely different from the beginning.

His face, previously meticulously concealed, was now exposed due to the torn clothing, revealing deep copper-brown hair and bright denim-blue eyes. His physique was imposing, contrasting with a noble and delicate appearance that would surprise anyone. However, none of these details mattered to Yuder.

"Those eyes..."

The southern swordsman, noticing Yuder's differently colored eyes, spoke with a furrowed brow. At that moment, the golden light flickering in Yuder's left eye suddenly burst forth with an intensity incomparable to before.

Simultaneously, the vibrations of the earth, thought to have died down, exploded anew.

[BL] Bermuda

Leonardo Blaine, the true war hero of the Raina Logia Empire and the commander of the Armsilver 11th Squad, is dishonorably discharged for disobeying orders during the final battle that could have led the Empire to victory in the territorial war. People criticize and point fingers at him, and after being released on parole from prison, he disappears without a trace.

Three years later, his name has been forgotten by the world. The Council has been persistently pursuing him, but he has proven difficult to capture. Frustrated by this, Hugo Agrizendro, the commander of the Council's army, decides to personally apprehend him.

"Since when have you been watching me?"

Leonardo was calculative and astute, so it wouldn't be surprising if he had been observing Hugo for some time now. However, Leonardo's answer was something that even Hugo had not anticipated.

"From the very beginning."

[BL] The Mist (Same author as Turning)

In the autumn of his 18th year, after winning the high school kendo championship finals, an unexpected accident occurred.

Due to that incident, Kang Mu-heon lost one of his legs, his closest friend, and his promising future. He closed off his heart and shut himself away alone.

A few years later, the world's first real virtual reality game <THE MIST> was announced, where even those with physical disabilities could play in healthy bodies.

By chance, Kang Mu-heon encountered it and began a new life as the mage Kapros, facing unexpected meetings, reunions, and days of change....

***

"Why was someone like you born into this world to make me so miserable? Do you understand when I say it like this?! You were born with talent for the sword, a bright personality, everything - you must have been laughing at me always lagging behind! Did you even know how pathetic I felt because of your stupid hypocrisy? A genius? What does any of that matter!"

Seung-jo's cries stabbed at his heart, wailing as if he were crying even though he wasn't, but there was no time to think further. He quickly clutched my stomach, got up, and ran towards him.

He looked surprised for a moment, but he was desperate.

Just as the car was about to reach us, he shoved Seung-jo hard. Right after Seung-jo fell and rolled away with wide, startled eyes—

Screech!

Bang! With an impact that felt like his whole body was being shattered, he flew through the air.

And in that brief yet long moment of floating in space, he remembered his reflection in Seung-jo's eyes for the last time.......

***

[ Then in THE MIST, may you become the master of infinite possibilities. ]

Whoosh!

When his vision returned after everything went white, he was standing in the middle of a bustling town. Amidst the clamor, countless people were busily going about their business here and there.

He looked down at himself, standing dazed and wearing clothes of unknown origin. When he touched the sleeve, he felt the texture of fabric as real as reality. His hair felt the same, and even when he touched the wall of a nearby house, he could clearly feel the solid, cold surface.

Is this... VT?

It seemed like a joke. It truly felt as if he had come to another world and was touching everything.

As he stood there unable to think due to the shock, he suddenly remembered the biggest reason he had decided to play this game, and snapped back to attention. His two legs were still as they had been when he first stood.

'Can I really walk?'

He first stepped out with his left foot, then very slowly put strength into his heavy right foot. It felt like cold sweat was running down his spine.

And then,

He lifted it,

Moved it,

And took another step to touch the ground again.

So easily. As if there had never been any problem with this leg from the beginning.

"Ah..."

At that moment, something that was neither joy nor emotion shot up his spine. Suddenly feeling a lump in his throat, he lowered his head and leaned against the wall. His right foot, bearing his weight, was doing its job perfectly.

"..."

Holding back the tightness in his throat, he took another step.

It didn't hurt. It wasn't heavy. His leg was no longer a useless piece of wood that ached.

Damn it, to be able to walk so easily like this.

To be able to run so easily like this.

He had wished even in his dreams for the day to come when he could walk and run like this again.

And so he walked again, kept walking, slowly getting faster, until finally he started running like a madman through the entire town.

***

"Kap. ...There seems to be a misunderstanding. That's not what I meant."

Just as he was thinking he should throw a punch, Yu-wan sighed with a troubled look and said.

A misunderstanding? How could it be a misunderstanding when he said with his own mouth that he didn't think of me as a friend?

"I didn't expect to receive such a question suddenly, so my explanation was probably too brief. Let me rephrase."

Yu-wan reached out his hand, his face completely changed from before - intense yet resolute - as he stared at him. As he didn't reject the hand suddenly approaching his face and kept his gaze fixed, his cool large hand touched his cheek completely.

A shiver ran down his spine at that moment.

"I'm sorry to say this to you, but I don't see you only as a friend. ...This is the complete answer."

Check out the new project 2:

[BL] Cloudless Sky

Jin Soram, the top-ranked hunter representing South Korea's Rift Phenomenon Management Headquarters, is stronger than anyone else and lazier than anyone else. As soon as he arrives at the office, he buries himself under a blanket and falls asleep. When he goes out on a mission, he causes accidents and returns to the office, often shirking his duties.

"Do you know how it feels to play a game that's already messed up? ...Anyway, the next round will come, so this time, I'm just going to play it recklessly."

In fact, his true identity is someone who has regressed through three lives, trying to save the world from the Great Rift but failing each time. After repeating a life where he couldn't sleep peacefully even for a day, he became completely exhausted before this life even began.

"I know. You worked hard, Jin Soram."

And then there's Han Tae-un, the man who saved Soram and died in all three previous lives. As he did in every life, he comes to Soram's side once again. The Great Rift is approaching soon. It's impossible to resolve it in this life without any preparation. Soram vows to save Tae-un in this life and die himself. At least, he won't let Tae-un save a failure like himself again.

"For now, until then, let's sleep..."

As Soram sluggishly lives his life waiting for that moment, a gradual change occurs in his heart.

'I thought this was a messed-up round... but I want to live a little longer here.'