[10] “Oppa, are you okay?”

“Uuugh.”

Frowning, I clutched my chest.

The pain wasn’t limited to my chest. My entire body was tingling as though I had been electrocuted.

The intense pain, unlike anything I had ever experienced before, filled me with the fear that I might actually die if this continued.

‘That can’t happen.’

I grabbed my phone with trembling hands to call for help, but the pain was so severe that even pressing the buttons on my phone was difficult.

Just as I felt as though I were being swallowed into darkness—

Suddenly, as if it had all been a lie, all the pain disappeared.

“…What was that?”

I had definitely been in enough pain to die, yet strangely, my entire body felt perfectly fine.

Completely bewildered, I clenched and unclenched my hands and feet, then moved my entire body this way and that.

But there was nothing wrong.

“This is really strange.”

Should I go to the hospital or not?

Thinking that if it happened even one more time, I really would have to go to the hospital, I returned to the house where Sia was sleeping soundly and went back to sleep.

The next day.

***

The first thing that caught my eye when I woke up was, as always, the beautiful Sia.

She was lying beside me, looking at me and smiling brightly.

She wasn’t the ‘mature Noona’ I had seen last night, but the Sia I remembered.

“Did you sleep well, Oppa?”

I had wondered if last night’s role-play would continue into today, but Sia called me Oppa as dutifully as she always did.

“Mm-hmm. I slept well. Did our Sia sleep well, too?”

“Very much.”

We started the morning by gently embracing each other.

“I’m going to peel an apple. You’ll eat some too, right, Oppa?”

“Yeah.”

After getting out of bed, Sia prepared breakfast while peeling fruit as she usually did.

It was an ordinary scene, no different from usual.

And yet—

For some reason, I felt a slight sense of unfamiliarity.

Perhaps it was because I was thinking about the side of Sia she had shown me last night.

When I remained absentminded, Sia, who had been peeling the apple, put down the knife and turned toward me.

“Oppa, what are you thinking about?”

“What happened last night.”

At those words, Sia’s face gradually turned a faint red.

“Th-that, Oppa. I mean, yesterday—”

“Sia Noona.”

I teasingly called her Noona, just as I had last night.

Sia’s face immediately turned as red as a ripe tomato.

Perhaps embarrassed, Sia covered her face with both hands.

“Eee…”

“Yesterday, you really acted like a Noona who was going to devour me, but today you’re such a shy girl.”

“Ugh. Why did I do that?”

“Considering you’re saying that, you looked pretty happy yesterday.”

She had even been the one to suggest it first.

It seemed the realization had finally hit her.

“At least I enjoyed it. Let’s try a different setting next time, too.”

In case Sia became too embarrassed, I naturally changed the subject.

“Is there anything you want to do today?”

She chewed on her apple thoughtfully with a happy expression before quickly coming up with an answer.

“A training-ground date!”

Not just a date, but a date at a training ground?

Back when we attended the Hunter Academy, we had sometimes gone there together.

But now that Sia had become a Dragon so powerful that she no longer needed training, I didn’t think there was any reason for us to go on a date at a training ground.

Still, if she specifically wanted to have a training-ground date—

“Is it because you want to relive the old days?”

“Partly. But besides that, I also genuinely want to help Oppa train. I told you yesterday, remember? I could see the potential in you to become a Ranker very soon.”

Sia expressed her eagerness to draw out that potential even a little earlier.

Of course, I wanted to see my own potential fully blossom as soon as possible, too…

But that was that.

For at least a week, I wanted to stick to Sia like glue and spend time dating her like an ordinary couple.

After all, how hard had it been to finally meet our Sia again?

Wouldn’t it be okay to just spend about a week like this?

“Let’s do it only until three o’clock. After that, instead of a training-ground date, we’ll just go on a normal date. How about it?”

As though she had read my mind, Sia made an additional suggestion.

“Sure. Let’s do that.”

“Okay!”

After finishing breakfast, we headed to the training ground.

The training ground we went to was one we had often visited back in our Academy days.

I had thought I would never have a reason to come here again.

“Being here brings back memories.”

“Me too.”

Perhaps because it was near the Academy campus, familiar signs came into view.

It really felt like I had traveled back in time several years.

When we arrived at the training ground, we immediately unpacked our belongings and began training in earnest.

Of course, to be precise, it was not our training.

It was my training.

I held the Dragon Bone Sword Sia had given me yesterday, while Sia brought over a chair and sat down directly behind me.

“Teacher, what should I do?”

I jokingly called Sia Teacher.

“She called me Teacher. Pfft.”

“You are teaching me, after all. Doesn’t that make you a teacher?”

Perhaps the title felt unfamiliar to her, because Sia fidgeted awkwardly.

“I’m getting goosebumps, Oppa.”

“Then should I call you Noona?”

“Eee.”

Sia neither agreed nor disagreed.

But the joking ended there.

Sia soon switched into Teacher mode and began watching my training.

“Let’s see. For the monster… a Wood Golem should be good.”

“That’s a B-rank monster.”

I had expected her to choose one of the C-rank monsters, but Sia had selected a B-rank monster, the Wood Golem, as my opponent.

“Still, it shouldn’t be as difficult as you think.”

It would have been different if this were a real battle, but since this was simulation training, Sia encouraged me to go all out, and I agreed.

‘This is exciting.’

At first, I had thought it was a little strange, but remembering the old days made me excited.

And I was also excited to find out just how much power I could wield.

What kind of talent did I possess that allowed me to draw out the power of the Dragon Bone Sword?

And just how far did that power extend?

Before beginning the training, I swung the sword around a few times.

As expected, I still didn’t understand it.

“Even though this is a simulation, you know what to do, right, Oppa? Don’t think of it as training. Think of it as going all out.”

“Of course.”

Those were words I used to say to Sia when we went on training-ground dates in the past.

I never imagined I would hear those same words thrown back at me today.

“Think of every Wood Golem that appears from now on as one of those women who come trying to get Oppa’s number. One clean strike, slash, slash! You know what I mean, right?”

“Of course.”

Her tone was playful, but judging by Sia’s eyes, she didn’t seem to be saying it entirely as a joke.

‘Well.’

If I were in Sia’s position, I probably would have been bothered by what happened, too.

Should I laugh or not?

Either way—

With an energetic battle cry, the simulation training began.

As soon as the training started, training Wood Golems began materializing from the wall on the opposite side.

‘What’s the right way to deal with them?’

The Wood Golem, the monster I had to fight today, had considerably high defense, but its movement speed and attack power were mediocre for a B-rank monster.

In that case, agility and stamina would ultimately be the key.

Thinking back over yesterday’s battle, my agility didn’t seem like it would be much of a problem.

The problem would probably be my stamina.

Still—

‘I’ll just have to grit my teeth and push through.’

Wasn’t there an old saying?

What matters is having an unbreakable spirit.

Turning that thought over in my mind, I gripped my sword tightly and charged straight into the middle of the enemy formation.

The Wood Golem that had been approaching slowly began to accelerate, but I paid it no mind.

At this moment, I judged that the most important thing—first and foremost—was boldness.

I found the Golem that was farthest from the rest of the group and immediately ran toward it, swinging my sword.

Whoosh!

It might not have been visible from the outside, but I could definitely feel it.

“It worked.”

Judging by the way it staggered, the blow seemed to have landed properly.

But I couldn’t be satisfied with this.

The Dragon Bone Sword.

If it was made from a Dragon’s bones, that meant it contained the power of a Dragon.

Dragon.

Yes.

For now, let’s focus on the existence known as a Dragon.

How could I draw out the power of Dragons, beings who reigned supreme over the world?

‘Sia said Dragons are beings that reign and dominate.’

Reigning and domination.

Those keywords felt as though they were almost within my grasp, yet I couldn’t quite connect with them.

The words reign and dominate didn’t suit me, a mere D-rank Hunter, very well.

But if I wanted to draw out even a little of the Dragon’s power contained within the sword, shouldn’t I first become someone worthy of that level?

According to Sia, those who had previously drawn out the power of the Dragon Bone Sword to its limits had generally become rulers.

They had risen from insignificant positions to become kings and reigned over others.

The king of a weak nation would unify the continent and then reign over it.

If that was the case, shouldn’t I swing the sword while harboring the ambition to become a ruler myself?

I still didn’t know exactly why I had been able to draw out the power of this sword, but I felt that I was beginning to understand, at least vaguely, the mindset I needed when wielding it.

I must not stand in the position of a challenger.

I had to wield it as though I were standing above their heads from the very beginning.

Not with the mindset of someone who wanted to learn something from them, but with the mindset of someone who intended to teach them something.

I struck the Golem as though I were hitting a practice dummy.

CRAAACK—!

Along with a heavier impact than before, one of the Golems collapsed in a single blow.

After confirming that the Golem had fallen, I looked at Sia’s reaction.

“Nice, Oppa!”

Sia’s expression was filled with surprise and delight.

“One number-stealing girl down.”

I jokingly pointed at the Golem that was staggering from my blow.

Given the nature of the Dragon race, Sia probably couldn’t forget the unpleasant memory from yesterday, but I wanted to dilute those negative emotions, even if only a little.

“Of course, she can’t even compare to our Sia.”

“Right, right.”

I deliberately added an embarrassingly cheesy line, and Sia nodded in satisfaction.

Sia was pleased, and I was gradually getting the hang of it.

Now, all that remained was to move forward.

Let’s forget what kind of sword I was holding and what kind of enemy stood before me.

The number of Wood Golems continued to increase, but I paid no attention to them and kept swinging my sword.

A confidence and exhilaration I had never experienced before began to sweep through my body.

Could this be the state of trance?

Little by little, my consciousness began to grow hazy.

‘…No.’

At first, I thought that was what was happening, but something was different.

Although my consciousness was becoming hazy, in contrast, unbearably painful sensations began spreading throughout my entire body.

It was the exact same pain I had experienced briefly on the rooftop yesterday.

The pain became so difficult to endure that the strength began to drain from my legs.

“Oppa? Are you okay?”

I needed to say that I wasn’t okay, that I needed help.

But strangely, no words came out.

At this rate, I felt like I was about to collapse.

Clang—!

As the strength began to leave my hand, I dropped the sword and immediately reached toward Sia for help.

“Sia……”

But for some reason, the words would not come out properly.

The last thing I saw was Sia desperately running toward me.

And then—

I lost consciousness.