Turns Out To Be a Genius Duelist

[As promised, there will be a total of 10-12 chapters today. The first 4 will be up now, the rest will be up at around 9-10 CST.]

Chapter 187 Planet Guardian (1)

Five hundred years ago, the time before challengers emerged. In Seheranbad, there were powerful people named the Strongest Ten, and Disaster was one of them. Yoon-seok met him for the first time on the 8th floor mission.

「A person who can withstand his blow without fearing him. If you meet the conditions, you will have the opportunity to become his close friend.」

Yoon-seok survived his test, and when the mission was over, he received the Dragonian’s Pledge Ring as a reward. He thought that was it.

‘Why do I only remember that now?’

Green eyes, black scales. Furthermore, after seeing the cross-shaped scar on its body, he knew he wasn’t confused. That was why it was even more questionable. Wellington, the Holy Warrior. Kanna Blitz. Elle in her childhood days. They were all real people, but they were virtual beings reproduced by the Tower for the mission.

And this was the same for Disaster. But how did he know that and find him?

—Friend, I’m here to find you.

Just as he remembered what happened back then, the exact causal relationship hadn’t been identified, but Yoon-seok habitually drew his sword and judged it was different from then. Yoon-seok wasn’t a rookie any longer. His opponent also seemed to be stronger than before, but he was confident that he wouldn’t be defeated even if he faced him head-on.

So there was nothing urgent.

Yoon-seok slowly raised his head and looked into Disaster’s eyes. The moment when their gazes met, its green irises were filled with amusement.

—I see. Are you my close friend?

In a state of ignorance, every little thing was potential information. Through this sentence, Yoon-seok solved one of the questions he had.

‘I guess he doesn’t remember what happened back then.’

In reality, this was Disaster’s first time meeting him. Just by looking at that reaction, he knew. Expectations, questions, curiosity, joy, anxiety… didn’t that searching make it seem like he was looking for the blind date he met at a rendezvous? Then, how did he know and find him?

‘Is it because of this ring…?’

Yoon-seok naturally looked to the ring he obtained as a reward for the mission. It was still shining in blue and ringing weakly as if it were resonating.

*Dragonian’s Pledge Ring – Increases magic by +1. Once equipped, it is impossible to take off.

Yoon-seok once again tried using Appraisal. But still, the same explanation appeared. There was nothing that could explain the current situation. Well, not that it was unusual…

‘It’s still not confirmed, so let’s scoop a little bit first.’

Yoon-seok put down his weapon. He didn’t intend to avoid the incoming fight, but it would be nice to try talking first. When he was going to ask about the ring with that thought-

—Then, my friend, I’ll ask. Seeing that you came to find me, are you ready to change the world now?

Disaster asked a serious question. A question mark popped up in Yoon-seok’s eyes.

“Ready?”

He didn’t know what he was talking about. Ready to change the world? How could he prepare when he didn’t even know what they were going to do? He didn’t even expect Disaster to find him here.

Yoon-seok remained silent. First of all, it was to reduce the chances of making a slip of the tongue and receive another clue. But he didn’t know if this was a good enough answer…

—Is that so? I was just wondering when I saw you point your sword, but maybe not yet…

The disappointment was evident in his green eyes. Like a child’s gaze when they received a gift they had been waiting for, but then it was immediately taken away. Yoon-seok felt that this encounter with Disaster wasn’t just because of this ring. There was a bigger secret hidden here.

“Who are you?”

—You are not my close friend yet.

Earlier, he said he was a friend, but now Disaster changed his mind again. What did they confirm through that short conversation?

“Tell me what you know about me.”

Yoon-seok’s eyes turned cold. Suddenly, his magic began to flow out of control. However, this wasn’t someone he could communicate with through Cheon-ma’s socializing style. Disaster responded without being influenced by the persistent threat.

—Wake up, and you will know everything.

Suddenly, the conversation with the Queen crossed Yoon-seok’s mind. Wake up; then he would know everything? Come to think of it, didn’t she say the same thing to Yoon-seok? It was the moment when his small doubts turned to conviction.

‘This has something to do with Rick Gerssey.’

Perhaps his second purpose in coming to Seheranbad. He might be able to dig into the secrets of Rick Gerssey here. Yoon-seok hurriedly tried to ask another question, but-

—I’ll wait. Until the day the preparation is done.

Was this the end of their conversation? Disaster flapped his wings. Now that he was done with his business, he was leaving.

“Wait, who says…!”

In a hurry, Yoon-seok prepared to suppress Disaster so he couldn’t leave. Dragon? He saw a dragon cut down by Cheon-ma with a single slash so that he could do it too.

Whoooooosh-!

The moment he readied for battle, several swords were created around Yoon-seok, and King of All Swords activated. Enormous sword energy that easily exceeded a few meters infused into his blade. But at that moment.

“…?”

Gradually, his eyes began to blur. Disaster did nothing… it was a wave. Just as he had seen memories related to her after meeting Lee Su-yeon, the Rank S effect of b Death God} activated with perfect timing.

—Friend…

Over his cloudy view, the pair of green eyes staring him down slowly overlapped. Yoon-seok felt it. This moment was a memory from Rick Gerssey.

—Do you have to do this…?

He didn’t know when or where it was. Countless corpses lay littered across the devastated land. And looking at him lying on the cold ground, Disaster spoke in a trembling voice.

—She said this was the only way, but maybe there’s another way. Isn’t she a woman who always plays clever tricks!?

Yoon-seok checked his physical condition while engraving the conversation in his head. His body was thoroughly ruined. However, Yoon-seok, who had suffered countless deaths on the 21st-floor mission, felt something out of place. This wasn’t a normal death. He didn’t know what happened, but it felt like his very existence was disappearing.

It was a terrible sensation for Yoon-seok, who had suffered countless pains. However, even in the midst of that, Yoon-seok, no, Rick Gerssey was smiling without fear. There was only one thing he was concerned about.

He was worried about the future.

—What about the curse?

—It disappeared neatly as planned. More than that, it’s not too late…

—What do you mean it’s not late. I’m already dying. Ah, can I not say that I’m dying? Anyway, I kept my promise, so you keep your promise, too.

The answer came quick.

—…No matter what.

There was no skill to read the truth in his current body, but Yoon-seok knew how hard it was to make up his mind now, how he felt both grateful and sorry. That was the last feeling he experienced in Rick Gerssey’s body.

“…”

Again, his eyes were blurred, and soon they began to brighten. The wave was over.

‘What the heck, I haven’t figured it out yet…!’

Yoon-seok returned to reality, feeling more frustrated. The ceiling had been completely ripped off, and Disaster had already disappeared.

Yoon-seok stared up into the night sky blankly. The curse, a plan, a woman who played tricks, and a promise. It was making his head spin.

“Is… everything over?”

Likewise, the Princess, who had been looking up at the empty sky for a long time near him, spoke with difficulty. Yoon-seok decided to end his thoughts here. The more complicated his feelings were, the more helpful it was to think as positively as he could.

‘Yeah, this doesn’t end with just one attempt.’

Slowly regaining memories of his past life. As he experienced more of this ability, he became more certain of how it worked, just as the memory appeared when he encountered Lee Su-yeon, finding the trigger reproduced the memory. So for the rest of the time until the next duel, no, after that, he could slowly work on finding the triggers and regain his broken memories.

“Yes. It’s over.”

The Princess collapsed on the floor, perhaps because her legs gave out at Yoon-seok’s reply, and the Count, who was still conscious, took her and left somewhere. Thanks to this, the company’s role she hoped for from Yoon-seok before Disaster appeared fizzled out. However, Yoon-seok didn’t want to care about this or anything else.

Plop.

Yoon-seok left alone, laid down on the bed. He stayed like that for some time, looking up into the starry night sky. The ship resumed sailing soon after. Nothing had been settled yet, but it looked like they decided to leave because the dragon might return. It was fortunate that the sail was intact despite the chaos.

Thus, his last night on the trade ship ended, and as the sun rose, the five-day voyage concluded.

“Island, it’s an island…!”

They arrived at Levant Neutral after many twists and turns. As soon as they arrived at the port, sailors ran out, and Yoon-seok could relate to their feelings.

“If you change your mind, please come find me anytime.”

“I will.”

They had built a strange relationship for a short moment. Although she was in a bad situation after predicting her death, he had no intention of becoming nosy after arriving in another dimension. No matter what happened, it was time to focus on what he had to do now that he’d finally arrived at his destination.

‘It was a place called the White Woman.’

With the help of locals, Yoon-seok headed to the inn that Lee Su-yeon told him about, and soon he was able to finally meet her.

“Oppa!”

Was he fatigued mentally? He was somehow very glad to hear her call him by the title he still felt awkward about until recently. But this was this, that was that.

“Come on in!”

As soon as the door opened and Lee Su-yeon showed her face, Yoon-seok stepped back, stiffening. It was because of her outfit. Had she just showered? Water was dripping from Lee Su-yeon’s hair, and a large cloth was wrapped around her body.

“What are you doing? It’s annoying if someone sees me. Come on.”

Yoon-seok, who was dragged in, fixed his eyes on the wall. Lee Su-yeon tilted her head but soon realized the reason and smiled meaningfully.

“You’re more innocent than I thought…?”

Innocence or not, this was the normal reaction. Though her total age may have passed as an adult, her current age was 17. After all, wasn’t she a minor?

Yoon-seok passed by her without an answer and sat down. Then as if the teasing was no fun, Lee Su-yeon quickly dressed after shaking off the water with magic. He didn’t know why she opened the door when she could have done that first, but… he thought it would be troublesome for some reason, so he decided not to dig deep into it.

“Anyway, did something happen? You look very tired.”

Was it that obvious? Yoon-seok hesitated for a moment. Lee Su-yeon knew nothing about Rick Gerssey or the Queen. He didn’t tell her on purpose. Yoon-seok decided to find out first himself before judging the Queen and the Tower, while Lee Su-yeon believed that killing the Queen would end everything.

So he decided to lie. Technically, it wasn’t even a lie.

“Ewin is rough to humans. Well, it’s obvious why.”

He explained to her what had happened, starting from the incident with the beast-people in Ewin and the fact that terrorists tore off the boards and invaded after hiding in a trade ship.

“Ah, so funny. Oppa, are you Conan?”

Her eyes, which had been giggling and laughing, turned to sorrow as his story progressed. Meeting the Princess, revealing himself to prevent the ship from turning back and even the dragon’s attack.

“…Do dragons exist? I thought it was a legend.”

Lee Su-yeon was astonished.

“…Hey oppa, I’m not teasing you. I’m giving you serious advice. I know a good shaman. Why don’t you get a check when you go back?”

“…”

“No, I mean it! A dragon? It’s my first time hearing this after traveling to so many places in Seheranbad. But you met one as soon as you arrived? What sort of sins have you committed in your past life…?”

Yoon-seok smacked his lips bitterly. What did he do in his past life? Well, he had no clue, but wouldn’t Rick Gerssey know?