〈 Preliminary Field Trip (2) 〉
Of course, accompanying me to such an event was not something I could freely do just because I wanted to.
Anyway, the current Hugo was just a diner sitting at Sega as a guest.
“Hmm, they happened to be selecting people over here too. As you know, it must be quite dangerous, so are you sure it’s okay? It’s a place where you never know what kind of accident might happen. “The well-planned attack must have been significant.”
“The world is like this, so we can’t just avoid danger. “Can’t we just stay in a safe place like this forever?”
Therefore, the priority was to get permission from the person in charge and create a place where we could be together…
“…That’s a great attitude. In fact, diverse experiences are essential to properly respond to change in this confusing world.”
“you’re right. “There is no better opportunity than now to see the wider world and expand your knowledge.”
“I understand what you mean. Then, let me make a separate place for myself.”
He was able to request a meeting with Taesang family head Zhugegunak, who had allowed him to stay in the family, and obtain permission without difficulty.
Of course, if Hugo had been a needless distraction, they wouldn’t have readily agreed, but right now he was a military officer who was fully capable of keeping things in order, so that wasn’t a big problem.
‘Maybe they thought Harris would intervene when the time comes.’
It was extremely reassuring for the delegation to have a top police officer secretly protecting them.
It may be true, but it wasn’t that big of a deal to give up a seat anyway, so there’s nothing wrong with accepting with the mindset of getting insurance.
However, something unexpected happened next.
“I want to go too.”
Zhuge Hui-mi, who had first told us about the meeting, said he would also go.
“My treatment isn’t finished yet, right? However, if there is a problem while Prince Ha is away, it will be a big problem… Wouldn’t it be better for me to go with him?”
She asserted her opinion with reasonable reasons, but of course such unreasonable arguments could not be accepted.
Because it wasn’t a place to go to have fun in the first place.
What guardian would send a young girl, who is no better than a flower in a greenhouse, to a rough place where certain danger lurks just to prepare for an emergency that may or may not come?
Honestly, even if she got involved, it would only be a distraction.
“…Oh, that’s a shame. “I tried it just in case, but it still didn’t work.”
Jegal Hye-mi shakes her head with a bitter smile, as if she is regretful of the results that reflect such circumstances.
In response, Hugo looked at her with narrowed eyes.
‘As expected, was it intentional that you told me about that meeting?’
I thought he said it without thinking while chatting as usual, but now that I look at it, it seems like it was calculated from the beginning.
Although I had a strong feeling that I took a stab at it just in case there was something sloppy in the ending.
‘…It’s not like I can’t understand that feeling.’
In fact, I had just recovered from spending my whole life in this closed family, unable to move around freely due to my weak body, so I must have felt terrible.
However, it was just too much to try to go to the track when he had just started walking.
“Ugh—I can’t help it. Then, since I will be staying here and working out hard, Confucius Xia can tell me about the things that happened there instead. “I can look forward to it, right?”
“Well, it shouldn’t be that difficult. “If possible, I will try to get you a souvenir.”
“and! As expected, Confucius! “Then is it a promise?”
After Hugo’s joining was decided.
The delegation’s expedition plan, which had already been prepared to some extent as they had been preparing for the meeting for quite some time, began to quickly take shape.
In the Zhuge family, martial artists and magicians who could be considered the best and an elder to lead them were selected, and the second son, Zhuge Junghyeok, the son of the current family head and one of Zhuge Hyemi’s older brothers, was appointed as the general manager.
‘I thought at most one of the elders would go because it was dangerous, but this is more serious than I thought? I never would have thought that even the direct lineage of the family head would step forward in person.’
Perhaps this is unavoidable in order to avoid unnecessary disputes as much as possible and build Sega’s prestige.
Since the distance was not that far, they may have judged it to be relatively less dangerous.
‘…Then I guess I’ll have to focus on training a little more until preparations are complete.’
Although Shaolin Temple, the meeting place, was relatively closer than other places, in terms of simple distance, it was only slightly less than the distance from Seoul to Busan, so there was bound to be a lot of preparation.
So, even though the plan had already progressed to some extent, the additional time it took was about 15 days.
Time passed quickly while Hugo was busy training to get used to his newly acquired abilities.
Finally, the day for the delegation to leave arrived.
The main gate of the Zhuge family, lined with numerous carriages and horses.
“Then, please be careful. “You know the promise, right?”
After saying hello to her brother Jegal Jung-hyeok and her elder brother, Jegal Hye-mi, who came hurriedly to where he was and opened her mouth cheerfully.
In that bright voice, there was a worry that he couldn’t hide that he may have done something for nothing, but to him, it was just a worry that was meaningless.
“Don’t worry, Zhuge Xiaoze. Because I have the ability to somehow get this body out. Of course, it would be best if nothing like that happened.”
“…Then I’ll be waiting for your gift.”
So the delegation, including Hugo and Ha Seung-hun, left Sega and moved north.
***
Dagdak – Dagdak –
While the horses and carriages carrying the delegation moved along the road, Hugo was locked in a carriage filled with various luggage, motionless and quietly closing his eyes.
“Whoa—.”
It was a moment when I felt like I would never see the results of the training I had done right before I left Sega, so I just couldn’t let go.
‘I think I just need to write a little more.’
He took several deep breaths and sank deeply into himself.
Breathing was the most important factor in handling internal energy.
In fact, this is a phrase that is commonly used by all living creatures, but it was especially emphasized in the mysteries of martial arts that purify and manipulate energy.
‘When accumulating energy, refining it with internal energy, using it with the body, and when performing martial arts, breathing is all involved.’
In this Ganghwan world, Naegongsimbeop is called a breathing method for no reason.
So what would happen if you could control your breathing at will?
‘Underwater breathing’ is a skill that allows you to breathe underwater through your skin rather than your nose and mouth. If you can twist it so that it can be used on earth….’
By breathing using the pores of the entire body, rather than simply the nose and mouth, you can finely control the energy in your body.
I was able to guarantee its effectiveness because I had already experimented with it by staying in the bathtub for several days while I was at the Zhuge family.
If there’s one problem there, it’s that, unfortunately, humans in this world are creatures that live on land, not in water.
‘Of course, if you don’t breathe normally, it won’t be very effective.’
Hugo struggled to focus his mind, scattering the memories of those who visited him frequently while he was immersed in training in the bathtub that lingered in his mind and checked to see if he had drowned.
No matter how flexibly the skill can be applied depending on the user’s skill level, there are limits to that.
Of course, it was not easy to freely modify a skill that was clearly stated in its name to be only usable ‘underwater’.
‘But it doesn’t mean there is no way.’
It was something I had already experienced several times.
The evolution of a skill that occurs when multiple skills are combined into one.
So, the topic he is currently focusing on is harmonizing “Underwater Breathing” and “Underwater Breathing” into one.
By mobilizing everything, including correction as a person from another world, the growth potential of the avatar, “versatility,” and the medicinal effect of the elixir.
‘Already, the elixirs that Harris has collected are piled up and not yet digested, but once this whole body breathing is completed, the speed will increase dramatically…!’
But when he was in the middle of a trance like that.
Quaaaang!
Shush shush—!
The planned event occurred.
“It’s an attack! “Everyone get down and form a formation!”
Heeheeheehee—!
“Reaction detected in both directions, northeast and northwest!”
Shhh!
“Arrows are flying! Protect your horses!”
The sudden commotion broke their concentration and a bloody fight began.
Actually, it wasn’t that bad.
I had already guessed that there would be an attack anyway, and I was able to get a feel for “imitation” by observing the martial arts of the Zhuge family’s warriors and the attackers who went into battle.
But…
beep!
“Enemy attack! “It’s an enemy attack!”
“Everyone wake up!”
Even in the middle of the night when we were setting up camp and going to bed.
“Waaah!”
“Hit—!”
“You guys! How dare you know who we are!”
“Haha! Aren’t they cowards who stay in their own homes like turtles? “You somehow managed to get out like this!”
Even at the moment when I was passing through the unmaintained and disorganized Guando.
“When these guys eat in a dishonest manner…!”
“evil! Dust! “I just had a drink!”
“Is now the time to worry about that?!”
Even when we stop for a meal.
I was constantly so confused that I couldn’t do anything that required concentration.
‘…I never thought it would be like this.’
As the situation continued, Hugo could not help but feel embarrassed.
When I first came to this world as Harris, I used the wind spirit to fly through the sky and when I landed on the ground, I didn’t really feel it because no one dared attack me that easily…
‘I guess I was so stuck in a safe place that I didn’t know reality. ‘
I knew about it, but this was my first time experiencing it like this.
Now I could truly feel the situation Kang Hwan-gye was in.
I never would have thought that public order would be this messed up.
‘Certainly in a situation like this, it would be worth forming a delegation and preparing so thoroughly. ‘I didn’t mean to scare you.’
From the elite fighting units of rival forces to the civilians who seem to have been led by bandits and rogues.
The world outside the sphere of influence was a chaotic place filled with madness, to the extent that even Zhuge Emperor, who was considered the loser of a region, could not easily see it.
‘…I guess I did a good job with the preliminary field trip.’
It was good to have achieved one of the goals of this trip, but I couldn’t be very happy about that fact right now.
That’s because the stress about the current situation was creeping up to the top of my head.
‘Ah, just a little… I think something could be done if I had just a little bit of free time…!’
The glimmering edge of enlightenment that seems almost out of reach.
When something needs to be achieved through concentration, interference comes in, and when you try to fix it again, commotion arises.
It quickly eroded Hugo’s patience and created an unquenchable thirst—.
“Khaha! Those savants are trying to pass through our area without permission! “Maybe we should give him a hazing ceremony?”
“hey! You slaves! If you don’t want to fall behind, run forward quickly! “If you come back alive, you’ll let me eat your fill of meat?”
“Ugh… Ugh!”
The moment I saw the skinny people wearing nothing but rags and carrying rusty spears rushing in without warning, and the Murim people giggling behind them.
Just like that, my last remaining patience was gone.
‘Now that I think about it, why am I in this world… ‘You came to Kang Hwan-gye, right?’
He was lost in thought in a scene where madness swirled.
why?
To create a new source of karma.
And in order to restore the world that Beoncheonhoeju ruined and thwart his plan.
In other words, it was to take the lead in normalizing the world.
‘So what should I do now between intervening and watching?’
It is best to intervene in order to receive karma immediately.
However, rather than hastily intervening to normalize the world, it is better to understand the relationship and situation between forces more closely…
‘No, that’s not it.’
Would leaving those human steeds alone be a big hindrance to your plans?
In the first place, is it possible to normalize the world in a situation where people like that walk around freely?
‘Okay, since you can’t work in a garbage dump, it would be better to start by cleaning up any visible dirt first. Like cleaning your room first before you start studying.’
Hugo quietly closed his eyes and nodded heavily.
I felt like there was something wrong with the example, but now was not the time to nitpick over such trivial things.
Because it was important that he decided to do it anyway.
‘Then who would be better as a cleaner?’
Harris, who is an experienced person, was not very willing to put himself forward for this kind of work.
He had already shown an aggressive side against his opponents once, but the idea of his personality twisting depending on the external environment felt a little uneasy.
‘Then…’
Several candidates passed through my mind.
And after careful consideration, I was finally able to choose one.
“Aaaah—!”
“Kill!”
“Please… save me…!”
A battlefield full of blood, screams, anger and madness.
In a place far away from this place where Hugo is.
Seuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu
of at a corner of the road where Zhuge Dynasty’s delegation passed by about an hour ago.
“Hehehehehehe!”
A madman who will fill this world and devour the swirling madness… No.
“Ah, that’s good! Hahahaha!”
The Gwangma (狂魔) opened his eyes.
〈 Dictionary Field Trip (2) 〉 End