NS - Chapter 444

Chapter 444

     However, my concerns were premature. Just as it seemed like Lackey was being completely overpowered, the skeleton suddenly tightened its grip on its sword with immense force.

Cr-r-r-r-a-ack–!

     And from then on, Sangyoon’s heels sank into the dirt. Lackey adjusted the angle of its sword, shifted the point of impact, and momentarily threw Sangyoon off balance.

     Sangyoon, however, did not get pushed back for long and immediately used [Berserker]’s strength to inflate his body even more. As the contest of raw power resumed, Lackey, who had just begun to gain the upper hand, was now being pushed back even further.

     My brightened expression curled into a grimace yet again.

     ‘Damn…’

     If Lackey pressed its advantage just a bit more, it may have had a chance to turn the tides…

     “Tsk tsk. So impatient.” Dawon, though, looked at his student Sangyoon and made a disapproving comment.

     However, in my opinion, Lackey was the one on the backfoot. Sangyoon exuded an overwhelming aura of dominance, effortlessly disrupting Lackey’s eerie yet disciplined swordplay. While Lackey’s movements were impressive, Sangyoon’s relentless technique was so outstanding; inevitably Lackey was forced into a defensive stance.

     Furthermore, it seemed like, every time Lackey and Sangyoon’s swords clashed, Lackey was the one reeling back a little more each time;  clearly, the skeleton was losing ground.

     ‘I guess the armor really is hollow inside…’

     I clasped both hands together–as if praying–as I cautiously watched Lackey’s movements. My honest feelings as Lackey’s Master was that I didn’t want it to lose too badly and be disheartened.

     “Ahh!”

     “……”

     But suddenly—just when Sangyoon had Lackey backed all the way to the edge of the clearing—Lackey appeared behind the Warrior. I realized half a beat later, that was Lackey’s new skill, [Death Blink].

     What surprised me was that Sangyoon, who could not have known about Lackey’s new skills, turned around quite naturally and attacked Lackey as if he had seen the skeleton coming.

      Even though I was rooting for Lackey as its master, I couldn’t help but be impressed by Sangyoon’s instinctive yet composed counterattack. “Wow… That’s amazing…”

     “After being beaten a dozen of times, he’s now finally learning to stab behind him the moment he senses something off. Guess he compromised by memorizing the general pattern.”

      “……”

     However, Dawon was more mocking in return; I felt a little pity because I could fully imagine the hardships that Sangyoon experienced while training with Dawon-ie.

Clang–!

      Lackey wavered slightly under Sangyoon’s sudden thrust but managed to block the attack by angling its sword just right. Then, taking advantage of Sangyoon’s brief loss of balance from turning too quickly, Lackey swiftly slashed at the Warrior’s lower body.

     Sangyoon-ssi, seemingly startled, leaped into the air and clashed [Berserker] against Lackey’s sword. 

     Watching the scene unfold, Dawon remarked with mild surprise. “As expected–its intelligence must have increased as it evolved.”

     “Really?”

     “Its attack patterns keep on going for the weak spots. It feels like he’s dealing with a high level knight.”

     “Huhuhu… Of course. As expected of my servant.”

     “……”

     Dawon’s analysis made me upturn my nose in pride. Dawon shot me a long, unreadable look, but my swelling pride couldn’t be dampened by a mere glance.

      At that time, Lackey executed a rather impressive maneuver. It made Sangyoon jump into the air–to evade rather than block his opponent’s sword.

     And, at that very moment–

[Whinny–!]

     A ghostly steed, fire burning in its mouth, emerged from the ground, and the wolf-skull adorned sword Lackey had been wielding morphed into a massive lance.

     Lackey jumped deftly into the horse’s saddle, then, on horseback, it rushed straight into Kim Sangyoon who was just about to land after his aerial maneuver.  In an instant, Sangyoon-ssi was struck by the lance, sent flying, and crashed into a massive tree, unable to get back up.

     I couldn’t breathe properly; I just watched that spectacular sight with my eyes wide open. Battles truly conclude with one decisive moment. Lackey, who had seemed to be on the back foot, beat Sangyoon-ssi after this one clash.

     “Wow… How surprising!”

     “Congratulations, Choi Lee-kyung.”

      “Is that thing really that clacking skeleton kid?”

     “…Hmph.”

     As the ghostly steed kicked its hooves up into the air, Lackey successfully soothed the mount. It then, still gripping its lance, approached the immobile Sangyoon-ssi.

     “Wait a minute. Lackey–Wai–” I hurriedly tried to stop it because I was worried Lackey would try to finish Sangyoon-ssi, but…

      “Nnngh…!” 

[……]

     Instead, Lackey held out his gauntleted hand, grasping the motionless Sangyoon-ssi, and raising the Warrior to his feet. 

      Sangyoon-ssi took Lackey’s hand and successfully stood up; he released his [Berserker] mode, sighed deeply, and bowed. “…I’ve lost. Completely. You’re amazing.”

     “N-No! Sangyoon-ssi, you’re also incredible…” I suppressed my joy as hard as I could and also took care to show compassion for Sangyoon–after all, wouldn’t he feel upset right now? Of course, the others did not show such compassion.

     “Even now, you did everything I told you not to do.”

     “…I’m sorry…”

     “I told you to fix your habit of leaping into the air when you’re flustered, right? I believe I explained that, since you can’t change your direction in the air, you’re a sitting duck.”

     “……”

      “Maybe next time I should break your ankles before we start…”

      “……”

      I gripped Dawon’s hand at those cutthroat words. 

     Dawon glanced down at me and smiled, “…I’ll put dumbbells on his ankles for our next class.”

     “Yes…” Sangyoon-ssi became sullen, but I smiled brightly. And, only then, did I run to my wonderful servant, Lackey.

      “Lackey! You did so great!”

Poof–!

      As soon as I approached, Lackey switched from [Death Knight] mode back into its little skeleton form, reaching out both arms toward me–a sign that informed me it wanted to be held. Of course, I was happy to hug the skeleton; I even gave it a big kiss on its smooth skull.

[Clack Clack! Clack Clack Clack!]

[Kyaaa! I love it!]

     Its little arms flailed happily, reminding me that, even after evolving into a fearsome Death Knight, deep down, Lackey was still the same adorable, loyal companion.

     I embraced Lackey joyfully; then, glowing with pride, I shouted triumphantly to the [Red Lotus] guys, “H-How about that!”

     “Why are you acting all crazy?” Woo Ragi sniped at me, but most of them seemed to understand my delight. 

     In particular, Olim nodded and sympathized with my joy, ““Truly impressive. From the next battle onward, it can be deployed at full strength.”

     “Hahaha!” I burst into laughter and hugged Lackey tightly once more. Although it seemed a bit confused, the skeleton still wrapped its arms around my neck in return.

     Choi Kyungsik raised his glasses and glanced consideringly at Lackey. “It’s not a bad idea to feed it any useful cores we have laying around. It would be an efficient use of them.”

     “Lackey can evolve further than this?”

     “Does it say anywhere that it can’t be strengthened anymore?”

      Panicked, I hurriedly checked Lackey’s status window. The moment I confirmed that there was no such restriction, my heart began to pound. If it could get even stronger… Wow, just how powerful could it become?

     “S-so cool.” Before I knew it, my cheeks flushed red with desire.

* * *

     Afterwards, we gathered and sat down together again. After a brief contemplation, Olim-ie said “Koo Hui-seo would also be useful if we could control him properly. Seeing Lackey’s growth this time made me realize that refusing to use Koo Hui-seo just because he’s dangerous would be a huge loss.”

     “……”

     Most of us, including Dawon, frowned slightly, but no one opposed. Seeing that even Dawon wasn’t outright rejecting this train of thought, I decided to quietly listen to the ensuing conversation. I had a feeling that a new direction would take shape in our plans.

     “As you know, Seo Dawon, we must meet Lee Dojin soon.”

     “……”

     “And Lee Do-jin’s earliest official schedule is the upcoming ‘Seoul User Culture and Arts Day’ private VIP invitation event. It’s next Monday.”

     When I realized that we had less than five days left to go and see Lee Dojin, my eyes opened wide. But, no one else showed signs of agitation. 

     Knocking lightly on the table, Dawon calmly asked, “And, who’s on the list of participants?”

     “Bae Jaemin and Lim Jisoo are invited.”

     “……”

     “That’s why we need Koo Hui-seo. If we keep forcing him into a state where he can’t function as a proper person, he’ll be completely useless. That’s just a waste.”

—-

TL: My baby Lackey did so well T_T

Also, oh my god, the sheer coldness with which they evaluated Koo Hui-seo… Olim-unni, please rule my life.