Chapter 25 : Snowy King (3)
Chapter 25: Snowy King (3)
The Snowy King, once sober, challenged Hindir again.
But he was defeated once more, and the same happened the next day.
Even after secretly sobering up under the pretext of having business to attend to, he still lost.
"You're not human."
Despite drinking so heavily, Hindir never skipped a single day of training—how could he still be considered human?
But the shock didn’t end there.
Out of curiosity, the Snowy King began imitating Hindir’s training and was left speechless by the extreme regimen that relied solely on physical strength.
"Are all Barbarians like this? Or are you just the odd one?"
The Snowy King struggled with how to accept this being who was so far outside the norm.
He even wondered if Blood Bear had devoured so many humans that he eventually turned into one.
"Everyone has their own training method. It’s just a difference in approach."
"Hmm, but I somehow don’t want to lose. I still have my pride as a mana user, you know."
Hindir gave a hollow laugh at his shamelessness.
The way he proudly declared he’d beat him in training even using mana was laughable.
Of course, Hindir never nitpicked or avoided a challenge.
From that day on, the two of them competed in training every single day.
They each tried to lift one more boulder than the other, climbed steeper and higher peaks.
And once again, the one who gained more from this process was Hindir.
His heart core had become completely empty, and his muscles tore and regenerated over and over again.
Now, it was as if he was training in the traditional style of the Charun tribe, and the effects were more dramatic than expected.
Hindir had already been strengthening and refining his body right up to the limit of his mana capacity.
It could be said that he’d been constantly moving a bucket filled to the brim with water.
Now, he simply poured that water into a bigger bucket.
In other words, the mana that had been packed tightly within his muscles now had a bit of breathing room, making it far more efficient to wield.
If it needed a name, it could be called mana re-alignment.
Hindir sensed he had ascended one more level.
If he were to fight Orcus from five hundred years ago now, he might be able to take at least one of his arms.
Meanwhile, the Snowy King also noticed this change in Hindir.
As they sat meditating side by side atop a high peak in Snow Dragon Valley, the Snowy King clicked his tongue.
"What the hell is going on with your body? The more you roll around, the stronger you get each day. It’s like you’ve been blessed by the god of war. How can we share the same Barbarian blood and be this different?"
God of war.
The expression was different, but Hindir felt their understanding of the idea wasn’t all that different.
‘The time is coming.’
Hindir’s gaze shifted far off, toward the Great Snowfields visible between the peaks.
He stared at that place for a moment before calling out to the Snowy King.
"Snowy King."
"Speak."
"I'm not a Barbarian."
"Then what?"
"Charun."
"Charun?"
"It’s a name the world has forgotten. And I intend to reclaim it."
"Charun, huh... What does it mean?"
"Charun is simply Charun."
"Ts. That doesn’t really hit me. You’re not just lazily calling yourself a Charun, are you?"
"You're not one to talk, considering you used to call us Barbarians."
"Haha, true enough. Then does that make me a descendant of Charun as well? Honestly, calling myself a Barbarian always felt a bit strange."
But Hindir shook his head.
"Strictly speaking, you don’t carry Charun blood."
"……."
"The Charun tribe has no dantian. That includes mixed-bloods."
"Damn. I knew something felt off. Guess I was upset for no reason."
"But seeing how you know a bit about Charun’s past, you can’t be entirely unrelated."
"Still, that’s disappointing. I spent my whole life thinking I was a descendant of Charun, and now at this age I have to deny my own lineage."
Hindir chuckled lightly.
"Honestly, that might not be so important. There was a human I knew who shamelessly went around calling himself a Charun."
"...Is that so?"
The Snowy King’s gaze drifted toward the Great Snowfields, the same place Hindir had been looking.
He clicked his tongue in regret.
"He never showed up, so I thought maybe his knees had given out in the meantime... Now that the time’s come, I find myself feeling disappointed."
"It was always going to happen eventually."
"You already knew, didn’t you? Of course you did. Otherwise, why bring all this up now?"
The Snowy King silently looked up at the sky.
After a long silence, he finally asked his last question.
"Is there anything more you can tell me? Something that might help me immerse myself more fully in Charun, even if it’s a bit late?"
"Kartan. The golden palace of the god of warriors where great warriors go. Charun fights their whole life to grasp that glory."
"Hmph. That’s more romantic than I expected."
"If you don’t have something like that, it’s easy to become just another bloodthirsty madman."
"I don’t know if there’s much difference, but... Still, that was a good story. Mind if I give you a bit of unsolicited advice?"
"Go ahead."
"I don’t know all of Charun’s history, but if the name was lost, that must mean something big happened. In that case, consider this. If you’re starting over after pain, there’s nothing wrong with putting up a nice new signboard. Let’s say the past was just paying off bad luck."
"……."
"Honestly, the name Charun doesn’t sound all that tasty. Hehe."
"I’ll think about it."
With that, their conversation came to an end.
After a brief moment, a fierce snowstorm began to rise throughout Snow Dragon Valley.
It obscured their vision, and once it gradually cleared, a middle-aged man appeared from within it.
With skin whiter than snow, his radiant and striking appearance made him seem like Snow Dragon Valley itself had taken human form.
The Snowy King spoke first to the man, who looked down at them proudly with his hands behind his back.
"Welcome, Clan Head."
Hindir’s first impression of the Head of the Parno Family.
‘He looks familiar.’
Pure bloodline or not, no matter how much they changed, Parno was still Parno.
That uniquely cold atmosphere remained the same, even after five hundred years.
"Seolya."
He didn’t add ‘King.’
But that was only natural.
How could the true master of this land hand over the title of king to someone else?
“I was starting to think he might not come. I was going to leave if he didn’t show up today, but luckily, he’s not late.”
“What’s your game?”
“My game?”
“Now that Dardiom and his disciples are all dead, there’s no one useful left in the Seolyandan. What were you thinking, doing all this?”
“Ah, so that’s why you were late. Damn. I just gathered whoever was rolling around the snowfields, and now I can’t even tell who the spies are.”
The Snowy King scratched his head and suddenly reached out his arm to introduce Hindir.
“This is Hindir. A close friend I made here, and a man aiming for my neck.”
The Head of the Parno Family cast a brief glance at Hindir.
His gaze lingered on the bright red Blood Bear hide for a moment, then turned sharply to Hindir.
“You're the Barbarian Zircas spoke of.”
Before leaving, the Head of Parno had met Zircas, leader of the wolves, again.
And he had heard everything Zircas had been hiding.
It would all be revealed once the Head arrived himself, and with the Lesser Branch Head already dead, there was no reason to keep it hidden.
Now that it had become a major incident involving the family, he too had fulfilled his role and responsibility as a member of the Parno.
“How is he doing? He seemed like a decent man.”
“He’ll spend the rest of his days at the Hall of Repentance.”
“So it came to that, after all.”
The old man must have known he’d face serious consequences when he returned.
But Hindir didn’t pity him or complain to the Head.
It was his decision, and it was Parno’s business.
“Did you see the Lesser Branch Head?”
Hindir asked.
He probably did, and if so, he’d likely have a rough idea of Ubol’s condition.
But the Head didn’t answer and turned to face the Snowy King.
As if he had no intention of giving Hindir another chance to speak.
“Why did you summon me, even killing the Lesser Branch Head to do it?”
“You’re as busy as ever, jumping straight to the point. Well, it’s nothing much, I just have a proposal for you, and that’s why I called you all the way here.”
“You killed the Lesser Branch Head and speak so calmly. Are you insane?”
“It's not like his death was that important, was it?”
At those words, the Head let out a faint chuckle.
“To say that in front of a father whose son just died. Bold of you.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll spread the word in a beautifully decorated way. That’ll actually make things better for Parno, too.”
He was saying crazy things, but the Head of Parno didn’t seem all that displeased.
“…Speak.”
When the Head finally gave a positive response, the Snowy King bowed respectfully in thanks.
He had spoken boldly, but he knew full well that the Head of Parno was showing great patience and mercy.
“Today, here, Hindir and I will fight for the Seolyandan. And I want you to act as the witness.”
Though he hadn’t heard it beforehand, Hindir had already anticipated this development.
“Why should I?”
“There’s no one more fair and just in the snowfields than you. And since he may become your enemy later, it wouldn’t hurt to see him now.”
“What a joke. Honestly, wouldn’t it be simpler if I just killed you both right here?”
“That’s fine by me, but are you sure? I heard you don’t like taking risks when you’re unsure. This guy is quite strong.”
“…….”
“Let’s be honest. This is a proposal that heavily favors you. If the two of us fight and wear each other out, what happens when you ambush us then? And if we die deep in Snow Dragon Valley, no one would even find our bodies.”
While not wrong, ironically, the fact that the Snowy King brought it up first meant the Head of Parno couldn’t make that choice.
His pride wouldn’t allow it.
And fighting both at once—on that point too, the Snowy King was right.
The feeling he got from Hindir was deeply unsettling.
“Then allow me to offer a suggestion.”
At that moment, Hindir, who had remained silent, suddenly spoke up.
When the two turned their eyes to him, Hindir said,
“After I fight the Snowy King, I will challenge you, Head of Parno, as the new master of the Seolyandan.”
“…….”
“…….”
Both the Snowy King and the Head of Parno let out a hollow laugh at the sudden declaration.
Where did such confidence come from?
The Snowy King clicked his tongue, seeing Hindir kick aside the trap he had set.
In simple terms, he was saying he wanted to die.
Yet oddly, that foolish confidence seemed entirely natural.
The Head of Parno stared silently at Hindir.
In that brief moment, he tried to pierce through him again, but there was nothing more he could tell.
By mana standards, Hindir was clearly unimpressive, but having killed Blood Bear, he must be hiding something.
And then there was also Zircas’ account.
“You’re certain you’ll defeat the Snowy King. But to me, that looks impossible.”
“You won’t know until we fight.”
“Then what makes you so confident to say such a thing?”
“Either way, I have to fight you eventually. This is a battle I cannot avoid.”
Hindir stood up.
Though he was easily three heads shorter than the Head of Parno, the Head’s presence made him feel no smaller.
“What will you do?”
Hindir asked.
But the Head of Parno felt a strange pressure from it.
The second proposal was clearly to his advantage.
Yet instinct urged him toward the first choice.
“…I accept.”
His pride was too high and too firm to follow instinct.
No matter who it was, he couldn’t allow himself to look like he was avoiding the challenge of a Barbarian.