Chapter 38 : Each One's Cliff (5)
Chapter 38: Each One's Cliff (5)
The cliff climbing competition had begun in earnest.
Everyone was full of energy, striving to be the first to seize the moment of glory.
For Hindir, life went on as usual.
While watching their competition, he also observed others’ training postures and practiced together with them.
And when the sun set, he would leave the village alone, running through various parts of Snow Dragon Valley to train.
In that way, everyone in Larka Village grew stronger by the day.
A few days later, at last, the first conqueror appeared.
“Wahaha! How about that? Can’t deny blood ties, huh!”
Standing atop the cliff, Seff burst into loud laughter toward Baltan, who was just short of reaching the summit.
“Damn it. Don’t talk about blood when she’s not even your kid. And didn’t Hindir give you some special treatment?”
Baltan gritted his teeth and climbed up just moments behind her.
“And for the record, I even had an injury.”
“If thinking that way gives you peace of mind, by all means.”
“Damn it all…”
Watching the two bicker in a manner unfitting for their age, Hindir quietly smiled.
He had already expected Seff to succeed first.
She instinctively knew how to use her body, and more than that, a fire burned inside her—a will different from the others.
It might be because of him that his niece had changed.
Maybe it was her way of pretending not to notice, trying to forget, or perhaps a desperate attempt to prove their blood connection…
Baltan, honestly, was quite unexpected.
Though Hindir had heard that Baltan had done a lot for the Charun, he never imagined the man would actively engage in training like this.
And then there was that suspicious gaze—neither friendly nor hostile—that he sometimes shot at Hindir.
It looked like a kind of competitive spirit burning within him, and that wasn’t a bad thing.
If one could harness rivalry with someone stronger as fuel for growth, what could be better?
Starting with those two, more and more began to succeed.
Among them were elders, and even children.
It took eight days for all the challengers to succeed.
Those unable to participate were deeply disappointed, but Hindir encouraged them too.
This was only the beginning. Ahead lay many experiences, and no doubt, many moments of defeat.
There was no need to rush.
Everyone who had survived up to this point had already succeeded.
They had climbed and overcome the towering cliff—that was enough.
Before anyone realized it, Hindir had settled into everyone’s hearts.
Not just the overwhelming strength he showed, but also his keen insight and the grounding sense of reassurance he gave.
The Hindir they once remembered was gone. Now, they all accepted the Hindir standing before them.
Originally, it was Seff who had led Larka Village, but now everyone followed Hindir, and no one found it strange.
Great Warrior.
That was the term used in Teran’s letter.
And so, it came to be, naturally.
Great Warrior Hindir
By standing silently before them—and sometimes behind them—Hindir had once again become the Great Warrior.
The night before leaving the village, a final feast was held.
As everyone ate, drank, and basked in anticipation of a new life, the one at the center of this change—Hindir—was absent.
Hindir had climbed again to the Frost Dragon’s Claw.
Taking out a bottle of liquor he’d brought, he sat leaning against the Cheongweol Tree and drank.
The weather in Snow Dragon Valley was unpredictable, but from this height, he felt certain that tomorrow would dawn without a single cloud in the sky.
“I said I’d come after passing on the Muscle-Heart Technique, but somehow I ended up coming before that.”
Perhaps it was because it was the final night.
As a drinking partner, Teran was still the most comfortable.
“You went on and on singing about Charun, but did you arrive safely in Kartan?”
Only those of Charun could enter Kartan.
But Teran used to snort and say there was no such thing.
He’d mockingly argue that since the gods had no roots, he too could go—his disrespect laced with a strange kind of respect.
“In any case, you must’ve been lonely too.”
Thinking about all the effort and worries Teran had poured into preparing everything alone, Hindir realized he was in a much more relaxed situation.
He only had to open his eyes and deal with what lay before him.
The difference between solving a problem yourself and leaving it to someone unknown was immense, and so his gratitude deepened.
“There’s not even a drinking buddy here.”
His descendants below, the Snowy King or Ubol and the like—they were there, but none could drink with him.
“I know you secretly used mana to burn off your drunkenness, too. Heh.”
Srrrk—
Just then, the Ice Imugi, Seol, appeared without a sound, coiling itself around the peak.
It felt like Teran had sent it, not wanting Hindir to wallow alone in melancholy.
“Want a sip?”
Shhh—
To Hindir’s question, Seol shook its head.
“Right. I always thought it’d feel weird for a snake to drink.”
Maybe it understood what Hindir was imagining, because Seol narrowed its already fierce eyes even further. Seeing that, Hindir burst into laughter.
Charun now stood once more at the starting line.
He found himself constantly glancing back at the past, but in the end, he had to move forward.
No matter how often he reminded himself of that, he’d still find himself turning his head now and then—but still, he had to do his best.
‘To do that, I need to become stronger.’
Though he still battled impatience, Hindir had continued growing stronger ever since arriving in Larka Village.
And if he used the Muscle-Heart Technique to fully melt the heart core formed with the Cheongweol Tree, he might even reach the level of his days as Orcus.
Strictly speaking, Hindir was currently growing stronger at an unbelievable pace.
He had grown more than anyone else in Larka Village.
Still, it wasn’t enough.
Faster, higher.
He had already glimpsed what lay above, so such longing was inevitable.
“Seol.”
After drinking quietly for a while, Hindir called out to Seol.
“Could you go down and watch over the kids for me? Just in case.”
Shhhk—
“I’ll be fine. I’m the sworn friend of that fool Teran. I was even better at drinking than him. So I’ll be okay.”
Shhhk—shhh—
The response felt like a laugh, as if Seol were recalling Teran’s drunken rants.
Srrrk—
Seol uncoiled and quietly descended.
Soon after, Hindir too rose and walked away from the village.
Thwump―
Leaping off the peak, he soared toward another summit.
Then, after stopping a fair distance away, he tilted his head back and drained the last of his liquor.
After waiting a moment, a young man and woman appeared.
Standing close together, they looked like lovers, but the cold aura emanating from the woman made it clear the mood was far from pleasant.
“It’s Hindir.”
Hindir introduced himself first.
“You’ve come to the right place.”
At the man’s words, the woman gave a slight nod.
Then she shot Hindir a scornful sneer.
“Why didn’t you just keep running?”
It seemed she believed Hindir had been trying to flee.
“Are you the mistress of Parno?”
Reading the aura spilling out from her, Hindir asked calmly.
She looked young, but the energy she carried did not suit that appearance at all.
“Yes. You have the nerve to speak so shamelessly after killing my husband.”
“What does it matter? You don’t seem particularly saddened by his death anyway.”
As he said that, he glanced at the man standing beside her.
The two of them did look well-suited together.
Besides, the current Parno lineage supposedly continued only through pure bloodlines.
If that was true, then the woman before him must be the Family Head’s sister.
But no love could bloom from a forced sibling marriage.
It wasn’t surprising that they each had someone else to pour their emotions into.
And this man was likely hers.
“Hoho, yes. You're right. Whether he died or not is none of my concern. But he wasn’t my son.”
“You mean the Lesser Branch Head? Then you’ve come to the wrong person. He wasn’t killed by me, but by Ubol.”
“Ubol?”
“Ah, the name used in the family was Allison, wasn’t it?”
“Allison? That child killed my son?”
She hadn’t known. Judging by her reaction, though, it seemed she wouldn’t have cared even if she had.
“Don’t worry. I’ll find that child too and make them pay, right after I’m done with you.”
“If you’re planning to settle things here and now, then you won’t get to meet Ubol. So how about seeing him first before anything else?”
“Haha, how amusing. You think just because you beat the Family Head, you're something now?”
Hindir’s words sounded like a joke.
And in that short exchange, Hindir felt something off.
“Turn back now. I’ll pretend this never happened.”
“Silence! How dare a barbarian give orders to her master!”
“You’ve lost your reason.”
He didn’t know much about her character.
But years of pain and suffering were evident in those empty eyes.
Within them, Hindir could see the many sacrifices she must’ve made simply for being born a woman of the Parno family.
While most noble families on the continent were male-centered, women were still afforded some degree of authority and freedom.
But Parno was bound by the shackles of consanguineous marriage, making the value of a pure-blood woman far greater than one might imagine.
Unlike Parno men, who could choose their partners freely, women were strictly controlled—allowed only to bear children of the family.
So her youth must have been entirely confined to the family.
Only women like her—retired Parno females—were perhaps allowed freedom.
But during that time, her mind and body had already been broken.
Even if she wasn’t killed here, she likely wouldn’t last many more years.
Perhaps it was presumptuous of him.
But that was how he saw it, and so for now, he felt inclined to show mercy.
“Treasure the time you have left.”
Hindir offered his advice.
“The Family Head and the Lesser Branch Head both stood proudly in life-or-death battle and died because they lost. So don’t further disgrace them. Go back and live the life you have left.”
He then spoke to the man beside her.
“You should take her back. She needs time to calm her mind. What do you think?”
At Hindir’s words, the man wore an awkward expression.
“Haha, well, it’s her decision to make…”
“Is that so.”
Though he made it sound like he was troubled by the situation, his attention had been elsewhere from the beginning.
Toward Larka Village.
That led Hindir to a certain hypothesis.
‘So accompanying this woman wasn’t his real reason for coming?’
Come to think of it, the Parno woman’s behavior was strange.
No matter how emotionally unstable she was, bringing an outsider to a place the family considered important was unthinkable.
Especially knowing something might happen here.
It couldn’t have been the family’s will.
‘Perhaps not even her own.’
As Hindir stared silently at the man, deep in thought, the Parno woman, thinking she was being ignored, gathered her energy.
“How dare you think of something else with me right in front of you?”
A snowstorm swirled into a vortex, starting to shatter the surrounding terrain.
‘She’s strong.’
Judging by the sheer cold of her Ice-Blood Qi, it was even more severe than the Family Head’s.
Unlike the Family Head, who wielded it as a swordsman, hers was more magical in nature—crude, emotional.
That made it less lethal.
And Hindir, who had become even stronger than when he fought the Family Head, could not be overpowered by her.
Craaaack―
The vortex twisted sideways and lunged toward Hindir like a dragon.
Hindir didn’t dodge. He charged straight into it, piercing through the center.
The freezing chill that wrapped around his body tried to push him away, but his outstretched fist split it cleanly in two.
And at the end of it, the stunned face of the Parno woman appeared.
Boooom―
The vortex lost its power and exploded, booming across Snow Dragon Valley like thunder.
And just as she closed her eyes in fear, she noticed it.
The man who had been at her side was gone.
Poof―
He had set off smoke as cover and run in the opposite direction.
Crack—!
Hindir’s fist burst through the air, grazing the Parno woman’s head.
“Aaagh!”
She clutched her ear and collapsed.
A tingling sensation ran through her ear, then blood dripped down, and a piercing ringing followed—Ziiing—
She realized she couldn’t win.
She understood it in just one exchange.
In that moment where she couldn’t even understand what gave her the courage to attack, she remembered what she had been relying on—and turned her head.
Rumble rumble―
The wind pressure from Hindir’s fist swept away all the dust, clearing the view.
And at the edge of it stood the man who had run away, sword drawn.
His hand was trembling slightly from the shock of the wind pressure, though he tried to hide it.