How To Live As A Third Son Of A Failure [EN]: Chapter 152

Living as the Third Son of a Failed Novel – Chapter 153

* * *

Lordain.

A meritorious figure among the Druids, and one of the strongest swordsmen on the continent.

And he wants me to cut him down?

Hashunar smiled bitterly at my dumbfounded expression.

“It’s a long-cherished wish that I, as a warrior, cannot forget even in death. Of course, I know. Since I couldn’t achieve it in life, it’s now just a trivial self-satisfaction that has no meaning.”

“…….”

“But I still want it.”

Was it just my imagination, or did Hashunar’s eyes seem to blaze for a moment?

“It doesn’t have to be a life-or-death struggle burdened with a grand destiny. It doesn’t matter if it’s an insignificant fight with no one watching. Just cut him down with my power. That’s all I need.”

Ding! A quest has been added!

The client is Hashunar.

The goal is to defeat Lordain using the Sentence [a unique Druidic ability].

The difficulty level? Ta-da! It’s hell! Wow! How exciting!

‘Damn it.’

I imagined it for a moment. Me saying to Lordain, ‘This is Hashunar’s wish. Could you just lose once for me?’

……I guarantee it. He would probably laugh and fight me with all his might. I don’t even need to see it. Lordain’s personality is unyielding.

So here’s the question: can I defeat Lordain, who is giving it his all?

‘Wait, can’t I just say I’ll do it and then not do it?’

As if reading my thoughts, Hashunar smirked.

“My will becomes the fate of the successor. It’s a destiny you can’t avoid, even if you try.”

Right. It can’t be that easy.

Ah, this is annoying. Damn it. Hell. Crap.

I didn’t know there was such a flaw. Well, something felt strange from the moment Rahenna readily agreed to the deal.

From the start, it was arrogant to think that humans could easily steal the Druid’s abilities.

‘Didn’t you know that all power comes with a price?’

Suddenly, I imagined Rahenna looking at me with pity and lecturing me.

I shook my head slightly to erase that image and took a breath.

‘It might be a good thing, actually.’

Because I don’t know how the war will turn out.

Even though I’m on lukewarm terms with the elves now, our relationship isn’t bad, but I don’t know what will happen in the future.

The fact remains that they have been oppressed by humans and confined to the Great Forest for hundreds of years.

No one knows what the elves are thinking inside. They might take advantage of the war and try to reclaim the continent.

If that happens, Lordain will probably be at the forefront. Even though there are complicated circumstances, the culprit who killed his wife is still a human.

‘Regardless of whether I can win or not.’

In any case, Lordain is definitely the sharpest sword the elves have.

If we ever become hostile, he will be the first one to eliminate.

‘Let’s think of it as breaking that sword in advance.’

Then the conclusion is set. There’s no need to think about it anymore. I’m not going to give up now.

“Alright.”

I nodded.

Hashunar tilted his head slightly at that.

“You’re accepting it?”

“Yes. I will inherit your will.”

“Lordain is a powerful warrior.”

“If I was going to be afraid of that, I wouldn’t have started in the first place.”

“Good spirit.”

Hashunar smiled.

“Good. I will pass my Sentence on to you.”

“…….”

“I can finally be at peace.”

The inheritance of the Sentence means annihilation.

Even knowing that, Hashunar looked relieved.

“Then is this our last conversation?”

“Probably. The rest of the procedure will be carried out by a necromancer who follows the clan’s rules.”

“Kalandart? He doesn’t seem very trustworthy to me.”

“Hahaha!”

Hashunar burst into laughter at my words and nodded.

“That’s true. He’s a unique child for the mission he bears. But he has the ability to take on the role of connecting the predecessors and successors. You can trust him.”

“Well, I understand.”

The atmosphere was slowly wrapping up. For some reason, I felt a strange mix of emotions in my heart.

After all, he was someone I had shared subtle feelings with while exchanging moves. The thought of him disappearing doesn’t sit well with me.

But Hashunar was different from me. He nodded with a carefree expression, as if he had no regrets left.

“Then I’ll leave it to you.”

“……Rest in peace.”

Hashunar, who nodded at my last greeting, stood up. Then, he bowed to me.

“Thank you, my successor.”

With those brief words, the energy lingering in Hashunar’s eyes slowly faded away.

* * *

After that, I began to inherit the Sentence from Kalandart, who had returned.

The process was quite classic. I didn’t expect that it would be directly tattooed onto my body. I doubted whether the ability would be transferred through such a simple task.

I imagined performing some kind of ritual, with me in the center, receiving the power while shouting, ‘Ughhhhh!’

“Ughhhhh!”

And that classic process was, of course, accompanied by pain. Logically, there’s no way it wouldn’t hurt to have your flesh torn and pierced with needles.

“J, just bear with it.”

“How can I bear it when you’re digging into me like that?”

“W, why don’t you try focusing your mind on s, something else.”

“Like what else?”

“L, like Rahenna’s story…….”

This guy is seriously obsessed. Is his head filled with nothing but Rahenna?

“What’s so great about that old h—, I mean, Rahenna?”

I was about to say ‘old hag’ but quickly changed my words when I felt the needle dig in deeply.

“J, just…….”

“Just?”

“S, she’s cool.”

“…….”

Cool?

I quietly recalled Rahenna’s appearance.

Hmm, her appearance of focusing on reading while wearing a pure white lace dress and large glasses.

Well, depending on your taste, you might find her cool.

“If you like her that much, why don’t you confess?”

“Huh!?”

“Ughhhhh!”

“Ah, s, sorry!”

“……Be careful. I don’t care what you’re imagining, but it’s my body that’s hurting, okay?”

“Okay.”

I closed my mouth, fearing that I would only get more holes in my body if I made him talk more.

Then, in the midst of the silence, Kalandart carefully opened his mouth.

“Ah, she probably doesn’t like me.”

“Who? Rahenna?”

“Yeah.”

“Really? Did she tell you directly?”

“Not really, but…….”

“Then how do you know?”

“As y, you know, I’m a bit…….”

He’s so timid that he seems gloomy. I think I know without hearing more.

“Why are you such a coward? Just go for it. If it doesn’t work, try again two or three times. They say there’s no tree that won’t fall after ten chops [a Korean proverb meaning persistence can overcome any obstacle].”

“H, how can I do that.”
Hmm, I think I know what he means.

Is this like the ‘If I confess, we won’t even be able to stay friends……’ thing you see in dramas?

What a pathetic fool. If he wasn’t stabbing my back, I would have gotten up and knocked him on the head.

“Someone else will take her first.”

“H, huh?”

“If you hesitate, good things will be taken away by others. If she looks cool to you, she’ll definitely look cool to other people too.”

“R, really.”

“Don’t you even know that?”

“T, then what should I do?”

What should you do, my ass!

I was about to lose my temper without realizing it, but I barely suppressed it.

Damn it, I’m stuck in another world and giving love advice to someone else. I went to an all-boys middle school, an all-boys high school, and the Korea Military Academy.

Well, fine. If you want to listen to the advice of a romance expert, I can do that. Of course, I won’t be responsible for the results!

“Make the most of your talents.”

“T, talents?”

“I see you’re good at drawing? Write a letter and give her your best portrait. I’ll deliver it myself and do some talking for you.”

“D, do some talking?”

“I’ll praise you. Just understand when I give you a hint.”

“R, really?”

“Would I be lying?”

“B, but will it work?”

“Of course. What do you think I used to succeed in making a deal with Rahenna?”

I raised my hand, brought it to my mouth, and shook it, and Kalandart’s expression brightened.

“Because you’re good at talking?”

“Yeah, you idiot. I can turn someone like you into a romantic of the era.”

“W, wow…….”

Kalandart nodded in admiration.

“T, then I’ll ask you to do it.”

“Good. But you know the world is give and take, right?”

“……What are you going to ask for again?”

“Well, it’s not that big of a deal. I just want to borrow your house for a while.”

“B, borrow my house?”

“Yeah. More precisely, this mountain you’re staying on.”

Originally, I was planning to use it even if Kalandart didn’t allow it, but I couldn’t just play Cupid for free, so I had to package it as a deal somehow.

Anyway, using the mountain where Kalandart lives is something I’ve been thinking about since we first met.

The Trot Baron’s territory.

And this place, which occupies a part of the territory and is called a haunted mountain by the residents.

Combining that will complete a great storytelling to defeat Redran.

“W, what are you going to do?”

I smiled at Kalandart, who looked uneasy.

“Don’t worry. Nothing will harm you.”

* * *

No matter how long the work is, it will eventually come to an end.

Eventually, the work was finished at dawn when the sun was faintly rising, and I slowly got up.

I didn’t feel tired even though I had stayed up all night. Perhaps it was because my heart was full of anticipation, I felt full of energy.

Since there was no mirror in the house, I went outside and headed straight to a nearby pond with Kalandart.

After that, I took off my upper body and slowly stepped into the pond.

I could feel my mind becoming clearer in the cold water. Before I knew it, I was waist-deep in the water, and I quietly waited for the turbulent waves to subside.

“…….”

The revealed appearance.

A black tail started from my back. Then, passing through my torso, a ferocious maw was firmly entrenched on my left pectoralis major [chest muscle].

A black wolf covering half of my upper body.

It was Hashunar’s wolf form.

“That’s H, Hashunar’s appearance when he was alive. He was also c, called the Black Wolf.”

Black Wolf.

I nodded slightly, recalling his appearance.

I can’t use magic.

That’s why Hashunar formalized the magic and engraved it on my body to solve the problem. Just like that Sentence of Redran Basarac.

“C, congratulations.”

“Congratulations?”

“Y, you’re now a proud successor. A, although it’s incomplete…….”

“What do you mean by incomplete?”

“Y, you can’t directly pass it on to s, someone else.”

“Well, whatever.”

I don’t care whether the lineage of this Sentence is cut off or not. The only thing that matters is that I have seized this power.

“Are there any other precautions besides that?”

“T, the Sentence will probably gn, gnaw at your mind.”

“What?”

“Our Druids also call it Gi(氣) [Qi or Ki, life force or energy flow], but that concept will be unf, unfamiliar to you.”

“Then can’t I use it indefinitely?”

“W, well.”

“Well? Are there no side effects?”

“D, don’t worry too much. There’s a safety device.”

“Safety device?”

“As l, long as you don’t overuse it to the point where your brain melts…… it’ll be alright somehow.”

My brain melts?

This guy sometimes says scary things with such an innocent face.

Anyway, since there’s a safety device, I have to learn the allowable range with my own body.

If I had known this would happen, I should have asked when Hashunar was still here. Ah, but it wouldn’t have mattered since each individual’s energy is different?

“Well, I’ll know when I try it myself. So how do I use the ability?”

“Y, you use the Sentence.”

“Yeah, how do I use that Sentence?”

“W, well, you have to create it…….”

Create it?

Just as I was about to get annoyed at Kalandart’s Zen-like words, something came to my mind.

Ah, could it be that? Well, it doesn’t hurt to try.

I smiled and slowly raised my hand.

Then I slowly recited.

‘I am the Shadow.’

「 I am the Shadow 」

Whoosh!

The change came quickly. A black aura, like Hashunar’s, was emitted and enveloped my body. Then, as if I had experienced a blackout, everything in front of me went dark.

But that was only for a moment. The sight that came into view again was a familiar sight that I had experienced so terribly.

A world dyed entirely in gray.

It was the moment when success became certain.

‘I knew it.’

The answer was simple. Magic was also in the same context as summoning an Avatar or using magic.

The materialization of words.

However, just as the Avatar requires past transmissions and magic requires mana, the medium for this ability was just the Sentence engraved on my body.

Glancing down, I saw that the Sentence engraved on my body was holding a black light. And that light was fading quickly as time went by.

The meaning of that is clear. It’s probably a concept like duration.

After that, I kicked off the ground, came out of the pond, and did a somersault. Then, I landed lightly behind where Kalandart was standing.

Even after that, the world was still quiet.

Every cell in my body felt calm at the thought that it was entirely my own space.

Feeling better, I then loosened my body by jumping in place or doing light push-ups.

‘I tearfully like it [I’m incredibly happy].’

As I was feeling the best sense of liberation, the light of the Sentence was gone.

“Oh, oh…….”

After that, I returned to the real world.

Kalandart was constantly turning his head, trying to find me, who had disappeared in front of him.

I glanced at the pond.

Rough waves were rising as if someone had been standing there a moment ago. If others had seen it, they would have felt like I had used Blink there.

‘But it’s different from that.’

Since it doesn’t leave a flow of mana, it’s impossible to track. Unless it’s a monster like Lordain, no one will be able to chase me.

In addition, the dimension I briefly hid in seemed to have a different time flow from the present world.

Of course, that time was only a dozen seconds, but it’s definitely a merit that I have time that only I can have.

Swoosh…….

The black energy slowly permeated and disappeared into my clenched fist.

‘Yeah, this is what a real protagonist should be like.’

Are you watching, you bastard writer?

If you thought I would just roll around like a dog as you wanted, you’re wrong. Because I finally got a cheat skill like you’re seeing now!

Gurgle.

Hmm, why a nosebleed at this touching moment? And why is the sky undulating? Ah, is it not the sky but my vision that’s blurring?

“A, are you okay?”

Kalandart, who felt my presence and turned around, hurriedly supported my body, which was about to collapse.

I didn’t know why my body was like this.

If I had to find a reason…….

I was sleepy. Yeah. It’s ridiculous even as I say it, but I’m so sleepy right now. So sleepy that I can’t believe I was so energetic until just now!

……Just using it once does this?

Suddenly, I remembered something I read in a medical journal.

It was written there that if the brain receives mental damage that it cannot handle, it falls asleep as if turning off a switch.

Was that the safety device Kalandart was talking about?

This is absurd.

Summoning an Avatar turns a normal person into a half-corpse, and the Sentence turns them into a narcoleptic patient? What kind of comprehensive gift set is this?

“Damn it…….”

With that quiet word, my eyelids slowly closed.