Disciple of The Three Kings [EN]: Chapter 494

“Welcome back, Shinma.”

Hase-min was standing there.

For Rowoon, seeing him again wasn’t after a long time.

However.

“Hase-min.”

For Hase-min, five years would have passed.

Five years.

It wasn’t a long time for martial artists who secluded themselves for years.

The aging of martial artists who reached a certain level slowed down, and those who were masters above the Hwagyung realm [a high level of martial arts mastery] naturally lived for over a hundred years.

For humans who lived for over a hundred years even without any training due to advanced modern medicine, five years was neither a long nor a short time.

However.

“You’ve changed.”

Hase-min was different.

His face looked like he hadn’t slept due to excessive fatigue, but his eyes were sharp, unlike his own languid ones.

Aging?

It wasn’t that.

From Hase-min…

-War.

He exuded the aura of a general who had suffered through years of constant war.

“Indeed.”

Even so, Hase-min had a welcoming face.

So, as he had said.

“What the hell happened in five years?”

It was time to ask him for an explanation.

“A lot….”

Hase-min spoke slowly, his voice choked, as if he was at a loss for words.

“A lot has happened.”

Hase-min barely opened his mouth.

“What happened?”

He asked.

“Where have you been?”

Hase-min’s emotions were felt in his quickly fired questions.

But there, something foreign was also felt.

‘Anger, and….’

What was faintly felt was suspicion.

It was that moment.

Crack!

A thunderclap appeared before their eyes, and blue currents of electricity began to spread in all directions.

“What are you doing…!”

Shim Il-soo was surprised and quickly stepped back, and Partisan stood with his arms crossed.

“My King.”

Forzia was exuding killing intent as if he would strike Hase-min’s neck at any moment.

However.

Twitch.

The energy that Hase-min was emitting was so powerful that it suppressed Forzia’s momentum.

“There’s no need for a long explanation, right?”

As Hase-min clenched his fist, the thunderclap that had risen swirled and disappeared into his hand.

It wasn’t that Hase-min had withdrawn his energy.

Thud!

Everyone present realized that he had condensed it inside his fist.

And.

“If you are really the one I’ve been waiting for….”

What would happen the moment that fist moved.

“Show me. Who you are.”

Whoosh!

Time slowed down.

When he last saw Hase-min, Hase-min had not fully entered the realm of time, the realm of transcendence.

But now, after five years, five years had passed.

Whoosh-!

Hase-min was freely accelerating time and moving.

“Ugh…. Uh….”

The flow of Shim Il-soo and the elves slowed down.

Hase-min’s outstretched fist was detonating the thunderclap it held.

Fizzle-!

It was enveloping Hase-min’s arm and becoming even more violent.

It didn’t even take a blink of an eye for it to reach Rowoon’s face.

Time was flowing even more slowly, and even the flow of air was clearly felt.

Tap!

It was the moment when the thunderclap that had risen from Hase-min was about to touch Rowoon’s skin.

The slowed time.

Swish!

Returned to its original state in an instant.

And the scene that was revealed was.

Squeeze!

The scene where Hase-min’s outstretched fist was grasped by Rowoon’s hand.

“……!”

Hase-min’s pupils widened as if surprised.

But.

“If you’re the one I know, you wouldn’t end it with just this.”

Rowoon’s following words became the signal, and Hase-min began to move again.

* * *

Clearly, the skills of the Ainhardt Knights, whom he had faced immediately after returning, were different from what he had expected.

The amount of magic they possessed was incomparable to the past, and the power of the techniques they used with magic was also beyond what he could recall.

It meant that their skills were insignificant compared to the knight orders representing Ainhardt, such as the Seven Great Knights.

And it was the same for the elves and martial artists.

It was as if one day, everyone had suddenly shrunk, and the power they possessed had become insignificant.

However.

‘Rather, their level has increased.’

Instead of a drastic decrease in the amount of magic, their coordination and swordsmanship were top-notch.

The meteorites that fell under the name of joint magic were insignificant in size, but the power they possessed was something to be acknowledged.

Therefore.

‘Something went wrong.’

A problem that occurred in five years.

And it was clear that it contributed to the overall decrease in the amount of magic.

No, rather than that….

‘Is it a reset?’

It was as if everyone’s skills had returned to the starting point and had to be built up again.

However.

Fizzle!

Hase-min was different.

Compared to when he last saw him.

Boom!

It was no exaggeration to say that he had improved by one, no, two or three levels.

He had completely stepped into the realm of transcendence, which he had only barely touched, and it could be said that he had reached a mature level in using such transcendent power.

Above all.

Tap!

As their fists crossed, Hase-min’s fist grazed Rowoon’s cheek, leaving a black mark.

When Rowoon turned to target Hase-min, who had done that.

Fizzle!

All that remained was the trace of the thunderclap he had left behind.

Hase-min’s attack, which was rushing in again, was felt from behind Rowoon again.

Thud!

Its power was even stronger than before.

Five years, transcendence, and above all.

‘Authority.’

He had entered the realm of mature transcendence and gained the authority that only he could possess.

The authority that Hase-min had gained was.

“It’s related to acceleration.”

As if using his thunderclap as a reason, it seemed to be an ability related to acceleration.

And there were several reasons to prove that fact.

Time.

Rowoon felt that Hase-min had reached the realm of mature transcendence, but it didn’t seem like he had reached a level that could be called complete yet.

The time he could accelerate was only a few seconds to a few tens of seconds.

With that alone, he could be said to have entered the absolute realm.

Whoosh.

It was close to impossible to attack by chasing Rowoon’s time like this.

So, the conclusion that could be drawn was the time he had gained to accelerate after entering the realm of transcendence and….

‘His authority.’

That his authority had combined to create a synergy.

With that.

Swish!

Hase-min had been chasing Rowoon’s time.

Hase-min, who was moving slowly, leaving behind thunderclaps.

His fist was creating a huge lightning bolt that had never existed before.

Five years.

The thunderclap that was bursting out at one point as if that time had been condensed.

With that, Rowoon could know many things.

“In the meantime.”

Five years.

“It must have been tough.”

That Hase-min had been fighting on the battlefield.

In the following moment, Hase-min’s thunderclap exploded, spewing out countless branches of electricity.

But the result was too simple.

Thud!

The sound of being helplessly grabbed and falling.

Hase-min’s fist was once again held in Rowoon’s hand.

But the current one was different from the previous one.

“…….”

Hase-min stepped back.

“I’ve waited too long, Shinma.”

He didn’t sob.

But there was a slight tremor in his voice.

Hase-min, who was collapsing.

“My master.”

Rowoon supported the collapsing Hase-min with one arm.

* * *

A day felt like a week.

A week felt like a month.

A month felt like a year, and a year felt like decades.

The changes were….

Whoosh!

It could be said that they were that fast.

The place where the corrupted World Trees were purified and new World Trees were established.

-Ahem.

The hometown where Nidhogg was born.

“Igdrasil.”

The appearance of that place had changed as if a tremendous amount of time had passed.

The towering Igdrasil seemed even more massive than before, but parts of it looked old and rotten, and the city below….

“Yes. This is Igdrasil, which can be called the main base of the Shinma Alliance.”

The huge buildings were like Earth.

The outer walls, stacked like a fortress, were like silver.

Whoosh!

The geometrically drawn magic circles that were emitting light were a special place that was reminiscent of Ainhardt.

“Welcome back, Shinma.”

Hase-min, who had regained consciousness, spoke to Rowoon.

It didn’t take long for him to lose consciousness and wake up.

At most, an hour.

But that one hour had brought about a change as great as the change in Igdrasil.

“Now you look like the Hase-min I know.”

While sparring with Hase-min, he could tell the time he had spent.

After Rowoon disappeared, Hase-min was the one who put in the most effort to fill that void.

Five years.

The time he slept was less than one or two hours a week.

Even though he was a superhuman who had reached a certain level, problems would arise if such time passed for more than a month or a year.

Even so, he couldn’t rest.

There was also the reason that he had to protect the Shinma Alliance in the rapidly changing situation, but….

‘I’ve been looking for you for a long time.’

Not for a single moment did Hase-min give up on Rowoon and continued to search for him.

Hase-min had been living a life where ten, no, a hundred bodies would not have been enough.

In the process, many people impersonated Rowoon.

‘Ainhardt.’

He said that those who could be called enemies had impersonated Rowoon several times.

If they could imitate Rowoon’s position, his things, the war would end.

Even those who seemed plausible eventually had to reveal the truth in front of Hase-min.

Suspicion, betrayal, and a life of war.

To Hase-min.

“Thank you.”

“For what?”

Rowoon was salvation.

“For coming back.”

Just the fact that Rowoon had returned made him sleep, and his sharp eyes were returning to their original state.

It would still take time, but….

“Everyone was waiting.”

It wouldn’t take long.

Hase-min had no doubt that everyone would return to their original places.

“Welcome, Shinma.”

Hase-min went ahead.

The barrier that seemed to be protecting Igdrasil flickered before his eyes and became blurry.

And immediately.

Thud!

A huge gate began to open with a resounding roar.

“To your land, Igdrasil.”