How To Live As A Third Son Of A Failure [EN]: Chapter 146

Kalandart and Illia were gone.

Left alone, I looked around.

Everything seemed gray, the surrounding black fog a stark and unsettling contrast. A feeling of disharmony settled over me.

‘Outside……’

Gripping the dagger Kalandart had given me, I stepped out of the house.

The scenery was the same as before, but now tinged with gray.

‘Is this a space created by Kalandart?’

I cautiously touched a tree. The texture and feel were normal. It was a space that was reality, yet not quite. Perhaps this was possible because the mountain was Kalandart’s domain.

Then his words echoed in my mind.

Survive. And cut him down.

It was clear who I had to survive against: Haschurnar, most likely.

Kalandart was a necromancer, and summoning the dead Haschurnar through necromancy was entirely possible.

‘Then, what he meant by cutting him down……’

Was he telling me to kill him? No. How could you kill someone already dead? He probably just meant to defeat him.

Thinking that way, I felt a sense of relief. It meant I could go all out.

‘Still, it feels empty.’

It had been a long time since I’d felt this kind of loneliness.

All this time, Ahphen had been constantly talking to me, never leaving me alone for a moment. So, even when I was alone, I often wasn’t truly alone.

‘I’m not a child. There’s no need to feel down just because I’m alone.’

If I had to fight anyway, there was no time to waver.

Let’s pick a battlefield first.

To do that, I needed to think about my opponent.

First of all, Haschurnar’s epithet was the Shadow Master.

He earned that title because of his elusiveness, like a ghost’s shadow.

For example, it was said that Haschurnar mainly disrupted the rear during the war between elves and druids hundreds of years ago, instilling fear in the elves.

So, rather than a head-on battle, he would thoroughly target weaknesses. It would be better to think of him as an assassin rather than a warrior.

If so, there was no need to fight in a densely wooded area.

I quickly made a decision and was about to move to find a relatively flat, open space when it happened.

“……”

The presence I had been feeling since earlier suddenly grew stronger.

Crack-!

The air in front of me began to break.

There was no other way to describe it. The air was cracking, like spiderweb cracks appearing on a transparent glass window.

“……”

Then, an arm reached out through the broken space. The arm, covered with shaggy black fur, was hard to see as human.

The body that followed was the same. Clearly, its form resembled humans in many ways.

But it was not human, especially when you saw that wolf head.

The rich black mane was full of dignity. The deep eyes under the sharp brow seemed to feel more emotion than humans.

Werewolf? Lycanthrope?

I didn’t know what to call it, but what was certain was that it was Haschurnar’s complete form, like Rahenna’s White Wolf and Kalandart’s Raven.

I quickly took a stance and examined my opponent.

It was a muscular body that stood out for its physique.

But that didn’t make him look clumsy. Rather, he seemed to overflow with coiled power.

He was about 3m tall, not as tall as I thought.

But judging an opponent solely on their size was foolish.

‘……That’s Haschurnar.’

The being from hundreds of years ago slowly straightened his back and looked down at me. His gaze was as if a human was looking at a bug, which I didn’t appreciate.

But still, I was grateful that he came out in the open like this. Honestly, I was worried that the opponent would attack me from ambush.

‘Okay. Let’s do it.’

If I had to fight, there was no need to waste time.

Swish!

I spun the dagger in my hand and gripped it in reverse, then ran towards Haschurnar.

Whoosh!

I lowered my stance and quickly charged in.

Normally, he would probably reach out with his arm or leg to block my approach. Then, that would be the beginning.

“……”

But Haschurnar didn’t respond at all. He just took a few steps back.

It meant my intentions were read. For a moment, several options came to mind, but I erased them all and chose to stop. Since my psychology had already been read, there was a high possibility that the next thing would be blocked as well.

But Haschurnar did not miss that gap.

As I slowed down, Haschurnar’s right knee lifted slightly.

Is he trying to use his foot? But the distance is so far?

However, instinct screamed that it was dangerous. I felt a chill and tried to push off the ground to avoid it unconsciously.

But at that moment, the world turned upside down with a creepy sound.

Crack-!

“Ugh!”

What? What just happened?

My twisted left leg came into view as I rolled on the ground after being thrown far away.

“Keuk!”

I reached out with difficulty and touched my leg. The way it was limp, it must have been that the bone was crushed.

Belatedly, pain rushed in like a flood, but something other than pain occupied my mind.

‘How?’

When did he approach like that? Does that make sense? Did he use blink magic [a short-range teleportation spell] or something?

I lost.

I was sure of it. There was no need to see. The fact that I couldn’t even feel the opponent’s movements was clear proof that I couldn’t beat him.

Crack-!

I heard the sound of space breaking again.

The moment I felt a threat that made my hair stand on end, I raised my head.

Haschurnar, who had already appeared in front of me, was reaching out his hand. Each of his claws, all as long and sharp as daggers, were aimed precisely at my chest.

Stab!

Without any time to resist, Haschurnar pierced through my chest. I felt his body temperature transmitted into my body: cold and chilly. At the same time, I felt my vision gradually blurring.

‘He wasn’t an assassin.’

Haschurnar was a warrior. A very strong warrior at that.

The last thing I saw in my blurred eyes was Haschurnar’s throbbing heart in his grasp.

* * *

“Keuh-!”

When I opened my eyes, the ceiling of the log cabin came into view. Glancing to the side, I saw bright sunlight coming in through the window.

More than anything else, I instinctively raised my hand and groped my chest. Fortunately, unlike my worries, there was no hole.

Then, I looked at my left leg. The pretzel-like twist was gone; it was a normal leg as usual.

‘What is it?’

A dream?

That can’t be. The memories are still vivid. It was definitely not a dream.

I shook off my stupor and stood up—or tried to. But my legs wouldn’t listen. For a moment, I lost strength and rolled off the bed.

“……”

Just as my mind was reeling, the door opened and someone came in.

It was Illia.

Illia, in simple clothes, was sweating as if she had been training.

“Young master! Are you okay?”

Illia, who came to me with a startled face, picked me up and sat me on the bed.

“Why am I here? Illia, did you bring me here?”

“Yes?”

“Hmm?”

“Bring you?”

I tilted my head at Illia’s words. She widened her eyes as if asking what I was talking about.

“Didn’t you bring me from outside?”

“No, I didn’t.”

“Then?”

“When Kalandart emitted his energy, you collapsed on the table as if you had fainted. So, I moved you to the bed.”

“Collapsed?”

That can’t be. I vividly remember going out the door and touching the trees.

It seemed that the answer to this situation was elsewhere.

“Kalandart is…”

“He’s in his room.”

“That thing.”

I reached out and pointed to Ahphen on the table, and Illia brought it to me.

[Where have you been?]

‘Shut up.’

[Aaaah! Be more noisy!]

Ignoring the words I heard in my head as soon as I grabbed it, I used Ahphen as a cane and got up.

“Shall I help you?”

I shook my head and slowly moved my steps towards the door.

Illia, who was restless at my appearance, hurriedly walked ahead and opened the door.

Kalandart was visible through the open door.

Candles and paints emitting light were visible around him. It seemed like he was painting.

It was obvious what he was drawing: Rahenna, probably.

Glancing to the side, Illia, who belatedly realized the identity of the room, made a bizarre expression.

“Kalandart.”

Kalandart startled and covered the easel with his whole body, as if surprised by the sudden visit.

“Y, you should at le, least knock before co, coming in!”

“Ah, sorry.”

“Y, you don’t look so, sorry.”

“No. I’m sorry. I sincerely apologize.”

I lightly brushed off the words and gestured to Illia, and she went out and closed the door.

I leaned against the wall with difficulty and looked at Kalandart.

“What did I go through?”

At my question, he carefully put down his brush.

“I, I told you. It’s a test.”

Yes. He said it was a test.

Survive. And cut him down.

Recalling Kalandart’s words, my mouth tasted bitter.

I failed to survive. Since I couldn’t live, it was naturally impossible to cut him down.

So, I didn’t pass the test.

“Yeah. I get that, but where did I go?”

“Wo, world of the dead.”

“World of the dead?”

“Uh-huh.”

World of the dead (死者)…….

Is it a concept similar to purgatory? Where dead souls go?

“I died there.”

“I, it’s okay. The body there is fa, fake.”

“Fake?”

“Uh-huh. It’s just mo, moving the soul temporarily. You ca, can’t summon the already dead Haschurnar to the present world. So, I se, sent you.”

“But what about the abnormality in my body now?”

“It’s a se, sequelae [aftereffect] of the damage to your soul. It’ll be o, okay over time.”

Transcending a space that is not reality is a similar ability to Rahenna.

But there is a clear difference. Rahenna’s illusion was only deceiving the eyes, and there was no actual physical effect.

But the world of the dead that this guy was talking about was real. If the soul is damaged there, it affects the present world.

“Anyway, I understand. In the end, I failed the test.”

“Ha, Haschurnar is strong. Of course, it’s not easy. So, try to wo, work hard.”

Work hard?

Does that mean……

“There’s another chance next time?”

“If yo, you want to challenge, you can do it as much as you want. I do, don’t know how long your soul will last, though.”

“You don’t know how long it will last? Does that mean something could go wrong if I keep challenging?”

“If you ke, keep stepping into that place…… someday your soul may be completely a, assimilated.”

“……What happens if it’s assimilated?”

“Wo, won’t you lose your way fo, forever?”

Kalandart smiled.

Normally, I would have thought it was a foolish smile, but it was different now. It felt like he meant that you would eventually be trapped there forever.

Losing my way…….

It’s not welcome news that I might be trapped in that world forever.

‘This quest is so damn hard.’

I gritted my teeth as I thought of Rahenna’s face.

But I can’t give up. I have to try it first. I’ve only challenged it once. There are still many opportunities left.

“What do I have to do to challenge again?”

“We, well, even though it’s my domain, it ta, takes a lot of energy. About once a week. I’ll se, send you at night.”

“Okay.”

Once a week. That’s enough time to recover and prepare.

I nodded and turned around.

Haschurnar.

I had to find a way to defeat him before my soul lost its way.