How To Live As A Third Son Of A Failure [EN]: Chapter 147

Living as the Third Son of a Failed Novel – Chapter 148

Chapter 40. Hashunar

Since then, I challenged Hashunar several more times, and each time the result was the same.

Thwack!

Looking at Hashunar’s hand piercing through my chest again, I thought.

Is it possible for a person to become accustomed to death?

The answer is ‘no.’

Even though I know this isn’t reality and I’ll come back to life soon, I can’t get used to it.

Every time, I’m afraid, and every time, it’s painful.

Logically, it’s strange to get used to having your heart torn out while you’re still alive.

‘But seriously, why is this bastard so strong?’

Slowly raising my head, I saw Hashunar’s face. It was the same expressionless face as before. He didn’t seem to enjoy this, nor did he seem to dislike it. That’s what pisses me off even more.

I’d rather he looked annoyed.

It’s like slamming into an emotionless boulder; I don’t know what the difference is.

But I have to keep going.

Finishing my thoughts, I swallowed the bitter blood that rose up my throat and raised my hand. Then, I slowly extended my index finger and pointed at Hashunar’s face.

“You, just you wait.”

I will definitely distort that indifferent face.

I couldn’t utter the last words and met my fourth death.

* * *

“Young Master?”

It was Illia who greeted me when I woke up.

Her face was filled with some kind of expectation. But, like the previous four challenges, I shook my head.

“Failed.”

“…I see.”

A look of disappointment flashed across Illia’s face. That’s because both Illia and I thought that this challenge would definitely succeed.

“If you refine it a little more, you will succeed next time.”

“No.”

“Yes?”

“I’ll probably fail again next time.”

Humans are animals that learn from failure.

And I felt it clearly from the previous four failures. No matter how much I prepare, I can’t beat him with ordinary methods.

“It’s too early to conclude that…”

“No, I’m sure.”

I mobilized all the methods I knew.

From fighting as close as possible to running away with my back turned.

But none of them worked.

If you get close, he becomes a powerful warrior.

If you keep your distance, he becomes a nimble assassin, and if you run away with determination, he turns into a cunning hunter.

No matter what I do, I’m in his palm.

“I was wrong from the start.”

“What do you mean by wrong…”

“It’s not a problem that can be solved by me changing. Because there are things in the world that cannot be solved with effort.”

No matter how I approach it, he deals with everything. And the reason why that’s possible is because of his unfairly fraudulent ability.

“If I want to defeat him, I have to do something about that ability first.”

“You mean his ability.”

“Yes. That ability that pops out of nowhere without end. If I don’t fundamentally deal with that, I’ll lose every time I fight.”

“But that ability is…”

“At least it’s not within the scope that you or I know. It’s not magic like Blink [a short-range teleportation spell].”

“Then doesn’t that mean that a pointed response is impossible?”

“That’s right for now.”

“Yes?”

“I was going to try to solve it by bumping into it directly, but I guess I can’t help it since things have turned out this way.”

“…Do you have another way?”

“It’s close to gambling, but there was still a way to try.”

It’s close to gambling, but there was still a way to try. Of course, that method has several conditions and luck attached. Still, it’s better than not trying at all.

Nodding, I picked up the crutch that was placed on the bedside, which now felt like a limb.

“I’ll tell you later when I have a chance. First of all, what about Kalandart?”

Illia tilted her head slightly at my words, which glossed over the situation, but didn’t dig any further.

“He’s in the room.”

“I need to see him first.”

“Then, since I’ve confirmed that you’ve woken up, I’ll go hunting.”

At Illia’s words, I belatedly felt a surge of hunger.

“Thank you for your hard work.”

“It’s nothing. Please rest comfortably.”

After confirming that Illia was heading out with her cloak, I got up and headed to the inner room.

I knocked lightly, and a commotion was heard from inside the room.

The cause is obvious. He’s probably hurriedly hiding his hobbies.

“C, come in.”

At the same time as Kalandart’s permission fell, I threw the door open wide.

“Y, you failed again.”

Kalandart, who had paint smeared all over his hands, looked at me and smiled.

I know that he was originally like that from what I’ve seen so far, but no matter how I look at it, it looks like he’s laughing at me.

“Yeah. I failed.”

“That’s too bad.”

“Are you really sorry?”

“O, of course.”

“…If you say so. Well, anyway.”

Slowly walking up to him, I nodded.

“Can you help me with something?”

“H, help you?”

“Why else would I ask you for help?”

“H, Hashunar, right?”

“You know it well.”

“B, but I can’t do that.”

“Why?”

“That’s… it’s cowardly.”

Cowardly.

Well, I can’t say I don’t understand. Hashunar is probably like a hero to the Druids, so it would be difficult for him to help me fight him.

But I can’t be disappointed. It wasn’t like he refused by bringing up the rules of the race.

It’s not the rules. That means that if I can turn his heart around, I can get help.

But I can’t use force to force him to open his mouth. If he harbors resentment, it’s me who will be in trouble.

Then all that’s left is persuasion.

Fortunately, I have a clue.

“Yeah. I understand your feelings.”

As I nodded with a look of regret, he scratched the back of his head.

“T, thank you for understanding.”

“Is there anything to be thankful for? By the way, how far did I tell you last time?”

“Huh? S, story?”

Kalandart’s face lit up. No, it’s a look close to longing, beyond a bright expression.

The reason why he shows such a look is obvious. It’s probably because the story I’m telling is related to Rahenna.

Since staying here, Kalandart has often stuck to my side like a puppy and asked about Rahenna.

Then I would tell him a short story, and every time he would show a fanatical reaction beyond simple pleasure, like now.

“Anyway, I have to rest all day today because of the aftereffects. I have nothing to do, so I was thinking of unpacking my story bag.”

“R, really?”

As expected, Kalandart, who got up from his seat with a delighted expression, hurriedly supported me and headed to the living room.

“Then let’s talk c, comfortably in the living room!”

“Sure.”

“A, and just in case you forgot, I’ll t, tell you that last time it was up to the Great Forest…”

“Yeah, I remember. I talked about the Great Forest.”

“T, that’s right.”

“Was it the scene where Rahenna faced the Elf Elder Glorian one-on-one?”

“Y, yes! That’s right!”

Kalandart nodded quickly.

Geez, his body is all fired up.

As I came out to the living room and sat on the chair next to the table, Kalandart quickly sat opposite me and took a reverent posture. It’s like a rabbit perking up its ears.

But unfortunately, I have no intention of opening my mouth obediently like this.

‘You son of a bitch. Do you think the world is that easy?’

Clearing my throat, I looked at Kalandart, who was shining his eyes.

“I’ll tell you the story.”

“Good!”

“But it’s not free.”

“Huh?”

“You don’t know, but there is a profession called a bard in the human world [a traveling storyteller, musician, and poet].”

“I, I’ve heard of it.”

“Really? Then you know that they get paid by playing instruments or telling interesting stories?”

“……”

Disappointment settled on Kalandart’s face.

“B, but I don’t have any money.”

To have such a powerful ability and not have a penny. Is this guy stupid or pure?

“It’s okay. I can get it with something else.”

Whether he belatedly grasped my intentions, Kalandart made a troubled face.

“A, as I said before, I can’t tell you about Hashunar’s weaknesses.”

I don’t even want that far, you son of a bitch.

“Who told you to tell me that?”

“…Then?”

“Just as you are curious about my story, I am also curious about your story.”

“Our story?”

“Yeah. A story that I, a human, can’t know.”

“W, what kind of story are you talking about?”

“What kind of story would it be? It’s about the opponent I’m fighting now.”

“Hashunar’s?”

“Yeah. I don’t know anything about Hashunar right now, do I? I should at least know what kind of hero I’m facing, right?”

Of course, it’s a lie. I’m not sentimental enough to find such noble meaning.

All I need is one thing, a way to break through Hashunar’s ability.

And currently, there are only two ways to find that out. Either hear it directly from someone who knows it, or use the power of the Nightmare to dig up past memories.

Of course, the former method is excluded because Kalandart is keeping his mouth shut. Then all that’s left is the latter method, but as you know, there are clear conditions attached to that method.

‘First, you must know the exact point in the past you want. Second, there must be a medium that is clearly related to that point.’

That’s why I said it’s close to gambling.

The novel only abstractly described Hashunar’s overwhelming strength, but it didn’t properly tell how he actually performed in any battle.

But still, I have to try even if it’s a waste. To do that, the first thing I need to get is the point in the past that I want…

‘He’ll know that.’

When I raised my head, I saw Kalandart, who was lost in thought. He seemed to be worried after hearing the request to tell him about Hashunar, so I opened my mouth slightly.

“What are you worried about? Who told you to tell me about weaknesses? It’s just a story.”

“…What if, what if that’s not possible either?”

“You’ll never hear about the adventures of the ultra-beautiful Druid Rahenna again.”

“T, that’s…!”

“Originally, if you want to get something, you have to give something.”

“Ugh…”

Kalandart, who was in agony, began to tear at his hair.

What choice will he make?

The hero of the race? Or fandom?

Of course, this is half the answer. Even more so if you consider his usual behavior, which is close to fanaticism.

“…If it’s just a story, it’ll be o, okay.”

The moment the idol surpassed the hero.

I felt relieved, but on the other hand, I felt uneasy. What on earth made him like that?

Of course, it’s not my business. I don’t care if he stalks Rahenna or not.

“Good. Deal.”

“S, so what story are you curious about?”

“First of all… yeah, that would be good.”

I smiled and stretched out my index finger.

“The battle in the Great Forest.”

“T, the battle in the Great Forest?”

The war that the Elves and Druids, who were defeated by humans, waged once again, risking their survival in the Great Forest.

“Yeah. The battle between the Elves and Hashunar. You must have heard a lot about it through oral tradition, right?”

“T, that’s true, but… why?”

“Because there are no records of the battle in the Great Forest for humans. That’s why I’m more curious.”

…And if it’s that battle, there’s a high probability that I’ll meet the person I thought of.

I swallowed the last words back into my throat and slowly moved my hand to my waist.

‘You’re a monster, so you probably know the solution.’

I felt a worn-out object that clearly had hundreds of years of memories left on my fingertips.

It was what I received from him when I escaped from the Great Forest, and it would be the second condition.

It was Lordane’s dagger.