Childhood Friend of the Zenith Novel MTL - Chapter 958

Chapter 958

I had been thrown out.

All at once, I was standing outside barefoot, gazing in disbelief at the teahouse that had just ejected me.

“…What is this?”

Had he actually kicked me out? It made no sense.

Bang! Bang!

“Elder? Elder! Let me in! You promised to instruct me!”

I hammered on the door with everything I had, but the inside remained silent. A clear and firm dismissal.
And then, as if that wasn’t enough—

Bzzzz—! BOOM—!

“Ugh!?”

A powerful vibration shot through the air, striking my body directly.
I was thrown from my feet and hurled backward a good distance.

I somehow landed on my soles, my eyes wide with shock.

“…You old bastard.”

A hot wave of anger burned in my chest.
He said he would teach me, and now this? What kind of game was he playing?

“You won’t open? Then I’ll just have to break in.”

I clenched my fists, channeling all my frustration into them.
I focused the energy in my core.

I prepared to summon the Cheonma Divine Art again.

But—

‘What?’

As power flooded through me, I let out a derisive breath. The feeling of friction, the act of wrapping my will around it—it was all familiar.

Except—

‘Well, look at that.’

The very texture of the spell’s threads was different. It was finer. More complex.
The energy weaving my martial arts together had grown substantially stronger.

Was it because the number of spell loops had increased?
Or was it something I had picked up from that damned turtle?

Whatever the reason, it didn’t matter.

‘With a tighter binding…’

There was less energy leaking away.

Which meant—

‘I can hold onto a stronger friction.’

The better I could grip that friction, the greater the power I could generate.

Crrrrk—! Veins throbbed across my arms.
The pressure building inside me was far beyond anything I had felt before.
If I let it go carelessly, I could seriously injure myself.

And yet—

‘Not bad.’

I felt a surge of satisfaction.
Because it meant I could still grow stronger.

My body breaking down?
That was a pain I could withstand a hundred times over.

The only thing I couldn’t stand—

‘Was being forced to stand still.’

If a path forward existed, I would take it.
If there was a way to advance, I would use any method I could.

Vrrrrrrrrrrrrr—!!!

The violently spinning loops finished their preparation.
Just as I was about to release the built-up force—

[If you unleash that in this direction, I will never teach you anything again.]

I stopped dead.

Hearing the turtle’s voice, my body locked up instinctively. The words had come from inside the teahouse.

Hearing that, I released a frustrated sigh and answered,

“…Are you seriously threatening me?”

[Yes. It is a threat.]

“…”

He was so blatantly shameless about it that I was left without a retort.

[I am completely serious, so choose carefully.]

“…Tch…”

After that, I truly had only one option.

Hwaaaaaah—!!

I let the power raging inside me dissipate. As before, the energy washed through my body, but this time, the recoil was even more violent.

A gust of wind whipped through the surroundings, so forceful it surprised even me.

‘…Damn.’

If the backlash was this intense, what would have happened if I’d actually fired it?
It would undoubtedly have been far more destructive than when I had aimed at Shin Noya.

Haaaaah…

A hot breath escaped my lips.

Excitement.

The more I pushed my limits, the more I accomplished,
the more I found myself anticipating this power I was striving to master.

Why?

Why was I so fixated on this technique above all other martial arts?

The answer was simple.

‘…Because I made it myself.’

Even if it was just a fusion of my existing abilities,
the fact that I had constructed it with my own hands gave it a unique significance.

I had a strange obsession with this power.

‘…It’s just like before, with the Holy Spear.’

It was the same feeling I had when I first transformed Flame Jade into the Flame Jade Spear.

Not an inheritance from the Gu family,
but a power I had forged entirely on my own.

I seemed to have a peculiar attachment to such things.

Which was likely why I felt this way now.

“Phew.”

Dusting off my hands, I suppressed the energy I had just summoned.
Then, I turned my back to the teahouse—

“…I’ll go for now. But you’d better keep your word.”

I spoke directly to the turtle, certain he could hear. If he said he would teach me, then he had better do it.

[…]

There was no answer. But I didn’t wait around.

I had already gotten enough for one day.

One extra ring.

I still didn’t fully understand what that signified.
But for the moment, I decided it was sufficient.

*****************

After leaving the teahouse, I didn’t go to my next intended stop.

Clang—! Clang, clang—!

Instead, I found myself at a place roaring with blistering heat and the sound of harsh, ringing metal.
The blacksmith’s forge I had been to previously.

The heat was oppressive even from the doorway.

It was so extreme that my Nine Flames Firewheel Technique automatically began circulating to resist it.

Clang—!

Disregarding the deafening hammer strikes, I stepped inside.

And in that instant—

Ssshhhhhhhhh—

A wave of palpable emotion crashed into me from all directions. The heat remained, but the noise came to an abrupt halt.

Silence.

Sensing the hostile atmosphere, I grinned.

«Quite a welcome.»

The moment I spoke with a smirk—Thunk! An object flew toward me.

Thud.

I caught it mid-air. It was a hammer.

“…You bastard—!!”

A gruff voice bellowed. I tilted my head and looked toward the source.

It was the blacksmith I’d encountered last time.

What was his name? I couldn’t recall…

But what I did know was that this man utterly despised me.

And not in a minor way—he looked like he wanted me dead.

«You dare show your face here again?!»

Screech—!

He snatched a sword from the wall and charged directly at me.
The other dwarves in the forge watched, their eyes wide with alarm.

What to do?

Observing the scene, I shifted my foot.

Thud—!

“Guh!?”

Crash—!

A simple trip sent him tumbling to the floor. The sword skittered out of his grasp.

«Grrrr…!!»

Even then, he tried to scramble back up immediately.

Boom—!

«Gah!»

I placed my foot on his back, holding him down.

«You… you bastard…!»

His voice trembled with pure rage, and now the other dwarves also drew their weapons, their hostility plain.

«He’s a dragon.»
«It’s him. They said he was a dragon.»
«A real… dragon…?»

Fear, blended with anger, saturated their whispers and their stares.

Hearing them, I let out a quiet sigh.

“…I was going to be polite about this.”

But after what had just happened at the teahouse, I wasn’t feeling particularly generous.

As I exhaled, my voice rang out—

Thump—!

[Do not move.]

—!!!!

At those words, their bodies froze in place.

And the fear in their eyes intensified.

“…D-Dragon Speech…!?”
«He really is a dragon…!»

They shook uncontrollably, clearly recognizing the ability of Dragon Speech.

«Damn it…!»
«Even here…! We can’t submit…!»
«What was the Grandmaster thinking…?»

I could hear their resentful muttering.
Their hatred for dragons was even more profound than I’d realized.

‘It’s worse than I expected.’

I had anticipated some hostility, but not to this extent.

As I was gauging their emotions—

‘Hm?’

I felt movement under my foot.

«Grrr…!!!»

It was the blacksmith I was pinning down.

«Oh?»

I raised my eyebrows in interest.

From his movements and energy, he didn’t appear to practice martial arts.

And yet he was resisting the Dragon Speech.

«Kuh… Hrrrrgh…!!»

His veins stood out, his body straining to the point of rupture.
If I let this continue, he might actually break himself.

So, I lessened the pressure I was applying.

«UAAAAAHHH—!!!»

With a furious burst of effort, he shoved himself up from the ground.
Of course, that was only because I had lifted my foot.

«I’LL KILL YOU…!!»

Without a second thought, he grabbed his fallen sword and lunged at me once more.

“…Hmph.”

I scratched my cheek and watched his reckless attack.

—Whoosh!

The sword swung toward me.

I simply raised my hand.

Clang—!

I caught the blade in mid-air.

The blacksmith grinned with vicious triumph.

«You fool—!»

At that moment, I heard a sound.

Ssshhhhhh—!!!

Along with the noise, a scorching pain erupted in my hand.
The unmistakable smell of burning flesh filled the air.

It was the same cursed metal as last time.

«You idiot. Did you forget what happened last—?»

The blacksmith began to speak smugly, but then his expression contorted in confusion.

Because—

Ssssshhh.

Even as my flesh sizzled and melted away, revealing the bone beneath, I stared back at him with a blank face.

The pain was severe.

The metal was rapidly consuming my flesh, and the bone was already exposed.

And yet, I showed no reaction.

«H-How…?»

«You should calm down. Someone with such a short fuse won’t last long.»

«…»

His pupils shook.

Even as the blade continued to eat into my hand, I didn’t release my grip.

«I have a question.»

I looked directly into his eyes.

«Do you know about the Dragon Emperor?»

«…!!»

His entire body jolted violently.

That reaction told me all I needed to know.

He knew.

And judging by his response, it was nothing good.

«You…! You’re one of his…!»

«Ah, don’t get the wrong idea.»

I cut him off before he could finish.

«I’m not with him.»

«What…?»

«To be more specific…»

I opened my grip and let the sword go.

Drip, drip.

The moment I released it, blood and pieces of flesh dripped from my ravaged palm.

«I’m planning to kill him.»

«…What?»

His eyes widened as if he’d heard something unbelievable.

Watching his reaction, I smiled.

«So, how about we talk?»

His small frame kept trembling.

But at the very least…

No more swords were thrown at me.

That was a good sign.

If he had attacked me one more time, I would have torn his arm off before we continued our conversation.