I Became the Successor of the Martial God
Chapter 27.
And three days had passed.
Yoo Baek-jun had spent that time meticulously nursing the young Snow Tiger and protecting Jin Seo-yeon.
“Why am I even doing this?”
He hadn’t gotten a proper night’s sleep in three days.
Add to that the monsters lured in by the magical power, and it was only natural for him to feel that way.
—Kyahuu……
The young Snow Tiger condition had improved significantly.
Judging by his past gaming experience, he figured the child would probably regain consciousness soon.
And Jin Seo-yeon, too.
Ssuuu!
She had almost completed her peculiar magical breathing technique.
The barrier of magical energy surrounding Jin Seo-yeon had thinned, and the magical power in the cave had nearly vanished.
She had absorbed all of it.
‘Well, I took a bit for myself too.’
Exhausted, he had used the Heavenly Destruction Mind Technique to alleviate his fatigue.
In the process, he had absorbed some of the cave’s magical power, but it didn’t matter.
Yoo Baek-jun waited for Jin Seo-yeon to open her eyes.
“…….”
Before long, Jin Seo-yeon’s eyes fluttered open.
Her glowing blue eyes scanned the surroundings.
“How long has it been?”
“About three days. Just as expected.”
“Hmm… I feel refreshed.”
Despite not sleeping for three days, Jin Seo-yeon looked perfectly lively.
She glanced toward the cave entrance, where piles of monster corpses were stacked.
“Seems like you had a rough time…?”
“More or less.”
“That’s surprising. Honestly, I was a bit worried, so I prepared some countermeasures just in case. Guess they weren’t needed.”
“You think I’m some pushover? Have a little faith.”
Yoo Baek-jun stood up.
Jin Seo-yeon let out a satisfied snort for some reason.
“I’m tired. Let’s head back quickly.”
“Sure.”
Yoo Baek-jun was about to leave the cave when something squirmed in his arms.
—Ahhoo!
“Looks like it’s awake.”
The young Snow Tiger was stirring awake.
Jin Seo-yeon suddenly leaned in close, staring at with curious eyes.
—Kkeung? Kkeuung……?
The young Snow Tiger opened its eyes.
It’s gaze met Jin Seo-yeon’s.
The little one blinked a few times.
—Kyaaang!
“……!”
It suddenly swiped its claws.
Anticipating this, Yoo Baek-jun intercepted the strike with his hand. Jin Seo-yeon’s eyes widened.
“Did it just try to scratch me?”
“Well, it’s a wild animal. You can’t expect it to be friendly to humans. Don’t provoke it and step back.”
“This is the first time someone’s done this to me.”
“What kind of cliché line is that…?”
Yoo Baek-jun lifted the young Snow Tiger.
It squirmed as if trying to escape his hold.
He locked eyes with the creature.
“…….”
—Kkeuung?
The young Snow Tiger blinked.
Jin Seo-yeon expected it to swipe its claws again, but it didn’t.
—Gyarururung……
“What? Why’s it reacting differently to you?”
Instead, it nuzzled its face against him.
Well, of course. Yoo Baek-jun still carried the power Seol-ho had given him.
To the young one, he must have felt like family.
—Gyarung, gyarung… Hahk!
After a while, it suddenly jerked its head up as if remembering something.
It wriggled out of Yoo Baek-jun’s arms and looked around the empty cave with dazed eyes.
—Kyawoong! Kyahuuu!
The young Snow Tiger wandered the cave.
As if searching for something.
It wasn’t hard to guess what, its parent.
“…….”
It frantically looked around for its parent, who should have been there, but found no one.
—Grrrr……
No matter how much it searched, it wouldn’t find it.
Seol-ho had already departed for the spirit realm.
It would’ve been nice to have a proper farewell, but there hadn’t been time for that.
—Kyak, Kyaaang, Kyaooo!
“Your parent has left for the spirit realm.”
Yoo Baek-jun took a step forward.
The young Snow Tiger turned its red eyes toward him.
“Before leaving, they entrusted you to me. As for what happened… I’m sure you remember, right?”
—Krrung……
The young Snow Tiger recalled its memories.
Being captured by strange humans, its parent risking everything to save it, and then losing consciousness as it was encased in ice.
—Grrrr……
The young Snow Tiger growled like a beast.
A growl filled with rage.
Yoo Baek-jun knelt on one knee before it.
“You want revenge, don’t you?”
—Krrrung!
“I know where those bastards are. I’ve got business with them too, so I’ll help you.”
Yoo Baek-jun slowly reached out his hand.
“Come with me. I’ll make sure you can see your parent in the spirit realm again… someday.”
The young Snow Tiger showed no reaction.
But Yoo Baek-jun saw it give the faintest nod.
“…….”
Yoo Baek-jun stepped back.
The young Snow Tiger looked around the cave once more, examining the cave where it had lived.
As if committing it to memory.
—Euaaang… Uwaaaang……
After a long pause, it suddenly burst into tears.
Yoo Baek-jun stopped Jin Seo-yeon from approaching.
“Why is it doing that?”
“It’s crying, obviously.”
“Why?”
“Because its family died.”
Jin Seo-yeon tilted her head.
“Is it sad when one’s family dies?”
“Well……”
Yoo Baek-jun let out a small sigh.
Normally, it is.
But in twisted places like the Magic Tower or the Sword Saint’s family, it’s not necessarily something to grieve over.
“…Normally, it’s sad.”
“I see. So that’s what sadness is.”
Jin Seo-yeon nodded blankly.
‘Both she and this body of mine are truly strange existences.’
Yoo Baek-jun silently watched the young Snow Tiger.
True to its name, ‘Tears of the Snowfield,’ this event concluded with the sound of weeping.
“…….”
Yoo Baek-jun observed the young Snow Tiger’s sorrowful cries.
He waited until its tears subsided.
* * *
The next day, Yoo Baek-jun returned to his family.
Waiting to greet him was Choi Seung-min.
“Welcome back, young… master?”
Choi Seung-min noticed that Yoo Baek-jun’s stomach had become noticeably thicker.
Moreover, it was wriggling.
“…Did you gain some weight?”
“Do you think I’d gain weight after climbing a mountain? Huh?”
“It’s possible. What if you went up there, drank nothing but makgeolli and ate cup noodles to your heart’s content?”
“You know drinking alcohol up there would kill you.”
Yoo Baek-jun sighed and lightly lifted the helm of Black Ghost robe.
Beneath it, a young Snow Tiger was revealed, clinging tightly to his stomach as she slept.
“Good heavens, young master! Poaching, of all things!”
“Is your attendant always like this?”
“I have nothing to say either…”
Choi Seung-min laughed it off as a joke and handed them both something warm to drink.
“Why don’t you both head back to the mansion and rest? I kept the fire going since I didn’t know when you’d return.”
“Warm sounds nice. Ah, and could you call Pharmacist Joo Jung-won for me? This little one needs something to eat.”
“Understood, young master.”
Choi Seung-min bowed and stepped back.
Yoo Baek-jun told Jin Seo-yeon she had worked hard and should rest, then turned to return to the mansion.
But then he saw the look in her eyes.
“……”
Her gaze dripped with longing as she stared at the young Snow Tiger.
‘The route where she loved pets… Ah, right. There was one.’
She had kept a pet when she was young, but under Jin Baek-cheon’s orders, she had to kill it.
What was it again? Something about how the one who leads the Magic Tower must be colder than anyone else.
‘Whether it’s over there or here, Father really is…’
Not in his right mind.
Yoo Baek-jun hesitated for a moment.
“…Well, you know. While you’re staying here, you can come see him whenever you want.”
“Really? Is that okay?”
“There’s no reason it shouldn’t be.”
Jin Seo-yeon’s eyes sparkled.
That expression felt quite unfamiliar, but when he thought about it, she was only 22 now.
Compared to the ‘him’ from reality, she’s still young.
‘Thinking of her like a younger sister… might not be possible, but well, I’ll try to think that way for now.’
Yoo Baek-jun returned to the mansion with the young Seol-ho. Jin Seo-yeon said she’d wash up and come back later.
“Young master, you’re back… Hmm?”
As he entered the mansion, Han Seong-ah greeted him.
Yoo Baek-jun handed her the young Snow Tiger.
“Where did you pick this up from? It looks a bit different from a regular tiger.”
“There were some circumstances. Show her to Master Joo Jung-won when he arrives. it’s still not well.”
“Understood. And you, young master?”
“I’ll be in my room for a bit.”
Yoo Baek-jun went into his room.
And immediately opened the Book of the Martial God.
‘Well, it’s a bit later than I expected.’
He had descended from Seoraksan Mountain two days later than originally planned. But this much was within the margin of error.
“Father should be calling for me soon.”
Around this time, Yoo Moo-hak would summon Yoo Baek-jun and give him an order.
That order being.
‘Conquer a gate and return.’
Gates had appeared in four areas of Seoraksan Mountain, and he was to take charge of one of them.
The other family members would each be assigned a gate to conquer as well.
“And among them, the most troublesome one.”
One of the gates had appeared where a dungeon was located.
It was so troublesome that the other siblings avoided it.
But he intended to conquer that one.
The reason was simple.
‘Because traces of the Martial God are there.’
A faint smile appeared on Yoo Baek-jun’s lips.
Originally, it had been sealed away, but the appearance of the gate had broken that seal.
Now was the perfect time to retrieve it.
‘It’s time to unlock the achievement system.’
For that, he needed a certain skill.
With both a dungeon and a gate overlapping, there would be many monsters, including those called guardians.
A skill capable of easily dealing with them.
‘I need a buff skill.’
There was one perfectly suited for that.
Yoo Baek-jun quickly flipped through the Book of the Martial God and found one skill.
[Berserker (B+)]
―A skill only a battle-crazed berserker can learn. For a certain duration, stats and physical speed increase, and the effect grows stronger the more enemies are defeated.
―After the effect ends, side effects will occur.
It was a skill purchasable for 500P.
Though it was a B+ rank skill, its side effects made it relatively cheap. But the severity of the side effects was worth enduring.
‘There are events I can trigger with this, too.’
Yoo Baek-jun closed the Book of the Martial God.
Once he unlocked the achievement system, he’d have to travel around South Korea for a while to complete achievements.
He needed to earn points and learn higher-grade skills.
―Kyahooooo!
―Ugh! Y-young master!
―Goodness! This one is incredibly fierce!
A commotion erupted outside.
Yoo Baek-jun sighed and opened the door.
Sure enough, the young Snow Tiger was causing a ruckus.
―Bbaeeaeng!
The moment the little one saw Yoo Baek-jun, it dashed toward him and burrowed into his arms.
Han Seong-ah, who had chased after it, clicked her tongue.
“Tsk”
“Young master… Wherever you picked this up from, you’ve brought back a truly fierce one.”
“It’s just shy around strangers.”
“Shy, you say?”
Han Seong-ah showed the back of her hand.
There were marks where the Snow Tiger had bitten her.
If she hadn’t been a Hunter, it might have been a much deeper wound.
“Hmm…”
After a brief pause, Yoo Baek-jun explained how he had picked up the little one.
“You’ll have to train it well, young master. Well, being a spirit beast, it’s naturally fiercer than most.”
“A spirit beast?! This is a spirit beast?”
Han Seong-ah’s eyes widened in surprise.
“No wonder it looked different from a regular tiger. So it was a spirit beast.”
“I checked its condition earlier. It was treated well. It’ll fully recover soon.”
“That’s a relief.”
Yoo Baek-jun looked at the young Snow Tiger in his arms.
“Did you give it a name yet?”
“No, not yet.”
“Tsk, tsk, you should give it a name. Spirit beasts are smart. It’ll understand if you name it.”
“I suppose so…”
They couldn’t keep calling it a ‘Young Snow Tiger’ forever.
What would be a good name?
“Seol-yeong.”
A name came to him immediately.
“Hmm, ‘snow shadow?’ Feels a bit hastily chosen, but it doesn’t sound bad.”
“I think it’s fine too, young master.”
Their reactions weren’t negative.
Yoo Baek-jun lifted Seol-yeong and met its eyes.
“Your name is Seol-yeong. How about it? Do you like it?”
―Bbaeeaeng?
Seol-yeong tilted its head.
Though it pretended not to understand, the intelligence of a young Snow Tiger was equal to or surpassed that of a human.
It probably understood.
“I’m tired. Let’s go to sleep.”
―Kyahooong…
Yoo Baek-jun returned to his room.
By tomorrow, his father would likely summon him.
‘It’s about time to move.’
There was much to do.
