久久大陆

[Three Years Prior]

"Hey, Sol!"

The streets were bustling, full of passing cars and busy people, all who seemed to have a place to go.

On the other hand, he walked without a care beside his schoolyard friends. They were delinquents; people that didn't strive to aim high, and only to do what they wanted.

To him, they were cool.

"Sol!"

Again, his name was called, this time pulling him from his daydreaming-mind as he looked forward to his blonde-haired, tan-skinned friend.

"Yeah?"

The delinquent friend of his certainly looked the part; blonde, wild hair, an unnatural tan, piercings on his ears and lips, and their school uniform, unbuttoned and open.

"Hurry up, would you? My guy isn't going to wait all day for us."

"Right!"

He followed along, rushing down the sidewalk as he followed his friend, against his better judgment.

Ming, his friend with many connections to other delinquents, many above their grade, had brought him along as he had found somebody willing to sell them alcohol. Since they were just thirteen, it'd be impossible to obtain it normally.

To him, this was the most wild gambit of his youth thus far.

"This is the place…?" He asked.

It was a dark, shoddy-looking alley that seemed a world away from the bustling streets of Seoul.

"Yeah, let's go–or are you chicken?" His friend coaxed him.

"I-I'm not chicken!" He assured him, following him into the dark alleyway.

Regret was immediately had once they delved deep into the smoky, dreary alleyway as he saw the "connections" that his friend, Ming, was touting.

They're huge…He thought.

They were students, just like him, but clearly a few years their senior; standing in the dark alley, smoking and drinking with scars and tattoos.

This was the big league.

He gulped, looking at Ming, who approached the delinquent with the buzzcut and scarred lip.

"Hey, do you have the stuff?" Ming asked.

The look he got from the tall, lanky delinquent who towered over the both of them was not a pleased, or welcoming look.

"The fuck are you?" The delinquent asked sharply, taking a hit from his cigarette.

"M-Ming, you remember, right? My cousin told you about me. You got the drinks, don't you?" Ming asked nervously.

Seeing his usually confident, strong friend get nervous made him nervous as well as he looked at the other delinquents in the alley, who were all now watching them silently with merciless eyes.

The man took another hit from his cigarette before dropping it onto the ground, stamping it out, "Oh…I remember. You're the little wannabe."

"Huh–?" Ming looked up in surprise.

Suddenly, Ming's hair was gripped by the much taller, stronger delinquent, pulled roughly as he was helpless to the older one's grip.

"Aagh…!" Ming yelped out in pain.

"H-hey!" He called out.

But he immediately stopped once being on the receiving end of that delinquent's gaze.

"Huh? What're you going to do, shitstain?"

"--"

He fell silent, only able to stand and do anything.

My legs won't stop shaking. Everything won't stop trembling, he thought.

That day…I ran. I ran and I never looked back. I could hear Ming's screams. I never saw him again after that. I'm a coward. But…I don't have to be for the rest of my life.

–

It was the first time in a long time that…

I feel confident, he thought with a smile.

He stood tall, breathing in-and-out through his barely parted lips calmly as he set his amber eyes on the approaching millipede, tightening the red headband he wore before gripping his weapon tightly.

This time…I'll be like you, Jeong-Hui; quick and efficient. It always amazes me how you can move so fast, yet so gracefully–executing your plans instantaneously with pinpoint accuracy. It's unlike Yeong-Un's rough, raw-power style…You prioritize ending things quickly without anybody being hurt.

I want to be like that, he resolved.

"Cast: Malevolent Returnal!"

As he yelled out the spell invocation confidently, a visible air wrapped itself around his silver spear before he launched it with wind-breaking speed before he followed it himself.

"Through The Winds: Sonic Blitz."

Moving with supersonic speed in a singular direction, he brought himself on the right wall just in time as his mystically-guided spear slammed against the millipede before shifting direction and hitting the insect again.

This left the human-faced, giant insect distracted as its hissing rage focused on the self-guiding spear, leaving him free to launch his own attack.

"Through The Winds: Sonic Blitz."

Launching off of the wall, he utilized the ludicrous, one-way speed to land a powerful kick against the millipede, creating a harsh impact as he slid by, catching his spear in his hand.

As the insect recovered from the attack, though with a cracked exoskeleton, he repeated it once more–

"Cast: Malevolent Returnal!"

And just as he cast his self-moving spear, he moved himself as well: "Through The Winds: Sonic Blitz!"

One spell, and one skill; together, the speedy assault left the feeble-minded creature unable to adjust or comprehend the angles at which it was repeatedly attacked.

Using his own swift-guided fists and feet to attack the armored millipede resulted in bruising his own body, but he pushed through while having the momentum, repeating the combined attack two more times before finally–

Squelch.

The giant millipede had its armor shattered and broken, its fleshy, vulnerable body spewing out black blood as it fell to the ground.

But, it wasn't over yet–he knew that.

It'll regenerate if I don't vaporize it completely…! Let's finish this! He resolved.

Reaching his hand out, his spear returned to his grip before he reared it back once more, breathing in and out as his heart thumped wildly in his chest, and his blood ran like molten lava through his veins.

It was frightening, and it was foreign–the heart-throbbing sensation of a real battle; but he resolved to finish it as he stomped his boot down.

"Through The Winds: Message From The Ever-Present Storm!"

As he threw his spear this time, it shattered the sound barrier, releasing like a bolt of lightning that propelled forth at a blinding speed before piercing right through the front end of the millipede and shooting out of the back end.

All at once, the trail of azure lightning vaporized the insect from the inside out, leaving it turned to nothing but ash afterwards.

"Fuu…"

He slowly caught his breath, holding his hand out as his spear returned to his hand in a triumphant matter.

"...I did it…" He held a small smile as sweat left his pores in abundance, looking at his bruised knuckles, "--I did it. I did it without even taking much damage–! I'm…I'm strong!"

Somehow, it was a powerful combination: the fear of being hurt that made him avoid his enemies' attacks desperately, and the wondrous speed of his special skills.

A mere five-hundred experience felt almost like a joke after conquering his fears, but it was just the first of many steps on his path to becoming the kind of person he strived to be.

Still, that small amount of experience felt like a heaping amount as it was just enough to push him to the next level.

"Twenty-three."

He took a breather, falling back onto his rear as he caught his breath, looking at his trembling hands before clenching them shut.

This is what having pride in yourself feels like? He thought.