Dream Breaker

Chapter 82

The Swimming Emperor(26)

It's a gemstone, After All!

It was an impromptu schedule that wasn't in my plan, but there wasn't much to prepare for a 100km marathon.

At most, running shoes?

However, I had already prepared good running shoes for 'running,' the basis of all exercises.

Other than that,

"Hmm... a water bottle and a towel, I guess."

But it's questionable whether I'd need them since I don't sweat at all from most exercises.

Far away, I saw Song Seon-young riding a bicycle and coming quickly.

'She looks... more mature.'

A sportswear that emphasized her figure, red-tinted lips, and luxurious sunglasses...

It was as if she had popped out of a famous women's fashion magazine.

Squeak-

Song Seon-young, who stopped her bicycle in front of me, greeted me.

"How is it?"

...Is this a greeting?

"How am I supposed to know if you ask without a subject? Your clothes are pretty."

"You understand it well, but why say that? Does it only mean the clothes are pretty?"

"Of course, the person is included too."

"Then you should say it without a subject to avoid misunderstandings."

"Aha! That's right."

It's all my fault!

Although it was very unfair, I was used to our conversations always being like this since the dream.

So any complaints?

Unfortunately, there were none. It was so regrettable that there were none.

"Be grateful. My time is really precious."

"Thanks for coming."

But I didn't say anything useless like not to come.

"...You've changed somehow."

"Me?"

"Yeah. Before, you used to say rude things often. You treated me like a tragic princess disease patient who thought of herself as the center of the world in the second grade of middle school."

"......"

Did I do that?

I don't have a bad memory, but I don't remember at all!

"Moon-soo."

"Yeah."

"What did you experience in Nam Hae-soo's dream?"

"I had various experiences."

"And in those various experiences, there weren't any women, right?"

"...There were none."

I thought I wouldn't sweat, but it was really good to bring a towel.

"Really?"

"Yes. There really were none."

"......"

"......"

"I'll believe you for now."

Song Seon-young, who took off her suspicious gaze, said with a bitter smile.

'It's not just the body.'

It seemed that the experience in the dream also affected my mind and behavior. Whether that was good or bad.

As long as I don't quit being a 'shaman,' it will be an unavoidable fate.

"Shall we go?"

"Yeah."

I started running 100km on foot, and Song Seon-young on a bicycle.

How to run, distribute stamina, and breathe...

I had already learned all of these in Nam Hae-soo's dream, so there was no difficulty.

"Aren't you tired?"

"Not at all."

I answered comfortably to Song Seon-young's question, who had beads of sweat on her forehead.

"That's why I lost."

"Do you want to compete again?"

"What will you do for me if I win?"

"Nothing in particular..."

"Buy me a 2-person set at the Barnaroo Restaurant."

"Ugh!"

Would she eat two servings alone at a restaurant infamous for being expensive?

Her malicious...

"If I lose, I'll buy it."

"Great!"

I'll accept her kind offer with gratitude!

"What's with that smile? So cocky. You look like you've already won."

"Of course! I'm an active athlete, you know?"

Talent without effort is merely decoration. There's no way I'd lose to a swimsuit model.

"The event is 100m freestyle."

"Okay."

It was a Song Seon-young-like judgment, as her stamina is weak.

My main events are long distances like 10km and 4000m, but that only means I'm slow compared to the monstrous level of first-team athletes.

It's not a level to lose to a model.

Tap tap.

"By the way... aren't you tired yet?"

"I'm not tired."

We're casually chatting as if we're taking a light walk, but we're actually measuring our 100km marathon records.

I could run a little faster if I closed my mouth and concentrated, but since it wasn't an official game, I didn't feel like running sincerely.

Moreover,

'Could this be an opportunity?'

A rare opportunity to score points with a girl who I dated in a dream and then got dumped in reality!

I used to think our relationship was a bit more comfortable, but I became anxious after hearing the story of the prince 'Leon' from her.

"Moon-soo, do you remember?"

"What?"

"The words I said on the hospital promenade after waking up from the dream..."

"Seon-young! Wait a moment!"

"......"

I developed the habit of observing and monitoring my surroundings frequently after being tormented by snipers hired by Nam Hae-soo.

And that's when my surveillance caught a bizarre sight!

"How much I like you...!"

"Put, put the knife away!"

On the tree-lined path in the park, a man in his mid-20s, holding a kitchen knife in a reverse grip, was threatening a woman of a similar age.

"We have to report it to the police quickly...!"

"Let's resolve this through conversation!"

"Calm down first...!"

The woman cornered against a dead-end wall couldn't escape, and the witnesses couldn't intervene because of the kitchen knife the man was holding.

Such an incident in broad daylight?

I rushed toward the scene where people's lives were at stake.

"You abandoned me, who thinks about you all day, for that punk... I can't forgive you!"

"A-are you crazy?! Back off right now! Or I'll report you!"

"It's already too late! Let's die together-"

Thud!

I kicked the man's forehead with my heel as he raised the kitchen knife towards the terrified woman.

In an instant, before he could react!

Compared to armed criminals with guns, a kitchen knife is child's play.

"Moon-soo!"

"I'm fine."

"Not you. The pretty woman."

"...Shouldn't she be okay?"

I sullenly replied to Song Seon-young's concern, who followed a beat late.

The wrist that the man had grabbed for a moment was red and swollen, but there wasn't a single scratch on her white skin.

However,

"Why isn't she getting up?"

As Song Seon-young pointed out, the woman, who had lost strength in her legs, was lying limp on the park lawn.

'Hmm... Was I hasty?'

Regardless of the reason, an athlete used violence against an ordinary person.

A fair judge would certainly resolve it well, but there was a slight regret and reflection that it was unnecessary meddling.

"She'll be fine."

It must be a mild concussion or mental shock.

"Did you save her because she's pretty?"

"No way. You know how high my standards are for women."

"Really not?"

"No."

"What about me?"

"Hmm? You? That time on the school rooftop..."

* * *

My view changed in an instant as I was answering Song Seon-young's question.

Unpaved roads, tile-roofed houses, silk clothes...

It was a place filled with people wearing architectural styles and costumes that could be seen in history museums or folk villages.

And guards.

"Who are you!"

"It's an intruder!"

Clack! Clack! Clack!

Soldiers with crude spears began to swarm.

'Should I surrender? Or run away?'

The hesitation was brief.

Thud.

There was no reason for me, who is confident in running, to take a dangerous gamble.

What kind of trouble would I face?

The location wasn't good either.

"Eek!"

"Is it a thief?!"

Several beautiful girls dressed in the same clothes were holding cleaning tools like rags and brooms in their hands.

'Maids? No.'

Court ladies.

Women working in the palace.

It's too early to say it's neat. However, the splendor and scale of the buildings, the heavy clothes of the people, and the cleanliness...

In many ways, it suggested that this place was not an ordinary place.

"Stop!"

"Hmm. Let me borrow your spear for a moment."

"Ahh?!"

As I dodged the spear tip pointed at me, I kicked the soldier's hand.

Vroom~ swoosh!

After catching the spear that left its owner's hand, I mercilessly struck down those who blocked my path.

"Ahh?!"

"Ugh?!"

And if my straight path was blocked by walls or fences?

Thud.

I jumped over them without going around, using my high jump.

"...What the hell is this?"

I didn't know the way, but if I kept going in one direction while ignoring obstacles, I would eventually escape.

The starting location wasn't good.

'I didn't expect it!'

I only saved a woman threatened by a stalker, but I didn't know I would be sucked into a dream at that spot.

Ding-dong-ding!

The sound of the bell ringing urgently was heard.

"Close the gate!"

"Close the gate!"

Creak- thud!

The castle wall, which was too high to jump over even with a high jump.

The only entrance was closed right in front of me.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

"You can't escape now!"

"Reveal your identity!"

I'm sorry to the soldiers who chased me with sweat pouring down, but,

"...I just have to break through."

I broke through the soldiers' encirclement, quickly changing spears as the tips became blunt due to the rough battle.

'Another way...'

Swoosh!

A creepy feeling came over me, and an arrow flew over my bowed head.

"Heeey~!"

"Heeey~!"

I saw riders. Bows were in their hands...

'Archers?!'

A troop that didn't exist in the romance fantasy novel <I Became the Youngest Daughter of a Count>.

They even showed off their archery skills, shooting arrows at me while riding horses without stopping.

Swoosh-!

The accuracy was so high that I couldn't ignore the arrows.

"I'm going crazy!"

The archers, riding horses that couldn't be caught, shot arrows from a distance.

I knew their fearsome power through history books, but it was even more terrifying than I had imagined when I experienced it firsthand.

"Get out of the way!"

I decided that it was impossible to escape on flat ground and ran to the stairs leading up the city walls.

"Heeey~!"

"Heeey~!"

As I expected, the archers who couldn't climb the stairs gave up chasing and shot arrows at me as I climbed the city walls.

"Excuse me."

"Ugh?!"

I grabbed a soldier by the neck with my left hand, lifting him up and using him as a shield.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

In addition, with my slightly superhuman reflexes, I dodged all the incoming arrows.

"I'll deal with-"

Thud!

The officer who stepped forward confidently fell as my spear pierced his neck.

And the dropped sword.

"Good."

I was more confident in the swordsmanship I had learned from Valentine for a long time than the spear technique I had learned briefly in the army. In a narrow space, a shorter weapon is advantageous.

Clang! Scrape!

I cut down all the enemies blocking my path and sprinted along the city walls.

'I wish they'd give up soon...'

Clang!

For the first time, my sword was blocked.

"Who are you?"

"You, are you an enemy?"

The man who answered my question absurdly didn't seem to belong to the regular army I had been dealing with so far.

A unique outfit that looked like a hunter or a thief.

A young and handsome face!

I had no intention of dealing with him leisurely, so I swung my sword again,

Scrape-

"Uh...?"

"But that's all."

I couldn't properly react to the swordplay of the unidentified man.

Thump.

'What the...'

I died absurdly with my waist cut off.

* * *

"Moon-soo? Moon-soo?"

"...Yeah."

Instead of the bloodstained floor of the city walls, I saw the blue sky.

"Phew! Thank goodness! I thought you fainted again, so I contacted the manager."

"Manager? Manager Seo Hye-joo?"

"Yeah. That's right."

Song Seon-young, who sat down next to me, lying on the grass, nodded and handed me a water bottle.

"Do you want some?"

"Not really..."

"Drink it. You definitely got heatstroke."

"Yeah."

I drank the water she handed me without saying anything.

I felt like all the strength in my body had been drained.

It wasn't just a simple feeling.

'I died absurdly.'

I hadn't been asleep for long, so rehabilitation wasn't necessary, but it seemed that my physical abilities had decreased due to death.

"How long was I unconscious?"

"About 5 minutes?"

"I see."

The woman I saved still didn't show signs of waking up, and the man who threatened her with a kitchen knife was being dragged away by police officers.

Siren! Siren!

An ambulance sent by Manager Seo Hye-joo stopped by the park's roadside. And the nurses and doctors who got out in a hurry...

Along with her.

"Oh? Weren't you asleep?"

Manager Seo Hye-joo, who found me and Song Seon-young in good condition, asked.

"I woke up right away."

"...I see. I need to check how many brain cells have died."

She worried about the aftereffects, noticing that I had died in my dream.

"Please look at her instead of me."

I pointed to the woman in her 20s who still didn't show signs of waking up.

"She's unlucky."

"I guess so."

How could a civilian I saved on my way get caught in a dream!

It was unbelievable.

'Unless it's an intentional coincidence by someone.'

It's time to get back to work.

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