Chapter 140: Chapter 140- Freedom And Imagination
"Of course. I also kinda want to experiment with my powers a little and see what I can do so if I find some monsters, that would be optimal." He grinned.
'Experiment…' Just hearing that word made Hyun-Jae recall the giant crater that Talon created using his ability. Just trying to imagine what kind of stuff he could do made her heart go cold.
"Be careful, ok?" Hyun-Jae nodded her head.
"Mm, don't worry."
As Talon was about to leave, he suddenly halted as he remembered something important. "Oh, right, I forgot to bring this." He said as he suddenly turned around, making Hyun-Jae and Chin-Hwa stare at him curiously.
"Wait a moment there."
After that, he walked outside for a few seconds before returning inside with a big in his hand. The bag was filled the brim with monster cores to the point where it was almost going to overflow.
"These are all the monster cores I could harvest. Give the students most of these cores since I don't need them. Any monster core level 23 and higher, leave it to me." He explained.
*BANG*
Putting it down, the bag made a loud sound as if he just dropped a heavy weight.
"... Ok…" Hyun-Jae speechlessly replied as she stared at it.
'I have never seen this many monster cores in my life.' She thought to herself as she stood up and approached it.
"Are you sure about that? I mean, there are a lot of monster cores. You might need them in the future." Hyun-Jae said as she rummaged through it curiously. Even with a simple look, she could see dozens upon dozens of level 15+ monster cores and she could only be impressed.
These many monster cores were bound to be useful at some point in the future. But, Talon didn't seem that bothered about it even though he worked the hardest to get them.
"It's fine. I don't need them. Besides, it's a good investment for the future if we help the rest of the group grow stronger."
'Makes it a lot easier for me to let them go on their own so that I can focus on other stuff.' He added in his head.
With how much progress they were making, Talon was already considering how he was going to step down from being the leader of this group and leave the job to someone else. The reason for that wasn't simply because he didn't want to carry that responsibility.
Talon knew that he wasn't going to stay with them for a long time and he would have to leave sooner or later.
'In a few months at most, I will leave this world through the first gate. I don't know how long I'm going to be absent so getting them as strong as possible is a must.' He sighed.
Hyun-Jae stared at him for a moment. "Sure, thank you." She replied. "Also, once you come back. Can I have a talk with you?" She added as she watched him leave the tent.
Talon nodded his head and vanished, leaving the girl staring at the spot where he was for a few seconds. Her eyes lost focus as if she was thinking about something.
The cold prince squinted his eyes, knowing his childhood friend, he quickly realized what she was thinking of.
'Tsk…' Clicking his tongue, he called her name.
"President?"
Snapping back to reality, she looked at Chin-Hwa. "You should join the rest. You will probably have to lead a small group yourself."
"..." Complicated emotions flashed across the young man's eyes as he looked down. "... I shall go…"
Then, he started walking to the exit. However, at the last moment, he stopped as he looked back.
"Would you… ever consider… I mean… Forgiving me?" He asked hesitantly.
Since he was standing with his back facing Hyun-Jae, he couldn't see her reaction at that moment. But, he could certainly hear her. Except, Hyun-Jae didn't immediately respond.
Seconds passed and Chin-Hwa's worry grew along with it. He started regretting asking that question.
As he was about to speak and apologize, Hyun-Jae opened her mouth.
"I don't know. I can't say for certain." She said.
Those words hit Chin-Hwa's heart hard even though he was expecting them. No matter how many times he could hear them, they would still hurt all the same. His heart simply didn't want to accept it and he wasn't willing to try and change that either since it meant too much to him.
Hyun-Jae wasn't simply someone he cherished and loved, she had been the center of his life for the past 13 years. She was the only thing he thought about day and night. He could never change that.
"But… You're doing better than before… That's good. I trust that you will do great things." She added at the end, taking him by surprise.
"... Thank you…" In the end, he murmured those words before he quickly left the tent.
"Hah… Hah…" Moving quickly, he felt his heart racing quickly and his mind in complete shambles.
Even though she still didn't forgive him, just knowing that he was going on the right path again, Chin-Hwa felt ecstatic. It didn't matter how long it was going to take, he knew that he wasn't going to back down or give up till Hyun-Jae forgave him again.
'I'm doing it… I'm really doing it!' With an excited look on his face, he walked away with far more motivation than ever before.
***
Meanwhile, far away from the camp, a lonesome silhouette was moving through the streets.
"This place is really far gone beyond salvation." He murmured as he watched the destroyed buildings around him.
After continuous ordeals, battles, natural disasters of all kinds, and many more things, the campus was completely wiped out of existence. Nothing of it was left intact of it and it was painful to see.
Nothing left of this area looked the same as Talon remembered. All of his memories in this place were destroyed.
"Sigh… I should probably hurry." Shaking those thoughts away, Talon started running toward the exit of the campus.
It had been weeks since he had seen the outside world and he was looking forward to it. In less than a minute, Talon found himself nearing the gate.
There, he noticed a few monsters moving around the area. They were all low-level and weak. So, Talon decided to try something.
'Let's see how much I improved since last time.' Without pulling his weapon out, he dashed toward them at top speed.
Closing the distance in a moment, Talon passed through the group like a bullet. His speed was like the wind.
*Swish* *Swish* *Swish*
The moment he moved through, the monsters' heads started falling one after the other as if they were sliced off with a sword or a spear. Looking back, Talon grinned.
"Hahahaha! I never expected it could actually work! My hands are like knives now!"
With pure speed and strength, Talon was able to deal deadly blows to the monsters with his bare hands. He had only seen such things happen in fictional stories so when he was able to translate it to reality, it felt amazing.
Then, his eyes wandered forward and he saw another group of monsters.
"Let's try it again."
"Look at him go…" Acrypha watched the young man blast through the group of creatures as if it were nothing. "He really doesn't set any limits to himself… His imagination is his only limit."
With how much power Talon was gaining every single day, he somehow was able to create new ways of using that power that made it feel way stronger than it should be.
That kind of imagination and cleverness... it was as impressive if not even more impressive than Talon's talent itself.
*Swish* *Swish*
Like a ghost, the young man moved through the group, killing them all in one moment. Notifications popped in his retina endlessly.
After that, he swiftly headed toward the outer wall of the campus before leaping into the air as he landed on top of it.
The wind blew on his face as he looked around him with a smile. The cold weather made him feel fresh. Just standing there, watching the desolate city was something to die for.
'I might get addicted to just going on my own and roaming around. Freedom is too much fun.' He smiled.
He stood there for a while, just admiring the scenery before he finally looked down. "Are you ready, Acrypha?" He asked his companion.
"As long as you are ready." She replied.
So, without hesitation, Talon leaped down from the wall outside the campus.
"Time to scout the area."
A//N: Don't forget to support the book if you enjoyed reading 😀