My Girlfriend Returned as a Dragon - Chapter 16

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Chen

◈ My Girlfriend Returned as a Dragon ◈

Chapter 16: My Oppa Definitely Has Talent

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A crack ran through the wooden sword that had looked perfectly fine just moments ago.

It might not have been difficult for the Dragon Bone Sword to crack a mere wooden sword, but it was a different matter when a dragon was wielding that wooden sword.

“Shouldn’t you change swords?”

“There’s no need. Let’s continue until this one breaks.”

The sword being damaged was one thing. The test was not over yet.

The wooden sword looked ready to snap at any moment, but Rokan showed no sign of stopping.

If anything...

“From now on, I will use my sword as well.”

“What?”

He had initially said he would not attack, but Rokan seemed to have changed his mind. He readjusted his grip on the cracked wooden sword and shifted his stance.

“Don’t worry. You won’t die.”

Rokan looked as relaxed as though he were out for a casual stroll.

Before I could even answer, he leisurely closed the distance and aimed for my upper body.

Fortunately, he was not moving very quickly, so I thought I could block it.

I was wrong.

The wooden sword changed direction in an instant and struck my ankle.

“Agh!”

A sharp pain shot through me, and I frowned.

“What an exaggeration.”

Rokan wore a gentle smile, but his following attacks were utterly ruthless.

The wooden sword suddenly changed direction again and struck my right shoulder. The impact made me drop my sword for a moment.

In a real battle, it would have already been over.

As I quickly grabbed my fallen sword, I drilled the thought into myself.

Calm down. Stay calm.

It will be over once that wooden sword breaks anyway.

But the moment I thought I needed to break it as quickly as possible, I shook my head.

‘That would only backfire.’

What mattered in wielding a dragon’s power was the will to dominate.

I could not swing my sword with the simple thought of breaking his weapon.

To use a dragon’s power properly, I had to draw it out with the intention of dominating everything.

Ignoring the pain, I began closing the distance instead of widening it.

Not with the thought of breaking his sword, but with the resolve to make my opponent submit and dominate him.

I boldly thrust my sword toward Rokan’s heart with all my strength.

Rokan moved at unbelievable speed to block my blade, but my sword had already pierced through his wooden sword.

The moment it was pierced, the wooden sword in Rokan’s hand shattered into fragments too small to recognize.

“That’ll do.”

I had aimed for his heart, so the situation could have been dangerous, but Rokan only smiled.

He swept the broken fragments away with his foot, then lightly patted my shoulder as if he were proud of me.

“Now that I have confirmed your talent, it is time for us to have a deeper discussion.”

The moment he finished speaking, the surroundings changed again.

We had clearly been in a field just moments ago, but after a single blink, I was back in the study.

“Sit.”

As I took my seat, Rokan immediately served tea.

It had a rich scent I had never smelled before, but it was not unpleasant.

Taking in the aroma, I awkwardly took a sip.

“Does it suit your taste?”

“Yes.”

I did not know what kind of tea it was, but I liked it well enough.

“If we only consider your swordsmanship, it is unquestionably below standard. Your movements are easy to read, and your form when swinging a sword is terrible. To be honest, it would be difficult to name even one good point.”

I did not feel wronged, nor was I angry.

Without the Dragon Bone Sword, I really was just an ordinary D-rank hunter.

“But that is not a problem for you, at least. Becoming a Swordmaster is not your goal.”

After taking a sip of tea, Rokan continued.

“You will be able to wield the power of our clan better than any human.”

“...What?”

“Whether it is a Swordmaster or an emperor who united the continent, I have not seen a human with as much talent as you in thousands of years.”

I could not believe it.

Sia had told me before that I had talent, but...

Was it really this much?

Me, who was only a D-rank hunter?

I could not hide my happiness at Rokan’s lavish praise.

I already wanted to brag to Sia that her grandfather had praised me like this, that there would be no problem as long as I kept working hard.

But what he said next went far beyond anything I had expected.

“Paradoxically, that very talent is why you and our Shasha have no choice but to live apart.”

“What?”

The unexpected words made the back of my head go numb.

So...

The reason I had no choice but to stay apart from Sia was not just her immense power...

It was also because of a talent I had not even known I possessed?

“Could you explain it in more detail?”

“I cannot tell you now. When the time comes, I will tell you then.”

Rokan was so firm that I could not even bring myself to beg for an answer.

All I could do was nod with a stiff expression.

“It is far too dangerous for you to know right now, so do not be too disappointed.”

“I am not disappointed at all. I was simply curious.”

“It is written all over your face that you are disappointed.”

I had worried that things might become awkward, but Rokan’s joke thankfully returned the mood to normal.

As a faint smile formed on my lips, Rokan returned to the main subject.

“Let us go back to your talent. Minjun, where do you think the power of our clan comes from?”

The source of a dragon’s power.

I had only recently learned that dragons truly existed in this world. How could I know something like that?

Still, if I had to guess...

“Is it the will to dominate?”

I answered based on my experience with the Dragon Bone Sword and my own speculation.

“Dominance is not an incorrect answer, but will is more important. Dominance can also be seen as a kind of will.”

“Will...”

“Then what form do you think a dragon’s will takes when it manifests?”

Could something as abstract as will manifest itself?

I could not understand it with my head, but my mouth instinctively gave an answer.

“Dragon Speech.”

“Yes, that is correct. Any dragon, even a hatchling under ten years old, can at least imitate Dragon Speech, even if they cannot use it properly.”

The more I heard, the more fascinating the world of dragons seemed.

Even young hatchlings, practically newborns by dragon standards, could use Dragon Speech.

“If you are to be recognized as a dragon, you must at least be able to use Dragon Speech.”

I already knew that my ultimate goal was to fully wield a dragon’s power.

Still, I had never expected Dragon Speech to come up from the very beginning.

I had thought I would learn it after receiving at least some training.

“Because it is the foundation.”

Unlike me, whose mind had gone blank at that unexpected answer, Rokan continued as if he had read my thoughts.

I did not know much, but common sense said that using Dragon Speech in a human body could not possibly be easy.

I already felt as though my blood were drying up.

Could I really use Dragon Speech in a human body?

Could I cast magic like Teleport through will alone, without incantations or complicated calculations?

And I was not even a mage. I was a swordsman.

“Do not be impatient. We will start from the basics, one step at a time. At first, your goal will be to use the power of that sword to wield Dragon Speech, even if imperfectly.”

“What do you mean by imperfectly?”

“Successfully using Dragon Speech even once.”

Even if I could not use Dragon Speech freely, it would count as success if I managed it once after dozens, no, hundreds of attempts.

“After that, you will train to use Dragon Speech without borrowing the sword’s power. It will be fine even if you succeed once in thousands of attempts. It will be fine even if you can only create a gentle breeze with Dragon Speech.”

Rokan added that I only needed to find the right point once.

First, I would fully wield Dragon Speech using the sword’s power. Then, I would wield Dragon Speech without the sword’s power.

That was the curriculum Rokan had prepared just for me.

“I have lived for nearly ten thousand years, but this will be my first time teaching a human to use Dragon Speech. It certainly will not be easy, but I am glad to have found an interesting pastime in my old age.”

He called it a pastime, but it did not seem like anything that could be called a pastime.

“But from your perspective, is this not something you must stake your whole life on?”

“Yes.”

“So I will not treat teaching you as a pastime. Not for your sake, but for mine, and above all, for our Shasha.”

That was what he said, but I could feel warmth in every word.

To be honest, my first impression of him had been a little frightening. But now, I could truly feel that he was a grandfather who sincerely wanted his granddaughter and her partner to be happy.

“Right. Shasha said she wanted us to contact her.”

“Should I step out?”

“No. You are my grandson-in-law. You should come with me.”

The words grandson-in-law made my chest tighten.

Before her reincarnation, Sia had lost her whole family in the Gate Break when she was in high school. There had been no one who could call me their son-in-law.

The same was true now.

I had intended to marry Sia, but we had not even held a wedding yet. Besides, I was not even a dragon like her, so I had never expected anything like this.

Being called grandson-in-law meant that I could take it as an official acknowledgment of our relationship.

Holding back the tears that threatened to spill out, I bowed ninety degrees.

“Thank you very much.”

“What are you thanking me for? I should be the grateful one. When you think about it, the reason I was able to meet my granddaughter here is because of you.”

Rokan waved his hand, saying that he was the one who owed me.

Anyway.

Since he had a phone, I naturally assumed he would call her with it. But rather than making the call immediately, Rokan headed for the large cavern.

It was the very place I had first seen when I woke after losing consciousness.

Not much time had passed, so little had changed.

Except for one thing.

“Was that always there?”

A huge screen had been mounted on one wall.

That definitely had not been there before.

“I had it installed. I originally planned to use it for watching movies, but I thought it could also be useful for video calls with Shasha, so I had it installed ahead of schedule.”

He was going to use that enormous screen for a video call?

While I was marveling at its scale, Rokan called Sia.

A little later, as if it had linked to the phone, Sia appeared on the huge screen.

[Grandpa! Oppa!]

As though she had been waiting for this exact moment, Sia happily waved at us.

Seeing Sia on that huge screen instead of a tiny phone display felt strange.

With joy, disbelief, and wonder all mixed together, I happily waved back at her.

[How was my Oppa? He definitely has talent, right? Right?]

Sia looked at Rokan with sparkling eyes.

Perhaps she was disappointed that she had not been there with us, because she seemed eager to hear everything that had happened as soon as possible.

“Your boyfriend.”

Rokan opened his mouth.