A Lesson in Beyond Heaven
"I hate you, Master!"
Where did he disappear to—
Whoosh!
The sound of tearing wind came from behind. Reflexively turning my head, I saw the magical boy crawling wildly toward me, holding his sword with a giant tongue.
"Hieeeek!"
— Groooowl!
Bombe's roar echoed from afar, and I saw the magical boy swinging his tongue.
Am I... going to die?
Hummm. As I squeezed my eyes shut, I felt mana drain from near my collarbone, and a barrier unfolded.
The artifact...!
Crash! The magical boy's sword struck the barrier, shattering it into pieces. The recoil sent me flying backward.
— Hoot!
"Ah! Jeolmi! Thank you!"
Jeolmi used the wind to stop my momentum and gently lowered me to the ground. That was a really close call. My heart was pounding like crazy.
The barrier artifact Grandfather bought for me had truly proven its worth. I resolved to thank Grandfather Yong-su properly when I saw him again.
"Lucky one, aren't you!"
"Ugh..."
The magical boy's body was growing increasingly grotesque.
His limbs stretched longer with every movement, and his face twisted until he no longer looked human at all.
Could I win? Just as the worry crept in—
Bombe lunged from the side while the magical boy was briefly distracted. Her eyes were flashing with a deep, swirling Seolan.
"What—"
— Grooooooowl!
Thud! Furious that she had failed to protect me, Bombe let out a massive roar and swung her forepaw with immense force.
"Ack!"
The magical boy's waist bent at an unnatural angle under Bombe's paw, pinning him to the ground. Sensing my chance, I clenched my teeth and raised my palm.
"Jeolmi, help Skadi...!"
— Hoot!
Crack! In an instant, the frozen blue greatsword materialized, its sharp edge gleaming. Boom! As the greatsword tore through the air, Jeolmi circled it, gathering a fierce gale.
With Jeolmi guiding the air around Skadi, frost scattered in all directions. Just as the glittering shards of ice began to fade into the air—
"Gyaaaaaaaah!"
The magical boy opened his mouth wide and unleashed a beam of dark energy. Skadi clashed with the energy beam once more. But this time, Jeolmi was there to assist.
Crash! Slicing straight through the beam, Skadi pierced the magical boy's head. His head and back split wide open in a single stroke, and Bombe slowly stepped back.
— Whimper.
Bombe glared down at the magical boy's corpse as if still unsatisfied, then rushed over to me. Watching something larger than a real bear waddle toward me in a frantic hurry was actually quite cute.
"Hing... I'm okay. Hng..."
Seeing Bombe's worried eyes made tears suddenly well up. I slowly walked over and gave her massive body a tight hug.
— Growl...
— Hoot.
Bombe hugged me back, and Jeolmi wrapped his wings around me from behind. Feeling truly safe, the tears began to flow in earnest.
What kind of training is this?
This isn't training... Making me fight a Gate boss all by myself. I couldn't even begin to comprehend what was going on.
"Well done."
"M-Master!! What was that?! Hing..."
"Hohoho..."
Appearing out of nowhere, Master smiled teasingly. As he stroked the crown of my head, I felt my mind clear up, just like when General Nam-i had done it.
With my head feeling refreshed, my tears began to subside.
"For us, real combat is the best training..."
"...?!"
As Master stroked his beard, the grotesque magical boy reappeared behind him for a brief second before scattering into nothingness.
M-Master created that boss with a skill? The Gate too?
"H-how?"
"It is an art that combines barrier techniques and illusions. You may call it the Art of Phantasms."
"......"
I'm... an SSS+ rank Hunter... and I fought so desperately against an illusion created by another Hunter...?
Master's presence felt entirely different to me now. Is this what happens to S-rank Hunters when they grow old?
"M-Master, does that mean you can create and control multiple boss monsters?"
"Since barrier techniques form the foundation... such a thing is impossible. It seems that child noticed what I had prepared in advance."
Master pointed at Bombe. Her eyes had already returned to their normal black color. She tilted her head, looking utterly confused.
So Bombe had sensed it first...
The moment we arrived in Grandfather Yong-su's car, and the moments Bombe had looked terrified as we walked here, flashed through my mind.
"Then... how did Bombe know beforehand? And I'm also curious why her eyes sometimes look just like mine."
Master stroked his beard and looked down at me. I wiped away my tears with my sleeve and looked up at him.
"Your power is shared with your summon. The technique..."
"She borrowed the power of my eyes?"
Master nodded. I slowly turned my head back to Bombe. She still tilted her head, looking like she had no idea what we were talking about.
"Hmm..."
"Well then, let us head back—"
*Swish.*
When Master reached out to take my hand, I quickly hid behind Bombe. As I scurried away, Master looked at me with a puzzled expression.
"What are you doing?"
"I-I'm still mad at you, Master. Making me fight all of a sudden..."
"Hoho..."
Master stared at me thoughtfully for a moment, then turned around with his hands clasped behind his back. He began to walk away with the strange, gliding steps of a Taoist immortal, calling out:
"Did someone say there is a haunted labyrinth in Taereung?"
"T-that's a lie!"
It was obviously a lie to make me follow him.
But? I had to go back to the training room anyway? And there was nothing I could do staying here alone?
Since I was a child with the mind of an adult, I could easily overlook a petty grudge. I quickly scurried after Master.
It wasn't like I actually believed his story about ghosts or anything.
"Pant... gasp... Are you seriously out of your mind?! You just suddenly demand a duel out of nowhere?!"
"Oh, so you want to get beaten up some more?"
I trotted into the training room alongside Master, who had been waiting for me at the door. The first thing that caught my eye was the group of Striker trainees sprawled out all over the floor around Yeon-hwa.
Only Seong-hyeon and Lee-hwa managed to remain standing on trembling legs. Meanwhile, Yeon-hwa didn't look tired in the slightest.
"Strikers are supposed to be like this! The best Striker is the one who charges in and delivers the ultimate blow!"
Yeon-hwa cracked her neck, loosening up her joints, and lunged forward in the blink of an eye.
"Ah!"
Lee-hwa dodged Yeon-hwa's fist by a hair's breadth, scurrying this way and that. But Yeon-hwa scowled, clearly displeased by this.
"I told you not to run! Look for an opening!"
"Dieeeee!"
"Why, you little—!"
Spotting an opening, Seong-hyeon charged forward, shrouding his entire body in lightning. True to the sound of thunder, his speed was so fast that an ordinary person would have struggled to track him with their eyes.
Though I can see it clearly thanks to my Seolan.
Without even looking, as if sensing him purely through instinct, Yeon-hwa simply extended her leg and kicked Seong-hyeon square in the stomach.
As Seong-hyeon flew backward, a flower made of mana bloomed on his abdomen and exploded violently.
"Urgh...!"
Seong-hyeon had fainted.
I shook my head as I watched the Striker training.
Maybe my Master is actually on the humane side.
"Hoho, it seems the other children are not finished yet. Watching them will be good for you."
"Really?"
Master slowly reached out his hand again. I glared at it for a moment before taking it. I couldn't stay mad forever.
Besides, Master had a strange way of putting people at ease just by being near them, so my annoyance melted away in an instant.
Holding his hand, I walked over to the area where the Vanguards were gathered, and Grandfather Yong-su came into view.
"Ah, Shiro, you're back? Did you learn well from Master Il-hwan?"
"Hehe, well... I think it was okay."
I couldn't bring myself to call it good, even as a polite lie.
I hadn't really been taught anything; I was just thrown straight into a duel with a Gate boss. Sure, I probably grew from it... but my heart was still pounding.
"Hoho, do not worry."
"Haha... Of course. With Hunter Il-hwan guiding her, who am I to say anything?"
Grandfather showed absolute trust in Master. I had heard he was a great Hunter, but I wondered what kind of reputation he actually held in the industry.
I should ask later.
For now, I turned my head to watch the Vanguard training.
"What are they doing?"
"I am teaching them the most important skill for a Vanguard."
"A skill?"
"Extracting mana to make it dense and maintaining it for a long time. It is the foundation of all Vanguards."
The Vanguard trainees were all holding out their palms, releasing their mana.
Most of them were just scattering their mana into the air, but a few managed to condense it into a faint, solid shape.
"When it comes to handling mana, Backcodes must be delicate, Strikers must be strong, and Seekers must be fast. Vanguards must be solid and enduring."
"Hmm... What about me, Master?"
"We... can do all of it."
Master crossed his arms and answered nonchalantly.
Doing all of it.
I could feel his immense pride in the Wildcard classification... in being Beyond Heaven. Even Grandfather Yong-su didn't object and simply remained quiet.
"I see..."
Master held my hand and slowly led me to the next area.
The Backcode training consisted of playing chess using mana manipulation against Professor Lee Gyeong-seon. The chess game between Woo-rin and Professor Lee was so intense that two or three pieces were moving every second.
What in the world is that...?
"You have to move faster! And you will definitely find a weakness!"
Se-eun was shrouded in a barrier of violently churning waves. Every now and then, spears shot out through the barrier at a speed even faster than Seong-hyeon's.
It seemed the Seeker trainees had to dodge the spears while simultaneously finding the weakest point in the watery barrier.
"Wow... The training for the other positions looks really hard too."
"Hoho..."
Master stroked his beard as he looked around the training room. I... felt an inexplicable chill from his smile.
Two days passed like that.
The training I went through... wasn't much different from the first day.