Thorns of Desperate Training
Kim Jun squeezed through the potted plants and sat cross-legged in the center of the training room, closing his eyes.
It's definitely richer in wood ki now.
Not just in his palms, but the number of grains passing through his body had multiplied dozens of times over.
Kim Jun pondered the raider's simple reply of "just." Maybe the answer lay there after all.
If I relax my body and mind, the ki might just naturally get sucked in.
Kim Jun slowly exhaled and inhaled. When he focused on his breathing, it sped up or slowed down. Breathing naturally turned out to be surprisingly difficult.
He thought of something other than Mukhon Gong or breathing exercises.
What was Choi Muhyun doing right now? Probably sweating it out for their showdown. What if he faced off against Choi Muhyun?
Unlike Do Jin-yong, Choi Muhyun knew Kim Jun's style inside and out.
Kim Jun figured a single mistake would decide the winner. How long could he maintain his focus in battle? That would be the key to victory or defeat.
He imagined the future.
He still didn't know how, but if he was recognized as a raider, what should he choose—dealer, tanker, or buffer?
Dealers were popular among most raiders for their overwhelming combat power, so the competition was fierce and the bar set high. Not just anyone could become one.
Tankers had less competition than dealers but more than buffers.
Buffers were often chosen by raiders whose skills fell short elsewhere. But not all buffers were there by default.
Moon Hyo-rin, the buffer from the Moon Guild, had shocked everyone by choosing that role despite her insane awakening score. There were plenty like her or Crazy Buffer Yang Hee-seon who picked it because it suited their nature.
Dealers were great, tankers too, and buffers weren't bad either. But Kim Jun didn't want to be boxed into one role. If possible, he aimed to be an all-rounder raider.
Pouring out attacks when dealing was needed, tanking like a frontline defender against charging monsters, and deploying special effects right where the team needed them—an all-rounder raider!
Deep in the sweet fantasy of becoming the ultimate raider everyone envied, Kim Jun began to nod off. The ki still flowed through or around his body but refused to obey his will.
Realizing he'd dozed for a full thirty minutes, Kim Jun got mad at himself.
On impulse, he grabbed a cactus with his bare hand. As the spines pierced deep into his fingers and palm, the sharp pain snapped him awake.
Blood trickled down but soon stopped.
Kim Jun plucked out the bloodied spines one by one. Each time a deeply embedded thorn came free, he vowed not to sleep for the next nineteen hours.
"Huh?"
Something amazing happened.
Wood ki gathered around the skin punctured by the cactus spines. It flowed into the holes or nearby flesh—not passing through, but absorbing into the skin and meat beneath, vanishing.
Ah! This is the recovery power from the Lyposaurus. So that's how it works.
An extremely effective but insane idea no normal person would ever consider popped into his head.
Entering the training room, Go Cheolmin was speechless.
The floor was packed with withered, twisted cacti—all hundreds of them in their pots, dead in the exact same state.
He'd told Kim Jun to absorb the ki from just one cactus in a single pot.
Kim Jun lay sprawled in the center of the room.
Pushing pots aside with his feet, Go Cheolmin approached and his eyes went wide.
No part of his arms, chest, or stomach was unscathed. Most wounds had mostly healed, leaving scars, but a few fresh ones stood out red with clear lines of dried blood nearby.
A dagger lay beside Kim Jun's hand, its blade stained dark red.
Inflicting wounds on himself to absorb ki via recovery—it was grotesque, but for Kim Jun, who couldn't control ki at will like a natural raider, it might be his only way.
Go Cheolmin placed a hand on Kim Jun's lower abdomen.
Just Cheonnoe Heart Technique in the dantian.
Moving his hand to the chest, back, and arms, Go Cheolmin's eyes bulged. The wood ki absorbed through the wounds had scattered like islands throughout his body.
In that moment, Go Cheolmin realized what he had to do.
This guy's given it his all. Now it's my turn.
Steadying his body and mind with deep breaths, he placed one hand on Kim Jun's dantian and the other on the chest where a clump of wood ki was isolated, then began circulating Mukhon Gong.
The wood ki reacted to the internal energy concentrated in Go Cheolmin's palms and started moving. He guided the clumps toward the dantian, absorbing them bit by bit.
Sweat beaded on his forehead. Thin breaths escaped his lips in long streams.
It was dangerous work. A tiny mistake could harm not just Kim Jun but Go Cheolmin himself. One slip, and qi deviation could paralyze part of his body.
Moving the ki near the Gyeongmun acupoint on his side, sudden pain surged.
Damn!
Grimacing, Go Cheolmin checked the back of his hand pressed to Kim Jun's body. The color had drained, turning it pale white. Dungeon sickness was kicking in.
His breathing grew ragged.
He clenched his teeth, but a groan slipped through.
Go Cheolmin planned to pull his hand away, retreat, manage the pain, then finish transferring the ki. But his palm stuck fast to Kim Jun's waist and side, refusing to budge.
A bizarre phenomenon began.
Internal energy poured from Go Cheolmin's palm into Kim Jun's body. The Mukhon Gong that absorbed and moved the ki acted like a magnet drawing iron filings, pulling in the clumps he'd already relocated.
His internal energy kept draining through the palm.
Go Cheolmin belatedly grasped the meaning.
This guy's absorbing my internal energy. Just like he did with Yeon Chung-jae's energy and memories.
He tried to stop at first.
But soon surrendered to the flow.
It's internal energy doomed to vanish from dungeon sickness anyway. Better if he absorbs it.
His face twisted in agony, but for some reason, his heart swelled with pride.
In an instant, seventy percent of his internal energy was gone.
With only ten percent left, changes swept over Go Cheolmin's face. His firm skin sagged with wrinkles, and his hair streaked gray, lightening.
I didn't expect the end to come this fast.
What would he look like with all his internal energy gone? To delay dungeon sickness, he'd secretly consulted experts and seen photos of raiders whose internal energy or mana had vanished. They were all listless old folks.
A miracle occurred.
The internal energy that had vanished into Kim Jun's body began flowing back through his palm. Even more astonishing, the cool sensation it brought erased the pain.
His internal energy quickly restored to its original level.
The pain vanished clean away.
Go Cheolmin pulled his hand free and stepped back. Kim Jun was still sleeping soundly.
Since contracting dungeon sickness, he'd never felt his body so brimming with vitality. Examining himself, Go Cheolmin let out an ah! of realization.
It's the Lyposaurus recovery power! That's why the pain disappeared.
He was thrilled, though a bit wistful. Even the Lyposaurus core, Lyphium, couldn't cure dungeon sickness. It only postponed the pain.
Nam Eung-ryeol would be shocked to hear this.
Go Cheolmin scooped Kim Jun up in his arms and headed upstairs.