Growth (2)
Growth (2)
Saturday morning.
I arrived in Seoul via Warp Gate and followed the address. I had some time to kill, so I stopped by a cafe. I ordered an Americano. When the buzzer went off, I went to the counter and found a slice of cake there.
"Excuse me, I didn't order that cake."
At my words, the pretty female employee smiled and said.
"It's on the house, customer."
"Oh, thank you."
'Is this the life of a handsome man?'
I returned to my seat and ate the coffee and cake. Should I buy some macarons if I see a shop on the way? They were expensive, but considering the state of my wallet, it wasn't impossible.
I drank a little coffee, devoured the cake quickly, and got up from my seat. I saw a macaron shop on the way, so I bought a box of 10.
They were handmade macarons made with New Zealand butter, and a box of 10 cost a whopping 23,000 won. Macarons were seriously fucking expensive.
Passing through the forest of buildings, a quiet area appeared. A residential area consisting mostly of 3 to 4-story houses emerged.
"Nice."
It was a tranquil space. It was my dream to live in a place like this when I got married later. I didn't have a girlfriend, I didn't have money, and house prices kept skyrocketing, so I had seriously considered emigrating, though.
"......."
Anyway.
I headed to the address Nam Da-yoon had pinned for me in advance.
Following the address, I saw a 4-story house. Just in case, I checked the address, and it was correct. I pressed the doorbell.
Ding-dong.
"Our Siwoo, you're here?"
The moment I pressed the bell, the door opened and Nam Da-yoon appeared. Her ocean-blue hair swayed. I was a bit flustered. Nam Da-yoon's outfit was more embarrassing than I had expected.
She was wearing blue leggings that matched her hair color and a tight long-sleeved shirt that slightly revealed her belly button. Unlike the disgusting sportswear my younger sibling wears, this was full of sex appeal. There was nothing more terrible than when that brat wore it.
"Hello. I felt bad coming empty-handed, so I bought something to eat."
"Thanks. I'll enjoy it."
She smiled brightly at my gift and accepted it. She took the bag containing the 10 macarons and guided me inside.
"You're not hungry, are you?"
"Yes. I ate some cake on the way here."
"You like sweets, huh."
I followed her guidance and entered the house. The interior was neat. White tiles were laid on the floor, and luxurious furniture was arranged throughout the house. Passing the living room, there were stairs leading to the upper and lower floors. We went down to the basement.
The basement was wider than I thought. It looked like a space of about 50 pyeong.
"Pretty spacious, right? It has a space expansion spell on it,"
"Isn't that incredibly expensive?"
"It's nothing."
At my compliment, the corners of her mouth twitched. It was a very easy-to-read reaction.
We went down to the training ground and headed to the center. The lights were shining brightly, but it wasn't blinding. Was this also magically treated?
"Shall we start with a light sparring match? Do you prefer a wooden sword? I heard you also use a spear."
Nam Da-yoon said as she walked toward the side where the wooden swords and wooden spears were hanging.
"Oh? You even know what weapons I use?"
"Siwoo, you're very famous."
She said with a slightly bitter smile.
"Since the founding of the Hero Academy, no student has ever received a perfect score on the written exam. But you, Siwoo, are the only student who has. You even received a Gold grade for the academic materials you posted in the Hall of Fame a while ago."
"Ah, that..."
"Most of the officials probably know everything. From the food you like to the food you hate, Siwoo."
"Wow, that's a bit..."
I looked fed up.
"It can't be helped. People everywhere are saying that if you grow up like this, Siwoo, you'll become a scholar who wins a Nobel Prize. If the Im family hadn't blocked them, all sorts of scouts would have come the moment you stepped outside."
The Im family was Im Na-yeon's family. Maybe they blocked them because my parents are both in a guild created by the Im family, so they thought I would go there too.
"Then I'll go with the wooden sword."
At my answer, Nam Da-yoon handed me a wooden sword. And she grabbed a wooden sword for herself.
'Knowledge Browsing!'
▼
Name : Nam Da-yoon
Strength : 41
Agility : 45
Stamina : 42
Mana : 45
Unique Ability : Sword Control
Trait : X
Monster-like stats. No matter what I do, I won't be able to graze even a corner of her clothes.
"Go ahead and attack me."
At her words, I raised my sword and glared at her. But I couldn't see any openings. In that case, I have to attack and create an opening myself.
Pat!
I kicked off the ground. I aimed my wooden sword at her neck.
Tak!
As if it were natural, she blocked my wooden sword with hers. But that was expected. I used Heavenly Hands. My craftsmanship, which had reached a high level, unfolded.
Parrying.
The technique that always gave all the students a hard time during sparring at the academy unfolded. However, her wooden sword showed only a tiny movement.
"Siwoo, you're already using parrying? That's amazing."
She widened her eyes in admiration. I ignored her words and continued to swing my wooden sword. Tak! Tak! The sound of wooden swords clashing echoed in the basement, but no effective hits landed. Considering the difference in our stats, it was only natural.
After 30 minutes of scuffling like that.
"Not bad. No, actually, it's an incredible achievement for your age."
She praised me while watching me wipe off sweat with a towel.
"Your strength and agility are incredibly low, but your technique is enough to give even intermediate-rank heroes a hard time."
I gave a bitter smile at her words. Only the technique is high. It might sound like a compliment, but technique was ambiguous. Technique struggles against opponents with even higher technique, and it cannot resist overwhelming force.
"What do you think a fight is, Siwoo?"
She said calmly. A fight, huh.
"I think it's about getting hit less and hitting the opponent more."
"Correct. If possible, it's best to dodge all of the opponent's attacks and kill or hit them... but the opponent isn't stupid either. They will use all sorts of means to win, too."
She said with a bitter smile. Nam Da-yoon, who specializes in hunting villains, must have experienced all sorts of means.
"I see."
"People often misunderstand, but close-quarters combat is a battle of wits."
A battle of wits. I agreed with that. I nodded at Nam Da-yoon's words.
"The most important thing is observation. Observing the opponent and observing my own state. Grasping the opponent's moves, pressuring them with the moves I can use, and competing with each other's hands. I think this is the best thing I can teach you, Siwoo."
"What about other things?"
She answered my question with a bitter smile.
"My swordsmanship is tailored to my unique trait, so it's hard to teach it to you, Siwoo."
I didn't even wish for swordsmanship. Excellent sword skills are treasures that make you gasp just by themselves.
"No, I'm grateful just for you guiding me like this. Wishing for swordsmanship as well is, well..."
"Ahem. Anyway, what I'm going to teach you, Siwoo, is the Observation Eye."
"Observation Eye?"
"Yes, Observation Eye. It's about examining the opponent, examining my own state, and predicting the winning rate. You know the saying, 'Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated,' right?"
Her words made me uncomfortable. Without realizing it, I cut her off and said.
"Noona, I'm sorry, but it's 'Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be in danger'."
"What!"
She was astonished.
"Ah, anyway. It's a trait that most High Rank heroes who train in 'martial arts' possess. It's also a rite of passage if you want to become a high-level hero. If you don't have this, you've awakened 'Sense'."
It was a trait called the Sixth Sense, or Super Intuition. In the game, it was a comprehensive set trait that increased critical hit rate, critical damage, evasion rate, etc., so it was a must-have trait. Eye Technique had high critical hit rate and damage, while Intuition had high evasion.
The way to train Intuition was in a secret training ground inside the academy, where you could obtain it by turning off the lights and dodging a scarecrow's attacks 1,000 times.
The way to train Eye Technique was also to dodge balls 1,000 times there.
In other words, to train Eye Technique, it meant you had to dodge balls 1,000 times in a row at least.
Thinking this far, I broke into a cold sweat. It sounds easy to say 1,000 times, but if you get hit even once in the middle, you have to start over from the beginning. However, there's a trick to this, and since I could easily complete it by using this trick, I planned to raise Eye Technique and Intuition with it.
'But since it's different from the game, I don't know if it will go up or not.'
It's not something you raise step-by-step through training, but a bug-like method, so I'm not sure. Still, it was good to learn it.
"Even a lion raises its cub by dropping it off a cliff. This time, I'm going to push Siwoo a bit harshly."
Nam Da-yoon said, looking at a baseball she had brought from somewhere as if making a firm resolution. I felt a bit uncomfortable, so I called out to her without realizing it.
"Um, Da-yoon-noona?"
"Da, Da-yoon-noona? Yes? What's wrong, Siwoo?"
She answered my question in an excited voice.
"That's incorrect information."
"What?!"
It's true that a lion pushes a cub off a cliff, but it's not its own child. A lion that has newly become the leader pushes the 'previous' leader's lion cubs off the cliff. Lions adore their own cubs so much.
When I explained that, Nam Da-yoon coughed. It seems she intends to pretend it never happened.
'Did I... survive...'
I let out a sigh of relief. Actually, there was a reason Nam Da-yoon went easy on me. I thought about making a mask that increases agility, but it would be meaningless if Nam Da-yoon threw faster, so I wore the Mask of the Gym Rat and trained hard. Still, my agility, which had been sluggish, went up by 1.
"It's tough, right? Here, drink this. It's a juice made by grinding Green Carrots, which are good for restoring vitality."
Nam Da-yoon said, handing me a mysterious green juice. Green Carrot. It was a green carrot. This must also be a plant that grows in this world. Lacking strength, I nodded in thanks and drank the juice. When I put the juice in my mouth, I felt a sweet taste. Did she put honey in it?
"Now, chew this well and swallow."
After I drank about a third of the juice, she held out a pill the size of two thumb joints to me. It was a familiar item. An item that increases the effect if taken after training. This is quite expensive. Thinking 'what a stroke of luck,' I opened my mouth toward the pill.
"Here, Siwoo. Open your mouth, ahhh."
Nam Da-yoon put the pill into my mouth. I chewed it crunchily and swallowed. I felt like I had a bit more strength in my body. I looked at the clock hanging on one side of the wall. It was already 7 o'clock.
Today's gain was +1 Agility. I was reasonably satisfied. I also got closer to Nam Da-yoon.
'Should I get going?'
I got up. Then Nam Da-yoon said with a sad expression.
"See you next week."
"Yes, thank you for today."
I nodded and thought. Nam Da-yoon had offered to teach me on the weekend, but she had a schedule, so she had no choice but to teach me only today.
I left Nam Da-yoon's house.