Chapter 293
Chapter 293
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 293
Chapter Title: Homework
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Quite some time had passed since dealing with the Aqua Dragon.
It was an event that could have shaken the world, but humanity proved more resilient than expected.
Just like how the ground hardens after rain.
The storm brought by the dragon had only steeled the hunters' resolve.
The same went for Byulcheonji.
Whiiiish!
The wind blowing near the city.
Clang! Clang!
The city itself was still undergoing finishing work.
But the people inside it had undergone a definite change.
First, the intelligence organization "Styx" had begun operating in earnest.
The existence of "Styx" was a top-secret matter.
Only I, the guild master, received reports from Kim Jin-ah.
As for the rest.
It was decided to keep it secret from the Byulcheonji rankers except for the Dark Emperor, the Guide, and the Shadow Secret.
Trust among organization members is important, but it was still a new guild that hadn't been around long.
They agreed to hold off for a bit.
Naturally, it wasn't known to the public either.
The most crucial aspect of achieving information superiority was protecting that information.
Especially since Kwon Seon-ji and Kwon Tam-ji's abilities were cheats in and of themselves, they needed strict protection.
For Byulcheonji's sake.
For their sake too.
[Medicine Venerable: Everyone! Take your spirit elixirs for today! If you take them every day, you'll see an increase in vitality! These are the world's finest spirit elixirs, as guaranteed by this Medicine Venerable himself, so no worries!]
[Mother: My, you're all training so hard? I've cooked up a meal, so come eat. Got it? Strength comes from a full belly.]
Grandpa Ji Do-ik and Grandma Yang Jeong-ae had also gotten fully into gear.
While handling their own duties, they took care of Byulcheonji members' welfare.
The spirit elixirs made by a high ranker and the food from Jeong-ae House were proof of that.
'Tasty, sure enough.'
Yang Jeong-ae's cooking was top-notch.
Even I, obsessed with training, never skipped meals because of it?
"Hiya."
Today too.
Kim Jin-ah, who had come out early in the morning and taken a spoonful of soup, wore a blissful expression.
"It's like a swamp."
"A swamp?"
I instinctively worked my chopsticks as I asked.
"People who join Byulcheonji can't leave because they crave this food more than any other perk?"
"Ah."
So that's what she meant by swamp.
I nodded naturally.
Truth be told.
The food was great, but Byulcheonji had plenty of other charms.
Take the Dragon Knight, for example.
He offered food to Vina-sa every time and guarded the egg.
He didn't go to dungeons or enjoy leisure.
He spent all his time incubating the Aqua Dragon's egg.
To him, that was the height of happiness.
Could any other guild offer him that kind of work besides Byulcheonji?
A dragon's egg?
'No way.'
It was possible only because it was Byulcheonji.
We had the ability to obtain the egg and the generosity to hand it over.
The other combat operatives were in similar situations.
"Huuuuk, good! Kra ha ha ha!"
The Berserker threw off his shirt.
Sweat poured down his bulging muscles.
Mugak Training Grounds.
Every morning there, he sparred with Mugak and Lightning.
"Damn it, old man! Go easy!"
Pzzzzzt!
More electricity than usual crackled from Lightning's body.
"Kra ha ha ha! What's wrong, doesn't it feel good? This is the fist of true power!"
"Mugak, true power, bullshit. It's tough, that's what."
Floa grumbled, but a smile definitely played on her lips.
Until recently, she couldn't have imagined such systematic training.
Going to dungeons and surviving there.
Like most hunters, she thought that was the most efficient way to grow.
But lately, her thinking had changed a lot.
Not just her—the eyes of the other Byulcheonji members had changed too.
They had gained a certain killer instinct?
'The owner guy.'
Floa thought of someone.
Joo Dong-hoon.
The man training with weapons he'd never seen before in the always-empty Bone Ship training grounds.
He was at the center of the change.
The hunter who had reached Hyper Ranker faster than anyone else in the world.
And here he was, skipping dungeons to focus on training.
How could they not train too?
With living proof right in front of them?
"Yeah, let's do this!"
Pzzzzzt!
Electricity sparked from her hand.
If she got hurt?
Mew and Dana, sitting in the center of the training grounds, would heal her anyway.
Spring Apostle, world ranking 221.
She had said it herself.
Waiting in these training grounds built skill proficiency way more than tagging along to ordinary dungeons.
Why?
Because Fighting Tiger, Twin Blades, Gladiator, Absolute Matchless, Iron Fist, The Druid, Asura, and more.
These hunters clashed with each other, constantly producing injuries.
'Nice.'
Puuuunch!
Feeling the Berserker's fist slam into her gut, Floa ended up laughing.
'Yeah.'
At first, there had been a twinge of unease.
Leaving Germany for Byulcheonji.
She had done it solely for Joo Dong-hoon, but at the time, she had no foundation to believe she could grow stronger.
But look now.
In the square training grounds, everyone immersed themselves in training.
High-quality spirit elixirs and meals were provided daily, and injuries were healed on the spot.
And that wasn't all?
They had the finest training instructors.
Instructors who had been absolutes in their own worlds.
'I guarantee it.'
Pzzzt!
Confidence filled Floa's eyes as she swung her fist.
'Soon, Byulcheonji will stand atop the world.'
Above the world top three.
In a position even the Demon King's Army, Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, and Magic Tower couldn't touch.
* * *
Right after training with the old man ended.
Swipe, swipe!
I wiped the streaming sweat with the dry towel draped over me.
"Huu."
And let out a long sigh.
Byulcheonji's rapid growth was great, but I was getting impatient trying to keep up with that pace.
'I need to awaken Bonego quickly too.'
It felt like my own growth had stagnated.
The Myriad Arts Old Man emphasized fundamentals and using a variety of tools.
Because of that, I couldn't even touch my favorites like spears, fisticuffs, or jutsu.
Whenever I showed even a hint of using them.
- You fool! You like spears that much? Then you should've stuck to spears from the start—instead you dabbled in everything and now want to focus on spears? What a waste of time! Tsk tsk.
I'd get scolded like that immediately.
Of course, even now.
"Why the sigh again?"
As if reading my mind, the old man glared with axe-like eyes.
This was kinda uncomfortable.
When he floated in the air, I couldn't even think freely?
"Huu, this guy."
In the end, the old man sighed too.
Then he muttered.
"Looks like about an hour left until reverse summon... Fine!"
Clap!
The old man clapped and nodded toward the nearby rock.
"Sit there."
"Why?"
"Why? During training, idle thoughts are basic, and I trusted you and left you alone, and you go activating medium dungeons!"
"......"
I looked guilty.
Yeah.
Truth was, when the old man wasn't around.
I had activated the orb in the back mountain.
[Item: 'Spirit King's Will' (SS Grade)]
[Grade: SS]
[Type: Medium]
[Description: An orb that can uncover the secrets of a hidden ruin.]
[Effect 1: Can open the dungeon 'Spirit Realm.']
[Effect 2: Item bound to Hunter 'Joo Dong-hoon.']
[Effect 3: This item can only be activated by Hunters SS Grade or higher.]
The world's first SS Grade medium dungeon.
Its difficulty was beyond imagination.
During Bonepal's awakening, I fought the constellation-grade 'War God' (SSS Grade), so this might even be higher.
'But......'
A guy like me can't resist a dungeon like that......
"Resist my ass. You tiger-nosed fool!"
"Haha, sorry."
I scratched my head.
"I had no intention of going in without your permission, Elder. I was just really curious and opened it."
Of course, that was bullshit.
Impatient, I had actually activated the orb to enter the dungeon.
Wuuung!
The moment the orb activated.
[Warning! Warning! Warning!]
[Alert!]
['Spirit King's Will' activation cannot be undone.]
[This is a solo special dungeon.]
[All skills will be sealed upon entry.]
[Proceed with entry?]
I canceled activation right away upon seeing the system's warning.
'Skill seal? That's too much.'
That meant.
I couldn't use my bones, nor summon the old man.
Never mind the recklessness.
Sneaking in and then asking permission was one thing; not being able to summon the old man for a while was entirely different.
"Huuu, you brat. Don't you trust this master that much?"
"No, of course not. You're the only one for me, Elder. It's just......"
After a moment's hesitation, I continued.
"At my level, the weapons I use in real combat are set."
Myriad Arts.
All good.
I knew they were incredibly powerful techniques.
The old man had proven it in the dungeon before.
'But.'
Upon reaching Hyper Ranker, the thought naturally arose.
Really.
Could mastering a hodgepodge of arts broadly and shallowly lead to true mastery?
Could it surpass the Demon King and Heavenly Demon?
Plus.
In combat situations, you can't use all ten thousand arts.
The inefficiency kept nagging at me.
It wouldn't resolve.
And besides.
Combat arts like whips, rapiers, chains, etc., were one thing.
But learning non-combat arts like farming, fishing, woodworking, music, herbalism, gathering, medicine, sculpting, etc., felt endless.
What was the point of learning all this?
"I don't misunderstand your feelings."
The old man smiled warmly.
"I felt the same way once."
"Really?"
"Of course."
The old man nodded.
"But you still have to do it. Didn't I always say? All arts meet at the pinnacle. You might ask, then why not just master one to the pinnacle? The destination's the same anyway. No, that's utterly wrong."
"......"
"Want me to explain it backwards?"
"Backwards?"
"Yeah."
Hm.
All arts are needed to reach the pinnacle?
"Correct."
The old man nodded seriously.
"The pinnacle is objective. It's different for everyone. For some, their limit might be Harmony Realm; for others, Profound Realm."
Harmony Realm? Profound Realm?
"Grades of realms from my old world."
"Ah."
"That's why I mastered Myriad Arts."
"......?"
"Someone who reaches the pinnacle with only spears gains insights only from spear use. They limit their own potential. Think about fishing. Catching spiritual fish, not common ones like crucians, is tricky. You have to deceive sight and sound with hand movements, control tension when they bite, play the line. Not just fishing. Hammering, cutting, sewing—the insights from diverse experiences raise the pinnacle's limit."
I get it.
Rich experiences yield diverse insights.
Since all techniques manifest through human movement.
But the key point is.
Humans have finite lifespans.
I didn't have time.
No leeway to learn everything.
"If your goal is just beating those Demon King and Heavenly Demon, mastering one art would suffice."
"Are the Demon King and Heavenly Demon 'just' anything......?"
"You've seen it yourself—this universe is endlessly vast, with eons as the baseline. With human thinking, you'll only be the strongest human."
Ah.
Arin had mentioned it before.
Constellations were those who reached the pinnacle in one art.
And constellations had ranks too.
The 'Ancient Magic' (SSS Grade) she followed was the top among them.
'Is that it?'
So the pinnacle really differs for each being?
If it were the same for everyone, all constellations would be equal rank!
'Then.'
I nodded.
I trust the Elder. 100%.
If Myriad Arts can truly expand the pinnacle's limit, as he says......?
Of course I should.
Why pass up a way to get stronger?
"Thank you, Elder."
Indeed.
Clear advice.
The impatience filling my heart melted away like snow, and my cluttered mind cleared up.
Yeah.
Just keep doing what I was.
Follow orders.
"Tsk tsk. Took you long enough?"
The old man clicked his tongue.
"That doesn't mean skip dungeons forever. Here's my homework."
"Yes, sir."
"Master at least the basics of the ten thousand arts I've outlined. Deadline: exactly one year. With the Heavenly Pure Energy Rejuvenation Eternal Great Law forcing genius-level effort, it's doable."
"......One year?"
A long and short time.
"Yeah. By then, your thinking will surely change."
* * *
After the old man assigned the long-term homework and left.
Time to wash up and head to the back mountain to commune with Vina-sa.
Streeetch!
As I lightly stretched to leave.
[Kim Jin-ah: Guild Master, Guild Master!]
Kim Jin-ah's message popped up in the chat.
[Kim Jin-ah: Sending you community coordinates—want to check it out?]
Hm?
Suddenly?
[Kim Jin-ah: Looks like Arin's group and the Magic Tower are at each other's throats. Whew, what to even call this. Oh dear.]
Huh?
What was that about?