The Sparks of War Ignite (Part A)
Despite the numerous setbacks, afternoon training yielded an abundance of rewards.
At last, three physical stats had climbed.
The assistance of Jin Serin and Instructor Kim Joohee had been indispensable. Without Jin Serin’s stretching massage, no matter how hard I trained the entire afternoon, I would barely have advanced one stat. Without Instructor Kim Joohee’s support, I would have failed to reach three.
And the gains were far from over.
Parasitic Growth: Special Effect Triggered! Choose a trait to steal from the host or transfer to them.
Thanks to Park Sinhu’s grit in grinding away somewhere, my perception stat also rose by one. That extra trait-exchange ticket was now in my pocket.
Time to start pilfering Park Sinhu’s growth-buff trait, then.
Host: Park Sinhu
Traits: [Demonic Talent Lv. Rare], [Martial Talent Lv. Rare], [Innate Martial Bones Lv. Rare] ……
Until a few days ago the body was still locked tight, so the growth-buff trait would have been useless. Now the situation had changed.
With the growth-buff trait, I would siphon even more experience. But Parasitic Growth only returned twenty percent of the host’s earned EXP anyway.
If the growth-buff trait gave me a twenty-five-percent EXP increase, I would only reap five percent through Parasitic Growth. Direct use of the trait was far more efficient.
Unfortunately, it was still out of reach. The growth-buff traits in Park Sinhu’s possession all required physical stats above six on average.
I needed my physical stats to average six before I could claim Innate Martial Bones. The moment the average cleared six, Innate Martial Bones would be mine.
Innate Martial Bones was the prerequisite for Heavenly Martial Body, which was in turn the gateway to the ultimate skill Heavenly Demon Divine Art waiting in the Dimensional Shop. Reaching it would be one more giant leap toward my late-game carry build.
The debuffs on my physique had eased noticeably. To outsiders I still looked the same, yet I could feel the change in my bones and muscles. My hunched back straightened a fraction, my line of sight rose, and my limbs moved with far greater ease.
Still, full recovery demanded more.
To completely heal the twisted body, I needed every physical stat to hit eleven.
Still, the treatment had already begun. My body was on its way back into the normal range.
Now my current stats stood as follows.
With all physical stats now rising through training, the era of being unable to train or run mana was over. The body ran on the Flourishing World Reconstruction Serum, the mana on the Mana Slime. My sprint toward the ultimate king-tier build had finally found its stride.
HP: [X] / [Max]
Late afternoon.
Outside the entrance to the training grounds.
“Thank you for the guidance today, Instructor Kim Joohee.”
I bowed my head deeply to Kim Joohee. My back had already straightened, so there was no need to bend.
“Um… yeah…”
Kim Joohee nodded, but her expression still carried a trace of reluctance as she chewed her lip.
At that moment Jin Serin grabbed my arm and pulled me away.
“Then we’ll head in first!”
She wanted to drop me from the instructor’s grasp as quickly as possible.
“W-wait…”
My body swayed as she guided me toward the dorm.
“W-wait!”
Kim Joohee suddenly grabbed my opposite arm and held me back.
“W-what?!”
Jin Serin’s temple vein bulged.
“S-Seojun is tired right now!”
“?”
In truth I had nothing to say while being held, yet Jin Serin was the one making a fuss.
“Even if you’re tired, you still have to eat dinner. It’s just right for dinner, so let’s eat together.”
“Huh?!”
Jin Serin stared at me in bewilderment.
“I’m sorry, but Seojun can’t eat anything right now? Dinner will be on his own!”
“Really?”
“Y-yes…”
–Stagger! Stagger!
Jin Serin pulled while Kim Joohee refused to let go. Thanks to the two women, my steps wobbled as if the ground had cracked.
“Wait a minute…”
My legs were still weak from squats.
In the end my strength gave out.
“Oh dear.”
Kim Joohee caught the nearly falling Seojun and lifted him with her arms.
–Whoosh!
Heavy Seojun floated like a light girl.
Kim Joohee looked down at the close Seojun and said, “Cadet Kang. You look so frail. Your diet must have been the problem.”
“Haa?!”
Jin Serin’s face crumpled instantly.
She had been the one planning Seojun’s diet for the past few days.
Kim Joohee paid no heed. “Too bad. Today I’ll plan the diet for you too.”
Kim Joohee pulled Seojun even closer to her side.
“Hic!”
The force was so strong that Jin Serin was dragged along as well.
At arm’s-length distance, Kim Joohee whispered, “Training requires diet as much as exercise. You know that, don’t you?”
“Ugh!”
Jin Serin yanked her arm away, freeing the two of them.
“Cough…!”
The pull had been so fierce I almost dislocated a shoulder.
“Seojun’s diet is fine! I planned it myself!”
“What? Then my guidance is even more necessary. Cadet Jin’s diet is amateur level.”
“W-what?!”
–Stagger! Stagger!
Seojun swayed between the two women like a tap dance.
“Gah…!”
–Thud! Crack!
The harder the women argued, the stronger the pull.
My shoulder is going to pop out!
Being yanked by two superhuman physiques felt as if my body would split in half. And I already had the additional debuff of habitual shoulder dislocation.
“S-stop!”
I struggled to free myself from their arms.
–Crunch.
–Crunch.
“?”
Yet neither woman released me.
“……Both of you, please let go of my arm for a moment… It hurts…”
In the end I had to speak myself.
“U-um…”
“……”
–Swoosh.
As soon as they loosened their grip, I snatched my arms free.
“Ugh…”
If I had been even a second slower, the arms would have come out intact.
I rubbed my stiff shoulder and spoke to Kim Joohee first. “Instructor Kim Joohee, thank you for the words, but I have something else to do today.”
“Ah.”
Kim Joohee’s face darkened noticeably.
Meanwhile Jin Serin’s expression turned smug.
“See? Seojun is already… with his diet…”
“And Serin, you go in first too.”
“W-what…?”
Jin Serin’s smugness vanished like water.
“Heh. There you go.”
Kim Joohee sneered.
“Uuuuh…!”
The two women’s gazes clashed, sending sparks flying.
Meanwhile, I let out a silent sigh.
“I have a personal matter to attend to. Please head back carefully, Instructor Kim Joohee.”
I bowed again to Kim Joohee, waved to Jin Serin, and turned my back on them. Staying here would only extend the comedy.
“Haa… Instructor Kim Joohee? Can we talk?”
“How convenient. I had plenty I wanted to ask you too.”
“Come!”
“My car.”
Seojun’s eyes flicked once, clearing the troublesome conversation from view, then touched the smartwatch on his wrist.
This is the last task of the week… Once I finish this, I can finally sleep…
Simply put, the task I planned for this evening was “starting a war.”
This evening. I will spark a war between two vast organizations.
The organization that had planted a spy in Sungjin Group—the Red Inverted Cross.
And the Taesan Group, Park Sinhu’s colossal background and Korea’s corporate authority.
By igniting a war between them, I would fulfill my week’s final objective: Disrupt the Balance.
It was time to begin.