Black History
The lesson continued with a much gentler touch than before. “Good. Like that… now rotate your arm in a smooth circle, following the flow.”
“Huuu…”
Suddenly, Hoya’s teaching had grown far more precise, her focus sharpening to a razor’s edge. She hadn’t been careless with me earlier, but now she seemed like someone with a clear purpose. Of course, that worked in my favor.
Master of Strange Powers
“Huu… I finally got it.”
The title was just one of the sweet fruits I’d earned along the way. It was the evolved version of One Who Holds Strange Power, the title naturally gained after acquiring Ghostly Qi.
‘But it doesn’t feel all that different.’
I recalled the title’s basic effects.
Category:Taboo Power
• Ghostly Qi potency increased by 5%
• Ghostly Qi control increased by 5%
If I had only obtained One Who Holds Strange Power, the control effect would have vanished and the potency boost would have been a measly 2%. But I was different. Thanks to the Master of the Throne title I possessed, every effect was doubled. Ten percent. Not bad at all.
‘Pretty decent.’
In any game, a ten-percent boost was never something to shrug off—especially for veterans who knew how valuable every single percentage point became in the late game.
Fwoosh.
‘The power really has increased, even if only slightly.’
On the surface there didn’t seem to be much difference, but since I was the one wielding the Ghostly Qi, I could clearly feel the improvement.
“Huh? It feels stronger than before, doesn’t it?”
And it seemed the others had noticed the change too. Hoya tilted her head as she watched the Ghostly Qi flowing around my hand, now ten percent more potent.
“Well, your change is even more noticeable to me.”
“My change?”
“Ah, you probably can’t see it yourself. One moment.”
Hoya created a mirror with a talisman and held it up to my face. The reflection showed the familiar face of Zeon—but with one small difference I hadn’t noticed before.
“My eyes…?”
“It must be a side effect from using the same Ghostly Qi as me.”
Instead of my usual pupils, the mirror showed a strange, harmonious blend of silver and pink, just like Hoya’s. The irises were slit vertically, like a beast’s. It looked like someone had copy-pasted her eyes onto my face.
“Will this stay like this permanently?”
“No. It only happens while you’re actively circulating Ghostly Qi. Try releasing it.”
I quickly withdrew the energy, and just like that, my eyes returned to normal as if nothing had happened.
“So the change only appears when I use Ghostly Qi…”
“Well, at least it doesn’t stay that way. That’s a relief.”
“And since you’re using my Ghostly Qi, the eye change ended up looking just like mine. That’s… not bad at all.”
“You actually think that?”
Hoya looked genuinely surprised by the unexpected compliment. I was a little shocked myself. After all, Cheonma usually evaluated anything related to Hoya in the most negative light possible.
“Ahem. Ignore her and continue the lesson. As I was saying earlier…”
“Ah, right. You’re supposed to fight a powerful opponent tomorrow with your life on the line, aren’t you?”
“…Pardon?”
Tomorrow? Was she talking about the spar with Garein? Technically she wasn’t wrong. Garein was certainly strong, and fighting him was no small matter. But still…
“A battle you can’t possibly run from… and one where you must fight prepared to die. Why on earth would you do something so foolish?”
Her wording felt a bit… extreme. It was just an evaluation spar with a professor. Why was she talking like it was a life-or-death duel?
“Shh.”
I saw it then—Cheonma quietly raising a finger to her lips, signaling me to stay silent. So she had done it on purpose.
“Huu… it must be really tight on time.”
“That’s why I’ve been focusing on teaching you Heavenly Demon Divine Art as the core.”
“As much as I hate to admit it, you’re right. Your Heavenly Demon Divine Art has superior destructive power. So for now, I’ll teach you techniques to support it.”
She didn’t need to be this serious… I watched Hoya ponder with deadly gravity and wondered whether I should tell her the truth.
“What about the opponent’s information?”
“He said he won’t use his right hand or his weapon.”
“…To look down on you that much. Ha, how humiliating.”
Why was she getting so angry? Please stop. The opponent is my professor!
“This time I really have to step back. I can’t let my stubbornness get you killed before your talent even has a chance to bloom.”
“Then let’s redirect the Ghostly Qi in a different way.”
“Yes. So you should…”
…Yeah. I’ll just keep my mouth shut.
Watching the two of them suddenly get along so harmoniously, how could I possibly tell the truth? Besides, the fact that Cheonma had gone this far with Hoya meant there had to be some hidden meaning behind it.
“Considering the gap between you and your opponent… should we focus on teaching defense and evasion using Ghostly Qi?”
“Yes. Since even Heavenly Demon Divine Art might struggle offensively, make sure to remember that Ghostly Qi is strictly in a supporting role.”
“…Isn’t that wording a little strange? Not ‘supporting techniques,’ but ‘supporting role’?”
“There isn’t much time. It’s already past midnight, so only a few hours left…”
“Let’s start the lesson right away. Follow me.”
Hoya casually dismissed Cheonma’s slip of the tongue, but I saw it clearly—the way her lips moved ever so slightly. Cheonma was speaking in a voice so quiet no one else could hear.
Reading her lips, what she said was…
“As expected of a fox. So easy to handle.”
“What are you dawdling for? We have a lot to do. If you don’t want to die, follow me right now.”
“…Yes ma’am.”
“Hehe, my dear disciple. Cheer up. I will never let you die.”
And so I diligently followed Hoya’s passionate instruction on handling Ghostly Qi. Since the main focus was Heavenly Demon Divine Art, the time I spent learning from her was shorter than expected. When the lesson ended, Hoya looked genuinely disappointed and muttered quietly.
“If it weren’t a life-or-death battle, I could have taught you so many proper offensive techniques…”
“Hehe, come here, my disciple.”
While Cheonma continued her lesson, Hoya quietly watched us. She kept sending longing glances our way, but the worry that I might not fight well enough was practically radiating off her.
‘Ugh. My conscience…’
The longer it went on, the more my conscience ached. And the more my expression darkened from guilt, the more Hoya assumed I was nervous about a potentially fatal fight, which only made her worry more. It was a vicious, uncomfortable cycle.
“I can’t take this anymore!”
Finally, right before it was time to return to reality, Hoya shouted with a look of firm resolve. Cheonma frowned slightly at the sudden outburst, then relaxed her expression and asked curiously.
“What is it?”
“My contractor!”
“I don’t recall making a contract with you.”
“Still, since he’s using my power, it’s not entirely wrong, is it?”
Cheonma widened her eyes in disbelief.
“To think you were this shameless.”
“Anyway! For my contractor’s safety, I need to watch the fight too.”
‘…Huh?’
Watch the fight?
A new mark has been engraved. This one will serve as my ears and eyes.
It was a fox-face emblem radiating a soft silver glow—different from the previous one.
“Hah, at this point I’m not sure who the real master is.”
“You’re the one who lacks affection for your disciple! How can you be so calm when your own student is heading off to die?”
I’m not heading off to die. Please stop talking. I’m saying all of this for your sake, Hoya.
But my silent screams remained trapped inside. Cheonma simply curled her lips in clear amusement.
“Hehe. Isn’t it fun?”
“Fun…? Are you even in your right mind?”
“Yes. So much so that I nearly embarrassed myself.”
“Did I misjudge you? I thought you were endlessly generous and full of love and attention toward your disciple…”
Stop! Please stop talking!!
With every outrageous statement and action that piled onto Hoya’s growing collection of black history, I screamed internally. Cheonma simply laughed.
And in the end…
“Rather than having a master like you! I’ll become that child’s master instead!”
“Ahahahahaha!!”
“Then we will now begin the evaluation spar.”
“You damn human—!!”
Time had passed, and the evaluation spar had finally arrived. Beneath the clear sun, a single fox’s rage-filled voice echoed inside my head.
Ah… my head hurts.
“You said it was a life-or-death battle! You said you couldn’t run away!”
“Did I say something wrong? It’s only natural to fight with your life on the line if you want a better score on the evaluation.”
“What about the part where I can’t run away?!”
“Would you run away while your teacher is evaluating you?”
“Ughhh! Then at least don’t say it with such a dark expression back then!”
“Hehe. The one who got fooled is the idiot.”