53. Dual Core
53. Dual Core
While Ryu-o was having a good time, in a street in the South...
Ethan saw Riner's sparkling eyes and felt irritation surging up.
"Riner-ssi, normally, sexual desire and lust are different things, right?"
Riner smiled brightly and tilted her head 45 degrees.
"Huh?"
At her reaction that showed she really didn't understand at all, Ethan's narrow eyes nearly popped open.
Ethan thought of his teacher's face who had saved him, and took a deep breath.
"Whew... Making her shake her hips by feeding her drugs isn't love."
"??? Then what is love?"
With intelligence like this, how was she stronger than him...
Ethan started designing a custom education curriculum for Riner in his head.
Tailored to her level, so she'd understand perfectly.
"Hmm... It's that feeling where you always think of the other person and want to do anything for them."
Riner clasped her hands with an excited face and spun around on the spot.
"See! What I'm doing is love!!"
Without time to think, words burst out of Ethan.
"That kind of bitch tries to feed her target drugs and aphrodisiacs?"
"Huh?"
"... My mistake."
After quick admission, the second eye-level education session followed.
"Think about it, Riner-ssi. The person you drugged ends up with eyes rolling back whenever they see you, turning into a drooling mutt?"
"Hmm..."
"Without any warm emotional exchange, their head full of lust, chasing you around all day for mating."
"..."
"Interrupting meals, baths, before bed..."
"That sounds really..."
"In the end, nothing left but drugs and sex, no emotions, just licking fallen drug powder off the floor while shaking their hips."
"Awesome!?!?!?!!?"
As the saying goes, women only think about fucking men... She thinks that's good?
As a man, Ethan couldn't understand at all.
Riner trembled as if happy just imagining it.
"Hey, Ethan... I think that's a form of love too..."
"... Huh?"
Despite Ethan's reaction, the nonsense from Riner's mouth showed no sign of stopping.
"In the end, that person's head is filled only with me, right?"
"???? I clearly said drugs and mating..."
"Thinking of me during meals, baths, before bed... In the end, they're in the same boat as me, right?"
Ethan started feeling sorry for that guy Jang Ryu-o.
What sin did he commit to get stuck so perfectly in this bitch's heart?
'He was pretty strong, though...'
Ethan recalled the swordsmanship that had slashed his own chest and shuddered.
"Ugh... On second thought, it might be better to help you, Riner-ssi."
"See, you get love too, Ethan!"
Better to become Riner-ssi's meat rod than face him directly.
"Hmm... Riner-ssi? Instead of doing it here, why not ask Teacher?"
Riner furrowed her brows and said.
"She said to practice first and try it myself... If it really doesn't work, she'll help..."
"Well~ That's too bad."
Having such trivial chit-chat, the two arrived at the lowest brothel in the South.
-Jingle~
A cheerful sound rang out as they opened the door.
From the dim stairs, creaking sounds echoed.
-Creak... Creak...
"Two guys? Wrong place. If you're doing three..."
"Hi! They say the 'love potion' here is the strongest?"
"Riner-ssi, it's an aphrodisiac, I told you. By any chance, can we buy in bulk here? This friend has someone she wants to marinate."
The woman in a hole-riddled whore outfit frowned and started yelling.
"Kids! Customers are heading far away! Guide them!!!"
-Yes!!!
Powerful voices echoed once from under the wooden floor, then the floor opened.
Thugs climbing up one by one from there.
But they seemed quite imposing for third-rate punks.
Riner tilted her head seeing the people swarming up from underground.
"I just need the drugs, right?"
Ethan stroked his chin and drew his sword.
"Looks like it's not for sale."
Riner pulled out a wand with a regretful expression.
"Ugh... Then I'll have to ask nicely and take some."
The lead thug smirked slightly at the whore and walked toward the two.
"Sister-in-law, bury them quietly somewhere..."
Riner swung her wand at the approaching mercenary...
-Whoosh!
"Hey, I really, really, reeeally need it as an acquaintance..."
Bones sprouting from underground swallowed the mercenary's leg in an instant...
-Crunch! Thud!
"Huh? Ah...? Uh? Fwaaaaaah!"
-Pssshhhh!
Riner squatted in front of the thug sprawled on the ground.
"How about it, can you spare even a little?"
The thugs couldn't move even as their legless comrade's blood splattered up to their shins.
The room wrapped in silence.
-.........
The whore said with a pale face.
"I'll... fetch the boss..."
"Really!? Thanks!!"
"..."
"..."
Cheon Hwa-ryeong, nestled in my arms, stared at me blankly.
I stared blankly back at Cheon Hwa-ryeong.
So right now... yeah... we'd poured out a ton and both hit sage mode.
As if the blazing fire just moments ago was a lie, we were left with nothing but ashes.
"We should train..."
"... Rest today."
A sense of boredom I'd never seen before showed on Cheon Hwa-ryeong's face.
Her expression like, 'Does anything matter anymore?'
Honestly, skipping a day wouldn't be a big deal.
But if we slacked now, I had this ominous feeling it'd happen again next time.
'No, can't do that...'
"Noona!"
"... What now."
"I wanna try something!"
Cheon Hwa-ryeong's full-bellied lion face turned into a startled rabbit.
She shoved me away and escaped my arms.
"S-Stop! If you keep at that hole, I'll ascend to heaven! Rather... mouth! Yeah! Use the mouth..."
"No, not that! What I wanna try is..."
I explained to Cheon Hwa-ryeong what I wanted to try.
Hearing it, Cheon Hwa-ryeong...
"You mad bastard... Just jerk off separately, that's plenty."
Shook her head with a fed-up face.
But I had a question.
"Is mixing the two powers really that impossible?"
Don't subcultures have yin-yang unity, taiji formation, powers like that?
Two forces meeting, amplifying each other for tremendous power!
Knowing my expectations, Cheon Hwa-ryeong shook her head and began explaining.
"The Heavenly Demon Divine Art is the pinnacle of arts that handle heaven and earth's energies to form Honwon."
"Oh..."
"Not 'oh.' You got a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity with me, swallowing pure Honwon energy whole. And now you wanna form Honwon again?"
Cheon Hwa-ryeong pressed firmly on my Dantian.
"I guarantee, no ordinary enlightenment will cut it. You've learned orthodox arts that respect all things and demonic arts to trample the world. Got the confidence to mix those opposing enlightenments?"
Respect the world while looking down on it... What kind of feeling, no, enlightenment is that?
"I was trying to draw both powers at once and mix them. Why won't it work?"
Cheon Hwa-ryeong shook her head with a serious face.
"Imagination that makes sense with two Dantians. But it's not easy. One energy can push out and taint another, but amplify? Hmm... You'll fall into Qi Deviation or your body explodes."
I'd held off trying because I feared disaster, and hearing this confirms I was right not to.
Still, lingering regret. For some reason, it felt possible.
Cheon Hwa-ryeong stared at my face and smirked.
"Greed's overflowing... Try it once."
Her unexpected reply made my eyes widen.
"Really? You can keep my body from exploding?"
Cheon Hwa-ryeong laughed and pinched my cheek hard.
"Keek, yeah. Both energies are quite stable to begin with. As long as you don't force amplification, it'll just taint a bit. Don't expect too much."
Looking at Cheon Hwa-ryeong, she reminded me of an uncle sneaking snacks to his niece behind parents' backs.
The kind who'd freak out Master but does it secretly...
'Master...'
Suddenly, Cheon Hwa-ryeong pinned my cheek with a scary face.
"What're you thinking."
"Ah, ahmgh! Nothing!"
Cheon Hwa-ryeong eyed me suspiciously then let go.
"Hmm... Sit in lotus position. But if something goes wrong, I'll block your meridians... Oh, no meridians. I'll handle it somehow. Just use a little of each energy."
I nodded and sat in lotus.
Cheon Hwa-ryeong sighed and placed her hand on my back.
Curious about the different posture, I asked...
"Posture's different this time?"
"Shut up! H-Hurry up!"
... Touchy? Looks like she's properly supervising this time.
'Should I not do what she told me not to? Nah. No stray thoughts, let's try.'
I closed my eyes, deep-breathed, and circulated Uncheon-yeohyeong's energy.
Spreading like thick paint in clear water.
Power surged through my body, senses sharpened.
This time, I operated the Heavenly Demon Divine Art I'd practiced.
Uncheon-yeohyeong's energy in my relaxed body was pushed out by the Heavenly Demon Divine Art's qi.
As if they could never mix.
Hmm... No explosion or anything.
Just an omnipotent feeling, shifting to the sensation of operating Heavenly Demon Divine Art.
Cheon Hwa-ryeong spoke in a somewhat deflated voice.
"... It's miraculous."
I wanted amplification, but they wouldn't mix to begin with.
For now, change approach.
Not using Uncheon-yeohyeong then Heavenly Demon Divine Art. Try drawing both simultaneously.
Withdrew inner energy, reset body.
Tried drawing qi, but it was quite hard.
Couldn't draw both at once, only alternating a bit.
Crossing qi took quite a while too.
4 seconds, way too long for combat.
Still...
"You crazy bastard..."
Red energy flickering in my left hand, blue in my right.
Cheon Hwa-ryeong gaped then groped my back.
"How? Two energies at once? Even with two Dantians, this?"
"Sent one energy to one arm first. The other to the opposite. Since they don't mix, using like this for now."
Send energy, switch while using the other.
Repeating, now could use different energies on each side.
Still awkward, but with practice, usable in real combat.
Light went out in Cheon Hwa-ryeong's eyes watching me.
More hollow than sage mode.
Now looking at me like an alien lifeform.
Such Cheon Hwa-ryeong said in a drained voice.
"Haha... Yeah... Good job..."
Hmm, her reaction says I nailed it!
Gotta practice more for real use.
If possible, wanna try mixing too.