Chapter 495: The Exchange (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 495: The Exchange (4)
Unlike Seoul, a city that shone brightly even in the darkness, the Vatican at night was filled with only silence.
Walking along the streetlights set at regular intervals, I mulled over the conversation I’d just had with the Saintess.
“Yoon Si-hoo… has the potential to become an Apostle of the Seven Heavenly Virtues…?”
When I first heard it, my head was spinning.
But on second thought, it wasn't all that surprising.
“…He certainly did feel different from the others.”
The kid was different.
He possessed something distinct from the other brilliant talents around me.
Something that, though its light was faint and unrefined for now, felt like it would never be extinguished.
A peculiar expectation that no matter how many hundreds of millions of times he was polished, he wouldn't wear down. Instead, he would only shine more brilliantly.
“Was that his potential as an Apostle?”
I’d wondered about it every time I saw him.
Jin Ha-rin was a prodigy, a genius who understood ten things when taught one.
Yoon Si-hoo, on the other hand, was an ordinary talent who barely managed to learn one thing when taught one.
So why did I keep feeling such intense anticipation for a kid like him?
“Now I get it.”
If he had the potential to become an Apostle of a god, it made perfect sense.
No, it would be stranger if it were for any lesser reason.
“Well… fine. Okay. This is all fine.”
Putting aside the fact that I finally understood that strange sense of anticipation…
Now that things had come to this, a question naturally arose.
“…Has the world decided it wants me dead?”
It was an absurd thought, but wasn't it worth entertaining at least once?
The Saintess, Angela, Son Seo-yeon.
And finally, the potential Apostle, Yoon Si-hoo.
That made four Apostles of the Seven Heavenly Virtues—who were practically my mortal enemies—surrounding a person chosen by the Seven Deadly Sins.
At this point, isn't this a blatant attempt to kill me?
“Where else can you find someone who lives as virtuously as I do? Unbelievable.”
I am blameless.
And that’s why it’s so unfair.
As a person, and as one of the Seven Deadly Sins.
I’m a pretty decent guy!
“Sigh… This is why they say living a good life only gets you screwed over.”
Alright, that’s enough self-pity for now.
What mattered was what came next.
How to wisely navigate this crisis.
She had asked me for a favor.
-“Please help Yoon Si-hoo become an Apostle.”
She wanted my help.
An Apostle of the Seven Deadly Sins, helping create his own enemy.
And she wasn't finished.
-“Help him see and feel many things. So that his convictions and values can become more resolute.”
She said that all he needed was for his wavering heart and beliefs to finally find the right path.
If that happened, he would naturally claim the title of Apostle.
Mulling over her words, I asked.
-“What if Si-hoo fails to find the right path?”
To which she replied.
-“Then… I suppose Student Yoon Si-hoo was never destined to become an Apostle.”
That’s when I thought:
As long as I don't get caught causing trouble, it won't be blamed on me.
-“I will do my best.”
And so, with a much lighter heart, I accepted her proposal.
-“For world peace!”
I even sealed it with a grand, empty promise.
The look of sheer emotion on her face at that moment was a rare treat I wouldn't soon forget.
* * *
Yoon Si-hoo.
Age 21.
A sophomore at Korea University.
And an apprentice member of Twilight, the new guild that was the talk of Korea.
When he beat the high competition to become an apprentice at Twilight, everyone whispered.
-“How on earth did a guy like that get picked?”
-“I don’t know. Maybe he bribed his way in.”
-“Isn’t he childhood friends with Jin Ha-rin? Maybe she begged them to take him too?”
-“Ah, right! I heard she’s a genius, right? Unlike him.”
A flood of jealousy and envy.
But these weren't just words spoken out of spite.
In truth, his skills at the time he was chosen as a guild member weren't all that impressive.
He, too, was puzzled.
‘Why was I chosen?’
Why was he picked over all the other talented competitors?
Finding the answer with his not-so-sharp mind was difficult, so he had asked directly.
-“Senior… no, Guild Leader. I’d like to know why you chose me to be a guild member!”
At the rather bold question, the Kim Do-jin of that time had smiled bitterly and replied.
-“Beats me.”
Beats me?
He was dumbfounded.
Just as he began to suspect he really had been chosen just for being Jin Ha-rin’s childhood friend…
-“You show me. Why I chose you.”
-“……!”
The burden of finding the reason had been shifted to him.
Returning home with that heavy weight on his shoulders, he thought.
-“Senior… no, the Guild Leader isn’t someone who would pick me for a trivial reason.”
He must have seen it.
Something within him that even he didn't know about.
-“I get it now…! The Guild Leader is trusting me, waiting for me!”
Waiting for him to grow, to bring out whatever it was that he had seen!
Leaping out of bed, he clenched his fists and shouted.
-“From now on, it’s nothing but practice…!”
He worked himself to death.
Anything he didn't know or found difficult, he learned by humbly bowing his head to professors, seniors, and even his peers.
And what he learned, he practiced day and night until it became his own.
He had finally earned the recognition of others.
Amidst the thrilling sense of accomplishment that enveloped him, he made a vow.
He would keep working hard, earn even more recognition, and eventually become a great Hunter like Kim Do-jin.
That resolve had not changed.
Every single day, he pushed himself until he collapsed from exhaustion, not leaving even an ounce of stamina behind.
He believed that no one in the world could belittle his efforts.
He was sure of it.
“Starting today, we begin your real training.”
“…Real training, all of a sudden?”
“From what I’ve seen so far, Si-hoo, you’ve been taking it way too easy.”
What is he talking about?
“…Me?”
“Yes, you.”
He was flabbergasted.
This time, even if it was the Guild Leader, he had crossed a line. Just as he was about to snap back…
“I’m going to show you what real effort is, so brace yourself and follow me.”
“…Understood.”
Gritting his teeth, he followed, glaring at him with venomous eyes.
Sometimes, a single action is more impactful than ten words.
So he decided to show him.
He would effortlessly accomplish what this man called "real effort" and prove that his own effort was the real deal.
Exactly two hours after leaving the dorms…
“P-please, save me…”
He was clinging to Kim Do-jin’s pant leg, begging for his life with tears and snot streaming down his face.
* * *
A Hunter’s body is tougher than you can imagine.
Ordinary training barely causes injury, and their stamina recovers at a rate incomparable to that of a normal person.
That’s why some guys get the wrong idea.
Fools who think that just using up all their given stamina is the best they can do.
For A-rank Hunters, or even S-rank Hunters, that isn't effort.
It’s just the ‘basics’ they’re expected to do.
Effort is what comes after that.
It’s what you do when you’re completely drained and exhausted.
“Keuheuk…!Cough, cough!”
I shook my head as I watched Yoon Si-hoo, his face deathly pale, barely managing to hold and swing his sword.
“Still a long way to go.”
He was one of those guys who had fallen for the misconception I mentioned.
A fool who thought his work for the day was done once his stamina was depleted.
“Ugh…!”
Thud!
He stopped mid-swing, clutched his mouth, and collapsed to his knees.
He somehow managed not to throw up, but it was clear he was not in good shape.
But it wasn't enough.
“It would’ve been better if you’d just thrown up.”
“……?”
His gaze shot toward me.
It was a fierce look, as if asking what kind of bullshit I was spouting.
I grinned at him and answered.
“My goal for today is to make you puke three times.”
“……”
The kid hastily removed the hand covering his mouth.
He even started subtly trying to stick a finger down his throat.
Crazy bastard.
“It won’t count if you puke now, so don’t waste your energy.”
“Keuk…!”
His face crumpled, realizing he’d missed a golden opportunity.
Why try to stop a natural phenomenon?
“Huu, huu….”
He pushed himself up, breathing raggedly.
Forcing strength into his trembling legs, he stood tall, his defiant gaze fixed on me.
“This… no matter how I think about it, this feels less like effort and more like abuse.”
“I doubt it.”
“You… doubt it?”
It seemed he didn't quite grasp the meaning of abuse. I guess I’d have to explain it to him properly.
“What is abuse? It’s making someone work or suffer to a point that’s physically or mentally unbearable.”
“…Then this is abuse.”
“Nope. Your body isn’t getting injured from moving like this, nor is your recovery slowing down. In fact, it’s getting faster. If you’re calling it abuse because you’re mentally exhausted… well, I guess you could see it that way.”
As he continued to glare at me, still unable to understand, I delivered the final blow.
“But if you can’t handle this much, it just means that’s all you’re capable of. Nothing to be done about it.”
“Ugh…!”
Typical guy thing. Bruise their pride, and they get fired up and find strength they never knew they had.
“If you can’t do it, say so now. It’d be a waste of time if you just drop out midway.”
The kid lowered his head slightly, deep in thought.
His mind must be a mess.
Is it right to keep going like this?
Can I even endure it?
But saying I won’t do it… my pride won’t let me.
…He was probably thinking something along those lines.
Right at that moment.
“However.”
It was time to offer the carrot.
“If you can follow all of my training, I’ll give you a very big reward.”
“…A reward?”
One he could never refuse.
A very delicious-looking carrot.
“I will teach you my swordsmanship.”
Shortly after hearing her proposal, I had reached a conclusion.
I was going to make him an Apostle.
Even if he wasn't destined to be one, I would force him into that position.
“And to add, the swordsmanship I’m offering you is…”
Of course, it wouldn't be for free.
I planned to put a little leash on him, just in case he ever became an enemy.
And that leash was none other than…
“The same swordsmanship that the National Hunter, Son Si-woo, uses as his main style.”
“……!”
My swordsmanship, which every swordsman in the Republic of Korea dreamed of learning.
“How about it?”
Tempting, isn't it?