God-Grade Elixir
"Uh... Baekryong?"
I still couldn't open my eyes. Unless it was a bathhouse, I had no desire to see another guy's naked body in a place like this.
"Yes, Master."
All I'd done was toss out a single piece of advice, yet he kept insisting on calling me his master. I couldn't figure out why. Even without my input, he would've reached that realm eventually.
Manifest Realm might be a stretch, but Fire Realm was a given.
Manifest Realm. A new domain reachable only by a scant handful of superhumans who had shattered their walls. In the current martial world, only Ha-yeon had attained it. And on modern Earth, just one person had officially broken through.
"Put some clothes on first. I can't open my eyes—it's too awkward."
I wasn't sure if Jin Baekryong could reach that realm, but for now, I just wanted him covered up.
"Understood, Master."
Isn't he embarrassed to be stark naked in a public spot like this?
Sure, everyone else had left, leaving just our group and Baekryong, but his reaction to me pointing it out in the exam hall—where the test had just wrapped up—was way too nonchalant.
To become a superhuman, you gotta be a little broken somewhere, right?
His sense of shame must be the broken part. By the time I'd mulled that over, Baekryong had finished his bow, pulled clothes from his inventory, and gotten dressed.
"Master, I'm dressed now."
First things first, I had to stop this master nonsense. The academy top-student title was already killing me, and now add "Jin Baekryong's Master—the Guy Who Hit S-Rank" on top?
Just kill me now.
No matter what, never let that happen.
"Why would I be your master? I just gave some casual advice because I felt bad about hitting you, and you absorbed it well. It was nothing big, so don't talk about taking me as your master."
Truth be told, calling it "nothing" was a bit disingenuous. Advice tailored perfectly from someone who'd touched Manifest Realm? In the martial world, that was worth ten million gold—no exaggeration. Thousands of warriors threw their lives away for a single insight like that.
But this wasn't the martial world, and no one here knew I'd reached that realm. This incident had to stay as "genius Jin Baekryong coincidentally gained enlightenment from a classmate's offhand comment." If not, I'd make it so.
As I steeled my resolve, Baekryong spoke up.
"There's a saying: a bad doctor harms a person's health, but a bad master ruins a person's life. False teachings drag them into the abyss."
He wasn't wrong. Teach someone the wrong thing or implant a twisted ideology, and they could suffer for life—humans are fragile like that.
"But you showed me the right path when I was teetering on that abyss. There's no reason not to call you my master. Teachers of knowledge are common, but guides of the soul are once-in-a-lifetime."
Why's this kid so damn eloquent?
Did he devour Confucian classics as a child? His words flowed like a clear stream. I racked my brain for a counterargument when Ha-yeon chimed in from the side.
"He's right. Even if your guidance came from lighthearted intent, the receiver took it seriously and achieved breakthrough. That makes you worthy of the title."
Ha-yeon...?
She was backing him up from behind. It hit like a bolt from a clear sky.
"Especially you, Yu-won. You know full well how desperate a warrior is on the cusp of the wall—how starved they feel."
I did know the feeling. If the cliff was impossibly steep, you'd give up without trying. But if you could vaguely glimpse the other side? If it felt just within reach?
You'd drown in that obsession. Only someone with that fire even faces the wall in the first place.
"You helped him cross it. Telling him not to call you master won't settle his heart. Look at those eyes—do they scream 'giving up' to you?"
Straightforward, resolute gaze fixed on his goal. I'd seen it before. The hero who'd rolled through hell for one purpose: saving the world. He'd had that look too.
And he'd slain the Demon King in the end. A miracle born of otherworldly tenacity. Once someone with those eyes sets their mind, they never waver.
I let out a sigh.
"Haa... Fine, do what you want. But I won't be a proper master, got it?"
My wives had suddenly tripled; what's one disciple? I wouldn't have to teach him diligently—just ignore it mostly.
"Yes, Master."
Like he'd been waiting, he dropped to one knee and bowed his head. It was a gesture reserved for family heads, now aimed at me.
"But no calling me master when others are around—except when we're alone like this. Outside, it's just Yu-won. And if you blab to anyone that I'm your master, the master-disciple bond ends. Got it?"
The water was spilled, but I could dam the flood a bit. This was my control measure. As long as no one found out he was my disciple, it was fine.
"Yes."
He got it. The kid who'd spouted proverbs earlier wasn't dumb.
"By the way, got any gifts fit for your master to celebrate breaking through?"
My companions shot me cold stares. Probably because the guy who'd just squirmed to avoid taking a disciple was now angling for loot.
Their glares stabbed like daggers.
No, but I gotta take what's on offer.
With things as they were, I'd squeeze every drop from this scion of one of the Ten Great Families.
Baekryong pondered, then lit up.
"Thinking of my most valuable possession... There's a God-Grade Elixir in my room. Father specially procured it to help me reach the next realm."
God-Grade... Elixir...?
"I planned to take it after absorbing my previous ones, but no need now. I'm busy consolidating my new attainment. Anyway, at your level, Master, elixirs are pointless..."
"I need it."
"Pardon?"
"I need it, so please bring it."
Elixir grades split into six common tiers: lowest, low, mid, high, top, supreme. Above them: God-Grade Elixirs.
God-Grade Elixir. Legendary panaceas said to be used by gods in mythic times. A supreme elixir cost at least 10 billion won—what of god-grade? Priceless, and not for sale anyway.
A massive faction might trade vast rights for one. Baekryong's father must've sacrificed plenty for it.
But for a 17-year-old son one step from S-Rank? Worth it. Youngest S-Rank title brought floods of benefits—his son would secure new ones for the family.
"Yes. Give me your address; I'll bring it by tomorrow."
"You're my best disciple ever."
Taking a disciple was the right call. I wasn't sure he could just give away a god-grade elixir, but if he offered, no refusing. The reward was too sweet to risk.
I needed power fast, and it'd halve my time to Fire Realm.
He'd deliver personally too—safer than trusting outsiders.
As I started giving my address, Ha-yeon cut in.
"No. We'll come to you. You mentioned inviting us to the Jin Family Residence earlier, right? Carrying it yourself risks other factions spotting you. Better if we fetch it directly."
She was spot-on. God-grade elixirs couldn't go in inventories. An accident en route meant losing my elixir.
"Yeah, that sounds better."
Baekryong nodded lightly at my agreement.
"Understood. I'll prepare to receive you and your lover tomorrow."
He bowed politely. I waved him off.
"Go on, head back."
Was it my imagination, or did handing over a 100-billion-plus elixir make Baekryong seem mighty impressive?
I watched him go with a pleased smile, then turned to the group.
But Liera and Estelle looked pissed. Seung-ah seemed a tad annoyed too.
Why the sudden mood swing...?
Whenever they pulled faces like that, things never ended well. My heart raced.
I desperately pondered my screw-up.
What the hell did I do...? Please, brain, think...!
No answers yet when they beat me to it, unable to wait.
"What do you mean, invited to the Jin Family Residence, Oppa?"
"What was that all about just now, darling...?"
Gulp—one mountain down, two more popped up.