Chapter 4
Chapter 4
Chapter 4 The Blooming of a Trait
Years 2, 3, 4, and 5.
As time passed, my abilities steadily accumulated.
And today, an unexpected visitor came to see me first.
"Just when do you plan to head to the Tower?"
Estelle, who usually only appeared when I summoned her, had taken the initiative to show herself.
"Oh? You came without me even calling you?"
It was surprising, but I didn’t stop training because of it.
Thanks to reaching Intermediate Level 1 in martial arts, I now had a sense of how to maximize my proficiency through training.
At the moment, I was applying that same method to Weapon Mastery.
"That’s not what’s important right now, is it? And when someone is talking to you, you should stop and listen."
"Only if you compensate me for the losses from stopping."
I retorted without halting my movements.
My reference for movement was Yoo So-eun.
To me, her movements were near perfection.
I mimicked her movements, sought to understand them, and when I hit a wall, I asked myself.
"Why did she move like that?"
Repeating this process often opened up new paths I hadn’t seen before.
"Sigh… Fine. I’ll teach you the foundations of advanced martial arts—something you can’t learn in the tutorial. So listen carefully, without missing a single word. Understood?"
"Yes! Big Sis Estelle!"
I immediately stopped what I was doing and knelt on the spot.
When I looked up at her with sparkling eyes, Estelle sighed and pressed a hand to her forehead as if she had a headache.
"Haah… You really are a training-obsessed lunatic. Anyway, answer my earlier question. When do you plan to go to the Tower?"
I thought she’d ask something difficult since she offered to teach me advanced martial arts, but it was unexpectedly simple.
Almost too simple to deserve learning advanced techniques in exchange.
"Hmm… After I get stronger."
I answered as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
I had a goal to achieve in the tutorial.
"Han Yeong-min, you’re already plenty strong."
Estelle spoke firmly, and I could tell there was no lie in her words.
"Right now, you’re stronger than anyone else in the tutorial. And yet, you still think you’re weak?"
Of course I did. I’d endured five years here alone. But that wasn’t the point.
"I might be the strongest among the people here right now. But…"
I raised my head and looked at Estelle, as if asking if she could give the same answer to this next question.
"What about among all the people who’ve ever passed through the tutorial?"
Estelle’s mouth shut.
She must have seen countless monstrous geniuses who surpassed my five years of effort in just a month.
Even from those I could remember, there were several. And at the very top was Yoo So-eun.
"Ten of me from four years ago would struggle to beat the current me. But could ten of the current me beat Yoo So-eun from five years ago?"
"...I can’t deny that."
Estelle admitted it—I couldn’t beat Yoo So-eun.
"Still, if there were twenty Han Yeong-mins, you might at least be able to take her down with you."
A foe so strong that even a 20-to-1 fight would require sacrificing my life just to stand a chance.
I actually laughed.
"...Why are you laughing?"
It seemed she couldn’t understand my reaction.
"How could I not be happy?"
I replied calmly.
"Right now, just by following in Yoo So-eun’s footsteps, I can grow stronger."
The path forward was laid bare before me.
An opponent I couldn’t even touch at 100-to-1 odds had now been brought down to a level where I could at least trade my life at 20-to-1.
What would happen after another year, two years, or three?
"You’re a weirdo… A creepy one at that…"
Estelle shuddered and shook her head with a sigh.
But her gaze held neither contempt nor disgust—just pure incomprehension.
"Is getting stronger the only thing on your mind?"
Her eyes pierced through me, sharp as if trying to unravel my very essence.
"You train the moment you wake up. You train while eating. You train while breathing. You train until the moment you sleep."
She sighed and continued.
"Aren’t you sick of it?"
Of course I was. There were countless times I wanted to give up.
"...I am."
I answered plainly, recalling all the grueling effort I’d poured in.
"It’s revolting."
Effort isn’t passionate.
Some romanticize it as burning determination or unyielding willpower, but effort is… cold.
Silent.
The same routine every day.
A life where you push yourself to the brink without a single day’s break.
When that becomes a day, a week, a month, a year, five years… at that point, it’d be stranger not to go insane.
I’d already realized it.
Part of my brain was broken.
The world I saw was filled with nothing but training.
No joy, no pleasure.
Just the slightest bit more strength.
That was the only reason I existed.
It was no wonder Estelle was exasperated.
"...But."
She paused and stared at me quietly.
"But why don’t you stop?"
Her gaze deepened.
"Wouldn’t it be fine to rest for just one day?"
The answer to that wasn’t hard.
"If I rest for a day… I’ll want to rest another day. The moment my resolve loosens, I’ll start thinking, ‘Ah, why was I even doing this hard thing? Should I rest just one more day?’ That’s just how humans are."
They say laziness is embedded in human DNA.
That’s why, unless you build inertia into your efforts, you’ll quickly want to give up.
As the saying goes, a diligent person has seven ‘todays’ in a week, while a lazy person has seven ‘mornings.’ For me, it wasn’t just about mornings—I had to live full, complete days.
"So I can’t rest. No, I won’t rest. Absolutely not."
"From my perspective, you’re insane."
Her voice was filled with conviction.
"You’re not normal."
She was right. I wasn’t normal.
Among everyone here no, among everyone who’d ever gone through the tutorial there was no one as crazy as me.
But… so what?
I didn’t think going mad was a bad thing.
To walk a path no one else could reach, to grasp even the thinnest thread of possibility…
I had to abandon everything else.
"Because without going mad, I can’t go any further."
I spoke slowly but firmly.
"At least until my growth completely stops, until I see the end of my path… I won’t give up."
"...Haah."
Estelle let out a deep sigh.
Then she stared straight at me.
"A training-obsessed pervert of a human… Fine, I get it. As promised, I’ll teach you advanced martial arts."
"Thank you!"
Her sudden insult went in one ear and out the other.
All I could think about was what advanced martial arts would be like.
"You’ve been learning all the martial arts provided in the tutorial, right?"
"Yes."
I’d been training in ten different martial arts without discrimination—neutral faction’s Taijiquan, Hua Shan’s Liuhequan, Shaolin’s Arhat Fist, the royal basic martial arts of the Sellion Kingdom, and more.
"Do you know what those skills have in common?"
Estelle asked meaningfully.
Having learned all of them, it wasn’t hard to find the common thread.
"They all focus on building the body’s foundation."
She’d already given me a hint—it’d be stranger if I couldn’t answer.
"Exactly."
Estelle nodded.
"The martial arts in the tutorial are certainly helpful in martial. But they’re lacking as primary techniques. Yet there’s a reason you must learn at least one. Do you know what it is?"
I answered immediately.
"Because they serve as stepping stones to advanced martial arts."
"...You’re smarter than I thought. Correct."
Her gaze said she already knew everything.
"And Han Yeong-min, you’ve learned all of them despite having no Traits."
‘So she noticed.’
I’d never told her I had no Traits, but she’d deduced it just by observing my talent.
But that wasn’t important right now.
"The fact that I learned all these skills without any Traits… What does that mean?"
Estelle smiled.
"It seems a special synergistic effect is occurring in Han Yeong-min’s body."
"Synergistic effect…?"
"Most likely…"
She paused briefly, then stared deeply into my eyes and declared:
"If you master all the martial arts you’ve learned now, a new Trait will bloom."
My heart raced instantly.
A new Trait blooming.
If that was possible… this choice was monumental for me.
"So I’ll ask you this."
Estelle spoke calmly.
"Do you want to master all your skills, acquire a new Trait, and then learn advanced martial arts? Or do you want to learn advanced martial arts right now and grow stronger quickly? However, if you choose to learn now, the chance for a Trait to bloom will disappear."
I didn’t hesitate for even a second.
"I’ll master all my skills first!"
Blooming a new Trait was far more valuable than learning advanced martial arts now.
"Even though learning now would make you incredibly strong?"
Estelle smirked mischievously.
"Don’t tempt me. I’ll learn it later."
I said firmly.
But then a worried thought occurred to me.
"...You’re not going to say something like ‘You didn’t learn it now, so the opportunity’s gone’ later, are you?"
Her expression twisted oddly at my question.
"Haah…"
Estelle sighed, looking displeased.
"Did I really seem like such an angel? Should I actually do that…?"
"I’m sorry. Forgive me just this once."
I immediately bowed deeply.
She let out a small laugh and nodded.
"Just this once."
As always, Estelle tossed out one last remark before vanishing.
But this time was slightly different.
I thought I saw the corner of her lips curl up just before she disappeared.
"...Was she smiling just now?"
She was always expressionless.
‘Must’ve been my imagination.’
I immediately reset my stance.
Master all martial arts. A new goal had been set.
There was no time to rest.
*****
Year 10 of the tutorial.
"Finally…!"
[Royal Basic Martial Arts level has increased.]
[Royal Basic Martial Arts proficiency has reached its maximum.]
Each time I mastered a martial art, the time it took to learn the next one shortened.
And now, after five years, I’d finally mastered all ten martial arts.
"Haah…"
Relief washed over me as the long journey came to an end.
But as if refusing to let me rest, a change came immediately.
[Certain skills resonate, causing a transformation in your body.]
[A new Trait is blooming.]
…It’s here.
The system itself was proving that the path I’d walked wasn’t wrong that all the effort I’d piled up had been in the right direction.
But the joy was short-lived.
Crack. Snap.
"Ugh!"
In an instant, my entire body began to twist.
It felt like puzzle pieces that had been wrongly assembled from the start were finally finding their correct places.
My bones, muscles, and organs, their shapes and positions all changed, bringing with them an overwhelming wave of pain.
My bones were being torn apart.
No, they were being remade into a new form.
Muscle fibers snapped and reconnected.
It was a transformative process beyond mere ‘pain.’
But I couldn’t collapse. My body, my mind, they were being reborn.
If I lost consciousness now, this transformation might strangle me instead.
‘Stay awake. Han Yeong-min.’
Even in the agony of feeling like my body was breaking apart, I gritted my teeth and endured.
Drip. Drip. Drip.
Toxic energy and corrupted blood seeped out through my pores, filling the air with a foul stench. At the same time, the excruciating pain felt like being hammered relentlessly.
Could I endure this?
‘Please… just end!’
Just before my consciousness completely faded, the pain vanished.
Along with it, new blood surged through my veins, revitalizing every corner of my body.
And I knew I was at least twice as strong as before.
And not just in raw power.
If my old body had moved like a machine with ill-fitting parts, my new one moved with the smooth precision of a perfectly tuned instrument, capable of executing any motion flawlessly.
My body… had been completely reborn.
"Yeah. This is it."
The five years I’d poured into this had been worth it.
[Through the fusion of skills from different worlds, a new form of acquired "Mugol" has been born.]
[Please name the Trait.]
A name. What should I call it?
I wasn’t particularly good at naming things.
I had to choose something that wouldn’t fail.
Then it hit me.
"...Yeong-min’s Body."
The name my parents gave me.
So that I could face any adversity and ultimately greet a new ‘dawn.’
This name was the most fitting.
[Will you name it "Yeong-min’s Body"?]
"Yes."
[Trait Acquired: Yeong-min’s Body (S)]
‘...An S-rank Trait?’
I immediately checked the details.
[Trait: Yeong-min’s Body (S)]
A miraculous physique born from a talentless body pushed through extreme training and skill fusion. It holds the potential to become anything.
① Versatility
- Receives the highest level of growth correction in all fields.
② Superhuman
- Receives the highest level of stat correction in all attributes.
③ Metamorphosis
- The body continuously transforms according to intense willpower. When the transformation passes a critical point, the Trait evolves.
"Wow…"
For a while, I just stared blankly at the Trait window.
...Was this even possible? A single Trait with three abilities, each one extraordinary.
Growth correction in all fields, stat boosts across the board, and even the potential for the Trait itself to evolve.
It was hard to believe this was only S-rank.
‘...No wonder Yoo So-eun was so strong.’
Now I understood. The miraculous growth she achieved in just a month—she didn’t have just one Trait like me. She had dozens of Traits like this.
Could I ever catch up to that gap?
‘...No.’
No need to worry.
Now that I knew how strong she was, all I had to do was follow that path.
"Still… this is something."
I let out a small laugh. Ten years ago, I was talentless.
And now, after a decade of training, I had this sweet reward with me.
"The Foolish Old Man Moves Mountains."
Just like the foolish old man who moved mountains, relentless effort will eventually lead to success.
What seems impossible to others will inevitably be achieved if you never stop striving.
"From now on, I can run a little faster."
Slowly but surely.
Just a little faster—