The Hidden Price of Dual Cultivation
After letting out that heavy sigh, Seong-il began opening up to them about his troubles.
"I have one serious problem."
The pair paused with food halfway to their mouths, staring at him in confusion.
He continued. "I mentioned it once before to Senior Saekma, right? The Mind World."
"Ah… that thing?"
"Yes, exactly. A huge incident just blew up in that world, and I need to get stronger fast if I’m going to fix it."
"Hmm…" Eun-wol watched them both with a blank, uncomprehending expression. Finally she asked, "What are you two talking about? Can’t you explain it to me too?"
"Ah!" Seong-il realized she needed the full story. He launched into the same explanation he had given Saekma when trying to convince him—carefully packaging the game world as the Mind World.
"The gist is… the young master can borrow the power of heavenly secrets to send his mind into another world. And that world feels no different from reality…?"
"Right."
"Does that even make sense…?"
"It does, or I wouldn’t have raised my Saekgong to three stars in three days, would I?"
"Wait a second! So while I wasn’t around you were—"
Eun-wol’s jealous glare and sharp accusation were swiftly cut off by Seong-il. "That’s not the important part right now. Besides, that world is fake, so let’s not dig too deep, okay?"
"…Hmph!"
I’m going to have to pamper her thoroughly tonight and stay up late making it up to her before she gets any sulkier.
Seong-il broke into a cold sweat at her thoroughly miffed expression, then kept talking. "Anyway. Chaos has broken out in that Mind World. The friends who were helping me are about to be dragged into a war because of me."
"Hmm…" Saekma’s face grew serious as he let out a low groan.
"That’s why I need to become stronger as quickly as possible to help them. At my current level, that’s impossible, so…"
Eun-wol tilted her head curiously. "Why the sudden urgency? From what you just said, time stops in that Mind World unless you enter it, right? So couldn’t you just stay here and train with us for a while?"
Then her eyes widened as she answered her own question. "Or… do you just want to go sleep with all the girls over there?!"
Seong-il panicked and started defending himself. "No! It’s not like that!! There’s another reason!"
Though honestly that is part of it…
He quickly changed the subject. "Remember the green potion I drank earlier today?"
"Ah… the one from that mysterious space…?"
"Yes. My friend in that world made it. Drinking it lets you recover exhausted stamina almost instantly—it’s a miraculous elixir!"
"Oh…" Both Eun-wol and Saekma looked impressed.
Seong-il, gaining confidence from their reactions, continued. "And that’s not all. There are other items too."
"…?"
He opened his inventory, pulled out a recovery potion, and—without answering Eun-wol’s curious question—quietly drew a dagger and sliced his own arm.
"Ah! What are you doing?!"
Ignoring her cry, he poured the potion over the wound. The cut sealed itself in the blink of an eye.
"!!!!"
The pair stared in utter shock, mouths agape.
Seong-il grinned. "What do you think? Pretty amazing, right?"
"This… this is… just…"
"This is exactly why I’m so obsessed with the Mind World. Items like these are easy to get over there."
"!!!"
Seong-il sighed at their stunned faces and kept going. "If I can obtain things like this so easily, wouldn’t my training speed increase dramatically?"
"Of course it would! With items like these, you could train under near-real-combat conditions, and they’d be just as useful in actual fights! The ability to heal instantly without relying on ordinary golden wound medicine is an absolutely monstrous advantage, ya know!!" Saekma’s face flushed red as he spoke with passionate fervor.
Seong-il nodded in agreement. "Exactly. So I want to resolve the mess in that world quickly, secure a stable supply of these potions, and get stronger."
"Hmm… that does make sense."
"I originally planned to stockpile the potions first and train here, but somehow the order got flipped. Hoo…" Seong-il sighed.
Eun-wol nodded, then asked, "Young master, just how strong are the enemies in that world, exactly?"
"Well…" Seong-il thought back to How to Become an Alchemist, trying to pick an appropriate example. Ah! Would that muscular brute be a good benchmark?
The image of the powerful brute grabbing a drunkard by the collar and beating him into a bloody pulp flashed through his mind. He began describing the enemy based on that standard.
After listening for a long time, Eun-wol answered with an incredulous tone. "Young master… are you joking?"
"…?"
She sighed at his confused face. "Look, the warriors you’re describing sound like nothing more than oversized street thugs. For someone who can already handle inner energy, suppressing them should be child’s play!"
"Ah… is that how it is?"
"Of course! No matter how big and strong a fighter is, if they can’t use inner energy they’re just easy prey for real martial artists. It’s the difference between an adult and a child."
"!!!"
"One month. If you properly learn the forms for just one month, you’d be able to slaughter them using inner energy. Actually… if you can’t control your inner energy precisely you might break your sword, so you’d probably need at least three months to be safe. Ah! If you had a divine weapon that doesn’t break even when you pour power into it recklessly, maybe you could do it in one month…"
Seong-il’s face lit up at the unexpectedly positive assessment.
But Saekma crushed that hope. "Well, it’s not necessarily that simple."
"Huh? Why do you think so?"
"Because… your Saekgong is only at three stars right now."
"…?"
Saekma began explaining to the puzzled Seong-il. "It’s not certain yet, but first tell me about that red elixir from earlier. How strong is its effect? I need to know the exact level before I can give you the precise reason."
"Ah… that potion…" Seong-il gave a detailed account of how it had healed him after the assassin’s attack and when he had fainted.
"Hmm…" Saekma stroked his beard, deep in thought. After a long pause he finally spoke. "This is a bit dangerous."
"Why?"
Saekma sighed. "Young master, do you not remember the restrictions of the Heaven and Earth Yin-Yang Intercourse Divine Art?"
Seong-il frowned in concentration and began reciting the conditions he had memorized. "For one to three stars you need to dual cultivate at least three times a week, for four to five stars at least twice a month, for six to nine stars at least once every six months, and for ten to eleven stars at least once a year, or your brain explodes and you die. That?"
"Yes… looking at those restrictions, doesn’t anything come to mind?"
"…?" Seong-il stared at him blankly.
Saekma sighed again. "What if you take a serious wound in battle and faint for three or four days?"
"!!"
Seong-il was startled. He immediately tried to argue. "Then… during that time I could ask the others to extract the… fluid…"
"That won’t work. It’s not just about ejaculating. You must recite the formulas of the Heaven and Earth Yin-Yang Intercourse Divine Art and practice the mental method while doing it, or it’s meaningless. And even if it worked, you’d be spraying your greatest weakness in every direction. What if that secret gets out and you can’t handle the consequences?"
"Ah…" The unexpected side effect of Saekgong finally hit him. Seong-il let out a deep sigh. "Then what should I do? Do I have to keep training here until I reach four stars…?"
"It looks that way, doesn’t it? You used the word ‘war’—that means at least hundreds of people clashing. In that kind of chaotic melee, there’s no guarantee you won’t get injured and stay unconscious for three or four days."
"That’s true…" Seong-il looked like he had been stabbed in a painful blind spot. Saekma continued.
"Why do we practitioners of Saekgong avoid fighting? It’s precisely because of problems like this."
"Hmm…" As Seong-il sank into deep thought, Eun-wol moved closer and gently stroked his cheek.
"For now, young master, you still have some potions left. We have a little breathing room. Let’s head to the Martial Alliance and train calmly along the way. I’m sure we’ll find a solution!"
"Yeah. You’re right."
After finishing their meal and returning to their room, Seong-il mulled over the conversation.
First… three months of training should produce meaningful results in ‘How to Become an Alchemist.’
The problem is… the penalty from my Saekgong. Even with potions, if I don’t reach four or five stars, the side effects make intense fighting too risky.
Not only that, I’ll need someone ready at all times to pour potions on me if I suffer a serious injury.
The unexpected restrictions weighed heavily on his mind. He let out a mental sigh.
Hoo… It was probably a mistake to enter a world with a combat system when I don’t even have proper fighting ability. No matter how delicious the food on the table looks, it doesn’t matter if you can’t pick it up and eat it.
Maybe I should just learn magic? My status has a ‘Magic Power’ stat, so it doesn’t seem impossible…
After agonizing for a long time, Seong-il finally shouted and flopped onto the bed.
"Argh! I don’t know, fuck it!! Whatever happens, happens! For now I’ll just train like hell for at least a month! Something will come to me on the way to the Martial Alliance! Stupid game master!"
Hearing his outburst, Eun-wol burst into the room. "What’s wrong, young master?"
"Never mind! Just get over here and take your clothes off already!"
"…?!?"
After saying that, Seong-il roughly stripped and pounced on her.
"Aigoo…" Eun-wol’s face turned bright red at his roughness, but she didn’t resist. She obediently removed her own clothes and melted into his embrace.
The next day, with clear goals in mind, Seong-il and his party set off diligently toward Kaifeng, where the Martial Alliance was located. Wearing their human-skin masks, they moved through the most secluded routes possible, training the Taiji Sword Art whenever they could, dual cultivating with Eun-wol to practice their mental methods, and hiding their tracks completely. Although the journey should have taken only ten days at full speed, it took them nearly twenty days to finally reach Kaifeng.
"Hmm… Young master, your forms are starting to take proper shape now."
"Oh? Really?"
"Yes. I can see it just from your movements. Though your inner energy control is still…"
"H-hey, that’s still progress!"
At Seong-il’s indignant reaction, Eun-wol covered her mouth with her sleeve and laughed. "Hehe… That’s true. If you keep training steadily like this, you should at least reach the level where people call you a third-rate warrior within half a year."
"Ooh…!"
As they chatted, Saekma appeared and called out to them.
"Young master! I’ve secured us an inn. Let’s go eat and drop off our luggage!"
"Sounds good."
Once they were settled in their room and eating, the conversation turned serious again.
"By the way, from here on you’ll have to move alone, young master. You’ll need to be very careful."
"Huh? Why?"
Eun-wol frowned. "You’re not seriously suggesting we enter the Martial Alliance, are you? The heir of the Demonic Cult and the publicly wanted Lust Demon walking into the very symbol of the righteous Murim? That’s impossible."
"Ah!" Seong-il realized she was right. He nodded. "Then you’ll wait here the whole time?"
"It looks like we’ll have to. Even though we’re disguised well, wandering around unnecessarily and getting into trouble could expose us. That would be a huge headache."
"True. In that case, how about we take out some insurance?"
"Insurance…?"
"Yeah. If something happens and we get separated, it could be a problem. So let’s set up an additional rendezvous point in advance."