Training (1)
Training (1)
Romanike called me and led me to a secluded forest path on the outskirts of the village.
Following the massive tiger-beastman's back gave me an inexplicable sense of pressure, but my steps were light with the excitement of learning a new power.
After walking for quite a while, Romanike stopped. Two enormous trees that looked like they could pierce the sky stood side by side before me.
The bark was dark gray, and a subtle sheen rippled across it like well-polished metal.
Romanike tapped the trunk with his knuckles and spoke.
"This is a tree we call Geumgangmok in our village. It's used as a test to determine a warrior's mettle. Only by breaking this tree with your bare hands can you be acknowledged as a true warrior."
Curious, I approached the tree and tapped it with my fingers as if knocking.
But the sound that reached my ears wasn't the familiar dull thud of wood.
Kkang! Kkang!
A metallic clang echoed out, like hammering on a solid chunk of steel.
The hard texture transmitted through my fingertips made my eyes snap wide open.
'Wow, this thing is insane! If I made shield or armor joints out of this, the defense would be no joke.'
While I was momentarily lost in a crafter's daydream, Romanike tapped my shoulder and suggested,
"Before I teach you how to control Ki, it'd be best if you first feel the difference between using Ki and not using it. For now, let's each punch this tree with all our might."
I nodded at Romanike's words.
Even without Orichalcum equipment, I had the strength and stamina stats I'd steadily built up while climbing the Tower.
With my physical abilities well past triple digits, I should be plenty powerful even unarmed.
I planted my feet firmly, twisted my hips, and drove my fist right into the center of the Geumgangmok.
Kwaang!
A sharp sound like a screaming metal shriek spread throughout the village.
At the same time, a horrifying vibration rippled through my entire arm.
"Ugh."
A tingling pain, like an electric shock, traveled from my knuckles to my shoulder.
I frowned and inspected the tree.
Making my full force look utterly pathetic, only a very faint indentation remained on the surface.
It's this sturdy?
Honestly, breaking the tree with my fists instead of cutting it was an absurdly inefficient method.
If I could just pull out the Pale Moon Sword from my inventory right now and swing it once, cutting it down would be nothing. It was a moment where I felt bone-deep just how broken the performance of my own handmade equipment really was.
As I stood there, deflated,
Kwaaaang!
A deafening roar like a bomb exploding came from beside me.
I whipped my head around, startled, to see Romanike's thick fist completely piercing through the center of the Geumgangmok. When he slowly pulled his hand out, a gaping hole big enough for a grown man's head to pass through had been bored clean through the tree.
"This is the difference when you use Ki."
Romanike lightly dusted off his fist and began his explanation.
"When you properly wield Ki, you can enhance your physical abilities far beyond your imagination. In combat, it explosively boosts both your attack and defense. However, as you can see, Ki generates explosive power, so if you try to contain it in an unprepared body, there's a significant risk you'll ruin your body instead."
He sized me up as he continued.
"That's why we usually call the body the vessel that holds Ki. To build a sturdy vessel, warriors devote an enormous amount of time to tempering their bodies. Fortunately, Si-woo, it looks like your body is already somewhat complete as a vessel."
His praise welled up a sense of anticipation inside me.
If my body was complete, all that was left was the technique of handling Ki.
Scenes I'd seen in martial arts novels flickered through my mind.
I had already steeled my heart and wore a solemn expression.
Romanike approached me and spoke.
"Then let's move straight to the next step. We'll begin with training to first feel the Ki inside your body."
I closed my eyes and tried to focus on the Aura in my danjeon.
But what Romanike's finger pointed at wasn't my danjeon. It was the endlessly expansive training field at the rear of the village.
"Run."
"......Sorry?"
At my bewildered question, Romanike added with a kind but resolute smile,
"Don't stop running until the Ki inside your body bursts out on its own."
Contrary to my imagination, it was the start of a primal training regime.
Tigris shuffled along, batting a stray stone with her front paws on the forest path.
Si-woo's final expression from the sparring arena earlier wouldn't leave her mind.
When his fist had stopped right in front of her nose, that vivid terror glazing his eyes.
It was a face Tigris was sick to death of seeing throughout her life.
Shards of memory flitted past.
'Ow! Are you trying to kill someone in a sparring match?'
'......Why do you do nothing but think about fighting all day? It's scary, I can't hang out with you.'
Tigris felt aggrieved as well.
She was holding back her strength in her own way, but the adult beastmen still scolded her nearly every day for not being able to control her power.
And her suppressed strength, once she got excited, would always burst out uncontrollably.
Because of that, the beastmen in the village had started distancing themselves from Tigris, one by one.
After losing even her parents, the only one left at Tigris's side was her uncle, Romanike.
But her uncle was the busiest warrior in the village.
Tigris had to spend most of her time alone, and so utterly bored, she secretly ventured outside the forest and met a human named Si-woo.
The first impression when they met had been pretty good, but after seeing his expression in the sparring arena today, it was obvious he'd keep his distance from her too now.
She wasn't disappointed.
It was something that always happened.
Tigris tried hard to act nonchalant, but the tail attached behind her rear drooped limply without its owner's knowledge, dragging along the ground.
It was then.
Up ahead, sprawled on the path, she saw a living creature collapsed in rags.
"......Huh?"
Looking closer, it was Si-woo.
His whole body, drenched in sweat and caked in dust, heaved with labored breathing.
Sensing Tigris's presence, Si-woo barely managed to lift his head.
Through his cracked throat, a voice mixed with a metallic rasp leaked out.
"......Wa...... Water......!"
At that desperate cry, Tigris hurriedly scooped up water from a nearby stream and poured it into the prone Si-woo's mouth without mercy.
After narrowly surviving what was nearly death by drowning, Si-woo coughed and sputtered as he pushed himself up.
As moisture returned to his dried-up body, it seemed to have barely regained some human shape.
"Phew...... Thanks. You saved my life."
Si-woo greeted her with his usual easy expression.
Tigris stared blankly at him, not avoiding her, then tilted her head and asked.
"Human! Aren't you scared of me, nya?"
At that question, Si-woo recalled the hair-raising memory from their first meeting and that terrifying fist he'd seen in the sparring arena.
"I'm scared. You were so strong it was actually frightening."
At Si-woo's honest answer, Tigris asked again.
"Then why aren't you avoiding me, nya! Everyone else kept saying I was scary and avoided me, nya!"
Then Si-woo retorted casually, as if it were nothing.
"If I avoided everything just because it was scary, I wouldn't have even made it this far. Besides, I'm sure it's the same for you, but that wasn't even my full strength back then, right?"
Hearing that, Tigris stared at Si-woo with a dumbfounded expression.
A human who acknowledged she was strong, yet never cowardly ran away.
On top of that, the confidence that he hadn't even shown his real skill yet.
Si-woo brushed off the dirt stuck to him and continued.
"Once I learn how to properly control Aura, it's on for a revenge match right away."
"Revenge......? I don't know such difficult words, nya. But...... does that mean you're going to keep playing with me, nya?!"
Tigris's eyes sparkled as she grabbed Si-woo by both shoulders and began shaking him mercilessly.
"Ugh...... Yes, yes, so stop shaking me, please! My head's ringing......!"
The moment she got his confirmation, Tigris's face bloomed brightly.
Her tail, which had been dragging on the ground, shot straight up toward the sky as if voicing her joy.
Tigris placed her fists on her hips with her chest puffed out and proclaimed proudly.
"Human, no, Si-woo! You're my first friend, nya! I'll help with your Ki training too, nya!"
I looked at the Black Prayer Beads clasped around both my wrists.
The Black Prayer Beads felt as heavy as lead.
The moment I put them on, the strength drained from my entire body, and a sensation like my body was crumpling to the ground washed over me.
An item information window floated up in the corner of my vision.
[Prayer Beads]
Grade: Unique
[A training item that restricts all of the wearer's stats to 1.]
*Restricted stats are released upon entering combat.
It looked like the stats I'd been stacking up until now had been acting like total bullies.
As soon as my stats hit 1, just a few laps around the training field—which normally would have been nothing—made my legs tremble and my lungs burn hot like they were going to burst.
According to Romanike, you could only feel what they call 'Ki'—Aura—when you'd pushed your body to its absolute limit and had literally no strength left.
"Huff...... Huff......"
Romanike hadn't allowed me even a sip of water, saying he had to push me to my limit.
During a moment he stepped away, my weakened legs finally gave out, and I just crashed face-first into the dirt.
Dry, gritty dust got into my mouth, but I didn't even have the strength to spit it out.
That's when I spotted Tigris approaching from a distance, her tail gently swaying.
After giving me water and continuing the conversation, Tigris shouted confidently.
"Si-woo! I'll help with your Aura training too, nya!"
At her energetic voice, I barely lifted my head.
If only I could feel and control Aura right this instant, I had a glimmer of hope that I could quit this hellish running training immediately.
"Tigris...... How do you control Aura? Is there some kind of secret trick?"
At my question, Tigris puffed out her chest confidently, got to her feet, and began demonstrating.
"It's simple, nya! Here, you gather your strength—hwaat nya!—and then you go—pak!—like this, nya. Then the fuzzy-wuzzy thing inside your body starts moving around, nya!"
She threw punches into the air, making swish swish sounds.
"......."
I stared blankly at her demonstration.
It was genuinely, tear-jerkingly helpful information.
"The fuzzy-wuzzy thing moves pak." Where could one possibly find a more logical and scientific explanation than that?
Truly, I was an idiot for expecting a theoretical explanation from a beastman who fights with genius-level instinct.
"Umm...... That was really informative. Thanks, Tigris."
I gave a soulless answer, propping myself up off the ground with trembling arms.
Engraving Tigris's 'pak' advice into my heart, I forced my heavy legs to move again and started running across the training field.
Damn, I guess there really is no shortcut.
The sensation of my lungs being set on fire slowly began again.
Deep within Cypher's secret hideout, shrouded in thick darkness, a cold and heavy air hung in the balance.
Breaking that stillness, a subordinate approached the Branch Manager, knelt, and reported.
"Branch Manager-nim, we have successfully secured over 98% of the SW Mithril equipment currently circulating in the market."
Hearing that report, the Branch Manager rose from his chair and slowly clapped his hands.
Clap. Clap. Clap.
The sound of applause echoed through the hollow space.
The Branch Manager looked down at his subordinate with a crooked smile at the corner of his lips.
"See, it works if you just do it."
"Yes! Thank you!"
The subordinate bowed his head as if deeply moved by the praise.
The Branch Manager turned his head and swept his gaze over the subordinates lined up in formation, fully armed with SW's weapons and armor.
The soft silver luster unique to Mithril shimmered brilliantly even in the darkness.
The Branch Manager raised his voice in satisfaction.
"All this time, we've lived holding our breath in the darkness, in the underground. But now is the time to step outside and face the light with dignity. Everyone, prepare."
No sooner had the Branch Manager's order fallen than the subordinates answered in unison, stomping their feet.
"Yes, sir!!"
The subordinates moved with flawless cohesion, filing out of the hideout.
As they departed, sharp metallic clangs rang out from the Mithril gear clashing against their backs.
Left alone, the Branch Manager buried himself deep into his chair once more.
The ruby on the gold ring around his finger gleamed, radiating a cold, chilling light.
Tapping the table with his finger, the Branch Manager let out a greasy smirk.
"I wonder just how strong the rankers are?"
His eyes were clouded with an anticipation tinged with madness.
He was looking at his newly acquired job.
Job: [Berserker (Unique)]