Streaming (1)
Everything has a foundation.
To fly, you must first learn to run; to run, you must learn to walk; to walk, you must learn to stand.
Martial arts were much the same.
You cannot wield a sword when you cannot even clench a fist. Skip the steps, and no martial art will ever be complete.
In that sense, the Seven Forms of the Blue Dragon I was unfolding was, quite plainly, an unfinished sword art.
"…Just the first form?"
"Yeah."
"Seriously, that's all?"
"To be exact, I can't handle the seventh one properly either. But the first and the seventh share the same essence, don't they?"
"That's…!"
Struck to the quick, Baek Seo-ha dropped her gaze to the floor and mumbled.
"You're right……."
The first and seventh forms — the two I had never managed to master even after the world's end. After racking my brain for a long, long time, I had finally arrived at a conclusion: those two forms were connected as one.
Opening Heaven.
Dominion.
For to open the heavens was, in the end, the same as standing at their very summit.
"And you really learned all the others just by watching?"
"That's what I said, didn't I?"
"……."
Baek Seo-ha's eyes narrowed into slits. She clearly found it hard to believe.
"Never mind the small stuff. Let's just start the lesson already."
"It's not small stuff……."
She grumbled something else under her breath with a dissatisfied expression, then suddenly noticed the thing gripped in my hand.
"…What's that?"
"A spear."
"A… spear?"
"You know I use a spear. No need to act surprised."
I know, but why now of all times. That was the look she fired at me, sharp enough to sting.
The Seven Forms of the Blue Dragon was a sword art, performed with a sword. But nothing said it had to be a sword.
All martial paths flow back to one source.
Martial arts weren't some fixed textbook; they were a concept, a principle in and of themselves.
Unfold a fist art with a blade, and it becomes swordsmanship. Draw it with a spear, and it becomes spearmanship.
Grasp the core properly, and whatever weapon you held was irrelevant. After all, Baek Seo-ha herself had executed the first form bare-handed during our sparring sessions.
"That's the same as that?… No. Never mind. What's the point of asking."
Hearing my answer, Baek Seo-ha let her shoulders slump.
"Brace yourself. I won't be going easy on you."
And so, Baek Seo-ha's instruction began.
"…An Irregular? Lee Tae-hyun?"
"That is to say, he might be."
Team Leader of Management Team 3 at the Hunter Bureau. Wi Han-jun's brow furrowed deep.
"Where's this coming from all of a sudden? Last I heard, you spat at the mere mention of that guy's name."
"Excuse me? When did I ever go that far?!"
"Am I wrong?"
"…It was exactly one time."
Seong Ju-ah shot Wi Han-jun a resentful glare.
"You know 'Irregular' isn't even an official designation to begin with."
Wi Han-jun was right. 'Irregular' was closer to a new coinage that had spread among the public. Not a single nation hosting one had ever officially announced that their grade had been misjudged. Pressed for a definition, it was more like 'a hunter whose results wildly outstrip their measured potential'.
"And on the mere possibility that Lee Tae-hyun is an Irregular, you want us to run negotiations like this?"
Wi Han-jun tapped the report Seong Ju-ah had brought.
"It's not a losing deal, is it? The Crimson Flame Jade has just been collecting dust in a warehouse for years anyway."
"Even so! It's an S-rank item, man!"
The priority purchase rights for the skill book he'd offered second — that much he could let slide. But handing over the Crimson Flame Jade was not a decision to make lightly.
"You do realize that was a donation from the Fist King?"
Fist King.
The epithet of Kang Hyuk-jin — master of the Hyeonmu Fist Sect and still an active hunter.
The Crimson Flame Jade was a byproduct of the Fist King clearing the S-rank gate that had opened on Jeju Island. Well, this thing's useless to me! He'd all but thrown it away — but it was still an S-rank item the Fist King had personally delivered to the Hunter Bureau. Carelessly listing it as a bargaining chip would land them in a very awkward position.
"Hooo……."
Seong Ju-ah stroked her chin and made a meaningful sound.
"Is that really the problem?"
"Obviously."
"So if that's settled, we're good to go?"
"Oh, for crying out loud."
Wi Han-jun clicked his tongue.
"Do you know how much grief that Crimson Flame Jade has caused upstairs? It's a disposal nightmare. Pretty thing to look at, but functionally a cursed item. If it weren't for the Fist King, it would've been tossed in the bin ages ago."
…If anyone had actually wanted to take it, that is. He added the words under his breath, then pushed the report back toward Seong Ju-ah.
"So let's just pretend this never happen—"
"Hello?"
Seong Ju-ah blurted out, out of nowhere. Only now did he notice — she was already mid-call with someone.
"I don't care how comfortable you are, taking a phone call in the middle of a conversation is a bit rude, don't you think?"
"Yello."
A deep bass voice drifted from Seong Ju-ah's phone.
"Uncle, is now a good time?"
"Ju-ah? Is that my Ju-ah?"
That voice, impossibly familiar. Wi Han-jun's eyes twitched.
"Yes, it's me."
"BWHAHAHA! If it's a call from my Ju-ah, you drop whatever you're doing and pick up — top priority!"
"How are things… at the Sect?"
"Peaceful as ever! If you're thinking of coming back, the doors are always open…!"
"That's not happening."
"Tch."
After the round of light small talk ended, Seong Ju-ah put on her most winning smile and got to the point.
"Uncle, there's something I'd like to ask of you."
"Next week, you said?"
I greeted my guest while toweling off my damp hair.
"The details are still being ironed out, but the schedule has landed on next week."
"Faster than I expected."
"There's no reason to delay it."
True enough. From the Hunter Bureau's perspective, anything entangled with me was something they'd want wrapped up quickly.
"The format will most likely be a B-rank gate clearance."
"A B-rank gate, huh……."
I'd more or less expected it. I'd set a new record in a C-rank gate, so to prove commensurate ability, they'd need something at least at that level.
"Understood."
The moment I nodded, Seong Ju-ah pressed on.
"For reference, a support role will be accompanying you into this gate."
"Really, is that necessary? I don't need one."
"The Hunter Bureau needs its excuses too. Sending an F-rank hunter into a B-rank gate alone doesn't look great, does it?"
Now that she mentioned it, fair enough. The fact that my status window and potential were rising was something only I knew. To them, I was still nothing but an F-rank.
"Fine. In exchange, then, I have some additional requests of my own."
I laid out the conditions I'd prepared for Seong Ju-ah.
"Well? Can you make it happen?"
"Th… that's even possible?"
"Don't underestimate Cheonseong's technical capabilities. We've already finished every preliminary test."
This demonstration wasn't for the Hunter Bureau's eyes alone. It was a showing to the entire world — the change and growth of who I was. And in the days ahead, I would need to raise my own value even higher. Not Lee Tae-hyun of Cheonseong, but Lee Tae-hyun the hunter — competitive in his own right. Building an independent image would pay dividends in a dozen different places.
"By the way, did you come all the way up to the Sword Sect at this hour just to tell me this?"
Eight in the morning — the sun had barely risen. A very early hour for anyone to climb a mountain alone all the way to the Sword Sect.
"You need only know that this is how serious I am."
"I'm touched."
Seong Ju-ah. I'd known even before the regression that she was quick on the uptake, but — who knew it was to this degree. Her rapport-building skills were no joke. From my standpoint too, cultivating a close relationship with the Hunter Bureau — with the woman who would become its next Director — cost me nothing and promised much.
"Then I'll be off."
Having finished her business, Seong Ju-ah strode out of the Sword Sect grounds.
"…So she's Hunter Bureau."
That was when a voice drifted over from behind me. I turned to find Baek Seo-ha watching me with coldly narrowed eyes.
"How long have you been standing there?"
"Just now."
She answered curtly and approached slowly.
"You definitely have bad blood with the Hunter Bureau, don't you?"
"Not good, no."
Knowing them, most of the Bureau was probably champing at the bit to chew me up and swallow me whole.
"And that woman is one of them."
"I know."
"Yeah. She came here once trying to scout me."
Come to think of it, someone of Baek Seo-ha's caliber — the Bureau was bound to have made a recruitment pitch. Though it was news to me that Seong Ju-ah had been the one to make it.
"Are you… joining the Hunter Bureau?"
"What? What would I even get out of that."
"…Is that right?"
Something about my answer must have pleased her, because the corner of Baek Seo-ha's mouth lifted — a fraction of a millimeter, but it lifted.
"Then let's start today's lesson."
"…It's unnecessary."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"I've felt it for a few days now."
It had been a little under a month since I'd taken up residence at the Sword Sect and begun learning its sword arts from Baek Seo-ha. Long if long, short if short.
"You can already use them. The first form and the seventh."
I could now execute every single one of the Seven Forms of the Blue Dragon. It had only ever been a matter of time — the forms I couldn't perform numbered just two among the seven.
"Beats me. It's been less than a month, though?"
But I was deliberately denying it.
"It's called an inheritance for a reason. How is anyone supposed to master a sword art in a few weeks?"
"…You're despicable, you know that?"
It couldn't be helped, really. I had already poured years into reproducing the first and seventh forms before the regression. The me of now had simply been handed the answer key to a problem I could never solve.
When you know the answer, fixing your approach is easy.
The founder's essence sealed within the first form. The essence of finality sealed within the seventh. The moment those two unfilled blanks were finally filled —
At last, it was complete.
My own Seven Forms of the Blue Dragon.
But I was keeping this fact as hidden as I could. At the very least, I refused to admit it outright.
My pretext for staying at the Sword Sect.
If only for the day Seong Yong-ho inevitably returned to Korea, I needed to leave myself a reason I had to be here.
"Got it? Then hurry off and warm up already."
"D-don't push me…!"
After forcibly shooing Baek Seo-ha on her way, I picked up the spear I'd left leaning haphazardly against the wall.
"…A B-rank gate, huh."
Tasting the words on my tongue for no particular reason, I squared my grip on the shaft.
Shk!
And then, without hesitation —
FWOOSH!
I swung.
First Form: Opening Heaven.
Second Form: Ascension.
Third Form: Falling Blossom.
Fourth Form: Raging Wind.
Fifth Form: Howling Thunder.
Sixth Form: Flame's Cry.
Seventh Form: Dominion.
Forms meant for a sword, wielded through a spear instead. A crimson dragon swam gracefully along the length of the shaft, curling about its tip.
"Puhah!"
Only after the final form did I finally exhale the breath that had built up to my throat.
"So I really… learned all of them."
The secret art of the Sword Sect. Something that could never, ever have been completed before my regression — now it belonged to me, wholly and completely.
Ring!
You have acquired the skill Seven Forms of the Blue Dragon.
"Oh."
Unlike the time with the spear arts, this one registered properly. So all that back-breaking effort hadn't been for nothing after all.
"Good. Then, just like this——"
Ring!
The skill Seven Forms of the Blue Dragon is resonating with the Ascended Martial Art you possess!
You have grasped the skill Nameless Spear Art.
The skill Seven Forms of the Blue Dragon is being subsumed into Nameless Spear Art.
"…What?"
What on earth was this?
"Ascended Martial Art?"
I'd never once heard of such a thing existing in this world. And a skill being subsumed into another, at that. Besides — what even was the 'Nameless Spear Art'?
I hurriedly opened my status window and checked my skills.
Where the Seven Forms of the Blue Dragon should have been sat a skill I had never seen before. An unidentified thing with not even a grade displayed.
Nameless Spear Art
▷ A spear art that has yet to claim a name. It waits for the moment when all that will shape it comes together as one.
▷ Subsumed Skills
① Seven Forms of the Blue Dragon
② (Empty)
③ (Empty)
④ (Empty)
Having read that far, I couldn't help but let out a hollow laugh.
"There you are."
As if I could fail to recognize it.
My long-held obsession. My martial art — incomplete, and lost before it could ever be finished.
Ghost Spear Ultimate.