The Path of the Asura and Character Education
Flap! Flap! Boom!
“Waaah!”
Kim Na-yeon tumbled backward, rolling twice with a thud before coming to a halt. She collapsed onto her backside and let out a wail.
“Ah…! I couldn’t hold out again…”
I helped her up and let out a sigh.
“Na-yeon unni really has no talent for offense.”
“It’s because you’re weird! That wasn’t a hit!”
Kim Na-yeon had timidly reached out on the very first day, afraid I might get hurt.
But today, on the third day, her eyes burned with fierce determination as she swung her limbs.
Still, her attacks could never land on me. They sliced harmlessly through the air and only resulted in endless pummeling.
“And the feel of my strikes is still so spicy. Ouch.”
“I already explained it as the essence of the Heavenly Demon Swordsmanship.”
“I don’t know! Anyway, it hurts! It really hurts!”
Kim Na-yeon pouted, so I furrowed my brows.
“What kind of impropriety is this, being left guardian of the Heavenly Demon Holy Sect? Tanker is supposed to mean one who endures, yet you’re this timid.”
“Hmph. If I just used my powers, it wouldn’t hurt.”
“Want to test it?”
“Huh?”
I called out to Lee Da-yeon.
“Young Lady Leader.”
“What?”
Lee Da-yeon, who had been punching her fist into the corner of the training hall, turned our way with sparkling eyes.
I pointed to the door outside the training room, and she lit up.
“What? Sister Na-yeon is using her powers? I want to watch too!”
“It could be dangerous.”
“Eeeeh.”
“Hehe, sorry the guild doesn’t have money. Once the guild expands, I’ll install barrier facilities and buy a training-area stable gate.”
The guild training room, with its minimal safety features and wall strengthened only through magic stones, was terribly inadequate.
Even a spar between high-level warriors would be tough for the building to endure.
This was all because the guild lacked funds.
Once I regain my strength, I’ll quickly gather money and buy a proper guild building. I looked at Kim Na-yeon, who had prepared herself.
“Hah!”
Kwa kwa kwa kwa!
With a thunderous shout, inner energy surged throughout Kim Na-yeon’s body. It instantly formed a golden suit of armor and shield.
“Waaaah…!”
A tiny “Kyaa!” burst from the gap of the door at the back of the training room, where Lee Da-yeon was peeking. Such an undisciplined young leader.
“How is it? Sister’s hunter ability, ‘Aegis Shield’ battle form. You all haven’t seen it before?”
“It’s super cool, unni!”
“Indeed, an extraordinary ability.”
Armor formed by the power of inner energy.
Lee Da-yeon had never seen it, but I had. I had witnessed hunters’ powers and the martial techniques of the Central Plains martial artists.
The energy source called ‘inner energy’ or ‘magical power’ was the same, but in this era, hunter abilities seemed governed by different laws from the martial arts of the Central Plains.
“Good. Defend with that armor and shield.”
“Come anytime!”
“You should focus on creating the strongest defense.”
I warned her, eyes gleaming.
This was no game.
It was the Heavenly Demon’s teaching to aid the growth of the left guardian.
Feeling the change in my mood, Kim Na-yeon’s expression grew serious.
Tap.
She planted her feet firmly on the ground and raised her shield forward.
Maintaining the posture of the Heavenly Demon Fighting Star Form, I flicked my hand with a seemingly light movement.
Heavenly Demon Fighting Star Form, Shattered.
Kong.
A vibration that shook the entire building.
At the same time, a sonic boom tore through the air as the technique erupted.
If the past Heavenly Demon had wielded a palm technique filled with ten thousand inner energies, this one held the force to carve a massive handprint into the mountains.
But the power used now was sufficient to instruct the young guardian. It minimized influence on the surroundings.
Kim Na-yeon’s eyes widened.
Kwacha jachak! Pa kakh!
“Ugh…”
Kong.
The shield shattered into light and she collapsed to the floor.
“Oh…”
I was surprised.
I had precisely gauged Kim Na-yeon’s inner energy and used power enough to shatter every defense, including the armor.
Yet despite her dazed expression as she sat back, the armor remained.
Because her inner energy was still low, the defensive power that persisted was as formidable as anything in the world.
Kim Na-yeon muttered in confusion while sitting there.
“I’ve never broken a shield before…”
I smiled faintly and turned away.
“Na-yeon unni, you’re better off honing your talent. Aim for the ultimate defense rather than learning offensive techniques. For now, I’ll focus on training you to explosively raise your inner energy in a single breath.”
“Kk k k.”
After afternoon training, it was time to learn about the world through my smartphone.
For a long time I had been deeply immersed in ‘animation’.
But today I was looking for news of new information.
Right here, in the ‘Gallery’ community.
“The way the people in this bulletin board talk is so fun.”
“Ji-yeon, keep looking and they’ll confiscate your phone?”
“…Is it a bad place?”
“It’s a place where unrefined information circulates. They spin conspiracy theories pretty nakedly.”
From Kim Na-yeon’s expression, there was something strange. It looked like… suspicion?
“By the way, unni also wants to learn offensive techniques.”
“You were told to focus on specialized defense… If you want to learn, which technique?”
“Something like dazzling and slicing through the air with shashashak! That sounds cool!”
Even while saying it, her eyes remained doubtful.
I broke into a cold sweat inside.
From the description, it was clearly the opening form of the Heavenly Demon Sword Technique I had used when hiding in the gate.
Left Guardian Kim Na-yeon.
Now she was openly starting to doubt me.
In a way, this situation was far too natural.
I had pulled out a large portion of my resources to quickly cultivate the left guardian.
A young child who had only just awakened her powers, with low rank but already a somewhat skilled ‘Kim Na-yeon hunter’ who casually shattered a tanker’s defense? That’s the same as a novice who just picked up a sword defeating a first-rate expert.
Even I, who knows nothing of this world, could tell this was not ordinary.
I knew Kim Na-yeon had an unknown ability, but experiencing it in reality was a different matter.
A normal person would be frightened and keep distance from such mysterious power, but Na-yeon’s reaction was completely different.
“In the end, people’s character is important. The stronger the person, the more they must cultivate a kind heart.”
“Y-you don’t have to say that. I’m not the kind who loves blood.”
“And smile nicely. What’s with the ‘kk k k’ of a little girl?”
“Kyaa! …Eek.”
Whoa, even the sound of laughing was being controlled.
I tried to rebel, showing my teeth, but I was easily lifted by her hand.
“Ehh, don’t show your teeth and smile nicely.”
“…Hee.”
I awkwardly smiled.
Kim Na-yeon finally looked satisfied and set me down.
A Heavenly Demon who lived under the left guardian’s orders— if the past friend Taeguk Geomseon had seen it, he would have rolled around on the floor prostrating himself.
I began reading the rest of the posts from the ‘Gallery’.
It was a post about the ‘Jeokpung Guild’.
[Hey, recovering the bodies of the dead is good, but isn’t that an ancient species sanctuary?]
[Yeah, even if the gate broke, it’s clearly a dangerous area. Why did they suddenly gather hunters in the first place? It’s pretty far from the city too, right? I don’t know what they’re trying to do if an ancient species wakes up.]
“In this bulletin board, the reputation of the Jeokpung Guild isn’t very good.”
“It’s actually a pretty bad place.”
“…Really?”
Kim Na-yeon glanced at me sideways and continued.
“Well, there are rumors of human experiments, they ignore weak low-rank hunters, and they steal high-level personnel from other guilds without shame. The nation’s largest guild, so we can’t say it outright.”
“Human experiments? Like human sacrifice? Those blood cult types.”
“What’s a blood cult?”
Lee Da-yeon attached herself to me, squeezing closer.
Lee Da-yeon, who would become the young leader of the new Heavenly Demon Holy Sect, was deeply immersed in the fun Central Plains stories I told her.
“It’s a group that once ruled by a man called ‘Blood Demon’.”
“So, so, what did the Heavenly Demon do?”
“What could he do? He incited the Martial Alliance from the shadows to start a real war, and when a group pretended to be the Heavenly Demon Holy Sect, did you think he’d just let them be? Of course he crushed them into a pulp.”
“And that old man Taeguk Geomseon?”
“Hmm, is the young leader referring to that old man from my stories?”
“Mmm… Even though the drunken Taoist grandpa is cool, I like the Heavenly Demon more.”
“Kuk kuk, as expected of the young leader of the Heavenly Demon Holy Sect.”
“Hey, Ji-yeon. I told you not to smile like that?”
“…Hee.”
I smiled awkwardly again.
I had plenty of complaints about the left guardian’s threats, but there was nothing I could do.
From what I’ve learned so far, this world is not easy.
No matter how strong you are, if you’re young you won’t be treated as a worker.
In that sense, the guild where meals come, a training room is provided, and Kim Na-yeon takes care of baths and beds is the perfect place for me to grow my power.
While this frail child’s body grows, I need a place to rely on. For now, I’ll have to obey the left guardian’s words.
Kim Na-yeon said with a slightly apologetic expression.
“Sorry. Living only inside the guild must be boring, right?”
“Huh?”
What a sudden remark.
Why would the left guardian feel sorry when I was voluntarily entering closed-door cultivation to regain my strength?
“Once the guild’s work is done, I’ll take you to fun places often. What’s your dream, Ji-yeon? To be a hunter and protect people?”
“This guild will become the country’s greatest sect and rule over the Central Plains.”
“…Central Plains?”
“Lee Da-yeon young leader, you must prepare yourself firmly. It will become the bloody path of the asura.”
“Haaah… I’m scared!”
“Don’t worry. I’m not that cruel with my hands. With the passion of the holy sect, all martial artists will willingly bow their heads.”
I calmly expressed my ambitions.
But Kim Na-yeon’s face turned pale.
“Y-you can’t be. Wiji Yeon, from today you start character education!”
“…?”